Articles: Articles

UAW Drops Plan To Organize A Foreign Automaker Plant

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:28:00 +0000

The UAW has dropped their plans to organize a foreign automaker plant. Previously, the UAW vowed to organize one foreign auto manufacturer on U.S. soil by year’s end.

"We're shifting our strategy a little bit. We are not going to announce a target at all. We are not going to create a fight," said UAW President Bob King.

King's announcement comes a few days after UAW spokeswoman Michele Martin said the union wouldn't meet it's goal to unionize a foreign plant by year’s end.

Organizing one foreign automaker plant has been a goal of King since becoming the UAW's president back in July 2010. However, the goal has turned out to be an uphill, with the majority of foreign automakers declining to hear the UAW.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

MIT Works On Predicting Who’s Gonna Run The Red

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 17:14:00 +0000

In the Math solving all of our problems file; the LA Times is reporting that MIT has developed an an algorithm that can determine whether a driver will run a red light within milliseconds.Their research is being published in the journal IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems.

The group did tests at an intersection in Christianburg, VA with 15,000 vehicles passing through. Their results with the algorithm was correct 85% of the time, which is reportedly the most accurate that has been measured.

The hope is in the future, traffic lights will be able to send the information to vehicles and have the vehicles make decisions on what to. This will help reduce the number of accidents at intersections.

Source: LA Times

House Commitee Planning A Hearing Into The Volt Fire

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 22:40:00 +0000

William Maley

Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com

December 6, 2011

Earlier today, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee it plans to hold a hearing in late January on the Volt battery issue.

"It gives us great concern that recent reports indicate important safety information may have been omitted in testimony before our committee just a few weeks ago. This is a serious situation that our committee will look further into," said Jeff Solsby, a spokesman for the committee.

The hearing Solsby is referencing to was a hearing on fuel economy standards and had Environmental Protection Agency and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration officials testify.

The announcement comes a few weeks after NHTSA revealed a Volt caught on fire a three weeks after a side impact crash and couple weeks after NHTSA announced an investigation into the Volt batteries after further testing found two out of the three batteries had a thermal event.

Many conservative commentators have criticized the Volt and and the government's investigation, saying the Obama administration was trying to protect GM.

Also, the former head of NHTSA, Joan Claybrook said in Automotive News this week,

"Not to tell them anything for six months makes no sense to me. NHTSA could have put out a consumer alert and I think they should have done so."

Claybrook went on to say, "I believe they delayed it because of the fragility of [Volt] sales."

"I believe the Volt is safe to drive," said US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to reporters.

LaHood said the government isn't protecting GM by not immediately disclosing a fire with a crashed Volt.

"We're not in the business of protecting the auto industry. We're in the business of making sure cars are safe."

LaHood declined to comment on status of the Volt investigation.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required), The Detroit News

NHTSA Opens Investigation Into Volt Batteries

GM Offering Free Loaner Cars to Volt Owners During Battery Investigation

Chevy Volt Tops Consumer Reports Owner Satisfaction Survey

GM May Redesign The Volt's Battery *UPDATED*

A "couple dozen" Chevrolet Volt Owners Take Up GM's Buyback Offer

A Chinese Bank Becomes An Investor In Saab

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 11:15:00 +0000

Saab seems to be the cat of the automotive industry with the number of lives it has. Last we heard from the Swedish company, the company was waiting on approval on a deal with Pang Da and Youngman. However, General Motors was concerned with the deal due to technologies used in Saab vehicles ending up in competitor hands.

Now, a new deal to save Saab is in the works. Saab's parent company, Swedish Automotive is in talks with Youngman and a bank in China (possibly Bank of China).

The plan according to SaabsUnited is to have Youngman hold 19.9%, the bank with 29.9%, and Swedish Automotive holding the rest.

