CONTEST
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| No purchase necessary to enter or win a Prize. Entrants must be legal residents of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin, aged 18 year |
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
German court says DaimlerChrysler ads must give mileage
FRANKFURT (Reuters) -- DaimlerChrysler has to reveal how much fuel its cars use when it highlights the high performance of its engines in advertisements, a German court has ruled.
A court spokesman in the carmaker's home city of Stuttgart today confirmed the ruling, which arose from a lawsuit filed by environmentalist group Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH).
"DaimlerChrysler's transparent attempt to hush up the carbon dioxide emissions from models that are especially harmful to the climate has failed," DUH attorney Remo Klinger said in a statement.
"We will respect the court's ruling," a company spokeswoman said.
Mopar will make the move to Jeep
 | | Christine Cortez TITLE: Senior vice president, global service and parts COMPANY: MAIN POINT: QUOTE: "Mopar has Jeep as a first cousin and we've been missing a whole segment of off-road enthusiasts out there." Chrysler group The legendary Mopar performance brand is back, and it will expand by going with the Jeep brand. |
AUTOMOTIVE NEWS WORLD CONGRESS
Bradford Wernle | | Automotive News / January 16, 2007 - 3:13 pm
DETROIT -- Chrysler's performance-parts brand Mopar will be looking in-house for its next expansion: the Jeep brand.
"Mopar has Jeep as a first cousin, and we've been missing a whole segment of off-road enthusiasts out there," said Christine Cortez, senior vice president of global service and parts for DaimlerChrysler Motors Co. LLC.
"I don't think we've ever raced off-road," she said in a speech today at the Automotive News World Congress in Dearborn, Mich. "We'll go after off-road the same way we're going after other enthusiast groups: Build authentic performance parts, prove it on the track -- or off the track, in the case of Jeep -- and let the nitrous kick in and spread the gospel for you."
Cortez focused her speech on the growth of the Mopar brand. Mopar came into being "when somebody back in 1937 was looking around for a new line of antifreeze, and he ended up with a simple combination of the words 'motor' and 'parts.' "
The real birth of Mopar came in the 1960s when the name was made famous by such legendary drag racers as "Big Daddy" Don Garlits, Ronnie Sox and Richard Petty, who took the 426 Hemi to the NASCAR circuit. That's when Mopar came to mean "More Power."
Those were the glory days for Mopar. But in subsequent years, especially when Chrysler hit lean times, there was less emphasis on all things high octane, and the brand faded a bit.
So Mopar did a "health check" on its brand in 2002 by doing some research, Cortez said. The research found Mopar enthusiasts who had stayed with the brand even though they felt neglected. They tended to favor rear-wheel-drive muscle.
But the research also found a new generation of racing enthusiasts who had never heard of Mopar. They were young racers on the West Coast who were driving turbocharged, front-wheel-drive subcompacts, a form of racing pioneered in Japan. So the Neon SRT4 seemed the perfect vehicle to get a boost from Mopar.
Another new kind of racing from Japan, called drifting, came to the United States. The rear-drive Viper was a natural for that circuit. And Nick Hogan, the 16-year-old son of professional wrestler Hulk Hogan, expressed interest in driving one on the VH1 TV show "Hulk Knows Best."
The elder Hogan contacted Mopar, and the event was arranged.
"We didn't find Hulk. He found us," Cortez said.
Mopar also built a team of midget drivers with the help of former NASCAR champ Tony Stewart.
All these things, coupled with Mopar's traditional strength on the drag strips of America, combined for the rebirth of a venerable brand.
Cortez said Mopar also would grow as Chrysler expands its sales overseas. She said Mopar now has enthusiast clubs in such countries as Australia, Germany and the United Kingdom -- none of them with any prodding from Mopar.
Said Cortez: "I guess the brand swims."
This Day in Auto History: 17 JANUARY
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 | Source: Automobile History Day By Day, by Douglas A. Wick |
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Mercedes-Benz News - Spy Shots: Mercedes-Benz B-Class
SPY PHOTOS: Mercedes B-Class Facelift
Daimler-Chrysler is about to update the company’s Mercedes B-Class by giving it a facelift. It includes a new front grille, new air intakes under the bumper and new headlights.
The photos are showing a prototype, which is also featuring a turn signal in the side mirrors and different taillights and a modified rear bumper.
Under the hood the car will get new fuel and diesel engines with more power and less consumption.
The new B-Class is scheduled for launch in spring 2008.
Smart Hunts for 50 to 60 Dealers
 smart fortwo on assembly line in Germany |
Washingto DC January 16, 2007; The AIADA newsletter reported that smart is pounding the pavement this month in search of developing its dealer network, with a target of obtaining 50 to 60 dealerships by May or June, reports Automotive News.
The maker of small cars plans to begin sales of its ForTwo model early next year. Priority will be given to DaimlerChrysler dealers who wouldn't have to build separate showrooms, according to Smart USA President David Schembri.
