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Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India is planning to launch a whole range of 100 cc entry-level motorcycles to tap the Indian bike market’s biggest segment.

At the launch of a sporty variant and a limited edition Grand Prix version of the Unicorn, HMSI CEO and president Yukihiro Aoshima said: “As long as the 100 cc market continues to grow, we will introduce not one model but several.”

And although it is fellow subsidiary Hero Honda’s bread and butter market, it is big enough for both companies so there should be no cannibalisation. “Of course, 100 cc is Hero Honda’s major segment but it’s size is also the biggest in the motorcycle market. So there is more room for both companies to co-exist,” Mr Aoshima said.

At the other end of the price band, HMSI is also looking at importing fully built bikes in the 500cc and above range. “We are studying the higher displacement segment and here there are two possibilities open to us,” Mr Aoshima said.

“The first is to go for 500 cc and above models where we may look at importing completely built units. But for models less than 500 cc engine displacement, we must study options to assemble them here.”

HMSI’s 100 cc plans also tie in with its second plant which will kick off once its 1.2 million unit Manesar plant has been fully utilised. The company, which sold 7.2 lakh units this fisc, is targetting 9 lakh units next year including 6 lakh motorcycles.

HMSI — which launched the Sporty Unicorn at Rs 58,150 and Unicorn Grand Prix limited edition at Rs 59,425 ex-showroom Delhi — exported around 25,000 motorcycles this year and is targetting a similar number next year as well.

“We are selling to Europe, Middle East, central and south America now and we are also targetting Africa,” Mr Aoshima said.

Source : Economic Times (3/20/2007)

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OLD LYME, Conn. - One of the showstoppers at the upcoming New York International Auto Show is bound to be the new Callaway C16 convertible, the latest hand-built beauty in the specialty automaker's stable. Callaway said the convertible will make its world debut in the Big Apple.

The C16 Convertible is based on the current Chevrolet Corvette and comes equipped with a 560-horsepower supercharged 6.0-liter V8. Callaway says the convertible zips from zero to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds and does the quarter-mile in 11.2 seconds. Top speed is estimated at just over 200 mph. An optional performance package ups the ante, delivering a whopping 616 hp at 6,200 rpm and 582 pound-feet of torque at 4,750 rpm.

Transmission options include two six-speed manual transmissions, one incorporating the Z51 Performance Package's shorter ratios in the first four gears, or a six-speed automatic transmission with paddle shift. Other features include the newly developed Callaway/Eibach Multi-Pro coil-over suspension and a Stoptech brake system. The C16 convertible uses the Corvette's power top.

Cabin accoutrements include German leather and Callaway badging on the door sill panels, steering wheel and dashboard. Each car is serialized and has a build plaque. Body and top colors are all customized to the buyer's taste.



Source : http://www.edmunds.com (3/19/2007)

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When the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, announces his budget on Wednesday, it's likely that owners of the heaviest polluting cars will face substantial increases in road tax.

Cars in pollution band G, which includes many 4x4s and sports cars, could pay twice as much as they do now, according to some reports.

At the last budget, a higher rate of Vehicle Excise Duty (VED - road tax) was introduced, which meant that heavily polluting cars paid £210 per year. Now, it's possible they'll pay double - up to around £400 a year.

Instead of the increases coming in immediately, though, it is thought they will be brought in over two years.

The Chancellor is believed to want to use the tax system to encourage car buyers to choose more environmentally sound vehicles by increasing VED in this way, rather than simply pricing such cars off the road.

Source : http://www.whatcar.co.uk (3/19/2007)

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Washinton DC; The AIADA newsletter reported that according to Business Week, there is still no definitive "green car" on the market.

Choices and potential abound, and consumers must consider a variety of factors, including efficiency, cost, and environmental impact before making a purchase.

Though consumers and manufacturers appear ready to embrace vehicles that are friendlier to the environment, there's little consensus on how best to achieve optimum "greenness."

Business Week examines a variety of options, from diesel to batteries. Alternative fuels have received a lot of air time in Congress and on the early Presidential campaign trail, but have yet to grab hold of consumers.

Both foreign and domestic manufacturers are trying to educate consumers on diesel and ethanol E85 fuels, which can increase economy and reduce carbon emissions. Diesel-sipping vehicles-some of which achieve fuel economy similar to certain hybrids-are popular in Europe, where fuel and environmental standards are more stringent. Click Here to see Business Week's slideshow of greenest cars.

Source : http://www.theautochannel.com (3/19/2007)

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NEW YORK, Reuters reported that union leaders on both sides of the Atlantic are vowing to fight a sale of DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group to a private-equity buyer, throwing a potential hurdle in front of a deal, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

The opposition comes as Cerberus Capital Management LLC is piecing together a team of auto-industry veterans headed by former Chrysler executive Wolfgang Bernhard to bolster its expected bid for the U.S. unit, people familiar with the matter said in the Journal.

Cerberus, the tandem of private-equity groups Blackstone Group and Centerbridge Partners LP, and Canadian supplier Magna International Inc. have met with Chrysler executives and begun reviewing financial and product-development information. They are expected to present proposals by month's end.

The union sentiment raises the potential for a push by labor to block any deal that would involve deep cuts of union jobs, the Journal noted.

Blackstone, Centerbridge and Magna have begun meeting labor leaders in hopes of breaking down opposition before bids are submitted, people familiar with the matter said in the Journal.

Source : http://www.theautochannel.com (3/19/2007)

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FORT LEE, N.J. -- On Track Innovations (OTI) , a global leader in contactless microprocessor-based smart card solutions today announced that it received orders from an energy company in North America for OTI's EasyFuel pay-at-the-pump contactless payment solution. The initial plan is to rollout 130 gas stations with a pay- at-the-pump infrastructure supporting contactless payments programs from major financial institutions, such as MasterCard PayPass including EMV M/Chip, Visa contactless program, ExpressPay from American Express and Discover Zip as well as loyalty programs and third party applications, and more. Initial installations are expected in the second half of this year.

The OTI EasyFuel pay-at-the-pump solution combines the unique advantages, know-how and capabilities of OTI's Payment and Petroleum payment products. It provides oil companies with the ability to quickly and cost-effectively upgrade their infrastructure to accept contactless payments. The OTI EasyFuel solution is dispenser independent, allowing it to interface with different kinds of dispensers. The solution is completely wireless, with no wires required in installation, reducing installation and maintenance costs significantly. EasyFuel is suitable for outdoor environment and built to withstand harsh weather conditions.

Oded Bashan, Chairman, President & CEO of OTI commented, "We believe EasyFuel gives oil companies an advantage and opportunity to increase market share by addressing the needs of both the commercial and retail markets in an easy, cost-effective way, where oil companies can upgrade their payment options to contactless regardless of their dispenser type or their existing infrastructure."

EasyFuel has built-in benefits in its product design and marketing approach. EasyFuel is the perfect way for oil companies to increase market share by offering a unique solution addressing the needs of both the retail and commercial drivers. As the EasyFuel infrastructure supports both the contactless payment programs of the major card associations as well as proprietary loyalty programs, creating a flexible and modular platform that allows oil companies to address the main forms of contactless payments in the market, with minimum impact on the station.

EasyFuel allows oil companies to increase market share among commercial drivers, by offering a smart contactless vehicle tag and driver identification, allowing for verification that the right kind of fuel is going to the right tank, that an eligible driver is fueling the vehicle and the automatic capturing of odometer reading and vehicle diagnostics.

Source : http://www.theautochannel.com (3/19/2007)

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GENEVA, Switzerland, Honda has unveiled a concept model which represents its interpretation of how a future hybrid model might appear. Honda Small Hybrid Sports Concept, a design study model, demonstrates a unique fusion of advanced environmental technology, exciting styling and fun-to-drive characteristics. This is its world premiere for the model, which has been penned by the design studio at Honda R&D Europe based in Offenbach, Germany.

Honda Small Hybrid Sports Concept

The Small Hybrid Sports Concept is conceived around a front-wheel drive, small car platform and is powered by a Honda IMA 4-cylinder petrol/electric hybrid system driving through a CVT transmission. It explores the idea that a car can have a low environmental impact yet still deliver all the driving enjoyment expected of a compact sports car.

The aerodynamic design is characterised by curvaceous and contoured surfaces contrasting with sharp "folded" edges. The short front and rear overhangs, together with wheelarches that wrap tightly around large wheels, further enhance the dramatic looks of this sports coupe. An accentuated, arrow-like nose features a full width air intake with Civic family overtones. This sweeps forward into a distinct protruding centre section complete with 'H' logo.

The Concept model's fluid lines are created by a steeply raked windscreen which extends back above the occupants' heads where it meets a one piece glass roof. This in turn flows rearwards to give the car its fastback styling, terminating in a distinctive and futuristic 3D floating glass design - a concave element which forms an additional vertical window. At its base, further distinction is provided by a 'floating' LED tail light unit that stretches across the full width of the car. At its centre, the glass panel extends downwards and contains an illuminated 'Small Hybrid Sports' name plate.

The Hybrid Sports Concept is equipped with 165/60 section tyres mounted on 20-inch distinctive rims. Their dimension supports low rolling resistance without compromising sporty driving.

Compact external dimensions lend themselves to nimble, agile performance on the road and help to ensure a good power to weight ratio. 4000 mm in length, 1270 mm tall and 1760 mm wide, and the 2350 mm wheelbase, in conjunction with a sports suspension, delivers stable and predictable handling characteristics.

The body is particularly aerodynamically efficient and compact. Rear-facing digital cameras take the place of conventional door mirrors.

Source : http://www.theautochannel.com (3/19/2007)

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SEBRING, Fla.: Despite new regulations, the Audi R10 TDI remains the sports car to beat. By achieving an impressive victory in the 12 Hours of Sebring (USA), AUDI AG made a perfect start into the 2007 motorsport season with its revolutionary diesel sports car and also a successful dress rehearsal for the Le Mans 24 Hours on 16/17 June. It was the eighth victory in a row in the classic American endurance race for the manufacturer from Ingolstadt.

The Audi R10 TDI, which remains unbeaten in its ninth consecutive race, had to start for the first time with a 10 percent smaller fuel tank (81 instead of 90 liters). This meant the Audi had to come to the pits for refueling up to five laps earlier than their competitors. Despite the R10 TDI being the fastest car on the 3.7-mile track, also setting a new track record, newcomer Acura/Honda was able to get into the lead on various occasions with its 150-kg lighter LM P2 cars. Only in the penultimate hour, Frank Biela (Germany), Emanuele Pirro (Italy) and Marco Werner (Germany) took the lead for good in an extremely exciting and competitive sports car race. Frank Biela equaled Tom Kristensen's record of four overall Sebring victories.

The 2007-spec R10 TDI ran without the slightest technical problem during the whole 12 hours on the extremely demanding track. The only unscheduled pit stop was caused by a puncture in the second hour costing the winning car two laps. Also two time penalties and a stop-and-go penalty were imposed against the winning Audi team.

The updated engine, featuring among other things more compact diesel particle filters from Dow Automotive, further developed suspension, the latest generation of Michelin tires and the weight-optimized transmission of the R10 TDI worked perfectly during the Le Mans dress rehearsal.

Meanwhile the Sebring week did not run to plan for the second Audi team with the defending champions of the American Le Mans Series, Dindo Capello (Italy) and Allan McNish (Scotland) plus Le Mans record winner Tom Kristensen (Denmark). Following an accident in Thursday evening's night practice session, the R10 TDI had to be completely rebuilt over night. Despite not having the opportunity to set up the car perfectly, Capello/McNish/Kristensen were leading the race before the starter and the battery had to be changed twice. Finishing fourth overall, they finished second in the LM P1 class scoring precious points.

Quotes after the race

Dr Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport): "The team really has earned this victory. It has worked hard for it. We are happy winning Sebring another time and are unbeaten at Sebring since 2000. But we've also seen today how close it is now between the LM P1 and LM P2 cars. My fear that the two categories have been put together too closely, have been proved by today's race."

Frank Biela (Audi R10 TDI #2): "Of course it's nice to equal Tom Kristensen's Sebring record. I'm very pleased. After the problem in the warm-up and the puncture at the beginning of the race I was not really expecting the victory anymore. It's just superb that it ended this way."

Emanuele Pirro (Audi R10 TDI #2): "It's been a great race for us. We had quite a few problems at the start of the race and were almost two laps behind. But in such long races you should never give up. In the end of the day the fastest and strongest car won. It was a nice win for us and a great start of the season. It was a race full of mechanical problems for everybody. But our car was really strong throughout the race."

Marco Werner (Audi R10 TDI #2): "I'm absolutely happy despite the day did not start too good in the warm-up. Also the beginning of the race was not the best with the puncture and the penalties in pit lane. But the car ran perfectly in the race - it's simply an Audi, and you can rely on that. The race was fun although the last stint was very long. I was thinking about the brakes from time to time, but most of the time about the next restroom..."

Dindo Capello (Audi R10 TDI #1): "It was a shame to effectively be out of contention for overall race honors before mid distance after losing around 30 minutes to replace the starter motor twice but that is motor racing sometimes. It is very good for Audi to repeat our Sebring win of last year with the R10 TDI."

Tom Kristensen (Audi R10 TDI #1): "We were grateful to be in the race after the accident on Thursday night - the team and mechanics worked very hard to get us to the grid. The early stages of the race looked good for us. We came to Sebring for our car to win so of course it's disappointing to have encountered these issues. But again the mechanics got us out and up to speed so that we could fight back but unfortunately not right at the front at the finish. Apart from the starter problem, the car ran beautifully."

Allan McNish (Audi R10 TDI #1): "We encountered starter problems on our car which was a shame because we were in a very strong position. But to finish 1-2 in LM P1 is still very pleasing. Our team showed a lot of strength of character to keep fighting. It's now very clear that we have stiff competition from both Acura/Honda and Porsche - it's going to be a tough battle with those cars."

Source : http://www.theautochannel.com (3/19/2007)

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BANGKOK, The TNA reported that the Thai government may allow imports of palm oil to produce bio-diesel due to a shortage of palm oil in Thailand, said Energy Minister Piyasvasti Amranand.

Local production of palm oil for use in the manufacturing of the alternative fuel may be insufficient this year, he said, so the Energy Ministry may ask the Commerce Ministry to allow palm oil imports to refine into bio-diesel. The importers must ensure that their bio-diesel price must not exceed market price, Mr. Piyasvasti said.

Thailand's government-sponsored Oil Fund may have initiate incentives to encourage palm oil planters to grow more trees here, Mr. Piyasvasti said.

Imports of palm oil may have to be made carefully as they may pose a negative impact on the bio-diesel production plan by Thai Oleochemicals, a subsidiary of PTT Chemical Pcl., scheduled to start late this year with a production capacity is 600,000 litres daily.

In an attempt to encourage more motorists to switch to using bio-diesel, Mr. Piyasvasti said his ministry had a clear policy to further increase the price spread of bio-diesel B5 formula lower than diesel price by more than Bt1 per litre compared to just over Bt0.70 a litre now.

He said a feasibility study is being conducted on having only bio-diesel B5 available in the Thai market, which will automatically help boost sales of alternative energy.

Source : http://www.theautochannel.com (3/19/2007)

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London/Stuttgart, In future the high-end automobile brand Maybach and the golfing legend Nick Faldo will have a joint involvement in golf.

Today Klaus Nesser, CEO of Maybach, SLR and Exclusive Products, and Nick Faldo, Europe's most successful golfer, concluded a long-term partnership agreement at Brooklands near London, Great Britain.

"With Nick Faldo we have gained a brand ambassador who achieved an extraordinary level of success during his active career as a golfer, and who - like the Maybach brand - is involved in promoting the development of young talent," said Klaus Nesser.

As part of his activities as a new ambassador for the Maybach brand, Faldo will take part in this year's "Maybach Golf Cup" for potential and existing Maybach customers. "As a professional golfer I was always striving to become the very best player that I could possibly be and it is that same passion for perfection that has been applied to the development of this very special car.

The Maybach represents the absolute pinnacle of motoring style and technology and I'm delighted to be so closely associated with a brand that shares the very same values as my own", commented Faldo on his new partnership with the car-maker.

With Nick Faldo, Maybach has gained a partner who is able to look back on a unique series of achievements during his sporting career: he has notched up more than 40 worldwide tournament victories, including six Majors and eleven nominations for the European Ryder Cup team, with which he celebrated four victories. More recently, Faldo was appointed Captain of the 2008 European Ryder Cup team, and he has also been working as a TV commentator for the Golf Channel and CBS in the USA.

Exclusive tournament series for potential and existing Maybach customers

In addition to its partnership with Nick Faldo, Maybach is intensifying its involvement in golf with the "Maybach Golf Cup" to be held this year. Existing and prospective customers will be able to take part in four European tournaments in order to qualify for the final in the USA. Teams of four players will compete against each other during this series. In line with the so called Pro-Am system, each quartet will have one golf professional in its ranks. Apart from Nick Faldo, these will include top Tour player Gary Evans. On offer as a very special hole-in-one prize at the "Maybach Golf Cup" is a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren.

The qualifying rounds will commence at the end of April 2007 with the opening of the newly constructed golf course at the exclusive "La Zagaleta Country Club" outside Marbella, Spain. The tournament at the "Golf and Country Club" in Moscow, Russia, will take place in mid-June, with the last two rounds being played in Braz, Austria, and Beuerberg, near Munich, Germany, in July. The final will be held in December 2007 at the "Trump National Golfclub" in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Source : http://www.theautochannel.com (3/19/2007)

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LOS ANGELES -- Material Technologies, Inc. (BULLETIN BOARD: MTTG) ("MATECH") announced that the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MADOT) intends to invite MATECH to demonstrate its Electrochemical Fatigue Sensor System (EFS) on several bridges around the State.

Last year MADOT sent MATECH information on seventeen bridges around the State, with the intention of having MATECH demonstrate its EFS on many of these structures. However, critical problems with their "Big Dig" tunnels created a large demand on MADOT's resources, so the EFS efforts had to be postponed.

MATECH CEO Robert M. Bernstein commented: "Now being in the state of commercialization, we are extremely pleased to demonstrate our EFS to the MADOT. I am confident that the EFS will help the State to detect growing cracks in their steel bridges, greatly increasing their transportation infrastructure safety and to realize cost savings in their bridge maintenance budgets."

The EFS can find growing cracks in highway bridges and similar structures, including cracks below the surface, as small as 0.01 inches. This critical information allows the State's bridge engineers to fix the specific bridges in most need of repair. Using EFS, the engineers will also be able to verify that repairs are effective in halting further fatigue crack growth, by determining that previously repaired fatigue cracks are no longer growing. Being able to prioritize needed repairs, the State can realize significant cost savings. It can also repair the most critical bridges sooner, thereby eliminating the need to restrict the weights of some trucks and, most important, minimizing any adverse economic impacts.

MATECH has received a great deal of interest from federal and state agencies, following the passage of the $286 billion Federal Transportation Bill, which included funds to help states evaluate nondestructive methods such as EFS to detect growing fatigue cracks in steel bridges.

Source : http://www.theautochannel.com (3/19/2007)

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The US based Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC) is to implement its first ever national marketing campaign through its partnership with the Indy Racing League.

In 2007 the IRL will become the first international motorsport series to run 100 percent fuel-grade ethanol. As part of its marketing activities EPIC's mobile marketing unit will travel to all 16 US domestic IndyCar Series events in 2007. The interactive unit is designed to educate consumers with videos, show cars and child-friendly exhibits. It also will make appearances at selected fairs and environmental festivals across the USA.

EPIC has also funded an IRL based television commercial that will be shown during US TV coverage of the races and will be distributing thousands of Fan Packs comprising posters, giveaways and other fan-friendly marketing items at US domestic IRL races.

EPIC's pump tour initiative, launched in 2006, that allowed consumers to buy E10 fuel in race markets at a reduced price, will continue in 2007.

Reece Nanfito, senior director of marketing for EPIC said, "This is our first truly national marketing effort. Our partnership with the IndyCar Series will allow us to highlight the benefits of ethanol fuel. There is no better way to showcase ethanol's performance aspects than with a car going 220 mph."

Source : http://www.autoindustry.co.uk/ (3/19/2007)

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The UK's Motorsport Industry Association has published a new and updated edition of its Business of Winning brochure.

The publication, supported by UK Trade & Investment, comprises more than 100 pages of in-depth features and case studies and offers an analysis of the pioneering ideas, processes and capabilities that characterise Motorsport Valley and UK high performance engineering on the international stage.

Source : http://www.autoindustry.co.uk/ (3/19/2007)

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NEW YORK, -- W. P. Carey International LLC, an affiliate of investment firm W. P. Carey & Co. LLC , announced today that it has provided approximately $42 million in long-term financing through the sale & leaseback of three manufacturing facilities owned by Gortz+Schiele ("G+S"), a leading independent manufacturer of precision- machined engine blocks in Germany, the United States, and Mexico. The portfolio comprises G+S's global headquarters in St. Ingbert, Germany, as well as their entire U.S. production capacity.

G+S predominantly supplies Global Automotive Manufacturers with finished engine blocks and cylinder heads, as well as high volume pre-machined heads and blocks. It also supplies some of Germany and the United States' largest construction companies with the massive engine blocks needed for their industrial vehicles and other powertrain parts.

"Our transaction with W. P. Carey is enabling G+S to invigorate our balance sheet and re-focus our energies on growth and profitability," said G+S CFO, Wolfgang Speck. "Working with W. P. Carey has been a very positive experience for G+S."

Edward V. LaPuma, President of W. P. Carey International LLC, said, "This sale-leaseback with G+S highlights our desire to provide long-term financing to auto suppliers and other industrial companies throughout Germany."

Gortz+Schiele

Gortz+Schiele has been a worldwide partner to the automotive industry for over thirty years, specializing in the production of precision-machined engine blocks and related powertrain components for premium automobiles. Headquartered in St. Ingbert, Germany, G+S delivers the high quality zero- defect engine cores used in BMWs, Mercedes, Porsches, Bentleys and other reputable automobiles.

