plus 4, Hyundai Motor Announces China Truck Venture - CBS News |
- Hyundai Motor Announces China Truck Venture - CBS News
- Sunday's Letters to the Editor - Santa Rosa Press Democrat
- Detroit automakers on new path; hope flickers - Detroit Free Press
- Delphi details plans for $89.3M federal grant - Star-Press
- Hyundai Motor announces venture to manufacture trucks - Washington Examiner
| Hyundai Motor Announces China Truck Venture - CBS News Posted: 20 Dec 2009 05:54 AM PST (AP) SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - Hyundai Motor Co. said Sunday it has agreed to launch a $400 million truck manufacturing venture in China with a local partner as it seeks further inroads in the world's biggest auto market. Hyundai Motor, South Korea's largest automaker, said it signed an initial agreement with Chinese commercial vehicle manufacturer Baotou Bei Ben Heavy-Duty Truck Co. and has set a sales target of 100,000 heavy duty trucks in China by 2014. Under the deal, signed Saturday in Seoul, the two companies will invest a total of $400 million to set up the 50-50 joint venture next year, Hyundai said. It will take over the Chinese company's existing large truck business that can manufacture 40,000 vehicles a year. Hyundai, which already makes passenger cars in China, said it will initially focus on heavy duty trucks in the new venture and gradually boost its investment to include what it described as a "full lineup of commercial vehicles." "The joint venture will initially launch a refreshed Baotou Bei Ben model and then launch a brand new model by 2012 with input from Hyundai's modern technology and equipment, gaining competitiveness in the Chinese commercial vehicle market," Hyundai said in a release. "Entering China's commercial vehicle market is essential in establishing Hyundai's reputation as the most comprehensive car manufacturer in the world's largest auto market," Choi Han-young, vice chairman in charge of Hyundai's commercial vehicle division, said at the signing of the deal, according to the release. "Our business in China will play a pivotal role in helping us achieve our global sales target of 200,000 units in commercial vehicles by 2013," he added. Hyundai and affiliate Kia Motors Corp. form the world's fifth-largest automotive group. Both companies have been expanding aggressively overseas. Hyundai has factories in China, India, Turkey, the United States and the Czech Republic. Kia, in addition to its recently opened U.S. plant, also manufactures automobiles in China and Slovakia. Both automakers reported record-high quarterly net profits in the three months ended Sept. 30. Hyundai also plans to enter the commercial vehicle market in the U.S. within 2-3 years by setting up a venture like the one in China, South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted Choi as saying in an interview published Sunday. After the U.S., Hyundai would target Europe, Choi said, according to Yonhap. South Korea signed a free trade agreement with the United States in 2007, though the deal has yet to take effect as it remains unratified by lawmakers in both countries. South Korea has also concluded a free trade deal with the European Union, though a final agreement has yet to be signed and ratified. South Korea enjoys large trade surpluses in automobiles with both the U.S. and EU and that has been a source of friction for the country with Washington and the European auto industry. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Sunday's Letters to the Editor - Santa Rosa Press Democrat Posted: 20 Dec 2009 07:20 AM PST I want all of my adolescent patients to hold off on sexual activity until they are mature and ready, but I also want them to have access to medically accurate, unbiased information. It's important that young people know how to protect themselves and make good decisions, which they will need at whatever point they become sexually active. For my patient, this information didn't come soon enough. Comprehensive sex education in schools is not only mandated by California law, it is also a public health imperative, as eloquently stated in the Close to Home column by Norm Constantine of the Public Health Institute ("Why Free to Be curriculum violates state education code," Dec. 11). When they are provided with complete and accurate information, young people are able to make healthy decisions. GRACE E. KIM Petaluma Health Center and Teen Health Advocacy Coalition Petaluma EDITOR: Shame on you, Sheila Whipple ("Helping homeless," Letters, Thursday). With your letter regarding donating coats and jackets locally, you diminished the incredible efforts of the Cardinal Newman and Ursuline high school students who delivered jackets in San Francisco. There are people in need all over the world, not just in our little corner. I say, on behalf of the homeless in San Francisco, thank you. LORI BUCKLEY Santa Rosa EDITOR: Survival International has published a report on the effects of climate change on tribal