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Filed under: Hybrid, Ford

According to the latest report from the Environmental Protection Agency, Ford has scored the biggest improvement in combined fuel economy of any major carmaker over the last five years. Between 2005 and 2009, Ford improved its fleet average by nearly 20 percent – almost twice as much as any other company. While Ford certainly made a lot of incremental improvements in the efficiency of its vehicles over that period, that wasn’t the only factor.

That same time period saw a huge shift in the model mix at Ford. Sales of SUVs like the Explorer and Expedition collapsed as consumers moved to crossovers like the Edge and Flex (oh, and we suppose a car or two). The Explorer has gone from more than 400,000 annual sales earlier this decade to just over 68,000 last year.

Ford has made actual improvements, as well, however, including the introduction of the Escape Hybrid and the roll out of six-speed transmissions. The next five years should see even bigger gains as Ford deploys millions of EcoBoost engines, battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. Ford’s official press release is after the jump.

[Source: Ford]

Continue reading Ford claims biggest five-year fuel economy improvement among major automakers

Ford claims biggest five-year fuel economy improvement among major automakers originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 18 Dec 2009 09:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Linho, linhaça ou linum usitatissimum, pertence à família das Linaceaes. E uma herbácea anual  – germina, floresce e morre no espaço de um ano – que pode medir até 80 cm de altura; de folhas estreitas, longas e pontiagudas, e suas flores azuis com cinco pétalas. É originária da Ásia e África, desenvolvendo-se facilmente nas regiões do Paraná, SC e RS.

Deflationary forces remain strong in the U.S. economy. The chart below shows M3, in green, which is the broadest measure for money supply. The black and blue lines show its rate of decline. Essentially money supply is shrinking, which is deflationary, and thus dollar-strengthening.

The Big Picture: …it’s hard to see how consumer prices are going to be bid higher anytime soon, given a chart like the one above.

Of course, if banks ever start lending some of their massive reserves, an entirely different dynamic could quickly develop and the recent trend could quickly reverse, but, fortunately, our central bank leaders have assured us that they’re on top of that particular situation.

This is why the Ben Bernanke isn’t worried about inflationary threats right now:

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See Also:

• Rosenberg: Deflation Is Reality, The Consensus View Is Garbage
• DEFLATION: Oil Now On Its Longest Losing Streak In Eight Years
• The Next Leg Of Deflation Has Begun

Google is a great proponent of web apps as alternative to native ones, be it desktop applications or mobile ones. Its point of view may be skewed by the fact that it does most of its revenue online and most of its major products are very much anchored in the cloud, but the company does a great enough job with its own products that the results backup all of its claims. Now Google is showing off the progress it made with the mobile version of Gmail using HTML 5 features to bring the experience on par with that of the native apps.

For mobile devices, native apps are a necessity as, until now, web apps could hardly match them in performance and features. This poses a problem for developers as mobile OSs are as diverse as the manufacturers that use them and even a focus on the most popular ones, iPhone OS, Android, Symbian, Windows Mobile and Palm’s Web OS to a lesser degree, still means a lot of development time and effort.

Web apps offer a great alternative as developers only have to build once, but this leaves them with the performance problem. Google, though, says things are on the right track and has pushed to make the mobile version of Gmail to be as close as possible to the regular one and to the native apps which Google offers for most platforms.

Google has been making good … (read more)

While I’m writing and you guys are reading, the Japanese are tucked comfortably in their gaming dens right now, playing Final Fantasy XIII. You’re not gonna see FF fans out in streets in Japan tonight…or this weekend.

Filed under: Car Buying, Minivan/Van, Toyota, Luxury

Toyota has just released the full spec sheet for their 2011 Sienna minivan. This third-generation people hauler should be in dealerships by February with your choice of five different trim levels, the carryover 266-horsepower, 3.5-liter V6 or a newly available 187 horsepower, 2.7-liter four-cylinder, and front- or all-wheel drive. They ride on an updated version of the current platform but feature extensive reinforcements to increase rigidity and drastically revised suspensions. They also use a new hill-logic-equipped six-speed automatic transmission. While the Sienna hasn’t grown externally, there is more space inside and the Sienna has gained about 100 pounds.

The lightest four-cylinder models weigh in at 4,275 lbs., while the V6 adds just 30 pounds to that total. With mileage ratings that are only 1-2 MPG better than the bent six and such a small weight penalty, we question how many people will opt for the four-banger. It will surely come down to pricing (which has not been announced yet). Sienna AWD buyers will pay a 200-pound penalty, but they are the only ones to get third-gen Bridgestone runflats. While no towing figures were released for the 2.7-liter, the 2011 Sienna is rated at 3,500 pounds with the V6.

