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US DOE Under Secretary for Science Says Liquid Fuels Will Be With Us For A Number of Decades; DOE Seeking to Build Collaboration Between National Labs and OEMs on Combustion Modeling and Simulation
27 September 2010
Liquid transportation fuels—and combustion engines that burn them—are "going to be with us for quite awhile, a number of decades," said Dr. Steven E. Koonin, Under Secretary for Science, US Department of Energy in his plenary talk at the 16th Directions in Engine-Efficiency and Emissions Research (DEER) Conference in Detroit.
However, he noted, "we need to learn how to use liquid fuels more efficiently than in the past." In the quest for more efficient engines to meet that goal, Koonin said, "computer modeling and simulation loom large".
...it's primarily a physics issue about energy density; the energy density—whether volumetric or gravimetric—of a liquid fuel is about 50 times better than the best batteries we can make now. For transportation, that is a primary consideration. However, we need to learn how to use them much more efficiently than we have been in the past. The department, to that end, is first of all supporting the development of the next generation of internal combustion technologies. There is a lot of headroom here.
We are trying to support that through the Combustion Research Facility in California run by Sandia National Laboratories, jointly funded by two parts of the Department of Energy, the science part and the vehicle efficiencies part, which is providing laser- and optical-based diagnostics for the fundamentals of combustion. Also through facilities such as the Advanced Proton Source at Argonne used for visualization and understanding.
As I look out over the department's portfolio and ask what could make a difference in the next 5 to 10 years in terms of practical impact, computer modeling and simulation looms large in my thinking...It's not widely known, but roughly 15 years ago when the US government decided to end underground nuclear testing of our stockpile, it embarked on a deliberate program to accelerate high-performance computing and to develop the methodologies to combine that computing with experimental data and historical test data that has resulted in the last 15 years in a truly remarkable predictive understanding of what goes on inside a nuclear weapon.
At the same time...for the last decade, the open, unclassified science part [of the DOE] has been funding and making available the same high-performance computing to many other uses: climate modeling, protein folding, materials science...it's now time, we think, to take that expertise and apply it in a much more concerted and accelerated way to energy systems. If we can do that properly, we can optimize designs which shorten design cycles and facilitate the transition to scale from the lab bench to full scale deployment, accelerating it and making it much more economical.
...We are looking to build a collaboration between the national labs and the OEMS, centered on the Combustion Research Facility that I think can be a real competitive advantage for US industry as we work to develop a validated in-cylinder computational model that can accelerate design and optimize it as well. I think you will see us working toward that goal over the next year or two.—Under Secretary Koonin
A subsequent paper presented at DEER by Daniel Flowers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory highlighted the magnitude of the computation challenge. Flowers and his colleagues have been researching chemical kinetics of diesel fuels, and have developed mechanisms for complex long-chain species, enabling more representative diesel surrogates.
They have developed 2-methyl alkane mechanisms up to C20— branched iso-alkanes are significant components in gasoline and diesel fuels—bringing them up to about 7,900 species with some 27,000 reactions.
To run a full 3D cylinder model with 7,900 species would require about 42,000 Peta flops—about 30 hours on Oak Ridge Laboratory's Jaguar supercomputer (currently the fastest), or about 60 years on a conventional workstation, Flowers said. Flowers outlined ongoing work in exploring new computing architectures (such as the optimized use of graphical processing units) as ways to improve simulation and modeling efficiency.
In his talk, Koonin noted that DOE was looking at pushing from Peta-scale computing to Exa-scale computing (1018 flops) in ten years—also targeted as necessary to be support the development of an eventual "500-mile battery" (earlier post).
The 2017-2025 phase of CAFE. In a separate talk at DEER, Tom Cackette, Chief Deputy Executive Office of the California Air Resources Board, shared ARB's observations on the imminent release of the Technical Assessment Report (TAR) being developed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), with input from ARB, on the targets for the next round of light-duty vehicle fuel economy and greenhouse gas regulations for the years 2017-2025.
California is developing its own set of standards for the follow-on to the current Pavley requirements, but is seeking harmonization with the upcoming Federal rules (as is the case with the regulations through 2016).
According to Cackette, the TAR will outline a number of different annual reduction scenarios (3%, 4%, 5%, and, 6%) with the resulting CO2 grams/mile (tailpipe) in 2025 ranging from 190 g/mi under the 3% scenario to 143 g/mi under the 6% scenario. The 2016 target is 250 g/mi. This would equate in miles per gallon equivalent to a 2025 range from 47 mpge to 62 mpge under test and from 37 mpge to 50 mpge under use, respectively on the different percentage scenarios.
ARB's initial observations on these targets, according to Cackette:
- Weight reduction is the most cost-effective means to reduce consumption and emissions.
- Further greenhouse gas emission reduction from conventional internal combustion engines is achievable and cost effective: "A lot more can be done."
- Hybrids are necessary, ranging from current levels of a few percentage points in sales at less stringent standards to 50% sales with higher annual CO2 reductions
- Plug-in vehicles (including fuel cell vehicles) are only necessary by 2025 for higher annual CO2 improvements, because other technologies are pretty promising and have more favorable costs. Even with a 6% annual improvement, Cackette said, the fleet would need only a few—less than 10% in the higher scenario. It doesn't mean that they won't happen or be desirable from a consumer standpoint, just that they wouldn't be necessary in large numbers to meet the target, Cackette said.
Daniel Flowers et. al. Computationally Efficient Simulation of High-Efficiency Clean Combustion Engines (DEER 2010)
September 27, 2010 in Engines, Fuel Efficiency, Fuels | Permalink | Comments (37) | TrackBack (0)
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"Plug-in vehicles (including fuel cell vehicles) are only necessary by 2025 for higher annual CO2 improvements, because other technologies are pretty promising and have more favorable costs."
Apparently all CARB Cackhead is talking about is his clan's beloved GHG targets. Forget obviating petroleum from foreign sources. Forget energy independence. Forget jobs, security, economy and cost of military protectionism in the Middle East. This guy cleaves to an utterly failed thesis based on GHG.
He is actually promoting the idea of continued ICE sales and use without attention to electrification. Politically this is the position taken by the oilcos.
Governor Schwarzenegger - do the world a favor and FIRE this man! His head is up in the wrong place (to be kind.)
President Obama. Please put an END to Federal financing of outdated, energy inefficient, security jeopardizing research like the Sandia-run Combustion Research Facility.
This is a barely disguised front to support combustion engine and gasoline sales.
Pathetically alliterative: Koonin and Cackhead. These two backward thinking men may be the reason the disruptive energy genie escapes the bottle. They are doing absolutely NOTHING to promote RENEWABLE /SUSTAINABLE liquid fuels (from data in this press release.)
Is that too harsh?
Hey Reel,
I just sent my daily (it seems) broadside so I'm cooling down a bit./
I know you are a bit of a ruffnut but I can sympathise with the frustration over slow battery electric progress.
Of course the CO thing IS for me the major pollution aspect of conventional fossil fuels, esp as I don't hold the middle east countries sales as any different to any other.
The colonials here are on a mineral driven economic bonanza and many western countries and others exploit the natural resources from lands where the first peoples are 'effectively' dispossessed.
(the truth be known I also don't like any fat cat industrialist slave driving empire building - but as I said I'm not going there)
Also at least 30 countries have experienced food riots over the past year considered to be related to cost increases caused by bio fuel diversions.
People gotta be pretty hungry to riot.And the countries counted include some we would not have thought as 'third world.
There are of course other feedstocks and methods that do not divert food resources, but farming any must also rate as diversion.
I think that the ARB's condensed point statement IS ON the money.
I sincerely wish it wasn't but the idea that we can or will be in a position to jump trains between stops, has not gained acceptance generally owing to logistics and inertia as well as the marginal viability -say batteries or the much more obvious lack of understanding or developed plan for bio fuels.
In my opinion "Full speed ahead" in that regard (renewables) while fast in geological extinction time frame will appear barely moving from the observers viewpoint.
We won't just wake up one morning and it have arrived o'night express delivery.
The only thing we can be sure is that sitting on hands will see nothing change.
In my analysis, that is not an option.
Well, this article really triggered all of you "electric drive Talibans". The more improvement we see on liquid fuels and conventional drivetrains, the further away your dream of electric propulsion will be. Would a moratorium on research on conventional drivetrains and fuels help your dream come true? By the way, have any of you bothered to study the proceedings from previous DEER conferences? If you did, you would find a lot of work on hybrids.
Improving ICE efficiency will certainly have more immediate effects on liquid fuel consumption if applied to all transportation vehicle sizes including large trucks, buses, locomotives, tractors, delivery vehicles, cars etc etc. Gensets with twice the fuel efficiency could also lower fuel consumption of most PHEVs.
Of course, pure electric vehicles will still be the final answer, 2 or 3 decades down the road. Much higher performance (and lower cost) batteries are required but they will come.
I am not so upset about the slow BEV development. I think there is an extraordinary amount of action in the field. Especially in storage systems chemistry. I am sorely disappointed in the lack of cognizance at the Federal and State levels toward ALTERNATIVE liquid fuels.
We can all presumably agree that liquids will continue as the primary fuel source for heavy lifting and aerospace. But where is DOE and CARB on developing mass scale algal oils?? Sure we will transition to electric vehicle across a two-three decade window. BUT let's look ahead to the need for domestic non-fossil jet fuel, biodiesel and alcohols. THIS is what Sandia et al should be applying their brain trust towards.