people around the world. Indigenous people are on the frontline of climate change. Living in parts of the world where its impacts are greatest, they are more vulnerable to climate change than anyone else on earth. Barely recognized is the impact that measures to stop climate change are having on indigenous people. These mitigation measures violate their rights, making it easier for governments, companies and others to lay claim to, exploit and destroy their land — like climate change itself. What is the most inconvenient truth of all? That the world's indigenous people, who have done the least to cause climate change and are most affected by it, are now having their rights violated and land devastated in the name of attempts to stop it. In Brazil, they are expanding sugar cane cultivation to convert it into ethanol to meet energy demands. This is being done on tribal lands. We need to find ways to deal with global warming but not at the expense of people who have had nothing to do with creating climate change in the first place. The report can be read at survivalinternational.org DALE COLEMAN Fort Bragg EDITOR: As a resident of one of the streets off Calistoga Road, I strongly agree with Chad Thistle ("Ugly litter," Letters, Dec. 13) that the condition of Calistoga Road is an eyesore and an embarrassment. This lovely Wine Country road is littered with fast-food wrappers, bottles and cans, and the pullout is a convenient dumping ground for old furniture, household appliances and auto parts that often sit for months before being removed. However, I disagree with having individuals adopt this stretch of road. Not only is it extremely dangerous to walk or stop a vehicle along the steep curves, but removing large items such as the mattresses and tires currently dumped there requires a truck and maintenance crew. I just returned from Arizona, where despite an economy as bad as California's, the roads are beautifully maintained. Shouldn't Caltrans or Sonoma County be responsible for maintaining this major road and ideally installing one of the cameras touted earlier this year to stop or track down the worst offenders? We are still paying our tax dollars, but we are getting fewer and fewer basic services. MARY LOU MAREK Santa Rosa EDITOR: I am one of the 3,600 employees who will be partaking in the county's mandatory time off. The estimated $4.3 million savings is no small drop in the bucket. This decision was well thought out and was voted on by all union members as a means to save the county money with the least impact on services. Apparently you consider this to be a "luxury" on the part of the county ("Shut down," Editorial, Tuesday). County employees have not had a pay raise in several years. In 2005, the state Legislature got a 12 percent pay hike. With their recent 18 percent pay cut, they will still make $100,000 (on average). The majority of county employees make well less than half this amount. How can you compare the two? How will you ever survive the five days of county closure? Are you not capable of planning ahead? When you choose to blame the county for the great disruption in your life and the grand price that the people of Sonoma County will pay for "lost services," remember that county employees have willingly agreed to take a week off, without pay, to actually benefit the people of Sonoma County. What sacrifice have you made? GINNY BAUER Cloverdale EDITOR: Regarding the picture of a vehicle going through a creek on the cover of the Dec. 12 FindIt section, shame on you. Please don't glorify habitat destruction like that. ROBERT HOWELL Santa Rosa EDITOR: I don't know which is more infuriating: The first is the idea that we can spend up to $1 trillion of taxpayers' money to bail out four of the companies that helped cause the financial meltdown (while forgiving millions in tax debt due from Citicorp), but Congress doesn't seem to be able to put together a health care bill with a public option that would benefit millions of Americans. I guess the personal financial health of the top management of the insurance companies is more important to Congress than the physical health of millions of taxpayers. The second is the idea that a Windsor man got a year in jail for his fifth DUI. Five DUIs? His attorney says this is his first opportunity to get treatment? Baloney. Treatment is available to those who are interested, but it seems that he had no interest in treatment until it saved him some jail time. I do know one other thing that infuriates me: the fact that when serving the public, all common sense seems to go out the window. ANNETTE FLACHMAN Windsor Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Detroit automakers on new path; hope flickers - Detroit Free Press Posted: 20 Dec 2009 06:23 AM PST
