Posts Tagged ‘boost’
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Ford Nixes Summer Shutdown To Boost Output By 40000 Vehicles
Posted on May 9th, 2012 by admin
Ford Nixes Summer Shutdown To Boost Output By 40000 Vehicles
News from Huffington Post:DETROIT — Rising car and truck sales have prompted Ford Motor Co. to add a week of production at 13 North American factories so the company can make another 40,000 vehicles this year.
Ford said Tuesday that it would cut in half the normal two-week summer shutdown at six assembly plants and seven engine and parts plants. Auto plants normally close for two weeks around the July 4 holiday as they switch over to make vehicles for the next model year.
Through April, U.S. auto sales ran at an annual rate of more than 14 million, substantially higher than last year’s 12.8 million. Ford sales were up 5 percent. Tota…………… continues on Huffington Post
Air-Powered Car Coming to India
News from Discovery News:This car runs on the ultimate emissions-free fuel: air.
In 2007, Mumbai, India-based Tata Motors signed a licensing deal with Motor Development International, a French design firm. The idea was to build a car that could run on compressed air. Now Tata says it has tested two cars with the engines. The next step is setting up the manufacturing plants to actually build them.
BLOG: LED Handlebars Illuminate Bike Safety
DNEWS VIDEO: FUTURE OF CARS AND TRANSPORTATION continues on Discovery News -
Energy grants boost research, from new fuels to batteries
Posted on March 12th, 2012 by admin
Energy grants boost research, from new fuels to batteries
News from USA TODAY:Tobacco as a source of fuel? Batteries to power a car for 500 miles on a single charge? A wave disk engine — the size of a cooking pot — that boosts a vehicle’s fuel efficiency?
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By Paul J. Richards, AFP/Getty Images
Microsoft leader Bill Gates invested in a start-up company to create safer, smaller and more efficient nuclear power plants.
By Paul J. Richards, AFP/Getty Images
Microsoft leader Bill Gates invested in a start-up company to create safer, smaller and more efficient nuclear power plants.
These ideas are a few of the dozens being funded by the Obama administration as…………… continues on USA TODAY
Chevy Volt wins ‘Car of the Year’ – days after company halts production
News from New York Daily News:The Chevrolet Volt has won the prestigious top prize as European Car of the Year – but nobody is buying it. Battery-operated cars are electrifying environmentalists, progressives and award-givers. The only ones who aren’t juiced about them, it seems, are autobuyers. The ‘Best Car’ tag was awarded only days after General Motors said it has suspended production of its electric Chevy Volt for five weeks in order to match supply to weak demand. “We’re going to take five weeks of downtime at the plant as we are going to build to what the market demands,” said apokeswoman Michelle Bunker Malcho. “We had a great month in February (over 1,000 in sales) and are very pleased with what we see happening in the marketplace especially with Volt now being eligible for HOV lanes in California.” Despite the low volumes, the Volt has paid dividends in terms of helping the once-struggling automaker’s attract new customers and burnishing its green credentials. The Volt was the first plug-in to reach the U.S. market. Is the Volt headed for the scrap heap? No one is sa…………… continues on New York Daily News
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Teijin to Boost Car Parts Sales With New Carbon Fiber Method
Posted on December 22nd, 2011 by admin
Teijin to Boost Car Parts Sales With New Carbon Fiber Method
News from Bloomberg:Teijin Ltd. (3401), the world’s second- largest carbon-fiber maker, expects sales of auto parts developed with a new technology to reach as much as 200 billion yen ($ 2.6 billion) by the end of this decade as manufacturers seek lighter components to build fuel-efficient vehicles.
“We hope it will be used widely and become the third material after steel and aluminum,” Yasunari Hotani, executive general manager in charge of carbon fiber at Toho Tenax Co., Teijin’s wholly-owned unit, said in an interview in Tokyo yesterday. The new technology hasn’t yet started contributing to sales, he said.
Teijin aims to supply carbon fiber-reinforced thermoplastic parts to one million cars a year by about 2020, Hotani said. Earlier this month, the Osaka-based company signed a pact with Bloomberg
SMP Receives Four Awards from Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance
News from AftermarketNews.com (AMN):
LONG ISLAND CITY, N.Y. – SMP was recently honored by the Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance with four awards presented during the Alliance’s annual Shareholders’ winter meeting held Dec. 4-7 at the Turnberry Isle Resort in Aventura, Fla. SMP was recognized for its outstanding performance in the fill rate, logistics support and training support Categories.