These two guys are restraining the growth of the most efficient, cost effective (long term) transportation system yet developed - EVs. If they want to make ICEs more efficient fine - tell me when they come close to electric drive efficiencies.
Sorry. This is what we call "business as usual." With my taxpayer's money. We need men with vision to set an agenda for the ordered transition to electrification rather than continuing to support the fossil fueled combustion engine industry. Do that with private money gentlemen.
Quoth Peter XX:
this article really triggered all of you "electric drive Talibans".Taliban? <snort> Name-calling on that level demonstrates your intellectual bankruptcy.
The more improvement we see on liquid fuels and conventional drivetrains, the further away your dream of electric propulsion will be.Which is only a rear-guard action, because petroleum extraction will eventually fall to zero as its EROEI gets too low and biofuels cannot fill the gap. The raw materials for electric propulsion are cheap, and falling production costs will inevitably beat ICEVs on life-cycle cost except for niche applications.
What these improvements accomplish is buying time. Doomers think the world economy will collapse as falling petroleum supplies force limits to economic activity and BEVs fail to come to market quickly and cheaply enough. Cutting fuel requirements by 40% gives a margin of about 7 more years to deal with the issue. That's tight, but probably enough.
"Funding research like this certainly gives great value for the money. Most taxpayers but Reel$$ would realize this... "
Peter. Why should I pay for ICE R&D with taxpayer funds - when your link indicates the Swedes are happily doing so? If they actually produce something of use in transitioning away from outdated combustion energy - we will license it. Or let it be paid for by private stake holders.
My apologies for getting my geography so wrong, off the top of my head.
Unlike some that claim 'palo'science qualifications and licenses,even those that have written thesis on 'Palo' anything, I can make the excuse that my understanding was lacking.
The thrust of my comment in relation to your 'hidden costs of petroleum fuels from the middle east is this:
That the militarisation of the south east of Afghanistan is directly related to an oil pipeline that will flow from the Caspian sea through Turkmenistan to the Gulf of Oman exiting between Pasni and Karachi in Pakistan.
This diversion cicumvents a much shorter option that would have seen either Iran to the Gulf of Oman or through former and current? Soviet include Russia that would take the pipeline to the Medditerranin and western Europe via the black sea.
The Alternative pipeline route would therefore have passed through Iran and soviet territories.
The 'costs' of oil as you put it must include the American patriots, and their allies, The million dead Iaqui citizens (according to reports from The Lancet based on statistically verified UN figures as opposed to mass media figures of 100,000) That are not acceptable from any ethical point.
Lets not forget that The Israeli state was placed in the middle of the largest known oil reserves at that time after the second world war.
We now have a situation where the major religions of the world (and I'm sure they are all correct to claim the only truth) Have either willingly or unwittingly stood up to claim a MORAL imperative.
It makes sense as his history has shown to spur ethnic and national hatreds with moral and religious subtext.
The same base motivations of greed and power you should understand have been very effective in manipulating the ordinary persons.
Humanity is flawed and we are all required to make 'simple' decisions that advantage our own survival.That leave the way open for base motivated people and organisations to exploit us all for some perceived profits or benefit. IE Power, Money,etc or stupidity wrong belief, loyalty etc.
I hope that clears my off the hip reply to the earlier post.
Quoth Peter XX:
I already know that whatever I opinion I have, you always have the opposite opinion.Only when I dispute with you. As obtuse as you are, you wouldn't notice when I didn't.
Presumably, you are a much better poet than I am. Based on you [sic] contribution, however, you are cannot be an engineer.I've never been paid for poetry, but engineering expertise puts clothes on my back, a roof over my head and food on my table. It's true without a doubt that I'm a better grammarian than you are. May I suggest putting "Eats, Shoots & Leaves" on your Christmas list?
Don't forget, as well as biomass, liquid fuels may also come from the conversion of captured CO2.
Getting EV into the transportation mix is fine, but this doesn't mean that there should be a 100% obsession with it. Liquid fuels will have an equally important role as well, given the wide number of potential sources it can be developed from.
For what its worth, I still prefer the ICE. Why, my driving habits are occasional long distance journeys, not short commutes (which are better done by mass transit anyway). This means that EVs are no good for me, given their limited range. I'm also a bit concerned about how quiet they are and, hence, how more people are likely to get run over becasue they didn't hear anything coming down the street.
Hopefully some efforts will be made on funding research for renewable liquid fuels as ICE can and will be made more efficient. I don't understand people wanting to drop R&D on ICE and go full steam EV, won't we need BOTH to be efficient?
Subsiduary question for 100% EV supporters, how will you produce the electricity, taking into account the fact that the biggest challenge comes from China and India?
It's not that those who support electrification are against improvements in ICEs and alternative fuels (with some exceptions). It's that the improvements to ICEs and alternative liquid fuels have been around for decades. Small turbo charged engines, Fisher-Tropsch from coal. What is it that stops us from doing these? We know how, we just don't. Whatever it is that stops us from doing it(insert your conspiracy here), the technology has been there and not use. It's really low hanging fruit. Sure you'll find disingenuous folks within the government that say this isn't so, but they're just trying to grow the programs that employ them.
Actually those who support electrification recognize the undeniable physics of the thing: 95% efficient electric drive vs. a 50% efficient ICE requiring foreign oil at a REEL$$ cost of $7-10/gallon.
Peter XX - you miss the entire thrust here. Regardless of the efficiency of your engine and particulate control solutions - you need petroleum oil to fuel it. That resource is in real dollars far more expensive than even the first rev of electric drives with heavy, low energy batteries. Petro-oil is over. Even Daimler built his first engine for veggie oil.
@Scott: Test drive a new VOLT when they arrive in your area. It's range is unlimited by battery.
North America has huge resources in NG, uranium, coal, hydro, wind, solar, AND tar sand. Producing enough electricity to power 100M PHEVs/EVs is only a matter of choosing the best solutions.
The new mandate for Federal funding at Combustion Research is to deliver improved sustainable liquid fueled engines specifically for use in HEV gensets.
No electric car has 95% efficiency; not even in your dreams. MIT showed higher well-to-wheel efficiency for a gasoline hybrid than BEV and PHEV. You must have missed this study. Similar results have been seen in European studies. If you have such enormous resources for sustainable electricity production in the USA, why are you building coal and NG power plants?
...and forgetting that 50% of the electricity produced at the power station is lost along the transmission lines. Plus there's a lot of the stuff that comes out of the plughole comes from gas or coal.
Outside the US, many countries rely on 'foreign' energy. In the UK this includes coal because we shut all of our even profitable mines down in the 1980s and import yukky orimulsion instead from Venezuela.
Given that the world is more globalised, even if you were buying 'home produced' energy, its probably going to power a 'foreign' car imported from Japan or Germany.
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text:
Hi everyone! This is my first post on Chowhound! My hubby, toddler, and I are stopping into Fredericksburg for a morning/afternoon on our way back from San Antonio to Dallas. We plan on strolling around main street and looking at all the shops before grabbing lunch and heading on our way. Since Fredericksburg is a German town, we figured that we should eat German food for lunch while we were there. (We have a cheap yummy local German restaurant called Henks in Dallas that we love). However, from reading the boards, it appears that the German food restaurants are not necessarily very good - ie. most people recommend Hill Top Cafe or Cranky Franks BBQ as dining options.
So, should we eat German in Fredericksburg? If so, which restaurant is best?
If not German, are there any other places that we can walk to within the main shopping area of Frederickburg (casual/cheap/toddler friendly) that we should consider? I'm not sure if Hilltop is the best option because we would have to drive there and we will likely havea lot of BBQ in San Antonio b/c it is near our hotel.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
All quotes by Thierry Breton
(40 quotes found)
"The situation that is creating tension today on the currency market ... is clearly the American deficit."
"Today there is not enough visibility between demand and supply and oil markets are not as open as others,"
"As soon as there is a fall in prices, I want this fall to be passed on immediately and that's exactly what I want to discuss with them so that they don't keep the drop for themselves instead of returning it to consumers,"
"This crisis will last. All the factors have come together for oil to remain expensive for years and, alas, decades to come,"
"We do not exclude the possibility of submitting to a (parliamentary) vote the principle of an exceptional tax corresponding to the exceptional profits."
"All economists are saying it, French economists as well as European. We are at the end of a cycle that has not been very positive,"


text:
AFL rosters starting to take shape
AFL rosters starting to take shape
Here are some numbers. More than five dozen 2007 alumni had already appeared in the big leagues in '08. Nearly 140 former fall leaguers have been named to All-Star teams in the Majors, including a record 36 in this season. Sixteen AFL alumni have won either the NL or AL Rookie of the Year award, and more than 1,500 alumni dating back to its inception in 1993 have made it to the Show.
This year's AFL campaign -- which begins Tuesday, Oct. 7, and winds up with a one-game championship Saturday, Nov. 22 -- features some renamed and realigned divisions, with the remaining constant being that any parent club that plays its Spring Training games in one of the participating stadiums will continue to keep its AFL players at that site.
