plus 4, Saab's demise different than Pontiac, Saturn - Oakland Press

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• Saab's demise different than Pontiac, Saturn - Oakland Press
• SNP has hired Jack Terry as senior editor. - PRLog (free press release)
• New workers see bright horizon for automakers - Courier-Journal
• Revied GM starts expansion in Asia - 环球在线
• Pacific oil pipeline a strategic project: Putin - The Gaea Times

Saab's demise different than Pontiac, Saturn - Oakland Press Posted: 27 Dec 2009 11:04 PM PST By JOSEPH SZCZESNY Of The Oakland Press Over the last century, hundreds of automotive nameplates, like Saab, have died and been forgotten. Some of them died before they ever really had a chance to show they had any real character. Others left only a legend behind, like the Tucker. Some — Eagle, Merkur and Plymouth come to mind — died simply because they couldn't find a place or space in an automotive world where the attention of consumers was definitely elsewhere. Other brands with solid names, like Packard, Studebaker and Nash, died from a combination of competition, neglect and mismanagement. Certainly, the impending departure of Pontiac and Saturn certainly underscore the role of neglect and mismanagement in life and death of automotive brands. Pontiac and Saturn had been fading away long before the Obama administration's automotive task force decided — more or less ordered — GM to get rid of both as part of the company's re-organization. Both brands had been severely mauled during the misguided reign of Ron Zarrella, GM's erstwhile marketing chief from the mid-1990s until after the turn of the century. First, GM failed to capitalize on the momentum created by Saturn's early success, which was one of GM's major mistakes of the past two decades. GM simply squandered an enormous opportunity to remake its image with a fresh, crisp edge. The automaker also failed to renew and revive Pontiac's heritage. Pontiac was one of the company's most successful brands during the 1950s and '60s but, by the end of 1980s, it was badly in need of revival and a series of GM managers and executives simply could never manage it. They blew it. By the time Steven Rattner and the automotive task force visited Detroit last week, the Pontiac brand had been reduced to a shell with a storied name and little else. At the end, GM did make an effort to sell Saturn to outside entity that might have been able to keep the brand alive. But even Roger Penske, talented as he is, can't perform miracles and Saturn would have had to travel a very difficult road. But while the blame for the demise of both Pontiac and Saturn can clearly be traced back to GM's inept top management, I don't think GM's management should be forced to shoulder the blame for death of Saab as well. I certainly wish GM's efforts to spin off Saab would have succeeded. For one thing, if the new management team spun off with Saab had been able to enjoy even modest success, it would have been a pretty significant boost for the local economy. Saab's North American headquarters would have been in Royal Oak and the connections between Detroit area and Sweden certainly would have grown and expanded if the automaker had survived the separation from GM. At the time of this writing, Spyker's 11th-hour attempt at purchasing Saab from GM had yet to be decided. Here's hoping the two can come to an agreement. During its 20-year relationship with Saab, GM had done just about everything it could to help Saab succeed. It offered its Swedish subsidiary a lot of autonomy to ensure the brand remained true to its roots. At the same time, however, GM provided Saab with virtually unlimited resources to modernize its factories in Sweden and the technology required to meet new European and North American safety and emission regulations. Saab did have a band of devoted loyalists, which is one of the principal reasons GM kept spending money on the Swedish brand right up until early 2008. By then, however, GM's own financial problems had grown enormous, forcing the automaker to shut off the subsidies that had been keeping Saab afloat over the past couple of decades. Beyond its band of European and American loyalists, Saab had failed to attract any new customers to the brand, making it nearly impossible for the tiny automaker to survive in the face of the brutal crisis in the auto industry. In the end, even the Swedish government seemed unwilling to underwrite an expensive and chancy turnaround bid by Saab, which also limited the company's chances of survival. Saab's troubles also could turn out to be a warning for luxury brands, which are pinched by recession now. The conventional wisdom is that sales by luxury carmakers always recover first and luxury carmakers are hoping that the axiom holds up again 2010. GM's experience with Saab recently also suggests the conventional wisdom might get thrown for a loop this time around. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

SNP has hired Jack Terry as senior editor. - PRLog (free press release) Posted: 27 Dec 2009 10:43 PM PST Cedar Fair, L.P. board under investigation concerning unfair takeover - 1775 views MetroPCS Communications, Inc. hit by shareholder lawsuit - 1256 views Contactless Emerging as the Fastest Growing Smart Card Segment - 1156 views 4th Annual Gridlock NYE Bash Hosted By Pamela Anderson With Midnight Performance By Adam Lambert - 925 views Housing Industry Leaders to Forecast Year Ahead with "Positive Again in 2010" - 548 views Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

