plus 4, Impala split may aid suppliers - Windsor Star

Impala split may aid suppliers - Windsor Star
Tinnos Selects NetLogic Microsystems’ Ultra Low-Power Alchemy® Processor for Next-Generation Automotive Infotainment Systems - Businesswire.com
Global electric car maker to locate in Elkhart - Kokomo Perspective
Toyota U.S. Sales Rise 23% - Street.Com
Penske Automotive Group's Smart USA subsidiary names Jill Lajdziak as ... - Washington Examiner

Impala split may aid suppliers - Windsor Star

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 10:59 PM PST

Windsor-area suppliers stand to benefit if General Motors proceeds with plans to split production of the next generation of its Chevrolet Impala between its plants in Oshawa, Ont., and Hamtramck, Mich., Steve Rodgers, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association, said Wednesday.

"From Windsor, you can get to both Hamtramck and Oshawa," Rodgers said Wednesday. "If you want to be a provider of a product that's going to be located in two facilities, it may be better to be located in the Windsor area."

The Oshawa complex builds the Camaro muscle car with one shift on a flexible manufacturing line and runs two shifts to assemble the Impala full-size sedan on another line.

In a note to his members, Rodgers said General Motors is planning to build a new Impala or its replacement vehicle in February 2013 and the Cadillac XTS sedan in January 2012 in Oshawa. The move could create between 750 and 1,000 jobs at the Oshawa complex, an official with the Canadian Auto Workers said.

The automaker recently announced plans to begin assembling the Buick Regal mid-size sports sedan at Oshawa during the first quarter of next year. As well, the plant will produce the convertible Camaro in the first quarter of 2011.

While the CAW welcomes the new products, it expressed concerns about allocating production of the Impala to Michigan. "That's what's scary," said Keith Osborne, CAW staff representative for GM. "Oshawa has been the lead plant for the Impala; even with the new products, it doesn't get us back to past employment levels."

Since 2008, the Oshawa workforce has fallen to 4,500 workers from 11,000, in part due to the closure of GM's truck plant, said Osborne.

"I still have 1,100 production workers and 250 skilled trades members on layoff."

GM's plans suggest the automaker could reduce production at its Canadian plants when it adds new car models over the next few years, added Rodgers.

"That's the potential," he said. "We don't believe, in any way, that General Motors will undermine their commitment from that perspective. They're fully cognizant of that and will continue to pay attention to that. It just continues to create alternatives going forward."

In a statement Wednesday, GM would only repeat its pledge to maintain 16 per cent of the automaker's North American vehicle assembly production in Canada.

"While we do not comment on future product planning scenarios or speculation in this regard, we would like to clarify that inferences of a reduction in our Canadian production volume plans are simply inaccurate," the statement said. "Going forward, we will fully comply with our commitment to the Ontario and federal governments that we will maintain 16 per cent of GM's North American vehicle assembly capacity in Canada."

GM recently announced plans to boost production at its CAMI plant in Ingersoll, where it assembles the hot-selling Equinox and Terrain crossover vehicles.

"We are also expanding our CAMI facility to produce 40,000 more Terrains/Equinoxes per year and are currently running on three shifts and full overtime to keep up with demand," the automaker said.

"With GM's 2009 production in Canada at approximately 400,000 units from Oshawa and CAMI as well as production plans (for the Camaro and Buick Regal), we fully expect GM's production volume in Canada to increase going forward."

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Tinnos Selects NetLogic Microsystems’ Ultra Low-Power Alchemy® Processor for Next-Generation Automotive Infotainment Systems - Businesswire.com

Posted: 05 Jan 2010 02:04 PM PST

Tinnos' high-performance VRN7300 automotive infotainment systems are deployed by Continental Corporation, a global leader in advanced automotive solutions

LAS VEGAS & MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NetLogic Microsystems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NETL), a worldwide leader in high-performance intelligent semiconductor solutions for next-generation Internet networks, today announced that its Au1380 Processor, the latest member of its ultra low-power Alchemy® processor family, has been selected to power Tinnos' next-generation VRN7300 automotive infotainment system. Tinnos' innovative VRN7300 infotainment system is deployed by Continental Corporation, one of the world's largest providers of advanced automotive solutions.

"We selected NetLogic Microsystems' Alchemy processors because they provide superior performance, very rich media capabilities and extremely low standby power for our next-generation VRN7300 infotainment solutions"

Tinnos' VRN7300 automotive infotainment system features an innovative 3-dimensional (3D) navigation and high-definition (HD) video playback, both of which are powered by NetLogic Microsystems' Processor. The VRN7300 also offers a 4-way, 3-dimensional (3D) surround audio technology that delivers high-quality 5.1-channel surround sound. In addition, the innovative VRN7300 system from Tinnos integrates an advanced touch-screen with translucent colors and dynamic flick capabilities.

