“GM will transfer 700 jobs to Allen County plant By Bob Caylor - FortWayne.com” plus 4 more

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• GM will transfer 700 jobs to Allen County plant By Bob Caylor - FortWayne.com
• Auto Racing Package - ESPN.com
• UPDATE 1-Kingsway Financial to merge 2 Canadian insurance units - Forbes
• Ford unveils Figo in India - Detroit Free Press
• Barre may have new truck route for airport project - Times-Argus

GM will transfer 700 jobs to Allen County plant By Bob Caylor - FortWayne.com Posted: 23 Sep 2009 07:27 AM PDT General Motors plans to add a third shift and 700 more workers at its Fort Wayne Assembly Plant by April. Because the plant is fully staffed for two shifts now, those workers will come from the ranks of autoworkers laid off at other plants. Workers at the Pontiac, Mich., truck plant will get the first chance at transfers to Fort Wayne. The Allen County plant now builds light-duty Chevrolet Silverados and GMC Sierras. The capacity to build heavy-duty pickup models is being moved to Fort Wayne from Pontiac. In a conference call Tuesday afternoon, Tim Lee, TGM's vice president for global manufacturing and labor relations, said that if not enough laid-off workers at Pontiac accept the offer to move to Fort Wayne, transfers will be offered to workers laid off from other plants. Lee expects that virtually all the staffing increases announced today will be drawn from the ranks of laid-off members of the United Auto Workers. The company also announced more than 900 workers will be added at the Fairfax plant in Kansas City, Kan., to build Chevrolet Malibus and Buick LaCrosses. About 800 workers will be added at a plant in Lansing, Mich., to build the Chevrolet Traverse and similar vehicles. Lee pointed out that these 2,400 assembly jobs are not the only increases the company is planning as it ramps up its production to restore vehicle inventories. He said the company expects to call back another 600 workers in engine, stamping, casting and other parts plants. Mark LaNeve, the company's vice president of U.S. sales, said there are fewer than 300,000 GM vehicles on new-car lots around the country. "Our inventory is extremely low by historical standards," LaNeve said. New-vehicle inventories dwindled quickly after GM sharply curtailed its production – and after the cash for clunkers program gave consumers new incentives to buy. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Auto Racing Package - ESPN.com Posted: 23 Sep 2009 07:56 AM PDT Auto Racing Package for Sept. 23 or thereafter. Questions should be directed to Patrick Horne at (212) 621-1630. Sports Photos, ext. 1918; Graphics, ext. 6907. Reruns of stories and agate are available from http://apexchange.com, from the Service Desk (800-838-4616), or your local AP bureau. NASCAR: CAR--NASCAR-CHAMPIONSHIP CHASE CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Lost in the drama of the late-race showdown between Mark Martin and Juan Pablo Montoya was another very strong run for Jimmie Johnson. With little fanfare, the three-time defending Sprint Cup champion finished fourth at New Hampshire. It was just another day at the office for Johnson, who is vying for a NASCAR record fourth consecutive title this season. By Auto Racing Writer Jenna Fryer. AP Photos. AP Graphics CAR AAA 400, CHASE FOR THE CUP. CAR--NASCAR-HOT HORNADAY LOUDON, N.H. -- Racing around New Hampshire Motor Speedway last weekend trying to chase down Kyle Busch in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, Ron Hornaday Jr. peeked in the mirror and saw the No. 2 Chevy driven by NASCAR star Kevin Harvick getting closer and closer. It was obvious, on the scanner, in the stands and certainly to Harvick -- who happens to own the No. 33 Chevy Hornaday was driving -- that Hornaday should let the boss slide by and let the two Cup drivers battle it out for the win. It was not obvious, however, to Hornaday. By Will Graves. AP Photos. - Also: - BC-CAR--NASCAR-Sprint Cup Schedule. MOVED - BC-CAR--NASCAR-Nationwide Schedule. MOVED - BC-CAR--NASCAR-Camping World Schedule. MOVED IRL: CAR--IRL-WINNER TAKE ALL MOTEGI, Japan -- Target Chip Ganassi teammates Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti head into the final IndyCar race of the season in a winner-take-all showdown. Things are a little more complicated for Ryan Briscoe after a mishap in the Indy Japan 300 dropped the Team Penske driver to third place in the standings. By Jim Armstrong. AP Photos. FORMULA ONE: CAR--F1-SINGAPORE GP-PREVIEW. SINGAPORE -- Renault hoped it would be making a triumphant return to the Singapore Grand Prix this weekend. Instead, it has become more like revisiting the scene of a crime. Fernando Alonso won last year's inaugural Singapore GP against the odds, and thinks the team may be poised for another breakthrough this weekend. But recent revelations -- that Alonso's teammate crashed deliberately in last year's race to help engineer the victory -- mean that win will forever be tainted. By Auto Racing Writer Chris Lines. AP Photos. AP Graphic CAR SINGAPORE GP. ALSO: - BC-CAR--Auto Racing Glance. MOVED - BC-CAR--Formula One Schedule. MOVED - BC-CAR--IRL Schedule. MOVED - BC-CAR--ALMS Schedule. MOVED - BC-CAR--Grand Am Schedule. MOVED - BC-CAR--NHRA Schedule. MOVED MULTIMEDIA: - An interactive look at this year's major team alignments is in the -sports/nascar09/nascar-teams09 folder. - A comparison of the race cars in NASCAR and the Indy Racing League is in the -sports/nascar09/car-comparison folder. Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press This story is from ESPN.com's automated news wire. Wire index This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

