Bosch Automotive Electronics India, a 100 per cent subsidiary of the Bosch Group, inaugurated its manufacturing plant here on Tuesday. The plant will manufacture electronic control units (ECUs) for diesel and petrol fuel injection systems.
Bosch had already invested Rs. 60 crore in this facility and plans an additional investment of Rs. 68 crore and increase employee strength to 300 persons.
Automotive Group Chairman of Bosch Bernd Bohr told reporters that the company was already planning to supply electronic components for Tata Nano and the low-cost car technology developed in India might be used later in Europe. The two R&D centres in Bangalore would be part of developing such technology. "Some of the production in the Indian units is for export to countries like Korea," he said.
Member of the board, Robert Bosch, Germany, Volkmar Denner, said market studies indicated an early revival from the slowdown in India, which was a significant automobile market, expected to grow 7 per cent by next year. "Last year, the Latin American and Asian markets did better than North America and Europe," he said.
Managing Director of Bosch, V. K. Viswanathan, said Bosch in India had a turnover of Rs. 6,500 crore last year with the units in Bangalore contributing Rs. 5,477 crore.
The automotive electronics segment had grown at a CAGR (compounded annual growth rate) of 20 per cent since 2002.
Tacoma council members provided a big octane boost Tuesday for the long-planned LeMay Automobile Museum.
Council members approved a resolution clearing the way for the museum to apply for a $3.5 million loan from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development's Section 108 program.
Museum officials said they would use the money to leverage other financing that will allow them to break ground this year on a museum near the Tacoma Dome.
David Madeira, museum president and chief executive, said the loan – combined with funding from the New Market Tax Credit Program – would give the museum 100 percent of its goal and allow it to move ahead with construction of the $28.4 million first phase.
It could take a couple of months to get the final approval on the tax credits, but Madeira said the project qualifies for the program and there is no reason to believe it won't take place.
"It's a great night," Madeira told The News Tribune. "We appreciate the city's partnership and help getting this done."
Council members, stung by criticism from taxpayers, emphasized that the federal government is the source of the loan funds – not the city's general fund.
"It is not in fact a loan from the city," said Councilman Mike Lonergan after reading from a letter from a constituent. "We are not giving anything away."
Lonergan said council members believe there is an economic development benefit from the museum, and they are "not putting any of the city’s own limited resources" into the loan.
Councilwoman Marilyn Strickland said the museum will serve as "our own economic stimulus package." It will provide construction jobs to women and minority-owned companies, and give Tacoma a tourist attraction, Strickland said.
Tacoma has participated in the Section 108 program for about 20 years. Mayor Bill Baarsma noted that money from the program was used to save the Sheraton hotel, now known as the Hotel Murano.
The museum would have up to seven years to repay the loan, and the debt will be secured by the museum building and land, pledge from a capital fund-raising campaign and cars from the museum collection.
The 2008 Federal Radionavigation Plan (FRP) has been released by the U.S. Departments of Transportation, Defense, and Homeland Security. Published jointly by the three departments, the plan describes federal policy for operating and regulating common-use radionavigation systems with the goal of improving both national security and the safety and efficiency of the nation's transportation system.
The federal government operates radionavigation systems such as the Global Positioning System (GPS) to enable safe transportation and encourage commerce within the United States. The FRP outlines the policy and plan for operating federal radionavigation systems used in positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) applications and suggests how existing systems may be consolidated and improved. It also aims to strengthen the mix of civil and military systems that will advance the nation's transportation infrastructure by increasing its capacity to move people and products safely and efficiently.
Systems addressed in the plan include: GPS and GPS Augmentations; Long Range Navigation (Loran); Very High Frequency (VHF) Omni-directional Range (VOR); Distance Measuring Equipment (DME); Tactical Air Navigation (TACAN); Instrument Landing System (ILS); Microwave Landing System (MLS); and Aeronautical Nondirectional Radiobeacons (NDB).
The nation's largest airlines had a higher rate of on-time flights this past November than in the same month last year, although the rate of delays was higher than in October 2008, according to the Air Travel Consumer Report released today by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).
According to information filed with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), a part of DOT's Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), the 19 carriers reporting on-time performance recorded an overall on-time arrival rate of 83.3 percent in November, an improvement over November 2007's 80.0 percent but below October 2008's 86.0 percent.
The monthly report also includes data on lengthy tarmac delays, flight cancellations and the causes of flight delays by the reporting carriers, as well as information on reports of mishandled baggage filed with the carriers and consumer service, disability and discrimination complaints received by DOT's Aviation Consumer Protection Division. This report also includes reports of incidents involving pets traveling by air, as required to be filed by U.S. carriers.
Trade using surface transportation between the United States and its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners Canada and Mexico was 2.1 percent lower in October 2008 than in October 2007, reaching $72.7 billion, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico rose 1.2 percent in October from September. Month-to-month changes can be affected by seasonal variations and other factors.
Surface transportation consists largely of freight movements by truck, rail and pipeline. About 88 percent of U.S. trade by value with Canada and Mexico moves on land.
The value of U.S. surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico in October was up 38.8 percent compared to October 2003, and up 74.9 percent compared to October 1998, a period of 10 years. Imports in October were up 75 percent compared to October 1998, while exports were up 74.8 percent.
U.S. Surface Transportation Trade with Canada U.S.–Canada surface transportation trade totaled $44.8 billion in October, down 6.1 percent compared to October 2007. The value of imports carried by truck was 17.5 percent lower in October 2008 compared to October 2007, while the value of exports carried by truck was 9.5 percent lower.