Toyota has announced that they will be simplifying their vehicle combinations with the Sienna, so there are fewer individual options and more packages. Major options packages include Preferred Packages for LE and SE that add XLE-like features, and Entertainment (16-inch Dual-View rear video screen) and Premium Packages for XLE and Limited that consist of the Entertainment package plus a touch-screen navigation system and a JBL sound system. Navi can be ordered separately on XLE and Limited as well. The slick Lounge Seating equipped Limited can also be ordered with a Convenience Package (HIDs with auto-off and automatic high beams as well as rain sensing wipers) and the Advanced Technology Package, which adds such Lexus-like features as Dynamic Radar Cruise Control (DRCC), Pre-Collision System (PCS), Vehicle Dynamics Integrated Management System (VDIM), and Hill Assist Control (HAC). If you can’t wait, you can read all of the stats and features in the lengthy press release after the jump, or you can just wait until around 12pm Eastern time when we publish our first drive. Stay tuned.

[Source: Toyota]

Continue reading Toyota releases full product information guide for 2011 Sienna

Toyota releases full product information guide for 2011 Sienna originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 18 Dec 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here’s a shock:

Bloomberg:

Iranian forces yesterday entered Iraqi territory at dawn, and occupied well number 4 in the East Maysan field in al-Fakah region, 450 kilometers (280 miles) south of Baghdad, Border Guard General Zaser Nazmi said. The Iranian forces positioned tanks around the well.

The border guard’s comments couldn’t be immediately verified independently.

“They positioned tanks around it and dug trenches,” Nazmi said by phone from Basra. “They are still there, they raised the flag.”

Other outlets are reporting the story as well.

AFP cites a US military spokesman who says the incident was non-violent and that there was hope for a diplomatic solution.

Update: Oil has spiked to $74.

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See Also:

• The Iraqi Oil Auction Was Like A High-Stakes American Idol
• Obama Won’t Stop Iran From Getting Nukes, Harvard Simulation Shows
• Iran Seizes British Yacht, Oil Soars

Pistachio brittle, cocktail parties on a budget, and gift guides in this past week’s most popular posts. Read on for the top ten.

15. A Cocktail Party for 20 for Just $140
14. Memories of Christmas Breakfast Strata (and a Recipe)
13. What Do You Only Eat At Restaurants (or Only at Home)?
12. Five Tips for Flawless, Fabulous Cheese Plate Construction
11. Roundup: The Kitchn’s Holiday 2009 Gift Guides

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If you thought secrecy over ACTA was bad enough, apparently Canada and the EU are involved in equally secret negotiations on a separate treaty that has additional copyright implications that are just as bad, if not worse than what ACTA would require. As with ACTA, the details have just leaked, and they’re pretty ridiculous. From Michael Geist’s link above:

• Copyright term extension.  The current term of copyright law in Canada is life of the author plus 50 years.  This is consistent with the term requirements under the Berne Convention.  The EU is demanding that Canada add an additional 20 years by making the term life plus 70 years.
• WIPO ratification. The EU is demanding that Canada respect the rights and obligations under the WIPO Internet treaties.  The EU only formally ratified those treaties this week.
• Anti-circumvention provisions. The EU is demanding that Canada implement anti-circumvention provisions that include a ban on the distribution of circumvention devices.  There is no such requirement in the WIPO Internet treaties.
• ISP Liability provisions.  The EU is demanding statutory provisions on ISP liability where they act as mere conduits, cache content, or host content.  ISPs would qualify for a statutory safe harbour in appropriate circumstances.  There is no three-strikes and you’re out language (which presumably originates with the U.S.).
• Enforcement provisions.  The EU is demanding that Canada establish a host of new enforcement provisions including measures to preserve evidence, ordering alleged infringers to disclose information on a wide range of issue, mandate disclosure of banking information in commercial infringement cases, allow for injunctive relief, and destruction of goods.  There is also a full section on new border measures requirements.
• Resale rights.  The EU is demanding that Canada implement a new resale right that would provide artists with a royalty based on any resales of their works (subsequent to the first sale).
• Making available or distribution rights.  The EU is demanding that Canada implement a distribution or making available right to copyright owners.

Some of these are repeats from ACTA, but the others are pretty bad as well. Copyright term extension is just pointless, and it’s amazing that anyone still thinks it makes sense. The purpose of copyright is to create incentives to create. You can’t retroactively do that. It’s a farce. Copyright term extension is effectively a welfare program for content creators. If that’s what people want, then fine, but it should be discussed in those terms. It has nothing to do with copyright.

