News

GM Recalls 1.3 Million Compacts For Failed Steering

March 2, 2010 3:23 am | Comments

DETROIT (AP) — General Motors Co. is recalling 1.3 million Chevrolet and Pontiac compact cars sold in the U.S., Canada and Mexico to fix power steering motors that can fail. The recall affects 2005 to 2010 Chevrolet Cobalts, 2007 to 2010 Pontiac G5s, 2005 and 2006 Pontiac Pursuits sold in Canada and 2005 and 2006 Pontiac G4s sold in Mexico.

Ind. Auto Parts Maker To Add 285 Jobs

March 2, 2010 3:12 am | Comments

HAMMOND, Ind. (AP) — Lear Operations Corp. plans to increase production at its northwestern Indiana factory and potentially add 285 jobs this year. The company announced Tuesday it would invest more than $2.2 million at the factory in Hammond to make seating for the Ford Explorer SUV. Southfield, Mich.

Gharda To Pay $8 Million For Texas Pesticide Fire

March 2, 2010 3:10 am | Comments

HOUSTON (AP) — A jury in Houston has ordered a chemical manufacturer to pay nearly $8.4 million in a negligence verdict over a 2004 industrial fire. The blaze at the Control Solutions Inc. pesticides warehouse forced some Pasadena and other nearby residents to take cover for hours.

Atlas Copco Completes Acquisition Of Quincy Compressor

March 1, 2010 10:50 am | Comments

Stockholm , Sweden, March 1, 2010 — Atlas Copco today completed the acquisition of Quincy Compressor from EnPro Industries, with the exception of Quincy’s Chinese operations, where regulatory approvals from relevant local authorities are still pending. Quincy Compressor designs and manufactures reciprocating compressors, rotary screw compressors and vacuum pumps, primarily under the Quincy brand.

Whirlpool CEO Earns $10.8 Million As 1,100 Jobs Go Overseas

March 1, 2010 10:38 am | by Emily Fredrix, AP Retail Writer | Comments

NEW YORK (AP) — Whirlpool Corp. CEO Jeff M. Fettig's compensation soared more than 75 percent last year to $10.8 million as the appliance maker began to see shoppers making bigger purchases again, according to an Associated Press analysis of regulatory filings. Fettig, 53, received the pay hike largely in the form of a performance-based cash bonus worth $5.

Toyoda Apologizes To Chinese Consumers

March 1, 2010 5:39 am | by Joe McDonald, AP Business Writer | Comments

BEIJING (AP) — Toyota President Akio Toyoda brought his damage-control campaign to the world's biggest auto market Monday, apologizing to Chinese customers for quality problems and stressing their importance to the Japanese automaker. Toyoda said he flew straight to Beijing from the United States to show his sincerity to Chinese customers after a string of vehicle recalls.

Chinese Manufacturing Growth Slows, U.S. Continues Climb

March 1, 2010 3:51 am | by Elaine Kurtenbach, AP Business Writer | Comments

SHANGHAI (AP) — Growth in China's manufacturing slowed in February amid efforts to curb overcapacity in some industries and cool inflation by tightening control over bank lending, two surveys showed Monday. The state-affiliated China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said its purchasing managers index, or PMI, slipped to 52 in February from January's 55.

Toyota's Japan Sales Rise 53 Percent Despite Recall

March 1, 2010 3:42 am | Comments

TOKYO (AP) — Toyota Motor Corp. saw its new car sales grow last month despite its massive global recalls, helping to buoy Japan's overall new vehicle sales from a year earlier, according to industry figures released Monday. Sales of Toyota passenger cars stood at 136,682 units in February, up 53 percent from a year earlier, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said.

Regent Aerospace Opening Alabama Plant

March 1, 2010 3:21 am | Comments

MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — Regent Aerospace says it will open a new plant in Mobile that will create as many as 90 jobs in two years and hopes to build a new facility that will raise employment to 180 in a second phase. The Valencia, Calif.-based company overhauls aircraft seats and interiors.

V-Vehicle 'Optimistic' About $320 Million Green-Car Loan

March 1, 2010 3:19 am | by Alan Sayre, AP Business Writer | Comments

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A top official of V-Vehicle Co., which is planning to build a fuel-efficient vehicle in northeastern Louisiana, said Sunday that he is confident that the federal Energy Department will approve a $320 million loan — a key portion of the company's financing — by the end of March.

Miss. Town Waits, Hopes For Toyota Plant Revival

March 1, 2010 3:17 am | by Holbrook Mohr, Associated Press Writer | Comments

BLUE SPRINGS, Miss. (AP) — Terry McShan isn't thinking about car sales analyses or excess capacity when he drives by the idle Toyota plant in northeast Mississippi. He's thinking about his little girl. Like most Mississippians, the 46-year-old father of one grown daughter and a 4-year-old girl was thrilled when Toyota announced plans in 2007 to build a plant in Blue Springs, a one-store town in the north Mississippi hills.

Geneva Auto Show Spotlight Casts Long Shadows For 2010

March 1, 2010 3:15 am | by Colleen Barry, AP Business Writer | Comments

MILAN (AP) — For most of the world's automakers, the Geneva Auto Show will be back-to-business with new model rollouts to put the gotta-have-it gleam back in consumers' eyes. For Toyota, that won't be enough. "Toyota is still in the middle of its global recalls, and new problems keep showing up.

Ford Adding 700 Jobs At Ontario Plant

February 26, 2010 5:58 am | Comments

TORONTO — Ford's engine plant in Windsor, Ont., is expected to get more than 700 new jobs over five years. The Ontario government says it will contribute up to $81.2 million towards the plant, building on an earlier investment of $17 million that helped reopen the shuttered plant in 2008.

Bidders Snap Up Equipment In Chrysler Auction

February 26, 2010 4:29 am | Comments

NEWARK, Del. (AP) — Hundreds of bidders from across the country have snapped up machinery, tools and other equipment from the closed Newark Chrysler assembly plant. More than 300 potential bidders gathered Thursday in the auditorium at Clayton Hall on the University of Delaware's Laird Campus and another 250 others were participating via a webcast.

State Agencies Battle With EPA Over Mill's Colored Water

February 26, 2010 3:29 am | Comments

CANTON, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina's water regulators are sticking up for a big paper mill in a dispute with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The Asheville Citizen-Times reported Friday that the state Division of Water Quality says Evergreen Packaging's mill in Canton cannot meet EPA demands that the plant do more to stop turning the Pigeon River dark.