An ideal showroom size would have at least 2,000 square feet and a separate entrance, Schembri said. The company is requiring a dealer investment of about $300,000 apiece.
"We will not allow commingling of Smart with any non-DCX franchise," said President of UnitedAuto Group Roger Penske, the sole distributor of Smart vehicles in the U.S. Smart USA has invited about 400 dealers selected from more than 1,200 applicants, and all U.S. Mercedes-Benz dealers, to attend presentations starting this month in Las Vegas, Atlanta, Detroit and New York.
While he did not provide sales volume projections, Schembri predicts most U.S. Smart dealers will make a profit in the first or second year of operation on the sale of more than 200 vehicles annually.
Oil Prices Slide to $51 on OPEC Comments
MONEYNEWS | VIENNA, Austria -- Oil prices slumped Tuesday after OPEC powerhouse Saudi Arabia reportedly said there was no need for further production cuts to prop up the market.
The comments, by Saudi Oil Minister Ali Naimi, added to growing sentiment that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries would not call a special meeting any time soon to discuss further production cutbacks to stem a more than 13-percent slide in prices this year.
"There is no need now (for further cuts) on the basis of what market conditions are," Dow Jones Newswires quoted Naimi as saying after arriving in New Delhi for an international conference organized by India's Oil Ministry.
Benchmark light sweet crude plummeted $1.43 to $51.56 in morning trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after hitting a new 19-month intraday low of $51.25. The price was being compared with Friday's Nymex settlement as the exchange was closed Monday for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
February Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange fell 76 cents to $52.36 on Tuesday on London's ICE futures exchange.
Heating oil futures slid nearly 2 cents to trade at $1.4860 per gallon; gasoline futures fell 4.3 cents to $1.3890; and natural gas futures dropped 2.9 cents to $6.572 per 1,000 cubic feet.
The uncommonly warm winter season in much of the Western hemisphere also pushed prices down.
"Right now, the overhanging picture for crude demand is the mild weather. Natural gas and heating oil prices have fallen a lot and that has (an) impact on crude oil price," said ANZ Global Natural Resources analyst Andrew Harrington in Sydney.
To stem falling oil prices, Venezuela's oil minister, Rafael Ramirez, on Monday called for an extraordinary OPEC meeting to push for another production cut.
Ramirez said there are 700,000 barrels to 1 million barrels of excess daily crude production in the world market. He said that some other OPEC countries back Venezuela's proposal but did not say which ones.
But at OPEC headquarters in Vienna, an official who asked not to be identified because she was not authorized to comment, said such a meeting was unlikely -- at least for this week.
Nigerian Oil Minister Edmund Daukoru told Dow Jones Newswires in India on Tuesday that OPEC members should wait until February before deciding on further cuts in their crude oil output.
"We cannot judge the market right now. We'll have to wait till Feb. 1," Daukoru said.
Still, Vienna's PVM Oil Associates said OPEC could not afford to remain idle if prices fell much further.
"If prices threaten to break the $50-per-barrel level, more specific and immediate action can be expected from the group," it noted.
OPEC in recent months has committed to a total cut in output of 1.7 million barrels per day, including a 500,000 barrel-a-day reduction set to begin Feb. 1. But many market participants doubt the cuts are being fully enforced.
According to Dow Jones Newswires, independent surveys suggest OPEC has cut output by little more than half of its pledged levels, and production remains near 27 million barrels a day, leaving overproduction of about 700,000 barrels a day.
"The OPEC is fighting against falling prices but they're having a tough time," Harrington said.
The energy market has had a hard time maintaining rebounds lately, despite several factors that have given prices a boost in the past such as tensions in the Middle East, growing global energy demand and escalating violence in Nigeria.
Startech's Dodge Nitro program unveiled
Click image for a full photo gallery including 13 additional shots
Startech, the Chrysler Group-oriented division of Deutsch über-tuner Brabus, has released a full suite of modifications for Dodge's new Nitro SUV. For starters, the Nitro's love-it-or-hate-it face can be updated with a new lower fascia that incorporates stacked foglights in the corners. Ditto for the rear where the new lower portion is trimmed to match the front and features cutouts for Startech's dual oval-tipped exhaust system (details of which are not included in the attached release).
New rocker panels carry the theme through from front to back, and the company offers other trim bits like metallic side extractors on the outside, and custom leather trim and Startech doorsill trim plates on the inside. Regarding the leather, Startech can redo the whole interior with it, rectifying one of the more disappointing aspects of the Dodge -- the overly plasticky interior. It should be noted that Startech's simple, sturdy-looking 5-spoke wheels look excellent here. The Startech wheels are so sharp that were we to purchase any Chrysler Group product, we'd consider upgrading to a set of them.
Last but not least, Startech's reprogrammed ECU boosts output on the euro-market Nitro turbodiesel from 140 to 180 horsepower. Tourque rating is 320 Nm, or 265 lb-ft, giving the ute some more punch to back up its bulldog appearance. Full details in the press release after the jump.