Resale rights are another huge problem. We were just discussing how Australia just added these. They’re officially to “help” up-and-coming artists, but they do the opposite. They basically give fewer reasons for buyers to purchase art from up-and-coming artists (knowing that selling them for profit will be that much more difficult) and really only help the well-established artists who can easily make more money by creating new art and selling it at much higher prices. It, again, is a welfare system designed mainly to give more money to successful artists at the expense of up-and-coming artists.

But the bigger issue here, as pointed out by Geist, is that between both of these treaty negotiations, you’re left wondering how come no one will let Canada create their own copyright laws? These treaties aren’t about “harmonization” (the buzz word you hear), but about having global copyright law in a position where a single change in one country forces pretty much every other country to ratchet the levels up (and, yes, they do always go up).

Allowing countries to set their own copyright laws and policies is important. Because we’ve never had an evidence based copyright, and because there’s growing evidence that draconian copyright laws can harm creative output, it would seem like a better solution would be to let different countries experiment with different copyright laws (or none at all…) to see what happens and what works best. Forcing all countries to align under identical copyright laws, entirely at the behest of a single industry, with provisions to regularly ratchet things up with no real review of the evidence seems immensely problematic.

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Gold's sudden drop still hasn't scared off commodity speculators. They remain at record levels and the market is massively net-long, according Citi's Alan Heap in his latest December 18th 'Commodity Heap'.

Citi's Alan Heap: Speculators Stay Long — Despite the recent USD strength, speculators have not liquidated positions in metals. Total LME open interest positions were largely stable since early December (Figures 8-11). COMEX non-commercial positions in gold and copper continue to increase (Figures 6-7).

The yellow line below represents the net long position, which remains at record levels.

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See Also:

• CIBC: There Is No Gold Bubble, Diversification And A Mining Shortage Will Push It To $1400
• Goldman: Oil Going To $90, Gold To $1350
• How To Hate The Dollar And Short The Gold Hype At The Same Time

How do you search the Internet? Most use Google, but there are alternatives, especially now that Microsoft has launched Bing. Both search engines have their ups and downs, but that’s fine. Both exist, so if you don’t like one you can use the other. Unless you’re a Verizon BlackBerry user, though. Or, should I say, a certain Verizon BlackBerry user. It’s come to light that some users no longer see Google search options in their Go To screen. Instead, their searches are limited to Bing. This comes as an odd development, especially because it doesn’t apply to everyone. Both James Kendrick (of jkOnTheRun) and I still have normal search options. It appears that others, though, aren’t as lucky any more.

(more…)

Filed under: Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, GM, Earnings/Financials

There are roughly 4,000 GM employees working at the company’s Renaissance Center headquarters in Detroit. During the restructuring, GM has been working out how many employees to let go and where to put the remainder, and that, for the state of Michigan, meant another few thousand workers unemployed.

To lessen the damage, the Michigan Economic Growth Authority (MEGA) has been in talks with GM to limit the number of retrenched employees. The General had committed to maintaining a workforce of 2,500 at the RenCen in exchange for a $50 million tax break over twenty years, but the number was recently reduced to 2,000. GM simply needs to do all it can to get itself back in contention.

The company will still receive the tax break and talks are continuing, yet while there aren’t many details it’s an intriguing deal to strike. This could be cynical of us, but GM has white-collar workers in numerous locations in Michigan, and we wonder if the company wouldn’t simply shuffle people around to keep the required number at the RenCen but get rid of all the employees it feels it needs to. And when the company gets its new CEO, well, as we’ve seen before, he or she might plot a very different course than the one being charted now.

[Source: Detroit News | Image: Bill Pugliano/Getty]

REPORT: Michigan gives GM tax break but automaker to still halve staff at RenCen originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 18 Dec 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The chinese self immolation meme continues as Chinese property continues to rise.

This time a man is even goaded on by authorities to kill himself, after he had been under intense pressure to accept insufficient compensation for his eviction.

This is the second such event in just a month:

Telegraph: In the second incident last weekend, a Beijing man named in local newspapers as Xi Xinzhu set himself on fire after he refused to leave his home in a north-western suburb which had been earmarked for demolition under a village “improvement scheme”.

According to a report in the Beijing Times, Mr Xi had already suffered a fractured leg when he was beaten by “unidentified men” – violent intimidation is commonly reported in such cases – and was lying on a sofa when the officials entered.

