Author: Serkadis

Filed under: Coupe, Kia, Rumormill

As General Motors’ Saturn brand ushers its owners toward orphan-make status, at least one company is swooping in to pick at the bones of its carcass. Kia has been doing well lately, unlike nearly everyone else, its sales actually grew this year. The brand has been adding dealers by picking up ex-Saturn stores and looks to continue building market share in the East, as well as in selected large cities on the West Coast. Kia’s VP of sales, Tom Loveless tells Automotive News there has been no concerted plan to go after Saturn dealers, they just happen to be in the markets Kia wants to expand into, and that some ex-Hummer and Chrysler dealers have joined, as well.

More interesting than tales of dealer signage changes is what may be coming product-wise. The Soul and Forte have been getting attention, and more new stuff is on the way as the 2011 Sorento drops in January. The Optima and Sportage both get the re-do treatment for 2011, and a hybrid lands in 2012. To counter the geek-chic of battery power, word is the sharp-looking Forte Koup might get an iron lung hung off its engine, making it the brand’s first turbocharged car. Loveless seems open to the idea, calling it “a natural extension, if it makes financial sense.” Word.

[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req.]

REPORT: Kia Forte Koup may get brand’s first-ever turbo originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 15 Dec 2009 10:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AGME has recently designed and manufactured a special purpose machine for greasing seat tracks. With this customized machine the upper and lower tracks are greased using a spraying system.

The accuracy and precision in locating the exact surface or points to grease, as well as the right grease amount apraying and the cleannes of the operation, are some of the multiple advantages of automating the greasing operations with a spraying system.

This special machine perform the following operations:

1.- Automatic greasing of each lower track with 4 grease lines
2.- Automatic greasing of the teeth of the upper track rastplattes using Walther system.
3.- Greasing of the upper track released axis

For each greasing operation there are:

– Walther spraying valves with their nozzles, air pressure regulation, etc.
– One controlled servomotor unit for the valves controlled movement.
– One centering elevator

All the greasing valves are fed from the same Walther grease pump system. There are two pumps included in order to avoid production stops when substituting the grease barrels.

With this AGME greasing special machine all the seat track required greasing operations are automated in a very efficient way.

A major UK food manufacturer recently prevented a catastrophe from occurring.

They needed to complete a repair of their 6” stainless steel pipe, but were unable to use a conventional mechanical pipe purge system.

Because the repair was in a section without an entry or exit point, there would have been no way to extract the purging system after completion of the weld.

Due to the nature of the business, it was critical that the pipe was completely free from residue that could potentially contaminate any food produce.

When the situation was presented to Huntingdon Fusion Techniques Limited (HFT), world leaders in the manufacture and supply of weld purge equipment, they were able to suggest an immediate solution.

HFT’s Argweld® ‘Water-soluble Purge Film’, was recommended, the weld completed and the pipe fully operational, with a minimum of fuss.

The Purge film is available in a kit that comprises a 20 metre length of 1 metre wide film, folded in half and rolled on a 500 mm long spool.

Inside the spool are two bottles of adhesive and a special tool for cutting out the water soluble dams.

Once glued inside a pipe, the water soluble film dam makes an impenetrable barrier, but can then be easily washed away when hydrostatically testing or washing out the pipe.

Not only does it fully dissolve upon contact with water, the film and adhesive are completely biodegradable and all packing recyclable.

More product information is available from the company.

The CAM-PT10 is the latest quick release fastener exclusively designed and manufactured by Camloc. Its quick and easy open and close mechanism lends itself to applications where easy access is required through removal and re-attachment of panels, covers or other components.

Benefits:
Grip range up to 7.5 times wider than similar products
– Accommodates a wide variation of joint thicknesses
– Compensates for material/plating tolerance variation
Requires a ¼ turn to open and a push to close.
Wing head & combi-slot heads enable use by hand or tool.
All components are easy to install with no tooling required.

The range of quick release fasteners, draw latches & solid inserts from Camloc brings together 70 years worth of experience, traditional engineering skill and innovation.

Our comprehensive range of quick release fasteners, draw latches and solid inserts have for decades been providing customers with effective, reliable and creative solutions for applications in electronics, industrial, transportation, aerospace and defence markets.

Our dedicated engineering team can adapt existing products or develop customised quick release fastener and industrial latch solutions to meet diverse and constantly changing industrial demands.

Do you face one of the following problems?

– Assembly work is not a key to your business;
– You would like to reduce your supplier base;
– You would also like to reduce your inventory holding;
– You do not want to take on more staff;
– You definitely have not the skills, resources and infrastructurre to take care of the cost reduction activity, logistics and manufacture.

At TEC AUTOMATISMES, we have been designing, industrializing, manufacturing and assembling electromechanical and electronic products for over forty years.

WE THUS CAN HELP YOU !

Moreover, working with TEC AUTOMATISMES also includes :

– ISO 9001 accreditation;
– Reliable manufacturing facility;
– Logistics capability;
– Flexible response;

Do not hesitate to let us know if we can help you reduce your fixed cost and assemble for you electromechanical products, electronic devices or electric cabinets and boxes.

