“Founder of KB Toys auctioning off collection in NJ - Charleston Daily Mail” plus 4 more

Founder of KB Toys auctioning off collection in NJ - Charleston Daily Mail
Steven Cole Smith AUTOMOTIVE - Orlando Sentinel
Cypress Unveils 2 Automotive-Qualified USB Devices for Portable Device ... - TradingMarkets.com
ICAR catches Detroit's eye - Greenville News
Car dealers appeal to lawmakers on closing of lots - Seattle Post Intelligencer

Founder of KB Toys auctioning off collection in NJ - Charleston Daily Mail

Posted: 26 Sep 2009 09:04 AM PDT

VINELAND, N.J. (AP) - One of the greatest automotive toy collections in the world is being auctioned in New Jersey.

KB Toys founder Donald Kaufman of Richmond, Mass., is selling thousands of the toys he's collected over the last half-century. The cache includes cars, buses, airplanes, motorcycles and fire engines dating from the early 1900s. Some are in their original boxes.

The toys will be sold Friday and Saturday at Bertoia Auctions in Vineland.

The first half of the collection sold in March netted more than $4 million in bids from toy collectors from around the world.

The 78-year-old Kaufman says he's selling his toys because his daughters aren't interested in inheriting them.

Kaufman's family sold the chain of retail toy stores base in Pittsfield, Mass. in 1981. The company declared bankruptcy last December.

___

Information from: The Press of Atlantic City, http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com

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Steven Cole Smith AUTOMOTIVE - Orlando Sentinel

Posted: 26 Sep 2009 11:59 PM PDT

Steven Cole Smith AUTOMOTIVE

September 27, 2009

There is no doubt that 2009 will go down as a miserable year for automakers. "Cash for Clunkers" certainly made a lot of noise, but a recent survey suggests that of the nearly 700,000 buyers who took advantage of the program, nearly half would have likely bought a new car this year anyway.

That extra 350,000 or so sales is no drop in the bucket, but since total sales are expected to be between 10 million and 11million this year, it's hardly the lifesaver that manufacturers needed, especially since September sales are on track to be one of the worst months ever and dealers are suffering what's being called "clunker hangover."

Even so, life goes on, and that means manufacturers are continuing to roll out new models.

Yes, there have been some cancellations and postponements of new vehicles, but the list of vehicles coming to a showroom near you, or are already there, is downright startling.

I mention this because it's time to begin contemplating the annual "Of The Year" awards: Motor Trend will name its top car, and Car and Driver will name its "10 Best," and dozens of other publications and Web sites and TV shows will name theirs. But since 1994, perhaps the most coveted award is the North American Car and Truck of the Year, because it is decided by a panel of 50 automotive journalists, rather than from a single source. I'm the only voting member of the panel in the Southeast, and I am already aware this will be a very tough decision.

To be eligible, vehicles must be either new, or substantially changed from last year. The winner and two runners-up will be announced at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January.

Here is the "long list" of vehicles that we'll narrow down to a dozen or so, before that final vote:

Audi S4, BMW Z4, BMW 335d (diesel), BMW 5-series GT, Buick LaCrosse, Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon, Chevrolet Camaro, Ford Fusion, Ford Fusion Hybrid, Ford Mustang, Ford Mustang GT500, Ford Taurus, Ford Taurus SHO, Honda Insight, Hyundai Genesis Coupe, Hyundai Elantra Touring, Jaguar XFR, Kia Forte, Kia Soul, Lexus HS250 H (hybrid), Lexus IS250/350 C (convertibles), Mazda3 and MazdaSpeed 3, Mercedes E-class, Nissan Cube, Nissan 370Z, Porsche Panamera, Subaru Legacy, Suzuki Kizashi, Toyota Prius and Volkswagen Golf/Golf TDI.

For a down year, this is inarguably one of the strongest bunch of candidates we've ever had. Just look at hybrids alone: a new Honda Insight, a redesigned Toyota Prius, the new under-$35,000 Lexus hybrid sedan, and the excellent Ford Fusion Hybrid.

Look at the sportier models: a brand-new Chevrolet Camaro; an updated Ford Mustang; the return of the powerful Ford Taurus SHO, a very appealing coupe version of last year's winner, the Hyundai Genesis; a redesigned Nissan 370Z; the Jaguar XFR; and Porsche's first four-door sports car, the Panamera.

The candidates for the 2010 North American Truck of the Year are solid but less exceptional: Acura ZDX, Audi Q5, BMW X5 xDrive35d diesel, Cadillac SRX, Chevrolet Equinox, Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid, Ford Transit Connect, GMC Terrain, GMC Sierra Hybrid, Honda Crosstour, Land Rover LR4, Lexus RX350/450h, Lincoln MKT, Subaru Outback, Toyota 4Runner, Volvo XC60 and the Volkswagen Touareg V-6 TDI diesel.