While the rosters for the league may be tweaked in the coming days, here is a look at a several of the up-and-comers who will make up the Class of 2008 in Arizona:
American Division
Mesa Solar Sox (Atlanta, Chicago Cubs, Detroit, Florida, Philadelphia)
The biggest name on the Solar Sox is actually not a player, but rather a bench coach. Ryne Sandberg, the Hall of Famer coming off his second year as manager of the Class A Peoria Chiefs, will be working with the young hitters. Among those joining Sandberg from the Cubs organization will be OF Tyler Colvin, a first-round pick in 2006 out of Clemson who was hitting .258 with 14 homers and 79 RBIs in 131 games at Double-A West Tenn. OF Brandon Jones, a non-drafted free agent in 2004, hit .260 with eight homers and 52 RBIs at Triple-A Richmond this year and is currently up with the Braves, for whom he was batting .283 in 18 games. He drove in 100 runs between two stops in 2007. ... 1B Logan Morrison has been perhaps the Marlins' biggest breakthrough hitter in the Minors this year, batting .334 with 13 homers and 71 RBIs at Class A Advanced Jupiter. ... Philadelphia is sending a pair of Olympians -- C Lou Marson and SS Jason Donald. Marson, a fourth-rounder in 2004, was batting .319 with five homers and 46 RBIs at Double-A Reading before he went to Beijing, while Donald was hitting .308 with 14 homers and 54 RBIs for the R-Phils. ... Detroit has a few players heading west who made their big-league debuts this season. OF Clete Thomas, batting .248 with 44 RBIs and 28 steals for Triple-A Toledo, hit .284 in 40 games with the Tigers, while power-hitting 1B Jeff Larish had 21 homers for the Mud Hens and hit .245 in 19 games in the Majors.
Peoria Saguaros (Chicago White Sox, New York Mets, St. Louis, San Diego, Washington)
The White Sox will be sending their top picks from the last two drafts in SS Gordon Beckham, one of two 2008 first-rounders heading to Arizona, and LHP Aaron Poreda, their 2007 first-round selection. Beckham was hitting .306 in nine games at Class A Kannapolis since making his pro debut. Poreda was 7-9 with a 3.19 ERA in 26 games between Class A Advanced Winston-Salem and Double-A Birmingham, but his 155 innings pitched so far indicate that he will be used sparingly with the Sags. ... 3B Dan Murphy, a 13th-round pick in 2006 out of Jacksonville, emerged as one of the Mets' top hitting prospects this year and his current spot in the big-league lineup proves that. He was hitting .339 in 22 games with the Mets after hitting .315 with 13 homers and 69 RBIs in the Minors, mostly at Double-A Binghamton. ... 3B Brett Wallace joined Beckham as the two 2008 first-rounders in Arizona. The Cards' top pick was hitting .341 with eight home runs and 33 RBIs between Class A Quad Cities and Double-A Springfield. ... 1B Kyle Blanks had a nine-RBI game for his Double-A San Antonio club Aug. 25 on the eve of the announcement of the AFL rosters. The Padres prospect, who at 6-foot-6 and 270 pounds has been likened to Frank Thomas, was hitting .318 with 18 homers and 101 RBIs. ... Washington sends relief prospect Zech Zinicola, who comes off a season that has seen him pitch at three levels, including Triple-A Columbus. The sixth-rounder out of Arizona State in 2006 has nine saves and a 4.01 ERA.
Scottsdale Scorpions (Boston, Houston, Los Angeles Angels, Pittsburgh, San Francisco)
Boston was still waiting on making most of its assignments, but among the Red Sox prospects expected to attend is RHP T.J. Large, who has been excelling in relief between Class A Advanced Lancaster, where his 3.16 ERA in the first half helped the team clinch a playoff spot, and Double-A Portland. ... Houston will carefully watch the so-far-successful conversion of 2005 first-rounder Brian Bogusevic from pitcher to outfielder (think Rick Ankiel and now Baltimore's Adam Loewen). So far this year, Bogusevic is hitting .341 in 46 games at Double-A Corpus Christi. ... 1B Mark Trumbo has emerged as one of the Angels' top new power hitters and was batting .285 with 32 home runs and 90 RBIs between Class A Advanced Rancho Cucamonga and Double-A Arkansas. RHP Nick Green has thrown 154 innings so should work sparingly, but the 2004 35th-rounder now at Triple-A Salt Lake is expected to see some big-league time soon. ... Pittsburgh gave newly acquired RHP Jimmy Barthmaier (via trade from the Astros) a quick big-league taste and now sends him to Arizona to continue to refine his stuff. He had a 4.17 ERA between Double-A Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis.
National Divison
Peoria Javelinas (Cincinnati, Milwaukee, New York Yankees, Seattle, Tampa Bay)
The Reds will send LHP Matt Maloney, a third-rounder in 2005 acquired from the Phillies in the 2007 deal for P Kyle Lohse. He was 11-4 with a 4.35 ERA at Triple-A Louisville. OF Drew Stubbs was the club's top pick in 2006 out of Texas. Moving up through three levels this year, he was hitting a combined .282 with seven homers, 55 RBIs and 33 steals. In relief, look for Reds sleeper RHP Carlos Fisher, who moved from the rotation to the 'pen this year and has posted a 3.12 ERA between Double-A Chattanooga and Louisville, including a 4-0 record and 1.15 ERA for the Bats. ... The Brewers are loading the Javelinas with three of their top prospects. RHP Jeremy Jeffress, a first-rounder in 2006 with a blazing fastball, had struck out 115 in 93 1/3 innings at two stops. C Angel Salome was hitting .356 with 11 homers and 80 RBIs in just 94 games for Double-A Huntsville. 3B Mat Gamel, who just moved up to Triple-A Nashville from Huntsville, was hitting .326 with 19 home runs and 96 RBIs overall. ... The Yankees have not announced most of their representatives yet, but they will be sending OF prospect Austin Jackson, currently on the DL at Double-A Trenton with back spasms. Jackson, considered the best hitting prospect in the organization, was batting .287 with nine homers, 68 RBIs and 19 steals for the Thunder. ... Netherlands-born OF Gregory Halman has been a true Dutch treat for the Mariners this year, sitting one homer shy of the 30-30 mark as he's batted .277 with 29 homers, 82 RBIs and 31 steals between Class A Advanced High Desert and Double-A West Tenn. He turns 21 today. ... Tampa Bay OF J.T. Hall got on the radar screen with his Florida State League Home Run Derby championship and was hitting .269 with 10 homers and 45 RBIs between Vero Beach and Double-A Montgomery.
Phoenix Desert Dogs (Arizona, Colorado, Minnesota, Oakland, Toronto)
Arizona will send 2006 supplemental first-round pick RHP Brooks Brown to the Dogs. Despite a 6-14 record at Double-A Mobile, his ERA is more than respectable at 4.23, and the Georgia product has struck out 105 batters in 140 innings so far. ... 2B/OF Eric Young Jr. follows in his dad's speedy footsteps as he has stolen 46 bases in 99 games for Colorado's Double-A Tulsa squad, hitting .285. RHP Casey Weathers was the Rockies' first-round pick in 2007 out of Vanderbilt and had a 3.15 ERA for the Drillers before joining the US Olympic team. ... The Twins are sending the Desert Dogs their most potent one-two closer punch in RHPs Robert Delaney (aka "Big Daddy") and Anthony Slama. Delaney, between Advanced A Fort Myers and Double-A New Britain, has posted a 1.27 ERA and 17 saves, striking out 72 in 64 innings while walking nine. Slama, solely with the Miracle, has a 1.06 ERA and 25 saves and has fanned 108 in 68 innings, walking 24. ... RHP James Simmons makes a return trip to the Phoenix squad for Oakland after pitching their in 2007, his pro debut season after being selected in the first round out of UC Riverside. He has a 3.53 ERA at Double-A Midland. The Athletics will be well-represented with old and new in Phoenix. 1B Sean Doolittle, a supplemental first-rounder out of Virginia in 2007, was hitting .288 with 22 homers and 88 RBIs between Advanced A Stockton and Midland. In addition, the club will get a chance to watch newly acquired 2B Adrian Cardenas and C Josh Donaldson, picked up in mid-summer trades from Philadelphia for P Joe Blanton and the Cubs for P Rich Harden, respectively. Cardenas was hitting .302 between three stops this season, while Donaldson was hitting .348 in 41 games at Stockton since joining the system. ... Along with Travis Snider (click here for story), the Blue Jays will be well-represented by 2007 first-round C J.P. Arencibia, hitting .299 with 27 homers and 102 RBIs in his first full season out of Tennessee, and 2B Scott Campbell, who was hitting .314 with nine homers and 46 RBIs at Double-A New Hampshire. He is one phone call away from becoming the first New Zealand native in the big leagues.
