Author: Serkadis

Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Podcasts, Buick, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Ford, GM, GMC, Honda, Lincoln, Toyota, Volkswagen

It’s a North American International Auto Show recap for Episode #161 of the Autoblog Podcast. Chris, Sam and Dan mull the top five of the show before speaking more in depth about some unveilings. The new Chevrolet Aveo gets us started before we move on to another sharply styled General Motors concept, the GMC Granite. We touch briefly on the Honda CR-Z, and then Toyota’s FT-CH comes up next before we call it a night with the Volkswagen New Compact Coupe Concept.

We’ll be back again next week with more Autoblog Podcast goodness. Until then, fill in with Joystiq and Engadget. Let us know what you think of our podcast by dropping us an email at Podcast at Autoblog dot com, reviewing the show in iTunes, filling out our survey, or even leaving us a voicemail on our Google Voice line 734-288-8POD (734-288-8763). Thanks for listening!

Continue reading Autoblog Podcast #161 – Detroit Auto Show recap

Autoblog Podcast #161 – Detroit Auto Show recap originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 14 Jan 2010 14:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You probably know of the band Ok Go’s famous treadmill video:

It helped attract a ton of attention to the band. The band’s lead singer, Damian Kulash, has been quite outspoken about why bands need to be fan friendly, and even took to the pages of the NY Times to discuss the evils of DRM, and has spoken before Congress on music industry issues as well. The band has always done quite a lot to try to connect with fans and not hinder them in any way — which is part of why it has such a huge following.

So, with the band coming out with a new quirky video, you would think that it would be readily available all over the place. However, Martin points us to the news that the video was put up on YouTube by the band’s label, Capitol Records, a subsidiary of EMI, but it did so with geoblocking and with embedding disabled. In fact, if you go to the original treadmill video, you’ll see that Capitol Records has disabled embedding on that video as well. Notice that I have it embedded above? That’s because I used the embed code from an earlier post back when embedding was allowed. Yet now, go and click on the video… and it gives you an error message saying embedding has been disabled. All those people who helped spread that video? Capitol Records broke them all. Nice of them. It’s impossible to fathom what the folks at EMI/Capitol are thinking here. They are making it more difficult to make a viral video viral. Both blocking it from being viewed in various regions and blocking embeds makes no sense at all.


Of course, the band recognizes this and are pissed off about it:

As for the issue of geoblocking, we’re incredibly upset that the youtube versions of our videos can’t be embedded. Just one more example of major labels accelerating their own demise. We (and every individual band out there) have exactly zero leverage in this particular battle, however. So we post to other sites as well.

In fact, the band itself has now put the video up on Vimeo as well, which does allow embedding:

Of course, given that Vimeo has these bizarre and nonsensical rules against commercial use, and this is obviously a commercial video, you have to wonder why this is allowed. Oh yeah, also, it’s worth remembering that Capitol Records just sued Vimeo for copyright infringement — so I can’t see the label being all that thrilled about this. Either way, the video is going up in a variety of other places in embeddable format, but not by Capitol Records, meaning that it gets more fragmented, less viral, and hurts Capitol Records. And people wonder why EMI and the other major labels are collapsing.

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If spending money to build a satellite phone network reminds you of a few financial debacles, you’re not alone. But regardless of its past foibles, Globalstar is announcing today that it is preparing to spend $1.29 billion on its satellite phone network.

Tony Navarra, president of global operations at Globalstar in Milpitas, Calif., said in an interview that this new investment could be far more cost effective. For $1.29 billion, Globalstar will be able to launch 24 satellites into orbit and build another 24 for the future. These satellites should last for 15 years, until 2025 and beyond, compared to just 7.5 years for the company’s first-generation satellites.

The last network cost $4.5 billion to complete and the debt load was so heavy that it drove Globalstar, founded in 1994, into bankruptcy in 2004. It restructured its debt and then went public in 2006. In the summer of last year, it did a debt financing of $738 million. Competition includes Inmarsat, Iidium Satellite, SkyTerra Communicaitons and Orbcomm.

Navarra said the satellites in the first network are becoming weaker. The low-earth orbiting satellites circle the globe about 850 miles in the sky. As they age, Globalstar takes them up about 1,000 miles above the earth and then replaces them with new satellites.

Since the technology has improved, the second-generation network will be able to handle duplex voice and data at a rate of 256 kilobits per second, compared to just 9.6 kilobits per second earlier. It has high quality and the data transfer speed will now be better.

To further finance its new generation, Globalstar has raised $505 million in loans from a consortium of French banks and another $71 million from satellite maker Thales Alenia and rocket maker Arianespace.