[Source: Brabus/Startech]
Drag-racing legend Dick Landy passes on to the big strip in the sky
autoblog.com | Eric Bryant - - 
Dick Landy, the man synonymous with Dodge's wildly-successful factory drag racing program in the 1960s and '70s, has died from kidney failure. He was 69 years old.
Landy made a name for himself and his factory sponsor by combining the legendary Hemi with an altered wheelbase to create the first "funny car". The combination of horsepower and traction led to the banning of his vehicles by the NHRA; relegated to the exhibition circuit, Landy then introduced nitromethane, mechanical fuel injection, and supercharging to the equation and established the foundation for the highest tiers of modern drag racing. Landy later returned to the world of officially-sanctioned racing to participate in the formative days of the Super Stock and Pro Stock classes, and remained involved with Chrysler for the remainder of his long career.
The muscle car era would not have been the same without Dick Landy, and he will be missed.
[Source: NHRA; a hat tip to Jalopnik]
The muscle car era would not have been the same without Dick Landy, and he will be missed.
[Source: NHRA; a hat tip to Jalopnik]
Magnum facelifted for '08
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AutoWeek | Published 01/15/07, 11:51 am et |
DETROIT - The Dodge Magnum has been a slow seller for Chrysler, but product development chief Frank Klegon says the company plans to keep its big station wagon around indefinitely.
The 2008 Magnum SRT8, a face-lifted version of the current wagon, made its debut at the North American International Auto Show last week. It is the first of Chrysler's hugely successful LX series cars to receive a face-lift. The other cars include the Chrysler 300 and the Dodge Charger.
The Dodge Challenger muscle car, built on the same platform, is scheduled to arrive in 2008.
"This is a freshening, not the new generation yet," Klegon said.
Klegon said that Chrysler can make derivatives off the platform and "not have to have those big, huge investments" for additional versions.
The Magnum SRT8 features a 6.1-liter Hemi V-8 engine that generates 425 hp. Dodge redesigned the hood with a large scoop to help the big engine breathe. The front fascia and the Dodge "cross hair" grille have also been redesigned.
The 2008 Magnum SRT8, a face-lifted version of the current wagon, made its debut at the North American International Auto Show last week. It is the first of Chrysler's hugely successful LX series cars to receive a face-lift. The other cars include the Chrysler 300 and the Dodge Charger.
The Dodge Challenger muscle car, built on the same platform, is scheduled to arrive in 2008.
"This is a freshening, not the new generation yet," Klegon said.
Klegon said that Chrysler can make derivatives off the platform and "not have to have those big, huge investments" for additional versions.
The Magnum SRT8 features a 6.1-liter Hemi V-8 engine that generates 425 hp. Dodge redesigned the hood with a large scoop to help the big engine breathe. The front fascia and the Dodge "cross hair" grille have also been redesigned.
Chrysler's grand minivan plan - Want a short wheelbase? Go crossover.
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AutoWeek | Published 01/15/07, 11:17 am et |
DETROIT - The Chrysler group is betting that new crossover models will woo minivan buyers now that the automaker is dropping short-wheelbase minivans.
Industry sources say the automaker will offer two mid-sized crossovers, developed on its new front-drive Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Avenger platform.
The sources say the Dodge crossover is due in December and will be assembled in Chrysler's Toluca, Mexico plant, where the PT Cruiser is made. The Chrysler crossover will debut either in late 2008 or 2009. Frank Klegon, executive vice president of product development for the Chrysler group, said "in the future you will see some other things from us" that offer minivan-like utility. He declined to provide details.
Jeff Schuster, executive director of global forecasting at J.D. Power and Associates, said the new crossovers will not have sliding doors. Minivan owners typically list sliding doors as a favorite feature.
But Schuster called Chrysler's shift from small minivans to crossovers a solid bet.
"I think (Chrysler) can fill that need with another product that has a bit more of a design or style to it," he says. "I think you can fill the need essentially without sliding doors."
The restyled, re-engineered 2008 Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan debuted at the Detroit auto show. Sales begin this fall. One size will be offered, a model 2.0 inches longer than the 2007 long-wheelbase model.
The decision to drop the smaller minivan is a significant shift for the company that invented the minivan. Chrysler has offered short- and long-wheelbase models since 1987, with its best year in 1996 when 538,807 minivans were sold.
Last year, the automaker sold 370,245 minivans. The company said 24.6 percent had short wheelbases.
Industry sources cite several reasons for Chrysler's decision to abandon the smaller model. The short model's structure prevents the popular Stow'n'Go seats, introduced in 2005. Also, sales of the short-wheelbase minivans have been declining.
Industry sources say the automaker will offer two mid-sized crossovers, developed on its new front-drive Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Avenger platform.
