The world’s biggest airbag and seat belt manufacturer, Swedish company Autoliv, has decided to shut down four of its foreign factories in France, Germany, Mexico and Tunisia. As a result, 820 company employees will lose their jobs.
The company was forced to adopt this measure as part of a cost-cutting plan developed to deal with the seriously decreased orders that resulted from the general decrease of the automotive market.
The seat belt assembling plant in Tunisia … (read more)
GINEBRA, EFE
El Foro Humanitario Global se apenó por el fracaso de los gobiernos reunidos en Copenhague en alcanzar un acuerdo contra el cambio climático.
“Este resultado representa una oportunidad perdida para terminar con esta crisis de manera definitiva, además varios países pequeños se sintieron marginados en el proceso”, dijo esta organización no gubernamental (ONG) presidida por el ex secretario general de la ONU, Kofi Annan.
Logros
No obstante, la organización reconoció que “el hecho de que grandes economías como Brasil, China e India pactaran el ‘Acuerdo de Copenhague’ con Estados Unidos, con el que en principio tenían puntos de vista diferentes, supone un avance significativo”.
Por ello, el Foro considera que, aunque aún queda mucho trabajo por hacer para alcanzar el tipo de acuerdo internacional que el mundo necesita, la cumbre “representa un importante paso adelante en el esfuerzo de la humanidad para luchar contra el cambio climático”.
“En Copenhague el mundo se comprometió con este tema por primera vez”, afirmó.
Japanese carmaker Toyota, one of the most battered (on several fronts) carmakers of 2009 is reportedly considering two options for its Australian Altona engine plant: either retool it and get it ready to receive production of the new-generation engine of the 2012 Camry, or shut it down and send all 300 workers home.
According to GoAuto, the management of the plant is trying its best to convince the upper management of the company to invest for the retooling.
I unde… (read more)
This past summer I had talked about a hydrogen yacht sailing around the Mediterranean Sea and just yesterday I had talked about how the first hydrogen transport vehicle was not a boat. So, today, of course I’d like to talk about a new hydrogen yacht on the scene.
Pharos Marine, based out of Egypt, has in fact, unveiled the Orcageno hydrogen diesel hybrid super-yacht. The Orcageno is 197 feet long is has been built to cut through the water with minimal friction and have minimal impact on marine life as well.
In regard to hydrogen safety, “High safety standards are applied for hydrogen tanks to provide reliable operation conditions during loading and consumption of hydrogen fuel. The tanks are well isolated and fabricated from stress resistant material connected to each other by means of pipes and valves with sensors to indicate any leakage of hydrogen gas with a reliable shut down emergency system to ensure safety at all times.”
The hydrogen-diesel system is dual fuel and either can be used with the flip of a switch inside the vessel’s internal combustion engine, which in turn drives the Pharos Marine Orcageno’s generator. The generator then powers the Azipod electrical propulsion system.
Of course, being a yacht the Orcageno is not only environmentally friendly but also a luxury vehicle as well. It features a spa, health center, swimming pool and dining room so that guests can relax and enjoy the sunrises and sunsets aboard this eco-vessel.
Yesterday’s gold slip has today been made definitive. Gold $1,100 has been smashed, we’re now near $1,085.
It’s quite a conundrum for investors looking to use gold as a hedge. U.S. GDP was just reported lower than expected, which means the fed’s punch bowl is more likely to stay around. Yet gold is falling. Buy on dips?
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BRUSELAS, EFE
Los ministros europeos de Medio Ambiente se reúnen hoy tras el fracaso de la Cumbre sobre cambio climático de Copenhague para analizar lo ocurrido y estudiar cómo reconducir las negociaciones el año que viene, bajo las presidencias rotativas de la Unión Europea (UE) de España y Bélgica.
“Nadie sabe qué hacer”, reconoció una fuente diplomática que también aseguró que la UE “fue dejada de lado” por Estados Unidos, China, India, Sudáfrica y Brasil, que llegaron a un acuerdo de mínimos por su cuenta sin respetar el sistema tradicional de negociación de Naciones Unidas.
Europa marginado
Después de Copenhague, las dos únicas citas previstas hasta el momento son la reunión de la ONU de México en noviembre de 2010 y otro encuentro a escala técnica también en el seno de Naciones Unidas que se celebrará en Bonn (Alemania) el próximo mes de junio, con España aún al frente de la UE.