Nintendo was spotted filing another trademark recently, and the new name does invite a little more curiosity than the usual filing. That name is “Zii” and its reminiscence of the current Nintendo console makes things interesting. Care

 

As employment picks up over the decade, America will begin to look like a very different country.

Industries like manufacturing are vanishing. But the senior care sector is booming.

Last week the Bureau of Labor Statistics published an interesting study about job trends and predictions.

Among the things it looked at: the American industries that will see the biggest employment growth from 2008-2018.

Take a look at your next job>>

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• 10 American Industries That Will Be Destroyed In The Next Decade
• Now See The REAL State Of The US Banking Industry
• Here's Why There Won't Be A V-Shaped Recovery In Jobs

Google Sidewiki has been out for a couple of months now and, while it hasn’t set the world on fire, it is proving rather popular given the expectations. The feature allows anyone in the world to leave a comment on any web page online which other visitors who are also using Sidewiki can read and rate. When it launched, it came bundled with the Google Toolbar which meant it was relegated to just Internet Explorer and Firefox. Now, Google Sidewiki has finally made it to Chrome thanks to a dedicated extension.

Seeing as this was one of the most requested features regarding Sidewiki, it’s nice to see that Google has finally got around to supporting the feature on its own browser. While the way it’s implemented is a little different than what Firefox or IE users may be used to, all the functionality is the same. As with most Chrome extensions, it ads a button to the toolbar which notifies users if there are any Sidewiki comments on the current page and how many, though only up to nine comments after which it just displays 9+.

In the toolbar version, there is a small sidebar visible on the left when there are comments available. After this though, the interface is very similar. The comments are listed based on their rating and users can scroll down the list to view more or write their own.

Sidewiki started out as a toolbar feature and is ver… (read more)

Week 6 of the basketball season saw the Lady Hawks drop a close contest with Waubonsee (51-48) and record a solid 64-37 victory over Daley College.

Against Waubonsee Peggie Parhas grabbed 11 rebounds and scored 23 points.

Ann Kirchoff tallied 14 rebounds and added 18 points in the game against Daley College. The Lady Hawks are now 7-5 overall, 7-4 in Region IV action.

When Namco Bandai announced that they were releasing a PS3 version of Tales of Vesperia, they threw in a bunch of additional content to sweeten the deal. Square Enix is also going down that route with Star

The December 14th Women’s Basketball Poll finds the Lady Hawks ranked second in the Division III rankings. Harper trails only Madison College.

Individual statistical rankings find the following Harper players receiving recognition:

• Top 10 Scorers: Peggie Parhas (#9) averaging 16.0 points per game.
• Free Throw %: Noreen Davis (#6) at 19 of 22 attempts for 86%
• Assists: Peggie Parhas (#2) 5.2 per game
• 3-Point %: Betsy Bailey (#1) with 100%, Jasmine Chew (#3) with 50% and Noreen Davis (#7) with 43.0%

Filed under: Motorsports

Open-wheel racing in America has been in shambles for far too long. But now that CART and the IndyCar Series are back together, with the joint Indy Racing League taking steps to unify the feeder series below them.

Grouped under the “Road to Indy” initiative, the coordination brings the US Formula 2000, Star Mazda and Indy Lights championships under one umbrella, giving aspiring drivers a clear ladder up which they can ascend with the aim of breaking into the top-tier IndyCar Series.

Although the Star Mazda and USF2000 series will continue with their own schedules while the Indy Lights series continues to support IndyCar racers, all four will come together during the month-long Indy 500 extravaganza at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as well as the events in St Petersburg and Iowa.

[Source: IRL]

IRL unifies feeder series under “Road to Indy” banner originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 15 Dec 2009 09:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Congratulations to Jesus Escareno of Harper College’s Men’s Cross Country team for earning All-American honors for the 2009 season.

In the NJCAA D-III Region IV championship meet, Jesus took first place in the individual standings and he came in second in the National meet with a time of 27:58. Jesus is now a two-time All-American and his teammates voted him MVP for the 2009 season.

We posted about the Sony Ericsson Xperia X2 delay a few weeks ago, and the company has finally come around to officially admitting it.

In a blog post on their Xperiancers blog they admit the device will be coming “in the first weeks of January”, blaming they delay on work in optimising battery life:

Hi All – Over the last couple of weeks there has been a few, OK more than a few rumours that the X2 is going to be delayed until January and I’m sure it will not come as a surprise when we say that these are well founded.

The software worked fine but when we started integrating it with some of the network specific apps it threw up a few issues which we’re working to fix.

It’s all minor tweaks really (extending the battery life and speeding up aspects of the software), but we want to be sure that when we ship this it is as good as it should be and that you don’t have to constantly upgrade the software as we iron out these wrinkles.

So… we’re launching first week of January. Really sorry if you were looking forward to getting hold of one before then but it will be worth it when we get there.

With devices such as the LG eXpo and HTC HD2 making the smartphone appear rapidly obsolete, one wonders if anyone will really be around left to care.

Via Engadget.com

The crisis is not just in Greece.