The sources say the Dodge crossover is due in December and will be assembled in Chrysler's Toluca, Mexico plant, where the PT Cruiser is made. The Chrysler crossover will debut either in late 2008 or 2009. Frank Klegon, executive vice president of product development for the Chrysler group, said "in the future you will see some other things from us" that offer minivan-like utility. He declined to provide details.
Jeff Schuster, executive director of global forecasting at J.D. Power and Associates, said the new crossovers will not have sliding doors. Minivan owners typically list sliding doors as a favorite feature.
But Schuster called Chrysler's shift from small minivans to crossovers a solid bet.
"I think (Chrysler) can fill that need with another product that has a bit more of a design or style to it," he says. "I think you can fill the need essentially without sliding doors."
The restyled, re-engineered 2008 Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan debuted at the Detroit auto show. Sales begin this fall. One size will be offered, a model 2.0 inches longer than the 2007 long-wheelbase model.
The decision to drop the smaller minivan is a significant shift for the company that invented the minivan. Chrysler has offered short- and long-wheelbase models since 1987, with its best year in 1996 when 538,807 minivans were sold.
Last year, the automaker sold 370,245 minivans. The company said 24.6 percent had short wheelbases.
Industry sources cite several reasons for Chrysler's decision to abandon the smaller model. The short model's structure prevents the popular Stow'n'Go seats, introduced in 2005. Also, sales of the short-wheelbase minivans have been declining.
VW vans may not get Swivel 'n Go seats
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AutoWeek | Published 01/15/07, 11:31 am et |
DETROIT - Don't expect to see Chrysler's new Swivel 'n Go seats in Volkswagen's upcoming minivans.
The Chrysler group, which is engineering the Volkswagen minivan, is likely to hold on to both its Stow 'n Go and Swivel 'n Go features.
The swiveling seats turn 180 degrees to face the third row. A table can be placed between the second and third rows.
Frank Klegon, executive vice president of product development for Chrysler, said "there will be differentiators" between Chrysler's minivans and Volkswagen's.
Speaking of Swivel 'n Go, he said "I think you will see that it remains exclusive to us."
As for Stow 'n Go, he said: "I don't know if we made the final conclusion on that, but I suspect that those are unique things to us."
The seven-seat VW minivan is based on the restyled, re-engineered 2008 Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan. Chrysler will begin assembling the VW minivan in the second half of 2008. The VW minivan will have a distinct exterior. With the possible exception of the roof, the VW model will not share any sheet metal with the Chrysler models.
The Chrysler group, which is engineering the Volkswagen minivan, is likely to hold on to both its Stow 'n Go and Swivel 'n Go features.
The swiveling seats turn 180 degrees to face the third row. A table can be placed between the second and third rows.
Frank Klegon, executive vice president of product development for Chrysler, said "there will be differentiators" between Chrysler's minivans and Volkswagen's.
Speaking of Swivel 'n Go, he said "I think you will see that it remains exclusive to us."
As for Stow 'n Go, he said: "I don't know if we made the final conclusion on that, but I suspect that those are unique things to us."
The seven-seat VW minivan is based on the restyled, re-engineered 2008 Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan. Chrysler will begin assembling the VW minivan in the second half of 2008. The VW minivan will have a distinct exterior. With the possible exception of the roof, the VW model will not share any sheet metal with the Chrysler models.
Smart starts recruiting U.S. dealers
 | Smart USA, which displayed the new ForTwo at the Detroit auto show, plans to begin sales next year. The ForTwo will sell for less than $15,000. Photo credit: JEFF KOWALSKY |
Diana T. Kurylko | | Automotive News / DETROIT - Smart USA plans to begin sales early next year with a retail network of 50 to 60 dealerships. The company is requiring a dealer investment of about $300,000 apiece.
Smart USA executives are hitting the road this month to pitch the franchise to potential buyers. They will give priority to DaimlerChrysler dealers who wouldn't have to build separate showrooms, says Smart USA President David Schembri.
Smart is a unit of DaimlerChrysler. A Smart showroom in a Mercedes-Benz or Chrysler group store would have at least 2,000 square feet and a separate entrance, Schembri says.
UnitedAuto Group Inc., a public dealership group in Detroit, is the sole U.S. distributor of the Smart ForTwo minicar. UnitedAuto CEO Roger Penske said Smart USA will consider non-DaimlerChrysler dealers for Smart franchises, but such dealers would have to build stand-alone stores.
"We will not allow commingling of Smart with any non-DCX franchise," Penske told Automotive News at last week's Detroit auto show.
Quick profit
Schembri predicts most U.S. Smart dealers will make a profit in the first or second year of operation. He would not offer annual sales volume projections. But he said he expects the average Smart dealer to sell more than 200 vehicles in the first year.
SmartUSA displayed the second-generation ForTwo at the Detroit show. It plans to start selling the car in the first quarter of 2008.