W. P. CAREY & CO. LLC

Founded in 1973, W. P. Carey & Co. LLC is a leading global real estate investment firm. The Company provides asset management services to its CPA(R) series of income generating real estate funds. With over $5 billion in equity capital, the W. P. Carey Group is one of the largest providers of net lease financing for corporations worldwide. The Group owns more than 800 commercial and industrial properties in 13 countries, representing over 97 million square feet, valued at approximately $8.5 billion. www.wpcarey.com

Individuals interested in receiving future updates on W. P. Carey via e- mail can register at www.wpcarey.com/alerts.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Federal securities laws. A number of factors could cause the company's actual results, performance or achievement to differ materially from those anticipated. Among those risks, trends and uncertainties are the general economic climate; the supply of and demand for office and industrial properties; interest rate levels; the availability of financing; and other risks associated with the acquisition and ownership of properties, including risks that the tenants will not pay rent, or that costs may be greater than anticipated. For further information on factors that could impact the company, reference is made to the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Source : http://www.automotive.com (3/19/2007)

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CHARLOTTE, N.C., -- TITAN Technology Partners, a leading provider of managed industry solutions, today announced Rush Enterprises, Inc. has selected TITAN's AutoRetail Enterprise(SM) Solution. Rush and TITAN have entered into a multi- year contract to implement and manage to the leading software solution, based on ERP provider SAP, for a period of seven years.

"As we take on the exciting and challenging task of re-engineering our organizational processes and systems to enable our continued growth, we wanted a consulting firm that we could trust, that could plan our replacement strategy, lead the implementation and provide ongoing support," said Martin A. Naeglin, CFO and SVP, Rush Enterprises. "We selected TITAN based on their continued commitment to our business drivers and proven experience with large scale enterprise resource planning system projects."

"We are pleased to take our relationship with Rush Enterprises to the next level," said Suheb Siddiqui, Senior Vice President, TITAN Technology Partners. "Over the last seven months, our strategy team has delivered a comprehensive plan for Rush Enterprises' enterprise resource planning system replacement. We are excited to deploy TITAN's world class automotive retail solution and managed services capabilities to ensure that Rush Enterprises will realize their business objectives."

Source : http://www.automotive.com (3/19/2007)

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SUNNYVALE, Calif., -- To improve overall design time and material selection for curbside delivery trucks to 18-wheelers, the Truck Development Technology Center (TDTC) of International Truck and Engine Corporation, the operating company of Navistar International Corp. selected SGI technology to boost performance in a variety of engineering software applications for full-vehicle heavy truck analyses. The International Truck TDTC facility in Ft. Wayne, Ind. purchased and installed the new SGI(R) Altix(R) XE cluster solution, powered by Intel(R) Xeon(R) processors, in October for finite element analysis (FEA), computer-assisted engineering (CAE) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to improve overall design and material selection for Class 4 through Class 8 trucks -- everything from a curbside delivery truck to an 18-wheeler.

"We chose Altix XE because we needed to be more efficient as far as compute power, system reliability and storage capability," said Craig Harmeyer, senior IT specialist, Truck Development Technology Center, International Truck and Engine Corp. "We were running into performance issues, where we required better performance than what we were getting from the Opteron cluster we had. Another primary issue was reliability and that has been greatly improved with the SGI Altix XE system. The SGI system is definitely more flexible and robust, and as a result my analysts are achieving significantly faster turnaround with the SGI system."

The largest analyses use MSC.Nastran(TM), part of the MSC.Software SimOffice(TM) product portfolio, to perform finite element analysis that can evaluate, for example, when a truck component can fail or how to optimize the design of a component for the best use of material, primarily steel. Analyzing the right amount of steel reinforcement is both a safety and a cost issue in the manufacturing of trucks: designers don't want to use too much, which could add unnecessary weight and cost, or too little, affecting both safety and durability. Using SGI technology helps many manufacturers deliver safer vehicles faster and more cost-effectively.

Through SGI solutions partner Hoff and Associates, International Truck's TDTC purchased a high-performance SGI Altix XE cluster running Red Hat(R) Enterprise Linux(R) 4.0. The SGI Altix XE cluster and storage drives are integrated on a Myrinet(R) high-speed interconnect and configured with the ability to run a host of CAE applications including very large MSC.Nastran analyses, as well as ANSYS(R), LS-DYNA(TM), Fluent(R), Altair(R) OptiStruct(R), MSC.Adams(R), ABAQUS(R) and others. The Altix XE cluster configuration is ideal to handle the computational needs of the multiple and diverse application types used by International Truck.

"In our testing of the Altix XE cluster -- an identical configuration to International Truck's system -- a 3-5X performance gain was achieved over the AMD Opteron system that were benchmarked against, running MSC.Nastran," said Don Coburn, director of HPC solutions for Hoff and Associates. "The types of analyses which International Truck performs present unique needs for high-speed computing and the SGI cluster solution was optimally configured or 'tailor-made' for their mixed workload comprising diverse applications. Their demands for I/O, RAM and raw computing capacity far exceeded the capacity of their existing Operton compute cluster. By selecting SGI's new Altix XE cluster solution, we had the ability to effectively run models and achieve a throughput and reliability they simply could not achieve with their older Opteron-based computing platform."

"One of the key challenges was to architect a solution that most optimally addressed the specific workload requirements of International Truck. The technical expertise of Hoff and Associates and their engineering insights in the ability to judge the needs of the customer, and custom-design the Altix XE cluster configuration to meet the customer's workload and throughput needs was the primary reason why we could deliver an order of magnitude superior application performance," said Himanshu Misra, engineering analysis segment manager, SGI.

Source : http://www.automotive.com (3/19/2007)

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HOPKINTON, Mass., -- EMC Corporation, the world leader in information infrastructure solutions, today announced it has been recognized by CMP Technology's VARBusiness magazine as one of North America's top information technology (IT) vendors. Editors specifically praised the Velocity2 Partner Program that EMC offers to solution providers that sell EMC products and services to end users. EMC was certified as a 5-Star Partner, acknowledging the strength of the Velocity2 Partner Program and the commitment EMC has made to its channel partners.

Of the more than 250 vendor-program entries reviewed for the past year, only 60 companies received the coveted 5-star rating in the magazine's 13th annual Partner Programs Guide survey. The guide appears in the March 19, 2007 issue of VARBusiness.

"Nowadays, the structure of vendor channel programs is too often reduced to a checklist of must-have elements. The VARBusiness 5-Star Partner Program honor recognizes those select vendors, like EMC, who have the programmatic structure to best serve their solution providers in their specific markets segments and technologies. These programs reflect vendors who have built channel programs that have the capacity to execute on key elements for channel success," says VARBusiness Editor Lawrence M. Walsh.

Pete Koliopoulos, EMC Vice President, Global Channel Marketing, said, "We are honored to receive the 5-Star award as recognition of our efforts and our commitment to EMC's partner community. The EMC Velocity2 Program strives to provide the richest set of financial incentives, access to the broadest portfolio of solutions, and comprehensive resources to help our partners advance their businesses."

Source : http://www.automotive.com (3/19/2007)

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CARSON, Calif., -. U.S. Auto Parts Network, Inc. announced that it will report its financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2006, on Tuesday, March 20, 2007, after the market close.

The Company had previously scheduled this report for Monday, March 19, 2007, after the market close, but decided to move the call to Tuesday, March 20, 2007 to allow for the expiration of the 40 calendar day quiet period following the effective date of the Company's registration statement for its initial public offering. The quiet period is imposed by conduct rules of the National Association of Securities Dealers and New York Stock Exchange Rules upon the member firms who managed or co-managed the Company's initial public offering. During the quiet period these firms and their analysts are prohibited from publishing research or making any public appearances regarding the Company. The Company decided to move the earnings release one day to allow all firms and analysts who have an interest in the Company to have an equal opportunity to publish research or to publicly comment regarding the earnings.

The Company will conduct a conference call with analysts and investors following the earnings release on Tuesday, March 20, 2007 at 1:45 pm Pacific Time (4:45 pm Eastern Time). The conference call will be conducted by Mehran Nia, President and Chief Executive Officer, Howard Tong, Chief Operating Officer, and Michael McClane, Chief Financial Officer. The conference call will be broadcast live over the Internet and accessible through the Investor Relations section of the Company's website at where the call will be archived for two weeks.

Source : http://www.automotive.com (3/19/2007)

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LAKE FOREST, Ill., -- Tenneco Inc. announced today that it completed its transaction to refinance its existing $831 million senior credit facility with a new $830 million senior credit facility. The transaction enhances the company's financial flexibility by replacing its previous Term B facility with an expanded revolver; extending the expiration of its revolving line of credit to March 2012; extending the maturities of its term loan facility; and enhancing covenant flexibility.

The new senior credit facility includes a 5-year revolving line of credit of $550 million; a 5-year term loan A facility of $150 million; and a 7-year synthetic letter of credit facility of $130 million, which can also be used as a revolving line of credit.

The company used the initial proceeds of the financings described above to repay approximately $356 million of outstanding term loans under its existing credit facility and to replace the $155 million synthetic letter of credit facility and the $320 million revolving line of credit provided under its existing senior credit facility. The $320 million revolving line of credit was set to expire in December 2008.

"We are extremely pleased with the terms of our new credit facility, which reflect the lending community's growing confidence in Tenneco as a result of the company's strengthening performance over the last four years, as well as in our strategic growth and cost management plans going forward," said Gregg Sherrill, chairman and CEO, Tenneco Inc. "In addition to expanding our revolver, this new facility will reduce our annual interest expense by more than $4 million annually. Additionally, we secured more favorable covenant terms, including the elimination of our fixed charge covenant, which will provide Tenneco the flexibility needed to help it achieve its long-term plans more quickly."

Tenneco is a $4.7 billion U.S.-based manufacturing company with approximately 19,000 employees worldwide. Tenneco is one of the world's largest designers, manufacturers and marketers of emission control and ride control products and systems for the automotive original equipment market and the aftermarket. Tenneco markets its products principally under the Monroe(R), Walker(R), Gillet(TM) and Clevite(R)Elastomer brand names.

This news release contains forward-looking statements concerning the impact on Tenneco's interest expense of the refinancing of its senior credit facility. This forward-looking statement is based on Tenneco's current level of indebtedness and changes in Tenneco's outstanding debt levels could cause actual results to differ.

Source : http://www.automotive.com (3/19/2007)

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Stone India Ltd has announced that the company has received an initial order for supply of 100 sets of wagon air brake systems to a Chinese wagon builder, according to company sources. The order is valued at Rs 8.5 million.

The company, as the sources point out, has secured this order despite stiff competition from reputed European firms.

Source : Business Line (Online Edition) (3/20/2007)

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The sale of residual Government stake in Maruti Udyog is likely in the next financial year, the Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram was quoted to have said to the media.

Official sources attributed the decision to defer the divestment to the next year to uncertain stock markets, but added that the sale would be carried out before June.

Maruti, which is 54.2 per cent owned by Japan's Suzuki Motor Corporation, is a joint venture between the Indian Government and Suzuki. After successive disinvestments, the Government has a residual stake of 10.27 per cent.

According to sources, more than 20 public sector banks and a clutch of financial institutions and mutual funds had shown interest in acquiring the Government's stake, estimated at over Rs 2,300 crore.

Only public sector banks, financial institutions and mutual funds, which are registered in India, were allowed to participate in the bidding process. The last date for submitting Expression of Interest expired on March 9.

Source : Business Line (Online Edition) (3/20/2007)

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Tata Motors rolled out its 1,00,000th Ace, its mini-truck, 20 months after its launch, from the company's Pune plant. It was flagged off by Mr Ratan Tata, Chairman, Tata Motors.

The Ace, suitable for urban and rural use, is powered by a small twin cylinder 16PS IDI 700cc diesel engine, and has a turning radius of 4.3 metres. Besides being introduced in all major States in the country, it has also been launched in Sri Lanka, said a press release.

Mr Ravi Kant, Managing Director, Tata Motors, said, "We are happy that we have been able to meet customers' need for a mini-truck for the last-mile connection, while providing comfort, style and easy maintenance. What particularly pleases us is that the Ace has been able to generate self-employment, with many of its owners being individuals who have entered the transportation industry for the first time."

Tata Motors is setting up a dedicated plant for Ace at Pant Nagar in Uttaranchal, with an annual capacity of 2,50,000 units. The plant will begin production this year.

Tata Ace HT (High Torque), a special variant to deal with a wide variety of gradients, especially in the North Eastern region has also been recently launched.

Applications

The company has developed several applications of the Tata ACE, such as water tanker, delivery van — box type (for high-volume low-weight cargo), delivery van — bodyline (for precious cargo and courier services), garbage tipper, D'Siltman (for desilting underground drainage and wells), dumper placer and ACE elevated platform. Tata Motors, the country's largest automobile company, registered revenues of $ 5.5 billion in 2005-06.

With over four million Tata vehicles plying in the country, it is the leader in commercial vehicles and the second largest in passenger vehicles, the company said on Monday.

Source : Business Line (Online Edition) (3/20/2007)

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Maruti Udyog Ltd will be launching its new sports utility vehicle (SUV) with a 2L-engine capacity in early June, and follow it with a sedan in the A3 segment, according to Mr Shuji Oishi, Director, Marketing and Sales.

Meanwhile, the company has announced a hike in the price of the recently launched Diesel Swift on Monday. The price of LDi variant has been increased by Rs 4,000, while that of the VDi variant has been upped by Rs 7,000.

With 2,500 units of its first diesel offering sold so far, the company is looking at ramping up the production capacity at its Manesar unit and begin export of diesel engines to Hungary by July, said Mr Oishi, who was in Pune to inaugurate My Car, the sixth Maruti showroom in the city.

Stating that MUL had set a target of one million cars per year for itself, Mr Oishi said that the sales for the period ending February 7 stood at 5,70,000 vehicles. With the hectic buying last month, the company expects to touch 6,40,000 vehicles for the current financial year, including export of 40,000 units.

Pune has been identified as the fastest growing area for auto sales in the country, followed closely by Bangalore. While the growth rate for the country stood at 21 per cent for the auto sector as a whole, Pune has been showing a year-on-year growth rate of 35 per cent. Maruti sales, which stand at over 1,600 units per month, are growing at nearly 40 per cent.

Maruti has a network of 390 showrooms in 220 cities, and has workshops and authorised service centres in 1,100 cities. Located at Wakad on the Mumbai-Pune expressway, My Car that already has a presence in Bhopal and Kanpur is Pune's largest dealership.

Source : Business Line (Online Edition) (3/20/2007)

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LANSING, Mich., -- The following statement was issued today by Wendy Block, Director of Health Policy and Human Resources for the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, and Peter Kuhnmuench, Executive Director of the Insurance Institute of Michigan, in response to recent passage of legislation in the State House to make it easier for personal injury attorneys to sue for non-economic damages under the state's no-fault automobile insurance system (HB 4301, Rep. Condino).

Statement from Wendy Block:

"Michigan employers and employees cannot afford the 15 to 43 percent increase in automobile insurance premiums that would be passed on to policyholders if HB 4301 is signed into law."

"When Michigan's no-fault law was enacted, the Legislature established very generous benefits in exchange for strict limits on the right to sue an at-fault party for non-economic damages, or pain and suffering awards. The affordability of automobile insurance relies upon this delicately balanced trade-off."

"Legislators had two choices when voting for this bill: they could support policyholders and reasonable insurance rates, or support more lawsuits and profits for personal injury attorneys. Unfortunately, the entire House Democratic Caucus chose to support personal injury attorneys over policyholders. We hope the Senate, when considering this legislation, will wisely choose policyholders."

Statement from Peter Kuhnmuench:

"We are concerned about the impact of House Bill 4301 on our policyholders."

"This measure would destroy the fundamental concept of no-fault, which balances comprehensive and immediate benefits in exchange for limits on costly personal injury lawsuits."

Source : http://www.theautochannel.com (3/19/2007)

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Washington DC; The AIADA newsletter said that Automotive News reported that Toyota is moving away from California and the heartland in order to focus on the Northwest, the Eastern Seaboard, the Rocky Mountains, and some big cities in the Southeast in order to maintain its rapid growth.

"Those areas have the highest opportunity for growth," says Jim Lentz, executive vice president of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. He expects those markets to grow at the rapid rate Toyota has achieved in California in recent years.

Despite an ambitious growth plan of 5 to 7 percent annually, Toyota is sticking to its philosophy of not adding dealerships.

To fuel growth, Toyota is giving incentives to dealers to build larger stores under its Image USA II architectural plan. The incentive is an increased allocation of hot models, such as Priuses, Camrys, and FJ Cruisers.

Toyota Division expects all dealers to renovate their showrooms by 2010 under Image USA II. Nationwide, Toyota Division polled 100 dealers who had upgraded their stores. Those stores reported sales growth of 26 percent. Nationwide, Toyota sales were up about 14 percent.

Source : http://www.theautochannel.com (3/19/2007)

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LOS ANGELES--Pure Biofuels today confirmed its decision to increase its planned capacity at its primary Callao Port facility near the capital city of Lima, Peru. Consisting of three 17.5 million gallon per year modules, the facility will be capable of an annual production capacity of 52.5 million gallons of biodiesel per year. The plant is being built on a 47,000-square-meter parcel of waterfront land located a short distance from the La Pampilla Refinery, one of Peru's largest oil refineries.

In previous company announcements, Pure Biofuels' president, Luis Goyzueta, has provided names of the construction company contracted to build the refinery and the engineering firm designing the facility. Veteran Peruvian engineering firm, Polindustria, has been hired as General Contractor and Capricorn Chemical Engineering SA ("Capricorn") will provide basic engineering, process flow design, and instrumentation and control schematics. Both companies have many years worth of experience in infrastructure projects such as Pure Biofuels is planning.

"We are extremely pleased with the team we have pulled together for our primary facility and we're very confident in our plans to establish Pure Biofuels as one of South America's true leaders in alternative energy production," stated Mr. Goyzueta. "With a 50 million gallon per year facility, Pure Biofuels can make a significant impact on the amount of diesel fuel used in Peru, and, more importantly, we can help contribute to the energy independence of all of South America."

Source : http://www.theautochannel.com (3/19/2007)

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The Honda Racing F1 Team's Rubens Barrichello ended today's Australian Grand Prix in 11th position after a determined fight throughout the 58-lap race.

His team-mate Jenson Button struggled with the balance of his car, then a difficult day was compounded when he incurred a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pit lane approaching his first pit stop.

The team now heads to Malaysia for a three-day test at the Sepang circuit, where it will take advantage of the three-week break between races to complete important development work for the next round.

JENSON BUTTON

"Not a very good day or result unfortunately. I was running heavy with fuel in the first stint and had to pit early because the car had a massive amount of understeer. At my first stop I requested front wing but because of a radio problem the team was unable to respond. When I pitted again, we had to put a lot of wing on but it didn't make any difference. So the problem may be in the front end aerodynamics. If that proves to be the case, then it is something we can certainly address straight away. Then of course I had the drive-through penalty which just compounded things. Going forward, once we know where our problems lie and what we need to do to fix them, we have three weeks and a test in between to start addressing them. Hopefully we will be able to demonstrate some improvement as early as the next race in Malaysia."

RUBENS BARRICHELLO "I feel like we had a competitive race today, even though I finished outside of the points. The tyres were working well and our strategy also worked to our advantage. I was losing time behind Jenson in the first part of the race but that's the way racing goes. We have no team orders so I had to find my way past and go on from there. Apart from that, I thought we could quite possibly have scored points here. I think we got the best from the car today so we have shown that there is a lot of work to do to improve. At least we know where our problem is and we have some ideas on how to fix them. I'm sure we can make some progress before Malaysia."

JACKY EECKELAERT

Engineering Directorbr> "On a positive note, both cars ran reliably today. Rubens drove a strong race from 17th on the grid to 11th place, less than nine seconds outside of the points. Jenson's car balance was not good at any stage of the race, which we believe to be a front end aero problem. On top of that, a drive-through penalty made him lose several places. We now have to improve our race pace as we target points-scoring positions. We have three weeks between the races and we will do everything we can to give our drivers a more competitive car at the next round."

Source : http://www.theautochannel.com (3/19/2007)

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WASHINGTON, D.C. - It's a sort of automotive détente, as President Bush and the U.S. domestic automakers, who have not always been on the coziest terms, plan a couple of major get-togethers in the coming days.

On Tuesday, President Bush will promote his energy policy with visits to Ford and General Motors assembly plants that make gas-electric hybrids. He will spend time at GM's Fairfax plant in Kansas City, which builds the Saturn Aura Hybrid midsize sedan, and will also visit the Ford Escape/Mercury Mariner Hybrid facility in Claycomo, Missouri. The visits are noteworthy because Bush has visited only U.S. assembly plants run by BMW and Toyota during his presidency.

Detroit automakers are also penciled in on the president's calendar for March 26 to meet for a second time about ways to increase the use of alternative fuels. Expect Bush to get an earful from the CEOs of the U.S. domestic automakers, who support the use of biofuels and investment in battery research but have come out strongly against higher fuel-economy standards. Since the auto executives had a pow-wow with Bush last November, the president has proposed cutting gas consumption by 20 percent over the next decade. A majority of that reduction would come from a spike in the consumption of renewable fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel. The rest would come from stricter fuel-economy standards.

Source : http://www.edmunds.com (3/19/2007)

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SANTA ROSA, Calif. - Take that, Chevy Volt and Tesla roadster. The wild and crazy guys at Zap, the California electric-car maker, issued a sketch on Monday of their idea of the perfect flagship electric vehicle - one that is engineered by Lotus.

Compared to the toylike, quirky Zap Xebra, the sketch of the Zap-X looks like a most unusual combination of sporty and serious. It is being developed on the Lotus Aluminum Performance Crossover platform, or APX.

The electric-car maker describes the sketch as highlighting "the styling, performance and technology that Zap plans to incorporate into the Zap-X." The crossover will be equipped with in-hub electric motors that deliver 644 horsepower and a top speed of 155 mph, as well as all-wheel drive. Zap said by combining a lightweight aluminum chassis, a new efficient drive system and advanced battery management, the "goal" for the Zap-X is to be able to have a 350-mile range with a 10-minute recharging time.

"We believe that the Zap-X will become the most advanced, most practical and most appealing flagship electric vehicle to date and will revolutionize the industry, providing the driver with the enjoyment of a sports car and the practicality of an SUV," said Zap CEO Steve Schneider.

