Archive for November, 2007
Wednesday, November 21st, 2007
Tossing bags that can weigh as much as 50 pounds from in front of as many as 500 homes is a difficult job, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not one worth doing.
“They think it’s bad because it’s trash,” Mike Robinson, a residential trash employee for Olathe said of the public’s perception. “It’s hard work, but it’s not a bad job.”
Donnie Morrison, the commercial supervisor in the solid waste division, began throwing trash for the city 15 years ago. He said it wasn’t a glamorous job.
“No one grows up and says, ‘I want to be a trash man,’” he said.
Robinson and 29 others who work for the division patrol the city’s neighborhood streets, often working overtime to make sure what you put in front of your house to be disposed of doesn’t stay there long.
Three groups comprise the division: residential, commercial and recycling. Each week, the city collects trash from 35,200 Olathe houses, yard waste from 32,000 houses and recycling from 10,000 houses.
Unlike most of the more than 900 city employees who had the day off on Veterans Day, Robinson and his fellow workers hit the streets to pick up residents’ grass clippings, leaves, small plant trimmings and tree limbs.
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Wednesday, November 21st, 2007
Winnebago is set to launch its new-generation Ford Transit- and Fiat Ducato-based six-and-seven-metre motor-homes. Dubbed the Birdsville, the four models carry price tags between $87,990 and $99,990 and the B or C-class six-metre versions are constructed on the new Transit T4250 cab/chassis and the seven-metre B or C-class homes on wheels use the Ducato X251 cab/chassis.
Because there is no bed over the cabin, the B-class Birdsvilles sport a sleeker, more-aerodynamic and the more traditional C-class design offers additional sleeping space in the above-cabin luton peak.
The new motor-homes are constructed with a strong aluminum frame and laminated walls, floor and roof meet Federal Government manufacturing standards.
The four Birdsville models are fully self-contained with sizeable low beds, well-equipped kitchens, a bathroom with vanity basin, flushing toilet and a shower with hot or cold water on tap.
The driver and passenger chairs are designed to become part of the living area and they swivel for TV viewing or to double as just another two comfortable chairs.
There is plenty of cupboard space and drawers and a wardrobe as well as external storage compartments.
Water carried in the on-board fresh-water tank is for drinking as well as for washing up and showering and LP gas handles the cooking and hot-water heating.
Two deep-cycle batteries coupled with a battery charger offer sufficient power for lighting and other appliances,
The family owned Winnebago Industries now designs and builds more than 70 models covering 10 major ranges at its factory at Emu Plains, west of Sydney.
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Wednesday, November 21st, 2007
Demand for diesel-powered cars is soaring.
Diesel produces fewer greenhouse gases than unleaded petrol but it is more dangerous to our health. RICHARD BLACKBURN reports on an automotive dilemma.
Demand for diesel-powered cars is soaring. Australians bought more diesel cars in the first four months of this year than they did in the whole of 2005.
Sales this year are up 135 per cent on the same period last year and the latest figures show that almost 20 per cent of new vehicles sold this year are powered by diesel. In 2000, the figure was just 10 per cent.
However, the explosive growth is a double-edged sword.
The good news is that diesel-powered engines are more efficient than their petrol cousins and therefore emit less CO2 - the major contributor to global warming.
The bad news is that emissions from Diesel engines are harmful to your health. That includes the latest generation of so-called “clean” diesels.
The Federal Government’s Green Vehicle Guide, which ranks vehicles on their greenhouse gas and air pollution performance, doesn’t have a single diesel vehicle in its top 50 list of low polluters.
Just one makes the top 150 and there are only five in the top 200 vehicles.
Jon Real, a spokesman for the Federal Department of Transport, which maintains the guide, says diesel cars are marked down because they have a “much more significant health effect”.
He says diesels produce about the same amount of hydrocarbons as petrol but significantly more nitrogen oxides (NOx) - a precursor to smog - and particulate matter.
Air quality experts estimate that diesel engines produce particles at about 20 times the rate of petrol engines and it is those emissions that are bad for your health.
