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Alfa Romeo’s Launch Moved to 2014

Alfa Romeo’s Launch is delayed in USFiat SpA group’s new sports car brand Alfa Romeo postponed the unveiling of the three new models. The launch will be postponed for almost two years which includes the Giulia sedan. The model is said to be of help in marking the return of the company to the US.

Furthermore, it has canceled their plans in coming up with a huge sport utility vehicle or an SUV. Instead, they will be having a large sedan which could be assembled by their US partner Chrysler Group LLC. All models were intended for the US market.

Sergio Marchionne, Fiat’s chief executive has told the public last April about the possibility of Giulia’s launch to be postponed since he was not that happy with the overall design. Alfa Romeo declares a new date for its launch, 2014—two years later than what was originally planned.

The other two models which are also due for launch in the US is 4C GTA and an SUV.  The said model is a two-seater from Alfa Romeo which will be available in 2012.  The SUV will roll out in 2013, which will be built together with an SUV model for Chrysler’s new Jeep brand. Yet, the launch will also be delayed to give time to decide on what models to be manufactured.

The proclaimed dates were given by Harald Wester, the brand’s head. It was first announced at the conference hosted by UBS and was later confirmed in the firm’s official website.

 

Airbus’ A350 2014 Flight: Final Assembly in First Quarter 2012

6 months delay for Airbus A350 EADS NV, Airbus’ parent company had 273 million dollars (200 million euro) charged from its third quarter accounts because of another delay on the launch of its A350XWB.

The aircraft manufacturer based in Europe told the press that its lightweight composite jet A350 is expected to enter the service on the first half of 2014. This is six months late than what was previously projected.

The company’s statement did not include any explanation for the cause of its delay. But it followed a good news saying EADS third quarter profit went up and its earnings were higher for the full year.

The jet expected on 2014 is the new long-range jet crafted to go head-to-head with its ultimate rival Boeing’s 787. The new lightweight carbon composite materials and other aerodynamics advances of the new Airbus will make it more efficient by 25 percent among current jets. However, its development gave engineers unending headaches throughout the process.

The final assembly of the Airbus will begin first quarter of 2012, until its entry into service by the first half of 2014.

Meanwhile, EADS’ net profit for the third quarter 2011 went up from euro312 million from euro13  million last year. Airbus, a major part of the company, including Eurocopter (helicopter maker), Astrium (satellite builder, and Cassidian (defense electronics) , were able to deliver 376 aircraft from January to September of 2011. By the end of 2011, the company expects a total delivery of 520 to 530 jet deliveries.

 

Mercedez Benz Apologized for Che’s Image

Mercedez Benz maker wrongly used Che Guevarra’s image Daimler AG has called its use of  Ernesto “Che” Guevarra’s image as a promotional tool as thoughtless decision. The Mercedes-Benz manufacturer averred that the Marxist revolutionary image was not intended to offend people.  The apology wasn’t enough for some prominent persona in the Cuban-American community. Two US lawmakers have described Che Guevarra as a sadistic serial killer. The revolutionary was known to have murdered thousands of women, men, and children.

The image of Guevarra appeared during a presentation of Mercedes-Benz at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The Argentine revolutionary helped Fidel Castro to be brought to power. He also played a significant role in overthrowing the Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. He was allegedly accused of ordering executions to Batista loyalists.

Despite the apology stated by the auto manufacturer, Florida representative Mario Diaz-Balart sees it as a pathetic apology. It was sure a bad image for the automaker which used a person who planted atomic bomb to kill capitalists.

Meanwhile, Four Door Media, Inc. has announced a licensing agreement with Mercedes-Benz Accessories GmbH. The two parties joined to build a new version of the Mercedes-Benz SL550. Four Door Media has internationally authorized to produce the SL550 and other upcoming products for the automobile.

Four Door Media is known for having sophisticated car designs, and a wired optical computer mouse called Road Mice. President of Four Media Jim Markey said he is very proud that they have partnered with the high-esteem Mercedes-Benz. With the new partnership, they are certain to bring good replicas of the automobile with high functionality.

 

Toyota’s Massive and Global Recall Downs Earnings

550,000 Toyota Cars to be recalled globally Toyota Motor Corp. said they will be recalling approximately 550,000 vehicles all over the world. Most of these are in the United States. The decision is driven by problem with hard steering.

About 447,000 vehicles in North America will be recalled and 38,000 in Japan. The recall will also include 25,000 in New Zealand and Australia, according to spokesman of Toyota, Dion Corbett. In the Europe area, 14, 000 Toyota vehicles are being recalled, about 10,000 in the Middle East, and 14,000 vehicles in Asia excluding Japan.