Michigan led all states in surface trade with Canada in October with $5.3 billion.
U.S. Surface Transportation Trade with Mexico U.S.– Mexico surface transportation trade totaled $27.9 billion in October, up 5.1 percent compared to October 2007. The value of imports carried by truck was 5.9 percent lower in October 2008 than October 2007 while the value of exports carried by truck was 18.4 percent higher.
Texas led all states in surface trade with Mexico in October with $9.0 billion.
Most people are aware that vehicle exhaust causes air pollution, commonly referred to as smog. Pollutants such as carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and particulates (black soot) are released from the exhaust and affect the quality of the air we breathe. Driving a car also contributes to another environmental problem: the greenhouse effect.
About the label The Fuel Consumption Label is an Australian Government initiative to promote consumer demand for vehicles with good fuel efficiency and lower greenhouse impact. All new vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes gross vehicle mass sold in Australia, regardless of fuel or body type, are required to have a Fuel Consumption Label on the front windscreen. This includes passenger cars, four wheel drives and light commercial vehicles.
The label indicates how many litres of fuel a vehicle will use to travel 100 kilometres and how many grams of carbon dioxide the vehicle would emit for each kilometre. The rating is based on a standard test procedure so you can reliably compare the performance of different models under identical conditions.
The lower the numbers, the better the vehicle.
Encouraging consumer preferences toward vehicles of greater fuel efficiency will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transport. In addition, introducing mandatory CO2 labelling will raise consumer awareness of the role fuel efficient vehicles play in helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the relative impacts of different fuel types.
It should be noted that, while the fuel label provides standard fuel consumption and CO2 figures for comparing different vehicles, it should only be regarded as a guide. You may experience different results when actually driving the vehicle because the fuel consumption of a particular vehicle will depend on what traffic conditions it is driven in, how you drive the vehicle and how well the vehicle is maintained.
With motor vehicle crashes being a leading cause of deaths among combat veterans during the first years after their return home, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Department of Defense (DOD) are working together to reduce these accidents.
The government announced the creation of a new program designed to identify needed research involving recently returned veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan and to increase awareness of the importance of safe driving among newly-demobilized veterans.
Experts in transportation safety, veterans' health and medical care, and public health are identifying gaps in current knowledge and developing a strategic plan for addressing key research questions, in fields ranging from epidemiology to psychology and bio mechanics.
Participants in the strategic planning process include scientists and policy officials from VA, DOT, DOD and Department of Health and Human Services, as well as non-governmental experts. The resulting strategic plan will lay out research needs and identify priorities for the initiative.
The safe-driving initiative strives to increase awareness of motor vehicle crashes among veterans and the importance of safe driving, seatbelt and helmet usage, and other measures. To reach out to veterans and their families, VA will create a national educational program using the Department's network of medical centers, community clinics, drop-in counseling centers (Vet Centers), and veterans benefits offices.
The initiative will also include outreach to mobilize national veterans service organizations; the nation's governors and state police, safety officers, and state highway safety officials; and the private sector - including employers; automobile, motorcycle and sports vehicle dealers and manufacturers; the motor vehicle insurance industry; and driving and motorcycle racing enthusiasts' organizations.
According to the Department of Transportation, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for all Americans between the ages of eight through 34. Men constitute about 70 percent of all traffic deaths. In the past decade, both deaths and injuries from motor vehicle crashes have gone down in the United States, due to increases in seat-belt use and decreases in alcohol involvement, among other factors.
Nonetheless, motor vehicle accidents remain a major concern in the military and among veterans as the greatest cause of accidental fatalities. Several studies have reported an increase in post-deployment deaths among military personnel who served in a combat zone compared to their non-deployed counterparts, who are in the military but not deployed to a war, after both the Vietnam War and the 1991 Gulf War. Preliminary evidence also indicates this is the case with veterans from the Global War on Terror.
Road traffic accidents takes lives of more than one million people a year, injuring another thirty-eight million (5 million of them seriously).The death rate of the world's roadways makes driving the number one cause of injury and death for young people ages 15 to 44 years.
How safe is that a used or a new automobile you are thinking of purchasing? With the inventions of the airbags and crash testing, the numbers of citizens injured and killed by vehicles has decreased in many nations.
A crash test is a form of destructive testing usually performed in order to ensure safe design standards in Crashworthiness and crash compatibility for automobiles or related components.
The Crash tests are done under very careful safety and scientific standards. Every crash test is very costly so the maximum amount of data must be got from each and every test. Typically, this requires the usage of high-speed data-acquisition, atleast one accelerometer and crash test dummies.
Two types of crash tests are been performed on each automobile – one is an offset frontal test and the other is side impact test. These tests suggest two of the most common crashes that occur on our roads.
Dummies are used to calculate the level of injury that would affect the front seat occupants wearing the safety belts in these crashes.
The crash-rating dummy represents an average-sized adult is been placed in the driver seat and rear passenger seats and secured with the vehicle's seat belts.
The mandatory standard for crash tests is to:
Reduce the level of risk to drivers, passengers and publicby preventing supply of dummies that do not meet key safety requirements.
Reduce the incidence of serious injury associated with poor quality products.
Give consumers confidence that dummies available in the market have
a reasonable level of safety.
Provide a framework for industry to determine appropriate levels of safety for dummies.
