Toyota to ‘Prove’ Electronics Aren’t Source of Acceleration Problems
On Monday, the world’s largest automaker will host a Webcast to refute charges by a Southern Illinois University professor that the electronic throttle control systems on Toyota’s cars can be easily fooled into accelerating uncontrollably.
Continue reading Toyota to ‘Prove’ Electronics Aren’t Source of Acceleration Problems
Toyota to ‘Prove’ Electronics Aren’t Source of Acceleration Problems originally appeared on DailyFinance on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 10:54:00.
Filed Under: Company News, Toyota, Autos
See the rest here:
Toyota to ‘Prove’ Electronics Aren’t Source of Acceleration Problems
Tags: acceleration, alico, business, columns, easily-fooled, electronic, entry, img-hspace, legal news, legal-briefing, news, north, source, webcast, world
Cyberattack on Google Focuses on Chinese Schools
Feb 19, 2010 Object
Two Chinese schools with ties to the military may be the source of the cyberattacks on Google and other U.S. companies.
Continue reading Cyberattack on Google Focuses on Chinese Schools
Cyberattack on Google Focuses on Chinese Schools originally appeared on DailyFinance on Fri, 19 Feb 2010 05:00:00.
Filed Under: Technology, Google
View original post here:
Cyberattack on Google Focuses on Chinese Schools
Tags: and-other, cyberattacks, filed-under, goog, military, source, the-military
Lutz: Auto execs are underpaid
Filed under: Government/Legal, GM, Earnings/Financials
To clarify, Bob Lutz is specifically talking about General Motors‘ top 25 execs. They are the ones who have seen their salaries decline by 31%, and their total remuneration packages go down by more than 20%. Said Lutz, “given the rigors of the job and demands and the accountability, I would say we are being paid way, way, way below market.”
Some would say that the company Lutz works for is lucky to be around at all. Still, he’s got a bit of a point - the “market” decides who gets paid what, and then decides who’s going to go where. If GM’s salaries can’t keep up with their rivals’, then GM knows it’s going to have to make do with what it can get. Or, heaven forbid, get really creative with the massive talent and resources it does have…
To be fair, Lutz knows the score and is only looking for the end of the tunnel, acknowledging, “You can’t go through Chapter 11 and come out the other side and expect to have all of the same perks and comps as you did before. We just hope it doesn’t stay this way too long.” We say that it’s only fitting that how long the situation lasts - until GM repays its loans - will be decided entirely by Mr. Lutz and those 25 pay-restricted executives.
[Source: The Detroit News | Source Image: Bill Pugliano/Getty]
Lutz: Auto execs are underpaid originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 12 Feb 2010 15:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Tags: boblutz, comps-as-you, currently-being, entry, executive compensation, executive pay, executivecompensation, general-motors, geneva motor show, geneva-motor, knows-the-score, meantime, rendered-ahead, situation, source
Report: NHTSA turns an eye towards electronics as source of Toyota troubles
Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety, Toyota
Reports from multiple news outlets cite sources within the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration who claim the government is now looking into electrical problems as the source for Toyota’s recall troubles. The unnamed agency employee reportedly told CNN that the government is investigating whether electromagnetic interference might cause the electronic throttle control system to malfunction. The source went on to add that the agency has found no evidence of problems with the electronic throttle, though engineers at NHTSA were still actively investigating the matter.
News of a possible electronics investigation comes not long after Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood claimed that NHTSA “wasn’t done with Toyota,” and that the Japanese automaker was “a little safety deaf.” Shinichi Sasaki, Toyota’s vice president in charge of quality, reportedly claimed that the embattled automaker has never found any evidence of electrical problems, a familiar line from the automaker that we’ve heard since the latest recall was announced. Toyota has been quick to state, however, that it will do anything possible to cooperate in the investigation.
At least one safety expert feels NHTSA should have investigated electronic issues long ago. Sean Kane, president of Safety Research Strategies, said in a recent interview that “by all appearances, electronics are playing a significant role in the problems.” Kane says 2002-2006 Camry and 2005-2007 Tacoma models should specifically be investigated, and he points to a case of a 2005 Camry owner who experienced unintended acceleration as he attempted to park. The driver instead launched 23 feet and then dropped off of a 70-foot cliff, killing the driver’s wife. Kane says the floor mat was securely fastened to the floor when the accident occurred.
As is typically the case with “anonymous sources,” we expect an announcement from NHTSA any day now. Is the safety organization trying to show Congress just how hard it’s working to find a solution for Toyota’s problems in advance of the February 10 hearing on Capitol Hill? Could be, but more negative press is the last thing Toyota needs right now.
[Source: CNN Money | Automotive News - sub. req.]