After decades wed to an industry that delivered comfort and security for sweat and smarts, thousands of people in Michigan have been forced to find a new path. From the wreckage of a collapse that culminated in the bankruptcies of General Motors and Chrysler, a few flickers of hope have emerged. For the first time in two years, more people are finding work than losing it in Michigan. And entrepreneurial sparks are starting to fly from new ideas as the state seeks to boost alternative energy, advanced technology and movie making. It's a deep trench to fill. Michigan has led the nation in unemployment since May 2004. In the past 18 months, the ranks of the officially unemployed have swelled by 310,000 to 713,000, and a larger number have stopped looking for work. Food banks and homeless shelters in the Detroit area report record numbers of people seeking help for the first time. The state's auto industry still employs 120,000 workers, a level that's held steady since June thanks to the sales boom fed by the government's cash-for-clunkers program. But it's also down 42,000 jobs from a year ago. Many people are still searching for a future or figuring out how to make their own opportunities after years of receiving steady paychecks and good benefits. Trucker Ed Gordon sees his future in a movie set. Manufacturing engineer Lorenzo Byrd is heading back to school for work outside the auto industry. After devoting her entire working life to selling cars, Colleen McDonald is thinking about politics but isn't sure what's ahead. She has that in common with the men who made the calls that put her out of business. Just as Michigan led the nation in prosperity for much of the last century, it has led the states in economic collapse this decade. If Michigan wants to lead the nation out of the unthinkable with new technology and old-fashioned effort, the job is there for the taking. After bankruptcies, task force members return to life as usualTeam Auto, as the Obama task force called itself, is off the clock. With the automakers through bankruptcy, most of the people on the task force have filtered back to their lives on Wall Street and elsewhere. Harry Wilson, who led the dive into the finances of GM and Chrysler, is spending his time on charity work and considering a turn in politics. "I've never seen a company where people work as hard as they do, yet have such little success," Wilson said of the GM crew. "Partly because they were working on the wrong things, and working in the wrong direction." Steven Rattner, the task force chairman forced to step down in July because of an investigation of his former Wall Street firm, has a temporary office in, of all places, the GM building on Fifth Avenue in New York. Rattner has spoken publicly about his work in the administration and plans to write a book, saying the final results of rescuing GM and Chrysler will take time, but that the companies were set in the right direction. He had bought a $4.35-million house in Washington in May, only to put it on the market after he stepped down in July. The D.C. house is no longer for sale. "I can sleep at night about this because we did what we said we were going to do," he told the Free Press. Since July, Ron Bloom has been in charge of overseeing the government's investments in the industry, along with a broader charge -- figuring out how to boost all American manufacturing. A former Wall Street banker and adviser to the United Steelworkers union, Bloom lobbied hard for a role with the task force, even though it meant leaving his family in Pittsburgh and working 20-hour days for six months. "I've been training for this job for 25 years," he told the Free Press. The political pressures have ebbed little. Through 11 months, President Barack Obama's decision to rescue Detroit's auto industry ranks as the least popular thing he has done. Government auditors have told the administration that it needs better ways of monitoring its stakes in GM and Chrysler. With $81 billion spent, the auditors expect the government to lose $30.4 billion on its investments in Detroit. Bloom contends Obama could have let GM and Chrysler go, or just written a check to cover their debts. Instead, he forced them to reckon with their broken promises. "In the end, people in America will be OK with that," Bloom said. "At the moment, it's pretty tough, but I think history will judge this as an extraordinary show in courage." As workers lose their jobs, so do Detroit's auto executivesMany of the executives running GM and Chrysler have seen time run out on their careers, just as it did for thousands of workers the companies shed in bankruptcy. At Chrysler, former Chairman Bob Nardelli went back to Cerberus Capital Management. Vice Chairman Tom LaSorda is enjoying an extended break from the industry. Chrysler's other holdover, Vice Chairman Jim Press, has been less fortunate. Hailed when brought in by Cerberus following a long career at Toyota, Press took most of the heat for Chrysler's dealer cull and sluggish sales. While new Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne gave him the title of deputy CEO, the role was temporary. The U.S. Treasury official overseeing compensation