Los europeos no han tenido aún tiempo material de reaccionar, pero ya tienen claro que se han equivocado en su planteamiento y que deben calibrar de nuevo su posición para evitar que ocurra lo mismo en México.
El afán de liderazgo de la UE que anunció con un año de antelación un compromiso unilateral de reducción de emisiones del 20% para 2020 pudo ser el factor que dejó directamente fuera de la mesa a los europeos, interpretaron estas fuentes.
Expertos comunitarios indicaron, por otro lado, que la UE mantendrá su compromiso de reducción del 20%, pero no llegará al 30% que había prometido si otros actores internacionales hacían un esfuerzo equivalente.
En lo económico
El máximo logro conseguido en la capital danesa fue el acuerdo para crear un fondo de financiación anticipada (2010-2012) de 30 mil millones de dólares para ayudar a países en desarrollo a combatir el calentamiento global y otro que tendrá que haber llegado a los 100 mil millones de dólares anuales en 2020.
No obstante, el texto final sólo señala que esta financiación provendrá de fuentes privadas y públicas sin especificar cuánto aportará cada país.
Fuente Bibliográfica
Online identity is one of the biggest themes on the web today and a number of providers, most notably Facebook and Google, are battling it out to become the most powerful player in the field. On the other hand, there is a great tendency towards integration and interoperability between various web services. One increasingly popular way of enabling this is OAuth, a protocol which allows sites to share private data in a secure manner. The next generation OAuth WRAP specification is getting fleshed out and this time around it gets the full support of Facebook which has now introduced an experimental implementation on FriendFeed, which it acquired last summer.
“While Facebook Connect and our APIs do not use OAuth today, we’ve been working over the past month to share what we’ve learned with the broader community and shape both the new OAuth WRAP specification and OAuth’s IETF standardization effort,” Facebook’s David Recordon writes.
This move is interesting from two perspectives. For one, it makes a definite commitment from Facebook to the standard. The social network has had great success with Connect which serves a very similar purpose to OAuth’s albeit with a more limited scope as it is restricted to Facebook data, but it plans to support the open standard as it moves on. The … (read more)
drhawass.com (Zahi Hawass)
I am pleased that the five paintings from the tomb of Tetiky have been returned to Egypt from the Louvre Museum.It was very interesting that when our President Hosni Mubarak visited Paris last week, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France placed one of the paintings in the hall for President Mubarak when he arrived, so that he could symbolically receive it. This gesture shows that France is willing to return stolen artefacts to Egypt.
I sent four crates from the Cairo Museum with Sayed Hassan, the assistant director of the Museum to receive the artefacts. They were well protected and travelled back to Egypt on EgyptAir to Cairo. Representatives of the SCA met them at the airport and transported them to the Cairo Museum, where they are now.
We are now looking into the possibility of replacing the five paintings in the tomb, TT 15. I think it would be very difficult to put them back in the tomb, because it was severely damaged when thieves stole the artefacts. I believe returning these artefacts to Egypt is a good example to show that any museum that buys stolen artefacts will have an immediate reaction against them. However, because of the return of these artefacts, the Louvre expedition at Saqqara will be allowed to resume.
App stores are all the rage these days. From carriers to handset makers, it seems like everyone is getting in on them. It should come as no surprise then that General Mobile has decided to throw their hat in the ring. Our contact at General Mobile has passed along some screen shots that show their forthcoming “Storeoid” app store. It’s expected that this will be loaded on all future General Mobile handsets going forward. (more…)
Filed under: Car Buying, Saab
When General Motors announced it was sending Saab to that great Viking longboat in the sky, AutoTrader.com dug through its search database to see where bereft Saab customers would turn to for consolation. This will be a surprise to almost no one, but other European marques top the list of substitutes.
BMW was the most cross-shopped vehicle among people at AutoTrader’s site looking for Saabs, with Audi a very close second, beating Volvo and Volkswagen for the next spots. The only mild surprise is that Toyota took the number five slot, ahead of two other Japanese brands, and Mercedes-Benz in eighth You can read the press release after the jump for the complete ranking of Saab alternatives. In case you were wondering, Spyker didn’t make list…
[Source: AutoTrader.com]
Continue reading If Saab dies, who stands to benefit? AutoTrader thinks it’s BMW and Audi
If Saab dies, who stands to benefit? AutoTrader thinks it’s BMW and Audi originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 22 Dec 2009 10:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Verizon… wow! Palm’s earnings… owww!