Since 2007, Toyota has received a sum of seventy-plus complaints of said defect. Corbett confirms no reports of any accidents or injuries brought about by the defect.

For the last two years, Toyota’s reputation has been in struggle due to massive recalls.  Another recalls was made in 2010 involving millions because of acceleration problem. The company faces lawsuits and remaining doubts on whether it had been transparent enough on their recall woes.

Toyota is exerting efforts to communicate more effectively with customers and enhance regional operations in making safety decisions.

The news proceeded their profit report which went down by 18.5 percent or 80.4 billion yen, affected by parts shortages due to the tsunami disaster in Japan.

Toyota will provide earnings forecast for the whole 2011 in March 2012.

More Budget and Employment for Space Industry Seen

More budget and employment for Space IndustryPaul Allen, Co-founder of Microsoft Corp. said he is ready to chip in more than $200 million from his own pocket to construct the world’s largest airplane. The said airplane would be a mobile platform to be used for launching satellites at a very cheap cost. Allen believes this undertaking will transform the space industry.

It was announced that Burt Rutan, an aerospace designer spearheaded the novel and high-risk project. Rutan is still seeking to conjoin the landing gears, engines, and other parts from the Boeing 747 to the new composite craft he created. A powerful rocket yet to be built will also be incorporated with the largest airplane. The rocket will be engineered by a big company owned by an Internet billionaire and pioneer on commercial space Elon Musk.

The Stratolunch is funded by one of Allen’s tightly held entities. The endeavor aims to fuse a decade-old airplane technology with a booster-rocket newly designed to assemble a one-of-a–kind hybrid which offers a totally private space transportation.

The purpose of recycling some old parts is to reduce the development expense and time. Nonetheless, Mr. Allen admitted that the admission price for this kind of project is stiff.

In other news, the demand for aircraft services means more workers will be employed. The AAR Aircraft Services Corp are open for hundreds of positions. The aircraft maintenance facility is located at Oklahoma City. In this place, American capitalism and its strengths and weaknesses are displayed.

For many years, the company offers positions in airplane mechanics and others skilled blue-collar jobs. The AAR repairs jet aircraft and other passenger planes from Mesa Air, Allegiant Air, and Alaska Airlines.

Boeing Resolves Labor Conflict

Deal Between Machinists and Boeing

Boeing and its machinists’ union have ended their bitter relations and replaced it with cooperation. This was after a four-year contract that has been agreed upon by two parties. The said agreement will increase wages and improve pensions of employees. Further, it will add thousands of jobs as the air manufacturer plans to build 737 jets.

The union confirmed that conflicts between the parties have been resolved because of the deal. In fact, they are scheduled to request the National Labor Relations Board to drop off the case they have filed against Boeing.  The case pertains to Boeing’s new plant recently opened in South Carolina.

The suit was filed last April as the union complained over the new plant opened this year. They asserted that the decision of Boeing to build the plant at a cost of $750 million was a form of illegal retaliation against machinists in Washington as they were not able to exercise their right to strike.

The labor board sought for the company to move the production line to the Washington state. But this move was firmly condemned by the South Carolina officials. Republican presidential candidates also criticized NLRB for telling the company where they can build new plants.

In another news, Boeing was being commended by Gov. Chris Gregoire of Washinton for reaching an agreement with the union. She applauded the strong commitment shown by two parties for the sake of securing the future of aerospace in Washington.

In a statement, she says because of this Washington will continue to be the premier center of aerospace. It will continue to build the most innovative and safest planes in the world. In the past few years, Washington State was the first to land big-time planes like 787, the Air Force refuelling tanker, and the 737 MAX.

 

Chevrolet Camaro ZL1: All Good Things on This Droptop

Chevrolet Camaro ZL1: What’s Good about this droptop?Chevrolet Camaro gets in the way as other convertibles go.  According to Kelsey Mays of Cars.com, the Camaro does pretty well on the road. This was after Mays went over with the car at the Los Angeles Auto Show just last week. Even with this publicity however, the Camaro brings bad news as well.

Mays have pointed out that the Camaro is sadly no longer affordable. Second, mileage and fun driving is comparable to the V-6 car. It is suspected that General Motors, maker of the car, is ready to meet these challenges.