UnitedAuto expects to select Smart dealers by May or June, Schembri says. Smart USA has invited about 400 dealers selected from more than 1,200 applicants, and all U.S. Mercedes-Benz dealers, to attend presentations starting this month in Las Vegas, Atlanta, Detroit and New York.
Ernst Lieb, CEO of Mercedes-Benz USA, says his company has the right to approve any of its dealers chosen to sell Smart cars.
Smart USA will tell dealer candidates that potential customers can reserve cars by putting up an undisclosed sum. The ForTwo will list for less than $15,000, Schembri says.
'Smile' strategy
Penske said Smart USA will look first for dealers in the "smile" states on the East and West coasts and in the Sun Belt. It also wants retail outlets in major metropolitan areas in the Midwest, he said.
Mike Jackson, CEO of AutoNation Inc., says his dealership group is applying for Smart franchises.
AutoNation operates 13 Mercedes-Benz dealerships.
"The product is dramatically improved over the first generation," Jackson says. "The first product was not fun to drive. In certain metro markets, (Smart) would make sense for us."
Kenneth Gilman, CEO of Asbury Automotive Group, says his dealership chain also is looking at signing up with Smart. Asbury has five Mercedes dealerships, Gilman says. "A couple of those markets would be well-suited to the Smart car," he says.
Smart USA seeks to build consumer awareness through event marketing. Starting in mid-May, three 38-foot tractor trailers emblazoned with Smart logos will make 55 stops in 37 large U.S. cities.
The trailers will have four Smart cars apiece. Potential buyers can test drive the ForTwo and gain "a mini-dealership experience," Schembri says.
He adds: "We will invade the United States with Smart ForTwos."
All Chrysler vans will be made in N.A.
Bradford Wernle | | Automotive News | DETROIT -- Starting with its redesigned 2008 models, Chrysler will make all of its minivans in St. Louis and Windsor, Ontario.
That means European versions of the popular minivans no longer will be made by Chrysler's venture with Magna Steyr in Graz, Austria.
Magna Steyr has made about 600,000 Chrysler Voyager minivans at Graz since production began in 1991. Last year the plant made 26,867.
The decision coincides with the decision by the Chrysler group to stop making the short-wheelbase versions of the minivans.
The end of minivan production at Graz will leave Magna Steyr with four Chrysler products: the Chrysler 300C and 300 Touring wagon and the Jeep Commander and Grand Cherokee.
Magna Steyr made about 90,000 vehicles for Chrysler last year.
Frank Ewasyshyn, Chrysler executive vice president of manufacturing, said Chrysler has not decided what to put into Graz to replace the minivans, if anything.
Chrysler will continue making the current model through 2007.
Chrysler exec: Time to sell product more than the deal
| George Murphy: Chrysler's deal message obscured its product message last year -- but no more. |
"Chrysler went too far selling the deal and not the product," said George Murphy, senior vice president for global brand marketing for the Chrysler group. "We want more product message and less deal message."
While local dealer ads were touting "deal of the month and tent sales," the product message got lost somewhat, he said.
Now Chrysler needs to get back to basics in delivering its message and building its brands, Murphy said in an interview at the Detroit auto show.
"Dealers sell cars, and we drive traffic," he said.
Chrysler executives were meeting with dealer council representatives in Detroit last week to discuss sales and marketing strategy.
Chrysler group CEO Tom LaSorda has taken control of sales and marketing functions since the Dec. 5 resignation of embattled global sales and marketing chief Joe Eberhardt. Many dealers blamed Eberhardt for trying to cram vehicles down their throats.
Dealers have complained to Chrysler about some of the company's ads. Among them is a Dodge Nitro spot that shows a Nitro owner helping another motorist jump-start his car.
When the Nitro driver guns his engine, the other car soars into the sky and returns to the ground with a resounding thud seconds later.
Murphy defended the ad, saying that it drove traffic to Dodge's Web site and that lots of people sent it to their friends via the youtube.com video Web site.
REPORT: Chrysler to lay off 250 at Detroit engine plant
DETROIT (Reuters) -- Chrysler Group plans to cut 250 jobs at a Detroit engine plant that supplies eight-cylinder engines for its Dodge Durango and Jeep Grand Cherokee sport utility vehicles, The Detroit News reported today.
A spokesman for the United Auto Workers union local which represents workers at the plant could not be reached for comment immediately.
Chrysler Group spokeswoman Michele Tinson declined to comment, but noted the automaker was readying a cost-cutting announcement scheduled for February.
"We're continuing to evaluate all of our options," Tinson said, adding that it was not uncommon for Chrysler to adjust staffing at its plants through the course of the year in response to changing production levels.
Chrysler, the U.S. unit of DaimlerChrysler AG, slowed production of the 4.7 liter V-8 engines made at its Mack I plant in 2006 in response to high inventory levels and a consumer shift away from SUVs in the face of higher gas prices.
The reported layoffs would cut almost a third of the jobs at the Mack I Engine plant, which has employed 780 workers, according to Chrsyler statistics.