Source : http://www.edmunds.com (3/19/2007)

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LONDON - Toyota has introduced a new upscale model for its Yaris lineup, the 131-horsepower SR 1.8 model, but it isn't scheduled to come to the U.S. The new model will go on sale this spring in the U.K. at the equivalent of $25,270 for the SR 1.8 three-door model and $26,240 for the SR 1.8 five-door.

A Toyota spokesman told IL that there is no announcement pending on a new spec for Yaris for the U.S. and that the high-end model is unlikely to come to the U.S.

The Yaris SR 1.8 gets a rear roof spoiler, side skirts, chrome sports exhaust, LED taillights and deeper front and rear bumpers, as well as 17-inch alloy wheels. Most importantly, the 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine churns out 131 hp at 6,000 rpm and 127 pound-feet of torque at 4,400 rpm. Toyota says it travels from zero to 62 mph in 9.3 seconds. The top-of-the-line Yaris S in the U.S. is equipped with a 106-hp 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine.

Toyota said there will also be additional new SR versions of the Yaris, including one with a 1.4-liter diesel engine, 15-inch alloy wheels, rear spoiler, chrome exhaust tip, front scuff plates and a brushed alloy gear knob.

Source : http://www.edmunds.com (3/19/2007)

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GREENSBURG, Ind. - Honda broke ground on its $550 million assembly plant here on Monday and confirmed that it will build 2009-model Civics when it goes into operation in the fall of 2008.

Honda currently makes Civics at plants in East Liberty, Ohio, and Alliston, Ontario. It is increasing Civic output now by adding production at its second Alliston plant.

Honda said the Indiana plant will help it to boost total North American auto production capacity from 1.4 million units to more than 1.6 million units in 2008, employment in North America to more than 37,000 workers and capital investment in North America to more than $9 billion.

Source : http://www.edmunds.com (3/19/2007)

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DEARBORN, Mich./PARIS - Renault says it will hire more technicians to cut workloads at its technical center near Paris after three suicides by employees since October. At the same time, the Ford Motor Company said the death on Saturday by an employee who jumped from the Regent Court Building in Dearborn is not work-related and that the employee was not an executive.

Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn has ordered a review of conditions at the company's Technocentre site. Until that is finished, the automaker said it will add 110 specialists, outsource more work to temporary workers at engineering agencies, and assign a full-time director to oversee daily operations there. The most recent suicide victim left a note citing work pressure as the reason for taking his life. Workers at the site in Guyancourt are hustling to launch 26 new models by the end of the decade as a key part of the company's "Commitment 2009" plan to increase sales.

Source : http://www.edmunds.com (3/19/2007)

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SEOUL, S. Korea - Veering away from its image as a value leader in the global auto industry, Hyundai confirmed on Monday that it will launch its first premium car in the U.S. late next year. The news comes fast on the heels of the release of sketches of "Concept Genesis," Hyundai's new concept car that is bound for a debut on April 5 at the New York International Auto Show.

The automaker told Reuters that its premium car, code-named BH, will be introduced in South Korea in the first half of 2008, followed by a launch in the U.S. later in the year. Hyundai also confirmed that the premium model will have a V8 engine. Technical specifications of the V8 have not been released. Volume projections for the U.S. are about 20,000 units per year.

While no one at the automaker is officially linking Concept Genesis and the BH model, the two are expected to have a connection. Sketches of Concept Genesis, which were released last week, show a four-door sedan with an upscale look reminiscent of BMW and Mercedes-Benz vehicles.

Hyundai's move into premium territory is a virtual requirement, especially in the U.S. market. The Koreans are following the path of such brands as Honda, Nissan and Toyota, all of which entered the premium segment after years of selling economy cars in America. It is not confirmed whether Hyundai will open a premium division patterned after Acura, Infiniti and Lexus.

Source : http://www.edmunds.com (3/19/2007)

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Huachen Automotive Group, parent company of Hong Kong-listed Brilliance China Auto, said it plans to spend 3 billion yuan on new car development this year to expand at home and abroad.

The group, which operates a joint venture with German premium carmaker BMW through the listed unit, plans to develop three new models under its own brand a subcompact, a compact and a wagon, Huachen Chairman Qi Yumin told China Daily.

Asked whether it will inject more assets into Brilliance as part of efforts to raise the money, Qi said: "I cannot talk about that now. We'll have various channels."

He vowed the group will regain profit this year by expanding sales considerably.

Huachen aims to boost its sales to 300,000 vehicles this year from 210,100 units in 2006, Qi said. Meanwhile, it expects to lift its sales revenue by 41 percent to 45 billion yuan.

In the first two months of this year, the group's sales rocketed by 138.8 percent to 42,700 vehicles much higher than the 25-percent growth in the entire Chinese auto market during the same period.

Based in the northeastern city of Shenyang, Huachen has been in the red in past years because of sluggish sales and price wars.

Qi didn't reveal how much his company lost last year. Brilliance reported half-year losses of 113.6 million yuan in 2006. It ended at HK$2 per share yesterday, down 0.98 percent.

Huachen's current own-brands include Zhonghua sedans, Jinbei and Granse vans and Jinbei light-duty trucks.

Qi said the group is in talks with a US firm to ship its cars to North America, the world's biggest and most competitive vehicle market. But he declined to provide the details.

North America has also been targeted by many of Huachen's Chinese peers, such as Chery, Geely and Chang'an.

In November, the group cut a deal with a German auto trader to sell 158,000 Zhonghua sedans in Europe by 2011, the biggest overseas deal pulled off by a Chinese automaker.

The company displayed the Zhonghua Zunchi and Junjie sedans and the newly developed M3 sports car to lure European buyers during the Geneva motor show that closed on Sunday, making it the first Chinese automaker to take part in the annual event.

A Huachen spokesperson said the company is also in talks to build assembly plants in Russia, Iran and Malaysia. It now has three plants in Egypt, Vietnam and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to build the Zhonghua sedans and Jinbei vans and trucks.

The group said earlier this month that it aims to raise its overseas sales to 35,000 vehicles this year from 6,500 units last year. Its venture with BMW is making the German company's 3 and 5 Series sedans in Shenyang.

Source : http://www.china.org.cn (3/19/2007)

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GREENSBURG, Ind., -- Honda today held an official groundbreaking ceremony for its $550 million automobile plant, to be known as Honda Manufacturing of Indiana, LLC (HMIN) and revealed that the new plant's 2,000 associates will produce(1) the popular and fuel efficient Honda Civic sedan when mass production begins in fall 2008. It was also announced that HMIN's first president will be Yuzo Uenohara, who previously held the position of senior vice president at Honda Manufacturing of Alabama, LLC.

Honda first announced plans to build the new Indiana plant June 28, 2006, with an annual production capacity of 200,000 vehicles. In an effort to meet strong customer demand, site preparation for the new plant is complete and basic construction has already begun on a 1,700-acre tract in Decatur County, Indiana, near the town of Greensburg, 50 miles southeast of Indianapolis.

"In Indiana we will create an efficient and flexible manufacturing environment that is a great place for everyone to work," said Koichi Kondo, president & CEO of American Honda Motor Co., Inc., and chief operating officer of Honda's North American Regional operations. "In this way, we are breaking ground for more than an auto plant. We are breaking new ground in our relationship with the people of Indiana and our customers in America."

HMIN will be Honda's seventh auto plant in North America and one of 17 major Honda manufacturing facilities in North America. It will help to boost Honda's total North American automobile production capacity from 1.4 million units to more than 1.6 million units in 2008, employment in North America to more than 37,000 associates and capital investment in North America to more than $9 billion.

HMIN began advertising February 21, for a limited number of non-production positions in the fields of automotive engineering, purchasing, information technology and administration and has received more than 6,000 responses. The hiring process for production associates will not begin until late 2007. Honda is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to recruiting candidates from diverse backgrounds.

"Over the years, we will ask the associates of Honda Manufacturing of Indiana for their ideas to make our products better and the plant the safest place it can be," said Uenohara, the new president of Honda Manufacturing of Indiana. "This is the Honda way and this spirit will guide us at Honda Manufacturing of Indiana."

Major production processes performed at the Indiana plant will include stamping, welding, painting, plastic injection molding, sub-assembly and final assembly operations. Mass production of the 2009-model Civic sedan is scheduled to begin in fall 2008.

Honda will make a significant commitment to limit the environmental impact of the new Indiana plant, including ISO 14001 international environmental management certification, and advanced methods of energy and emission reduction with the goal to be a "zero waste to landfill" facility.

Honda built more than 1.16 million Honda and Acura passenger cars and trucks in North America last year, or more than 77 percent of the more than 1.5 million Honda and Acura vehicles purchased by U.S. consumers in 2006.

The Civic sedans produced in Indiana will feature fuel-efficient four-cylinder engines manufactured in Anna, Ohio. The vast majority of parts for the vehicles made at the Indiana plant will be manufactured by Honda's existing base of more than 600 North American suppliers. Honda purchased more than $17.6 billion in parts and materials from suppliers in North America last year.

Honda began U.S. sales operations in 1959, the company's first overseas subsidiary. Honda began U.S. production operations in 1979. Honda began building cars in the U.S. in 1982, making 2007 the 25th anniversary of Honda auto production in America.

Source : http://www.automotive.com (3/19/2007)

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DETROIT, -- MotorCities National Heritage Area (MotorCities) announced today it has opened online registration for the upcoming Alliance of National Heritage Area's 2007 International Heritage Development Conference (IHDC). MotorCities will host the conference from June 17-21, 2007, welcoming to Detroit over 400 heritage leaders from around the world. The 2007 IHDC Passport to Crossing Boundaries conference will provide an unparalleled opportunity to highlight a variety of cultural gems, institutions, parks and products within Michigan and Windsor.

"MotorCities is thrilled to host the IHDC in Detroit, allowing heritage professionals, partners and stakeholders to experience the rich automotive heritage that southeastern Michigan and Windsor have to offer," said Brenda Plakmeyer, co-chair of the 2007 IHDC and interpretation & tourism manager for MotorCities. "Participants will explore best practices in heritage development to create sustainable economic futures, gaining valuable knowledge about creating and maintaining a heritage area, engaging community support, establishing heritage programs, encouraging tourism and more!"

Some highlights of the conference include the opening reception held in General Motors' Wintergarden at the Renaissance Center where they will hear conference keynote speaker, internationally known documentary filmmaker, Ken Burns; attend a NASCAR race at Michigan International Speedway; participate in one of three themed pre-conference tours; choose from 20 educational sessions and participate in one of 14 regional labs where participants will meet with local community representatives to discuss challenges and solutions in heritage development.

Source : http://www.automotive.com (3/19/2007)

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MILWAUKEE, -- Harley-Davidson, Inc. today announced that it is scheduled to release its first quarter 2007 financial results before market hours on Thursday, April 19, 2007. On Thursday, April 19, 2007, the public is invited to participate in a web-cast conference call with Jim Ziemer, President and CEO, and Tom Bergmann, Vice President and CFO, Harley-Davidson, Inc., from 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM (Central Time).

It is suggested that web-cast participants log on and register at least ten minutes prior to the start time at www.harley-davidson.com, under the Investor Relations section. A replay of the web-cast will be available at the same location approximately two hours after the call concludes.

Harley-Davidson, Inc. is the parent company for the group of companies doing business as Harley-Davidson Motor Company, Buell Motorcycle Company and Harley-Davidson Financial Services. Harley-Davidson Motor Company, the only major U.S.-based motorcycle manufacturer, produces heavyweight motorcycles and offers a complete line of motorcycle parts, accessories, apparel, and general merchandise. Buell Motorcycle Company produces sport motorcycles. Harley-Davidson Financial Services provides wholesale and retail financing and insurance programs to Harley-Davidson dealers and customers.

Source : http://www.automotive.com (3/19/2007)

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SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine, -- Wright Express, a leading provider of payment processing and information management services to the U.S. commercial and government vehicle fleet industry , has expanded its accepting network to include The Pep Boys -- Manny, Moe & Jack , the nation's leading automotive aftermarket retail and service chain.

The agreement with Pep Boys continues to increase the services available through the Wright Express Service Network, part of a program that offers fleets an easy way to manage both fuel and service costs using a one-card solution. The Wright Express Universal Card now makes obtaining maintenance and services, and tracking related expenses as easy as purchasing and tracking fuel -- and all in one place.

"Welcoming Wright Express customers into Pep Boys' National Fleet Program is a win-win," said Gino Francescangeli, Director - National Fleet Accounts of Pep Boys. "Our locations are open seven days, six nights and offer fleet customers a wide selection of parts, tires and service performed by ASE-certified technicians."

"This is great news for Wright Express customers," said Michael Dubyak, president and Chief Executive Officer of Wright Express. "Gaining access to the quality services of Pep Boys, which has 593 stores and over 6,000 service bays in 36 states and Puerto Rico, will make it easier and more convenient than ever for our fleet customers to find and purchase quality commercial auto parts along with the vehicle repair and maintenance services they need."

Source : http://www.automotive.com (3/19/2007)

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HARRISBURG, Pa., -- PennDOT crews worked overnight plowing and treating interstates and other major roads. PennDOT is advising motorists to drive with extreme caution as blowing and drifting will continue to create challenging road conditions. Some roads may remain snow- covered.

PennDOT crews will balance clearing drifting snow on interstate highways and restoring snow-free travel to secondary roads, which for the most part remain snow-covered. PennDOT warns motorists to travel with extreme caution since high winds will continue to drift snow back onto roads. Also, roads are not completely free of snow and ice, but are passable and motorists should drive according to conditions.

Speeds were reduced last night on all roads because PennDOT and the state police reported that many motorists were traveling at high speeds regardless of road and weather conditions, which lead to numerous crashes.

Source : http://www.automotive.com (3/19/2007)

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HARRISBURG, Pa., - At noon today, the Pennsylvania State Police will restore posted speed limits to all roads. Motorists are urged to be aware of blowing and drifting snow, and exercise caution when driving on bridges, ramps and overpasses.

"While the speed limits on major interstates and arteries have been restored, conditions may be less than ideal for travel," said PA State Police Commissioner Jeffrey B. Miller. "Motorists are urged to use common sense in determining whether or not they need to be on the roadways."

According to the Department of Transportation, roads may not be completely free of snow and ice, but are passable and motorist should drive according to conditions. PennDOT crews continue to focus their efforts on restoring free travel to secondary roads, which in many areas remain snow-covered.

Speeds were reduced last night on all roads www.newcarnet.co.uk/Auto_news.html?id=6577r PennDOT and the state police reported that many motorists were traveling at high speeds regardless of road and weather conditions, which lead to numerous crashes.

Source : http://www.automotive.com (3/19/2007)

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Corporation Fund is the primary source of charitable grants made by DaimlerChrysler Corporation. The Fund annually supports hundreds of charitable organizations with an emphasis on community growth and enrichment, arts and culture, education and youth development programs throughout the United States and, increasingly, the world. The Fund's Good Neighbor, Good Citizen(R) programs in 2007 include the Motown Winter Blast, Chrysler Arts Beats and Eats, the Detroit Opera House, as well as operating support for the United Way for Southeastern Michigan.

Source : http://www.newcarnet.co.uk (3/19/2007)

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WASHINGTON, -- The National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission will hold a field hearing in Washington, D.C., to consider testimony as it continues its outreach as part of its study charge. Secretary Mary E. Peters, as chair of the Commission, will preside.

This hearing will focus on the perspectives of over 30 national key transportation stakeholder groups. It will be held on Monday, March 19 beginning at 8:15 a.m. in Room 2167 of the Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C., 20515. Interviews may be conducted during a mid-day break beginning at 12:30 p.m. or when the hearings conclude about 4:45 p.m.

The Commission has held 6 field hearings to date in Dallas, Portland, Memphis, New York City, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas. Two more hearings will take place in April in Minneapolis and Chicago.

Congress created the Commission under Section 1909 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act -- A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). The Commission was created because, as Congress declared, "it is in the national interest to preserve and enhance the surface transportation system to meet the needs of the United States for the 21st century." Comprised of 12 members, the Commission is looking at both the condition and future needs of the nation's surface transportation system, including alternatives to replace or supplement the fuel tax as the principal revenue source to support the Highway Trust Fund over the next 30 years.

Source : http://www.automotive.com (3/19/2007)

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CHARLOTTE, N.C., -- The Chick-fil-A Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America announced today the ride route for its 2007 motorcycle ride. NASCAR driver Kyle Petty will be joined by Chick-fil-A President and Chief Operating Officer Dan Cathy, as more than 250 participants, including celebrities, ride sponsors and motorcycle enthusiasts, travel more than 2,800 miles in eight days. The group will travel the East Coast from the woodlands of New England to the Blue Ridge Mountains as it heads towards its final destination, the beaches of Florida.

Now in its 13th year, the Charity Ride has included more than 5,350 riders who have logged more than 45,000 miles and donated more than $9 million to charity. In 2006, the Ride donated $1.2 million to the Victory Junction Gang Camp and other children's charities. Petty and his wife, Pattie, founded the Victory Junction Gang Camp, which is dedicated to enriching the lives of children with chronic medical conditions or serious illnesses by providing life-changing camping experiences that are exciting, fun and empowering, in a safe and medically sound environment.

"The Charity Ride gets bigger and better every year thanks to the unbelievable support of our faithful riders, sponsors and fans," said Petty. "Pattie and I deeply appreciate the individuals across the nation whose generosity touches the lives of deserving children and their families. We are excited to shake things up a bit this year and travel the East Coast - and to see our fans, who give us the energy and motivation to keep going."

The 2007 Chick-fil-A Kyle Petty Charity Ride kicks off in Bar Harbor, Maine, on July 14 and will make overnight stops in Woodstock, Vt.; Saratoga Springs, N.Y.; Gettysburg, Pa.; Hot Springs, Va.; Augusta, Ga.; St. Augustine, Fla.; and concludes on July 20 when riders will relax at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla. Fuel and overnight stops throughout the Ride will be marked by events and activities for fans, supporters and riders. On July 18, riders will stop at the Victory Junction Gang Camp in Randleman, N.C., to meet campers and tour the grounds. This week, designed for children with burn, skin or craniofacial disorders, is funded by proceeds from the 2006 Charity Ride. As a result of The Ride's efforts, 80 children will attend the 5-day camp session free of charge.

"We at Chick-fil-A are thrilled to continue supporting a worthy program such as the Kyle Petty Charity Ride," said Chick-fil-A President and Chief Operating Officer Dan Cathy. "Children with chronic and life-threatening illnesses have the opportunity to create special memories and develop new friendships at the Victory Junction Gang Camp; these experiences create a positive impact that's hard to match."

In 2006, fans and spectators donated coins along the Charity Ride route through the "Small Change. Big Impact." program. These donations totaled more than $53,000 - the equivalent of sending 21 additional campers to the Victory Junction Gang Camp at no cost to their families. "Small Change. Big Impact." will collect contributions again in 2007 and also will extend its reach into communities along the Ride route. Led by Kyle Petty, riders will create acts of goodwill in communities along the Ride route, demonstrating that quarters add up to make dollars - hundreds and thousands of dollars - and even the smallest act of kindness can benefit children across the nation in big ways.

For the fourth year, Chick-fil-A will serve as the title sponsor of the Charity Ride and recently announced its extension of the sponsorship through 2009. Other 2007 sponsors include Victory Motorcycles/Polaris Industries, Pilot Travel Centers LLC, SunTrust Banks, Sunoco (the official fuel of NASCAR), Wells Fargo, Coca-Cola, Dodge Motorsports, Sprint Nextel and Wincraft Racing. To learn more about the 2007 Chick-fil-A Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America, visit www.kylepettycharityride.com.

Source : http://www.automotive.com (3/19/2007)

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There could be more bad news for drivers of fuel-thirsty cars in Wednesday's Budget.

Some analysts predict the tax on SUVs and other so-called "gas guzzler" vehicles may double, to figures approaching £400 annually.

Although this will be UK Chancellor Gordon Brown's last Budget, it is unlikely he will use it to announce any kind of tax cuts, particularly for companies.

The Engineering Employers' Federation was quoted as saying 'Businesses are paying almost £12bn more in tax in 2008/9 than they were when Labour came to power in 1997."

Although undoubtedly Mr Brown's SUV tax hike will be bad news for many, it actually falls well short of the suggested £1000 put forward as a suitable tax level by some environmental groups.

Green action group Friends of the Earth have made repeated calls for measures to tackle climate change if Mr Brown was to leave a "green legacy as chancellor".

Source : http://www.newcarnet.co.uk (3/19/2007)

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The Hummer brand is arriving in the UK with the opening of the first dedicated showroom this week.

Hummer will begin selling a right-hand drive H3 in the summer.

Bob Lutz, GM vice chairman, global product development, unveiled a prototype right-hand drive H3 during an opening ceremony at the Bauer Millett Hummer facility in Manchester.

"The Hummer's iconic design and unparalleled off-road capabilities appeal to a wide audience globally. We are determined to build upon the brand's unique recognition in Europe and especially here in the UK," said Lutz.

Bauer Millett, the UK's sole Hummer licensee since 2002, has been in business since 1973 and has been associated with General Motors since 1988.

Several more dedicated Hummer showrooms are expected to be opened in coming months in other parts of the country.

GM acquired the rights to the Hummer brand in late 1999, and since then sales have grown from around 1,000 vehicles in 2000 to more than 82,000 in 2006.

Prices for the new right-hand drive Hummer H3 will be announced later.

Source : http://www.newcarnet.co.uk (3/19/2007)

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The new 2007 Land Rover Defender goes on sale in the UK on 16 April 2007, featuring comprehensive upgrades to make it better equipped to meet modern day needs.

The iconic Defender, a vehicle whose roots date back to 1948, benefits from a new 2.4-litre common rail diesel engine, six-speed gearbox with wide ratio spread, a fully integrated facia, new seating configuration and high output heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system.

"The Defender remains a significant contributor to our business, with on average 6000 units sold year on year in the UK and we already have over 800 pre-orders for the new 2007 model," says John Edwards, managing director, Land Rover UK.

"It is also a symbol of our 4x4 heritage, a reminder of our roots and it plays a vital role in the lives of the 25,000 customers from all corners of the globe that buy one. Farmers, aid-workers, NGOs and explorers the world over value Defender's versatility, its extraordinary strength, robustness and capability."

Edwards concluded, "The unique combination of these attributes helps account for the model's exceptionally high levels of customer loyalty."