While satellite phones seem quaint at a time of growing cell phone coverage, Navarra said that many of Globalstar’s 375,000 customers are in remote regions of the U.S. and Canada. The phones used to be the size of bricks, but they’re now about twice the size of typical cell phones, with a little antenna nub sticking out of them.

The company generates about $76 to $80 per subscriber per month for voice service and $10 per subscriber per month for data service. The company also makes money from engineering services. And its Spot division recently announced a satellite communicator to go with Delorme’s navigation handheld.

Navarra said the company will launch one or two rockets this year, using Arainespace. Each rocket will carry six satellites. Today, the company said it has begun to install upgrades at its gateway ground stations around the world to get ready to deploy the second-generation satellite constellation.

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A123Systems (AONE), the advanced battery maker best known for its surprisingly lucrative IPO in September of last year, has landed itself back on the industry’s radar. It’s just inked a deal to supply Fisker Automotive with batteries for its highly-anticipated plug-in hybrid, the Karma, slated to launch late this year.

This is great news for A123, which had been fairly quiet since its public sale, reporting deep quarterly losses and paring down its major supply deal with Chrysler — one of the only big automakers to slash its green car programs. With Panasonic snapping up a supply contract with Tesla Motors and Ford turning to competitor Johnson Controls-Saft, things looked pretty bleak for A123. But now, with another bright EV star hitched to its wagon — especially one that was officially blessed with $528 million in loan guarantees from the U.S. Department of Energy — A123 might be able to reclaim its title as the green battery company to watch.

The multi-year deal with Fisker includes a $23 million investment from A123 in the carmaker, including $13 million in cash. In return, it will not only be tapped to supply batteries for the $90,000 luxury Karma, but also for the stealthy Nina model Fisker has been talking about since last fall, assumed to be a more practical, moderately-priced sedan set to compete with Tesla’s Model S. As a result of the deal, A123’s stock price jumped from $20.05 to $21.74 from market close to market open today (though now it’s back down to $20.67).

Yesterday, VentureBeat reported that Fisker had dumped battery maker Ener1 as a possible supplier for the Karma. Already bound up in its deal with Norwegian EV maker Th!nk, that company just didn’t have the production capacity to meet Fisker’s needs, especially by its targeted 2010 launch date.

This is one reason A123 was probably so appealing to the company. It has the capital — not to mention $249 million in grant money from the Energy Department — and plans already nailed down to expand its battery assembly plant in Michigan, allowing it to churn out upwards of 24,000 plug-in hybrid battery packs. After all, Fisker is looking to grow too, spending 80 percent of its money from the DOE to convert an old General Motors plant in Delaware into a Fisker factory.

Now, with supply deals with both Fisker and the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) in its pocket, A123Systems may be on a roll. The company actually formed a joint venture with SAIC, China’s largest automaker, in mid-December, so that they could work on developing efficient, battery systems for both hybrid and fully electric vehicles together. At the time of its launch, the venture was valued at only $20 million, but it has incredible growth potential once EVs are rolling off the assembly line.

A123 may be celebrating, but it’s probably a dark day for both Ener1, which would have derived 28 percent of its revenue next year from the Fisker contract, and Valence Technologies, a smaller venture-backed battery maker that seems to be missing out on all the big supply deals. In December, it landed a $1.4 million agreement with Smith Electric Vehicles in the United Kingdom, but that may not be enough to keep it afloat.

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UNICEF Ambassador and teen sweetie Selena Gomez has issued an urgent request for Americans to lend a hand in to the disaster-struck island of Haiti.

Thousands were killed in the massive earthquake that hit the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince, on Tuesday.

“By now, I’m sure you all know about the earthquake that has devastated Haiti. The first 48 hours after a natural disaster are the most critical,” the Wizards of Waverly Place star, 17, says in a YouTube plea uploaded Thursday. “UNICEF is on the ground right now to provide the children who are affected with the things they need to survive, like food and shelter and clean water.”

Selena adds, “We need your help. So please stop whatever you’re doing to visit UnicefUSA.org to make a donation. Please join me in praying for all of those who are affected. Thank you for your support.”

Cutting the price of its mobile WiMAX subscription prices for the second time in half a year, Sprint’s confirmed a $10 drop in its monthly fee. The price cut, which brings the price to $59.99 for monthly CDMA / mobile WiMAX. Back in August the company dropped the unlimited 3G/4G service by $10, as well. A spokesperson for Sprint told Fierce Wireless that the price drop is in order to make the service a “no brainer” for its customers, and denied specific, recent rumors that Sprint may partner with Walmart for mobile WiMAX cells in all of its retail locations nationwide. Regardless, if you want to get in on a WiMAX deal, now might be a decent time to do it.

