Sheet Metal Stamping Simulation

The financial result was Ford’s best in more than a decade. The brand now has $US20.5 billion in gross cash on hand and a $US19.1 billion debt.

Ford’s debt, which it took on board before the global financial crisis in an attempt to protect itself fiscally, decreased 43 percent in 2010, down from $US33.6 billion to $US19.1 billion.

Tim Lee, president of international operations at General Motors Co., comments on sales growth and manufacturing capacity in China. He spoke in New Delhi today.

Is manufacturing still king in northwest Ohio?

As the economy improves, many changes are being made. A decline in manufacturing jobs caused by the downturn, may have may wondering if it's still a top employer in the region, if not state. While agriculture remains the top business, who is the top employer?

The Ohio Department of Development's Policy Research and Strategic Planning Office listed the state's top employers as of 2010. The top five employers throughout the state are comprised of retail and health sector businesses as well as education.

Akerson previously stated that Volt production in 2011 could rise from a planned 10,000 units to 25,000, and it appears as though that upward trend will continue through 2012. GM planned to produce 60,000 Volts in 2012, but Akerson is now pushing for that target to increase to 120,000 units.

Toyota Motor Corp. plans to produce more vehicles without increasing capital investments as Volkswagen AG attempts to surpass it as the world’s largest carmaker by 2018.

While Detroit and Michigan are recovering from the recession and auto industry meltdown, the South is surging with two new assembly plants slated to open this year.

The 2012 Volkswagen Passat, a close sibling of the resigned Jetta in 2011 but larger and with a substantially lower price than last year’s model, was unveiled at the Detroit auto show.

The vast changes will include a transfer of manufacturing locations to the new U.S. VW plant in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Ford sales in India, spearheaded by the Ford Figo, nearly tripled last year to more than 83 000 units.

Ford India has been named "Manufacturer of the Year 2011" for its innovative practices in manufacturing and engineering excellence. The prizes were awarded at a ceremony in Mumbai last Friday.

Auto manufacturers have begun an invasion of the Consumer Electronics Show that will only grow in magnitude and significance in future years.

Ford CEO Alan Mulally showed off the Ford Focus EV during his keynote presentation. The sedan will be differentiated from the competing Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt by having double the charge rate (6.6 kilowatts). Ford's Nancy Gioia said a fully depleted battery can be recharged in 3-4 hours. Ford will begin manufacturing the vehicle at the end of this year, and will roll it out to 19 target cities during 2012. The all-electric vehicle will have an estimated driving range of 80-100 miles.

FOR the past two years the Detroit motor show has been a dismal affair. But this year the parties were in full swing again. Helped by government bail-outs and with debt burdens lightened by bankruptcy, Chrysler and GM are back on their feet; Ford, the other member of Detroit’s Big Three, is thriving. It took America’s car industry 20 years and a world war to recover the three-quarters of production wiped out by the 1929 crash. By comparison, the aftermath of the latest recession has been surprisingly comfortable.

By nearly every measure of success, Michigan's auto industry is now competitive.

Auto sales are on the upswing; corporate earnings are positive; productivity levels are on par with Japanese competitors; and quality is vastly improved, among other key benchmarks. Of course getting to this point hasn't been easy. Two of Detroit's automakers went bankrupt; thousands of jobs were lost; investors lost money; and many of the brands people loved have been eliminated.

Electric vehicles are nothing new. They were invented sometime during the 1830s in Scotland and later produced on a bigger level by France and Great Britain. In 1895 America began their interest in electric vehicles with a handful of companies producing them. It did not take long for them to die off because by the 1920s America had many more miles of roadway which called for the need of longer range vehicles, oil was a lot more affordable, starter motors were invented so hand cranks were not needed and the mass production of the internal combustion engines by Henry Ford.

Ford reduced its automotive operations’ debt by $12.8 billion last year, lowering annual interest costs by almost $1 billion. Ford, which will release fourth-quarter financial results this month, has said the auto operations would end 2010 with more cash than debt after a profitable year and a $1 billion dividend from the credit unit.

Philippines - The local arm of Ford Motor Co. hit record sales to both domestic and export markets in 2010 due to the strong demand for vehicles across its lineup, the automotive firm said in a statement on June 13.

The business case against small cars is strong. Simplified, it goes like this: Americans don't want them, won't pay the dramatically higher prices required for them to be profitable — and don't need them because gas still is cheap.And, all else equal, the laws of physics still mean small cars are less safe than big cars in crashes.