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Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A., referred to as Lamborghini (pronounced ( listen)), is an Italian car manufacturer. The company was founded by manufacturing magnate Ferruccio Lamborghini in 1963, with the objective of producing a refined grand touring car to compete with established offerings from marques like Ferrari.

The company's first models were released in the mid-1960s, and were noted for their refinement, power and comfort. Lamborghini gained wide acclaim in 1966 for the Miura sports coupé, which established mid-engine design as the standard layout for high-performance cars of the era. After a decade of rapid growth, hard times befell the company in the mid-1970s, as sales plunged in the wake of the 1973 world financial downturn and oil crisis. After going through bankruptcy and three changes in ownership, Lamborghini came under the corporate umbrella of the Chrysler Corporation in 1987. The American company failed to return the automaker to profitability and sold it to Indonesian interests in 1994. Lamborghini's lack of success continued through the 1990s, until the company was sold in 1998 to Audi, a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, a German automotive concern. Audi's ownership marked the beginning of a period of stability and increased productivity for Lamborghini, with sales increasing nearly tenfold over the course of the 2000s, peaking in record sales in 2007 and 2008. The world financial crisis in the late 2000s negatively affected luxury car makers worldwide, and saw Lamborghini's sales drop back to pre-2006 levels.

Assembly of Lamborghini cars continues to take place at the automaker's ancestral home in Sant'Agata Bolognese, where engine and automobile production lines run side-by-side at the company's single factory. Fewer than 3,000 cars roll off the production line each year. The flagship V12-powered Murciélago coupé and roadster were discontinued at the end of 2010. Its successor, the Lamborghini Aventador, was released on 28 February 2011.

Automobili Lamborghini was founded by Ferruccio Lamborghini, the child of viticulturists from the comune (township) of Renazzo di Cento, Province of Ferrara, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. serving as a mechanic in the Regia Aeronautica, during World War II, Lamborghini went into business building tractors out of leftover military hardware from the war effort. By the mid-1950s, Lamborghini's tractor company, Lamborghini Trattori S.p.A.,had become one of the largest agricultural equipment manufacturers in the country.He was also the owner of a successful gas heater and air conditioning manufacturer.

Lamborghini's wealth allowed him to cultivate a childhood interest in cars, owning a number of luxury automobiles including Alfa Romeos, Lancias, Maseratis, and a Mercedes Benz.He purchased his first Ferrari, a 250GT, in 1958, and went on to own several more. Lamborghini was fond of the Ferraris, but considered them too noisy and rough to be proper road cars, likening them to repurposed track cars.Lamborghini decided to pursue an automobile manufacturing venture, with the goal of bringing to life his vision of a perfect grand tourer

Prior to founding his company, Lamborghini had commissioned the engineering firm Società Autostar to design a V12 engine for use in his new cars. Lamborghini wanted the engine to have a similar displacement to Ferrari's 3-litre V12; however, he wanted the engine to be designed purely for road use, in contrast to the modified racing engines used by Ferrari in its road cars. Autostar was led by Giotto Bizzarrini, a member of the "Gang of Five" of Ferrari engineers, who had been responsible for creating the famous Ferrari 250 GTO, but left the company in 1961 after founder Enzo Ferrari announced his intention to reorganize the engineering staff.The engine Bizzarrini designed for Lamborghini had a displacement of 3.5 litres, a 9.5:1 compression ratio, and a maximum output of 360 bhp at 9800 rpm.Lamborghini was displeased with the engine's high revolutions and dry-sump lubrication system, both characteristic of the racing engines he specifically did not wish to use; when Bizzarrini refused to change the engine's design to make it more "well-mannered", Lamborghini refused to pay the agreed-upon fee of 4.5 million Italian lire (plus a bonus for every unit of brake horsepower the engine could produce over the equivalent Ferrari engine). Lamborghini did not fully compensate the designer until ordered to do so by the courts.

The first Lamborghini chassis design was created by Italian chassis engineer Gian Paolo Dallara of Ferrari and Maserati fame, together with a team that included Paolo Stanzani (then a recent college graduate) and Bob Wallace (a New Zealander who was known at Maserati for his keen sense of chassis handling and excellent feedback and developmental skills). body was styled by the then-relatively unknown designer Franco Scaglione, who was selected by Ferruccio Lamborghini after passing over highly regarded names including Vignale, Ghia, Bertone, and Pininfarina

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Toyota Alphard

The Toyota Alphard is a luxury MPV produced by the Japanese automaker Toyota since 2002. It is available as a seven or eight-seater with 2.4 and 3.0 litre gasoline engines in 3 different model lines - Alphard G, Alphard V, and the Alphard Hybrid, which uses the 2.4 litre engine along with an electrical motor and batteries. Toyota states its "E-Four electric 4WD system that regulates a rear-mounted, rear-wheel-propelling electric motor and coordinates electric power distribution to all four wheels. An ECB (Electrically Controlled Brake system) provides efficient wheel-by-wheel brake control." The vehicle was named after the Alphard, the brightest star in the constellation Hydra.

The Alphard is primarily made for the Japanese market, but is also sold in Indonesia, China, Hong Kong, Bangladesh, Singapore, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, Bahrain, Oman and Malaysia.

In 2006, a Royal Lounge Alphard was introduced. It is a luxurious, four-seat version of the Alphard. Its traditional competitor from Nissan is the Elgrand. Toyota also makes a sportier version of the Alphard, aimed at the younger generation called the Vellfire.

The full-size Alphard Hybrid MPV qualifies as an Ultra-Low Emissions Vehicle (ULEV), achieving emission levels 75% lower than the Japanese government's year 2000 benchmark. The 2.4-litre gasoline engine has been developed specifically for use in Toyota's hybrid systems and features a high-expansion ratio cycle that raises efficiency and reduces friction.

The Alphard Hybrid uses "by-wire" technology that monitors brake pedal pressure and vehicle speed in order to calculate the optimum hydraulic pressure. By-wire works with the E-Four to maximize the collection of kinetic energy from braking for conversion into electric power.

The Alphard Hybrid can generate up to 1,500 watts and is equipped with standard 100-volt AC power outlets, allowing a wide range of appliances to be used, such as laptops and emergency lights. The electrical outlets can also be used to recharge items such as power-assisted bicycles and electric carts, adding a new dimension to leisure activities.

In fact, standard on the "G edition" and optional on standard grades are ( with a G-BOOK compatible DVD voice navigation system):

Blind Corner Monitor, which indicates the approach of other vehicles or pedestrians from the left and right
Back Guide Monitor with a color CCD camera and voice-guidance function, which uses signals from a steering sensor to calculate the likely reverse path during reversing and display it on the monitor screen