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| » March 29, 2007 |
Hyundai to unveil rear-wheel drive V8 concept car
in New York
Hyundai has announced it will stage the world premiere of
its Concept Genesis at the New York Auto Show; the car heralds
the future architecture and design of a rear-wheel drive
premium sports sedan scheduled to enter the Hyundai line-up
in 2008. Concept Genesis rides on a prototype of Hyundai's
all-new rear-wheel drive platform and is powered by the company's
newly-developed DOHC 32-valve V8 powertrain. The company
says the car marks the beginning of premium performance for
the Hyundai brand, and will be the first application of rear-wheel
drive in a North American Hyundai model since the Pony and
Stellar of the 1980s. The V8, mated to a six-speed automatic
transmission with manual mode and limited-slip differential,
delivers well over 300 hp and has a zero-to-96 km/h acceleration
of less than six seconds. The company says that future variants
of the engine, called Tau, may offer larger displacement,
forced induction options and other technology enhancements.
Features on the Concept Genesis car include adaptive cruise
control, electronic stability control, eight airbags, pushbutton
start, navigation with backup camera, XM Satellite Radio
and electric parking brake.
Honda ranked among top ten "green" companies
by Fortune Magazine
A special report by Fortune magazine has included Honda in
a list of ten companies that are "ahead of the learning
curve on the strategic value of environmentalism in their
industries." Honda was the only automotive manufacturer
on the list. To select companies on the "Green Giants" list,
Fortune solicited nominations from environmentalists and
consultants who have worked in corporate America. The final
ten were pared down from a list of nearly 100 major corporations,
which Fortune specified because their environmental footprint
is more important than that of smaller companies. Honda also
received a B+ in the Globe and Mail's Report on Business
Magazine in February, the highest grade for any auto manufacture,
in recognition of its hybrid technology and fuel-efficient
cars, sustainable manufacturing facilities, aggressive programs
to reduce energy consumption at its manufacturing sites and
elimination of hazardous substances from its production.
In Quebec's financial Commerce magazine, Honda scored seventh
in the magazine's 10th annual "Les 150 Entreprises les
plus admirées des Québécois" (most
admired companies in Quebec) survey, the only auto manufacturer
to attain a position in the top ten.
New Jersey car dealer wins vote over
union
A big dealership group in New Jersey prevailed over attempts
to unionize its sales force. New Jersey has a reputation
as a union state, so it was somewhat surprising that the
United Steelworkers of America lost its bid to organize salespeople
at David Michael Motor Group, a large dealership operation
in that state. According to a report in the Asbury Park Press,
the salespeople voted down the union by 26-3. The Steelworkers
had sought to represent the workers, who union officials
said had been dissatisfied with recent changes in their pay
structure. At least 30 percent of the workers signed cards
authorizing a vote on whether to join the union.
Only 3.5 percent of salespeople nationwide were represented
by a union in 2006, down from 3.8 percent in 2005. By comparison,
8.1 percent of the private-sector work force was unionized
last year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. David
Michael Motor Group was bought in February 2004 by Group
1 Automotive. "We're very pleased that the employees
of the dealership showed faith in the leadership of our management
as we begin our preparations to move into our new facilities," Group
1 spokesman Peter DeLongchamps said. The union has seven
days to file an objection about the election. Otherwise,
it needs to wait a year before it can try again.
Car dealers: Check your internal controls!
Ford sales manager in Pennsylvania facing 61 fraud-related
charges A former sales manager for Crest Ford in Chambersburg,
Pennsylvania, waived a preliminary hearing on charges of
theft, forgery, identity theft and tampering with records
in connection with sales he allegedly faked last year, according
to a report in Public Opinion News. Court documents filed
in the case allege that that William Higdon, of Chambersburg,
PA, faked a number of sales and forged names on loan documents
totaling almost $300,000 between Sept. 1 and Oct. 31, 2006.
He faces 14 counts of theft by deception, 16 counts of forgery,
15 counts of identity theft and 16 counts of tampering with
records. According to an affidavit filed in the case, Mr.
Higdon faked sales of new vehicles and forged the names of
10 people, including his father, mother-in-law and a cousin,
on loan documents to finance those sales. In some cases,
he applied for multiple loans at different financial institutions
in the same name. Police allege the former manager at times
used personal information of customers that actually did
buy a vehicle from the dealership and in one case faked three
sales to one person that way. In one case, police allege
a man and his father signed a legitimate loan contract for
a vehicle and Mr. Higdon later changed it, adding an additional
$7,000 to the total price and forging the men's names to
the larger falsified contract. Mr. Higdon is also accused
of selling vehicles belonging to Crest Ford to a local used
car dealer and keeping the money he collected instead of
reimbursing the car dealership. He also allegedly sold vehicles
that were financed through the falsified contracts to wholesalers
and kept the money from those sales. The scam was uncovered
in November when a local credit union contacted one of the
victims because she had not made payments on the falsified
loan. In one of the affidavits, police said Mr. Higdon was
actually trying to pay back the loans to the lending institutions,
but his house of cards finally collapsed and the scheme was
discovered when the loans began to default.
Porsche to bid for Volkswagen
Porsche AG will increase its stake in Volkswagen from
the current 27.3 per cent up to 31 per cent and thus
make a mandatory offer for the company, according to
a report by the Green Car Congress. Financing of the
mandatory offer has been ensured via a credit facility
arranged by several banks and investment firms. Volkswagen
currently builds the Porsche Cayenne, Volkswagen Touareg
and Audi Q7 at the same plant, and the two companies
have further joint projects, including a hybrid drivetrain
and cooperation with regard to building the body shell
of the new four-door Gran Turismo Panamera. Porsche
proposes implementing a holding structure to separate
operational business activities, with the operational
business of Porsche AG becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary
of the larger holding company. In a statement, Porsche
said, "The Managing Board of Porsche has, in this
context, made it clear: Porsche will remain Porsche.
The Managing Board of the sports car manufacturer regards
the proposed increase of the stake in VW group as a
logical step to enable it to meet the global challenges
in the highly competitive automobile market even better.
It is firmly convinced that the technical and strategic
collaboration between Porsche and Volkswagen produces
benefits for both partners." |
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