Report: NHTSA turns an eye towards electronics as source of Toyota troubles originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 03 Feb 2010 11:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Tags: a-models-should, a-needs-right, congress, electromagnetic, electronic, government, japanese, ray lahood, safety, shinichi-sasaki, source, toyota recall
Breaking: House to hold hearing on Toyota recalls
Filed under: Government/Legal, Recalls, Toyota
As it’s wont to do, the U.S. House of Representatives has decided to investigate Toyota over its recent recalls involving possible unintended acceleration caused by both floor mats and defective accelerator pedal mechanisms. The House Energy and Commerce committee will hold a hearing on February 25 to “examine the persistent consumer complaints of sudden unintended acceleration in vehicles manufactured by Toyota Motor Corporation,” this according to committee chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif (above). Not only will Toyota be on the hot seat, but the committee will also investigate how well the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has handled the situation.
The Detroit News reports that Toyota officials already met with members of the committee on Wednesday. They were asked to provide the committee with information and documents and will be expected to answer questions at the hearing about when they first learned of cases involving unintended acceleration in their vehicles and what steps were taken to safeguard customers who might be at risk. They’ll probably also be asked about the connection between NHTSA and Toyota through one Mr. Christopher Santucci, a former NHTSA employee who took a job with Toyota around the same time these issues were first being investigated.
It’s also fair to point out that this isn’t the first time a recall has gained the attention of Capitol Hill. The recall involving Firestone tires on Ford Explorers in 2000 sparked Congressional hearings, for instance.
[Source: The Detroit News | Source Image: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty]
Breaking: House to hold hearing on Toyota recalls originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Tags: a-around-the, a-recall-has, electronic, house hearing toyota, house toyota, househearingtoyotarecall, mito, news, santucci, source, toyota, toyota-motor, traffic-safety
Toyota tops in CR brand perception study, Subaru, Ford, Chevy make gains
Filed under: Car Buying, Marketing/Advertising, Chevrolet, Ford, Hummer, Mazda, Mercury, Saab, Subaru, Toyota
Consumer Reports 2010 Car Brand Perception Survey results just published
After one of the worst years ever for the auto industry, which automakers do you think came out of 2009 with an unsullied reputation? Consumer Reports just published its 2010 Car Brand Perception Survey and the results are a bit perplexing. Naming the manufacturers that slipped last year would probably be a piece of cake, but try to guess which ones came out ahead of their 2008 rankings.
Before you try to guess, here are the ground rules. According to CR, “The scores reflect how consumers perceive each brand in seven categories: Safety, quality, value, performance, design/style, technology/innovation, and environmentally friendly/green.” Further, “The scores reflect consumers’ total perception level of a brand across those categories, and not the actual qualities of the brand’s individual vehicles.”
The overall top brands in the rankings were the usual suspects for the most part. Toyota was tops (guess CR readers haven’t heard about that sticky gas pedal thing), followed by America’s sole avoider of bankruptcy, Ford, then Honda. Somewhat surprisingly, Chevrolet placed fourth - bankruptcy be damned. Carmakers improving by the largest percentage over last year were an equally mixed bag. Chevy and Ford improved quite a bit, but the company posting the biggest gain was Subaru, which mirrored the success it had on the showroom floor in 2009.
Perhaps even more interesting were the bottom brands. Not surprisingly in these green-leaning times, Hummer scored the lowest as a brand, followed closely by GM problem-child, Saab. The Swedish firm was actually tied, though, with Ford’s forgotten brand, Mercury, and shockingly, recent Ford divestiture, Mazda. Dropping the most this year were luxury brands like Porsche, Lexus and Lincoln. How Porsche and Lexus dropped so much is a bit of a mystery, but Cadillac droppng 15 points was a real head-scratcher considering the success of the CTS.
The complete survey is an interesting read, as are the full rankings. The top scorers in each category is particularly revealing. Before you click the source link below, though, try to guess where your favorite brands placed. You might be as surprised as we were.
[Source: Consumer Reports]
Toyota tops in CR brand perception study, Subaru, Ford, Chevy make gains originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 14 Jan 2010 15:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Tags: a-brand-across, america, brand, brand perception, brandperception, car brand perception, carbrandperception, carbrandperceptionsurvey, chevrolet, entry, news, scores-reflect, source, success-it-had, were-the-usual
The Comcast-GE deal includes NBC local stations — triggering regulatory scrutiny
Filed under: Company News, Technology, Media, General Electric , Comcast
Comcast will take control of NBC Universal’s 10 owned-and-operated stations, triggering a federal investigation, according to a source with knowledge of the deal. On Tuesday, the source says, GE (GE), the bellwether American icon that produces everything from jet engines to lightbulbs, agreed to sell control of news and entertainment giant NBC Universal to Comcast (CMCSA), the largest cable-TV provider in the U.S.