New workers see bright horizon for automakers - Courier-Journal Posted: 28 Dec 2009 12:08 AM PST (2 of 2) Thurber's father may have put it best. "My dad said to me," Thurber recalled, "'It's like you're playing centerfield for the Yankees."' Andrew Rohr probably could have found work at a Caterpillar or John Deere, companies where he had interned recently. But instead, the 23-year-old engineer, held out for a job in the auto industry. So far, so good. Rohr has lined up a job at GM, where he is slated to work on regenerative braking, using the skills he learned at Michigan Technological University and at the University of Michigan's energy systems engineering master's program, which he is scheduled to complete in the spring. "It was a difficult decision to pursue the automotive industry," Rohr said. "I started leaning toward different sectors because I wasn't so sure about job security." It was after an internship last summer at GM, where Rohr worked on testing the Chevrolet Volt that he decided to take the leap into the auto industry. "There's a lot of challenges and a lot of opportunities to look forward and to innovate," he said. Michael Mihelich knows what it's like to leave an industry that's in trouble. Before finding an engineering job at Chrysler in 1991, Mihelich left Boeing, where he worked on testing the 747-400. Mihelich left when he worried about being laid off. "I was a young engineer there. I saw the writing on the wall," he said. Shortly after Mihelich left Boeing, many of his peers were laid off. During his years at Chrysler, Mihelich has tried to prove his worth by working in several areas, including body engineering, public relations and quality management. He also earned an MBA from Oakland University. "I tried to put myself in places where I wasn't vulnerable to layoffs," said Mihelich, now a program manager on the Fiat 500. It will take years for Michigan to win back the automotive jobs it has lost in the last decade. But there are bright spots on the horizon, as GM plans to make battery packs for the Volt in Brownstown Township and Ford Motor Co. retools a truck plant in Wayne to build the Focus. As they embark on their careers, Hewlett and Rohr are realistic. Hewlett said if she's unable to find a design job at an automaker, she would be satisfied with starting her career at a design contract house as a way to get her foot in the door. Rohr said he wants to stay in the auto industry, but understands if he has to move into another field. "If it doesn't work out in the future," Rohr said, "I won't regret the decision to go work for the auto industry because that's what I'm passionate about." Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Revied GM starts expansion in Asia - 环球在线 Posted: 27 Dec 2009 10:57 PM PST Although it is still struggling with paying back debt in the West, the revived General Motors has started further expansion in the East, under a new cooperation model with its Chinese partner. Earlier this month, General Motors Co and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation Group (SAIC) jointly announced that they had agreed to expand their long-time cooperation in the Asia region, outside China. GM and SAIC, which currently operate eight joint ventures in China, have formed a new 50-50 investment company, General Motors SAIC Investment Ltd, in Hong Kong to facilitate their expansion efforts. They also announced plans to leverage their resources to support expansion in emerging markets, beginning with India. "Changes in the worldwide economy have created new opportunities in emerging markets," said Hu Maoyuan, chairman of SAIC. "By leveraging our individual assets and those of our China joint ventures, SAIC and GM are in a strong position to introduce competitive products outside China that will satisfy the needs of consumers in India and other high-potential global markets." Based on the automotive industry's long-term potential for growth in India, SAIC and GM have formulated a joint strategy for investment in the country. "Over the past decade, SAIC and GM have created one of the world's most successful automotive industry partnerships," said Nick Reilly, president of GM Europe, the former president of GM International Operations, which is based in Shanghai. "Both companies felt this was the proper time to deepen cooperation beyond China's borders in order to enhance our partnership as part of our individual companies' long-term growth strategies." Both companies also reached an agreement for GM to transfer 1 percent of its stake in Shanghai GM to SAIC Motor. "This will assist China's leading listed automotive company in consolidating Shanghai GM revenue into SAIC Motor, which will provide investors with a clear understanding of its business. Shanghai GM management will continue to operate with the existing joint management structure and oversee operations of the joint venture," said Kevin Wale, president and managing director of GM China Group. According to Wale, choosing India to start the Sino-US auto cooperation between GM and SAIC, is not only a perspective on the huge potential of the Indian market, but also a consideration that the current Indian market is quite similar to the Chinese market six or seven years ago. "Based on the cooperation in Indian market, we both will look for more opportunities in other emerging markets in Asia, which now has a relatively low capacity of vehicles, but high demand for low-price small cars and minivans," said Wale. GM and SAIC will utilize GM's two vehicle manufacturing facilities and a powertrain facility in India and GM's nationwide distribution network in the formation of a new joint venture. Small cars from Shanghai GM and mini-commercial vehicles from SAIC-GM-Wuling, SAIC and GM's manufacturing joint ventures in China, will be produced and sold in India. These products will join GM's global vehicles, allowing GM India to quickly add entries in growing market segments. The establishment of the India joint venture is expected to be finalized in the first quarter of 2010. GM believes the additional models and potential volume growth will result in the creation of more jobs in India. "It will be a win-win situation for both of us to expand in the Indian market, not only to increase GM's local market share, which is only 3.5 percent now, but also to boost Shanghai GM's business by exporting more products from China to India," said Wale. SAIC and GM began cooperation in 1997, when the two automakers formed Shanghai GM and the Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center (PATAC) engineering and design joint