This was a week with much anticipation. RIMM was the star of Thursday’s earning reports. Palm brought up the rear and the stock got pounded the day after. On the positive side, there was buzz about an expansion of carriers (i.e. Verizon) and CES announcement(s). So let’s talk Pre and Pixi!
According to notes from Dieter, during the investor conference call, CEO Jon Rubinstein confirmed that webOS 1.3.5 is coming soon and will have a bevy of improvements, including:
Asharq Alawsat (Zahi Hawass)
I recently travelled to London to give a lecture at the British Museum on my archaeological discoveries, and to host a book-signing event for my book ‘A Secret Voyage’ that has finally been published in English. This book deals with the experiences of my career [as an archaeologist] from my view on the beauty of the Pharaonic civilization, to [discussing] the Pharaonic view on love, religion, daily life, and festivals, and also includes stories about my latest discoveries in the Valley of the Kings.This visit came a long time after my last visit to the British capital, and I told journalists and reporters from various media organizations that I had come to London to demand the return of the Rosetta Stone that is housed by the British Museum. The Rosetta Stone was part of an agreement concluded by the French with the British following the Battle of the Nile [also known as the Battle of Aboukir Bay]. The French fleet was defeated in this battle, forcing it to leave Egypt, which then fell under British influence.
One of the conditions of this treaty was the French surrendering all antiquities in their possession to the English, including the Rosetta Stone, which held the key to the secrets of the ancient Pharaonic civilization. The secrets of the hieroglyphics were later discovered by French scholar [Jean-François] Champollion, even though the Rosetta Stone itself was on display at the British Museum.
In truth, I had no desire to wade into this battle, but I told the media that Egypt is demanding the return of six individual antiquities, and that the real home of these artefacts is their native Egypt. These six antiquities are; the bust of Queen Nefertiti in Berlin’s Neues Museum, the Rosetta Stone at the British Museum, the Dendera Zodiac at the Louvre in Paris, the statue of Great Pyramid architect Hemiun in Hildesheim’s Pelizaeus Museum, the bust of Prince Ankhhaf in Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, and the statue of King Ramses II in the Turin Museum.
See the above page for details.
Well, here’s an interesting lawsuit. Apparently, Rolling Stone magazine decided it wanted to try selling t-shirts of some of its covers. Considering the market for t-shirts, that might not be a bad idea (especially when compared to the market for magazines these days). Obviously, the magazine and its publisher Wenner Media own the copyright on their own covers, so there shouldn’t be any problem, right? Not so fast. Since the covers usually include musicians, and those musicians have vast merchandising businesses themselves, some of the companies who handle the merchandising for some top artists have sued, claiming that they have exclusive licensing deals to sell products with those musicians. Rolling Stone is arguing both that it has a First Amendment right to do this, and a fair use defense to any intellectual property claim. I’m reminded of a recent case involving magazine covers, where the use of those magazine covers in a book (by someone else) was deemed fair use, though the details are obviously quite different. Still, it probably won’t surprise many people that I tend to think Rolling Stone should prevail here. The key aspect of what they’re selling is that the designs are Rolling Stone covers — not specifically which band is on the cover.
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Egypt has firmly continued to reiterate that the bust of Nefertiti was taken out of the country illegally, and has officially requested that it be returned, according to the head of the High Council for Antiquities, Zahi Hawass, after a meeting in Cairo with Friederike Seyfried, director of the Egyptian Museum within the Berlin’s New Museum. The bust, which dates back to about 3,400 years ago, was discovered in 1912 in southern Egypt by the German archaeologist Ludwig Borchardt, and Egypt has been asking for its restitution since the 1930s. According Hawass, the German archaeologist managed to bring the statue to Germany by claiming that it was a plaster bust and not the one in limestone of the queen. He said that ”this confirms that the statue left Egypt in a non-ethical manner, and that Germany used deception and fraud in that period.” Berlin instead claims that the purchase was legal, and the museum’s director has presented a document which allegedly provides proof.
Egypt has not made a formal request for Germany to return the bust of Queen Nefertiti, the director Berlin’s Egyptian Museum said on Monday, defending the museum’s right to the famous artefact. Museum director Friederike Seyfried said the 3,500-year-old limestone sculpture was not the subject of a Sunday meeting in Cairo with Egypt’s antiquities chief, Zahi Hawass.Hawass was quoted by Egyptian media Monday as saying “the Nefertiti bust was smuggled out of Egypt by a German archaeologist, through deception and obfuscation,” adding that he would use official channels to demand its return.