Particulate matter has been linked with thousands of deaths worldwide. Side effects range from cancer to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. NOx have also been linked to serious health problems, including asthma, respiratory disease, infections and reduced lung function in children.
A recent NSW parliamentary inquiry into air quality found that motor vehicles produce 71 per cent of NOx emissions in Sydney and just under 20 per cent of particle pollution.
Real says particulate matter emissions carry a hefty weighting in the department’s assessment of pollution effects from different vehicles. It’s easy to see why.
The most recent figures from the Bureau of Transport and Regional Economics - for 2000 - put the annual death toll from vehicle exhaust pollution at between 900 and 2000 people - higher than the national road toll. It is also estimated to contribute to between 700 and 2050 asthma attacks in Australia each year.
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Wednesday, November 21st, 2007
A VOTE by Tamworth Regional councillors to reject an application for a Heavy Truck repair facility in Impala Estate has been described as “a glimpse of democracy”.
The vote was taken at the recent services and infrastructure committee meeting and a number of councillors readily accepted responsibility for the “anxiety” the vote, which was deferred from a previous meeting, had caused.
Cr Rob Schofield said he’d “received hundreds of letters û some nice and some not so nice”. “I am more than happy to reconsider (the application) and I am sorry for the anxiety this (deferral) has caused,” he said.
Cr Shirley Close said, “it is wonderful we have such interested people (referring to Impala Estate residents) who contributed what they did with such dignity”.
Residents of the estate, off Warral Rd south of the city, had met on October 5 to rally support to have the application rejected at council level.
Impala Estate resident David Simmons was one of a number of residents who addressed the councillors in the open forum session prior to the committee meeting.
He referred to the council’s own development policy which would not permit any application for a Truck repair workshop to get to a vote in open meeting.
Mr Simmons said the single lane, tar road would not withstand increased numbers of truck movements û he recorded up to 13 movements a day in the course of a week.
Another resident, Terese Vincent, said she and her husband û a race horse trainer û had bought the property 12 years ago as a rural retreat. She said horses they owned were at risk by any increased Truck movements as the noise tended to “make the horses react violently”.
Another resident was Pat Varley, who said she bought her property three years ago so she could enjoy the quality of life a rural residence offered.
“We are quite passionate about our area,” she said.
Terry Dawson said the fact there were no speed limit signs along the road, no kerbs or paths exposed pedestrians to increased risk from passing traffic. He said if the application were approved, then the movement of trucks increased the level of risk.
The application was rejected in a unanimous vote as it was not consistent with the objectives of zone 1d rural residential and it did not comply with the definition of a home activity.
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Tuesday, November 20th, 2007
Three top investors in the automotive industry painted a grim picture on Sunday for the sector in 2008, with one executive predicting a possible slump in U.S. sales to levels not seen in 15 years.
The weakest forecast is for a possible 9.4 percent decline. But all three — Jerry York, an adviser to billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian; financier Wilbur Ross; and Thomas Stallkamp, a former Chrysler president — were more pessimistic than many in the battered industry.
“While I am very negative on the autos sector over the next 12 to 18 months, I’m just not sure how bad it could be,” York, a former board member of General Motors Corp (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and chief financial officer of Chrysler, said at the Reuters Autos Summit in Detroit. “We all know housing is a debacle.”
U.S. light auto sales could slip to 15.5 million or less next year, York said. That would be down from near 16 million this year, a drop of 3 percent to mark the second consecutive annual decline and the lowest tally since 1998.
Stallkamp, a partner at private equity firm Ripplewood Holdings, which owns several auto parts makers, said the market could slump to 14.5 million, the lowest level since 1993.
“I’d say it’s somewhere between 14.5 (million) and 15 (million), somewhere in there and it’s hard to tell,” he said. “Today, I’m a little more towards 14.5 (million).”
Such a decline would be felt throughout the sector, CSM Worldwide auto analyst Michael Robinet said.
“That would certainly be one of the worst years on record given the gravity of the industry,” he said.
U.S. auto sales fell almost 11 percent in 1991, when the economy was in recession.