NetLogic Microsystems' Alchemy processor family delivers the powerful processing performance, robust connected media acceleration and ultra low-power functionality required for intelligent next-generation connected automotive infotainment, audio/video navigation (AVN), heads-up display (HUD) and telematics systems. These industry-leading processors from NetLogic Microsystems have enabled Tinnos to offer Continental Corporation high-performance, on-the-go solutions that provide users with an innovative 4-way 3D surround infotainment system with seamless connectivity, unparalleled audio experience and advanced sound capabilities from the convenience of the automobiles.

"We selected NetLogic Microsystems' Alchemy processors because they provide superior performance, very rich media capabilities and extremely low standby power for our next-generation VRN7300 infotainment solutions," said Dr. Sang-Lak Lee, chief executive officer at Tinnos, Inc. "As a leading provider of media-rich automotive infotainment solutions, we are excited to collaborate with NetLogic Microsystems on its market-leading Alchemy processors to help us deliver an innovative infotainment solution to Continental Automotive."

"We are excited to have been selected by Tinnos for the VRN7300, which is one of the industry's most advanced infotainment system with leading-edge video, graphics and audio capabilities," said Mike Wodopian, vice president of marketing, Ultra Low-Powered Alchemy Processors at NetLogic Microsystems. "Our continued design-win momentum in the automotive infotainment industry further expands our leadership position in driving next-generation networked infotainment solutions."

NetLogic Microsystems' low-power Au1380 processor offers a high-performance 5-stage pipeline architecture running at 800MHz, and integrates a high-definition video processor and a 3-dimensional graphics processor in a cost-effective 537-pin BGA package with 0.65 or 0.8mm ball pitches. NetLogic Microsystems' Au1380® also includes a best-in-class LCD controller with four graphics planes for 32-bit αRGB, and a Media Acceleration Engine™ (MAE) for H.264, MPEG 1/2/4, DivX, XviD, WMV9 and VC-1 hardware acceleration.

For more information about NetLogic Microsystems' demonstrations at CES, please contact ces2010@netlogicmicro.com.

About NetLogic Microsystems

NetLogic Microsystems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NETL) is a worldwide leader in high-performance intelligent semiconductor solutions that are powering next-generation Internet networks. NetLogic Microsystems' best-in-class products perform highly differentiated tasks of accelerating complex network traffic to significantly enhance the performance and functionality of advanced 3G/4G mobile wireless infrastructure, data center, enterprise, metro Ethernet, edge and core infrastructure networks. NetLogic Microsystems' market-leading product portfolio includes high-performance multi-core processors, knowledge-based processors, content processors, network search engines, ultra low-power embedded processors and high-speed 10/40/100 Gigabit Ethernet PHY solutions. These products are designed into high-performance systems such as switches, routers, wireless base stations, security appliances, networked storage appliances, service gateways and connected media devices offered by leading original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). NetLogic Microsystems is headquartered in Mountain View, California, and has offices and design centers throughout North America, Asia and Europe. For more information about products offered by NetLogic Microsystems, call +1-650-961-6676 or visit the NetLogic Microsystems Web site at http://www.netlogicmicro.com.

NetLogic Microsystems and the NetLogic Microsystems logo are trademarks of NetLogic Microsystems, Inc. or one of its subsidiaries. Alchemy and Au1300 are registered trademarks of NetLogic Microsystems, Inc. or one of its subsidiaries. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

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Global electric car maker to locate in Elkhart - Kokomo Perspective

Posted: 06 Jan 2010 08:19 AM PST

ELKHART, Ind. (Jan. 5, 2009) - Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels and local officials joined executives from electric car manufacturer THINK today to announce the company's decision to locate its North American production facility in Elkhart, creating more than 400 jobs by 2013.

A leading international manufacturer of pure electric vehicles (EV) based in Norway, THINK is scheduled to begin selling the THINK City, one of the world's first highway-ready EVs, in the U.S. later this year. The company plans to invest more than $43 million in building improvements and equipment in Elkhart. The plant is slated to begin assembling vehicles in early 2011. THINK's investments in Elkhart will support manufacturing capacity for more than 20,000 vehicles a year. The company recently started delivering the latest generation of its THINK City model to customers in Europe where it has more than 1,500 cars on the road.