In response to the reports, Seyfried stated that documents seen by Hawass, detailing the 1912 excavation during which the Nefertiti bust was discovered, clearly demonstrated that Nefertiti was rightfully in Berlin.
“The German position is clear and unequivocal. The acquisition of the bust by the Prussian state was lawful,” Seyfried said.
The discussion in Cairo, she added, had revolved around future cooperation, including shared exhibitions and an exchange programme for conservators.
drhawass.com (Zahi Hawass)
A meeting was held today at the offices of the Supreme Council of Antiquities between Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the SCA, and Dr. Friederike Seyfried, Director of the Aegyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung in Berlin, to discuss the Bust of Nefertiti.Dr. Seyfried presented Dr. Hawass with copies of all of the key documentation held by the Berlin Museum concerning this iconic piece. This includes the protocol of January 20, 1913, written by Gustave Lefevre, the official who signed the division of finds on behalf of the Egyptian Antiquities Service, as well as excerpts from the diary of Ludwig Borchardt, the excavator of the piece. These materials confirm Egypt’s contention that Borchardt did act unethically, with intent to deceive: the limestone head of the queen is listed on the protocol as a painted plaster bust of a princess. Borchardt knew, as his diary shows, that this was the queen herself; he also knew that the head was of limestone covered with plaster and painted, not simply of plaster, as this was clearly visible through inspection of the piece itself. It seems that there was an agreement between Borchardt and Lefevre that all the plaster pieces (which included an important group of plaster masks of the royal family at Amarna) would go to Berlin, and this appears to have been one way that Borchardt misled Lefevre to ensure that the bust would also go to Berlin.
As director of the Berlin Musem, Dr. Seyfried does not have the authority to approve the return of the head to Egypt, but will act as liaison between Dr. Hawass and the relevant German officials, Dr. Hermann Parzinger, President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, and Dr. Bernd Neumann, Minister of State for Culture.
Based on the information currently in the possession of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Dr. Hawass will call a meeting of the National Committee for the Return of Stolen Artifacts this week, which will then make a formal request for the return of the Bust of Nefertiti.
New York Times (Julie Bloom)
Egypt has found new evidence to support its demand for the return of Queen Nefertiti’s bust, right, from Berlin, Bloomberg News reported. According to the Supreme Council of Antiquities in Cairo the diary of the archaeologist who discovered the 3,500-year-old bust shows that he misled authorities when it was transferred abroad. In an e-mail statement the council said the diary of Ludwig Borchardt, who found the bust in 1912, showed he knew the head was of Queen Nefertiti but instead reported it as a “painted plaster bust of a princess.” The statement said, “These materials confirm Egypt’s contention that Borchardt did act unethically with the intent to deceive.”
Existing home were sales up strong again in November, as buyers squeezed in before the original tax credit expired.
Even the NAR is already dampening expectations for December and early next year, however. And mortgage rates have begun to rise.
(Graphic from Northern Trust does not include November numbers).
National Association of REALTORS:
Existing-home sales rose again in November as first-time buyers rushed to close sales before the original November 30 deadline for the recently extended and expanded tax credit, according to the National Association of Realtors®.
Existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – rose 7.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate1 of 6.54 million units in November from 6.09 million in October, and are 44.1 percent higher than the 4.54 million-unit pace in November 2008. Current sales remain at the highest level since February 2007 when they hit 6.55 million.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the rise was expected. “This clearly is a rush of first-time buyers not wanting to miss out on the tax credit, but there are many more potential buyers who can enter the market in the months ahead,” he said. “We expect a temporary sales drop while buying activity ramps up for another surge in the spring when buyers take advantage of the expanded tax credit, which hopefully will take us into a self-sustaining market in the second half of 2010. In all, 4.4 million households are expected to claim the tax credit before it expires and balance should be restored to the housing sector with inventories continuing to decline.”
An NAR practitioner survey2 shows first-time buyers purchased 51 percent of homes in November, compared with an upwardly revised 50 percent of transactions in October.
According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage fell to 4.88 percent in November from 4.95 percent in October; the rate was 6.09 percent in November 2008. Last month’s mortgage interest rate was the second lowest on record after bottoming at 4.81 percent in April 2009.