Any UAW workers whose jobs were eliminated by a Chrysler cost-cutting move would be eligible to shift into a "jobs bank program" guaranteeing nearly full wages and benefits according to the terms of the union contract that expires this year.
The jobs bank program will be one of the issues taken up in negotiations between the Detroit-based automakers and the UAW when contract talks begin in earnest this summer, executives have said.
The current four-year contract between the UAW and the U.S. automakers expires in September.
Chrysler has also said it is looking to clinch a cost-cutting deal on health care with the UAW before serious negotiations begin on a new master contract.
UAW leadership last year rejected such a deal for Chrysler, after granting similar cost-cutting concessions to General Motors and Ford Motor Co.
2007-01-13 04:23 REVISED: (Mw 8.2) EAST OF KURIL ISLANDS 46.3 154.4
== PRELIMINARY EARTHQUAKE REPORT ==
Region: EAST OF KURIL ISLANDS
Geographic coordinates: 46.288N, 154.447E
Magnitude: 8.2 Mw
Depth: 10 km
Universal Time (UTC): 13 Jan 2007 04:23:20
Time near the Epicenter: 13 Jan 2007 14:23:20
Local time in your area: 13 Jan 2007 04:23:20
Location with respect to nearby cities:
807 km (501 miles) SSW (204 degrees) of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, Russia
1703 km (1058 miles) NE (42 degrees) of TOKYO, Japan
ADDITIONAL EARTHQUAKE PARAMETERS
________________________________
event ID : US 2007xmae
This event has been reviewed by a seismologist at NEIC For subsequent updates, maps, and technical information, see:
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2007xmae.php
Words on warming spark hot debate
Van Jolissaint, the Chrysler group's chief economist, found himself in hot water last week over remarks he made to a Detroit group on the topic of global warming.
Jolissaint told the Society of Automotive Analysts - according to a transcript that Chrysler released as the fray intensified - that working in Germany at DaimlerChrysler headquarters had "made me aware that the rest of the world views the threat of global warming with much more alarm than we do. …We think the problem is way, way in the future, with a high degree of uncertainty.
"Europe seems to take a political position that some people might describe - not me, of course - as quasi-hysterical, that the sky is falling. … We think (government and society) should deal with it in a step-by-step, rational way and not play much Chicken Little."
The BBC, in high dudgeon, reported that Jolissaint had "attacked European attitudes to global warming, describing climate change as 'way, way in the future, with a high degree of uncertainty.' "
Jason Vines, Chrysler chief spokesman, fired off a blog blasting the BBC, claiming Jolissaint was misquoted and issuing a transcript and an audio recording of Jolissaint's remarks that was difficult to decipher.
There is no variation between the transcript and the BBC's quoting of it. However, Jolissaint did say: "But we should do something today and we should do more tomorrow,' about global warming - a statement not included in the BBC report.
No apology was forthcoming from the BBC. But it did post Chrysler's transcript on its Web site.
Hyundai rejects DaimlerChrysler China proposal
SEOUL (Reuters) -- Hyundai Motor Co. said today that it had rejected a proposal by DaimlerChrysler AG to jointly build an engine plant in China, contradicting a local newspaper report.
"Hyundai was approached by DaimlerCrysler over possible joint investment in China but the talks fell apart late last year as we saw few benefits from the venture," a Hyundai Motor spokesman in Seoul said.
He made the comments after a South Korean newspaper reported today that DaimlerChrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche said the carmaker is in talks with Hyundai on building a joint Chinese engine plant.
Zetsche said in an interview with the Chosun Ilbo newspaper on the sidelines of the Detroit auto show that the firm is also willing to cooperate with South Korean car parts makers in China.
The newspaper said DaimlerChrysler's joint engine plant plan with Hyundai was seen as part of the German automaker's efforts to cut costs.
The Chrysler group is readying a cost-cutting plan to be announced in February with a goal of cutting $1,000 from the cost of each car it produces.
Official 2008 Mercedes-Benz C-Class brochure leaked on web
click above image to view entire high-res gallery of brochure
The official brochure for the 2008 Mercedes-Benz C-Class has surfaced over on the German Car Zone forums, and it reveals in full production glory the car that we've seen countless times in spy shots over the past year. The first thing that jumps out at you is the ginormous three-pointed star emblem that dominates the front grille on the Avant Garde and AMG Sport Package models. A trim called Elegance will apparently make do with a standard Mercedes grille. We dig the big badge, which was also previewed on the Vision GL420 Concept at the Detroit Auto Show. This indicates we should expect more MB mod els to sport the large three-pointed star on various trim levels over the next few years. Otherwise, the sedan's exterior lines are a little meatier, a little chunkier and more filling, like Campbell's soup. M'm, m'm, good.
