March 14th, 2006 by admin
Gas prices are raised again
Gas prices are back on the rise.
U.S. gas prices are up 11 cents in two weeks which cancels out the 9 cents drop at the beginning of January.
Retail gas prices across the country climbed an average of 11 cents in the past two weeks, according to a new survey. The weighted average price for all three grades increased to $2.38 a gallon by Friday, according to Trilby Lundberg, who publishes the semimonthly Lundberg Survey of 7,000 gas stations around the country.
With gas prices on the rise, it’s now becoming as apparent as ever that we need new technology, such as hybrids or better ethanol. I sure hope automakers and/or the government can figure something out soon, because bicycles are looking more and more attractive to this car enthusiast.
See Also
March 13th, 2006 by admin
Kia will build its first US production plant in Georgia
Kia will be investing $1.2 billion in their first
production plant in the US.
The plant will be located in West Point, Troup County, Ga. and is expected to be completed in 2009. Georgia was competing with Kentucky and Mississippi to acquire the plant. Apparently, Sunny Perdue, Georgia’s Governor, offered incentives that could not be turned down.
The state promised various incentives that are worth 410 million dollars. These include free land and infrastructure, subsidies for the creation of new jobs, financial support for training workers and tax breaks.
Kia has seen exponential growth in America over the past few years, and they’re building this plant to demonstrate their longevity in and commitment to the American auto industry.
See Also
March 10th, 2006 by admin
The high price of hybrids
Hybrid cars have been around for a few years, but they’ve yet catch on because of the high price tag.
Until recently, if you bought a hybrid, you would’ve probably ended up spending more money in five years than you would if you bought the gas-only counterpart. And, that is still the case for some popular hybrid cars and SUVs.
NUMBER CRUNCHING. The new calculations show that owners of the Toyota (TM) Prius will save $406 and owners of the Honda (HMC) Civic hybrid will save $317 compared with owners of their gas-only counterparts. However, owners of four other hybrids — the Honda Accord, Ford (F) Escape, Toyota Highlander, and Lexus RX 400h — will still end up spending $1,883 to $5,508 more over five years and 75,000 miles, Consumer Reports said.
Some manufacturers, however, are switching to diesel/electric instead of gas/electric.
GO DIESEL. With cleaner diesel fuel becoming available in the U.S. this fall, some automakers, including Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and Chrysler (DCX) are adding more diesel models to their fleet. Honda is adding diesels by 2010. Diesels tend to get better fuel economy than hybrids when usage is more cruising than urban stop-and-go. A Toyota hybrid, for example, doesn’t make it from Washington, DC, to Detroit, a distance of more than 500 miles, on one tank of gas, as it gets about 38 miles per gallon. A Volkswagen Jetta TDI diesel-powered car, however, can make the journey without stopping, getting 45 mpg (see BW Online, 2/15/06.
With recent technological breakthroughs and the government’s plan ease us of our gasoline addiction, maybe these vehicles will actually be affordable for the common person in the future.
See Also
March 9th, 2006 by admin
Cottman, Aamco to merge chains
Aamco and Cottman are set to merge their respective chains to form one of the largest automotive repair chains in America.
The combined company, to operate under the Aamco name, will be 83 percent owned by American Capital Strategies Ltd. of
Bethesda, Md., a publicly traded investment company. American Capital acquired Cottman for $46 million in 2004.
The new Aamco will continue to provide transmission repair and expanded automotive services. Cottman centers will switch to the Aamco name.The combined company, to be based in Horsham, Pa., will employ more than 6,000 people and have annual sales of about $600 million.
At one time, Cottman and Aamco were one entity but it the 1950s they split. Hopefully, it’ll be a good reunion.
See Also
March 8th, 2006 by admin
GM cuts employee’s pension plans
After a difficult year, GM is announcing changes in employee’s pension plans. This should come as no surprise, almost all companies that "restructure" cut their employee’s pensions to save money.
Effective Jan. 1, GM will freeze the accrued pension benefits for approximately 40,000 U.S. salaried employees. The change won’t affect retirees.Salaried employees hired on or after Jan. 1, 2001, will move exclusively to a defined contribution plan. Those employees currently have a cash balance plan, which works like a traditional defined benefit plan but allows participants to collect their benefits in a lump sum at retirement instead of in monthly checks. GM said those employees will continue to earn annual interest on the balance in their plans. Those employees also will get a contribution of 4 percent of their annual pay to their 401(k) program."These changes will reduce financial risks and future costs for GM, while protecting current retirees’ and employees’ earned pension benefits and providing competitive and fair retirement benefits going forward," Wagoner said in a statement.
Restructuring is a difficult process. The company must decide either to lose a few employees/benefits or lose the company.
Even though I don’t like to admit it, GM may be doing the right thing to save the company.
See Also
March 7th, 2006 by admin
Toyota is excited about their expansion into Europe
Last year Toyota sold 964,000 vehicles in Europe.
Selling that many cars in Europe is a milestone for Asian automakers, and Toyota wants that trend to continue.