The awards are tough to handicap by manufacturer. In the past 16 years, domestic automakers have won North American Car of the Year eight times, Japanese automakers three times, European automakers four times. Last year, the Korean-built Hyundai Genesis was the first car to win from that country. In the truck category, domestic automakers won 10 times, Japanese automakers four times, and European automakers have won twice.

So who will win this year? I've never been so unsure, and I take that as very good sign for automakers.

Sentinel Automotive Editor Steven Cole Smith can be reached at 407-420-5699, scsmith@orlandosentinel.com or through his blog at Enginehead.com.

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Cypress Unveils 2 Automotive-Qualified USB Devices for Portable Device ... - TradingMarkets.com

Posted: 26 Sep 2009 07:41 PM PDT

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ICAR catches Detroit's eye - Greenville News

Posted: 26 Sep 2009 10:54 PM PDT

The top lawyer for Ford Motor Co. said the International Center for Automotive Research in Greenville rivals any automotive research facility hes seen at the carmakers world headquarters in Michigan.

ICAR was still under construction when David G. Leitch, Fords general counsel and group vice president, visited the Clemson University research park for the first time in January 2007.

When he came back this week, Leitch saw teaching and research taking place at the 90,000-square-foot Carroll A. Campbell Jr. Graduate Engineering Center.

The graduate school offers the nations only doctorate in automotive engineering, according to Clemson. Its faculty positions include four professorships endowed with $18 million in state lottery money.

I can tell you it rivals anything Ive seen in Dearborn in terms of the facilities there and the collaborative spaces, Leitch told a group of business leaders following his tour.

He said, however, that Ford doesnt have any plans to join BMW in establishing a presence at ICAR, though he did hold out the prospect of collaborating on research.

Ford is always looking for new ideas and new innovation and new ways to collaborate, Leitch said.

The carmaker is already paying for Clemson engineering professor Ardalan Wahidi to study control algorithms for advanced power train systems, said Imtiaz Haque, executive director of the graduate school.

Leitch, whose son is a student at Clemson, was in town to promote Fords new Taurus sedan.

His visit came as Ford and the other two big U.S. carmakers, General Motors and Chrysler, struggle to come back from a devastating downturn in the industry.

GM and Chrysler are starting to add back some jobs after filing for bankruptcy, and Leitch said Ford is getting stronger.

Still, he said the outlook for U.S. automakers remains unclear, despite a recent sales bump from the federal governments Cash for Clunkers program.

Where well be a year from now is awfully hard to tell, Leitch said. If any of you know, let me know, and I can invest my money. But I like Fords position.

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Car dealers appeal to lawmakers on closing of lots - Seattle Post Intelligencer

Posted: 27 Sep 2009 12:13 AM PDT

WASHINGTON — A group representing closed Chrysler and General Motors franchises is appealing to lawmakers and other government officials in preparation for talks that begin Wednesday to decide what, if anything, will be done for automobile dealers cut off by the industry's restructuring.

The Committee to Restore Dealers Rights is seeking federal legislation or a negotiated solution to reverse the dealer closings that GM and Chrysler ordered starting in June. If they can't get the closings reversed, the group says it may seek compensation or other remedies.

Representatives from GM and Chrysler, which were taken over by the federal government this year as they headed toward bankruptcy, will participate in the discussions along with federal lawmakers, Obama administration officials and car dealers.

"We've got everybody at the table, and we are hoping we can get an agreement that will allow these dealerships to be treated fairly, or at least have the opportunity to get a fair hearing and appeal their closure," said Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., who worked on the legislation. "To date, we haven't seen a lot of good faith from the manufacturers, but we're hoping that will change."

A Chrysler spokesman said the company had nothing to add beyond a statement it released that said the manufacturer had been in communication with House and Senate Democrats.

According to the statement, Chrysler is "available to discuss with the principal parties involved the benefits of a realigned and efficient dealer network to the Chrysler Group. We also are open to discussion on all of the relevant concerns with regard to the discontinued dealers."

Auto-industry experts view a reorganization of dealership networks at Ford, GM and Chrysler as a key component to nursing the industry back to health.

That has meant taking on the dealership sector, which has a powerful voice in state capitals around the country.

Tammy Darvish, vice president of Darcars Automotive Group of Silver Spring, Md., has spearheaded the effort to help closed dealers. Darvish has begun a YouTube campaign that included videos of former dealers talking about their lost franchises.

"Our attitude is to go into the meeting with GM, Chrysler, the House and Senate leadership, and try to get dealers' rights restored," Darvish said. "This is greed versus mercy."

She also sent lawmakers clippings from newspapers that advertised a new Montgomery County, Md., Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge franchise, which Chrysler recently awarded to the Criswell Automotive Group.

The new franchise opened just a couple of miles from two dealerships that Chrysler closed a few months ago.