Prices will start from £18,645 for the Defender 90 Pick Up and rise to £26,605 for the XS Double Cab Defender 110, with an average price increase of £400.

The Defender 130 starts from £22,655 and will be available from Land Rover dealerships in July.

Source : http://www.newcarnet.co.uk (3/19/2007)

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DETROIT - Clearly spoiling for a fight with Japanese midsize hybrid sedans, Saturn announced on Monday that its new 2007 Aura Green Line Hybrid will carry a starting price of $22,695, including a $650 destination charge. That baseline price significantly undercuts the Honda Accord Hybrid and the Toyota Camry Hybrid. The Aura Green Line Hybrid is on sale now.

The base 2007 Camry Hybrid starts at $26,820, including a $620 destination charge, while the base 2007 Accord Hybrid starts at $31,685, including a $595 destination charge.

The EPA rates the Aura Green Line at 28 mpg in city driving and 35 mpg on the highway. It is equipped with an electric motor linked to a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine. The powertrain combination produces 164 horsepower and 159 pound-feet of torque.

The EPA rates the Accord Hybrid at an identical 28 mpg in city driving and 35 mpg on the highway. The hybrid powertrain in the Accord Hybrid includes a 3.0-liter V6 and produces 253 hp and 232 lb-ft of torque. The Camry Hybrid gets 40 mpg in city driving and 38 mpg on the highway, the EPA says. Its hybrid powertrain includes a 2.4-liter four-cylinder and produces 147 hp and 192 lb-ft of torque.

The Kansas City-built Aura won top honors at the 2007 North American Car of the Year competition.

Source : http://www.edmunds.com (3/19/2007)

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Kia Motors (UK) Ltd has announced that Alex Smith, Commercial Director of the UK operation, has decided to leave the company for new challenges. Alex, 32, joined Kia in December 2003 as General Manager of Sales Channel Strategy. He was responsible for developing the company's business strategy, commercial programmes, production planning and analysis and administration across the business.

Source : http://www.autoindustry.co.uk/ (3/19/2007)

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TULSA, Okla., -- Dollar Rent A Car and Thrifty Car Rental, subsidiaries of Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc. , are giving Northwest Airlines Biz Perks program members two more great reasons to earn Biz Perks points.

Effective immediately, Biz Perks members who sign up for a DOLLAR(R) or Thrifty Car Rental corporate account via the Northwest Airlines Biz Perks website will earn 250 points per qualifying rental transaction with Dollar or Thrifty. Additionally, members will receive 1,000 Biz Perks bonus points, which will be awarded after the third rental. (All three rentals must take place during the first year of membership).

"We are happy to extend Dollar and Thrifty's relationship with Northwest Airlines to the Biz Perks program," said Brian Carpenter, Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Advertising for DOLLAR and Thrifty Car Rental. "Our money-saving corporate programs will be very attractive to Biz Perks members, not to mention the high quality and service levels that Biz Perks members associate with Northwest Airlines."

With DOLLAR and Thrifty corporate account programs, members receive:

-- Low guaranteed rental rates;

-- No minimum financial commitment;

-- Unlimited miles and free additional drivers;

-- Waiver of underage driver fees; and

-- Free enrollment in the DOLLAR Express(R) or Thrifty Blue Chip Express Rental Program(R), plus the opportunity to earn free rental days through DOLLAR Express Rental Rewards or Blue Chip Rewards.

Source : http://www.automotive.com (3/19/2007)

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WASHINGTON, -- Aspiring student entrepreneurs from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) were presented with $100,000 in scholarship prizes at the 2nd Ford HBCU Business Classic, a business plan competition held in Washington, D.C., on Friday, March 16. The five finalist teams from Howard University, Florida A&M University, Morehouse College, Xavier University, and a collaborative team from Spelman and Morehouse Colleges, presented their business plans with poise and determination as they competed for $100,000 in scholarship prizes.

Students were challenged to test their entrepreneurial ambitions before a panel of judges, comprised of influential entrepreneurs from the African American business community. Each team was scored on the viability of their business plans, their overall presentation and the business plan's potential benefit to the community. "It was inspiring to witness the passion and dedication exhibited by the finalists," said Marc Perry, multicultural marketing manager, Ford Motor Company. "Ford takes great pride in offering this supportive platform to encourage students to explore their entrepreneurial endeavors."

Students from Xavier University in New Orleans, Louisiana, submitted their business plan for One Source Realty, LLC, and came out victorious as the grand prize-winning team. Their company offers affordable housing for renters and home owners in the New Orleans area, post-Katrina. As the grand prize winning team, the students from Xavier University received a total of $50,000 in scholarship funds -- $35,000 in personal scholarships and $15,000 for their university.

The second prize-winning team, from Florida A&M University, presented their plan for Venom Innovations, LLC, and received $30,000 in scholarships -- $20,000 in personal scholarships and $10,000 for the university. Students from Howard University presented B.E.N.A.B., LLC, and received the $20,000 third prize package -- $15,000 in personal scholarship funds and $5,000 for their university. Each student in the competition received a commemorative plaque to recognize their team's achievement.

"I am extremely proud and inspired by the excellence demonstrated by these student entrepreneurs," said Dr. Randal Pinkett, CEO of BCT Partners, winner of The Apprentice, and the 2007 Ford HBCU Business Classic Entrepreneurial Achievement Award Recipient. "Business ownership is the most viable way to build wealth in our communities, so I am proud to know that the next generation of entrepreneurs are lined up to carry the mantle." Dr. Pinkett presented the student teams with autographed copies of his new book, Campus CEO: The Student Entrepreneurs Guide to Launching a Multimillion Dollar Business, to serve as a resource for their entrepreneurial pursuits.

The competition judges included entrepreneurs David Bing, chairman of The Bing Group; George Fraser, best-selling author and CEO of FraserNet; Valerie Daniels-Carter, CEO, V&J Holding Co.; Jamie Foster Brown, publisher of Sister2Sister Magazine; and Steve Ewing, CEO of Wade Ford. Darryl W. Dennard, co-host of the Black Enterprise Report, also served as the event host.

The Ford HBCU Business Classic launched in the fall of 2004 after recognizing a need in the Black business community to educate and develop the next generation of entrepreneurs. It was designed to offer students the opportunity to apply their classroom knowledge to real-world entrepreneurial experience. The competition was opened to HBCU students nationwide, and received business plan submissions from students from more than 80 percent of the nation's Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

To enter, individuals, or teams of two to five students, were asked to submit a 10-page business plan via the Ford HBCU Business Classic Web site at www.ford.com/go/hbcu. Initial business plans were judged by a panel from SCORE (Counselors to America's Small Business) and narrowed down to the five teams that were chosen to advance to the finals. The five finalist teams convened in Washington, D.C., on Friday, March 16, to present their business plans during the annual conference for the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO).

Source : http://www.automotive.com (3/19/2007)

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SPARTANBURG, S.C., -- More than 1,000 students from 34 high schools in six southern states will get a first-hand view of how vehicles are manufactured, delivered and serviced during a two-week educational program designed to introduce them to careers in a field where the demand for skilled workers is high. The goal of the program, called "Teens and Wheels," is to demonstrate the rewarding nature of careers in retail automotive service, while dispelling lingering myths and stereotypes.

"Teens and Wheels" is being hosted by BMW of North America at its Manufacturing and Performance Centers, in conjunction with Automotive Youth Services (AYES), an organization of automakers and dealers dedicated to changing public perception of automotive services careers, and preparing young people for entry-level positions or advanced studies in the field School-to-career programs at the high school level academics, employability training, in-dealership experience and formal mentoring components.

"Careers at franchise automobile dealers are a growth industry," said Tom Purves, chairman and CEO of BMW of North America, and member of the board of AYES. "The jobs we offer are more sophisticated and better paying than those available in the so-called service-economy. And since they cover an array of positions, they are attractive to people with a variety of skills. These are non-cyclical jobs that cannot be outsourced overseas."

This second "Teens and Wheels" educational program builds on the overwhelming success of the first event series, held in 2004. This year, by adding a second week to the agenda, twice the number of students -- from an expanded geographic area -- are able to take part.

There are currently more than 104,000 career opportunities available at franchise dealers in the United States -- more than half of them as automotive technicians. And the U.S. Department of Labor projects another 35,000 new automotive technician jobs annually through at least 2010.

As new vehicles become increasingly sophisticated and complex, the automotive industry must compete with other high-tech industries for skilled employees. Today's automotive technicians must possess keen analytic and computer skills to properly diagnose and repair these vehicles, and BMW and AYES are committed to providing the ongoing training required.

The students participating in "Teens and Wheels" are from technical schools and high schools with AYES-certified automotive trade programs. All have had some coursework -- and some have had actual experience -- in the automotive services trade. At BMW Manufacturing Co.'s plant, they will see BMW Z4 and X5 models being assembled, and at the BMW Performance Center, they will get to look "under the hood" to see how the vehicles are repaired and maintained, and also receive a demonstration of the vehicles' high performance capabilities.

According to Russ Lucas, BMW southern region aftersales manager, the program is a "win-win" for both the students and the 45 BMW dealerships that are supporting it. The first program, three years ago, he says, "has done wonders in terms of interest in technical careers and applications for BMW dealers. Several of the students who attended are now working at dealerships throughout the region."

Program organizers hope to further strengthen that connection between the automotive services industry and exciting career opportunities -- in the minds of students, school staff, and hopefully, parents.

BMW Group In America

BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003. The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand, the MINI brand, and the Rolls-Royce brand of Motor Cars; DesignworksUSA, an industrial design firm in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is part of BMW Group's global manufacturing network and is the exclusive manufacturing plant for all Z4 models and X5 Sports Activity Vehicles. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 338 BMW passenger car centers, 335 BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 142 BMW motorcycle retailers, 81 MINI passenger car dealers, and 30 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group's sales headquarters for North, Central and South America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

Source : http://www.automotive.com (3/19/2007)

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ORION, Mich., -- Cobasys, a leading supplier of advanced integrated energy storage solutions, today confirmed that it has been selected to supply its NiMHax(R) Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) battery systems for integration in the Lotus Engineering EVE (efficient, viable and environmental) vehicle.

The "EVE Hybrid" technology, displayed in a Proton Gen2 vehicle, was unveiled at the Geneva International Motor Show and featured a Cobasys NiMHax 144 Volt 30 kW energy storage system with integrated cooling. Lotus Engineering selected the Cobasys system because of their leadership role in hybrid battery system development and integration.

The NiMHax battery system utilizes the Cobasys Series-1000 NiMH battery modules and incorporates all necessary features that enable "plug-and-play" capability for easy installation into the EVE Hybrid. The NiMHax system features include: fully integrated battery management system hardware and software, redundant safety controls, packaging, wiring and thermal management based on a newly developed liquid cooling system that optimizes high power HEV performance. Fully integrated control algorithms were also implemented to help optimize the energy management functions and product durability.

"We have built a reputation for offering reliability, high performance, safety and long-life in a package ideally suited for a multitude of transportation applications," stated Scott Lindholm, Vice President - Sales and Systems Engineering. "At Cobasys, we are using our unique systems integration 'know how' to help hybrid vehicle manufacturers around the world offer consumers efficient, cost competitive and dependable hybrid vehicles."

The Lotus Engineering project demonstrates the Cobasys commitment to helping automakers accelerate the commercialization of their hybrid strategies. Cobasys' totally integrated "plug-and-play" system technology minimized development time and provided the optimal business case proposition.

Source : http://www.automotive.com (3/19/2007)

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SANTA ROSA, Calif., -- Electric car pioneer ZAP today unveiled concept drawings of the ZAP-X Crossover SUV on its website www.zapworld.com.

The images of the ZAP-X are also highlighted in the new issue of Popular Science, April 2007, in an article entitled "Who killed the gas guzzler?" including an interview with ZAP CEO Steve Schneider. The issue is on newsstands now as well as online at www.popsci.com.

The design sketches highlight the styling, performance and technology that ZAP plans to incorporate into the ZAP-X. The compact-SUV design will feature all-wheel drive with in-hub electric motors capable to deliver 644 horsepower and a top speed of 155mph. By combining a lightweight aluminum chassis, a new efficient drive system and advanced battery management system, the goal for the ZAP-X is to be able to achieve 350-mile range, with a rapid 10-minute recharging time.

"We believe that the ZAP-X will become the most advanced, most practical and most appealing flagship electric vehicle to date and will revolutionize the industry providing the driver with the enjoyment of a sports car and the practicality of an SUV," says ZAP CEO Steve Schneider.

ZAP currently markets an affordable city-speed electric car and truck called the XEBRA through its automotive distribution portal marketing. ZAP's authorized auto dealer network will offer sales, service and parts distribution for the lineup of vehicles being developed by ZAP and its strategic partners in Europe, Asia and South America.

Source : http://www.automotive.com (3/19/2007)

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GREENSBURG, Ind., -- Honda today held an official groundbreaking ceremony for its $550 million automobile plant, to be known as Honda Manufacturing of Indiana, LLC (HMIN) and revealed that the new plant's 2,000 associates will produce(1) the popular and fuel efficient Honda Civic sedan when mass production begins in fall 2008. It was also announced that HMIN's first president will be Yuzo Uenohara, who previously held the position of senior vice president at Honda Manufacturing of Alabama, LLC.

Honda first announced plans to build the new Indiana plant June 28, 2006, with an annual production capacity of 200,000 vehicles. In an effort to meet strong customer demand, site preparation for the new plant is complete and basic construction has already begun on a 1,700-acre tract in Decatur County, Indiana, near the town of Greensburg, 50 miles southeast of Indianapolis.

"In Indiana we will create an efficient and flexible manufacturing environment that is a great place for everyone to work," said Koichi Kondo, president & CEO of American Honda Motor Co., Inc., and chief operating officer of Honda's North American Regional operations. "In this way, we are breaking ground for more than an auto plant. We are breaking new ground in our relationship with the people of Indiana and our customers in America."

HMIN will be Honda's seventh auto plant in North America and one of 17 major Honda manufacturing facilities in North America. It will help to boost Honda's total North American automobile production capacity from 1.4 million units to more than 1.6 million units in 2008, employment in North America to more than 37,000 associates and capital investment in North America to more than $9 billion.

HMIN began advertising February 21, for a limited number of non-production positions in the fields of automotive engineering, purchasing, information technology and administration and has received more than 6,000 responses. The hiring process for production associates will not begin until late 2007. Honda is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to recruiting candidates from diverse backgrounds.

"Over the years, we will ask the associates of Honda Manufacturing of Indiana for their ideas to make our products better and the plant the safest place it can be," said Uenohara, the new president of Honda Manufacturing of Indiana. "This is the Honda way and this spirit will guide us at Honda Manufacturing of Indiana."

Major production processes performed at the Indiana plant will include stamping, welding, painting, plastic injection molding, sub-assembly and final assembly operations. Mass production of the 2009-model Civic sedan is scheduled to begin in fall 2008.

Honda will make a significant commitment to limit the environmental impact of the new Indiana plant, including ISO 14001 international environmental management certification, and advanced methods of energy and emission reduction with the goal to be a "zero waste to landfill" facility.

Honda built more than 1.16 million Honda and Acura passenger cars and trucks in North America last year, or more than 77 percent of the more than 1.5 million Honda and Acura vehicles purchased by U.S. consumers in 2006.

The Civic sedans produced in Indiana will feature fuel-efficient four-cylinder engines manufactured in Anna, Ohio. The vast majority of parts for the vehicles made at the Indiana plant will be manufactured by Honda's existing base of more than 600 North American suppliers. Honda purchased more than $17.6 billion in parts and materials from suppliers in North America last year.

Source : http://www.theautochannel.com (3/19/2007)

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New York City, NY -- There's something for everyone -- rarefied elegance to pavement-pounding power -- at HERITAGE & HORSEPOWER, the LeMay Museum's "Auto Show Within An Auto Show" at the Jacob Javits Convention Center, April 4-8, 2007.

2. Showcasing iconic classics, street rods, musclecars, Concept vehicles and NASCAR, Grand-Am, Indy, GT and NHRA racecars, the 22,000-square-foot exhibit is located on the Lower Level, Hall 1E.

"Like the LeMay Museum itself, HERITAGE & HORSEPOWER celebrates the very essence of spirited motoring throughout the years," said LeMay CEO, David Madeira.

"We couldn't have produced this exhibit without our sponsor, State Farm Insurance and strategic partners: GM Heritage Center, Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series, NYIAS, Precision Motors and Watkins Glen International. Special 'thanks' go to Board member Nicola Bulgari and Friends Of The LeMay for providing many of the vehicles on display," added Madeira.

Source : http://www.theautochannel.com (3/19/2007)

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SEBRING, Fla.: Despite new regulations, the Audi R10 TDI remains the sports car to beat. By achieving an impressive victory in the 12 Hours of Sebring (USA), AUDI AG made a perfect start into the 2007 motorsport season with its revolutionary diesel sports car and also a successful dress rehearsal for the Le Mans 24 Hours on 16/17 June. It was the eighth victory in a row in the classic American endurance race for the manufacturer from Ingolstadt.

The Audi R10 TDI, which remains unbeaten in its ninth consecutive race, had to start for the first time with a 10 percent smaller fuel tank (81 instead of 90 liters). This meant the Audi had to come to the pits for refueling up to five laps earlier than their competitors. Despite the R10 TDI being the fastest car on the 3.7-mile track, also setting a new track record, newcomer Acura/Honda was able to get into the lead on various occasions with its 150-kg lighter LM P2 cars. Only in the penultimate hour, Frank Biela (Germany), Emanuele Pirro (Italy) and Marco Werner (Germany) took the lead for good in an extremely exciting and competitive sports car race. Frank Biela equaled Tom Kristensen's record of four overall Sebring victories.

The 2007-spec R10 TDI ran without the slightest technical problem during the whole 12 hours on the extremely demanding track. The only unscheduled pit stop was caused by a puncture in the second hour costing the winning car two laps. Also two time penalties and a stop-and-go penalty were imposed against the winning Audi team.

The updated engine, featuring among other things more compact diesel particle filters from Dow Automotive, further developed suspension, the latest generation of Michelin tires and the weight-optimized transmission of the R10 TDI worked perfectly during the Le Mans dress rehearsal.

Meanwhile the Sebring week did not run to plan for the second Audi team with the defending champions of the American Le Mans Series, Dindo Capello (Italy) and Allan McNish (Scotland) plus Le Mans record winner Tom Kristensen (Denmark). Following an accident in Thursday evening's night practice session, the R10 TDI had to be completely rebuilt over night. Despite not having the opportunity to set up the car perfectly, Capello/McNish/Kristensen were leading the race before the starter and the battery had to be changed twice. Finishing fourth overall, they finished second in the LM P1 class scoring precious points.

Quotes after the race

Dr Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport): "The team really has earned this victory. It has worked hard for it. We are happy winning Sebring another time and are unbeaten at Sebring since 2000. But we've also seen today how close it is now between the LM P1 and LM P2 cars. My fear that the two categories have been put together too closely, have been proved by today's race."

Frank Biela (Audi R10 TDI #2): "Of course it's nice to equal Tom Kristensen's Sebring record. I'm very pleased. After the problem in the warm-up and the puncture at the beginning of the race I was not really expecting the victory anymore. It's just superb that it ended this way."

Emanuele Pirro (Audi R10 TDI #2): "It's been a great race for us. We had quite a few problems at the start of the race and were almost two laps behind. But in such long races you should never give up. In the end of the day the fastest and strongest car won. It was a nice win for us and a great start of the season. It was a race full of mechanical problems for everybody. But our car was really strong throughout the race."

Marco Werner (Audi R10 TDI #2): "I'm absolutely happy despite the day did not start too good in the warm-up. Also the beginning of the race was not the best with the puncture and the penalties in pit lane. But the car ran perfectly in the race - it's simply an Audi, and you can rely on that. The race was fun although the last stint was very long. I was thinking about the brakes from time to time, but most of the time about the next restroom..."

Dindo Capello (Audi R10 TDI #1): "It was a shame to effectively be out of contention for overall race honors before mid distance after losing around 30 minutes to replace the starter motor twice but that is motor racing sometimes. It is very good for Audi to repeat our Sebring win of last year with the R10 TDI."

Tom Kristensen (Audi R10 TDI #1): "We were grateful to be in the race after the accident on Thursday night - the team and mechanics worked very hard to get us to the grid. The early stages of the race looked good for us. We came to Sebring for our car to win so of course it's disappointing to have encountered these issues. But again the mechanics got us out and up to speed so that we could fight back but unfortunately not right at the front at the finish. Apart from the starter problem, the car ran beautifully."

Allan McNish (Audi R10 TDI #1): "We encountered starter problems on our car which was a shame because we were in a very strong position. But to finish 1-2 in LM P1 is still very pleasing. Our team showed a lot of strength of character to keep fighting. It's now very clear that we have stiff competition from both Acura/Honda and Porsche - it's going to be a tough battle with those cars."

Source : http://www.theautochannel.com (3/19/2007)

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TOP FUEL

* Tony Schumacher, from Chicago, defeated Larry Dixon in a close final round. Schumacher's U.S. Army dragster edged Dixon's Skytel dragster at the finish line.

* It was Schumacher's first victory of the season, his second victory at this event and his 36th career win.

* With the victory, Schumacher moved into fourth on the all-time Top Fuel wins list, ahead of legendary "Big Daddy" Don Garlits.

* Dixon drove his SkyTel dragster to the No. 1 qualifying position with a performance of 4.510 seconds at 330.07 mph. It was Dixon's 27th No. 1 qualifying effort of his career and his first No. 1 since July 2005 (Seattle).

* Rod Fuller maintained the POWERade Series Countdown to the Championship lead, 39 ahead of Schumacher, who moved to second with his victory.

* Dixon's SkyTel team, led by crew chief Donnie Bender, won the Full Throttle Pit Crew Challenge award. Schumacher moved into the season lead.

FUNNY CAR

* Ron Capps, from Carlsbad, Calif., raced to the victory over Phil Burkart. Capps powered his Brut Revolution Dodge Charger to the win with a performance of 4.773 seconds at 323.27 mph, while Burkart's machine finished in 4.876 at 316.75.

* It was Capps' first victory of the season, second consecutive at this event and 23rd of his career.

* Robert Hight raced to his 17th career No. 1 qualifying performance with a track-record time of 4.686 seconds at 331.94 mph. It was his second No. 1 of the season and second at Gainesville Raceway.