As an extension to the post Europe new battleground for U.S. and Asian automakers, Toyota Motor Company sold 964,000 units combined between its Toyota and Lexus brands in Europe last year. And with its revamped RAV-4 and Yaris, the automaker’s most popular vehicles, it expects to sell one million or more vehicles this year. For reference, 2005 marked the 9th year in a row that the second largest automaker in world’s sales rose in Europe, where it currently holds 5.1% market share.
According to analyst Noriyuki Matsushima of the Nikko Citigroup, "Toyota’s expansion of its global production network in Europe, North America, Asia and elsewhere is beginning to produce results, and we anticipate considerable earnings contributions in the coming years.
But with the German automakers releasing a brace of new vehicles, and Lexus struggling to gain a foothold in Europe, the company knows it won’t be smooth sailing.
Some of the success of Toyota is derived from its involvement in Hybrids. Toyota invested early in Hybrids and now that gamble is starting to pay off.
See Also
March 6th, 2006 by admin
DaimlerChrystler recalls 23,677 luxury cars
DiamlerChrystler, the German automaker, is recalling 23,677 luxury cars because of defects. The recall includes Mercedes-Benz S-Class sold in mainland China from October 1998 through March 2005.
The recall covers 23,677 S-Class models built between October 1998 to March 2005, spokesman Frank Bracke told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Thursday from company headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany.
The refrigerator is built into the back seat to keep drinks chilled, but abuts the fuel tank and could cause fissures in the tank to develop, Bracke said
He said there have been no injuries reported and there is no threat of explosion or fuel seepage. However, welds on the tank could wear down, resulting in the release of gas fumes and causing knocking sounds, Bracke said.
The recalling of vehicles seems to be a growing trend by DaimlerChrystler; DaimlerChyrstler recalled over 1.3 million cars last year because of quality problems.
See Also
March 3rd, 2006 by admin
GM announces mass production of hydrogen cars until 2010
We’ve been waiting for an alternative fuel source to come
available for awhile. Well, GM is now placing a time period on when we can see new hydrogen based vehicles.
On Thursday, the automaker announced that while it will continue its tie-up with Toyota on other advanced technologies, it will no longer be sharing its fuel-cell research.
‘Because of the advances we made that type of technology is passing from the research phase to development,’ Fosgard said.
Fuel cells produce electricity through a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen, leaving water as the only by-product. They are far more environmentally friendly than the currently popular hybrid gas-electric engines which merely reduce the amount of gas needed to power the vehicle.
I’m so excited to see the mainstream car manufacturers embrace this technology. Hybrids are here to stay!
See Also
March 2nd, 2006 by admin
The auto-giant may have reason to smile
We’re all pretty much in limbo when it comes to the American auto industry. We want the companies to do well and succeed, because we’ll end up with less competition and higher prices, and a drop in GDP, if they fail.
But, with recent news from Ford and GM, much still looks bleak. On a good note, however, Chrysler’s sales went up 2.5% in February, while Ford and GM both reported sales decreases.
While the Auburn Hills-based Chrysler Group reported a sales gain of 2.5% last month, consumers bought fewer new cars and trucks from both Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp.
Sales declined 4% at Ford and 2.6% at GM, the companies reported Wednesday. Other automakers were slated to release their results later in the day.
Analysts are expecting industry-wide sales in February to be strong compared to the same month a year ago.
Three of GM’s eight brands – Buick, Hummer and Saab – reported gains, while the other five posted declines. Sales of the company’s big Hummer SUVs more than doubled in February compared to a year ago.
Six of Ford’s brands reported sales declines. Only Land Rover was up, by 27.8% compared to the same month a year ago.
Chrysler also had a mixed result, with Chrysler and Jeep sales up, and Dodge sales down a slight 1%.
Auto analyst Himanshu Patel of JP Morgan Securities Inc. said Ford outperformed expectations.
“We expect a neutral to modestly positive reaction to the company’s release,” he wrote in a research note to investors.
GM’s performance, however, was “modestly below expectations.”
See Also
March 1st, 2006 by admin
The new Ford Focus is an intelligent buy.
In 2000 the Ford Focus was introduced to the world. However, the world was not so fond of the new compact. There were many design problems and mechanical errors that prohibited the vehicle from being successful.
Nevertheless, with time and a good plan, Ford has redesigned and refashioned this car into a great buy.
Aggressive Price.
Yes, the number of cars available under US$15,000 continues to drop each year. However, the Focus takes it one step further as it retails just below $14,000.
Sufficient Power.
The 2.0L I4 engine paired to a five speed manual transmission gives the car enough power to get it moving and keep it moving at a nice clip on the freeway. Competing models offer smaller engines as small as 1.6L as found in the Kia Rio.
Spacious Interior.
Up to five people can be carried in the Focus and the interior room is large for a car in its segment
An Assortment of Body Styles.
Most cars built today come in only one or two body styles, however the Focus features four: a three-door ZX3 hatchback, a five-door ZX5 hatchback, a ZX4 sedan and the ZXW wagon. It is the ZX3 that retails for as low as US$13,990.
Respectable Fuel Economy.
With EPA figures of 26 city / 34 highway, the Focus achieves a fuel mileage level that few small cars can boast of.
The Ford focus is now a great buy for all.
But, it is especially promising for those with smaller budgets. And, it provides a great alternative to those who want to save money at the gas pump.
See Also