NAR President Vicki Cox Golder, owner of Vicki L. Cox & Associates in Tucson, Ariz., said conditions are optimal for buyers in the current market. “Inventories have steadily declined and are closer to balanced levels, which indicate home prices in many areas are either stabilizing or could soon stabilize and return to normal appreciation patterns,” she said. “This means buyers still have good choices but are purchasing near the bottom of the price cycle with historically low mortgage interest rates. Throw a tax credit on top and it really doesn’t get any better for buyers with secure jobs and long-term ownership plans.”
Total housing inventory at the end of November declined 1.3 percent to 3.52 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 6.5-month supply3 at the current sales pace, down from an 7.0-month supply in October.
Raw unsold inventory figures are 15.5 percent below a year ago. The last time there was a lower supply of homes on the market was April 2006 when it was at a 6.1-month supply.
“Nearly all markets experienced a solid sales gain from one year ago,” Yun said. “The only markets with measurably lower sales were in San Diego, Riverside, and Sacramento, where inventory shortages for lower priced homes are limiting sales.”
For the second month in a row, sales have risen in all price classes from a year earlier. Prior to October, the only consistent gains were in the lower price ranges.
The national median existing-home price4 for all housing types was $172,600 in November, which is 4.3 percent below November 2008. Distressed properties, which accounted for 33 percent of sales in November, continue to downwardly distort the median price because they generally sell at a discount relative to traditional homes in the same area.
Single-family home sales jumped 8.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.77 million in November from a level of 5.32 million in October, and are 42.1 percent above the pace of 4.06 million in November 2008. The median existing single-family home price was $171,900 in November, down 4.4 percent from a year ago.
Existing condominium and co-op sales in November were unchanged from a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 770,000 in October, but are 60.1 percent above the 481,000-unit pace a year ago. The median existing condo price5 was $178,000 in November, which is 3.1 percent below November 2008.
Regionally, existing-home sales in the Northeast rose 6.6 percent to an annual level of 1.13 million in November, and are 52.7 percent higher than November 2008. The median price in the Northeast was $223,400, down 13.1 percent from a year ago.
Existing-home sales in the Midwest increased 8.4 percent in November to a pace of 1.55 million and are 53.5 percent above a year ago. The median price in the Midwest was $140,800, a decline of 0.4 percent from November 2008.
In the South, existing-home sales rose 4.8 percent to an annual level of 2.39 million in November and are 44.8 percent higher than a year ago. The median price in the South was $151,400, down 1.4 percent from November 2008.
Existing-home sales in the West increased 10.6 percent to an annual rate of 1.46 million in November and are 28.1 percent above November 2008. The median price in the West was $231,100, which is 4.1 percent below a year ago.
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Today's downward revision is far worse than it first appears. While third quarter GDP was revised down by a 0.6% (2.2% vs. 2.8% previously), the contribution from motor vehicle output (which was massively stimulated by Cash for Clunkers in a one-off fashion) remains enormous.
BEA GDP Release: Motor vehicle output added 1.45 percentage points to the third-quarter change in real GDP after adding 0.19 percentage point to the second-quarter change.
What this means is that Cash for Clunkers was an even larger factor than previously understood. As it stands, by a basic calculation without motor vehicle output, third quarter GDP would have been only 0.75%. That's barely growing.
Now obviously there might have been some degree of GDP contribution from motor vehicle output even if Cash for Clunkers hadn't happened. Yet it would have been far less than 1.45%, look at Q2's contribution noted above, it was only 0.2%.
Also, the contribution could have actually been negative (subtracting from GDP growth) if motor vehicle output had contracted without stimulus. (Which isn't a wild scenario given the state of things for U.S. autos). And actually, in Q3 of 2008, the same year-ago period, motor vehicle output subtracted 0.15% from GDP growth according to the BEA. This means we could even be underestimating the boost from Cash for Clunkers here.
Thus no matter how you slice it precisely, a huge part of Q3 GDP came from inflated motor vehicle output, and a simple estimate is that GDP growth would have been only 0.75% sans Clunkers.
Thus third quarter GDP growth was mostly Cash for Clunkers.
Which means that from a political stand point, the administration must be pretty happy with the program. Economic data would be looking a lot worse without it.
Problem is, Cash for Clunkers was a one-off effect, and arguably economically-damaging in the long-term. Going forward, there's risk that U.S. GDP could be weaker than economists expect if their forecasts are running off of Q3's inflated 2.2% GDP statistic (Or worse, the previous 2.8% Q3 estimate).