* Robert Hight held on to his POWERade Series Countdown to the Championship lead, and is now six points ahead of Capps.

* Capps' Brut Revolution Racing team, led by crew chief Ed "Ace" McCulloch, won the Full Throttle Pit Crew Challenge award. Capps also holds the season lead.

PRO STOCK

* Greg Anderson, from Charlotte, N.C., raced to the victory over Larry Morgan. Anderson powered his Summit Racing Pontiac GTO to a 6.577 at 211.06 to hold off Morgan's Lucas Oil Dodge Stratus, which slowed to an 8.076 at 118.24.

* It was Anderson's second victory of the season, 45th of his career and second at this track.

* Anderson raced to the 53rd No. 1 qualifying effort of his career, his second of the season and his fourth in a row at this event.

* Anderson posted a national elapsed time record of 6.536 in his Summit Racing Pontiac GTO, worth 20 bonus points. Anderson earned the maximum 138 points at this event, including 100 points for winning, 8 points for the No. 1 qualifying spot, 10 points for making a qualifying attempt and 20 for the national record.

* Anderson posted the first Pro Stock speed of more than 210 mph in NHRA history with his 211.20 mph speed during qualifying. Teammate Jason Line set the national speed record with a 211.69 mph effort.

* Larry Morgan defeated Dave Connolly by .0024-second margin of victory in the second round of Pro Stock eliminations to claim the $1,000 Motel 6 Who Got the Light Award.

* Anderson moved into the POWERade Countdown to the Championship lead by 103 points over teammate Line.

* Larry Morgan's Lucas Oil Racing team, led by crew chief Gary Pearman, won the Full Throttle Pit Crew Challenge award. Line holds the season lead.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE

* Karen Stoffer, from Minden, Nev., raced to the victory over Matt Smith. Stoffer used a holeshot start on her Geico Suzuki to hold off Smith's quicker Torco Racing Fuels Buell.

* Stoffer won three of her four round wins on holeshot starts.

* It was Stoffer's fourth career victory and first at this track.

* Angelle Sampey raced to the 40th No. 1 qualifying effort of her career, her third at this event. She earned the position with a national record elapsed time of 6.911 seconds on her U.S. Army Suzuki.

* Sampey's 40 No. 1 qualifying awards is the most for a female racer in NHRA history.

* Stoffer moved into the POWERade Countdown to the Championship lead by 17 points ahead of Smith. It is the first time Stoffer has led the POWERade points standings.

* Chip Ellis' Drag Specialties Buell team, led by crew chief Ken Johnson, won the Full Throttle Pit Crew Challenge award.

Source : http://www.theautochannel.com (3/19/2007)

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Krohn-Risi Ferrari Finishes Top Ten In Class at 12 Hours of Sebring

Despite the fact that the No. 61 Krohn-Risi Ferrari team of Tracy Krohn, Nic JÃnsson and Colin Braun had a setback less than four hours into the 55th Annual 12 Hours of Sebring race, they managed to pull out a Top Ten finish in their first-ever American Le Mans Series race in the Ferrari 430GT.

Although it was not the finishing position the team had hoped to achieve, the race served its purpose to expose the strong and weak points of the new pairing of Krohn, JÃnsson and Braun in the Risi Competizione-prepared Ferrari 430GT and give all the drivers seat time in the car.

At approximately 1:10 p.m., about an hour into his first stint as third rotation driver, Krohn got sideways in Turn 13 and was struck by a Porsche GT2 car, sending both cars to the pits for repairs. The damage to the No. 61 Ferrari took over an hour to repair, including a radiator change and resulted in a loss of approximately 30 laps.

The No. 61 Krohn-Risi Ferrari team made additional changes which the drivers all felt improved the drivability of the car for the remainder of the race. The new team finished ninth in the GT2 class and 24th overall, out of a field of 34 cars in the inaugural race of the 2007 ALMS season.

The sister No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 430GR of Jaime Melo, Mika Salo and Johnny Mowlem won the GT2 class in a nail-biting race that had everyone out of the their seats when it went to the wire on the last lap.

The next ALMS race for the Krohn-Risi Ferrari team will be the Lone Star Grand Prix Race on April 20-21, 2007 in Houston, Texas, hometown for both Tracy Krohn and Risi Competizione.

Source : http://www.theautochannel.com (3/19/2007)

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Land Rover will provide a fully-equipped Defender 110 to support the 180 Degree Pole To Pole Challenge.

The expedition aims to attempt a new world-record voyage from the geo-magnetic North Pole to the geo-magnetic South Pole.

This exciting journey is being undertaken by 19-year olds, Rob Gauntlett and James Hooper - two intrepid young explorers who last year became the youngest Britons to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

Their new challenge will see them depart on 19 March 2007 when they will ski, sail and cycle their way from Pole to Pole, covering a total of 22,000 miles.

The support team will use the expedition-ready Defender 110 to ensure that Rob and James are fully supported with all their equipment no matter what the environment.

The Land Rover G4 Challenge Defender is kitted out with a WARN electric winch, front and rear lamp guards, raised air intake, front aluminium under body protection, black checker plate protection kit, rear ladder, expedition roof rack and rear tow bar.

For the duration of the expedition Rob and James will be supporting The Prince's Trust and its charitable ambitions through incorporating their experiences into the national curriculum.

Source : http://www.newcarnet.co.uk (3/19/2007)

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The government will sell its remaining 10.27% stake in Maruti Udyog in the next fiscal, finance minister P Chidambaram said on Monday.

The decision to sell the stake in the next fiscal has been prompted by the downturn in the stock market, a government source said. In July 2006, the ruling Congress-led coalition had put all decisions to sell stakes in state-run firms on hold after a key ally threatened to pull out.

But due to the market situation, the government decided to invite the financial bids to sell the remaining shares in Maruti by next year, the sources said. “The disinvestment process would be completed in the first half of 2007-08 itself,” they added.

The Cabinet committee on economic affairs had given its go-ahead to the sale on December 21, 2006. The government has also approved the appointment of SBI Capital Markets and Kotak Mahindra Capital Company as advisers to the disinvestment process of the company.

Only public sector banks, financial institutions and mutual funds, which are registered in India, are allowed to participate in the bidding process. The last date for submitting expression of interest (EoIs) expired on March 9, 2007.

According to the sources, the response to the notice inviting EoIs for the 2,96,79,689 shares held by the government has been “comfortable”. They, however, did not disclose the number of EoIs received.

Since the government announced the sale of its remaining equity in the country’s largest car maker, its shares have witnessed wild swings. When the Cabinet committee on economic affairs gave its go-ahead to the sale on December 21, 2006, the company’s shares were trading at Rs 926.

From the highs of Rs 979 a share during the trading session on January 4, 2007, the share price fell to Rs 755 on March 7, 2005 and closed at Rs 789.55 on Monday.

At present, Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corporation has the biggest stake in Maruti, with an ownership of 54.2%. The company was an equal joint venture between the government and Suzuki till the time the previous government began selling its holding as part of efforts to exit non-core sectors of the economy.

Source : Economic Times (3/20/2007)

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The government will sell its remaining 10.27 per cent stake in car maker Maruti Udyog Ltd in the next financial year beginning April 1, the finance minister said on Monday.

The cabinet has approved the plan for a stake sale in the firm which is restricted to banks, financial institutions and Indian mutual funds. Maruti is 54.2 per cent owned by Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp.

"The government has decided to do it in the next (financial) year," Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram told reporters when asked about media reports the government had put on hold its plan to sell the stake.

Ministers have also approved the appointment of SBI Capital Markets and Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Ltd as advisers.

Maruti, India's largest carmaker with about half of the country's passenger vehicle market, competes with the Indian arm of Hyundai Motor Co and Tata Motors Ltd.

Maruti was an equal joint venture between the government and Suzuki when the previous administration began selling its holding as part of efforts to exit non-core sectors of the economy.

The ruling Congress-led coalition put all decisions to sell stakes in state-run firms on hold in July after a key ally threatened to pull out

Source : Economic Times (3/20/2007)

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Shanghaiist felt a little sad a few years back when we learnt that one of our first automotive crushes was soon to be no more. However, we felt a lot happier last week when we learnt that the MG had arrived back on the scene, and all thanks to China's oldest automotive manufacturer, Nanjing Automobile.

The New York Times has a great article on how the resurrection of the MG-Rover brand is representative of the foreign acquisition and join-venture strategies of China's automobile companies, all of which are designed to help build international brands from China. Shanghaiist has previously mentioned Anhui province's Chery Automobile and Chrysler's joint-venture story, and there's also a few blogs monitoring such developments in the Chinese automobile industry.

In the above article, the NYT interviewed Jonathan Anderson, chief economist for Asia at UBS in Hong Kong about the hyperbole surrounding the state of China's foreign investments in automobile industries. He had this to say...

"This is not Japan in the '80s; this is Japan in the '60s,"

In 2005, Nanjing Auto decided to acquire MG-Rover with the intent on keeping the brand going. Nanjing Auto paid just over $100 million for the MG assets, MG manufacturing equipment was shipped to China to reduce the cost of the labour-intensive production of MG cars, and the new parent-company also retained key managers in the MG structure. The loss of one of Britain's most loved brands wasn't received well back in the UK due to the stink of poor administration. Wikipedia states that the Longbridge Manufacturing Plant progressively downsized its working force from 16,000 to 6,000 since its opening in 1982 until MG-Rover's collapse into administration in April 2005. At the time, nearly 6,000 jobs were lost when the Longbridge plant closed. But it also appears that the former home of MG-Rover hasn't missed out on this Chinese-led revival. Fansite, MG-Rover.org reported at the end of January this year that the first batch of 42 MG TF's had emerged from the lines at the Longbridge plant. Let's hope that this can help the 23% of former MG-Rover employees still in financial difficulty due to the company's previous failure.

There has also been quite a bit of speculation whether Nanjing Automobile has over-stretched its finances in acquiring and producing MG-Rover. This doesn't appeared to have impinged on the construction of new models for MG in Nanjing. For this iconic brand's sake, we hope Nanjing Automobile has things under control.

Source : http://www.shanghaiist.com/ (3/19/2007)

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MURRAY HILL, N.J.--Linde Gas, a member of The Linde Group, one of the world's leading engineering and industrial gases companies, will be the sole provider of hydrogen fuel for the U.S.' largest hydrogen energy conference, which begins today in San Antonio, Texas.

Linde is the world's only company with the in-house technology to fuel all types of hydrogen vehicles, regardless of the mode of on-board storage. At the National Hydrogen Association's conference, which runs March 19 to March 22, Linde will be a Gold sponsor, supplying both compressed gaseous hydrogen and cryogenic liquid hydrogen to vehicles from automakers including BMW, Daimler-Chrysler, Honda, GM, Toyota and Volkswagon.

"Fueling and driving hydrogen-powered vehicles just got easier and more energy efficient, thanks to technology developed by Linde. As the theme of this year's NHA conference is 'Hydrogen: Here and Now,' it is only appropriate for Linde to demonstrate our unique capability of fuelling all vehicles at this important event," said Joachim Wolf, executive director, hydrogen solutions, The Linde Group.

"Linde has equipped over 60 hydrogen filling stations worldwide and soon expects to meet the world's current automotive hydrogen demand with the help of sustainable hydrogen production methods, such as hydrogen produced from biomass," Wolf said.

On Tuesday, March 20, Wolf and Frank Ochmann, head of the BMW Hydrogen 7 Series development project, BMW Group, will each present on the entire hydrogen chain, from production to use. Linde is an exclusive partner of BMW on hydrogen fuelling technology and an important supplier of hydrogen to the BMW CleanEnergy project.

The presentation is part of the National Hydrogen Association's press conference, beginning at 10:45 a.m. in the executive assembly room of the Henry B. Gonzalez convention center.

"As a fuel source, liquid hydrogen's low volume and high energy density enables vehicles like the BMW Hydrogen 7 to travel longer distances between refueling," Wolf said.

Wolf also will deliver a keynote address on Thursday, March, 22 on the hydrogen infrastructure as well as a presentation public fuelling of hydrogen powered vehicles on March 21 in Exhibition Hall B.

Linde also will present at the Compressed Gas Association's segment following the NHA conference on Friday, March 23. Wolf will discuss the safety aspects of fueling vehicles with liquid hydrogen and Bob Boyd, hydrogen solutions project development manager, will discuss the usability of composite carbon fiber tubes for storing hydrogen.

The Linde Group is a world leading industrial gases and engineering company with more than 51,000 employees working in around 70 countries worldwide. Following the acquisition of The BOC Group the company has gases and engineering sales of approximately 12 billion euro. The strategy of The Linde Group is geared towards earnings-based growth and focuses on the expansion of its international business with forward-looking products and services.

Source : http://www.theautochannel.com (3/19/2007)

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Bespoke Ferrari 612 Scaglietti HGTC as designed by the award-winning magazine delivered to Ferrari owner by Charles Hurst Ferrari, Belfast Unique demonstration of Ferrari's Carrozzeria Scaglietti Personalisation Programme which allows customers to create their dream Ferrari After a series of exhibitions throughout the Ferrari Dealer Network in the UK, the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti which was designed by the award-winning Wallpaper* magazine on behalf of a Ferrari collector and shown at the Goodwood Festival of Speed and the exclusive Salon Privé in July 2006 has been delivered to its owner, Mr Paul Hill, by Ferrari's Charles Hurst dealership in Belfast.

Wallpaper*, the leading magazine for design, interiors, fashion and travel, was invited to design a stylish and sophisticated Ferrari 612 Scaglietti which reflected the desire for a unique Ferrari which defines luxury and taste. Through the unlimited possibilities available in Ferrari's bespoke Carrozzeria Scaglietti Personalisation Programme, the car was specified in a stunning but subtle two-tone paint scheme, with two complementary colours Nero and Blu Pozzi which are also silhouetted in the interior of the car, which has Nero and Blu Scuro leather Daytona seats with Blu stitching.

In addition to the Handling GTC package and F1 gearbox, the car features some truly bespoke elements: dedicated branding on the aluminium kickplates, discrete branding on the leather of the glovebox lid, and a custom-made leather pocket for the magazine's new City Guides. In the tradition of all bespoke luxury goods, the price remains between Ferrari and the customer.

Source : http://www.theautochannel.com (3/19/2007)

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London; The Mercedes-Benz S-Class range has been voted Fleet News Luxury Car of the Year 2007 - the fifth time the magazine has bestowed its honour on the saloon.

Commenting on the award, Fleet News said that S-Class is: "The absolute pinnacle. The S-Class covers all the bases in terms of a luxury car - style, appeal, comfort, space and, in the new model, plenty of safety innovations including Pre-Safe and Distronic Plus. In S 320 CDI guise, it also offers fairly reasonable running costs for a car of this type."

The Fleet News award follows S-Class winning its category in the recent What Car? Awards for the seventh time.

Kevin West, National Sales Manager Mercedes Car Group added: "This important accolade proves that S-Class is uniquely popular with all types of customer whether private or corporate. It is unique in offering the very best technology and state-of-the-art engines in a perennially-desirable product.

"As well as the refinements our customers expected from their previous S-Class, the newest model introduced infra-red NightView Assist to the world, making night time driving easier - and much safer than before. The latest variants can have PRE-SAFE(r) Brake, which is the first globally-available system that automatically brakes in the event of an impending impact."

As well as being lauded by magazines, S-Class was the first car in the world, back in 2005, to be awarded an environmental certificate by Germany's influential TÜV institute. The S-Class's construction, materials, recyclability and class-leading performance all helped the luxury saloon win the landmark award.

Add to that, S-Class was the first car to introduce a raft of safety equipment and innovations (three-point seat belts; anti-lock brakes; airbags; satellite navigation; ESP(r) Electronic Stability Program; first luxury diesel car in the UK; PRE-SAFE(r) preventative occupant protection system; NightView infra-red night vision; autonomous braking). All these features have helped make it the world's most popular luxury saloon.

With its latest award, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class has once again proven to be the definitive luxury choice for discerning motorists.

The S-Class range starts from £54,215 on the road.

Source : http://www.theautochannel.com (3/19/2007)

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With its sleek, flowing good looks, Citroën's new five seat C4 Picasso is distinctively different from both its five seat competitors and its seven seat stable mate, the

Grand C4 Picasso.Now on sale in the UK, the C4 Picasso is not only arguably the most attractive compact MPV on the market, but it also benefits from the lightest, most spacious interior in its sector as well as the latest cutting-edge technology.

Citroën's designers have taken the award-winning Grand C4 Picasso and created a five seat compact MPV that is refreshingly individual, combining a dynamic new styling, featuring re-designed front and rear ends, with exceptional levels of comfort, a highly practical interior seating lay-out and even an all-new version of the versatile Modubox folding trolley.

As well as offering superb all-round visibility and an extremely light and airy interior, this latest Citroën is packed full of firsts for the five seat compact MPV sector.A parking space measurement system, Hill Start Assist, automatic electric parking brake, air quality sensor, scented air freshener, Lane Departure Warning System, self-levelling suspension and paddleshift gearchange are all available, many as standard.

In the hugely competitive compact MPV market, which accounts for one in ten new car sales, the arrival of the five seat C4 Picasso means that Citroën is the only manufacturer to offer three different compact MPVs, with the new model sitting between the hugely successful Xsara Picasso and the seven seat Grand C4 Picasso.In addition, with its C8 full-size people carrier and versatile Berlingo Multispace budget MPV, Citroën offers arguably the most complete range of MPVs around.

Dynamic and visually arresting, the C4 Picasso's powerful yet elegant new front end combines smart chrome chevrons with a completely re-designed bumper section that incorporates air intakes covered in a sporty black mesh.The signature wave-shaped waistline can be highlighted in chrome and, rounding off the eye-catching side profile, can be complemented by a range of stylish 16, 17 and 18 inch alloy wheels.

The rear of the car is where the C4 Picasso really stands apart from the seven seat model, presenting its own individual personality. The rear windows wrap around the pillars, above the unique horizontal design of the rear lights, to give a virtually uninterrupted all-glass look to the upper half of the vehicle.

On the inside the feeling of space in the front is accentuated by the deliberately simple design of the dash.Many of the usual buttons are cleverly incorporated into the

C4 Picasso's innovative fixed centred controls steering wheel, while individual controls for the vents and air conditioning are conveniently positioned at either end of the dash.

Freeing up even more space, the handbrake is replaced by an automatic electric parking brake and the traditional gear lever, on models with the electronic gearbox system, is replaced by a paddleshift gearchange and mode selector stalk.

The C4 Picasso is particularly remarkable for the vast expanse of glass that surrounds it, creating a light and bright environment for all onboard. The wide angle panoramic windscreen is the biggest in the class and rises up and over the heads of the front seat occupants, providing a field of vision that is double that of a standard MPV.

The slim design of the windscreen pillars combines with the large quarter light windows and panoramic windscreen to ensure that the C4 Picasso offers the best driver's visibility of any five seat compact MPV.Assisted by the kinked wave in the waistline the C4 Picasso also offers rear passengers the best visibility in the sector, while the huge optional panoramic sunroof allows even more light to pour in from above.

Artificial light also has a key role to play, with the availability of up to 30 different light sources onboard.These range from an innovative rechargeable boot light that doubles as a hand-held torch to subtle strip lighting in the doors, headlining and dash.There are door bins that are automatically illuminated when a hand is placed inside and door mirrors housing welcome lights, which bathe the ground with light when approaching the vehicle at night.

Passengers in the rear row benefit from three individual, full size, sliding and tilting seats - a rarity in this sector - as well as a flat floor and class-leading knee and elbow room. The inventive seat design allows the rear seats to be quickly and easily folded flat by pulling on the straps at the side of the seat base, all without removing the head restraints.

With all five seats in place, Citroën's new compact MPV heads the category with up to 605 litres of boot space underneath the luggage cover. This extends to a maximum 1,734 litres to the roof when the rear seats are folded flat.

To enhance practicality, Citroën has created a completely new version of its unique Modubox removable trolley especially for the C4 Picasso.Introduced in its original form on the Xsara Picasso, this new folding, wheeled trolley comes with a soft canvas bag, which can be insulated, making it easier to divide boot space and to transport objects away from the vehicle.

Citroën's designers have made use of almost every possible space in the

C4 Picasso, sculpting a number of innovative storage compartments to hide everyday belongings. A large capacity 'coolbox' sits in the centre of the dash on models with the electronic gearbox system, there are two large compartments on top of the dash and hidden cubby holes under the floor in the second row to name but a few.

With air conditioning standard on most models, and with individual air-flow controls in the second row, occupants will be able to enjoy perfect travelling conditions whatever the weather.Particularly useful for short stops on hot days, a 'rest' function allows the air conditioning to continue to operate after the engine is switched off.

Adding to the exceptional levels of comfort, the C4 Picasso can be equipped with an air quality sensor that monitors the levels of outdoor pollution and will automatically switch the airflow to 'recycle' if high levels of pollutants are detected.A built-in air freshener with a choice of scents, which include a new tobacco-neutralising fragrance, is also available.

Positively brimming with neat touches, the C4 Picasso can be specified with aircraft-style trays on the back of the front seats, which can conceal integrated reading lights or video screens for the DVD player.All models feature a clever sun visor system on the panoramic windscreen, incorporating a sliding blind and flip-down visor to protect the front seat occupants from sun glare, as well as an automatic fuel flap.

A number of innovative features have been introduced, each designed to make the driving experience safe and stress-free.A parking space measurement system allows drivers to locate a space when parallel parking, and is the first such system on the market, while the standard fitment of Hill Start Assist eases pulling away when driving off on a slope.

The long list of equipment on offer also includes front and rear parking sensors, cruise control and speed limiter, a high quality hi-fi system developed with Philips, and a NaviDrive colour satellite navigation system with built-in telephone and voice recognition facility.

Safety is a key fundamental for Citroën and the C4 Picasso benefits from being built on the same platform as the Grand C4 Picasso, which achieved a maximum five star adult occupant protection rating from EuroNCAP.ABS with EBD and EBA, ESP with traction control and seven airbags are standard on all models, while a Lane Departure Warning System and Xenon dual-function directional headlamps are also available.

To increase its family appeal the C4 Picasso offers further safety features such as a child mirror in the front, four Isofix seats, anti-pinch functions on the windows, an electric child lock system and five audible and visual seatbelt warning indicators.

