UK-based company to market amphibious vehicles in North America

UK-based Gibbs Technologies has announced it is forming three new companies to produce and market a broad range of amphibious vehicles in North America. Two production-ready vehicles planned for introduction in the U.S. in 2009 were displayed at a news conference yesterday. The Quadski, an all-terrain vehicle, will be manufactured and sold by Gibbs Sports Amphibians, while the Aquada, a vehicle that combines the handling of a sports car with the ability to travel at more than 48 km/h on water, will be produced and marketed by Gibbs Amphibians. A third company will develop high-speed amphibians for military use under an agreement with Lockheed Martin. The company is currently considering locations for technical centres, sales offices and manufacturing plants in several states, including Georgia, Virginia, Michigan and Texas. A fleet of ten Aquadas is currently undergoing tests in southeastern Michigan. In 2004, a Gibbs prototype HAS crossed the English Channel in a record-setting time of less than two hours; during tests in Europe and North America, prototype amphibians have travelled at speeds of more than 177 km/h on land, and 72 km/hr on water. Both the Quadski and the Aquada can transform from land-to-water or water-to-land in five seconds.

Ontario ethanol plant receives its 100,000th delivery of corn

Chatham, Ontario - GreenField Ethanol, Canada's leading ethanol producer, accepted its 100,000th delivery of corn to its Chatham, Ontario plant yesterday. The milestone shipment was from a nearby farm in Kent Bridge. "Since our Chatham plant opened in 1997, GreenField Ethanol's success has been linked with the Chatham-Kent community," says Bob Gallant, GreenField president and CEO. "This 100,000th delivery of corn would not have been possible without our Chatham employees and the local farms and businesses that we work with on a daily basis, year in, year out." The company estimates it has purchased $532 million worth of corn for the plant in the last ten years, with each delivery about 38 metric tonnes each. Since its inception, the facility has produced more than 1.2 billion litres of ethanol, using 120 million bushels of corn, an average of 187 million litres of ethanol per year. The plant turns out a full range of ethanol products, including fuel, industrial and beverage alcohol. The company currently produces fuel in Chatham and at plants in Tiverton, Ontario and Varennes, Quebec; two more plants are under construction in Hensall and Johnstown, Ontario, and will be operational in 2008. The company expects to produce more than 700 million litres per year once all five plants are operational.

Saturn dealers could bring "x-ray vision" to showrooms

Special technology will allow customers to "see" under a vehicle's skin. Advertising Age says General Motors is offering its Saturn dealers a new system that will let potential customers see what's underneath a Saturn's skin. The system, reports AutoBlog is a projector that overlays an image of the car's bones on top of the metal, making the body only seem transparent. The system can be set up to work with different models, so if a customer wants to see the differences between a VUE and the new Outlook, the dealer can just wheel one or the other into the beam. Animation is also possible, and could be used to, for example, show how the Vue Green Line's hybrid engine works. The technology comes from a company called Obscura Digital, which has worked with numerous other automotive companies. A video of their work with Saturn is available on the Obscura Digital website.

Smart investment: Car dealer sells part of his car collection, including $1.35M Duesenberg

A car dealer liquidates part of his personal car collection and reaps big $$. Dozens of cars from the private collection of a car dealer netted substantial sums -- including $1.35 million for a 1931 Duesenberg once owned by Howard Hughes -- during a weekend auction, reports the Detroit News. John McMullen, owner of Somerset Pontiac GMC, in Troy, Michgan, offered 80 cars, motorcycles and other items at his estate. "After nearly 20 years of collecting, restoring and competing, I have decided to share the joy of collecting that I have with others and make the collection more manageable by keeping a few favorites," McMullen said in a statement posted on the Web site for RM Auctions, which conducted the event Saturday. The estimated value of the collection was between $7.5 million and $10 million, according to the company. Another noted vehicle was a 1953 Oldsmobile Fiesta that sold for $220,000. A 1953 Corvette sold for $400,000.

Car salesman still moving metal at age 82

He’s been on the job so long he actually trained the dealer/principal. Ford salesman Bill Lolly says last month was one of his best selling the autos adorned with the big blue oval, reports the Birmingham (AL) News. "It was one of the better ones," said Mr. Lolly, who has spent most of his career at Jim Skinner Ford. He was number six on the sales board out of 22 full-time sales reps. Mr. Lolly will turn 82 next month, and his employer and co-workers figure he has to be one the oldest full-time car salesmen in the country, and among the oldest full-time workers in Alabama. Jim Skinner, the owner of the dealership, trained under Mr. Lolly in the early 1950s when he was on his way up the management ladder of the company he eventually bought. His best month ever? It happened in 1955, when he sold 65 cars. That's more than two a day. Mr. Lolly developed a reputation, and a book of customers who return year after year. He rarely takes an “up.” Instead, he spent his time managing a vast network of people by telephone, mail and personal visits.