The interior of the 2008 C-Class impresses us less, however, with a wonky steering wheel and old-school nav setup that has the screen popping up vertically from a hidden slot on the dash. We didn't like that feature in the first Infinitis with nav systems and we don't like it here. There does, however, appear to be a large information screen centered in speedomater reminiscent of what Chrysler uses in the Pacifica. Let us know what you think in the comments.
Check out the rest of the brochure in our high-resolution gallery.
[Source: German Car Zone via Jalopnik]
DaimlerChrysler posts record truck sales in '06
FRANKFURT (Reuters) -- DaimlerChrysler boosted global truck sales 1.4 percent in 2006 to a record 537,000 units, the world's biggest truckmaker said today, reiterating that it expected a market slowdown this year."As a result of cyclical and regulatory developments, we expect the markets in NAFTA and Japan to weaken significantly in 2007, while we anticipate that the demand in the European markets will contract only slightly," trucks division chief Andreas Renschler said in a statement.
"But because we are focused on our core business and provide our customers excellent products and services, we are well equipped to handle this challenge. In addition, we expect the markets to recover in 2008 because new emissions regulations will probably lead to pre-buy effects," he added.
Sales of Mercedes-Benz brand trucks in Europe and Latin America fell 4 percent in 2006 to 142,100 units amid weakness in the Middle East and Brazil, but sales of its flagship Actros model firmed to 59,700 units from 59,500 in 2005, it said.
Sales in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) area advanced 2.8 percent to 208,300 units.
Sales in Asia by the Mitsubishi Fuso brand increased 4.3 percent to 186,600 units, thanks in part to buying in Japan before tougher emissions standards take effect.
"Although sales outside of Japan decreased, the decrease was the result of a decline in Fuso's largest export market, Indonesia," it said.
Costly! Dodge Avenger Pricing Hits Ahead Of Schedule
JALOPNICK - - The blog at Cars.com obsessed with breaking toes on hard black rubber and chrome had pricing info on the latest mid-size sedan from the 'merican side of the German-American hybrid dropped into it's lap. And although pricing info on the SE trim level of the Dodge Avenger was announced at the Detroit Auto Show -- pricing on the other trim levels wasn't really cared about yet available. Luckily for those interested in not-so-budget-priced mid-size sedans, Cars.com appears to have snagged all the info from the maws of the half-teutonic beast. And we've snagged it from them -- along with a pretty little gallery to remind you of what the not-Sebring looked like at its Detroit Auto Show reveal last week. Pricing's below the jump.
• Avenger SE: $18,220
• Avenger SXT: $19,120
• Avenger R/T: $22,870
• Avenger R/T (AWD): $24,870
2008 Dodge Avenger Pricing is Here [Cars.com]
HP hypes new nanotechnology chip development
HP hypes new nanotechnology chip development
Computer maker says new technology, which uses less energy, could have impact in in consumer electronics sector.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Hewlett-Packard researchers announced Tuesday a new advance in its computer chips using nanotechnology, which could significantly improve performance.
The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company said the new technology could be used to create chips that used less energy that would potentially store up to eight times the number of transistors on a normal chip.
|
The computer maker, which envisions finishing a prototype chip by the end of the year, said the chips are currently used across a number of industries including the automotive and consumer electronic sectors.
Nanotechnology refers to technology that is measured in billionths of a meter.
The research, which applies to a series of chips known as FPGAs, or field programmable gate arrays, is featured in the Jan. 24 issue of Nanotechnology, a publication of the British Institute of PhysicsMercedes-Benz USA Selects Telanetix for Telepresence Deployment
Telanetix Digital Presence Products to Be Installed Throughout North
America
SAN DIEGO, Jan. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Telanetix, Inc. (OTC
Bulletin Board: TNXI) a leading developer of telepresence technology
announced today that Mercedes-Benz USA has selected the Telanetix Digital
Presence product line for installation at locations throughout the United
States. The full-featured telepresence systems will allow Mercedes-Benz USA
to link field offices located throughout the United States with the main
campus located in Montvale, New Jersey. The Digital Presence System
facilitates real-time video, audio and data in a life-size, face-to-face
environment. The systems will incorporate the most advanced capabilities
developed by Telanetix including multipoint conferencing and the ability to
collaborate using video content derived from external sources such as a DVD
player. The open data platform allows users to work with their data and
programs in their native form without the need to translate into an
intermediate program.
Design, installation and support of the systems will be provided by
Audio Visual Systems (AVS) of Woodbridge, New Jersey, a Telanetix
Authorized Channel Partner.
About Telanetix, Inc.
Telanetix, Inc. has developed a unique technology which creates a fully
immersive and interactive environment that integrates audio, video, and
data from multiple locations into a single environment regardless of
geographic boundaries. The company's Digital Presence Technology delivers
full size, face-to-face images of real-time video, audio, and data in high
quality resolution at 30 frames per second which is so profoundly real that
users feel as if they are all present in the same room. Using Telanetix
developed Codecs and advanced MPEG-4 compression on a Linux platform, the
Company has effectively replaced the central videoconferencing bridge of
legacy systems with high quality decentralized IP multicasting which
provides speed and resolution which is significantly greater than those
found in most existing technologies.