Surprise Rafters (Baltimore, Cleveland, Kansas City, Los Angeles Dodgers, Texas)
While Baltimore still has four "TBAs" to be filled, they are sending their top prospect, who is also arguably one of the top five prospects in the Minors, C Matt Wieters. The 2007 first-round pick, a switch-hitter, is one of the contenders for Minor League Player of the Year, hitting .350 with 26 homers and 88 RBIs between Class A Advanced Frederick and Double-A Bowie. ... 1B Beau Mills and 3B Wes Hodges will give Cleveland pop at the corners in Surprise. Mills, the son of Boston hitting coach Brad Mills, was the team's top pick in 2007 and was hitting .293 with 21 home runs and 90 RBIs at Class A Advanced Kinston. Hodges, a second-round pick in 2006, was hitting .285 with 16 homers and 91 RBIs at Double-A Akron. Also coming to Arizona is LHP Tony Sipp, a closer prospect who has missed most of the last two years with elbow trouble but who had a 3.03 ERA so far in 21 games of rehab comeback work. ... LHP Rowdy Hardy was the Carolina League Pitcher of the Year in 2007 for Kansas City's Wilmington squad, going 15-5 with a 2.48 ERA that summer, and was 6-10 with a 4.65 ERA in 147 innings at Double-A Northwest Arkansas this year. ... The Dodgers are sending southpaw prospect Scott Elbert to continue his comeback from arm trouble that cost him all of 2007 and most of 2008. In his comeback so far at Double-A Jacksonville, the 2004 first-rounder had a 2.45 ERA in 24 games of relief. SS Ivan DeJesus Jr., the son of the former big leaguer, was hitting .319 at Jacksonville with five homers, 55 RBIs and 14 steals. ... OF Julio Borbon, the Rangers' first-round pick in 2007 out of Tennessee, was hitting .313 with seven homers, 54 RBIs and 51 steals between Class A Advanced Bakersfield and Double-A Frisco.
Lisa Winston is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


text: auto Owners of auto parts company charged with fraud By The Associated Press • May 16, 2011 CHESTERFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) - Two brothers whose Michigan company supplies parts to the auto industry have been charged with fraud in an investigation of the quality of plastic. Orman and David Bernhardt of Davalor Mold are accused of using less expensive materials than required in seat belt assemblies and then covering it up through false reports. The fraud charge was filed Monday. Their lawyer is Bob Sheehan, and he says a guilty plea is planned. He says there's "absolutely no safety issue." Sheehan says the parts were tested by federal regulators. Davalor Mold is in Macomb County's Chesterfield Township, about 30 miles northeast of Detroit. The company works for Tier I auto suppliers, which supply parts for automakers. The alleged scheme lasted for two years until spring 2010. Chrysler moves up summer plant shutdowns to June By The Associated Press • May 13, 2011 user fiatontheweb / creative commons DETROIT (AP) - Chrysler is moving its normal summer shutdowns at three factories into June from the usual July closings because of parts shortages from the earthquake in Japan. The company says its pickup truck plant in Warren, Mich., and its Toledo, Ohio, North assembly plant will be idled the weeks of June 20 and 27. Both plants had been scheduled to close the weeks of July 11 and 18. In addition, a Toledo parts operation will close the week of June 20 instead of July 11. The company says its other plants will have their normal summer shutdowns in July and August. Nearly all automakers have lost production due to parts shortages from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that hit northern Japan. The quake damaged parts supply plants or knocked out electricity. Car production in Japan could return to normal earlier than expected By Mark Brush • May 10, 2011 Car production in Japan could return to normal earlier than expected. From the Associated Press: A report says Toyota's global car production, disrupted by parts shortages after Japan's March 11 earthquake and tsunami, will likely return to normal two to three months earlier than expected. Japan's top business daily Nikkei said Tuesday that Toyota's output will normalize earlier than the end of this year as parts shortages are easing. It didn't cite any sources.Toyota said last month its worldwide production will likely return to normal levels by November or December. Toyota Motor Corp. spokeswoman Shiori Hashimoto could not confirm the report. The disasters destroyed many factories in northeastern Japan, causing severe parts shortages for Toyota and other automakers. The supply crisis has cost the company production of 400,000 vehicles in Japan, and 100,000 overseas. Stabenow and Peters push for investments in advanced auto technologies By Sarah Cwiek • May 9, 2011 Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow and Congressman Gary Peters say the government should do more to help the auto industry mass-produce fuel-efficient technologies. The two Democrats were at Bosch auto supplier headquarters in suburban Detroit today to urge Congressional support for the Advanced Vehicle Technology Act. The bill would authorize $300 million a year for private sector fuel-efficiency research. Peters says "this is just the right thing to do" with Michigan gas prices at record highs: "You're going to hear a lot of ideas about drilling and other types of ideas, but really the best idea is to push the technology," said Peters. "Push innovation. And that's what we do here in the Detroit area better than anybody else in the world, and that's innovate with vehicles and automobiles." Peters says the legislation has support from both environmental and business groups. The bill passed the U.S. House with bipartisan support last year, but it couldn't get through the Senate. Officials investigate fuel tank problem on F-150s By Mark Brush • May 9, 2011 user cogdogblog / Flickr The government is investigating the safety of some Ford F-150 trucks. From the Associated Press: U.S. safety regulators are investigating a fuel tank problem that could affect more than 2.7 million Ford F-150 pickup trucks. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says on its website that the steel straps holding up the gas tank can rust and break, possibly causing a fuel spill and fire. The agency says it is looking into trucks from the 1997 through 2001 model years. The F-150 is the top-selling vehicle in the U.S. NHTSA says there are 243 reports of the tanks falling and causing two fires. No injuries have been reported. The agency began looking at the problem last year when it had received 32 complaints. Ford says it's cooperating with the investigation. Anyone with concerns should contact their dealer. Automakers release sales numbers today By Mark Brush • May 3, 2011 IFCAR / wikimedia commons Sales numbers for April are coming in today, and there are more signs that the American public has pent up energy to buy new cars. As they did in 2008, higher gas prices are driving demand for smaller, fuel efficient cars. U.S. Automakers are more prepared for that demand this time around. Update 3:50 p.m. Chrysler announced the "best April sales since 2008" - a 22% increase compared with sales in April 2010. The company sold 95,703 cars in April. Chrysler intends to repay government loans by end of June By Mark Brush • Apr 28, 2011 user fiatontheweb / Flickr Just ahead of a visit from U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Chrysler says it intends to pay back the government loans it received by the end of June. Geithner was one of the main architects of the government bailouts for Chrysler and GM. From the Detroit News: Chrysler Group LLC today confirmed its intention to repay its $7.4 billion in loans to the U.S. and Canadian governments by the end of June, as long as market and other conditions remain conducive. In a statement prior to CEO Sergio Marchionne hosting a visit from U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner later today, Chrysler said it plans to repay its government loans with a new term loan facility and newly issued debt securities that will be sold to institutional investors in a private offering. The Detroit Free Press reports Chrysler wants to pay back the debts because the interest rates on the government loans are high: Marchionne has said he wants to refinance Chrysler's debt because the interest rate is higher than commercial market rates. The effective interest on the borrowings from the U.S. is as high as 14% and as much as 20% on the Canadian debt. In order to find investors, the Detroit News reports that senior executives will head out on a "road show" to court financial institutions. They report the automaker is currently working with Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. Ford makes out big in the first quarter By Tracy Samilton • Apr 26, 2011 Marcus Wong / Flickr Ford Motor Company announced a profit of more than $2.5 billion in the first three months of the year. That's the company's best quarterly performance since 1998. Ford CEO Alan Mulally expects the rest of 2011 to be profitable as well - despite some headwinds like low U.S. consumer confidence and rising commodity and gas prices: "Even though it's a slower recovery and the fuel prices are moving up, the demand is there and we are really pleased to have the product line that the consumers really do want and value." Mulally says he's optimistic that car sales will continue improving: "In the automobile industry, the pentup demand is tremendous, you know the average age of car ownership is over ten years now." Mulally says Ford also improved its balance sheet by reducing its debt by another $2.5 billion in the first quarter. Ford took out a huge loan in 2006 before the recession. That loan enabled the company to improve its cars during the economic downturn and avoid bankruptcy. Since last year, the company has paid off $17 billion of debt. Report: Japanese automakers check exports for radiation By Mark Brush • Apr 22, 2011 Douglas Sprott / Flickr From the Associated Press: An auto industry group says Japanese automakers have begun checking the level of radiation on cars to be exported from Japan amid a nuclear leak crisis. Hirokazu Furukawa, a spokesman for the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, said Friday the move was to ease worries among foreign consumers about radiation leaking from a tsunami-crippled nuclear power plant in northern Japan. The automakers will inspect radiation inside a car and on its tires before shipment. No radiation has been detected on cars to be exported from Japan, Furukawa said. Automakers are currently checking the level of radiation on cars to be shipped from eight ports. Furukawa said around 10 cars out every 5,000 are being checked for radiation. Warren Mayor says GM likely to add more jobs in city By Mark Brush • Apr 22, 2011 Manoli Katakis / creative commons A final decision has not been made, but Warren Mayor Jim Fouts released a statement saying GM is considering two investments in its Technical Center and Powertrain Facility in Warren. Fouts says the investments add up to $450 million and would create 426 new jobs. From Fouts' statement: "These possible projects are the result of several meetings between city representatives, including me, and GM officials. I cannot stress too much how important these new investments would be to our city. They mean more jobs and ultimately more tax revenues for Warren. I am confident GM