News

Ford Sweeps 2010 North American Car, Truck Awards

January 11, 2010 3:30 am | by Tom Krisher, AP Auto Writer | Comments

DETROIT (AP) — The Ford Fusion Hybrid midsize sedan wins the 2010 North American Car of the Year, while the Ford Transit Connect takes truck of the year at the Detroit auto show. Forty-nine auto journalists made the picks. Finalists for the car award included the Buick LaCrosse and Volkswagen Golf GTI.

Ford Unveils New Focus To Be Sold Globally

January 11, 2010 3:27 am | Comments

DETROIT (AP) — Ford Motor Co. is unveiling the 2012 Focus, a small sedan that is the company's first truly global car. The new Focus, due in European and North American showrooms early next year, was designed and engineered to be sold worldwide using almost all the same parts, unlike past versions.

Cities Struggle To Revive Abandoned Automaking Plants

January 11, 2010 3:23 am | by David Runk and Jeff Karoub, Associated Press Writers | Comments

WIXOM, Mich. (AP) — Henry Ford's great-grandson arrived at the shuttered auto plant to brag about a plan to revive the vast empty space: Investors would transform it into a modern factory to make solar panels and high-tech energy systems instead of Town Cars and Thunderbirds. "I can't imagine a better way to reuse the facility," Bill Ford said during his visit to the former Wixom Assemblyplant in September.

Panasonic Aims For No. 1 'Green' Electronics Company

January 8, 2010 4:03 am | by Tomoko A. Hosaka, Associated Press Writer | Comments

TOKYO (AP) — Panasonic Corp. said Friday it aims to catapult sales by more than a third in three years in an aggressive bid to become the dominant electronics company in green technologies. The Japanese electronics giant is targeting revenue of 9.5 trillion yen ($101.7 billion) in the fiscal year ending March 2013, up from the 7 trillion yen ($74.

NY Seeks Change On Tax Breaks For Manufacturing Jobs

January 8, 2010 4:02 am | by Michael Virtanen, Associated Press Writer | Comments

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The Paterson administration wants to change the way New York businesses get tax breaks for job creation, proposing credits for research and development, capital investment and payroll costs for new jobs in high technology, biotechnology, clean energy, finance and manufacturing.

Executives Covered Up Death Toll In Chinese Gas Leak

January 8, 2010 3:42 am | Comments

BEIJING (AP) — State media says 21 workers were killed by a gas leak at a factory in northern China earlier this week after executives were caught underreporting the number of deaths. The Xinhua News Agency says workers were poisoned after a gas pipeline broke at the Hebei Puyang Iron and Steel Co.

TVA Coal Spill A $428 Million Payday To Contractors

January 8, 2010 3:34 am | Comments

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Cleaning up the Tennessee Valley Authority's coal ash spill at Kingston is already delivering big paydays for some contractors and it's a tab rate payers should be watching. The nation's largest public utility has open contracts that total $428.5 million. A review of the contracts by The Knoxville News Sentinel shows that 10 firms are under contract to make more than $10 million each from the first phase of the cleanup.

Dutch Spyker Tosses Out Last-Ditch Bid For Saab

January 8, 2010 3:23 am | by Tom Krisher, AP Auto Writer | Comments

DETROIT (AP) — Hopes to keep Swedish car company Saab alive flickered Thursday as Dutch exotic automaker Spyker Cars made another bid to buy the troubled brand from General Motors, but a person briefed on the dealings said GM remains skeptical that Saab can be saved. Spyker confirmed in a statement issued Thursday evening that it made the last-minute offer, which came a day after GM's interim CEO, Ed Whitacre Jr.

Ind. Steel Plant Explosion Kills 1, Injures 4

January 8, 2010 3:20 am | Comments

PORTAGE, Ind. (AP) — An explosion at a steel plant in Indiana killed one worker and injured four more on Thursday, a fire official said. Portage Fire Chief Bill Lundy said the evening blast at the Beta Steel Corp. plant may have happened because water somehow met with molten steel.

Suspect In ABB Shooting Unhappy At Work, Says Neighbors

January 8, 2010 3:18 am | by Cheryl Wittenauer, Associated Press Writer | Comments

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The man widely identified as the gunman in a fatal shooting spree at a St. Louis industrialplant was described as an amicable family man and good neighbor, who would rake an elder's leaves and bring him holiday treats. But 51-year-old Timothy Hendron of Webster Groves, a St.

Shooting At St. Louis ABB Plant Claims Three Victims

January 7, 2010 10:33 am | by Jim Salter, Associated Press Writer | Comments

ST. LOUIS (AP) — An employee of a St. Louis manufacturing plant walked in with an assault rifle and a handgun on Thursday morning and opened fire, killing at least three people and wounding five others, authorities said. Several hours after the shooting, police were still inside Swiss-based ABB Group's plant, going room to room in a search for both the gunman and additional victims, police Capt.

Google Picks Fight With Apple Over New Hardware

January 6, 2010 4:04 am | by Michael Liedtke, AP Technology Writer | Comments

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) — The once-cuddly relationship between Google Inc. and Apple Inc. is morphing into a prickly power struggle as the ambitions and ideas of the technology trendsetters increasingly collide. The growing use of high-powered phones for Web surfing has become a flash point in the brewing battle because both Google and Apple view the mobile market as a key to their continued success in the next decade.

Electric Car Maker Reopens Plant In Downtrodden Elkhart

January 6, 2010 3:44 am | Comments

ELKHART, Ind. (AP) — An electric car maker plans to open a factory in a northern Indiana plant that once made parts for recreational vehicles. State and local officials joined executives from Think North America for an official announcement Tuesday. The plant in Elkhart will be Think North America's first in the U.

U.S. Automakers Hopeful After Worst Year In Decades

January 6, 2010 3:38 am | by Dee-Ann Durbin and Tom Krisher, AP Auto Writers | Comments

DETROIT (AP) — Automakers in the U.S. ended their worst year in almost three decades with hints of a recovery in December. Many, especially those selling small or inexpensive vehicles, reported improvements last month and expressed hope for a mildly better 2010. It was a positive finish to one of the toughest years on record for the industry, with U.

Coal Miners Afflicted By Mysterious Razor Blades

January 6, 2010 3:33 am | Comments

GILLETTE, Wyo. (AP) — The Campbell County Sheriff's Office is investigating a series of incidents involving razor blades at the North Antelope-Rochelle coal mine in Campbell County. Officials say someone put a razor blade in a pair of gloves used for working with high-voltage equipment in October.