Michigan Radio: Tracy Samilton

EPA's Push For More Ethanol Could Be Too Little, Too Late

Michigan Radio: Tracy Samilton — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 07:23:00 +0000

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency could soon issue a final ruling that aims to force oil companies to replace E10, gasoline mixed with 10 percent ethanol, with E15.

This move could come just as widespread support for ethanol, which is made from corn, appears to be eroding.

Mike Mitchell was once a true believer in ethanol as a homegrown solution to foreign oil imports.

Profit-Sharing Checks Replace Autoworkers Raises

Michigan Radio: Tracy Samilton — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 10:33:00 +0000

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

The Ford Motor Company also announced its earnings yesterday, saying it had a pre-tax profit of $8 billion for 2012. And that gives union employees a reason to celebrate. They will each get a profit sharing check of $8,300 - a record high amount.

There's also some good news coming for General Motors workers, as Michigan Radio's Tracy Samilton reports.

TRACY SAMILTON, BYLINE: GM hasn't announced earnings yet, but the company was roughly as profitable as Ford in the first nine months last year.

Toyota Regains No. 1 Sales Position

Michigan Radio: Tracy Samilton — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 09:22:00 +0000

After careening from back-to-back crises — recalls and the tsunami — Toyota is No. 1 in worldwide sales again. Toyota says it sold at least 9.7 million vehicles in 2012. General Motors reports it sold 9.3 million. Both companies say it doesn't really matter which one is in the top spot.

Ford To Try Bringing Luxury Back To Lincoln

Michigan Radio: Tracy Samilton — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 21:25:00 +0000

Ford Motor Company is changing the name of it Lincoln brand to the Lincoln Motor Company. Ford is also planning to sell the hybrid version of their flagship sedan, the new MKZ, for the same price as the gasoline version.

GM Quarterly Earnings Exceed Expectations

Michigan Radio: Tracy Samilton — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 09:10:00 +0000

Even facing economic headwinds in Europe and South America, GM's quarterly earnings came in well above analysts' estimates, and its stock soared.

Study To Test 'Talking' Cars That Would Warn Drivers Of Unseen Dangers

Michigan Radio: Tracy Samilton — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 22:02:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j676bIqL4-8

States Ask Detroit: 'Build Us A Natural Gas Car, Please'

Michigan Radio: Tracy Samilton — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 09:14:00 +0000

More than 20 state governors are taking an unusual step to boost the natural gas vehicle industry. Independent of the federal government, they're asking Detroit carmakers to build them a new kind of car: a midsize sedan that runs on compressed natural gas instead of gasoline.

The governors are hoping to boost demand for natural gas cars with their collective buying power.

Ford's Little Engine That Could Challenge Hybrids

Michigan Radio: Tracy Samilton — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 22:14:00 +0000

Ford Motor Co. intends to prove that good things come in small packages — really small packages. The company has taken engine downsizing to a new level with its new three-cylinder EcoBoost engine, which has been introduced in Europe and is set to hit the U.S. market next year.

The EcoBoost offers more power than many conventional four-cylinder engines, with fuel economy numbers a hybrid could envy.

GM Retirees Face Friday Pension Deadline

Michigan Radio: Tracy Samilton — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 08:39:00 +0000

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

You've got to escape from your Escape.

Now, today is an important day for more than 40,000 salaried retirees of General Motors. They're facing a major financial decision.

New Schedules Push Graveyard Shift Off The Clock

Michigan Radio: Tracy Samilton — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 21:44:00 +0000

As car companies struggle to meet growing demand, the third shift is making a comeback. But many factories running on three shifts are doing it differently from in the past. And that new "three crew" shift pattern could make what's normally a hard job even harder.

At Ford's Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, employees work 10-hour shifts four days a week. The so-called A crew gets days, while the B crew gets afternoons. But the C crew shift rotates its start time every week. On Fridays and Saturdays, workers start at 6:00 a.m.

Hear That? Annoying Hum Has Canada Making Noise

Michigan Radio: Tracy Samilton — Thu, 10 May 2012 19:20:00 +0000

Thousands of people in Windsor, Ontario, say they are being invaded by an obnoxious noise emanating from outside Detroit. They call it the "Windsor Hum," and it's really two sounds — a deep, very low-frequency hum, like a diesel truck idling in your driveway, and a deep, vibrating pulse that you feel more than you hear.

Roy Norton, Detroit's Canadian consul general, says the noise is coming from the man-made Zug Island, which sits in the Detroit River. The noise apparently began when U.S.

Rough Patches Behind It, Toyota Tries To Accelerate

Michigan Radio: Tracy Samilton — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 07:01:00 +0000

Paul Schubert and his wife decided to buy a new car last summer — a really fuel-efficient one. After a lot of research, they settled on a Toyota Prius. But there was a problem: They couldn't find one.

The tsunami that devastated Japan in March had dried up supplies of the Prius, which is made in Japan, and a dealer told them they would have to wait — "about four months," Schubert says.

Quality Of U.S. Cars Improve

Michigan Radio: Tracy Samilton — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Well, from a classic American company to a classic industry. It turns out automobiles are improving, so much so in fact, that the U.S. seems to be entering a golden age of vehicle quality and reliability.

Michigan Radio's Tracy Samilton has this story about the demise of the lemon.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Please step into the door.

TRACY SAMILTON, BYLINE: But before you step into the door, you slip blue booties over your shoes. This lab inside the Jefferson North Assembly Plant has to be kept pristine. Inside, everything is perfect.

Car Guru: Stop Downshift In Manual Transmissions

Michigan Radio: Tracy Samilton — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 16:30:00 +0000

Seventy years ago, 70 percent of U.S.-made cars came with a stick shift. The number is less than 9 percent today.

But at least one man is on a quest to reverse that slide.

Eddie Alterman loves automobiles. He's a gear head. He's the top editor at Car and Driver magazine. His whole career, he has watched the sales of cars with stick shifts decline. And when Ferrari failed to offer a manual option for the new 458 Italia, he said, enough's enough. Basta.

Alterman is making converts one by one.

Auto Parts Suppliers Hiring As Fast As They Can

Michigan Radio: Tracy Samilton — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 04:01:00 +0000

Part of a series

Detroit automakers are creating thousands of new jobs amid a sales boom. And as they expand, their suppliers are racing to keep up, adding tens of thousands of new jobs.

At Bridgewater Interiors in Warren, Mich., for example, the pace is intense. Hundreds of union employees scurry to fill a growing list of orders.