for top executives at rescued companies shut off Press' $2.6-million pay in October -- the only executive at any firm who suffered such a fate. He left Chrysler quietly at the end of November. At GM, Fritz Henderson vowed to move quickly for change as CEO. "Having a culture built around a fast GM, which is not what we're known for, is important," Henderson said in a Nov. 24 interview with the Free Press. "We can do it. We have done it. We've shown we can do it." GM's board disagreed. When Obama task force members chose retired AT&T executive Ed Whitacre to be GM's chairman, they also restocked GM's board of directors with high-octane executives from Wall Street. That group found Henderson's efforts wanting. In a surprise move, it forced Henderson out on Dec. 1, nine months after he took over for Rick Wagoner, and installed Whitacre as temporary CEO. Change had come to GM, whether GM was ready or not. Of the three Detroit executives who flew to Congress to rescue the industry last year, only Ford's Alan Mulally remains, the senior auto chief after three years on the job. After difficulties, McDonald's faith in government restoredColleen McDonald's time spent fighting the automakers paid off for her just Thursday with a stroke of President Barack Obama's pen. The owner of three suburban Detroit auto dealerships that were closed in the Chrysler and GM bankruptcies, McDonald devoted much of her energy during the past few months to representing other disenfranchised dealers fighting in Congress for a chance to get businesses back. After months of talks, dealers managed to wrangle through a bill signed by Obama that will require the automakers to open an appeals process for closed dealerships. For McDonald, that could mean a shot at reopening Century Dodge in Taylor and Livonia Chrysler Jeep. "It restores my faith in the government, when it shows how aggressive efforts can make a difference," she said. McDonald, 44, of Northville said she wants to keep making a difference. She's considering a run for the GOP nomination to succeed state Sen. Bruce Patterson, R-Canton. Byrd hits the books in hopes of finding work in a new fieldEngineer Lorenzo Byrd has seen his time without work grow from weeks to months to almost a year since losing the job of his life at Ford. He also lacks health insurance. Byrd has been collecting unemployment and attending training sessions, seminars and job fairs. But a lot of his time this past year has been spent with his three children while their mother teaches school. A naturally upbeat guy who just turned 40, Byrd is ready to enter a master's degree program at Lawrence Technological University that is supposed to lead to engineering work with military contractors. "Even if the opportunity came, I don't know that I would go back to the auto industry," he said. The Focus: HOPE work-study program in which Byrd invested six years to get his degree in manufacturing engineering is still in business -- but it's down to about 72 students from a peak of 120 a few years ago. Focus: HOPE is no longer making parts for the auto industry but has landed some federal research and development contracts. In the current local economy, internships are harder to arrange and jobs are harder to line up, said spokeswoman Kathy Moran. "We had a student who did five internships with GM," Moran said. "They wanted to hire her, but they were laying off. ... We're building relationships with other industries." Gordon gets a new start in state's budding film industryEd Gordon clocked in to a job in Michigan's hottest industry -- at least for a little while. He went from hauling steel to hauling cement, which paid a little better. He also sold his hot-rod pickup, a 1966 Ford F-100, for $10,500. He had owned the truck for about six years. In some ways, it was symbolic of the way things used to work, when credit was easy to get. "I bought it on a charge card for $8,000," he said. "I probably never paid it off. I just walked into the bank. Threw my credit card and said, 'I need eight grand.' "They were like, chh, chh, chh," he said, counting out imaginary money. "With an 875 credit score, you can do that," he said. "Today, my credit score is probably 550." But he also has stopped using credit. "Life is better," he said. "Everything is cash. ... Some weeks, I may only have an eighth of a tank of gas and $20 in my pocket until payday." But Gordon, twice bankrupt, is out of debt. And on Sept. 15, he had yet another job, this one in Michigan's hottest growth industry -- the movies. Gordon's number had been picked from a pool at his Teamsters local to work as a driver and set-up man for a movie called "Alleged" being made in Flint. "I'm getting a big old shot in the arm right now," Gordon said in a late September telephone interview from the set. The job paid $24.50 an hour, and Gordon made a killing in overtime. He tried to set up a physical and get to the dentist to have his teeth cleaned, but he was working so much that he didn't