UPDATE 1-Kingsway Financial to merge 2 Canadian insurance units - Forbes Posted: 23 Sep 2009 08:39 AM PDT Sept 23 (Reuters) - Kingsway Financial Services Inc , which sells high-risk auto and truck insurance, said it will merge two of its Canadian insurance units, effective Oct. 1, to reduce expenses and return to profitability. JEVCO Insurance Co (JEVCO) will takeover assets and liabilities of Kingsway General Insurance Co (KGIC) and Serge Lavoie will continue as chief executive of the combined company. Article Controls email reprint newsletter comments share del.icio.us Digg It! yahoo Facebook Twitter Reddit rss BMO Capital Markets raised its price target on the Mississauga, Ontario-based company's stock and said, 'The next 12 months are critical for (Kingsway) to restructure and right-size its business to its diminished capital base.' Kingsway's results have been hampered for several quarters by underwriting losses at U.S.-based subsidiary Lincoln General Insurance Co, and it has previously announced plans to put all but the strongest of Lincoln's programs into run-off to the Pennsylvania Insurance Department. Shares of the company were down 6 Canadian cents at C$4.89 in morning trade Wednesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Sweta Singh in Bangalore; Editing by Vinu Pilakkott) Keywords: KINGSWAYFINANCIAL/ (sweta.singh@thomsonreuters.com ; within U.S. +1 646 223 8780; outside U.S. +91 80 4135 5800; Reuters Messaging: sweta.singh.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. Neither the Subscriber nor Thomson Reuters warrants the completeness or accuracy of the Service or the suitability of the Service as a trading aid and neither accepts any liability for losses howsoever incurred. The content on this site, including news, quotes, data and other information, is provided by Thomson Reuters and its third party content providers for your personal information only, and neither Thomson Reuters nor its third party content providers shall be liable for any errors, inaccuracies or delays in content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Ford unveils Figo in India - Detroit Free Press Posted: 23 Sep 2009 07:41 AM PDT Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally unveiled a new small car in India today and also is scheduled to travel to China for announcement there on Friday. At an event in the city of Delhi, Mulally said production of the Ford Figo will begin next year. Our exciting new Ford Figo shows how serious we are about India, Mulally said in a statement. It reflects our commitment to compete with great products in all segments of this car market. The Figo will be manufactured at Fords plant near Chennai, India. Ford is investing $500 million to double the annual production of that plant to 200,000 units. The Figo is a new nameplate for Ford. The car is based on a small-car platform Ford uses for a version of the Ford Fiesta it sells in India, but is different from a platform used to produce the Ford Fiesta in Europe. On Tuesday, Ford declined to comment on reports that it plans to build a new manufacturing plant in Chongqing, China, but confirmed that Mulally plans to be there on Friday for an announcement. Analysts said it makes sense for Ford to expand its production capacity in both India and China. There are few markets that are growing as fast as China and have the building blocks for sustained growth, said Michael Robinet, vice president of global vehicle forecasts at CSM Worldwide. In August, Fords sales in China surged 111% to 21,127 new cars and trucks. However, Fords China sales lag behind General Motors Co., which sold 152,365 cars and trucks in August. They definitely dont have the same kind of volume or presence that GM hasand Chinese domestics are coming on strong, said Aaron Bragman, automotive analyst for IHS Global Insight. Contact BRENT SNAVELY: 313-222-6512 or bsnavely@freepress.com. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Barre may have new truck route for airport project - Times-Argus Posted: 23 Sep 2009 08:24 AM PDT Barre may have new truck route for airport project By David Delcore TIMES ARGUS STAFF - Published: September 23, 2009 BARRE – It's not a done deal yet, but city officials have floated a proposal they say would divert hundreds of tri-axle construction trucks from traveling through downtown Barre on a daily basis starting next spring. This week Mayor Thomas Lauzon provided more details about a plan that he said would divert roughly two-thirds of the 150,000 cubic yards of soil and rock that will be excavated at E.F. Knapp Airport in Berlin as part of a federally funded upgrade. Lauzon, who briefed the selectboard in Berlin on Monday night and met with their counterparts in Barre Town immediately before Tuesday night's City Council meeting, said the plan involves trucking roughly 100,000 cubic yards of the clean fill to property on Prospect Street Extension where the Bond Auto Parts warehouse is located. According to Lauzon, the Bond family is willing to accept the fill, which could expedite any future expansion of the locally owned business, and is prepared to immediately create two new ball fields for use by local children. Lauzon said the plan would address the council's concern that the century-old sewer line that is buried beneath North Main Street might buckle under the steady pounding associated with being part of the primary truck route identified for the airport project. "It works," he said. "It would keep the majority of that truck traffic off Main Street." Lauzon said it would also keep those same trucks from having to negotiate the high-accident intersection of Route 62, Airport and Fisher Roads in Berlin, while creating new recreation fields in neighboring Barre Town, and accommodating the possible future expansion of the locally owned auto parts business down the road. However, officials in Berlin are concerned the new route would do damage to one of their roads. According to Lauzon, in contrast, the selectboard in Barre Town was extremely supportive. "They saw the benefit as well of giving a good corporate neighbor the opportunity to expand," he said, suggesting they viewed the promised creation of the ball fields as an added carrot. The selectboard in Berlin was non-committal at best Monday night. Although board members said they were willing to entertain the discussion, they expressed reservations about a proposal that would force the bulk of the truck traffic associated with the airport project to travel over a deteriorating section of Airport Road. Berlin Road Commissioner Richard Tetreault said while he sympathized with the city's concern about its sewer line, he noted North Main Street is part of a well traveled truck route that was presumably built to handle precisely the kind of traffic the airport project will generate. "It's a state road," he said. "It's a truck route … Berlin doesn't have a truck route … our roads aren't built to take it." Tetreault told the board the southern section of Airport Road is already in "rough shape" and he worried that rewriting the permit for the airport project to make it the primary truck route would cause damage the town would be left to repair. Lauzon said he was sensitive to the concern shared by Tetreault and the town board and was willing to entertain any alternatives that would reduce the number of trucks destined for downtown Barre. According to the latest estimates, up to 220 trucks a day would travel through downtown Barre for 180 days starting next spring as part of a project that involves construction of a new runway at the airport. One alternative suggested by members of the Berlin board would involve hauling much of the fill literally across Airport Road to land owned by developer Henry LaGue. Although Lauzon said that would suit the city's needs, he suggested that was between LaGue and Pike Industries – the company that has been hired to truck the material. According to Lauzon, the first trucks associated with the project will start rolling next week and most – if not all – of them will travel through downtown Barre. This fall roughly 10,000 cubic yards of material will be hauled away from the airport resulting in roughly 25 daily truck trips through downtown Barre over the next two months. Although Lauzon said that level of truck traffic appeared tolerable from the city's perspective, he said it is imperative the matter is resolved before the "heavy lifting" begins in the spring. Toward that end, Lauzon persuaded councilors to authorize City Manager John Craig to appeal the land use permit granted for the airport project based on the city's traffic-related concerns if negotiations involving an alternate truck route falter or a sudden problem arises. "I would like our manager to have that ability," he said. "I think it's … important to keep all of our options open." In other business Tuesday, councilors: ? Approved a five-year tax stabilization agreement with ReCycle North based on the company's grant-funded redevelopment of a Granite Street manufacturing plant; ? Approved a six-month extension of a listing agreement with BCK Real Estate involving the marketing of city-owned property; and ? Approved a pole relocation order that that will accommodate plans to install traffic signals at the intersections of Summer Street and Maple Avenue and Summer and Elm Streets as part of the long-awaited North Main Street reconstruction project. david.delcore@timesargus.com This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

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