The security of the vehicle and its contents has not been neglected, so to increase peace of mind the C4 Picasso is the only five seat compact MPV to offer laminated side windows, while an alarm, remote control central locking with deadlocks and automatic locking of the vehicle when in motion are also available.

Providing an optimum balance between road holding and ride comfort, the new

C4 Picasso features a redesigned running gear to take into account the needs of a five seat people carrier, as well as the availability of pneumatic rear suspension. This self-levelling suspension, available on top end models, benefits handling and safety by maintaining a constant ride height, regardless of load. It also allows the height of the rear sill to be raised or lowered independently for easier loading.

Depending on the model selected, buyers can choose between a 5-speed manual transmission, or Citroën's advanced new 6-speed electronic gearbox system.With the option of manually-operated paddleshift gearchange or an automatic mode, this hi-tech system is exceptionally easy to use and offers lower fuel consumption.

The new C4 Picasso range is powered by a choice of four engines: 127hp 1.8i 16V and 143hp 2.0i 16V petrol units, as well as 110hp 1.6HDi and 138hp 2.0HDi diesel powerplants.Both diesel engines are fitted with Diesel Particulate Filter Systems and return CO2 emissions as low as 150g/km.Fuel economy for all four versions is impressive - the 1.6HDi is capable of returning around 50mpg on the combined cycle.

Xavier Duchemin, managing director at Citroën UK, said: "Citroën now offers UK new car buyers the widest ever choice of MPVs from a single manufacturer.With its dynamic styling, cutting-edge technology, and light, bright and airy interior the new

C4 Picasso has all the right ingredients to stand out from the five seat MPV crowd."

Source : http://www.theautochannel.com (3/19/2007)

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SANTA ROSA, Calif., -- Electric car pioneer ZAP today unveiled concept drawings of the ZAP-X Crossover SUV on its website www.zapworld.com/.

The images of the ZAP-X are also highlighted in the new issue of Popular Science, April 2007, in an article entitled "Who killed the gas guzzler?" including an interview with ZAP CEO Steve Schneider. The issue is on newsstands now as well as online at www.popsci.com/.

The design sketches highlight the styling, performance and technology that ZAP plans to incorporate into the ZAP-X. The compact-SUV design will feature all-wheel drive with in-hub electric motors capable to deliver 644 horsepower and a top speed of 155mph. By combining a lightweight aluminum chassis, a new efficient drive system and advanced battery management system, the goal for the ZAP-X is to be able to achieve 350-mile range, with a rapid 10-minute recharging time.

"We believe that the ZAP-X will become the most advanced, most practical and most appealing flagship electric vehicle to date and will revolutionize the industry providing the driver with the enjoyment of a sports car and the practicality of an SUV," says ZAP CEO Steve Schneider.

ZAP currently markets an affordable city-speed electric car and truck called the XEBRA through its automotive distribution portal marketing. ZAP's authorized auto dealer network will offer sales, service and parts distribution for the lineup of vehicles being developed by ZAP and its strategic partners in Europe, Asia and South America.

Source : http://www.theautochannel.com (3/19/2007)

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Paris, Bernard Rey, currently Senior Vice President, CEO Office at Nissan Motor Co.,Ltd will replace Philippe Klein, as Senior Vice President, Renault CEO Office. He will be a member of the Renault Management Committee. He will report to Carlos Ghosn. On the same date, Philippe Klein will take a new position at Nissan Motor Co., Ltd based in Tokyo.

Source : http://www.theautochannel.com (3/19/2007)

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North Lanarkshire Council is improving the efficiency, and the emissions, of its vehicle fleet. The local authority has equipped all 209 vehicles from its community services department with the Tracker Reporter Vehicle Asset Management (VAM) system. While the investment's main objectives are to improve efficiency and reduce carbon monoxide emissions, the new system also enables the authority's fleet management team to maintain direct contact with all vehicles, improve route planning, increase personal security for drivers and improve health and safety practices.

Source : http://www.autoindustry.co.uk/ (3/19/2007)

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Representatives of the UK's Motorsport Academy will attend the Race Retro international historic motorsport show that will take place at Stoneleigh Park, near Coventry on March 23 - 25.

The Motorsport Academy will share a stand with the UK's Motorsport Industry Association where it will continue its efforts to effect an improvement in the skills and qualifications of those entering the UK motorsport industry. The Academy will use the show as a forum to find potential education and training partners with whom it can address the historic motorsport sector's three prime needs which it identifies as supervisory and business skills; advanced apprenticeships in motorsport engineering; and craft skills.

The Motorsport Academy's show stand will be situated adjacent to an area dedicated to education and training providers. Exhibitors confirmed so far include the University of Derby; Swansea Institute of Higher Education; Staffordshire University; North West Kent College; Sandwell College and Oxford & Cherwell Valley College. Coleg Sir Gar will also demonstrate its expertise in reverse engineering technology.

David Allison of the Motorsport Academy said, "This is an ideal opportunity for us to counsel a wide range of businesses about what skills and qualifications they will need their employees to possess in the future. We will then work closely with relevant universities, colleges and other training providers to ensure the very highest levels of training for these learners.

"The show will also give us the chance to talk directly to people looking for employment in the motorsport industry, for who we have appointed a dedicated support team that can assist in finding the jobs they want.

"Finally, we will be highlighting to the many small businesses present some of the potential issues that low volume employers now face in the area of HR law. Moreover, we will be offering our solutions to help them cope with the ongoing changes concerned."

Source : http://www.autoindustry.co.uk/ (3/19/2007)

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The first China-developed turbo-charged car, produced by Brilliance Auto Group, made its debut Sunday, China Securities News reported Monday.

Turbocharger can increase engine power by 30 percent or more at a given emission compared with normal engines, which gives it advantages of being small, energy-saving and environment-friendly.

The group introduced the engine last June and announced it would use it in its new model Galena.

The 1.8T models are priced ranging from 125,800 yuan to 199,800 yuan while imported cars with this type of engines usually cost over 180,000 yuan.

The group plans to produce 50,000 such engines in 2008 and 100,000 in 2010, it said.

Brilliance Auto, based in Shenyang, capital of Liaoning Province in northeast China, sold some 210,000 cars in 2006, ranking the 9th by sales volume among auto manufacturers in China.

Source : http://www.china.org.cn (3/19/2007)

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The government will divest its remaining 10.27% stake in Maruti Udyog (Q, N,C,F)* in the next fiscal, finance minister, P Chidambaram said on Monday, reports Economic Times.

The decision to sell the stake in the next fiscal is driven by the decline in the stock market, sources said. The disinvestment process will be completed in the first half of 2007-08 itself, sources added.

The Cabinet committee on economic affairs had given its go-ahead to the sale on Dec. 21, 2006. The government approved the appointment of SBI Capital Markets and Kotak Mahindra Capital Company as advisers to the disinvestment process of the company.

Only public sector banks, financial institutions and mutual funds, registered in India, are allowed to participate in the bidding process. The last date for submitting expression of interest (EoIs) expires on Mar. 9, 2007.

The response to the notice inviting EoIs for the 29,679,689 shares held by the government has been comfortable, sources said. However, the number of EoIs received has not been disclosed.

Currently, Japan`s Suzuki Motor Corporation has the biggest stake in Maruti, with an ownership of 54.2%. The company was an equal joint venture between the government and Suzuki ,untillthe previous government started selling its holding as part of their efforts to exit non-core sectors of the economy.

Source : myiris.com (3/19/2007)

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Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M)launched a new face-lift variant of its multi purpose vehicle Bolero on Monday Mar.19 , reports Economic Times.

The vehicle is priced between Rs 4.64 lakh to Rs 5.8 lakh. The company is promoting Bolero`s new variant as an entry-level sports utility vehicle (SUV) and has reduced the prices of its models in a range of Rs 15,000-Rs 37,000.

Bolero`s new variant will come with an option of 4X4 drive and would have power steering and improved lamps as a standard feature, sources added.

The company expects to sell over 42,000 units of Bolero in this fiscal, expecting a 15%increase in the cars sales, after the launch of the new variant, sources said.

The company expects to sell 1.72 lakh units in the current fiscal, of which 36,000 units are expected to be of popular SUV Scorpio, sources added.

Source : myiris.com (3/19/2007)

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DETROIT, -- In a continuing effort to inform the automotive supply chain about current and future applications of automatic identification (auto ID) technology -- including those to guard against counterfeiting as well as best practices in brand protection -- the Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) will hold its 12th annual Auto ID Showcase on April 18, 2007, at the Rock Financial Showplace in Nov, Mich.

The theme of the conference is Automatic Identification Technologies Unite the Industry, highlighting the integration of auto ID technologies and the use of complimentary technologies for streamlining processes and collaborations with other standards organizations (ANSI, EPCglobal, JAPIA, Odette and ISO) to unify auto ID standards. Mark Thomas of FedEx Services will deliver the keynote presentation at 9:15 a.m. on the importance of auto ID in aiding traceability at the company.

With the automotive industry losing billions each year to bogus auto parts, AIAG's Auto ID Showcase will also feature a session on brand protection and anti-counterfeiting presented on behalf of the Brand Protection Alliance by Matt Goldhawk, business development executive, IIMAK Secure. He will discuss the sources of counterfeiting and grey market activities that rob companies of their profitability and brand integrity, best practices for companies in defending their brand and how auto ID can cost effectively support product authentication.

Other industry experts from Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp., Freedom Technologies, Inc., ToolWorx and the U.S. Department of Defense will present application-specific information and case studies, emerging technologies, as well as work toward global auto ID standards. Approximately 40 companies will demonstrate solutions in bar code, 2-D, shipping labels, RFID and other technologies on an exhibit floor.

Source : http://www.automotive.com (3/19/2007)

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SHANGHAI, China, -- Dana Corporation announced today that its subsidiary, Dana Mauritius Ltd., and Dongfeng Motor Co. Ltd. have amended the agreement to develop their 50/50 joint venture, Dongfeng Dana Axle Co. Ltd. Certain terms of the original agreement with Dongfeng signed on March 10, 2005, were renegotiated after Dana filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in March 2006.

Under the amendments and other agreements signed by both companies - and subject to certain government approvals, Dana Mauritius will make an initial payment of 38.8 million RMB (approximately USD 5 million) to Dongfeng for a 4-percent equity interest in the joint venture. Closing of this part of the transaction is expected to be completed by the end of March 2007. Dana Mauritius will purchase the remaining 46-percent equity interest after April 1, 2008, and within three years of receiving the aforementioned government approvals.

Dana Mauritius will invest in an existing Dongfeng subsidiary, which is China's largest commercial vehicle axle manufacturer, to form Dongfeng Dana Axle. Headquartered in Xiangfan, China, the joint-venture company will employ approximately 8,000 employees in three production facilities in Xiangfan and Shiyan, as well as a research and development center that will be established. The technical center will support Dongfeng Dana Axle's commitment to providing its customers with world-class manufacturing processes and axle components and systems.

"We are very pleased to reach this milestone with Dongfeng," said Nick Stanage, president of Dana's Heavy Vehicle Products group. "Dongfeng Dana Axle will be the largest commercial vehicle axle supplier in Asia. For Dana's Commercial Vehicle Systems business, this joint venture also provides a great opportunity to balance and complement our extensive operations in North America."

Another term of the joint venture agreement between Dana and Dongfeng is Dana licensing certain commercial vehicle axle technology to Dongfeng Dana Axle for the term of the joint venture.

Dana has seven other joint ventures in the Asia-Pacific region, including two in China. With more than 4,300 employees in 18 facilities in the region, Dana produces axles, propshafts, structures, and sealing and thermal- management products for a host of light- and heavy-vehicle manufacturers.

Source : http://www.automotive.com (3/19/2007)

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VASTERAS, Sweden, -- Be prepared to see 15, 000 classic cars and meet 250,000 visitors from 40 countries on July 5th, 6th, and 7th in Vasteras, Sweden.

"We're celebrating our 30th anniversary this year," say Klas Brink, prime mover and organizer of Power Meet. "So expect even more classic cars, people, swap-meet vendors and celebrating than ever before."

Invited guests include Jay Leno and Per Blixt, his Swedish mechanic from Big Dog Garage.

During the show's three days, you'll enjoy cruising, exhibits, markets, the awards show, and festive celebrations. You'll get to meet and interview organizers, exhibitors, and car enthusiasts from around the world.

Photographers can be arranged for footage on and above ground, including still and motion pictures. Requests for freelance writers will be forwarded to independent third parties.

Source : http://www.automotive.com (3/19/2007)

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A Two-wheeler major Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) is conducting feasibility study for a new plant to cater to the increased demand as it targets one million domestic sales mark in the next three years.

The company is looking at introducing new motorcycle and scooter models and is presently working on a fuel injection powered bike, a 100 cc bike and new scooter for the Indian market.

"We are presently conducting a feasibility study for a new plant. A new plant would only come up once our existing capacity of 1.2 million units is fully utilised which could take another couple of years," HMSI CEO and President Yukihiro Aoshima told reporters here.

HMSI operates in India through a facility in Manesar near here and has a combined two-wheeler (motorcycle and scooters) production capacity of 1.2 million units.

Aoshima said since the Manesar facility is already operating to full capacity and is producing the existing line up, the 100 cc bike could be rolled out from the new plant. The company is looking at launching several models of its entry-level 100 cc bike.

The company today launched an upgraded variant of its 150 cc bike Unicorn priced at Rs 58,150 (ex-showroom Delhi), which would be rolled out in the market in first week of April.

HMSI also introduced a limited edition Unicorn priced at Rs 59,425 (ex-showroom Delhi). The company would sell 2,500 units of the limited edition which would be out in the market in May this year

Source : Economic Times (3/20/2007)

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Toyota's newest version of its Yaris supermini is the fastest it has yet built, and goes on sale from April 1.

The Yaris SR 1.8 uses a 131bhp petrol engine and is priced from £12,995 for a three-door version and £13,495 for a five-door.

The newcomer accelerates from 0-62mph in 9.3sec, and will manage a top speed of 121mph.

While that won't worry the legion of more powerful superminis such as the Clio Renaultsport or Vauxhall Corsa VXR, the Yaris SR's average fuel consumption of 39.2mpg is far better than these higher-performance rivals.

The chassis, suspension and steering of the new SR are all tuned for a sportier drive, and stability and traction controls are fitted as standard. A rear roof spoiler, side skirts, chrome exhaust, LED tail lights and remodelled front and rear bumpers set the model apart from other trims.

Other SR models are also being launched at the same time as the 1.8-litre, with prices starting at £10,695 for a three-door 1.3-litre petrol and £11,665 for a 1.4-litre diesel.

Source : http://www.whatcar.co.uk (3/19/2007)

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MANCHESTER, U.K. - It's a watershed moment for one of the most iconic American brands. General Motors on Monday took the wraps off a prototype right-hand-drive Hummer H3, which signals the Detroit brand's commitment to making serious inroads into foreign markets.

The automaker said the right-hand-drive H3 will be built in South Africa and will be rolled out to right-hand-drive markets including South Africa, Australia and Japan starting this summer. Pricing for the right-hand-drive H3 will be announced later, GM said.

"We are determined to build on the brand's unique recognition in Europe and especially here in the U.K.," said GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz at the opening of a new Hummer showroom here.

Hummer reported that its sales grew nearly 34 percent globally in 2006 with 82,000 vehicles delivered, compared with 61,000 in 2005.

The H3 is powered by a 3.7-liter inline-5 that makes 242 horsepower and 242 pound-feet of torque. It is linked to either a four-speed automatic transmission or a five-speed manual transmission.

Source : http://www.edmunds.com (3/19/2007)

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The Hummer brand has not, perhaps, chosen the most auspicious time to enter the UK market. In time for the forthcoming UK budget, it is arriving with the opening of the first dedicated showroom this week. Sales of the right-hand drive H3 will commence in the summer. Bauer Millett, the UK's sole Hummer licensee since 2002, has been in business since 1973 and has been associated with General Motors since 1988. Several more dedicated Hummer showrooms are expected to be opened in coming months in other parts of the country.

GM acquired the rights to the Hummer brand in late 1999, and since then, Hummer sales have grown from around 1,000 vehicles in 2000 to more than 82,000 in 2006. The H3 made its debut in North America in May 2005 and with its smaller, more efficient package, made the brand more accessible. In addition to growth in the United States, the brand has shown significant expansion around the globe. In Europe, where Kroymans Corporation has the exclusive rights to import and distribute Hummer vehicles in 27 European countries, sales have more than tripled from 624 in 2005 to 2,006 in 2006.

While all previous H3s have been assembled in GM's North American facility in Shreveport, Louisiana, the new international H3, intended for most markets outside of North America, is being assembled at the Struandale Assembly Facility in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, where GM invested more than $100 million to prepare for production of the H3.

Source : http://www.autoindustry.co.uk/ (3/19/2007)

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Land Rover has announced that it will provide a fully-equipped Defender 110 to support the 180 Degree Pole To Pole Challenge, a world-record attempting manpowered expedition from the geo-magnetic North Pole to the geo-magnetic South Pole. This journey is being undertaken by 19-year olds, Rob Gauntlett and James Hooper, two young explorers who last year became the youngest Britons to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Their new challenge will see them depart on 19 March 2007 when they will ski, sail and cycle their way from Pole to Pole, covering a total of 22,000 miles.

The support team will use the expedition-ready Defender 110 to ensure that Rob and James are fully supported with all their equipment no matter what the environment. For the duration of the expedition Rob and James will be supporting The Prince's Trust and its charitable ambitions through incorporating their experiences into the national curriculum. Issues they are hoping to focus on include global warming, ethnic diversity and the effects of migration. The challenge aims to be entirely carbon neutral and as such, all emissions derived from the vehicle will be offset through Land Rover's CO2 offset scheme.

Source : http://www.autoindustry.co.uk/ (3/19/2007)

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The Great Bookham, UK based Barwell Motorsport organisation has become the first team to be accepted as an EEMS Campaign Partner after signing up to a six point charter of actions demonstrating its commitment to energy efficiency.

The EEMS Campaign Partner certificate was presented to Mark Lemmer, managing director of Barwell Motorsport, by Alan Mercer, EEMS programme manager: "When we first talked with Barwell, we could see a team who would demonstrate energy efficient motorsport both on and off the track," said Mercer. "Barwell is the first team to convert a high performance sports car to compete on bioethanol E85 blend. The British GT3 championship is new to EEMS and we are delighted to recognise their efforts and to welcome the team as one of our first EEMS Campaign Partners. This is a project we will be hearing a lot about during the season, as EEMS works with Barwell to promote the benefits of sustainable motorsport."

Lemmer said, "We are delighted to be able to promote the EEMS initiative in 2007. Everyone at Barwell Motorsport takes the environmental issues that we are facing very seriously. Developing the Bio-Ethanol Aston Martin DBRS9 and becoming an EEMS Campaign Partner are important steps towards tackling these issues."

By signing up to the six point charter, organisations will receive updates from EEMS, networking opportunities, invitations to specific EEMS Campaign Partner events and the team can promote their status as an EEMS Campaign Partner to sponsors and investors.

The Campaign Partner initiative is open to all organisations in motorsport: suppliers, race teams, championship organisers, regulators and circuits. More organisations will be endorsed as Campaign Partners in the next few weeks.

Source : http://www.autoindustry.co.uk/ (3/19/2007)

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COPENHAGEN, Denmark and HERZLIA, Israel, -- BluePhoenix Solutions , the leader in value-driven legacy modernization, today announced that it was selected by Volvofinans Group, which is jointly owned by Ford and Volvo dealers, to modernize its mission-critical credit system.

The system is used by 70 dealers in Sweden and interfaces with over 100 vendors. By modernizing this core back office application to Java, Volvofinans will be able to deliver new application features for customers more quickly and respond rapidly to changing business requirements. The company also expects to lower the credit card system's Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) by 40% annually.

Volvofinans Group has assets of more than $3.4 billion. The organization supports the sales of Volvo and Renault products by providing credit, loans and leasing. With over one million credit cards in circulation, the Volvo card is one of Sweden's most popular credit cards and can be used to buy anything from cars and tires to gas and candy.

"Our motivation for undergoing a full platform migration was to build the future foundation of our business and improve our work procedures, while saving on the IDMS database maintenance costs," said Arne Hansson, IT Manager, at Volvofinans IT AB. "We chose BluePhoenix Solutions for its tool's capability to preserve application business logic, while moving to a modern environment. The modernized application will allow faster development of new application features so that we can more rapidly respond to our customers' needs."

Using BluePhoenix(TM) DBMSMigrator for ADSO/IDMS to Java, BluePhoenix Solutions will automatically migrate Volvofinans' proprietary application from z/VM/ADSO/IDMS to Linux/Java/DB2 UDB. BluePhoenix will transform language, database, user interface and platform, resulting in a complete modernized environment.

Volvofinans Group chose the BluePhoenix Solutions tool because of its ability to migrate IDMS/ADSO applications to a relational database environment, without compromising the quality, performance, or the future scalability of the database and the migrated application. The enhanced development environment will provide more flexibility and application development speed with reduced maintenance costs and dependence on aging technologies and diminishing skills set.

"Many companies like Volvofinans Group are facing a 'legacy dilemma'," said Theis Eichel, general manager, Northern and Central Europe at BluePhoenix Solutions. "Their systems are inflexible, proprietary and expensive to maintain, yet they are mission critical. If one stops working, business may grind to a halt. BluePhoenix is addressing this issue by creating tools like DBMSMigrator for ADSO/IDMS to Java to modernize legacy applications without decommissioning them. For Volvofinans this means reduced development time, increased scalability and improved flexibility to better meet customer requirements."

DBMSMigrator for ADSO/IDMS to Java can be deployed on any Java/J2EE supported operating systems such as Unix, Linux, Windows, z/OS (IBM mainframe), and OS/400 (iSeries, formerly AS/400) accessing any relational database.

