Feb 28, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com
The March schedule has been released. It has 10.3 off the K-line every day with Friday, March 18 off.
From Automotive News: Volkswagen AG passed rival Ford Motor Co. in the auto industry earnings race last year on surging demand in China. Net income surged sevenfold to 6.84 billion euros ($9.42 billion), the German automaker said today. Ford posted 2010 profit of $6.56 billion, while General Motors Co. reported $4.7 billion. Toyota Motor Corp. forecasts 490 billion yen ($6 billion) in profit in the year ending March 31.
More Automotive News: A record 672,000 used commercial trucks were registered in the United States last year, up 22 percent, says R.L. Polk & Co. of Detroit, which collects and interprets global automotive data. It was the first year registrations of used commercial trucks exceeded 600,000 units. Gary Meteer, director of sales and client services at Polk, said the increase is an indication that large fleet operators are buying new commercial vehicles, making used ones available to smaller companies and independent owner-operators.
In a ruling that could have widespread ramifications in the auto industry, the Supreme Court said a wrongful death suit can go forward against Mazda which claims the automaker was negligent in not having three-point seat belts in the center back seat of a 1993 Mazda MPV minivan. A woman was killed in a 2002 accident while wearing only a lap belt, which complied with federal regulations at the time. The rules allowed for either a lap belt or a shoulder belt. As a result, other cases are getting another look, the Wall Street Journal reports. The U.S. Supreme Court ordered a lower court Monday to reconsider a ruling that barred a product-liability lawsuit alleging Ford Motor Co. defectively designed the side windows in a 1997 pickup truck, according to the WSJ. The Ford case focuses not on seat belts but on the type of glass the company chose to install in its 1997 F-150 pickup. The plaintiff alleged Ford was liable in the death of a passenger in an F-150 who was ejected during a 2002 accident in which the truck veered off the road and rolled over several times. The victim wasn't wearing a seat belt, and his mother alleged he would not have been ejected had Ford installed laminated side windows on the truck instead of using tempered glass. Federal safety regulations gave Ford a choice in which type of windows to install.
6 U.S. Cars that Trounce the Imports – Fortune
By Doron Levin
Apples-to-apples comparisons among vehicle models are always difficult. But the Big Three are rumbling with Toyota, Honda, and even Audi, and not getting thrown out of the ring. Detroit has managed to narrow the differences with the competition and in some cases erase them. Let's take a look at some of the matchups of foreign car vs. domestic, where every battle for a customer is a main event.
Chevrolet Cruze vs. Honda Civic
General Motors earned a reputation as a manufacturer of mediocre small cars with the Chevrolet Cavalier and Cobalt, while Honda's Civic hasn't been a best-seller for a couple of decades without reason. The new Cruze could help GM live down its reputation. Cruze comes with a 1.4 liter turbo and in its least expensive version -- a manual transmission. The car is handsome, handles nicely, with good fit and finish. Starting at $18,000, it's a value, at least initially, compared with Civic. With 94.6 cubic feet of interior space, Cruze compares nicely with Civic's 90.9 cubic feet. Finally GM is showing respect for the segment of its customers that wants a small car and doesn't want to be treated as small time.
Chevrolet Equinox vs. Honda CR-V
One of Chevrolet's hottest-selling models is its Equinox compact crossover, which competes with Honda's CR-V. It took GM a while to catch up with Honda, the Toyota RAV-4 and others in this category, but sales volume figures suggest that the buzz is getting around. The Equinox LS offers a 2.4 liter engine, same as CR-V, has a six-speed automatic to Honda's five-speed and costs only about $1,000 more with similar equipment. Equinox's fuel economy is superior, as is legroom, though it gives up a bit of cargo space to the CR-V. The engineers at GM have even come up with a feature the automaker says is exclusive: a back-up camera with a screen integrated into the rearview mirror. For this, among other reasons, the model has won a string of awards from various publications and safety groups.
Chevrolet Silverado vs. Toyota Tundra
Most of us don't have to worry about how we're going to tow our horses to the dressage competition or whether our vehicle has enough grunt to haul the speedboat up to the lake. Those who do fret about such things are still liable to choose a Chevrolet Silverado pickup with special towing capabilities. Toyota's Tundra pickup is making strides in this competition, with a 5.7 liter engine to Chevy's 6.2 liter. Either can carry about a ton of cargo. The key metric for customers considering these vehicles is maximum towing, 10,700 pounds for Silverado versus 10,400 for Tundra. (Don't overlook Ford's F-Series or Nissan's Titan, both of which are also strong contenders.)
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