The plan is reportedly in GM's hands, awaiting approval before heading to the Chinese Government.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required), SaabsUnited

Farewell Aptera

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 23:04:00 +0000

Aptera Motors, the company behind the odd looking, three wheel electric vehicle called the 2e has announced today they're closing up shop.

In a letter written by Aptera Motors President and CEO, Paul Wilbur, Aptera was unable to raise enough money from investors to keep it going until it received a $150 million loan from the Department of Energy's Advance Technology Vehicle Manufacturing program.

"This is a difficult time for everyone connected with our company because we have never been closer to realizing our vision," Wilbur wrote.

The closure ends a saga that started back in 2006 when the company made the announcement the 2e would get the equivalent of 300 mpg and cost less than $30,000. Production of the 2e was announced to begin back in 2009, but was pushed back to 2010, with no vehicles being built.

In August, the company returned deposits it had taken from prospective buyers of the 2e, stating a six-month window with its credit card processor to launch production had passed.

Wilbur's letter revealed the company spent the last year developing a hybrid-powered sedan, about the same size as a Toyota Camry, which would return the equivalent of 190 mpg and have a base price less than $30,000. Also, Aptera had been negotiating to use a closed auto plant in Moraine, Ohio, to build the car.

"We remain confident, even as this chapter closes, that Aptera has contributed tech new technologies to build a future for more efficient driving. Through the dedicated staff at Aptera, our board and suppliers we have touched this future. All that remains is for someone to grab it. We still believe it will happen," wrote Wilbur.

Letter is on Page 2

After years of focused effort to bring our products to the market, Aptera Motors is closing its doors, effective today. This is a difficult time for everyone connected with our company because we have never been closer to realizing our vision. Unfortunately, though, we are out of resources.

It is especially disappointing since we were so close...

Aptera executives had been engaged in exhaustive due diligence with the Department of Energy (DOE) pertaining to an ATVM (Advance Technology Vehicle Manufacturing) loan. Our business plan was examined from top to bottom by internal agency representatives, independent consultants and experts in academia. They did an amazing job of vetting us and they tested every possible weakness in our plan. And after nearly two years of discussions, we had recently received a Conditional Commitment Letter for a $150 million loan.

The ATVM loan would have provided funding for the development and commercialization of a five-passenger, midsized sedan (similar to a Toyota Camry) that would be base priced at less than $30,000 and deliver more than a 190 mile per gallon equivalent. The concept of this vehicle had been in place since the very beginning of Aptera, and we had been wholly focused on its development for the last year. The last remaining hurdle was finding new funds to match the DOE loan.

We were so optimistic that the company would move forward that we were in discussions to reactivate a mothballed automotive plant in Moraine, Ohio. In the past months we had engaged with the labor union that operated that facility to discuss the hiring of 1,400 new job opportunities. These jobs would have reactivated talented workers who had been dismissed when the facility was closed.

During the same time, we continued development of our patent-pending composite manufacturing system that enables energy efficient vehicle production by drastically reducing vehicle weight (by as much as 30%) while tripling its strength. This same patent pending system allowed us to finish the surface of our composites without manual finishing and without the high capital cost of a typical automotive paint shop. In all, the process would save nearly $750-million versus a typical volume auto assembly plant start-up.

We were well on the way to satisfying the vision of efficiency on which the company was founded and we are confident that with time and capital we could still achieve our goal. The Aptera formula: aerodynamics plus light weight design (through composites) delivered efficiency of 206 EPA miles per gallon in tests at Argonne National Labs. That wasn't a simulation; it was real measured performance. Despite that promise of efficiency, this challenged market – specifically large private investors – did not have an appetite to lead an investment for the perceived low volume return of our three-wheeled vehicle. So we reprioritized our product plan to four-door sedans, which also cost us time.

We remain confident, even as this chapter closes, that Aptera has contributed tech new technologies to build a future for more efficient driving. Through the dedicated staff at Aptera, our board and suppliers we have touched this future. All that remains is for someone to grab it. We still believe it will happen.