Want to check our numbers? It's all from the BEA data here.
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The Resident Evil 5: Alternative Edition DLC packs are still a couple of months away, but if you’ve been wondering what trophies you’re going to have to work for, here’s a list.
Thanks to liight for the tip!
NEWARK, UK. (October 06, 2009) – Terex AWP introduces the new Genie® QuickStock™ (QS) lift which is designed to make inventory picking faster, easier and safer than rolling stairs or manually propelled lifts. An expansion of the versatile and popular Genie® Runabout™ product line, the QuickStock™ lift is both compact and easy to manoeuvre. It is available in all three Runabout™ model heights (3.48 m, 4.47 m, and 6.07 m) and comes in two different versions: Retail (R) or Warehouse (W).
“With its driveable picking platform, the QuickStock™ lift is ideal for locations where the use of high-density racking systems is common,” said Kim Williams, Senior Market Analyst, Terex Aerial Work Platforms (AWP). “The QuickStock™ offers a quick, effective and safe way of picking and placing stock versus other types of equipment.”
QuickStock™ Lift Retail Version
With a footprint of just 1.35 m (53 in) by .75 m (29.5 in) and a zero inside turning radius, the QuickStock™ lift is made to easily manoeuvre through tight aisle ways as well as navigate high-density shelving common in warehouse locations. A capacity up to 227 kg (500 lbs) , or 159 kg (350 lbs) for the QS™ 20, facilitates picking and placing large boxes, bicycles and other irregular objects from high stocking locations. The units include optional dual bicycle hooks and a standard large front workstation tray. The unit’s joystick is positioned up front providing the operator with excellent visibility.
Enclosed wiring, maintenance free batteries and an industrially-proven design provide low machine maintenance. Light machine weight, non-marking tyres, and quick battery charging allows for quick use of the QuickStock™ lift on most surfaces and applications. A 1.8 m (6 ft) charger cord allows the battery to be charged without the need for a separate extension cord.
Dual platform swing-gates provide the operator with easy access no matter which direction the unit is facing while parked next to shelving. A step-in height of just .39 m (15.5 in) and easy to use proportional controls make machine operation quick, easy and efficient.
The Genie® QuickStock™ lift Retail version offers standard features customised for front of the house applications. Dual flashing beacons notify surrounding people that the unit is in operation. Additionally, an obstruction sensing pad located on top of the chassis senses when an object is on the unit, causing the platform to automatically stop descending.
Very attractive power-weight ratio, Very compact and light, easily transportable.
Penetration tests (DPSH and SPT) with integrated blow counting.
Undisturbed samplings thanks to a sampler tube
with an inner clear plastic liner. Possibility of sampling with auger or pressuremeter test at shallow depths (rotation head in option).
General information
Mechanically welded steel skid mounted
Emergency stops on the control panel
Electrical remote control
Filed under: Government/Legal, Recalls, Safety
Vehicles manufactured by Volvo are the subject of two different recalls newly announced by the National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA). The recalls, both involving problems with fuel systems, cover more than 140,000 vehicles manufactured within the past decade.
The first recall is directed at 136,100 2001-2005 model year S60, S80, V70, XC70, and XC90 vehicles sold and operated in warmer climates. According to NHTSA, the fuel pump can develop cracks in its flange when exposed to hot temperatures (and thermal cycling) combined with varying fuel quality. A compromised flange may leak fuel and/or result in a fire. Owners are instructed to bring their vehicles into the dealer for inspection. If the part is defective, Volvo will replaced it with modified flange at no charge. The recall campaign is scheduled to begin in January 2010.
The second recall is directed at 5,253 2010 model year XC60 vehicles. According to NHTSA, a fuel line rail cover designed to protect the fuel lines on the XC60 may be improperly attached, thus exposing the lines to damage. The damaged pieces may leak, possibly resulting in a fire. Owners of the affected models are asked to bring their vehicles to the dealer for inspection and/or a repair at no charge. The recall campaign is scheduled to begin in January 2010.
Owners are asked to contact NHTSA at 1-888-327-4236 or visit www.safercar.gov for more information. The full text from both recall notices is after the jump.
Gallery: 2010 Volvo XC60
[Source: NHTSA]
Continue reading Volvo recalls over 140K 2001-2005 and 2010 MY vehicles over fuel system issues
Volvo recalls over 140K 2001-2005 and 2010 MY vehicles over fuel system issues originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 22 Dec 2009 09:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