will choose these locations for new investments because the corporation realizes Warren is a business-friendly community that will go the extra mile to encourage businesses to expand or relocate here." The mayor said Warren became a city in 1957 because of the construction of GM's Tech Center in the city. And he encouraged other business to move there. Fiat moving closer to a majority stake in Chrysler By Mark Brush • Apr 21, 2011 user fiatontheweb / creative commons Updated: News that Fiat will soon acquire a bigger stake in Chrysler is another sign the merger is working. Jim Hall is president of the auto consulting firm 2953 Analytics. He says the merger benefits both companies. Fiat gets access to the U.S. market and to Chrysler's more profitable vehicles, and Chrysler gets access to Fiat's global markets and its fuel-saving technology. And the merger could save the companies money on parts. Toyota announces more production cuts at North American plants By Mark Brush • Apr 19, 2011 Takashi Nakano vis user tex texin / Flickr Parts shortages from Japan continue as Toyota announces more production cuts - from the Associated Press: Toyota is extending production cuts at its North American factories through May because of parts shortages from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The company says production will be suspended in North America on Mondays and Fridays from April 26 through June 3. During the same period, plants will run at half capacity on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Toyota also said Tuesday that U.S. production will be suspended the week of May 30 after the Memorial Day holiday. Canadian production will be suspended the week of May 23 in conjunction with Victoria Day. Plans after June 3 will be announced later. Toyota says no workers will be laid off. The company last week announced Monday and Friday suspensions from April 15 to 25. Detroit has the "Big Three," but Japan has the "Big Five" (Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Suzuki, and Mazda). This info-graphic from the Globe and Mail captures how interconnected the Japanese auto economy is to the rest of the world. Fiat meets another benchmark - increases stake in Chrysler to 30% By Mark Brush • Apr 12, 2011 Fiat USA During the U.S. government led bailout in 2009, Fiat took over management control of Chrysler and was given a 20% stake in the company. The government said Fiat's stake in Chrysler could increase to as much as 35% so long as they met three milestones. Now, the Italian company now controls 30% of Chrysler after meeting the second milestone set forth by the U.S. government. From the Detroit News: Fiat SpA announced today it has increased its share in partner Chrysler Group LLC to 30 percent effective immediately. The additional 5 percent stake is triggered automatically with Fiat's completion of the second of three performance-related conditions. The first, achieved in January, was awarded for Chrysler's assembly in Dundee of a fuel-efficient Fiat engine. The second condition was that the Italian automaker help Chrysler generate cumulative revenue of $1.5 billion outside North America and use Fiat's dealer network in Latin America to distribute Chrysler vehicles. The third milestone, according to the Globe and Mail, is the development of a 40 mpg Dodge car built on a Fiat platform. Once that milestone is reached, Fiat could solidify its ownership of Chrysler. From the Globe and Mail: Dodge is developing a compact car on a Fiat platform that will reach 40 miles per gallon, which would satisfy the third test set by Treasury in 2009. Mr. Marchionne told analysts on a conference call in October that he expected Fiat would meet all of the Treasury's hurdles by the end of 2011. The indications of progress are significant because the sooner Fiat can raise its Chrysler stake to 35 per cent, the quicker it could exercise an option to take majority ownership of the U.S. automaker. The Detroit News reports that the current ownership of Chrysler breaks down this way: 59.2% - United Auto Workers retiree health care trust 30% - Fiat 8.6% - U.S. government 2.2% - Canada and Ontario governments combined Automakers face engineer shortage By Mark Brush • Apr 11, 2011 Michael Gil / wikimedia commons Last year, many automakers brought in profits and announced that they would open up new factories and add new jobs. But the industry is adding new jobs at a time when qualified candidates are hard to come by. David Shepardson wrote about the shortage in the Detroit News today: Average gas price in Michigan is $3.86 per gallon By Jennifer Guerra • Apr 11, 2011 Futureatlast.com / creativie commons The average cost of gas in Michigan is $3.86. That's nearly $1.00 more than it was this time last year. Nancy Cain is a spokesperson for Triple-A Michigan. She says generally prices don't go up this much so early into spring, "but this is our 8th weekly increase, and we're seeing prices just going up." Cain says the price at the pump follows the crude oil price, which she says is "topping $111-$112 a barrel. So that's up to a 2.5-year high." Michigan Radio's auto-beat reporter tries out the assembly line By Zoe Clark & Mark Brush • Mar 30, 2011 Michigan Radio Michigan Radio's auto-beat reporter Tracy Samilton spent the day yesterday at General Motors' Orion assembly plant outside of Pontiac. Samilton was one of 16 reporters who were invited by GM and the UAW to see just what it takes to build a car. Joanne Muller was one of the other reporters on the scene. In a blog-post published today on Forbes.com Muller writes, "After spending half a day learning how to put together an automobile, I have this to say: it is not as easy as it looks." In the post, titled, "My New Appreciation for the American Auto Worker," Muller explains: My job was to use a power tool to attach front and rear "bumpers" on a wooden mock-up of a car as it rolled down the assembly line. Then later, I swapped jobs with a coworker and began installing "headlights" and "tail lights." I was, in a word, terrible at it. But, it wasn't just Muller who couldn't keep up. Apparently, our very own Tracy Samilton had some troubles of her own. Muller writes: The other journalists were just as bad, or worse, at their jobs. Michigan Radio's Tracy Samilton and I were like Lucy and Ethel trying to keep up in the candy factory. She dropped a "bumper" on the floor, meaning the part had to be scrapped and our team would not meet its cost target. Safety was also lacking: the journalists recorded 22 safety "incidents" in 20 minutes — including a worker who was hit four times by a car coming down the line. At the end of our first 20-minute shift, we produced only 13 cars (instead of 18, our target), with a total of 25 defects, which meant we would have to return Saturday for unscheduled overtime to fix the faulty cars and meet our production goals. I learned that's a very bad thing. Samilton says the visit to the plant made her realize the pressure and deadlines that today's factory workers are under, "and I thought it was hard being a reporter," she noted. Here's a video of Samilton at work: Fiat/Chrysler CEO predicts "$100 billion" revenues by 2014 By Steve Carmody • Mar 30, 2011 (photo by Steve Carmody/Michigan Radio) Fiat/Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne talked about an improving revenue picture ahead of a Fiat stockholders meeting today in Turin, Italy. He also says Fiat may soon increase its stake in Chrysler from 25% to 35% this year. Fiat took over management of Chrysler 21 months ago, as the Detroit automaker emerged from bankruptcy protection. Agenzia Giornalistica Italia reports that Marchionne told investors that he is confident Fiat's 2011 goals will be met: He explained, moreover, that in 2011, profits will amount to 37 billion(with the possibility of reaching more than 100 billion after 2014, due to the Chrysler integration effect), whereas the management outcome will range from 0.9 and 1.2 billion. Dividends policy will be confirmed (25% of net profits will go into dividends). The Wall Street Journal quotes Marchionne as saying Fiat will increase this year its share of the European auto marker, where it saw a decline in 2010. "We expect a general improvement in trading conditions, with the exception of the passenger-car market in Europe, which will be negatively influenced by declines forecast for Italy and France...Nevertheless, we project that our market share will increase as a result of new model releases programmed for the second half". Minivans fight "Loser Cruiser" stereotype with new sex appeal By Tracy Samilton • Mar 29, 2011 Pity the poor minivan. It hauls the family on vacations, never complaining. Carries the kids to school and soccer practice. Ever ready for a spontaneous trip to the hardware store, but does it get any respect? Nope. It gets called names. "Loser cruiser." "Road slug." Well, if you make minivans, you can get mad. Or like Toyota, you can embrace the situation with a tongue-in-cheek rap -- "The Swagger Wagon" sung by an unhip, white, yuppie, suburban couple, with their two kids jammin' to the beat, next to a Sienna minivan. "We rock the SE not the SUV, and it's true if I were you I'd be jealous of me, in the swagger wagon, yeah, the swagger wagon, I got the pride in my ride in the swagger wagon...." Chrysler invented the minivan 27 years ago. But after being wildly popular for years, the segment has lost customers, first to SUVS, then to crossovers. The people who design minivans are the first to admit they're fighting an image problem. And they're doing something about it. Chrysler has an optional all-black leather interior it nicknamed the "Man Van. " All four of the biggest players – Honda, Chrysler, Toyota and Nissan – got minivan makeovers this year. There's more sculpting, more chrome, more creased sheet metal. Even jaunty little fins. Sage Marie is with Honda. "If you think of what makes a sports car compelling, it's that its low and wide, that's what makes it emotionally exciting. So from a styling standpoint we tried to do that with the Odyssey." In your FACE, sports car owners. And cue another tongue-in-cheek song about minivans, this time a Beach Boys-style parody by the Austin Lounge Lizards. "Hey, little minivan, we're going to the grocery store!