Source : http://www.automotive.com (3/19/2007)

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ALLEN PARK, Mich., -- Meridian Automotive Systems, Inc. ("Meridian") announced today that James P. Holden has been elected Non Executive Chairman of the Company's Board of Directors. Mr. Holden retired in 2000 after completing 27 distinguished years in the automotive industry, including 19 years with DaimlerChrysler, and its predecessor, Chrysler Corporation culminating in being named President of DaimlerChrysler in 1999 and Chief Executive Officer in June 2000. Prior thereto Mr. Holden served in various positions during his career at Chrysler, including Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing responsible for directing all of the automaker's sales, fleet and marketing organizations in the United States, Mexico and Canada, including Mopar parts operations. Mr. Holden currently serves as a director of Sirius Satellite Radio, Inc. and Speedway Motorsports, Inc. and recently completed a term as Chair of the Board of Trustees at Western Michigan University.

Richard E. Newsted, Meridian's President and CEO, said, "We are extremely pleased to welcome Jim to our Board of Directors and as our Chairman. Jim's automotive experience, insight and leadership will help guide our Company's pursuit of strategic initiatives and profitable growth."

Source : http://www.automotive.com (3/19/2007)

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CHERRY HILL, N.J., -- Subaru of America, Inc. today announced the appointment of Kevin Mayer to director of marketing communications. Reporting to Tim Mahoney, chief marketing officer for Subaru, Mayer will be responsible for the company's advertising and marketing communications activities.

"We are pleased to welcome Kevin to the Subaru team," said Tim Mahoney, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, Subaru of America, Inc. "He brings a wealth of automotive OEM experience and accomplishments in the areas of marketing, advertising, strategic planning and media. Kevin will play a key role in the growth of the Subaru brand in the U.S."

Mayer joined Subaru from his most recent post at Colby and Partners where he was senior vice president and account director for the American Suzuki Motor Company account. Prior to his tenure at Colby and Partners, he was director of advertising and marketing for Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. In this role Mayer was responsible for the advertising, product marketing, interactive, lead management and experiential marketing for the company. He started his automotive career at Hyundai Motor America where he was promoted to various management positions within the marketing department to serve as national manager, corporate strategic planning.

Mayer holds a master's in business administration from the UCLA Anderson School of Management and a bachelor's degree in communications from Purdue University.

Source : http://www.automotive.com (3/19/2007)

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DETROIT, -- You've come a long way, Baby. Baby Benz, that is. Twenty-five years after Mercedes launched its first-generation "Baby Benz," catch a ride in the stylish and sophisticated, 2008 fourth- generation compact luxury car on TheCarConnection.com, Check out the German automaker's unusual decision to offer two distinctly different designs: with a traditional Luxury edition, and the knife-edged Sport model, based on Mercedes' ultra-luxury SLR sports car.

Thinking of something more rugged? But not too expensive? Don't miss TheCarConnection's review of the all-new, 2008 Ford Escape.

Then check out spy shots of the next-generation Pontiac Vibe, as well as the updated, BMW 6-Series.

BMW's got some big plans for the crossover segment, and TheCarConnection.com has some breaking news about the long-rumored X6, including the inside story on plans to produce the crossover/ute at BMW's South Carolina assembly plant.

The German automaker has a lot more new product moving through the pipeline, including its answer to the Mercedes' coupe-like sedan, the CLS, as well as a procession of super-clean diesels. Get the scoop, only on TheCarConnection.com.

From the other side of the globe, Lexus plans to introduce an all-new LX570 at the upcoming New York Auto Show. But why wait? TheCarConnection.com has the details in this week's issue.

The Big Apple's annual auto-fest is still weeks away, but TheCarConnection isn't waiting, and readers can catch quite a few of the products that will only make their official debut at Jacob Javits Center next month. Check out Infiniti's new G Coupe and EX concept, the Hyundai's Concept Genesis, and Honda's hot S2000 club racer.

From the news desk: GM turned in some surprisingly good numbers on the balance sheet. But see why GMAC's problems could scuttle General Motors' plans to buy Chrysler. Nissan/Renault's Uber-CEO Carlos Ghosn is giving up on America. See what that means, in this week's edition of TheCarConnection.com.

And would you go Topless with Toyota? Would you go inside-out with Ford? Maybe you'd prefer a Daihatsu Widget? Check out some of the wild, weird and wacky names automakers have come up with, only on TheCarConnection.com.

Looking to buy a new car, truck or crossover? TheCarConnection.com is your one stop source for news, buying tips, pricing and more.

TheCarConnection.com has teamed up with J.D. Power and Associates, readers access to J.D. Power's benchmark quality and reliability ratings, tools to "build" a virtual car, and the ability to compare product prices and features.

Source : http://www.automotive.com (3/19/2007)

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FORT LEE, N.J., -- On Track Innovations (OTI) , a global leader in contactless microprocessor-based smart card solutions today announced that it received orders from an energy company in North America for OTI's EasyFuel pay-at-the-pump contactless payment solution. The initial plan is to rollout 130 gas stations with a pay- at-the-pump infrastructure supporting contactless payments programs from major financial institutions, such as MasterCard PayPass including EMV M/Chip, Visa contactless program, ExpressPay from American Express and Discover Zip as well as loyalty programs and third party applications, and more. Initial installations are expected in the second half of this year.

The OTI EasyFuel pay-at-the-pump solution combines the unique advantages, know-how and capabilities of OTI's Payment and Petroleum payment products. It provides oil companies with the ability to quickly and cost-effectively upgrade their infrastructure to accept contactless payments. The OTI EasyFuel solution is dispenser independent, allowing it to interface with different kinds of dispensers. The solution is completely wireless, with no wires required in installation, reducing installation and maintenance costs significantly. EasyFuel is suitable for outdoor environment and built to withstand harsh weather conditions.

Oded Bashan, Chairman, President & CEO of OTI commented, "We believe EasyFuel gives oil companies an advantage and opportunity to increase market share by addressing the needs of both the commercial and retail markets in an easy, cost-effective way, where oil companies can upgrade their payment options to contactless regardless of their dispenser type or their existing infrastructure."

EasyFuel has built-in benefits in its product design and marketing approach. EasyFuel is the perfect way for oil companies to increase market share by offering a unique solution addressing the needs of both the retail and commercial drivers. As the EasyFuel infrastructure supports both the contactless payment programs of the major card associations as well as proprietary loyalty programs, creating a flexible and modular platform that allows oil companies to address the main forms of contactless payments in the market, with minimum impact on the station.

EasyFuel allows oil companies to increase market share among commercial drivers, by offering a smart contactless vehicle tag and driver identification, allowing for verification that the right kind of fuel is going to the right tank, that an eligible driver is fueling the vehicle and the automatic capturing of odometer reading and vehicle diagnostics.

Source : http://www.automotive.com (3/19/2007)

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LENEXA, Kan., -- ICOP Digital, Inc. , an industry-leading company engaged in advancing digital surveillance solutions, today announced that the Garden City Police Department in Kansas has issued ICOP another follow-on purchase order, providing for total ICOP Model 20/20(R) sales to the agency of 25 units and completes the agency's planned full patrol fleet deployment.

"Our experience with ICOP Digital has been absolutely outstanding!" commented Captain Michael Utz, Operations Commander of the Garden City Police Department. "Bar none, the ICOP Model 20/20 is the most reliable piece of high tech equipment in our patrol cars. Further, the entire ICOP team brings new meaning to the words 'customer service', which is why it is such a pleasure to recommend them to other law enforcement agencies around the country. In fact, we were very pleased to learn that the Holcomb Police Department followed our strong recommendation to outfit its entire fleet with ICOP, too."

Continuing, Captain Utz added, "Now that our department has ICOP Model 20/20's deployed in our full fleet, I guess we have to go buy some more cars. All kidding aside, the ICOP Model 20/20 is a truly superior product and will remain our in-car video solution of choice."

Source : http://www.automotive.com (3/19/2007)

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SALT LAKE CITY, -- Overstock.com's Cars Program has reached an agreement with Enterprise Car Sales, a division of Enterprise Rent-A-Car, to include a selection of the national rental company's fleet inventory on the Overstock.com Web site.

Enterprise Car Sales has 175 locations throughout the United States, and a sales inventory that typically includes vehicles with 25,000 to 29,000 miles.

The Cars Program is the newest addition to Overstock.com's Web site, and works with auto dealers from across the country to list new and used vehicles.

"Overstock.com's Cars Program allows car buyers to search nationwide for quality vehicles and connect quickly with the dealers offering them," says Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne. "From the dealers' point of view, Overstock.com provides high visibility -- our Web site currently receives up to 15 million visitors every month. In addition, we've set up the Overstock Cars Program in such a way that dealers receive instant text messaged leads directly from consumers. This means that a dealer can actually be in touch with an interested consumer within 30 seconds of the buyer's expression of interest."

Brian Popelka, Overstock.com's vice president of Cars, added, "Our program also features dealer-controlled automatic pricing, allowing dealers to adjust pricing automatically as a function of the aging of the inventory. This saves dealers time and money."

"We're especially excited about partnering with Enterprise," Popelka stated. "Enterprise Car Sales offers a wide selection of makes and models at a great value, with no-haggle prices and values that are always below Kelley Blue Book(R). In addition, Enterprise's low-pressure sales approach puts the customer's needs first. For example, if a customer changes his or her mind, Enterprise represents it will buy back the car -- no questions asked."

Popelka emphasized that the Overstock.com is not a dealer, and does not own the inventory. Instead, it provides a highly visible Web site for dealers to utilize in selling their products. Dealers pay Overstock.com a fee for the services.

Source : http://www.automotive.com (3/19/2007)

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OLATHE, Kan., -- Garmin has been selected as the exclusive supplier of compact navigation devices to Honda Access Europe N.V. The customised units will be available for six different Honda models of vehicle including the Civic (3 door and 5 door), Accord Sedan, Accord Tourer and CR-V.

The unit is a custom product with features that are specifically designed to complement Honda vehicles. It contains a preloaded Honda database so drivers can always find their nearest dealership and has a custom dash board attachment with an integrated power supply. There is a unique mount for each vehicle dash board, which means no visible wiring and when the navigation device is removed, a matching cap discretely hides the mount.

The design is based on the popular Garmin nuvi 360 which combines slim- line, portable casing with European mapping, Bluetooth wireless capabilities and a wealth of extra features. In addition the unit has a MP3 player, audio book player and picture viewer.

The units will be supplied by Honda Access Europe N.V. and offered in dealerships across Europe.

"We are delighted to continue our excellent relationship with Honda Access Europe N.V. enabling Honda customers to use the latest Garmin satellite navigation," says Garmin's Director of OEM & Mobile Marketing, Roger Jollis. "This is an ideal accessory to enable drivers to navigate across Europe with ease. The partnership we have with Honda Access Europe N.V. reinforces our ability to provide bespoke solutions to the automotive sector."

Source : http://www.automotive.com (3/19/2007)

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DALLAS, -- Titanium Metals Corporation ("TIMET") announced today that it has entered into a new, long-term titanium supply agreement with Rolls Royce plc and certain of its affiliates ("Rolls-Royce"). The agreement, effective as of January 1, 2007, provides for TIMET's supply of titanium products to Rolls-Royce for gas turbine engine production through 2016. Total revenues over the term of the contract are estimated to be in excess of $2 billion. TIMET will continue to be the primary supplier of Rolls-Royce's titanium requirements for its gas turbine engines.

Steven L. Watson, CEO and Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of TIMET, noted, "This new agreement extends our longstanding strategic relationship with Rolls-Royce to each company's world-wide affiliates, reflecting the global nature of our companies' operations. We believe this new agreement also further solidifies TIMET's industry-leading position on hollow fan blade titanium components for aircraft engines and provides opportunities to grow with Rolls-Royce in the development of engine programs for the latest generation of twin-aisle aircraft such as the Trent 900(R) for the Airbus A380 and the Trent 1000(R) for Boeing's 787 Dreamliner and offers potential growth in future programs such as the Airbus 350XWB."

The statements in this release relating to matters that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that represent management's beliefs and assumptions based on currently available information. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "believes," "intends," "may," "will," "should," "could," "anticipates," "expects," "estimates" or comparable terminology or by discussions of strategy or trends. Although TIMET believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot give any assurances that these expectations will prove to be correct. Such statements by their nature involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the cyclicality of the titanium metals and commercial aerospace industries, global economic and political conditions, changes in global productive capacity, the performance of TIMET, its customers and suppliers under long-term agreements, changes in customer inventory levels, changes in product pricing and costs, changes in foreign currency exchange rates, availability of raw materials, competitive products, strategies and technologies, operating interruptions (including, but not limited to, labor disputes, fires, explosions, unscheduled downtime, transportation interruptions, war and terrorist activities), the outcome of litigation and other risks and uncertainties detailed in the TIMET's Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Should one or more of these risks materialize (or the consequences of such a development worsen), or should the underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from those forecasted or expected. TIMET disclaims any intention or obligation to update publicly or revise such statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Source : http://www.automotive.com (3/19/2007)

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NEW YORK, -- With less than three weeks before the annual New York International Auto Show opens its doors to the press and public, the event's organizer announced the economic impact results from last year's Show, revealing more than $181 million of economic benefit to New York City's economy. The report was conducted by BBC Research & Consulting (BBC) and was commissioned by the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association (GNYADA), owners and operators of the Auto Show.

"For over 106 years, the New York International Automobile Show has been a vital component of New York City's economy, and today, we're proud to announce that the 2006 event surpassed all expectations and positively impacted our city's economy more than ever," said GNYADA president, Mark Schienberg. "Creating a valuable marketing event for our industry and providing an economic boon for this city have always been a top priority of ours."

According to Schienberg, it takes more than 1,200 workers to set up and run America's largest-attended auto show. Over its three-day Press Preview, the 2006 Show registered more than 17,000 press and exhibitors, and was responsible for 25,000 hotel room nights. The ten-day public event welcomed over 1.2 million people through its doors.

Following is a summary of the 2006 New York International Auto Show's impact study:

Direct Impact

The direct impact of the 2006 Show on the New York City area was over $112 million. This direct impact resulted from spending on lodging, entertainment, parking, eating and drinking, transportation, and retail by attendees and vendors, and from event-related expenditures by Show vendors and the Show producer. The direct spending related to the Show is carefully constructed to include only those new dollars spent as a direct result of the New York International Automobile Show.

Indirect Impact



The indirect effect of the Show on the local economy was $69 million. Generally, for every $1 million in Show related spending, $620,000 was generated in the local economy.

Total Impact

The total impact of the New York International Auto Show on the New York City economy was $181,000,000.

Calculation Method



To measure the economic impact of the New York International Automobile Show on New York City's economy, a spending flow chart was developed to trace the flow of dollars generated by the show. The spending of individual attendees, Show vendors, and the Show producer flows into the economy directly and is then multiplied within the economy. The indirect, or multiplied, spending is estimated using a RIMS-II multiplier developed by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Source : http://www.automotive.com (3/19/2007)

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SANTA ANA, Calif., -- LINE-X(R) Franchise Development Corporation has named John Q. Wesley II as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately.

Wesley, a proven senior executive in the automotive aftermarket, joins LINE-X after a 25-year career with Valvoline Oil Co., a division of Ashland Inc. Wesley was most recently Senior Vice President for Valvoline's distribution sales group. Prior to that, he was President of Valvoline Instant Oil Change. Under his leadership, Valvoline Instant Oil Change significantly expanded its products and services, enabling that franchise operation to become the nation's second largest chain of quick-lube centers while driving increased revenue throughout the entire system.

"I have watched LINE-X grow to become one of the nation's top-ranked franchises in the automotive products and services category," said Wesley. "I look forward to applying my knowledge of product innovation, business development and marketing as we focus on expanding our successes across the entire protective coatings industry."

LINE-X, a leader in developing and applying the most durable spray-on truck bedliners in the business, currently has a network of more than 550 franchised locations throughout the U.S. and Canada, as well as in 23 countries. The company specializes in high-quality bedliner coatings backed by the industry's first Nationwide Lifetime Warranty that's valid at any location.



LINE-X also provides a full range of highly durable protective coatings for the commercial and defense industries, and has been widely recognized for its blast-resistant formulas currently being used on the U.S. Pentagon and other military installations.

"The key is to provide our franchisees and distributors around the world with a full complement of high-quality products and services that benefit all our customers -- from discriminating truck owners to major corporations or defense contractors that demand the utmost in security and protection," said Wesley.

Source : http://www.automotive.com (3/19/2007)

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LOS ANGELES, -- Material Technologies, Inc. ("MATECH") announced that the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MADOT) intends to invite MATECH to demonstrate its Electrochemical Fatigue Sensor System (EFS) on several bridges around the State.

Last year MADOT sent MATECH information on seventeen bridges around the State, with the intention of having MATECH demonstrate its EFS on many of these structures. However, critical problems with their "Big Dig" tunnels created a large demand on MADOT's resources, so the EFS efforts had to be postponed.

MATECH CEO Robert M. Bernstein commented: "Now being in the state of commercialization, we are extremely pleased to demonstrate our EFS to the MADOT. I am confident that the EFS will help the State to detect growing cracks in their steel bridges, greatly increasing their transportation infrastructure safety and to realize cost savings in their bridge maintenance budgets."

The EFS can find growing cracks in highway bridges and similar structures, including cracks below the surface, as small as 0.01 inches. This critical information allows the State's bridge engineers to fix the specific bridges in most need of repair. Using EFS, the engineers will also be able to verify that repairs are effective in halting further fatigue crack growth, by determining that previously repaired fatigue cracks are no longer growing. Being able to prioritize needed repairs, the State can realize significant cost savings. It can also repair the most critical bridges sooner, thereby eliminating the need to restrict the weights of some trucks and, most important, minimizing any adverse economic impacts.

MATECH has received a great deal of interest from federal and state agencies, following the passage of the $286 billion Federal Transportation Bill, which included funds to help states evaluate nondestructive methods such as EFS to detect growing fatigue cracks in steel bridges.

Source : http://www.automotive.com (3/19/2007)

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The 247spares website has relaunched with a new endorsement by former Top Gear presenter Quentin Wilson.

The revamped website also comes with a series of new video tutorials presented by Deal TV star, Andrianna Christofi, to help make it easier for visitors to use the site and order parts for their car.

Formed in 1999, 247spares covers over 180 locations offering over 90,000 salvaged vehicles.

All parts are guaranteed, and parts are available for almost every model of car from 1985.

As Quentin Wilson states, 247spares plays a vital role in the recycling industry, taking quality parts and spares that would otherwise go to waste.

These are removed from insurance recoveries under strict EU safety and environmental protection regulations.

Aside from being environmentally aware, the parts are also usually cheaper than bought brand new. Buyers can save up to around 80% buying from 247spares compared to buying directly from a dealership.

The site is free to use, and users have the option of being contacted when the required part has been found, either by phone call, SMS, or email.

Source : http://www.newcarnet.co.uk (3/19/2007)

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We can only applaud Rob Gauntlett and James Hopper for their attempt to travel from the North Pole to the South Pole, relying solely on their own bodies for power.

We have to applaud because any serious attempt at physical exertion, such as these two 19-year olds are undertaking, would result in the nearest Accident and Emergency ward being overwhelmed with wheezy TG staff.

Still, at least Rob and James won't have to carry everything themselves. Thanks to the Land Rover Defender in full G4 Challenge trim - complete with winch, extra under body protection and deep water breathing kit for the engine - they have at least got somewhere to store their variety of globe-trotting equipment and the kitchen sink.

The lads start their 180 Degree Pole to Pole Challenge today as they ski, cycle and sail their way from the top of the Earth to the bottom, covering a total of 22,000 miles in the process.

Source : http://www.topgear.com (3/19/2007)

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The Toyota Yaris is many things, but exciting is not usually a word used to describe it. Until now.

The Japanese firm reckons it has invigorated the Yaris with some serious stimulation in the form of a 131bhp 1.8-litre engine to create the SR.

This sporty flagship for the Yaris range does 0-62mph in 9.3 seconds and costs from £12,995. Included in the SR package are 17in alloy wheels, distinctive body add-ons, and vehicle stability and tractions controls.

The SR trim can also be ordered for the lesser 1.3 petrol and 1.4 diesel models, which now seem quite dull by comparison.

Source : http://www.topgear.com (3/19/2007)

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Two-wheeler maker Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) is conducting a feasibility study for setting up a new plant as it targets the one million domestic sales mark in the next three years.

The company is planning to introduce new motorcycle and scooter models and is currently working on a fuel injection powered bike, a 100 cc bike and a new scooter for the Indian market.

"We are currently conducting a feasibility study for a new plant. A new plant would only come up once our existing capacity of 1.2 million units is fully utilised which could take another couple of years,'' the HMSI CEO and President, Mr Yukihiro Aoshima, told newspersons here.

HMSI operates in India through a facility in Manesar and has a combined two-wheeler (motorcycle and scooters) production capacity of 1.2 million units.

Mr Aoshima said since the Manesar facility is already operating at full capacity and is producing the existing line up, the 100 cc bike could be rolled out from the new plant. The company is looking at launching several models of its entry-level 100 cc bike.

New variants

Meanwhile, the company today launched an upgraded variant of its 150 cc bike Unicorn priced at Rs 58,150 (ex-showroom Delhi), which would be rolled out in the market in the first week of April.

HMSI also introduced a limited edition Unicorn priced at Rs 59,425 (ex-showroom Delhi). It would sell 2,500 units of the limited edition, which would be rolled out in May.

Source : Business Line (Online Edition) (3/20/2007)

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NEW YORK, -- With less than three weeks before the annual New York International Auto Show opens its doors to the press and public, the event's organizer announced the economic impact results from last year's Show, revealing more than $181 million of economic benefit to New York City's economy. The report was conducted by BBC Research & Consulting (BBC) and was commissioned by the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association (GNYADA), owners and operators of the Auto Show.

"For over 106 years, the New York International Automobile Show has been a vital component of New York City's economy, and today, we're proud to announce that the 2006 event surpassed all expectations and positively impacted our city's economy more than ever," said GNYADA president, Mark Schienberg. "Creating a valuable marketing event for our industry and providing an economic boon for this city have always been a top priority of ours."

According to Schienberg, it takes more than 1,200 workers to set up and run America's largest-attended auto show. Over its three-day Press Preview, the 2006 Show registered more than 17,000 press and exhibitors, and was responsible for 25,000 hotel room nights. The ten-day public event welcomed over 1.2 million people through its doors.