know when he'd have the time. "When this is done, they are talking that I will go right on to another movie," he said. "This is incredible." In November, he started working on "Master Class," a movie starring Faye Dunaway. The two movies provided about nine weeks of work, and Gordon saved some money. "Right now, I'm living off my bank account," he said. In the last few weeks, he has gone to the dentist and gotten glasses. He is to have a physical and blood tests on Monday. The insurance will stop Jan. 31 if he doesn't find more work. He said that he's heard rumors that several big movies will be coming to Michigan in January. "It sounds like things are going to be a hell of a lot more stable this coming year than last year," Gordon said. "We'll have to see how it goes. It sounds promising. We'll see what happens. We are just on pins and needles, waiting to go." Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Delphi details plans for $89.3M federal grant - Star-Press Posted: 20 Dec 2009 05:40 AM PST KOKOMO, Ind. (AP) — Delphi Corp. has announced it will use an $89.3 million federal stimulus grant to help develop systems for electric-drive vehicles at a vacant manufacturing site in Kokomo. The Troy, Mich.-based automotive supplier announced Friday it would match the grant as part of a three-year investment that includes expanding its power electronics business line. Delphi expects the first products from the new facility will be parts and systems for Allison Transmission, an Indianapolis-based maker of commercial-duty automatic transmissions, hybrid propulsion systems and parts for trucks and buses, off-highway equipment and military vehicles. Delphi said it expects to add about 190 employees as a result of government and business awards. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Hyundai Motor announces venture to manufacture trucks - Washington Examiner Posted: 20 Dec 2009 05:54 AM PST SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — Hyundai Motor Co. said Sunday it has agreed to launch a $400 million truck manufacturing venture in China with a local partner as it seeks further inroads in the world's biggest auto market. Hyundai Motor, South Korea's largest automaker, said it signed an initial agreement with Chinese commercial vehicle manufacturer Baotou Bei Ben Heavy-Duty Truck Co. and has set a sales target of 100,000 heavy duty trucks in China by 2014. Under the deal, signed Saturday in Seoul, the two companies will invest a total of $400 million to set up the 50-50 joint venture next year, Hyundai said. It will take over the Chinese company's existing large truck business that can manufacture 40,000 vehicles a year. Hyundai, which already makes passenger cars in China, said it will initially focus on heavy duty trucks in the new venture and gradually boost its investment to include what it described as a "full lineup of commercial vehicles." "The joint venture will initially launch a refreshed Baotou Bei Ben model and then launch a brand new model by 2012 with input from Hyundai's modern technology and equipment, gaining competitiveness in the Chinese commercial vehicle market," Hyundai said in a release. "Entering China's commercial vehicle market is essential in establishing Hyundai's reputation as the most comprehensive car manufacturer in the world's largest auto market," Choi Han-young, vice chairman in charge of Hyundai's commercial vehicle division, said at the signing of the deal, according to the release. "Our business in China will play a pivotal role in helping us achieve our global sales target of 200,000 units in commercial vehicles by 2013," he added. Hyundai and affiliate Kia Motors Corp. form the world's fifth-largest automotive group. Both companies have been expanding aggressively overseas. Hyundai has factories in China, India, Turkey, the United States and the Czech Republic. Kia, in addition to its recently opened U.S. plant, also manufactures automobiles in China and Slovakia. Both automakers reported record-high quarterly net profits in the three months ended Sept. 30. Hyundai also plans to enter the commercial vehicle market in the U.S. within 2-3 years by setting up a venture like the one in China, South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted Choi as saying in an interview published Sunday. After the U.S., Hyundai would target Europe, Choi said, according to Yonhap. South Korea signed a free trade agreement with the United States in 2007, though the deal has yet to take effect as it remains unratified by lawmakers in both countries. South Korea has also concluded a free trade deal with the European Union, though a final agreement has yet to be signed and ratified. South Korea enjoys large trade surpluses in automobiles with both the U.S. and EU and that has been a source of friction for the country with Washington and the European auto industry. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
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