/She's got an automatic tranny with overdrive and the radio's tuned to Magic 95/ She gets 30 miles on a gallon of gas and I can schlep all the girls to gymnastics class/Hey little minivan, we're goin' to the children's museum!" Well, upping the cool factor may help. But people really buy minivans for comfort, convenience, and practicality. The sliding doors, all that space. And the seats. Minivan designers take fierce pride in their seating configurations. Honda's Odyssey has a second row middle seat you can slide really close to the front seat. That puts the baby within arm's reach of a parent. For Chrysler, the bragging point is "Stow and Go seats," which, in a matter of a few seconds, can be neatly folded and pushed into a compartment in the floor. Fold all the seats down and there's enough room for a refrigerator or two. But one company thinks some customers could be willing to downsize a little, especially as gas hovers around $4.00 a gallon. Ford Motor Company's new small people-mover, the C-Max, will seat seven. It will have sliding doors. But Ford's Paul Anderson says it will get car-like fuel economy. Just don't call it a minivan. Founder of Automobile Magazine Dies By Mark Brush • Mar 28, 2011 Automobile Magazine The founder and original editor of Automobile Magazine has died. The magazine says the man who was once called "the dean of automotive journalism" died in Ann Arbor, Michigan after complications from bladder cancer surgery. This from Automobile Magazine Deputy Editor Joe DeMatio: Davis founded Ann Arbor-based Automobile Magazine with Rupert Murdoch's backing in 1985 after leaving his second stint in the editor's chair at Car and Driver, which he moved from New York City to Ann Arbor in 1977. Davis, who had already refashioned Car and Driver into one of the most literate and entertaining special-interest magazines in America, imagined Automobile Magazine as a celebration of the automotive good life with the rallying cry "No Boring Cars," but the slogan could just as easily have been applied to everything else in his life: No boring stories. No boring meetings. No boring road trips. No boring wardrobes. No boring friends. No boring employees. No boring food. No boring parties. When he was stuck with boring bosses, he suffered them most reluctantly, and in fact it was his disgust with the management team at CBS, which bought Car and Driver from Ziff-Davis Publishing in the mid-1980s, that propelled him to quit what he had considered the best job in the world, editor-in-chief of Car and Driver. DeMatio writes that "Davis is survived by his wife, Jeannie, a.k.a. J.L.K., a.k.a. 'the woman who changed my life,' his sons Matthew (himself a well-known automotive journalist) and David III, his daughter, Peg, and his stepdaughter Eleanor, and stepsons Vincent and Tony Kuhn." Plant shutdowns in Japan continue to disrupt U.S. auto industry By Zoe Clark • Mar 28, 2011 Fox News Insider / Flickr The auto industry disruptions triggered by Japan's earthquake and tsunami are about to get worse, the Associated Press reports. From the AP: In the weeks ahead, car buyers will have difficulty finding the model they want in certain colors, thousands of auto plant workers will likely be told to stay home, and companies such as Toyota, Honda and others will lose billions of dollars in revenue. More than two weeks since the natural disaster, inventories of crucial car supplies - from computer chips to paint pigments – are dwindling fast as Japanese factories that make them struggle to restart. Because parts and supplies are shipped by slow-moving boats, the real drop-off has yet to be felt by factories in the U.S., Europe and Asia. That will come by the middle of April. Michigan Radio's Tracy Samilton first reported on how the natural disasters in Japan could disrupt the U.S. auto industry on March 11th. Michigan auto insurance rates among the nation's highest By Mark Brush • Mar 22, 2011 Steve Carmody / Michigan Radio In one study, Michigan had the highest auto insurance rates in the nation. In another, Michigan ranked 11th in the nation. That's according to a piece from Dawson Bell at the Detroit Free Press. Bell writes both studies cited "the state's unique mandate for unlimited coverage for personal injuries as a primary cause for high rates." From the article: Michigan auto insurance rates led the country -- $2,541 a year for a hypothetical 40-year-old man with a clean driving record -- in an annual survey released last week by the consumer insurance information site insure.com. The Michigan rate jumped more than 21% from the same survey a year earlier, overtaking Louisiana, which topped the list last year. Vermont, at $995 a year, was the cheapest place to buy auto insurance, the survey found. In this morning's news... By Mark Brush • Mar 21, 2011 user brother o'mara / Flickr UAW leaders say battle could lie ahead in contract negotiations After giving into concessions during the auto industry's restructuring, union leaders are saying they want some things restored. From the Detroit Free Press: As the UAW prepares to head into labor talks this summer with the newly profitable Detroit automakers, several top union leaders say a showdown is brewing over this year's contract -- especially at Ford, which has made $9.3 billion over the past two years. "If they don't restore everything (we) gave up, the membership is going to knock it down," said Bill Johnson, plant chairman for UAW Local 900, which represents workers at the Focus plant in Wayne. "The bonuses that were just announced are just ridiculous." Snyder to go over local government revenue sharing plan this morning Governor Rick Snyder will go over his plan for revenue sharing with local governments at a 9:30 a.m. press conference in Grand Rapids. His budget calls for a $100 million cut in revenue sharing with local governments, and, according to the Detroit News "would make local governments compete for the remaining $200 million, based on their adoption of "best practices" Snyder sets out today." The Governor is expected to go over plans for local school districts as well today. From the Detroit News: For school districts, Snyder's budget proposed a cut of about $300 per-pupil on top of an already announced $170 per-pupil cut. Snyder told school districts in his budget message that for fiscal year 2013 he would set aside $300 million and make it "available to eligible school districts whose employees' share of health insurance costs is comparable to that of state employees." Details on how that works are also to be announced today. Michigan men's teams out of the tournament, women play on The University of Michigan men's basketball team lost a close one to defending national champion Duke yesterday. Tim Hardaway Jr. pulled the team close when he hit three baskets down the stretch. Michigan was 2 points away from overtime when Darius Morris' floating jump shot in the lane missed, hitting the back of the rim. Morris said he thought the shot was going in - from the Detroit Free Press: "I thought it was down," Morris said in the locker room, breathing heavy, trying to compose himself after postgame tears. "I thought we were going to overtime." The University of Michigan was the last Michigan men's basketball team standing in NCAA tournament, Oakland University and Michigan State University lost close games in the opening rounds. In the women's NCAA tournament, Michigan State University advanced by beating Northern Iowa yesterday, they'll play Green Bay tomorrow night. Honda to recall Civics from 2011 By Mark Brush • Mar 17, 2011 Honda The Detroit News reports that Honda will recall 2011 model year Civics for possible problems in rollover accidents. From the News: Honda said the recall...is to inspect and replace a part that could fail to prevent fuel from leaking out of the fuel tank and into the evaporative emissions canister in a rollover. The fuel pump module is equipped with a rollover valve but because of improper welding of the plastic case, it may break or crack, Honda said. Howell manufacturing plant to stop production By Mark Brush • Mar 16, 2011 Marelco Power Systems, Inc. told the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus that is will stop production at its plant in Howell. The company makes transformers, inductors, and control systems, among other things, for the auto companies and other manufacturers. From the Associated Press: Eight-legged creepy crawly forces Mazda recall By Mark Brush • Mar 3, 2011 wikimedia commons Mazda is recalling around 50,000 cars after they discovered a certain kind of spider can cause problems in the cars' fuel systems. CNNMoney.com says the yellow sac spider is the culprit. The insect can crawl into the fuel system's vent line, weave a web, and cause a restriction that may eventually lead to a leaking fuel tank. A leaking fuel tank is not ideal. From the recall page at the U.S. Department of Transportation: Remedy: dealers will inspect and clean up the canister vent line, and install a spring to prevent this type of spider from entering the vent line. This service will be performed free of charge. The safety recall is expected to begin on or before March 25, 2011. Owners may contact Mazda customer assistance center at 1-800-222-5500. The recall is for Mazda6 vehicles manufactured from April 8, 2008, through February 8, 2010. CNNMoney.com says no fires have been reported yet: There have been 20 reported cases of spider infestation in the Mazda6 -- all have been in cars with 4-cylinder engines, none with V6's. No actual fires are known to have been caused by the spiders, according to Mazda's letter. No word on what the spider might be looking for in the Mazda's vent line. Howell auto parts plant fire By Steve Carmody • Mar 3, 2011 Investigators are picking through what's left after a fire heavily damaged an auto parts plant in Howell on Wednesday. Dozens of firefighters from six different Livingston County communities joined forces to battle the blaze at the Magna Atreum auto parts plant. About 450 people work at the plant which produces dashboards, consoles and other parts for General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Nissan and Mazda. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. The full extent of the damage and how long it will take get to the facility back up and running is also still being reviewed. No one was injured in Wednesday's fire. Consumer Reports calls Chevy Volt a "tough sell" By Mark Brush • Mar 1, 2011 user mariodo / creative commons In its April auto issue, the magazine Consumer Reports calls the Chevy Volt is a "tough sell." It's not the kind of review GM has been accustomed to after the car was released with much fanfare. The Volt was named "Car of the Year" at the Detroit Auto Show. The Detroit News says that harsh review from Consumer Reports questions whether the car makes "economic sense." David Champion, the senior director of Consumer Report auto testing center said: "When you are looking at purely dollars and cents, it doesn't really make a lot of sense. The Volt isn't particularly efficient as an electric vehicle and it's not particularly good as a gas vehicle either in terms of fuel economy. This is going to be a tough sell to the average consumer." The car costs around $40,000, but with a government tax credit (a credit some lawmakers want to turn into a rebate) the cost comes down to around $33,500. The criticism came from the car's range in cold weather. The Volt's electric motor range is 40 miles under normal driving conditions, but that range dropped significantly when Consumer Reports tested the car in Connecticut this winter - the range dropped to 25 to 27 miles on electric power alone. A GM spokesman said his range was better in cold weather. Again, from the Detroit News article: GM spokesman Greg Martin noted that it's been an extremely harsh winter — and as a Volt driver he said he's getting 29-33 miles on electric range. But he noted that in more moderate recent weather, the range jumped to 40 miles on electric range or higher. Other criticisms of the Volt were its 5-hour charging time, and a heating system that leaves your hands and feet cold. The magazine gave the Volt praise for its acceleration and for its "taut yet supple ride." USA Today reports that in the April auto issue, Consumer Reports gives foreign automakers Honda and Subaru top honors with Ford positing the "largest gain" in rankings overall. More big recalls for Toyota By Mark Brush • Feb 24, 2011 IFCAR / wikimedia commons If you own a Toyota or a Lexus, your floor mat or the floor carpet could inadvertently