Taiwan's LUXGEN5 Sedan Wins
2013/02/22 | By Quincy LiangOnly carmaker to work with ITC firm to offer super convenient onboard computing
Luxgen Motor Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Taiwan's Yulon Group that makes the LUXGEN line, recently said that, with new values created by intelligent technologies onboard, its LUXGEN5 Sedan has won the 21st (2013) Taiwan Excellence Award, becoming the only automaker to win such honor amid fierce competition.
The latest prize makes Luxgen Motor's "Symbol of Taiwan Excellence" the fourth consecutive win in 2013. The firm has also won such prize with its LUXGEN7 MPV (multi-purpose van), LUXGEN7 SUV (sport utility vehicle), and LUXGEN7 CEO EV+ plug-in electric vehicle, all featuring industry-leading onboard technologies by tapping resources in the local information and communication technology (ICT) industry.
The Taiwan Excellence Award is the highest accolade for products that embody "innovalue"--value of innovation. Formerly the Symbol of Excellence (SOE), Taiwan Excellence was set up in 1992 to encourage Taiwanese industries to upgrade and incorporate “innovalue” in products.
Winning products carrying the Taiwan Excellence, proprietary logo, i.e. Symbol of Taiwan Excellence, suggests the Taiwan-made items as world-class in innovation, design and manufacturing. TAITRA, the semi-official trade promoter, has registered exclusive rights to this logo consisting of six overlapping arc in over 77 countries.
21st Taiwan Excellence
A panel of international judges with expertise in the four key criteria – R&D, design, quality and marketing – select the gold award winners.
The contest received 1,221 (1,145 in 2012 and 974 in 2011) submissions from 483 (426 in 2012 and 381 in 2011) companies in Taiwan, from whom 541 products submitted by 198 companies were cited for excellence. Eventually 27 products, including the LUXGEN5 Sedan, were picked for the final and 10 eventually won the Gold Awards, while the remaining Silver Awards.
Cutting-edge Design
LUXGEN is the only car brand in Taiwan to have its own integrated design and development center. Having successfully launched itself as the pioneer of smart technology with the LUXGEN7 MPV and LUXGEN7 SUV, the carmaker now targets the battleground of the mid-large sedan market.
The styling of the LUXGEN5 Sedan not only features decorative wings for the logo at the front that continue along the hood but also twelve "Re-curved Strokes" along the body of the car, giving it a dynamic visual effect. More importantly, the A and C pillars in the LUXGEN5 Sedan were moved as far forward and back as possible, respectively, to maximize interior space and achieve optimal angles. This not only challenged the limits of engineering but also optimized the aerodynamics, giving the sedan a coupe-like silhouette. The result was a superb 0.28 drag-coefficient, while successfully capturing the essence of a two-door coupe. The perfect 2:1 ratio between the side panels and windows exemplifies the pursuit of “Surfacing Performance" in the styling of the LUXGEN5 Sedan.
LUXGEN partnered with the world's major smartphone maker HTC of Taiwan to jointly develop the unique THINK+ system, offering consumers a new level of convenience in onboard computers.
LUXGEN is the first carmaker to adopt the Android system for the onboard platform. When an HTC mobile phone is connected to the THINK+ Touch system, all of the cellphone calls are controlled directly through the 9-inch smart touch screen on the central console. In other words, a driver can access Facebook, send and receive e-mails or look up local sights through the touch screen.
The THINK+ Touch system's five key functions include: Multimedia, Phone, Safety, Information and HTC mode. Apart from using the touch screen itself, shortcut buttons are provided below the screen for convenience. The most innovative feature is to access the NAVI GPS navigation function using the HTC mode. The user can therefore check the map and set routes in the car or on the road. The hands-free Bluetooth system means users can also call via the hands-free interface.
Advanced Technology
The LUXGEN5 Sedan comes with LUXGEN's advanced technology, including the Active Eagle View+ 360 surround imaging system, the Night Vision+ night driving image enhancing system, the lane departure warning system (LDWS) system, and the Side View+ blind spot monitoring system.
Luxgen Motor claims that the LUXGEN models have successfully differentiated themselves with counterparts in the market by incorporating the most advanced technologies. Luxgen Motor strictly follows international auto-making standards in production, the firm claims.