Sprint hacks $10 off its monthly mobile WiMAX pricing originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 Jan 2010 15:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Despite the incredible realism of the drawing above to the left, we’re probably not looking at iPhone OS 4.0 right here. Instead we’ve got Apple doing what Apple does: applying for a patent for some pretty vague functionality that may or may not end up in a device someday. No harm in that game, but it looks like Google’s already done the “put a contact on the home screen with their picture” thing before Apple got a chance, as demonstrated on the right. There are other little tidbits to Apple’s approach, however. Apple is naturally showing that little numeric badge we know so well, to show what sort of new activity the contact has (hopefully that pulls calls, SMS and email into one pretty little package, like we’ve seen on other modern operating systems), but Apple also mentions that “an icon associated with an entity can be temporarily displayed on the mobile device based on the proximity of the mobile device to the entity.” So, Stalking 2.0. We like it, and hope to see it in some future iPhone software, but between the crazy broad claims in the rest of the patent and Android’s prior art, we’d say Apple’s chances of getting this 2008 submission approved are pretty slim.

Apple tries for ‘adding a contact to a home screen’ patent, but Android beat them to the punch originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 Jan 2010 14:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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According to Inside Line, plans for a convertible Nissan Murano are still alive. An unnamed Nissan source at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show told the publication that the Nissan Murano convertible should go on sale later this year – just in time for the summer.

The model will feature a folding soft-top roof and will be produced in limited numbers.

Power is expected to come from the 3.5L V8 making 265-hp with front and all-wheel-drive.

– By: Omar Rana

Source: Inside Line

National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago and the National Rural Health Association (NRHA) released a unique guide today that outlines steps for aiding migrant and seasonal farm workers before, during, and after a natural or man-made disaster.

This resource is the first of its kind to provide actionable steps that can be taken by public health professionals to address the specific challenges and needs of migrant and seasonal farm workers in the event of an emergency.

The 40 page guide’s planning steps are not generic; they take into account the unique living and working conditions and the cultural differences of migrant and seasonal farm workers and their families.

The guide also includes checklists for steps to take in advance of an emergency and suggestions for partnerships with other local groups.

In addition, several helpful appendices provide information and guidance on securing shelter, water, and social services in connection with an emergency.

While it is not intended to provide a complete planning process, the guide serves as a strong foundation for comprehensive planning by public health professionals at the farm, family, or individual level for emergency preparedness.

The guide was developed in collaboration with the Western New York Public Health Alliance (WNYPHA) Rural Advanced Practice Center.

Get a Guide

A digital copy of the guide can be found at norc.org and at bit.ly/60C05p.

Printed copies of the guide are available through the National Association of City and County Health Organizations (NACCHO) at eweb.naccho.org/prd/?NA295.

About NORC

NORC, known since its founding in 1941 as the National Opinion Research Center, pursues objective research that serves the public interest.

To learn more, visit our web site at norc.org.

About NRHA

The National Rural health Association is a national nonprofit membership organization with more than 20,000 members. Its mission is to provide leadership on rural health issues.

More information on the NRHA can be found at: ruralhealthweb.org.

About WNYPHA

The Western New York Public Health Association is a regional public health partnership comprised of eight county health departments in Western New York: Alleghany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genessee, Niagra, Orleans, and Wyoming.

Learn more at: wnypha.org

About NACCHO Advanced Practice Centers (APC)

The National Association of City and County Public Health Officials (NACCHO) Advanced Practice Centers work to develop cutting edge tools and resources to help local health department staff prepare for, respond to, and recover from major emergencies.

Learn more at: naccho.org/topics/emergency/APC/index.cfm.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the 2010 Detroit Auto Show, Ford’s president of the Americas, Mark Fields, said that FoMoCo may consider selling Lincoln outside of North America.

“Potentially, but we are focusing Lincoln here in North America for right now,” Fields said. “We don’t have any plans at this point to take it global. That doesn’t mean in the future we wouldn’t look at that, but it’s very important for us to focus on North America.”

Separately, Fields declined to comment on the possibility of Lincoln getting a compact vehicle.

Lincoln sales fell 23 percent to 82,847 units last year, its lowest total since 1981.

– By: Kap Shah

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

Believe it or not, the current plan for the International Space Station is to abandon it in 2015 and let it crash into the atmosphere in 2016. Sad, right? But the ESA wants to keep it flying for a few more years to allow more scientist access to the zero-gravity labs.

