Facing intense scrutiny from the federal government, Toyota is trying a salt-of-the-earth offensive, paying for a group of
its U.S. employees to talk with lawmakers. At least one is from Toyota’s plant in Princeton, Ind.
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and three other governors of states with Toyota plants are calling on Congress to be fair to the
automaker in hearings concerning safety recalls.
The jobs can’t come soon enough for Connersville, where unemployment is at 13.8 percent.
Toyota said Sunday it will soon announce a plan for dealing with braking problems in its Prius hybrid amid reports that the
world’s largest automaker plans to issue a recall for the latest model of the vehicle in Japan.
Beyond the expected plunge for troubled Toyota, U.S. car sales sailed along nicely in January, including a 24 percent surge
for Ford and 14 percent gain for GM.
Recalled Toyotas have been yanked from used-vehicle auction blocks, but resale values should be protected if Toyota handles
the
recall with “transparency,” according to a local analyst.
Like most companies that make thousands of parts in automobiles, Elkhart-based CTS Corp. was virtually unknown to the average
car buyer. That was until its gas pedal was blamed for big problems with some very popular cars.
No immediate layoffs are planned at the two Indiana factories that build Toyota models included in the company’s production
halt as it looks to fix sticking gas pedals.
Toyota is halting production at six North American car-assembly plants—including Indiana facilities in Princeton and
Lafayette—beginning the week of Feb. 1 to fix gas pedals that could stick and cause acceleration without warning.
The subsidiary of Norwegian-based Think Global projects its new factory in Elkhart could have 415 full-time jobs by 2013.
Hancock County officials will consider a request by lithium battery maker EnerDel to set up operations in a business park
near Indianapolis.
AM General Corp. plans to lay off 250 workers from its Humvee plant in Mishawaka, because the U.S. military is buying fewer
of the vehicles.
Atlanta-based Carbon Motors is a step closer to producing its high-tech police cars in Connersville after a bankruptcy
judge authorized auto-parts maker Visteon Corp. to sell a closed plant to the city for $500.
The U.S. Department of Labor awarded the Indiana Department of Workforce Development a $4 million grant on Wednesday to help
autoworkers transition into alternate careers.
Norwegian electric car maker Think Global will locate its U.S. manufacturing facility in Indiana, Reuters reported Tuesday,
citing information from a major investor in the company.
General Motors Co. said Monday it lost $1.2 billion from the time it left bankruptcy protection through Sept. 30, far better
than it has reported in previous quarters and a sign that the auto giant is starting to turn around its business.
Ford, the only Detroit automaker to dodge direct government aid and bankruptcy court, surprised investors with a profit of
nearly $1 billion in the third quarter.
Chrysler has returned $5.5 million in bonds to an Indiana county to settle a dispute over millions of dollars the county spent
toward a transmission plant that a Chrysler supplier stopped building last year.
General Motors Co. will announce later this week that it will draw from its government funding to pay the cost of buying a
chunk of troubled parts supplier Delphi Corp., a person briefed on the company’s finances said Wednesday.
Hummer, the off-road vehicle that once epitomized America’s love for hulking trucks, is now in the hands of a Chinese heavy
equipment maker.
