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IT’S not
even one year old yet, and there are already proposals
to review the Biofuels Act.
If you
are not a citizen of this country, you might say that
this is such a rich state that money is no longer a
problem considering how we implement a law today and
repeal it on the next day.
After
several years of debates and discussions in various
forums all over the country, the Biofuels Act was
enacted in order “to save the country from splurging on
natural fuel.” Now, several months have passed but only
one of the three oil giants has consistently followed
the law by selling blended fuel in the market.
Many
have been saying that the authorities’ haphazard search
to remedy the burgeoning oil expenditures resulted in a
more expensive and hazardous consequence. More research
materials have been coming out lately regarding the
dangers of extracting biofuel not only from our food
supplies but also from our environment.
The No.
1 argument against biofuels by environmentalists is that
extracting it eats up a lot of energy and harms the
environment, i.e., the process uses up more energy than
what is actually gained, and greenhouse gases such as
carbon dioxide is emitted as a result.
But how
can you stop those big companies who have already set up
their operations in various provinces to cash in on the
expected biofuels boom? Their very existence in our
country today has already affected the food-supply chain
as prices of corn and sugar have already risen up. More
sugar and corn producers are now selling their products
to ethanol producers rather than bringing them to the
open market for food consumption.
How will
the government react to this one?
THE
world was taken by surprise when an Indian car was
launched recently and is now being sold at a very low
price.
Yes, for
the price of $2,500, the new car will soon be exported
to the whole world, which would give middle-income
earners the chance to have their own cars.
Here in
the country, there are several automotive industry
sources we have recently talked to who expressed their
surprise at why tag prices of cars (especially those
older models still being sold) in the market today are
not going down despite the big slide of the dollar
vis-à-vis our own peso.
I still
vividly remember one who said that there should be a big
markdown in prices since most of the cars that are being
sold were imported when the dollar-to-peso exchange rate
was at P55 to $1. He argued that almost P15 has been
slashed from the exchange rate because of the strong
peso, thus it should be high time that car manufacturers
and major local car distributors reduce the price tags
of their products.
“When
the exchange rate was P55 to a dollar, these car
manufacturers already had a profit margin. Now that
those models are still around and the dollar has already
taken a lot of beating against the peso, car
manufacturers are surely reaping a lot of profits. Isn’t
it about time that they gave local buyers what is due
them? The government must be the first one to notice
this thing, but we don’t know what it is doing regarding
the matter,” said one source who wished to remain
anonymous.
What do
you think?
Nissan
Motors Co. Ltd. recently inaugurated the Nissan Advanced
Technology Center (NATC), its latest state-of-the-art
research and development (R&D) facility, located in
Kanagawa prefecture, Japan, to allow vehicle-development
engineers to work under one roof and thus more
effectively in spearheading innovations in environmental
and safety technologies.
In our
visit to the huge facility during last year’s Tokyo
Motor Show, many were simply mesmerized with the whole
place. The new facility hosts 2,000 employees. It
features an Advanced Vehicle Lab and Electric Powertrain
Lab. Nissan’s investment in NATC, including several R&D
and upgrade projects, totaled ¥90 billion ($748
million). This investment includes renovations to the
existing powertrain development center and construction
of the global design studio, both located at the Nissan
Technical Center (NTC).
The
architectural concept of the NATC was designed to
enhance communication and facilitate greater
collaboration among the various R&D teams to promote a
culture of cross-functional innovation. This “open”
concept promotes collaborative efforts with external
engineers from the supply base or visiting academics and
researchers. Examples include “collaboration rooms”
fitted with vehicle lifts that can accommodate up to 200
people. The facility interior features a unique stepped
architectural design for an unobstructed view of the
activities going on in the vehicle pit lane on the first
floor of the building.
Attention was placed on energy conservation and
minimizing CO2 emissions in the design and operation of
the building. It is expected that the new facility will
be accorded the highest “S” ranking under the
Comprehensive Assessment System for Building
Environmental Efficiency. Nissan has two other major
facilities based in the Kanagawa prefecture for product
planning, R&D and advanced development—the Nissan
Technical Center (NTC) in Atsugi and Nissan Research
Center (NRC) in
Yokosuka.
By 2009
Nissan will relocate its global headquarters to Yokohama
City. The combined presence of Nissan’s Yokohama engine
plant, Oppama manufacturing plant, the newly upgraded
NTC and all-new NATC will reinforce Nissan’s historical
legacy in the Kanagawa prefecture. |