Of course it’s just not one space agency’s call. The project has five partners, the US, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada, and each will have a say later this at a meeting in Japan. But I think we can all agree that it’s a damn big waste if the ISS is simply abandoned because the world is spending its money on research for seedless watermelons or developing more weapons to kill each other.

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The White House has now officially declared that it is backing Google’s war with China.

Earlier this week, Google said it would no longer support the Chinese government’s demands to censor its Google.cn search engine.

Earlier, the White House had said that although it had advanced notice of Google’s new China policy, it had not taken a position in the fight.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs announced the changed position today, Reuters reports.

Don’t Miss: How Google Ended Up At War With China

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See Also:

• Inside Eric Schmidt And Sergey Brin’s "Heated Debate" Over China
• How Google Ended Up At War With China
• China Responds To Google: Go To Hell

from infoshop, 13 January 2010: “Today marks the fourth year of Eric’s incarceration. These are not the kind of milestones we would like to be writing about to you. While other people have been celebrating the New Year, we have been incredibly conscious of the passage of time in an entirely different way. For four years, New Years has served as a reminder to us – as it probably does to millions of others – of how long we have been separated from our loved one… more

Even as some investors questioned whether market expectations had run too far, junk (high yield) bonds rallied from December 1, 2009 through mid-January 2010. This followed an already stellar rally from March 2009 lows.

Over the same recent period, gold was beaten on a relative basis, as shown below using the iShares Corporate High Yield Bond ETF (HYG) and the SPDR Gold ETF (GLD) as proxies.

HYG (in blue) is up over the period, while GLD (in red) has fallen, despite the fact that both junk bonds and gold benefit from a continuation of the federal reserve’s ultra-low interest rates. Note the chart doesn’t even show any yield accumulated for bonds, which would enhance the comparison.

So are investors absolutely crazy to be buying up junk bonds? Maybe, but here’s at least one rationale for doing so.

Economic recovery favors high yield bonds since default becomes less likely for companies, while it disfavors gold since the fear trade unwinds. Both benefit from continued low interest rates (as long as it doesn’t trigger hyper inflation for bonds).

Thus high yield bonds bet on economic recovery AND a continuation of ultra-low interest rates — which basically means high yield bonds bet on a weak economic recovery. In comparison, gold bets on a double-dip recession/crisis.

Thus junk bond demand could be explained as the ‘lame recovery trade’.

Given that a weak U.S. recovery looks more likely than an outright economic collapse these days, some investors are probably content to collect high yields while they watch America’s stimulus-supported lame recovery grind forward. This is because during a weak recovery, stocks and gold could feasibly stay range-bound and go nowhere.

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See Also:

• JPMorgan: Absolutely Nothing Is Getting In The Way Of The Ongoing Recovery Trade
• Morgan Stanley: America Will Crush Europe And Japan In Race For Recovery
• CHART OF THE DAY: A Jobless Recovery? Not For The Financial World

At the 2009 SEMA show, General Motors unveiled 5 special-edition 2010 Camaro vehicles. Today, the automaker announced that the Camaro Synergy Special Edition model will be going on sale and will be built in limited quantities from February to May.

Based on the Camaro 1LT, the 2010 Camaro Synergy Special Edition is powered by a 3.6L V6 engine making 304-hp and a peak torque of 273 lb-ft. Buyers will have the option to choose from a 6-speed manual or a 6-speed automatic.

The production Camaro Synergy will feature a Synergy Green exterior accented by Cyber Grey Rally Stripes. Other modifications include a standard rear spoiler, and standard 19 inch, Sterling Silver painted wheels wrapped with P245/50R19 tires. On the inside, the special-edition Camaro gets Synergy Green instrument panel and door inserts. Synergy Green stitching accents the Jet Black cloth seats, steering wheel, shift knob and center console.

Prices will start at $26,790.

Hit the jump for the press release.

2010 Chevrolet Camaro Synergy Special-Editon:

Press Release:

The New Green Machine: 2010 Camaro Synergy Special Edition

DETROIT – Hot and cool exterior colors are a part of Chevy Camaro history. Now the 2010 model is getting its own.

Chevrolet today debuts the Camaro Synergy Special Edition with pricing starting at $26,790. Synergy will be produced in limited quantities from February to May.

“Synergy Green continues a long tradition of dramatic Camaro colors,” says Camaro historian Scott Settlemire. “Some of the most sought-after Camaros are first generation cars – those from 1967 to 1969 – in Hugger Orange, Daytona Yellow, and Rallye Green.”