Following is a summary of the 2006 New York International Auto Show's impact study:

Direct Impact

The direct impact of the 2006 Show on the New York City area was over $112 million. This direct impact resulted from spending on lodging, entertainment, parking, eating and drinking, transportation, and retail by attendees and vendors, and from event-related expenditures by Show vendors and the Show producer. The direct spending related to the Show is carefully constructed to include only those new dollars spent as a direct result of the New York International Automobile Show.

Indirect Impact

The indirect effect of the Show on the local economy was $69 million. Generally, for every $1 million in Show related spending, $620,000 was generated in the local economy.

Total Impact

The total impact of the New York International Auto Show on the New York City economy was $181,000,000.

Calculation Method

To measure the economic impact of the New York International Automobile Show on New York City's economy, a spending flow chart was developed to trace the flow of dollars generated by the show. The spending of individual attendees, Show vendors, and the Show producer flows into the economy directly and is then multiplied within the economy. The indirect, or multiplied, spending is estimated using a RIMS-II multiplier developed by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Source : http://sev.prnewswire.com (3/19/2007)

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NEW YORK, -- With less than three weeks before the annual New York International Auto Show opens its doors to the press and public, the event's organizer announced the economic impact results from last year's Show, revealing more than $181 million of economic benefit to New York City's economy. The report was conducted by BBC Research & Consulting (BBC) and was commissioned by the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association (GNYADA), owners and operators of the Auto Show.

"For over 106 years, the New York International Automobile Show has been a vital component of New York City's economy, and today, we're proud to announce that the 2006 event surpassed all expectations and positively impacted our city's economy more than ever," said GNYADA president, Mark Schienberg. "Creating a valuable marketing event for our industry and providing an economic boon for this city have always been a top priority of ours."

According to Schienberg, it takes more than 1,200 workers to set up and run America's largest-attended auto show. Over its three-day Press Preview, the 2006 Show registered more than 17,000 press and exhibitors, and was responsible for 25,000 hotel room nights. The ten-day public event welcomed over 1.2 million people through its doors.

Following is a summary of the 2006 New York International Auto Show's impact study:

Direct Impact

The direct impact of the 2006 Show on the New York City area was over $112 million. This direct impact resulted from spending on lodging, entertainment, parking, eating and drinking, transportation, and retail by attendees and vendors, and from event-related expenditures by Show vendors and the Show producer. The direct spending related to the Show is carefully constructed to include only those new dollars spent as a direct result of the New York International Automobile Show.

Indirect Impact

The indirect effect of the Show on the local economy was $69 million. Generally, for every $1 million in Show related spending, $620,000 was generated in the local economy.

Total Impact



The total impact of the New York International Auto Show on the New York City economy was $181,000,000.

Calculation Method

To measure the economic impact of the New York International Automobile Show on New York City's economy, a spending flow chart was developed to trace the flow of dollars generated by the show. The spending of individual attendees, Show vendors, and the Show producer flows into the economy directly and is then multiplied within the economy. The indirect, or multiplied, spending is estimated using a RIMS-II multiplier developed by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Source : http://www.theautochannel.com (3/19/2007)

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NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--Few things can be more frustrating than setting out to make repairs when certain key pieces of information are absent. In the world of collision repairers, with the multitude of vehicle models, options, frequency of change and general technical complexity, access to detailed repair information is literally worth its weight in gold. It is a necessity for vendors to have access to directions for installing the part. Furthermore, the integrity of the brand name depends on repairers having the precise manufacturers specifications to restore a vehicle to the same state and shape so it would react the same way in the next collision as it did in this collision.

With this in mind, VeriFacts Automotive is proud to add a new category to its Achievement in Collision Repair Excellence (ACE) awards. The ACE "Commitment to Consumers" Award recognizes those manufacturers and other companies in the collision repair industry that continually provide services and willingly share product information with consumers, free-of-charge. This award will be introduced and presented at the 2007 Collision Industry Night of Achievement, which will be held in conjunction with the International Autobody Congress and Exposition (NACE).

For their user-friendly and easy-to-use website, which can be freely accessed by any consumer or collision repair facility, VeriFacts Automotive will honor the General Motors Corporation, which is the only U.S. manufacturer to date to have done this for its customers. In a matter of seconds, any technician can quickly and without charge access the manuals and repair procedures on most GM vehicles at www.gmgoodwrench.com/gmgoodwrenchjsp/gmspo/index.jsp. Robert Hartman, GM Service & Parts Operations, stated, "General Motors has consistently worked at making collision repair information available where it is most needed in the marketplace. Repairing damaged GM vehicles is not just a matter of using the right parts; it relies on employing the right repair techniques as well."

"We believe General Motors has gone 'above and beyond' to express their commitment to their customers," said Farzam Afshar, CEO and co-founder of VeriFacts Automotive. "The free information provided by GM has been an invaluable service to all Collision Repair Centers around the globe." Mark Olson, COO and co-founder of VeriFacts, stated, "In today's world, return on investment is calculated by financial gains. GM is looking at it as a way of 'doing the right thing' for their customers and for the right reasons. They are to be acknowledged and commended for their service to consumers and to the collision repair industry."

Source : http://www.theautochannel.com (3/19/2007)

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Washington DC; The AIADA newsletter reported that Nissan North America has a new boss. Last week, Hiroto Saikawa, the parent corporation's 53-year-old executive vice president for purchasing, was named head of U.S. operations, replacing Carlos Ghosn.

Saikawa will wrestle with a host of pressing issues: soft U.S. sales, eroding profits, and untested leadership. Ghosn was acclaimed for a stunning turnaround of Nissan starting in 2000. But for the past two years he also has been CEO of struggling Renault SA and Nissan, while he headed an executive committee that managed North American operations. Saikawa now heads that committee.

Ghosn remains CEO of Nissan and Renault. Automotive News reports that in 2003 Nissan spent $1.4 billion to open a plant in Canton, Miss. that would put Nissan head to head with the Detroit 3 on full-sized pickups and SUVs.

But high gasoline prices have hurt sales of full-sized pickups and SUVs. Saikawa must now lead the North American team to find new products to fill Canton's underused 400,000-unit-a-year production capacity.

The company said this month that it may back-burner a plan to move even deeper into the market by creating half-ton and one-ton pickups.

Source : http://www.theautochannel.com (3/19/2007)

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LENEXA, Kan., -- ICOP Digital, Inc. , an industry-leading company engaged in advancing digital surveillance solutions, today announced that the Garden City Police Department in Kansas has issued ICOP another follow-on purchase order, providing for total ICOP Model 20/20(R) sales to the agency of 25 units and completes the agency's planned full patrol fleet deployment.

"Our experience with ICOP Digital has been absolutely outstanding!" commented Captain Michael Utz, Operations Commander of the Garden City Police Department. "Bar none, the ICOP Model 20/20 is the most reliable piece of high tech equipment in our patrol cars. Further, the entire ICOP team brings new meaning to the words 'customer service', which is why it is such a pleasure to recommend them to other law enforcement agencies around the country. In fact, we were very pleased to learn that the Holcomb Police Department followed our strong recommendation to outfit its entire fleet with ICOP, too."

Continuing, Captain Utz added, "Now that our department has ICOP Model 20/20's deployed in our full fleet, I guess we have to go buy some more cars. All kidding aside, the ICOP Model 20/20 is a truly superior product and will remain our in-car video solution of choice."

Source : http://www.theautochannel.com (3/19/2007)

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AUSTIN, Texas--Want to take a drive in a car of the future? You can on Thursday, March 22, as the Texas H2 Coalition unveils several hydrogen vehicles, including the world's first hydrogen drive luxury performance car, here in Austin.

The ride-and-drive event highlights the newest breakthroughs in low-emission vehicles and ways that these vehicles can be fueled. Free and open to the public, several vehicles will be on display and available for test drives. The event takes place from noon to 3 p.m. Thursday in the 1200 block of Colorado (between 12th and 13th Streets).

Hydrogen vehicles from Toyota, BMW, Daimler Chrysler, and General Motors will be featured. A valid driver's license is required for test drives.

"Hydrogen fueled vehicles are swiftly becoming a reality," said Pete Parsons Marshall, executive director of the Texas H2 Coalition. "They are not something that is off in the distant future. The challenge now is just finding ways to create an infrastructure that will support them."

Among the cars available to test drive is Toyota's FCHV -- Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicle -- which uses a fuel cell stack and an on-board storage system and features many of the same components as its gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles. This second-generation FCHV has greatly improved efficiency and has 10 percent greater hydrogen storage capacity, allowing for a 330km cruising range.

Also on display is BMW's Hydrogen 7, the world's first hydrogen drive luxury performance car. Based on the BMW 7 Series, the BMW Hydrogen 7 is powered by a 260 hp twelve-cylinder engine and accelerates from 0-62.1 mph in 9.5 seconds. It features a dual-mode combustion engine that can switch quickly from clean hydrogen to conventional gasoline.

The event will be held in conjunction with an announcement Thursday morning by State Sen. Leticia Van de Putte and Rep. Warren Chisum regarding their bill package intended to provide incentives for the use of hydrogen as an alternative fuel in Texas.

Source : http://www.theautochannel.com (3/19/2007)

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BALTIMORE--Flexcar (www.flexcar.com) today announced it has expanded to the city of Baltimore through a partnership with The Johns Hopkins University, the leading research university in the United States. The initial group of four hybrid vehicles will be parked across campus and available to students, faculty, staff and neighborhood residents for use by the hour. Additional vehicles will be added on campus and in the city throughout the year. Baltimore becomes Flexcar's 10th US city and the first of multiple new markets the company plans to launch in 2007. The program will begin with a kick-off event featuring prizes and giveaways at noon on Wednesday, March 21, on Levering Plaza.

"Studies have shown that each shared car has the effect of taking 15 personally owned vehicles off the road," said Davis Bookhart, manager of Energy Management and Environmental Stewardship in the Office of Facilities Management, and chair of the new Johns Hopkins University Sustainability Committee, a 16-member group convened by President William R. Brody to boost the university's environmental profile. "Fewer cars means cleaner air and reduced demand for parking. We envision a day when we have dozens of shared cars on and around campus to provide clean mobility for people who live and work on or near campus."

How it Works: Members reserve a Flexcar vehicle online or via touchtone phone, use their Flexcard to open the doors, take their trip, then return the car to its reserved parking spot at the end of the reservation. A simple introductory fee of $6.00 per hour or $60.00 per day includes gas, insurance, 150 free miles, maintenance, a reserved parking spot and 24-7 emergency service. More information on Flexcar can be found on the Web at www.flexcar.com.

Who can use it: Flexcars will initially be available in four locations on campus, including Wyman Park Drive Reserved Lot, Mattin Center/Power Plant, Tennis Courts Lot and Homewood Field Lot. Although the vehicles are parked on campus, they will be available to the approximately 70,000 residents in the area served by the Greater Homewood Community Council, whose boundaries are from North Avenue to the south, I-83 to the west, Greenmount Avenue/York Road to the east and the city line to the north. Johns Hopkins has arranged for members in that community to receive the same introductory promotion and discounted rate as students and faculty.

Benefits: Flexcar gives its members the freedom of owning a car without the cost and hassles. Flexcar's "point-click-drive" system lets members have a car just when they need it, paying for it just when they use it. The convenience and cost-savings are compelling enough that many members sell an existing car or avoid buying a new car. Studies also show that members drive about 40 percent fewer miles and increase their use of public transit. The cumulative impact of this behavior shift is fewer cars on the road and dramatically reduced emissions.

"Our partnership with Johns Hopkins is the first step in our larger expansion into the city," said Mark Norman, Flexcar's CEO. "We continue to work with various organizations and groups to rapidly expand the program to downtown Baltimore and surrounding neighborhoods."

Car-sharing is becoming a growing trend among large colleges and universities - which are being driven by the need to reduce vehicles on and near campus. The company, which has provided car-sharing programs on college campuses since 2001, launched its groundbreaking "Flexcar for Undergrads" program last fall with several universities across the country, significantly expanding the availability of the service. In addition to Johns Hopkins, Flexcar University Partners include the University of Maryland, University of Florida, University of Washington, UCLA, Georgia Tech, University of California - Berkeley, Portland State University, University of California - San Diego, and Emory University, among others.

Source : http://www.theautochannel.com (3/19/2007)

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ELKHART, Ind.--Coachmen Industries, Inc. today announced that it has entered into an agreement with Natural Source Energy Systems Inc. (NSESI) to research and develop recreational vehicles and systems-built structures that take advantage of environmentally friendly biodiesel fuel and solar power.

"Today, all of us are concerned about the degradation of our environment, and not just about energy costs. 'Green' is good business," said Rick Lavers, chief executive officer of Coachmen Industries. "We are very pleased to have teamed with up NSESI to explore practical applications for solar energy and biodiesel fuels, for both our RVs and our housing products."

To begin, Coachmen Industries is providing NSESI with a Sportscoach Class A diesel pusher, a Coachmen Class C diesel motorhome and a Coachmen fifth wheel trailer. NSESI will adapt the Coachmen units to incorporate new state of the art, high efficiency solar panels. Once the prototypes are ready, the companies will put the RVs through extensive testing using solar energy and biodiesel fuel across the country.

"We believe that our builders, dealers and customers will respond very positively to this initiative," said Lavers. "All of our products consume energy in their operation. It makes sense to be on the cutting edge of developments to reduce their cost of operation and emissions through alternative energy sources and renewable energy."

NSESI is a multinational corporation that has been working on developing renewable energy products since 2005. Earlier this year, the company began marketing a wide variety of products including photovoltaic cells, solar heat panels, solar water heaters and biodiesel fuels.

Matt Schaub, marketing manager for NSESI, said his company is seeking to convert the motorhomes to run on biodiesel fuel and to use solar panels to generate onboard power. "Our objective is to reduce RV reliance on generators as a secondary power source. Using solar panels to generate the electric power an RV needs is quieter, and why burn fossil fuels when you can get the energy free from the sun?" said Schaub.

Coachmen Industries and NSESI also are looking at NSESI's solar technology for applications that can be used by Coachmen Industries' modular housing division. "When directly overhead, the sun produces approximately 1,000 Watts of electrical power per square meter," said Schaub. "While the usable energy extracted from that will depend on a variety of factors, a reasonably sized and efficient array of solar panels can produce significant power. This can make homes much less dependent on fossil fuels for energy."

"It is too early to discuss when this technology will go into production. We have a tremendous amount of testing to do before we begin building RVs or structures with solar panels, but we are excited about the prospect of improving the energy efficiency of our product offerings," concluded Lavers.

Source : http://www.theautochannel.com (3/19/2007)

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SAN ANTONIO--Clear Channel Radio's Total Traffic Network today announced that it will begin providing its real-time traffic data on navigation-equipped 2007 MINI Cooper and Cooper S hardtops beginning with March production. No subscription will be required for Clear Channel Radio's traffic service, which is now available in 44 markets across the U.S. The real-time traffic information, provided in partnership with INRIX, will allow MINI drivers to avoid potential delays due to traffic congestion or road closures.

"BMW of North America recently set the bar for real-time traffic services when it became the first automotive brand to offer our traffic data as part of its navigation system on select models," said Jeff Littlejohn, Executive Vice President of Distribution Development for Clear Channel Radio. "We are now proud to add MINI USA to a growing list of Total Traffic Network partners that are able to provide customers with reliable, high-quality, real-time traffic, improving navigation in some of the country's most congested cities."

"The MINI Cooper and the MINI Cooper S are fun to drive, so it makes sense to add this feature, which allows a driver to avoid traffic tie ups and keep on motoring," said Jim McDowell, Vice President of MINI USA. "Adding traffic information as a standard feature of our navigation system means a customer won't have to pay recurring subscription fees to access the service."

Customers currently using Total Traffic Network's real-time reports include BMW of North America, Garmin International, Nextel, Verizon Wireless, Kenwood Electronics, Tom Tom Navigator GPS, Navigon, MSN Autos, MapPoint, Cingular QPass, ATX, AAA, Rand McNally, Weatherbug, Microsoft SPOT, Siemens VDO, Mio Technology, and Cobra Electronics.

Source : http://www.theautochannel.com (3/19/2007)

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Kia Motors announced today that it has agreed to become the exclusive automotive partner of the Chinese national men's and women's football teams at a signing ceremony held in Beijing. The multi-year sponsorship deal with the Chinese Football Association (CFA), which runs through the year 2010, comes on the heels of Kia's ongoing top tier sponsorship of FIFA - the governing body of the FIFA World Cup - through 2014.

This most recent foray by Kia into the world of major football sponsorships is expected to lend valuable support to the CFA's ambitions of achieving great success at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and the 2010 FIFA World CupT. As the official automotive sponsor of Team China, Kia will provide the CFA with the latest new vehicles from its model line-up for the efficient management of team activities, in addition to financial support. The vehicles will be supplied from Kia's domestic plants and the Dongfeng Yueda Kia factory in China - a joint venture formed in 2002 between Kia Motors, Dongfeng Motor and Jiangsu Yueda Investment.

Yong-Hwan Kim, Senior Vice President and COO of Kia Motors Corporation, said, "This latest sponsorship of Team China represents a major step forward in cementing Kia's commitment to the world of football, which was launched by signing our long-term partnership deal with FIFA, and we eagerly anticipate the many synergies to be enjoyed by all parties involved during the upcoming 2007 FIFA Women's World CupT in China."

"We expect that our increasing presence in the world's most beloved sport will strengthen the Kia brand image across vast audiences and serve as an efficient platform to reach our self-confident, adventurous and young-at-heart target customer base," he added.

Football in China is in the midst of a rapid development phase, with the women's national team already having reached world class levels, while the men's national squad is currently showing great potential in its bid to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World CupT in South Africa. In terms of popularity, football is considered to be one of the fastest growing sports in China thanks to the support of some 250 million regular fans and has a substantial impact among all generations of Chinese people.

Source : http://www.theautochannel.com (3/19/2007)

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The Association of British Drivers (ABD) has warned that life saving technology does nothing to relieve the driver of the responsibility of understanding the vehicle. The organisation acknowledges that over recent years there has been a trend for manufacturers to load cars with attractive automated features. Many of these can be useful, some can be lifesaving. However, the ABD advises drivers to be aware of the pitfalls of relying on these systems.

The organisation gives the examples of anti-lock brakes (ABS) which prevent the car wheels from locking under heavy braking. The vibration felt through the pedal can make some drivers lift off in surprise. Other driver aids, such as cruise control and satellite navigation, can lead to a loss of concentration. The organisation concludes that road users' brains are the best safety device on the road and too much automation means that drivers will not think about the driving process.

Source : http://www.autoindustry.co.uk/ (3/19/2007)

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Figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) have shown that new car registrations throughout the enlarged Europe, comprising the EU and EFTA, have stagnated in the first two months of the year. In total, 1,083,811 new passenger cars were registered in February 2007, a 2.5% decline as compared with February last year. This result was affected by weak performance in the EU15 main markets.

Cumulative figures for the first two months of 2007 for the enlarged Europe are flat. Apart from Italy, which increased by 5.7%, the biggest EU markets suffered losses in February 2007. Germany shrank by 15.1% due to the sales tax increase at the beginning of the year, and the UK market declined by 3.2%. Results in other countries were mixed, with only five countries posting growths, ranging from 4.1% in the Netherlands to 9.5% in Sweden. The Western European decrease of 1.2% looks milder as regards the cumulative results: nine EU 15 countries performed better during the first two months of 2007 than in 2006. Nevertheless, six remaining countries saw their registrations decrease.

On the contrary, the new EU Member States improved their result in February 2007 by 6.5% thanks to increases in registrations in the Baltic countries. Only Bulgarian and Hungarian markets declined, by 17.3% and 15.2% respectively. Cumulative increases of 13.1% confirm the upturn trend in the new EU Member States. Apart from Bulgaria and Slovenia, all the remaining countries posted growths ranging from 1% in Hungary to 89.7% in Latvia.

Source : http://www.autoindustry.co.uk/ (3/19/2007)

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The government will sell its remaining 10.27% stake in Maruti Udyog in the next fiscal, finance minister P Chidambaram said on Monday. The decision to sell the stake in the next fiscal has been prompted by the downturn in the stock market, a government source said.

In July 2006, the ruling Congress-led coalition had put all decisions to sell stakes in state-run firms on hold after a key ally threatened to pull out. But due to the market situation, the government decided to invite the financial bids to sell the remaining shares in Maruti by next year, the sources said. “The disinvestment process would be completed in the first half of 2007-08 itself,” they added.

The Cabinet committee on economic affairs had given its go-ahead to the sale on December 21, 2006. The government has also approved the appointment of SBI Capital Markets and Kotak Mahindra Capital Company as advisers to the disinvestment process of the company.

Only public sector banks, financial institutions and mutual funds, which are registered in India, are allowed to participate in the bidding process. The last date for submitting expression of interest (EoIs) expired on March 9, 2007. According to the sources, the response to the notice inviting EoIs for the 2,96,79,689 shares held by the government has been “comfortable”. They, however, did not disclose the number of EoIs received.

Since the government announced the sale of its remaining equity in the country’s largest car maker, its shares have witnessed wild swings. When the Cabinet committee on economic affairs gave its go-ahead to the sale on December 21, 2006, the company’s shares were trading at Rs 926. From the highs of Rs 979 a share during the trading session on January 4, 2007, the share price fell to Rs 755 on March 7, 2005 and closed at Rs 789.55 on Monday.

At present, Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corporation has the biggest stake in Maruti, with an ownership of 54.2%. The company was an equal joint venture between the government and Suzuki till the time the previous government began selling its holding as part of efforts to exit non-core sectors of the economy.

Source : Economic Times (3/20/2007)

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Tata Motors today said it has achieved 1,00,000 unit production mark for its mini-truck model 'Ace' within 20 months of its launch in May 2005.

The milestone unit was flagged off by Tata Motors Chairman Ratan Tata, the company said in a statement.

"It is a moment of great pride and satisfaction...what particularly pleases us is that 'Ace' has been able to generate self-employment, with many of its owners being individuals who have entered the transportation industry for the first time," Tata Motors Managing Director Ravi Kant said in the statement.

Tata is targeting domestic as well as international market through its mini-truck and had recently launched 'Ace' in Sri Lanka, it said.

The company is in the process of setting up a new manufacturing unit for the mini-truck in Pant Nagar, Uttaranchal. The new plant would have a capacity of 2,50,000 units and would be commissioned this year, it said.

Source : Economic Times (3/20/2007)