The new battle line may be Austria, whose banks have exposure to the sick men of Eastern Europe.

WSJ: Austria nationalized a key regional bank in a multibillion-euro bailout that offered a fresh reminder that Europe’s banks remain vulnerable to shocks, despite recent signs of economic stabilization.

Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank, personally intervened in the bailout talks over the weekend, urging swift action amid concerns that Hypo Group Alpe Adria’s problems could envelop other Austrian banks and its much larger parent, BayernLB — a linchpin in Germany’s troubled state-controlled Landesbank sector.

Mr. Trichet called both Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann and Horst Seehofer, governor of the German state of Bavaria, to ensure that Hypo was rescued, according to people familiar with the matter.

Read the whole thing >>

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Desperate Greece May Pull Argentina’s "Kitchen-Sink" Move To Break Out Of Its Death Loop
• Greek Finance Minister Comes Out Swinging, Hints At Similarities With US Debt Situation
• Gartman: The EU Exodus Is Coming

Quick rise breads are an easy addition to most any table, holiday or no. They are a great way to use up left over fruits and vegetables and more often than not, you’ll find yourself or a loved one sneaking into the kitchen for an extra piece. Make them super sensational with these tips and recipes!

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The latest NY Fed Empre Manufacturing survey adds fuel to the double-dip viewpoint.

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The Empire State Manufacturing Survey indicates that conditions for New York manufacturers leveled off in December, following four months of improvement. The general business conditions index fell 21 points, to 2.6. The indexes for new orders and shipments posted somewhat more moderate declines but also moved close to zero. Input prices picked up a bit, as the prices paid index rebounded to roughly its November level; however, the prices received index moved further into negative territory, suggesting that price increases are not being passed along. Current employment indexes slipped back into negative territory. Future indexes remained well above zero but signaled somewhat less widespread optimism than in recent months. Indexes for expected prices paid and received declined moderately but remained well above zero.

In a series of supplementary questions (see Supplemental Reports tab), manufacturers were asked about recent and expected changes in the prices paid for various categories of goods and services. Respondents predicted that prices paid for most budget categories would increase by 2 to 3 percentage points more in 2010 than in 2009. Prices paid overall were reported to have risen by 2.5 percent in 2009 and were expected to rise by 4.2 percent next year. The average respondent anticipated an increase of 2.1 percent in both wages and costs of outside services, 7.6 percent in employee benefit costs, and 3.5 percent in nonmedical insurance costs. In response to a separate question, the average respondent saw a roughly 7 percent chance that prices paid would decline by more than 2 percent; in last year’s survey, the probability of such a decline was pegged at 19 percent.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Wholesale Inflation Rises More Than Expected Led By Surge In Energy
• The Recovery Is Faltering
• Rosenberg: The Manufacturing Collapse Has Resumed

We’ve discussed numerous court cases where modern technology has caused significant procedural problems from “the old ways” of doing things. CitMediaLaw points us to a story that includes two more cases, both in Maryland. In one, lawyers are seeking a new trial because some of the jurors became Facebook “friends” during the trial. This follows on the news that Florida is forbidding judges from friending lawyers on social networking sites, but is it reasonable to prevent jurors from friending each other? For many Facebook users, “friending” people you meet is quite natural and something you do almost immediately upon meeting someone new. So it should be no surprise that some jurors would choose to quickly friend each other. It’s hard to see how that would make the results of the jury verdict suspect, however.

The second case involved jurors using Wikipedia to look up some terms. This is hardly a new concept. Some judges these days are specifically warning jurors not to use the internet to look up anything related to a case, but for a generation of folks who consider internet research to be an adjunct part of the thinking process, it’s not hard to recognize why many would ignore this, and not think they’re doing anything wrong (and they might have a good argument). The real question is whether or not there are reasonable ways to change the way the jury system works to allow for what many people consider perfectly natural: doing additional research on their own. For those who are comfortable with the old system, this may seem like a horrific idea (and yes, we all understand the reasons why the current system wants to limit things to just what’s said in the courtroom). However, at some point the system may need to recognize that an artificial constraint on learning about the details of the case may not actually be the best system.

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Mumbai, India – 15th December 2009 – Nirvana Technologies introduced backoffice software PLUS Glass Manager at the recently concluded Zak Glasstech ’09 exhibition at Mumbai. The software is slated for release in early 2010.

PLUS Glass Manager is an Order Processing and Inventory software for Glass Processors and Fabricators, which provides for:
– 1-Click Estimation – Material & Time
– 1-Click Quote
– 1-Click Material Balance

Other salient features:
Multiple price list
Regeneration of estimates with changes in parameters
Tracking of Offcuts
Links to optimizers – PLUS 2D and PLUS 1D
Customer and Contacts Management
Extensive reports

On display at the exhibition were the One-Stop Solutions suite of products, which includes the following products, apart from the PLUS Glass Manager:
PLUS 2D Glass Optimization software
PLUS RepliCAM – Digitizing software to replicate templates
PLUS Label Maker – Bar Code Label generation and printing software and
PLUS 1D – Bar Nesting software.

For more information about their products visit:
http://www.nirvanatec.com/products.html