“This is for all of NBC, not part of it,” the source tells DailyFinance. NBC Local Media comprises 10 NBC owned-and-operated TV stations reaching 27% of U.S. households, according to the company. The source cautions that delays could arise due to the deal’s complexity, but the companies are aiming to announce the agreement Thursday morning.
Continue reading The Comcast-GE deal includes NBC local stations — triggering regulatory scrutiny
The Comcast-GE deal includes NBC local stations — triggering regulatory scrutiny originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
The rest is here:
The Comcast-GE deal includes NBC local stations — triggering regulatory scrutiny
Tags: agreement, announcement, cable tv, comcast, fcc, future, general electric, general-motors, local-stations, nbc, source
Abbott’s deal with Teva keeps generic TriCor off the market yet again
Filed under: Company News, Healthcare
The case of Abbott Laboratories’ (ABT) cholesterol drug TriCor is quite interesting. The drug has been a blockbuster, and it has been under patent protection for decades. That’s right, decades. Now, Abbott has managed to seal a deal with generic-drug maker Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries (TEVA) that would stave off generic competition for TriCor — yet again — until March 2011 at least.
How did Abbott manage to keep TriCor under patent protection all these years? The story begins back in the 1960s, when the drug was discovered by the French company Fournier. It began selling the product in Europe in 1975, and Abbott licensed it in 1998. The drug’s underlying patent had expired by that time, but Abbott, which earns more than $1 billion in annual sales from the drug, found a way to patent it again … and again … and again.
Continue reading Abbott’s deal with Teva keeps generic TriCor off the market yet again
Abbott’s deal with Teva keeps generic TriCor off the market yet again originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
See original here:
Abbott’s deal with Teva keeps generic TriCor off the market yet again
Tags: abbott-labs, abbottlaboratories, abbottlabs, comcast, fcc, from-the-drug, generic, healthcare, keeps-generic, source, tevapharmaceuticals
Google hits a snag in China as world’s largest carrier hijacks Android
Nov 25, 2009 Object
Filed under: Google , China Unicom, China Mobile
Google is famous for touting its adherence to open standards and for developing on top of Open Source software platforms such as Linux. Launching Android, Google (GOOG) stated its new operating system would be open sourced — that is, the software code would be free to download, modify and change. Such a laissez faire approach does make it possible for others to develop versions of Android that are not completely compatible. Thus far, this has not been a problem, with one enormous exception: China Mobile (CHL).
China Mobile, the world’s largest mobile phone company with over 300 million subscribers, took Google at its word and decided to adopt the core software of Android for its own OMS operating system. China Mobile is now well on its way to building a code base that is different from the versions of Android being built by Google itself. And more than any other carrier on Earth, China Mobile can cause a code fork problem that could short circuit Android growth in the Middle Kingdom — by far the largest mobile market on Earth.
Continue reading Google hits a snag in China as world’s largest carrier hijacks Android
Google hits a snag in China as world’s largest carrier hijacks Android originally appeared on DailyFinance on Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
See the original post:
Google hits a snag in China as world’s largest carrier hijacks Android
Tags: a-strong-month-, china-as-world, china-mobile, earth, infocus, largest-mobile, middle, source
REPORT: Germany wants GM’s plan for Opel - and a billion dollars - "quickly"
Filed under: Europe, Government/Legal, GM, Opel
General Motors’ bouleversement on the sale of its Opel brand has caused the European head of Opel vacate his office, the head of Opel labor to gulp “a bottle of wine” to get over the shock, the German head of state to request “GM to present a reliable plan for Opel quickly,” and Germany’s economic minister to prod GM to pay back the rest of the €1.5 billion ($2.25B U.S.) bridge loan.
GM’s response has been for CEO Fritz Henderson to Germany on an “Opel charm tour,” to pay back a portion of the borrowed fund and promise the remaining €600 million by the end of the month, and to declare that it will only need €3.5 billion ($4.5B U.S.) to restructure Opel. GM crows that the amount is “significantly lower than all bids submitted as part of the investor solicitation” and how, in fact, it’s less than the €4.5 billion the German government pledged to give Magna in aid (much less Magna’s anticipated restructuring costs).
The gap in this scenario: Where did GM get that number? It was rumored that Belgian investment bank RHJ was only looking to hold on to Opel for a turnaround sale to GM, which would seem to indicate they weren’t going to spend a ton of money on restructuring, and even its final bid was more than €3.5 billion. Moody’s predicts GM will actually need €5.8 billion ($8.5B USD) to turn Opel fully around. Nevertheless, some see this as a good thing. For us, the only conclusion we can come to is the same one we’ve been held at for six months: a lot of questions still need answering.
[Source: Automotive News, sub req'd | Source Image: Warner Bros.]
REPORT: Germany wants GM’s plan for Opel - and a billion dollars - “quickly” originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Tags: a-reliable-plan, entry, europe, fritzhenderson, german, gm europe, gm opel, office, source, turnaround-sale, warner-bros-