The 2010 Camaro Synergy Special Edition is based on a Camaro 1LT, with a 3.6L direct injection V-6, paired with either a six-speed manual or automatic transmission. The powertrain has become a benchmark for the segment by offering a combination of performance and efficiency: The V-6 delivers 304 horsepower and 273 lb.-ft. of torque, and returns up to 29 mpg on the highway.

The Synergy Green exterior color was first previewed at the 2009 Specialty Equipment Manufacturers (SEMA) show. In production form, the Synergy Green is accented by Cyber Grey Rally Stripes running the length of the Camaro hood and rear deck. Other exterior features include a standard rear spoiler, and standard 19 inch, Sterling Silver painted wheels wrapped with P245/50R19 tires.

The color scheme is mirrored on the interior, with Synergy Green instrument panel and door inserts. Synergy Green stitching also accents the Jet Black cloth seats, steering wheel, shift knob and center console.

“Just as those colors helped make the first generation Camaro an icon, modern colors like Inferno Orange, Rallye Yellow Transformers Edition and Synergy Green will define the 2010 Camaro,” Settlemire said.

The Special Edition also includes the Camaro Convenience and Connectivity Package, with Bluetooth phone connectivity, USB port for MP3 players, and remote vehicle start for models equipped with an automatic transmission.

“The Synergy Special Edition package is designed for customers who want a unique performance car at an attainable price,” says Camaro marketing manager John Fitzpatrick. “For under $27,000, Camaro Synergy Special Edition offers standout styling, modern technologies like Bluetooth, and 304 horsepower under the hood.”

– By: Kap Shah

from london-imc, 13 January 2010: “The Earth First! Winter moot is an opportunity for people who feel affiliation with the ideas behind Earth First! to network, discuss and reflect on the UK ecological direct action movement and to plan for the future. Earth First! is about direct action to halt the destruction of the Earth. We believe we can make a real difference by doing it ourselves rather than relying on leaders, governments or industry. This years Earth First! Winter Moot will be taking place in Co. Durham on the weekend of 6/7th February 2010…” more

US software retail sales declined by just over one percent for the 2009 holiday season, but still totaled about $278 million, according to market research firm NPD Group. Nevertheless, Microsoft had good reason to be happy: Windows 7 and Office 2007 managed to sell extremely well. Although there was a drop in software sales, it was a minor one compared to the 2008 holiday season, when the recession caused software sales to drop 13 percent year over year. The data comes from NPD’s weekly numbers derived from a subset panel of retailers and is limited to the November 22, 2009 to December 26, 2009 timeframe in order to only consider five weeks of holiday sales.

NPD notes that the OS category showed the strongest improvement during the holiday season, thanks to Windows 7; revenue jumped from $10 million in 2008 to $29 million in 2009. Business software, which posted flat year-over-year holiday sales, was the highest revenue-grossing retail software category, with sales of over $77 million. Microsoft Office falls into that group, and the 3-license Office 2007 Home & Student pack was first in the “Best-Selling Non-Games Software” category. “Aggressive pricing on Office 2007 and continued strong sales of boxed versions of Windows 7 added a big kick to retail software sales during the holiday,” said Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis at NPD.

At CES 2010 last week, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer made sure to underline Windows 7’s success. “Windows 7 is a rising tide that has helped lift all boats in our business,” Ballmer told the audience before citing NPD data claiming that sales of PCs jumped 50 percent on Black Friday, and of course he credits Windows 7 with that increase. This made Windows 7 “the best-selling OS in history,” according to Ballmer.

NPD said that areas which showed growth were those that invested highly in promotional activity. Microsoft, for example, offered preorder deals and student discounts for Windows 7, and promoted the operating system heavily. Office 2007 Home & Student has been a major hit since its release and didn’t really need much promotion, though many retailers made sure its price tag was clearly visible to bargain hunters. Still, weak results in the key utilities category, along with ongoing weakness in PC games sales, were enough for overall software sales to be down from the previous year.

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I don’t know about you, but General Larry Platt’s breakout hit “Pants On The Ground” is going to be my new ringtone! How can you not love a song that features the line “Lookin’ like a fool?!” Simon was onto something when he predicted that this song could be a hit. Now if an established artist can make this track into a smash, maybe some of these noodle noggins will actually pull up their trousers so we won’t have to look at their dingy underwear on the train…..

Check out some of the “Pants On The Ground” remixes and covers that are popping up on YouTube!

Though he exceeded the age limit to win a Golden Ticket to Hollywood, things are looking up for General Platt. This Facebook fan page created in his honor boast over 69,000 fans!