help you put the pedal to the metal. Toyota has announced two recalls and has amended it's 2009 "Potential Floor Mat Interference Recall." Altogether, more than 2 million vehicles are involved. The company says the recalls are "voluntary," but the federal government says it requested that Toyota recall these additional vehicles after their investigation into Toyota's unintended acceleration problems. From USA Today: This should be the end of it, according to NHTSA administrator David Strickland. "The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reviewed more than 400,000 pages of Toyota documents to determine whether the scope of its recalls for pedal entrapment was sufficient. As a result of the agency's review, NHTSA asked Toyota to recall these additional vehicles, and now that the company has done so, our investigation is closed." Here are the cars involved in the recalls and amended recalls: Lexus GS 300 - model year 2006 and early 2007 Lexus GS 350 All-Wheel Drive - model year 2006 and early 2007 Lexus RX 330 - model year 2004 through 2006 and early 2007 Lexus RX 350 - model year 2004 through 2006 and early 2007 Lexus RX 400h - model year 2004 through 2006 and early 2007 Highlander - model year 2004 through 2006 Highlander HV- model year 2004 through 2006 4Runners - model year 2003 through 2009 Lexus LX 570 - model year 2008 through 2011 RAV4 - model year 2006 through 2010 You can also check to see whether your car is recalled by entering your Vehicle Identification Number, or VIN on Toyota's website. The company says Toyota and Lexus dealers will implement the new and amended recalls at no charge to the vehicle owners. Michigan Radio's Tracy Samilton is following this story and will have an update later today. Chrysler selling "Imported from Detroit" t-shirts By Mark Brush • Feb 15, 2011 collection.chrysler.com For $29.95 you can continue the buzz that started with the "Imported from Detroit" Super Bowl ad. Chrysler is selling t-shirts with the "Imported from Detroit" logo on its Chrysler Collection website ('imported' from the USA, according to the website). The Detroit Free Press asked a Chrysler spokesperson if the design will be on other items: Chrysler spokeswoman Dianna Gutierrez said, "It's too early to discuss. I don't have any formal details to share at this time." The epic two-minute ad is still running on television in edited down one-minute and 30 second versions. Senator Levin wants electric vehicle charging stations on Capitol Hill By Zoe Clark • Feb 11, 2011 Jeffrey Simms Photography / Flickr Michigan Democratic Senator Carl Levin says he will introduce legislation next week in Congress to create electric vehicle charging stations on Capitol Hill. As the Associated Press reports, "Levin says establishing the charging stations at no cost to the federal government would help encourage electric cars in the Capitol complex... Levin has said he plans to buy a Chevrolet Volt, General Motors' rechargeable electric car." Earlier this week, Michigan's other Democratic Senator, Debbie Stabenow, said she planned to introduce legislation that would change government incentives for buying electric cars. Currently, the incentive for buying an electric vehicle comes when you file your taxes in the form of a tax credit. Stabenow's legislation, the Charging America Forward Act, would give consumers a rebate of up to $7,500 at the time of purchase. Michigan Radio's Tracy Samilton reported on Stabenow's plan earlier this week: Currently, cars that qualify for the full rebate include the Chevy Volt, the Nissan Leaf, and the Tesla Roadster. Coda and Wheego also make an electric vehicle that qualifies for the credit. Ford, Fiat and Toyota plan to launch electric plug-in cars within the next year. Stabenow's legislation would also commit the federal government to spend two billion dollars to help companies that make advanced lithium ion batteries for vehicles. That's on top of the two billion dollars the federal government has already spent to help the new industry. The Congresswoman admits the legislation is being proposed during a tough budget year, but, she said, "I think that strategic investments in innovation like battery innovation and manufacturing equals jobs – and so I'm hopeful that this will be a priority." Michigan received the lion's share of the last round of federal grants for advanced battery development– more than one billion dollars. Michigan now has more advanced battery companies than any other state. Pages« first ‹ previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 next › last »


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THE managing director of Brentwood Council has stepped down after four years as part of the council's restructuring process.
Alison Crowe moved aside on Sunday after the position was scrapped by the new accord running the council. A chief executive role is to be created in its place.
The council has appointed Jo-Anne Ireland, the council's director of strategy and corporate services, to the position of head of paid service, pending the recruitment of a chief executive.
Mrs Crowe joined the council in November 2009 as the executive director for customer services before taking up the role of managing director in October 2010.
Ms Ireland said: "Alison has overseen a number of changes within the organisation and she has asked me to pass on her thanks and appreciation for all those who worked so hard to deliver the changes and continued to provide great services to Brentwood's residents and businesses.
"I am sure you will join me in wishing her well and thanking her for the contribution she has made to the business over the past few years."
Recently appointed council leader, Barry Aspinall, said a new appointment wouldn't be of any further cost to the council.
He added: "This is an opportunity for a new administration to go forward. We believe Brentwood deserves a chief executive.
"We'd like to go into different areas and believe that a chief executive would be more beneficial than a managing director. There are certain expertise a chief executive will have that the managing director didn't."


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As Arthur Andersen scrambles to retain its client base and re-establish its credibility, the firm's management may want to spend a few moments revisiting their calculation of the present value of the $25 million it received from Enron for consulting services. At the foundational level, commonsense corporate finance would tell us that a good investment is one that is worth more tomorrow than it is today. Is the present value of $25 million in corporate consulting fees from Enron worth more than the potential revenues of $100 billion over the next eight to 10 years?
The answer to this question may not depend on how well Andersen executives can explain the opportunity costs and calculated risks contained in their strategic corporate goals. SEC Chairman Harvey Pitt testified before the House Financial Services Subcommittee and offered that it is unclear whether Arthur Andersen's actions involving Enron were illegal, unethical, or just incompetent. In fact, the SEC hesitates to go after accounting firms who are viewed as simply negligent in their work. According to Pitt, the definitions of negligence and illegal actions are ambiguous in the current regulatory environment. It may be that throughout the tumult with Enron, the fine line between illegal, unethical, and incompetent has been blurred completely.
Perhaps an examination of the reality of strategic dissonance in corporate life can offer some insight into the Anderson/Enron debacle. Strategic dissonance occurs when there is a difference between an organization's policies and the actions that it takes. At Arthur Andersen, strategic dissonance may be the result of corporate policies conflicting with the actions taken or it may be the result of corporate values conflicting with the moral lapses of judgments made by executives. I offer three possible points of examination where the firm's actions may have deviated from policies, or where moral lapses in judgments may have occurred.
First, were the actions of the Arthur Anderson's auditing team illegal? Is it possible that $25 million in consulting fees could buy the silence of an entire team of "independent" auditors and consultants? If such an event did indeed occur, then it is quite clear that sound moral reasoning evaporated. In such a case, the next issue is whether the number of staff involved was one or hundreds. Members of the House Financial Services Committee seem to think that a level of fraudulent activity by hundreds would be difficult to prove, although such a possibility does exist. The management of Arthur Andersen took swift action to head off such allegations by dismissing David Duncan, the Andersen executive who served as engagement partner on the Enron audit. They have also placed three additional partners on administrative leave, pending the completion of the investigation. Arthur Andersen is seeking to limit its liability by taking these aggressive actions and by making public the fact that employees disposed of a "significant number of electronic and paper documents." Company spokespersons were careful to state that the destruction of these documents is a clear violation of corporate policy, and the files were destroyed based on instructions from Mr. Duncan.
Another possible point of examination is the idea that all CPAs at the firm are simply incompetent. Is it reasonable to assert that the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) are so confusing that even the brightest and most well-trained CPAs cannot understand them? Remember that these standards are actually set by a self-regulated board of CPAs called the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). Based on the training CPAs typically receive and the professionalism shown in most accounting firms, such incompetence on a mass scale is rather remarkable. It is highly unlikely that any company would entrust a $25 million audit and consulting project to incompetent staff.
A third and final point of examination could be that the entire audit team was involved in some level of unethical and/or immoral behavior. A disturbing question looms: Is such behavior prevalent in one of the world's largest professional accounting and consulting firms? Or could it be that the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) are written to encourage and allow for "creative interpretation?" Arthur Andersen is attempting to play down the allegations of widespread unethical behavior; however, it has acknowledged limited liability through the swift actions to remove those deemed responsible for the Enron mess. If the audit and consulting activities of Enron do not even equal one half of one percent of their revenues, one rightly wonders why Andersen executives have jeopardized the entire organization for this small percentage of its business?
Obviously, the three points above concerning the conduct of Arthur Andersen do not provide answers. The question remains: How did Arthur Andersen fail so miserably to fulfill its professional duties as independent auditors? The answer has yet to be discovered. Although $25 million may not have bought illegal actions, paid salaries of incompetent CPAs, or fostered unethical behavior, it can surely be said that this is the worst return on any investment Arthur Andersen has ever made.
