?Sabes hablar Hummer H tres?

[H3PAC]

TOLEDO, Ohio (Dec. 12) - Dana Corp. will close two plants in Canada and one each in Missouri and Indiana, eliminating 440 jobs, the auto parts maker announced Tuesday.

Four other plants, expected to close within the next two years, will be announced sometime next year, said Dana Chief Executive Michael Burns.

The four plants identified are in Syracuse, Indiana; Cape Girardeau, Missouri; and Guelph and Thorold, Ontario.

Dana, which filed for bankruptcy protection in March, announced last month that it would close eight of its 66 plants. Closing the plants, eliminating health benefits and reducing other labor costs should save between $405 million (euro306 million) and $540 million (euro408 million) each year, the company said.

The Indiana plant has about 65 workers and will close next September. The Missouri plant has about 200 workers and will close in June 2008. Both make axle parts.

Work from the other two factories will be moved to Mexico.

Dana, which sells brakes, axles and other parts to most major automakers, has said in its bankruptcy filing that rising energy costs were driving up production costs and hurting demand for its customers' products.


2010 Hummer Prototype Unveiled


Mexico City (Dec. 12) - A 2010 Hummer prototype is seen during a test drive at an undisclosed location in Mexico. Most US automotive industry suppliers are moving to Mexico so the prototype vehicle has been assembled there. During a recent address marred by hecklers, GM Chief Executive Rick Wagoner said all versions of its Hummer SUVs will offer an engine powered by bio-fuels within three years. The prototype pictured above uses "just in time" bio-fuel technology. "The fuel is produced as you go", explained Dr. Mohsen Shabana, one of GM's Chief Engineers. "We have some significant technical challenges ahead of us", he said, "For example, if you put the wrong pre-fuel in the BFGDDU (bio-fuel generating donkey drive unit), the windshield washer system can become overwhelmed, potentially causing a visibility problem". Shabana pointed out that most problems are not high tech in nature. "In addition to the jack for the passenger section of the vehicle, which is stored aft, a separate jack must be provided for the BFGDDU, should it require service while on the road. We were planning on attaching this assjack on the jackasses ass, but we are having trouble with mounting it. We had it strapped to the end of the ass, but the assjack is large and heavy and really should be secured with screws. We temporarily mounted the assjack under the seat instead. We have the biggest asses out there, so supporting the jacks with our asses should be easy. But a big ass isn't easy to mount to, so for now, we will screw the jackass assjack in the seat until we figure out how to screw it in the ass", he said.