"We've said we're out to make Indiana the electric vehicle state. It's beginning to look like the state capital will be Elkhart County," said Daniels.

The THINK City can travel at highway speed for more than 100 miles on a single battery charge with zero tailpipe emissions. The vehicle is currently in production in Finland at the site of THINK's manufacturing partner, Valmet Automotive, which also houses assembly facilities for Porsche AG's Boxster and Cayman models. European production of the THINK City will continue at Valmet to support European market demand.

"Indiana is quickly becoming an international leader in advanced, clean technology manufacturing," said THINK chief executive officer Richard Canny. "Electric vehicles are right at the future convergence point of the auto and energy sectors. We're very excited to play an important role in reinventing U.S. auto manufacturing."

In choosing Indiana for its North American manufacturing location, THINK joins Indianapolis-based lithium-ion automotive battery maker, EnerDel, a THINK supplier. EnerDel parent company, Ener1, Inc. (Nasdaq HEV) is a 31% equity stakeholder in THINK.

"We can not be more pleased that THINK North America has chosen Elkhart as the location of its first North American manufacturing facility," said Mayor Dick Moore. "Companies have long realized that Elkhart is a wonderful place to start and grow businesses. This is another vote of confidence in our economic recovery. We look forward to working with THINK and their suppliers to help them be successful members of our community."

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation has offered THINK North America up to $3.04 million in performance-based tax credits and up to $65,000 in training grants based on the company's job creation plans. The city of Elkhart has approved additional tax phase-in at the request of the Economic Development Corporation of Elkhart County.

"Growth and diversity in Elkhart County is our goal. Think helps establish a strong potential for our economic future. The Indiana Economic Development Corporation has been a close partner throughout the entire attraction process," said Dorinda Heiden-Guss, president of the Economic Development Corporation of Elkhart County.

THINK has an active application before the U.S. Energy Department under the $25-billion Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing loan program designed to spur development of more fuel efficient vehicles, including pure electric and hybrid electric vehicles.

About THINK

THINK is a pioneer in electric vehicles and a leader in electric vehicle technology, developed and proven over 19 years. It is one of the few companies that is currently producing fully electric vehicles for sale anywhere- the THINK City. With its market-leading range, driveability and recyclability, the THINK City is the first vehicle of its type to be granted pan-European regulatory safety approval and CE certification. THINK is also a leader in electric drive-system technology, and was the first to market a 'plug and play' mobility solution in the business-to-business sector. With its Scandinavian origins and sustainability mindset, THINK is one of the most carbon efficient car companies in the world.

About IEDC

Created by Governor Mitch Daniels in 2005 to replace the former Department of Commerce, the Indiana Economic Development Corporation is governed by a 12-member board chaired by Governor Daniels. Indi Mitch Roob serves as the chief executive officer of the IEDC. For more information about IEDC, visit www.iedc.in.gov.

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Toyota U.S. Sales Rise 23% - Street.Com

Posted: 05 Jan 2010 11:55 AM PST

TORRANCE, Calif. (TheStreet) -- Toyota Motor(TM Quote) on Tuesday reported an increase of 23% in U.S. vehicle sales in December.

Toyota reported sales of 187,860 units in December. For the year, Toyota reported annual sales of 1,770,149 vehicles, a decrease of 20.2% from the same period in 2008,

Toyota Division recorded year-end sales of 1,554,174 vehicles, down 20.6 percent from the prior year. Lexus reported sales of 215,975 units in 2009, down 17 percent from 2008. Scion Division reported sales of 57,961 units for the year.

"Emerging from the rollercoaster of 2009, the industry has gained positive momentum for a gradual recovery," said Don Esmond, senior vice president of automotive operations, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. "Despite a tough market, TMS performed solidly, reaching its goal to grow market share. With Toyota continuing as the best-selling overall brand and Lexus as the best-selling luxury brand in America, we're looking forward to a bright 2010." ...

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Penske Automotive Group's Smart USA subsidiary names Jill Lajdziak as ... - Washington Examiner

Posted: 04 Jan 2010 03:02 PM PST

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BLOOMFIELD HILLS, MICH. — Penske Automotive Group Inc. said Monday that its subsidiary Smart USA Distributor LLC has named Jill Lajdziak as its president.

Lajdziak has more than 30 years of experience in the auto industry, the company said.

Smart USA was previously managed by Dave Schembri, who will move into Penske Automotive Group's retail operations. Penske sells cars and parts as well as providing repair, maintenance and collision services.

Shares of Penske, based in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., rose 8 cents in after-hours trading Monday after closing 11 cents higher at $15.29 in the regular session.