venture. That was followed by the launch of six additional China joint ventures, including SAIC-GM-Wuling, GMAC-SAIC Automotive Finance Co, China's first approved and operational automotive financing company, and Shanghai OnStar Telematics, which will provide a range of in-vehicle safety, security and communication services for selected Shanghai GM models starting this month. Since it began regular production in 1999, Shanghai GM's domestic sales have grown by more than 22 times. By the end of November 2009, Shanghai GM had sold nearly 3 million vehicles. Since its establishment in 2002, SAIC-GM-Wuling's domestic sales have grown by more than four times. In Decemberm, 2009, it was the first Chinese automaker to sell 1 million vehicles in a single calendar year. The Wuling brand is also the first domestic vehicle nameplate to achieve annual sales of 1 million units. SAIC-GM-Wuling sales are up nearly 60 percent on an annual basis in 2009. It is on track to remain China's mini-commercial vehicle sales champion for a fourth consecutive year. In 2009, Wuling has also been the first Chinese brand to be exported and distributed from China to markets in South America, the Middle East and North Africa, under the Chevrolet brand through GM's distribution networks. PATAC has played a key role in reengineering global products for both joint ventures in line with local preferences, regulations and driving condition. "PATAC's capability in design and development of cars has grown substantially over the last few years. We have seen there are similar requirements in other parts of the world for products that PATAC is involved with, and also that SGM-Wuling is involved with," said Wale. "PATAC is continuing to take a stronger and stronger role in our world presence because it's naturally maturing and also because of the absolute size of the China market." PATAC has been actively involved in a number of GM's global programs, such as the Buick New Regal, newly launched Buick LaCROSSE, and the new "Sail" which will hit the China market in 2010.   Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Pacific oil pipeline a strategic project: Putin - The Gaea Times Posted: 27 Dec 2009 12:24 AM PST December 28th, 2009 KOZMINO - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who officially launched the East Siberia-Pacific Ocean (ESPO) oil pipeline Monday, said it was a project of strategic importance for Russia. During his visit to the region, the Russian premier took part in the official ceremony of pumping the first batch of Siberian oil into an oil tanker at the specialised maritime oil-loading port of Kozmino, the final point of the ESPO project. "It is an important event for Russia. It is a strategic project, which enables us to enter new markets in the Asia-Pacific region," Putin said, adding that Russia's current presence in the region's markets was "insufficient". He said that the project's first leg cost 360 billion roubles ($12.1 billion), and 60 billion roubles ($2 billion) were allocated for the construction of the port in Kozmino. The premier added that despite the global financial crisis, the construction of the first leg was completed in five years, as scheduled. The ESPO project is designed to pump up to 1.6 million barrels (220,000 tons) of crude per day from Siberia to Russia's Far East and then on to China and the Asia-Pacific region. The project's first leg envisages the construction of a 2,757-km section with a capacity of 30 million tons of oil per year. It will link Taishet, in East Siberia's Irkutsk Region, to Skovorodino, in the Amur Region, in Russia's Far East. The second stretch will run 2,100 km from Skovorodino to the Pacific Ocean. It will pump 367.5 million barrels of oil annually. –RIA Novosti Filed under Economy | Tags: Kozmino, Russia | Comment Below Putin in France seeking greater French investment in Russian economy November 27th, 2009 more images more imagesRussian PM Putin in France for economic talksRAMBOUILLET, France — Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is holding talks aimed at deepening business and financial cooperation with France. The two countries are seeking closer ties in the energy, automotive, transportation, and pharmaceutical sectors among others. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in France seeking greater French investment in Russian economy November 27th, 2009 more images more images Putin in France for economic talks RAMBOUILLET, France — Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin held talks with French officials Friday on expanding cooperation in the energy, automotive, transportation and pharmaceutical sectors. Russia is seeking French investment to help modernize its economy, but Putin's two-day trip was overshadowed by the possibility that France is considering the lucrative sale of a military amphibious assault vessel — a prospect that has made some of Russia's neighbors nervous. Putin: French electricity giant EDF to join Gazprom in backing South Stream gas pipeline November 27th, 2009 more images more imagesRussia's Putin: France backs South Stream pipeline RAMBOUILLET, France — French electricity giant EDF will join Russia's Gazprom in supporting the South Stream gas pipeline under the Black Sea, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Friday. The announcement came amid talks Putin is holding with French officials on expanding cooperation between the two countries in the energy, automotive, transportation and pharmaceutical sectors. Putin calls for modernization of Russian economy at his party's meeting November 21st, 2009 more images more imagesPutin calls for modernization of Russian economyST.PETERSBURG, Russia — Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says Russia must modernize its economy and reduce its dependence on raw materials exports. Putin's call for developing high-tech industries echoes statements by his successor and protege, President Dmitry Medvedev. India hasn't responded on gas pipeline: Pakistan November 17th, 2009 ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI - Pakistan Tuesday said India had not responded positively on a proposed three-nation gas pipeline from Iran, contradicting New Delhi's position that it was keen on the project subject to pricing and security issues being resolved. Talking to journalists, Pakistan's Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Naveed Qamar said Islamabad had tried to contact New Delhi but had not received any response. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

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