“I’d like to thank the Alliance shareholders for recognizing SMP’s achievement for the best fill rate, logistics support and training,” said Bob Kimbro, vice president distribution sales, SMP. “Receiving four awards is an extraordinary accomplishment, and we are very proud to share these prestigious honors with all of those who work extremely hard every day to make sure our business and partnership with the Alliance continues to grow and flourish.”
In the fill rate category, awards are given to suppliers with an average fill rate of 95 percent or greater for the entire year. SMP received two plaques in this area d…………… continues on AftermarketNews.com (AMN) -
8 easy ways to boost your car’s value
Posted on July 6th, 2011 by admin
p>If you’re getting ready to sell your car, you may not think minor fix-ups are worth doing now — the new owner could spend the time and money instead of you — but that layer of dirt on your car, the stains on the seat and that burned out taillight send potential buyers the message that you didn’t properly care for your car.
That could cost you money.
“You could probably negotiate an extra $ 300 to $ 500 if it’s properly cleaned,” said Alec Gutierrez, manager of vehicle valuation for Kelly Blue Book.
According to Lauren Fix, an auto care expert and spokeswoman for the Car Care Council, the value of a “mid-range car” can be increased by $ 2,000 or more when selling it privately by just sprucing it up and making minor, easy repairs.
Here are eight easy fixes to spruce up your car so it will sell for hundreds — or thousands — more.
NEXT: Wax on, wax off
…CNN
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White House considers big boost to fuel economy
Posted on June 28th, 2011 by admin
div class=”txt timestamp” content=”2011-06-27T22:47:43″>updated 6/27/2011 6:47:43 PM ET 2011-06-27T22:47:43
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is telling U.S. automakers that it would like cars and light trucks to average 56.2 miles per gallon by 2025 — a boost to fuel economy that would save consumers money at the gas pump and help with global warming but drive up the cost of automobiles.
Administration officials floated the number at separate meetings last week with the Detroit Three — General Motors, Ford and Chrysler — according to people in government and industry familiar with the discussions. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to talk publicly about them.
While it is just a starting point, the figure is the first hint of where the government may be headed as it works to set a 2017-2025 fuel economy standard. Last year, the Transportation Department and the Environmental Protection Agency said they would consider a federal standard somewhere between 47 mpg and 62 mpg.
The upper end of the range would mean a massive shift in what Americans drive. A government analysis found about half the …MSNBC
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Ford’s better idea: A 50% sales boost
Posted on June 8th, 2011 by admin
p>NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Ford Motor Co. will tell investors Tuesday that it will boost sales globally by 50% through increased production of small vehicles and the targeting of emerging markets.
Ford (F, Fortune 500) chief executive Alan Mulally will detail the strategy at his corporate analysts’ day in New York.
Appearing on CNN’s American Morning, Mulally said his company plans to significantly increase its offerings in growth markets such as China and India, going from five to 15 models in China and from three to eight in India.
While Ford has made market share gains in its home U.S. market in recent years, its sales still trail rivals such as General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) in China, which has become the No. 1 market for auto sales worldwide.
By 2020, about one-third of the company’s sales are expected to come from fast-grow …CNN
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GM to boost Volt production
Posted on May 20th, 2011 by admin
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GM is temporarily the factory where the Chevrolet Volt is built as it prepares for larger production volumes.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — General Motors is preparing to greatly increase production of the Chevrolet Volt as it prepares to begin selling the Detroit-made plug-in hybrid across the United States as well as in China and Europe.
Up to now, the Volt has been available only in California, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey and Texas, Michigan and the Washington D.C. area. GM (GM, Fortune 500) announced in January that the car would be available in all 50 states by the end of 2011, earlier than originally planned.
But, in the near term, U.S. customers who want to buy a Volt may be out of luck. GM is shutting down the Detroit-Hamtramck factory that makes the car for four weeks as it installs new machinery to prepare for faster production.
“Coupled with already low dealer inventories and strong demand, the suspension of production will result in limited availability and reduced sales in June …CNN
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