Ross, an investor who specializes in restructuring troubled businesses and has assembled an auto parts empire through acquisitions, said the U.S. consumer was “pretty well tapped out” as he predicted auto sales would slip a few hundred thousand units from this year.
Most automakers have predicted U.S. auto sales next year in the range of just under 16 million to 15.5 million, with Japan’s Nissan Motor Co Ltd at the low end.
However, the crumbling U.S. housing market is spooking consumers, the investors said.
“I hope I’m wrong on 14.5 (million) to 15 (million),” Stallkamp said. “But I think the mortgage issue is going to freak people out and that will hit pretty hard in ‘08.”
Ross called it “a sort of poverty effect from house prices going down.”
The U.S. automakers‘ market shares will suffer more than foreign rivals in such a weak market, Stallkamp said.
“You’re going to see some continued retrenchment in construction and the building trades that will hit the Big Three particularly,” he said.
The investors see the Big Three U.S. automakers cutting factory production instead of returning to overly generous discount deals such as GM’s zero-percent financing offers, first rolled out after the September 11, 2001, attacks.
“I think you’re going to see less discounting in general,” Ross said. “Now that they have a little better control of the factories and now that the factories are a little more right sized.”
None of the three predicted a recession for the U.S. economy in 2008, but York said “it feels like it’s on the way.”
Stallkamp, on the other hand, sees global credit markets stabilizing in the first half of 2008, with the holiday shopping season a key indicator. He sees U.S. auto sales coming back in 2009.
The U.S. automakers, already slashing jobs and factory production, will “have to get smaller faster” and push for more sales overseas in a weaker market, Stallkamp said.
“Maybe I’m too pessimistic on how low it’s going to go,” he said of the U.S. market. “Maybe I live in Michigan. This is a pretty crummy place to be right now.”
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Friday, November 16th, 2007
Hinduja Group flagship and leading Commercial Vehicle manufacturer Ashok Leyland unveiled 4921 TT, a 6×4 tractor with a gross vehicle weight of 49 tonnes. This heralds the entry of Ashok Leyland into the highest weight class of commercial vehicles permitted under the Motor Vehicle Act.
The Ashok Leyland 4921 TT features a powerful 210 HP indigenously developed 6 cylinder H series engine. The H-series of engines is renowned for it’s fuel efficiency and reliability. The 9-speed ZF 9S109 synchromesh gearbox facilitates effortless gear shifts and aids fuel efficiency. Anti-lock braking system and a Trailer control valve for synchronized braking of tractor and trailer further enhance the safety of 4921 TT.
The Ashok Leyland 4921 TT is offered with a factory-built twin-sleeper Newgen cab. Aesthetically designed in-house with ergonomically located controls, comfortable driver seat, generous stowage space, excellent visibility and ventilation, the Newgen cab spells new levels of comfort and safety. 4921 TT is offered as a fully built solution for various applications: with three axle trailers, bulkers and with tipping Trailers.
The 4921 TT is designed to deliver maximum customer value in the current rated payload regime. By coupling a three axle trailer, 4921 TT offers a rated payload of about 34 tonnes. The additional payload benefits the customers especially in container, cement, steel coil and over-dimensional cargo movements.
“Ashok Leyland pioneered Tractor Trailers in India in the early 80s and we believe that 4921 TT will be yet another catalyst in the modernization of Indian road transportation, facilitating higher tonnage and rated payload adherence”, said Mr Vinod K Dasari, Chief Operating Officer, Ashok Leyland. “With 4921 TT, we hope to add substantial value to our customers. In customer trials, we found that the incremental payload can boost net profit by over 30%. The 4921 TT will help logistics companies plan their loads better and obtain greater efficiency per trip”, he said. Since these vehicles will ply long distance under the emerging hub-and-spoke model, the country-wide parts and service network of the Company will be a definite advantage.
Priced at Rs 19.75 lacs with Newgen cabin, 4921 TT is also available as cowl chassis. 4921 TT is positioned in what is anticipated to be an emerging high-growth segment with a potential market size of 3000 to 5000 numbers per annum.
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