Key in understanding Arthur Andersen and its actions is an examination of the moral and ethical system individuals within the company used in evaluating what was right and wrong in determining Enron's fiscal situation. Morality deals with and serves as a point of examination for human actions and intentions. The ability to engage in moral reasoning and make sound ethical decisions, based on clear understandings of right and wrong, is a power unique to humans. No doubt, a skewed moral compass concerning ethical business practices is a sure way to introduce strategic dissonance into the life of a corporation. If the moral compass of those executing corporate polices is at odds with the policies themselves, trouble is on the horizon.
We are already seeing a push for greater government regulation of financial markets and adoption of more complex financial and accounting principles with the intent to protect investors. In fact, the SEC, the FASB, the House Financial Services Subcommittee, and countless other organizations have vowed to pursue reform of accounting standards that would make transparency and full disclosure a legal requirement. These are essential features of free markets, but it is far from clear as to whether government intervention is capable of achieving this goal.
The cycle of the "accounting life" continues. As a self-regulating board, FASB is a target for those who push for greater governmental regulation. Critics cite the Andersen/Enron situation as an example "par excellence" of accountants' inability to police themselves. It remains to be seen, however, if greater regulation and more complex accounting standards will accomplish the "reforms" necessary to discourage another failure similar to the one Andersen and Enron are now experiencing.
Perhaps the question that needs to be asked is a much harder one, dealing with the moral convictions and lapses of those responsible for the current situation. Given the mysterious dynamics of human freedom, it would be impossible to guard against every harm an investor may encounter. The reality is that the most fundamental reforms needed deal with those individuals charged with the governance of a company, and these are the tough reforms that no amount of regulation can enforce.


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ARIES (March 21-April 19) **** You might hear from someone you respect. You could feel as if you have too much happening around you, as there are so many options to choose from.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20) ***** You have a lot happening very quickly with a child, partner or potential sweetie. Rethink how you handle a situation that comes in from out of left field.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20) **** Your optimism and happy attitude carry you through the day. Others find your mood contagious, and they feed off it. You might feel lucky, but be careful with a risk.
CANCER (June 21-July 22) **** You might feel pressured by the requests coming in, but you will manage to respond to nearly all of them. Check with a loved one before you solidify plans.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) *** Be aware of what you might have offered in a simple gesture, as someone could be counting on it. Disappointing this person will have ramifications.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) **** You naturally know which way to turn. Be spontaneous, and you will note that everything comes up smelling like roses. An opportunity heads in your direction.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) *** Opt to spend some time with a loved one whom you don't often get to see. It will strengthen the bond of the relationship, and you'll be happier.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) **** Touch base with a loved one at a distance. Keep your focus on what is important to you. You have an opportunity to zero in on something you have wanted for a while.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) *** You might want to reconsider your plans as they could break the budget. A friend or loved one is enthusiastic, and even a variation on plans needs to be done with care.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) **** Go with a suggestion that places you far away from your normal activities. Take a drive in the country, or visit a place that you have wanted to explore.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) ***** A partner understands a lot more than you are sharing. Forget about pulling the wool over this person's eyes. You can, however, become more open.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) **** Even if you had plans to be alone, you can be sure that others will not allow this to happen. Choose to share more of what you're thinking.
Jacqueline Bigar is on the Internet at jacquelinebigar.com


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It looks like Skype got a new tough rival in Vonage, as the company just launched its new mobile app for Android and iPhone. The Vonage mobile app, like Skype allows you to make free high-definition calls and send free texts to all users of the app – worlwide. The app works on Wi-Fi, 3G, and 4G wireless data networks. What say you Skype?
The Vonage mobile app works even for calling users who have not downloaded the app yet. If this is the case, Vonage gives low-cost international calling with per-minute rates which is said to be on average 70 percent less than what is being charged by major mobile carriers and 30 percent less than Skype's rates. Additionally, you can add calling credit directly from the mobile app via iTunes or Android Market. Adding credits is via increments of $4.99 and $9.99.
The app utilizes your phone's exiting mobile number and contact list. Hence, it eliminates the need for unique user names and duplicated identities for contacts. You can also instantly create a free global and texting network using the mobile app's multi-invite system.
Finally, if you're in the United States, Canada or Puerto Rico, calls from your friends anywhere in the world will be free for a limited time.
Now here's the best part, the app doesn't require you to be a Vonage customer to use it. But it would be to your advantage if you are calling a Vonage home or business numbers since it will be free.
The Vonage mobile app is available now as free downloads from the iTunes App Store and Android Market.
Via [Vonage], [App Store], [Android Market]


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Archive for Thursday, September 24, 2009
September 24, 2009
Jackie Helms, the "Quilt Lady," will discuss De Soto United Methodist Church will present "Prairie Flowers, a Year on the Plains" at the church from 9 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday at the church. She will also bring her churches of Douglas County quilt to display. Bring a morning snack and enjoy this interesting and talented woman.
• The De Soto United Methodist Church is planning a workday starting at 9 a.m. Oct. 3 at Craig and Denise Everharts home. Church members will be joining members of the Cedar Ridge Christian Church and Rose Construction in building handicap ramps to decks on the front and back of the home and painting its interior. From more information, contact Sue Watson.
• The Rev. Jerry Vaughn of the De Soto United Methodist Church will continue the study of the Book of Mark starting before Sunday service at 9 a.m. Oct. 4 at the church.
• The De Soto Baptist Church will have its annual garage sale from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 1, 2 and 3 at Dorothy Nalley's driveway, 33695 W. 83rd St.
• The De Soto Baptist Church had a very special baby at service Sunday. He was James Nelson Cooper, the 11-week-old grandson of Dean and Karen Wall and their daughter Jayme's baby. The congregation gave him a big hand of applause when he was held up for all to see.
• The De Soto Baptist Church A.B. girls and boys will meet at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. Adults are welcome to attend the meeting. The missionaries the church is supporting will be in attendance and there will be dinner. Those who have signed up to bring food are as to have it there by 5 p.m.
• Mark Coatney is planning to be married in Washington, D.C., but hasn't set the date yet. Jeff is adult Sunday school teacher at the De Soto Baptist Church.
• The De Soto Baptist Women A.B.W. met Sept. 14 with President Anita Woywod passing pamphlets. Chairmans were named to different committees and the year's scheduled shared. There will only four A.B.W. meetings with other months having auctions or brunches. The men will serve the Sweetheart Banquet next year.
• The Extension Quilting for Others group has made more than 50 quilts for donation.
• Among those having birthdays this week are Goldie Mead, Maxine Jackson, Wilda Shultz, Blake Tucker, Edith Riley Owens, David Bedford, Evan Calking, Jill Karashin, Mat Woywod, Judy Wilkins, Dennis Zwahlen, Holly Balch, Faythe Reeves, Darrel Zimmerman, Curtis Allenbrand, Sidney Zvirgzdins and my great granddaughter Annie Marie Nalley and granddaughter Denise Nalley.
• Those celebrating anniversaries include Jon and Heidi Copeland and Ron and Terri Hooper.
• The need at the De Soto community food pantry this week is tuna. Next week's need is white rice. Pastas, canned soups, baby items and paper goods are always appreciated.
The community clothes closet is always in need of sheets, towels and clothing in good shape. Donors are instructed not to leave them outside during non-business hours.
• Reta Jenks doctors ordered her to stay in bed more. Pat Weese was able to attend Sunday service. Joe Woywod will return to Arizona for a followup treatment. Zola Stephans is home recovering from surgery. My doctor prescribed an ointment for the pain and swelling in my feet. It helped but I'm to apply 4 ounces four times a day and it's expensive.
• On Tuesday, Michael Gribben was honored as therapy patient of the year by the Olathe Medical Center.
• Sympathy to the families of Gary Martin and Tom Krett. Gary Martin's memorial service was Friday with the visitation Thursday night. The family donated several beautiful floral arrangements to the church for Sunday service.
• The Pleasant Hour Club meet last Thursday at the De Soto United Methodist Church will Marie Gillihan and Lois Flynn as hostesses. Sue Allen and Doris Coleman were the leaders of the program "Old Movies."
• Making a Labor Day trip the Wadsorth to visit veterans were Jean Epperson, Lydia McGraw and Sue Allen. They took pumpkin pies.
• My sons Michael and his wife, Linda, of Oklahoma and Jerry and his wife, Linda, of Overland Park went to Illinois this weekend to see their brother Carlin honored by the National Golf Club for his work to getting teens scholarships for college. %
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Austin Brown '07 Named to All-Fraternity All-American Basketball Team; Coach Bill Fenlon Also Cited
June 18, 2007
June 18, 2007, Greencastle, Ind. - Austin D. Brown, a 2007 graduate of DePauw University, has been named to the second team of the 2007 All-Fraternity All-American Basketball Team. His college coach, Bill Fenlon, is an honorable mention selection in the coaching category. The team was compiled by the North-American Interfraternity Conference (NIC).
The NIC's citation notes that Brown, a member of Alpha Tau Omega, was "All-SCAC first team; led team with 415 points (14.8); shot 53.3% from the field; grabbed 143 rebounds (5.1) with 34 steals and 45 assists."
Coach Fenlon (pictured at right) is a member of Delta Tau Delta.
Access the announcement of the All-American team by clicking here.
Austin Brown was featured on ESPN2's Cold Pizza in 2006 after hitting a 61-foot buzzer beater that gave his team the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference championship and earned the Tigers a berth in the NCAA tournament.
Read about the TV appearance, and access video clips from the program, in this previous story.Back