The ZL1 convertible’s facade gives it the hardtop sibling expression. There is a vertical fog light, a vented hood, and a front air splitter.  On the inside, the car’s manual shift knob and suede steering wheel make someone’s hands glued down. As it is based on the daddy of all Camaros, its Tremec shift throws seems closer to the V-6 Aisin unit rather than the Camaro SS’ bulkier Tremec.

Unlike the regular Camaro seats, the ZL1 have suede-like inserts which do not feel bolstered. Lateral support is not a problem. Ford have decided to stupefy the 650 horsepower in their archrival Mustang Shelby GT500, thus, ZL1’s 580 horsepower appear to be heavy.

The last time, GT500 got short  of the drift-anywhere dynamics of the Mustang Boss. Everybody hopes for more horsepower on Shelby. This gives the Camaro ZL1 a more shot at becoming as much as the hoot to drive by early next year.

 

 

Despite Fire on Crash Test, NHTSA Awards Five-Star Rating on Chevy Volt

Chevy Volt fires up! Does it mean these cars are unsafe?A  fire involving a Chevrolet Volt happened in Bloomsberg. This incident alarmed users of 7,500 range-extended electric cars on road.  The latest case before this happened in June when a Chevy Volt undergone a crash-test administered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The said car was subjected to a pole test on the side. It cracked the battery pack of the car which was placed in the center tunnel under the rear set. As per standard test, the car was set on a rotisserie and was rotated 90 degrees every five minutes. This was to check on any fluid leakage. The coolant leaked out from the battery pack even though the electric components were still intact.

Just three weeks after the test, the already wrecked Volt caught fire while stored in an open yard in Wisconsin. The flames spread even to surrounding cars.

After the fire, NHTSA and Chevrolet did another crash test and a subsequent vehicle rotation procedure. Both weren’t able to reproduce the same conditions under which the battery pack ignited.

But then, NHTSA didn’t take the fire as something alarming. In fact, they have given Volt a five-star safety rating. The IIHs also put the Volt on a Top Safety Pick.

Basing on the data available, NHTSA does not believe that electric vehicles like the Volt have greater risk of fire than the gasoline-powered vehicles. Electric and gasoline-powered vehicles have the same risk of fire specially on serious crash events.

General Motors to Drive Google Apps

The Wall Street Journal reports that General Motors is forging a deal with Google to transfer its more than 100,000 employees to Gmail and Google Apps.  General Motors has picked Google Apps over Microsoft Office 365.

The said deal has been underway but has not yet been finalized because there are stipulations from GM which Google has to meet.

Google has enchanted users with features like storage and retrieval of huge data on its applications, prediction of consumer behavior, and trends.

Meanwhile, General Motors  has recalled more than 38,400 Pontiac G8 models to be reprogrammed.  The said recall has to do with the sensor of airbags in the front seats.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that GM will pull out more than 38,000 vehicles manufactured in Australia.  The models are from 2008 and 2009.  NHTSA said the airbag proved to be non-compliant to set standards for protection of passengers.

The agency noted that once the front seat is forward, the sensor has a 30-millisecond delay in its deployment of airbag.  This delay could prove to be devastating once a crash happens and could lead to head injuries to front seat passengers.  To date however, no complaints of injuries have been filed as it relates to the airbag issue.

General Motors will reprogram the sensors and diagnostically check the utility for free.

Europe to Drive Up with Volkswagen’s up!

Volkswagen releases its new small carVolkswagen has finally moved up in Europe with its new car– the up!  A new small car from Volkswagen called “The UP!” has a completely new design with a maximum space on a 3.54×1.64m.  The size is ideal for driving in the cities around the world.

This December, “The UP” will be launched in Europe.

The new model comes in three version which suits different needs and budgets. The entry-level car is called “Take UP,” the comfort-oriented model is named “Move UP” and “High UP” is the top version.

For the “High UP” version, there will be two kinds of model: the UP! black and UP!white. It was announced during the market launch of the small car.

Along with the debut of the UP! a new trend of 3-cylinder 1.0-litre petrol engine was launched. It has 60PS and 75PS outputs.

With its BlueMotion Technology, a combined fuel consumption including a stop/start system is set-up. The car’s CO2 emissions for this specific version are less than 100 g/km. Plans for an UP! Electric drive is also on its way.

One new and important safety technology installed in the UP! is an optional system on City Emergency Braking.

It is automatically activated when speed is under 30kph. A laser sensor will also be able to detect risk for an awaiting collision.

City Emergency Braking system is designed to reduce the severity of an accident through initiating automatic brake interventions which avoids car crash.

So far, the UP! is the only vehicle to offer this kinds of service.