Category Archives: economy

GM UAW Contract Offers Profit Sharing, Some New Jobs

A new four-year labor contract that will be voted on by GM’s UAW workers this week and next includes modest increases in wages for new hires over four years – but not veterans – and the protection or creation of more than 6,000 plant jobs in the U.S. at GM and its component suppliers. Long time employees will be compensated going forward largely with profit-sharing based on GM’s results in North America. Continue reading

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GM and SAIC to Develop New Electric Vehicle in China with U.S. Taxpayer Supported GM’s EV Knowledge and Technology

“The policy is not written, but the pressure is real,” said Mike Dunne in an interview with AutoInformed. “All the western automakers have the same story – GM, Volkswagen, Ford – all have now reluctantly agreed to do so as a condition of further market expansion.” Continue reading

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Toyota Prices 2012 Prius Plug-in Hybrid at $32,760 and $40,285

With its tiny battery, plug-in Prius has a pure electric power range of a mere 25 miles and runs off of its gasoline engine at full-throttle. This is apparently enough to qualify for a federal taxpayer subsidy under consideration via a direct tax credit of about $2,500 in these deficit ridden times. Continue reading

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GM Board Meets in China. New Investment Coming Tomorrow?

At about the same time the UAW reveals details of its new contract with GM tomorrow U.S. media, General Motors Vice Chairman Steve Girsky will be holding a conference call for media from Shanghai.

The latest communication from GM will likely detail plans for further job creation via new investment in China, GM’s and the world’s largest automarket. Continue reading

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UAW Reaches Agreement with GM. Members Vote This Week

The real contract to watch is the now expired and unresolved one at Ford Motor where the UAW can strike, since Ford did not except bailout funds and hence the requisite no strike provision for a bailout, although Ford did accept billions in other taxpayer subsidies and handouts during the beginning years of the Obama Administration. Continue reading

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Johnson Controls to Build $100 Million Battery Plant in China

Johnson said it plans to produce an annual capacity of 2.4 million batteries by 2015 for local and global automakers. The U.S. based company, which fired about half of its U.S. automotive plant workers during the Great Recession to cut costs, said it is considering several potential locations for the new plant and expects to make a final decision in the coming months. Continue reading

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IAA Frankfurt Motor Show Emphasizes Concepts and Electric Vehicles as Euro Zone Economic Crisis Threatens Automakers

The auto markets in the EC have declined for three straight years now, and 2011 is thus far following the same downward trend. It’s against this backdrop of political crisis and economic uncertainty that automakers are revealing cars at the Frankfurt Motor Show that are being dictated – or heavily influenced – by expensive EU regulations – with an emphasis on electric vehicles that will be required to meet impending EU CO2 standards. Continue reading

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Rolls-Royce Motor Cars to Expand UK Manufacturing Plant

The expansion of the BMW owned company follows from what Rolls-Royce characterizes as significant growth in worldwide sales during the last 18 months, including record sales of 2,711 models in 2010, and a greater demand from customers for customized Rolls-Royce Ghost and Phantom models. Total investment in the project will be about £10 million, which will be completed in late 2012. Continue reading

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Volkswagen Takeover of Porsche Stalled, Legal Problems Cited

The announcement on the eve of the Frankfurt Motor Show also appeared to be an attempt by VW to protect the debut of the 911 sports car in Germany next week. The sale of the all new 911 models starts on 3 December 2011. However, the new Porsche sports cars can be ordered starting in late September. Prices in Germany are €88,038– hold your breathe, that’s $127,000, for the 911 Carrera and €102,436 – or $148,000 for the 911 Carrera S, including a punitive 19% VAT in effect in Germany. Continue reading

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Bankrupt Highway Trust Fund Could Send One Million More Taxpaying Workers to Unemployment Lines

Left out from the speech was the fact that it was the failure of politicians – starting with President Obama and his Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood – to act on the bankrupt Highway Trust Fund issue two years ago – in effect kicking the problem down to what now looks like a dead end road. Continue reading

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Saab Files for Bankruptcy in Sweden. State to Pay Workers

In the months ahead, the Swedish government will pay Saab’s 3,700 workers while a reorganization plan is debated. Saab suspended worker payments in July, as the company only sold fewer than 13,000 automobiles and posted a loss of -€201.5 million during the first half. The grim reality is that Saab Automobile after decades of losses, changes of ownership and financial engineering has limited financial resources and options remaining. Continue reading

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Unemployment Unchanged as Zero U.S. Jobs Created in August Amid Political Posturing, Inaction, Policy Failures

While private companies add 17,000 jobs in August, those meager gains were cancelled by the loss of 17,000 government jobs in August, meaning the unemployment crisis continued. Zero, zilch, nil, no jobs were created during another month of inaction, which saw the U.S, Congress take an extended paid vacation as the U.S. economy limped along with an official – and hugely understated – unemployment rate of 9.1 %, according to data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This devastating unemployment rate has shown no change since last April. Continue reading

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August Auto Sales Down Again, Below Recent Predictions

Hurricane Irene only added to ongoing auto sales woes, as consumer confidence declined yet again. Housing prices also dropped and not only the ones under water; the Federal government admitted, finally, that real GDP growth for the first half of 2011 was less than 1%; while Federal Reserve Board meeting notes showed that the governors were at a loss as to what to do next to stimulate a stalled economy. Continue reading

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Most Active Speed Traps Revealed in U.S. and Canada

A speed trap exists in NMA’s view wherever traffic enforcement is “focused on extracting revenue from drivers instead of improving safety.” NMA opposes the use of enforcement tactics that are intended to generate revenue from technical violations of “under-posted” speed limits. Continue reading

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Milestones: 20 Years of FAW-Volkswagen in China

FAW-Volkswagen is currently the second largest of China’s largest automobile manufacturers, behind GM and its Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) and FAW partners. Continue reading

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