“Who needs a key? IPhone app unlocks and starts car - Morris County Daily Record” plus 4 more

Who needs a key? IPhone app unlocks and starts car - Morris County Daily Record
Kohl's to close Falls distribution center - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Ronn Motors Concludes 100,000 Mile Plus Over-the-Road H2GO Field ... - MSN Money
Muskego freezes pay for school superintendent - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Pittsburgh Glass Works (PGW) Marks One Year Anniversary as Independent ... - Earthtimes

Who needs a key? IPhone app unlocks and starts car - Morris County Daily Record

Posted: 13 Oct 2009 07:03 AM PDT

A California company Tuesday will announce an iPhone application and car receiver that will enable users to lock, unlock and remotely start their car with the phone rather than the car's key fob.

The Viper SmartStart is the latest example of automotive electronics functions migrating into Apple iPhone and other smartphones, including turn-by-turn directions or locating the closest gas station.

Such ideas are a challenge for automakers and aftermarket suppliers for whom advanced auto electronics have been highly profitable.

"The days of these dedicated products we could put in our cars are rapidly coming to an end unless those products evolve into something more integrated," says William Matthies, an auto electronics veteran who now heads market research firm Coyote Insight.

Some automakers are embracing such integration rather than fighting it. Ford's latest version of Sync, an in-car communications system developed with Microsoft, works with a Bluetooth-enabled smartphone to offer turn-by-turn directions. And Ford just announced partnerships with the University of Michigan and the University of Detroit Mercy to encourage students to devise new mobile applications.

"We recognized the trend," Ford spokesman Alan Hall says. "Sync will be able to leverage the power of your mobile device."

Other automakers rolled out new iPhone apps, as well. Some are practical, such as BMW Mini's free app letting owners call a tow truck with the push of a button. The Mini Road Assist was developed by Allstate Roadside Services to let Mini owners summon services such as a battery boost or tire change. Others are just fun, such as an app from Toyota Scion that lets would-be DJs time the precise speed of a song by tapping the phone to the beat.

Aftermarket suppliers are getting involved, too. Pioneer Electronics just unveiled its first iPhone app for owners of its in-dash navigation and media units. Drivers can enter addresses on the phone, then transfer the information to the nav system for voice and on-screen guidance.

The SmartStart remote-start and lock app lets the owner be really remote. Mike Simmons, executive vice president of Directed Electronics, the parent of the maker, has demonstrated starting his car in California using an iPhone in Kansas City.

The system which works on any car with electric windows and locks, but does not require an existing remote start feature includes a receiver that is installed in the car. It's going on sale at Best Buy stores for $499.

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Kohl's to close Falls distribution center - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Posted: 13 Oct 2009 06:35 AM PDT

Oct. 12, 2009 | Michael E. Ravn, chief operating officer of Church Mutual Insurance Co. since 2007, will succeed Gerald Whitburn as chief executive in mid-January, the company said Monday.

Ravn, 57, has been with the Merrill-based insurer of churches and religious institutions in various roles for 23 years.

"Mike Ravn's elevation in January completes a three-year succession planning process within our board," Whitburn, 65, said in a news release. "Mike has been an outstanding business partner for me since I became CEO in 2001. He understands the company, our employees, the industry and the business. He will be a strong leader going forward."

Whitburn, a Merrill native who served as secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Health and Social Services under former Gov. Tommy Thompson, has overseen several milestones during his years as CEO.

In 2004, annual premium volume topped $500 million, and in 2006, Church Mutual's assets exceeded $1 billion for the first time. The insurer opened a 70,000-square-foot-addition to its 160-acre home office campus in 2005. It also has maintained its A+, or superior, rating from A.M. Best Company. »Read Full Article

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Ronn Motors Concludes 100,000 Mile Plus Over-the-Road H2GO Field ... - MSN Money

Posted: 13 Oct 2009 07:54 AM PDT

Ronn Motor Company (PINKSHEETS: RNNM) announced today that the results for the past 3 month over-the-road field trials are finalized for the big-rig diesel powered fleet trucks. The H2GO(TM) systems have been operating as anticipated, consistently delivering a 20% to 30% reduction in CO2 gases and an equally impressive mileage improvement.

With more than 100,000 miles of on-road field trials completed, under numerous, diverse road conditions and vehicle load factors, the H2GO(TM) has proven its durability and is living up to our expectations. Ronn Motor Company plans to collate and fully document all of the data that has been received and publish comprehensive results on their website within the next two weeks.

Damon Kuhn, Ronn Motor Company COO, stated, "The results achieved from the extensive H2GO(TM) field trials are consistent with our expectations based on months and months of extensive research, development and dyno testing. The field trials, conducted by 3rd party fleet owner/operators, have given us a wonderful opportunity to successfully fine tune our hydrogen generation system, as well as our programmable ECM, under actual operating conditions. We are excited that our H2GO(TM) system is ready for the commercial market, allowing us to deliver on our promise to provide a sustainable, eco-friendly, automotive technology."

Large big-rig trucks are the backbone of the shipping and commercial industries in the United States. These large fleet trucks average a mere 6 miles per gallon nationally. Every tenth of a mile increase in their fuel efficiency will increase the truck owner's bottom line, as well as provide a positive impact on the environment through significant reductions in noxious emissions.

Headquartered in Horseshoe Bay, Texas, Ronn Motor Company, Inc. is a design and manufacturing company focused on the leading edge engineering of environmentally friendly, finely built premium automobiles and sustainable, eco-responsible, technology. These technology systems include Hydrogen Fuel, Fuel Cells, and Plug-in Electrics and will be incorporated into our automobiles to be made available for aftermarket applications. Our products, coupled with RMC's core values of a strong sense of ethics, environmental sensitivity and premium quality, position the company as one of the new leaders in an automotive industry transitioning toward fuel efficiency. For more information, please visit www.ronnmotors.com.

This release contains forward-looking statements that reflect Ronn Motor plans and expectations. In this press release and related comments by Company management, words like "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "forecast," "objective," "plan," "goal" and similar expressions are used to identify forward-looking statements, representing management's current judgment and expectations about possible future events. Management believes these forward-looking statements and the judgments upon which they are based to be reasonable, but they are not guarantees of future performance and involve numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company's actual results, performance, achievements or financial position to be materially different from any future results, performance, achievements or financial position expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.

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Ronn Motors Investor Relations Contact: The Eversull Group, Inc. Jack Eversull 972-378-7917 972-378-7981 (fax) Email Contact

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Muskego freezes pay for school superintendent - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Posted: 13 Oct 2009 06:06 AM PDT

Oct. 12, 2009 | Michael E. Ravn, chief operating officer of Church Mutual Insurance Co. since 2007, will succeed Gerald Whitburn as chief executive in mid-January, the company said Monday.

Ravn, 57, has been with the Merrill-based insurer of churches and religious institutions in various roles for 23 years.

Whitburn, a Merrill native who served as secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Health and Social Services under former Gov. Tommy Thompson, has overseen several milestones during his years as CEO.

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Pittsburgh Glass Works (PGW) Marks One Year Anniversary as Independent ... - Earthtimes

Posted: 13 Oct 2009 06:42 AM PDT