After pouring petrol over himself, Mr Xi took out a lighter and threatened to ignite himself. “Neglecting his warning, the relocation people even said ‘go ahead, light up.’,” his wife told the newspaper.

Read more here.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Anti-Goldman Protest Is Kind Of Lame
• Chinese Lady Self-Immolates To Protest Destruction Of Her Home
• Students Seize SF State Business School To Protest Tuition Hike

Bit.ly’s biggest asset at the moment is the amount of data it’s been collecting, especially for the past months since the service took off. It’s been using it to provide publishers with analytics for a while now and has recently introduced a premium service with even more stats Bit.ly Pro. Now, it’s putting all that data to good use again by launching an experimental product, Bitly.tv, which uses it to determine the most popular videos of the moment.

“Bit.ly TV is like the internet itself. There are parts of it that are terribly serious and important — like the footage of students battling the basiji on the streets of Tehran — alongside other bits, like the upside-down French bulldog puppy and the Ukelele kid, meant to surprise and delight,” Bit.ly writes.

Bit.ly has managed to become the biggest URL shortening service out there, in no small part because it was selected as the default service by Twitter. It pretty much dominates the market at this point, a great thing in itself, but there isn’t any money to be made from shortening links for free, at least not directly. So, it has to get creative in order to generate revenue and utilize its biggest asset, the sheer amount of link data that passes through each day.

It’s not going to make any money with the video rankings, but the move hints at the wider possibili… (read more)

Will they or wont they?


With only a few hours left to write and agree on a deal, that question is still largely unanswered. Or is it?


The better question should be, will the deal be substantial, or as it is suggested be a “political deal” promising to meet and to further discuss the issue again in the future.


There are many obstacles to still overcome, one of them being China’s reluctance on third party inspection, and United States position of insisting there has to be third party inspection.


The Danish Presidency has given up on its ambition to create consensus on a text that would form the basis of a global political deal to combat global warming. 119 heads of state and government met on Thursday and Friday to negotiate, the Presidency had hoped to present the world leaders with a text containing as few as possible open questions on issues such as emission cuts, financing of climate aid to developing countries and other issues. However developing countries represented by the Group of 77 blocked the initiative.


The strategy now is to try to make progress in some isolated areas, preparing the ground for the next UN climate negotiations which will take place in Mexico next year.


The Guardian is reporting negotiators are now saying openly that “at best” the conference will write “a weak political agreement that would leave no clear way forward to tackle rising greenhouse gas emissions. That would mean the negotiations staying in limbo well into next year, increasing the damage caused by global warming”.


Adding to the overall negative tone in the conference was a confidential UN draft marked “do not distribute” and “initial draft” obtained by The Guardian reveals emissions cuts offered so far at the Copenhagen summit will actually lead to global temperatures rising by an average of three degrees.



The report shows a gap of up to 4.2 gigatonnes of carbon emissions between the present pledges and the required level of 44 gigatonnes required to stay below a two degree temperature increase.


“The UN is admitting in private that the pledges made by world leaders would lead to a three degree rise in temperatures. The science shows it could lead to the collapse of the Amazon rainforest, crippling water shortages across South America and Australia and the near-extinction of tropical coral reefs, and that’ just the start of it” says Greenpeace campaigner Joss Garman.


So, will they or won’t they? With 120 leaders assembled in Copenhagen, there is one thing they all can agree on, none of them like to publically humiliated. That might just be enough motivation to draft something.

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related.posts:

1. We Have A Deal: The Copenhagen Climate Change Conference Result
2. Copenhagen Climate Change Conference: Day 8 Recap
3. Copenhagen Climate Change Conference: Day 9 Recap

The flexibility of the TK 446 model makes it particularly suitable both for small manufacturing enterprises that often need to perform several tooling-ups due to frequent production changes and to larger multinational corporations that have to machine large batches.
Thanks to its excellent price/quality ratio, the TK 446 model represents a good starting point for those who wish to abandon their old machines with manual commands and to approach to industrial automation systems and to numeric-control machining centers.
The TK 446 model stands out for the high useful working lengths (also using aggregate heads) that set the TK 446 apart from other machining centers in the equivalent price range; this machining center is designed for drilling and conventional milling processes and also for copy-milling operations on aluminum extruded profiles and other materials, including steel profiles up to 5 mm thick, steel reinforced PVC, and various other plastics or wood.
Standard versions are available in 2 machining lengths: 3500 and 6500 mm.
Axis X: 3500 – 6500 mm
Axis Y: 370 mm / 250 mm (with aggregate heads)
Axis Z: 250 mm / 250 mm (with aggregate heads)