Paul Wilbur

President and CEO

Aptera Motors

Here We Go Again: UAW To Put Focus On Organizing Foreign Automakers

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 18:20:00 +0000

After finishing contract negotiations with the big three, the UAW is turning it’s focus back onto president Bob King’s goal of organizing at least one non-union plant by the end of the year.

Foreign automakers have so far resisted the idea of unionizing. But the UAW believes they have a shot. King said to reporters on a conference call that the union has set aside $60 million to achieve their goal. The plan is for the UAW to have organizers at dealers hand out leaflets and other informational material, praising the benefits of union membership.

The UAW hasn’t said which automaker or automakers it will target, when the push will begin or what exactly it will involved. The one thing the union is pushing is the push will “not be a picket in any way,” said Mark Gevaar, president of UAW Local 2209 in Roanoke, Indiana, where member training for the campaign took place on November 19.

However the UAW’s track record with foreign automakers is poor. Toyota, VW, Honda, and Hyundai have all rejected the UAW before.

“The UAW has got a really tough chore in front of them to organize these plants.They probably are going to try every tactic they can. This is important, especially to Bob,” said Schwartz, a former GM labor negotiator.

Source: Bloomberg

Alabama’s Controversial Immigration Law Hits Close to Home for Mercedes

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 15:50:00 +0000

Update: The case against the Mercedes Benz Executive has been dropped.

One of the latest possible “illegals” has been arrested in Alabama for not carrying his driver’s license under the new anti-illegal immigration law. The problem? The suspect is also an executive manager for Mercedes Benz.

From the AP:

Tuscaloosa Police Chief Steven Anderson told The Associated Press an officer stopped a rental vehicle for not having a tag Wednesday night and asked the driver for his license. The man only had a German identification card, so he was arrested and taken to police headquarters, Anderson said.
The 46-year-old executive was charged with violating the immigration law for not having proper identification, but he was released after an associate retrieved his passport, visa and German driver's license from the hotel where he was staying, Anderson said.

Prior to the new law, a person driving without a license would not be arrested, but instead received a ticket and a court summons.

Mercedes Benz’s first U.S. assembly plant, built in 1993, is located near Tuscaloosa where the arrest took place.

Alabama’s immigration law is thought to be the toughest in the country and is currently facing several legal challenges. Parts of the law are on hold while those challenges proceed, but the part that allows officers to check immigration status during routine traffic stops is still in effect.

Texas Senator Proposes Ending Auto Loan Program

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 14:35:00 +0000

Back in 2007, the US Congress created the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing federal loan program to allow the US Government to loan out $25 billion to car manufacturers. The loans were created to help car manufacturers to retool factories and build more fuel-efficient vehicles.

But those loans have been slowly trickling out. Only $9.2 of the $25 billion set aside has been used. Also, the program has been taking a long time to approve companies for loans. So far Ford, Nissan, Fisker, and Tesla have already been approved for loans. Chrysler has been waiting for eighteen months while GM has pulled their application.

Now, a congressman from Texas wants to get rid of the program.

U.S. Rep. Bill Flores R-Texas., has introduced a bill into Congress to end the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing loan program.

"My proposed bill to terminate the program prior to the end of the current fiscal year could potentially save additional billions in unused taxpayer dollars. Repealing the ATVM loan program will preserve much-needed funds to support projects that have the best chance of providing middle-class jobs here at home in the near term. It will also ensure that funds are provided for an immediate need, rather than letting them sit idly by waiting for a careless and inefficient bureaucratic process that has made little progress in the past three years.," Flores said.

The bill is being supported by many Republicans, but Democrats, led by Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow and Rep. Gary Peters, are against the bill.

The Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing federal loan program has been coming under a lot of scrutiny after solar panel manufacturer Solyndra LLC collapsed after receiving $528 million in loans. Last week, the White House launched a sixty-day review of the program.

Source: The Detroit News