Telanetix Digital Presence Products to Be Installed Throughout North
America
SAN DIEGO, Jan. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Telanetix, Inc. (OTC
Bulletin Board: TNXI) a leading developer of telepresence technology
announced today that Mercedes-Benz USA has selected the Telanetix Digital
Presence product line for installation at locations throughout the United
States. The full-featured telepresence systems will allow Mercedes-Benz USA
to link field offices located throughout the United States with the main
campus located in Montvale, New Jersey. The Digital Presence System
facilitates real-time video, audio and data in a life-size, face-to-face
environment. The systems will incorporate the most advanced capabilities
developed by Telanetix including multipoint conferencing and the ability to
collaborate using video content derived from external sources such as a DVD
player. The open data platform allows users to work with their data and
programs in their native form without the need to translate into an
intermediate program.
Design, installation and support of the systems will be provided by
Audio Visual Systems (AVS) of Woodbridge, New Jersey, a Telanetix
Authorized Channel Partner.
About Telanetix, Inc.
Telanetix, Inc. has developed a unique technology which creates a fully
immersive and interactive environment that integrates audio, video, and
data from multiple locations into a single environment regardless of
geographic boundaries. The company's Digital Presence Technology delivers
full size, face-to-face images of real-time video, audio, and data in high
quality resolution at 30 frames per second which is so profoundly real that
users feel as if they are all present in the same room. Using Telanetix
developed Codecs and advanced MPEG-4 compression on a Linux platform, the
Company has effectively replaced the central videoconferencing bridge of
legacy systems with high quality decentralized IP multicasting which
provides speed and resolution which is significantly greater than those
found in most existing technologies.
Trademark Update: GRAND EDITION [mini-vans]
Mark
(words only): GRAND EDITION
Standard Character claim: Yes
Current Status: Approved by the examining attorney for publication for opposition. This is NOT the beginning of the Opposition period. In approximately two months, please visit the web site to learn the actual date of publication for opposition in the Trademark Official Gazette.
Date of Status: 2007-01-15
Filing Date: 2006-03-06
Transformed into a National Application: No
Registration Date: (DATE NOT AVAILABLE)
Register: Principal
Law Office Assigned: LAW OFFICE 105
Attorney Assigned:
MICHOS JOHN E Employee Location
Current Location: L5X -TMEG Law Office 105 - Examining Attorney Assigned
Date In Location: 2007-01-15
1. DaimlerChrysler AG
Address:
DaimlerChrysler AG
Epplestrasse 225
Stuttgart 70567
Fed Rep Germany
Legal Entity Type: Corporation
State or Country of Incorporation: Fed Rep Germany
Phone Number: 1-212-661-1400
Fax Number: 1-212-370-1819
International Class: 012
Class Status: Active
Automobiles, sports utility vehicles, and structural parts therefor
Basis: 1(b)
First Use Date: (DATE NOT AVAILABLE)
First Use in Commerce Date: (DATE NOT AVAILABLE)
Disclaimer: EDITION
Prior Registration Number(s):
2704632
(NOT AVAILABLE)
2007-01-15 - Approved for Pub - Principal Register (Initial exam)
2007-01-09 - Amendment From Applicant Entered
Trademark Update: BREEZE
Mark
(words only): BREEZE
Standard Character claim: Yes
Current Status: Final review prior to publication has been completed, application will be published for opposition.
Date of Status: 2007-01-16
Filing Date: 2006-05-04
The Information will be/was published in the Official Gazette on (DATE NOT AVAILABLE)
Transformed into a National Application: No
Registration Date: (DATE NOT AVAILABLE)
Register: Principal
Law Office Assigned: LAW OFFICE 106
Attorney Assigned:
LAVACHE LINDA M Employee Location
Current Location: L60 -TMEG Law Office 106
Date In Location: 2007-01-16
1. DAIMLERCHRYSLER CORPORATION
Address:
DAIMLERCHRYSLER CORPORATION
CIMS 483-02-19 1000 CHRYSLER DRIVE
AUBURN HILLS, MI 48326
United States
Legal Entity Type: Corporation
State or Country of Incorporation: Delaware
Phone Number: 248 944-6511
Fax Number: 248 944-6537
International Class: 012
Class Status: Active
Passenger vehicle badges
Basis: 1(a)
First Use Date: 1994-12-00
First Use in Commerce Date: 1995-12-00
Prior Registration Number(s):
2057877
(NOT AVAILABLE)
2007-01-16 - Law Office Publication Review Completed
2007-01-12 - Approved for Pub - Principal Register (Initial exam)
2007-01-10 - Teas/Email Correspondence Entered
2007-01-10 - Communication received from applicant
2007-01-10 - Assigned To LIE