Local ties can't save Sterling Truck plant

London Free Press October th 2008

MANUFACTURING WOES: Daimler Trucks boss Chris Patterson says the failing bottom line, not emotion, is the deciding factor

Local roots run deep for the man in whose hands lies the fate of workers at Sterling Truck in St. Thomas. But local loyalties do not make a difference when it comes to deciding which plants remain open and which close down, said Chris Patterson, chief executive of Daimler Trucks North America. It is all about the bottom line -- and that states clearly Sterling Truck will be shut down in March, he said.

Patterson was born and raised in Toronto, but his family hails from Goderich -- his parents retired back to Goderich after leaving Toronto and still live there. He also graduated with an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario in 1978.

"We do not discriminate based on lineage," Patterson said. "It is brutal. . . . We cannot stay with Sterling longer because we have an emotional connection." Daimler is ending the Sterling Truck line -- also closing a plant in Portland, Ore. -- as its Freightliner and Western Star brands will fill the void.

Patterson will sit down with Canadian Auto Workers union officials tomorrow to hear a plea from workers to keep the plant open and they will come armed with pledges of financial support from the federal and provincial governments.

"We never had any dialogue on this," said Jim Stanford, CAW chief economist. "There are all kinds of things we can do. The province has a $1-billion fund, the federal government a $450-million innovation fund. They did not even try and that is outrageous."

In 2003, a federal and provincial government bailout and CAW concessions helped save the International Truck plant in Chatham from a planned shutdown and more than 800 workers are still there.

But Patterson will not ask for a bailout and bristled at the International example.
"I am very aware of that situation. I am not prepared to comment on the fact our government used our tax dollars to bail out a competitor that was failing. It is not a positive comment about our government's industrial policy. "If they (International) had gotten out of the heavy truck business, perhaps this (Sterling closing) may not have happened."

Closing a plant is nothing new to Patterson. He shut down a Kenworth plant in B.C. during the 1980s and a Freightliner plant also in B.C. in 1992.

As for the Sterling plant's future, "we will be happy to entertain offers to purchase . . . We cannot make money with it at this juncture."

Daimler took over the Sterling truck line from Ford about 11 years ago and since then tried to build the brand, but it never caught on, he added. In fact Sterling has about six per cent of the market in the U.S., and it would need twice those numbers to be viable, he said.

Daimler stated in a release the closings will cost $600-million and save $900-million a year by 2011.

Patterson also rejected suggestions a new plant in Saltillo, Mexico, will replace the Sterling trucks now being made in St. Thomas. Freightliner's new Cascadia truck will be made in Mexico, he said.

The closing is also not an issue of unionized wages, about $30 an hour at Sterling, or the fact the St. Thomas plant endured two strikes in its history. "That has zero, nothing to do with it," said Patterson. "The state of labour relations has not influenced things one way or the other."

The plant closings in St. Thomas and Portland as well as other hourly and salaried cuts will trim about 4,500 workers from Sterling workforce in the U.S, and Canada.

Ford second to none in quality: study

A new study says that when it comes to initial quality, no automaker performs better than Ford. According to the 2008 U.S. Global Quality Research System study, Ford's initial quality now equals that of Toyota and Honda- representing a statistical tie for top place with the Japanese automakers. The study represents an 8 percent increase in quality over last year, and says that each new car and truck launched with improved quality versus it predecessor. How is the quality determined? It's an interesting measure called the "Things Gone Wrong" rating- resulting in a 'TGW' number per 1,000 vehicles during the first three months of ownership. Fords vehicles averaged 1,284 TGW items, statistically equivalent to the 1,250 TGW rating level of Toyota and Honda.

"Last year we tied with Toyota, and this year our quality performance is as good as industry-leading Honda's too," said Mark Fields, Ford's president of The Americas. "Our world-class quality is one of the most important aspects of our turnaround in North America. This consistently strong quality improvement should offer today's customer renewed confidence, setting the stage for important new products like Ford Flex."Ford earned extra honors from the study in the areas of interior trim, seats and appearance- as well as paint, vehicle engineering and electrical / entertainment systems. A total for 15 Ford, Lincoln, Mercury vehicles are now ranked in the top three of their respective segments for either TGW performance, customer satisfaction or both.

Ford to Receive a 10 Million Dollar Grant to Develop Plug In Hybrid Technology

Ford Motor Company is set to receive a $10 million grant from the United States Department of Energy to be spent on plug-in hybrid research and development. The government is funding half of Ford’s three-year plug-in development and demonstration program that currently has 20 plug-in hybrid vehicles on test.

According to the automaker, the three-year program is designed to demonstrate plug-in hybrids to consumers, as well as serve as a developmental test-bed for the untested technology. Ford has been working on a fleet of plug-ins with Southern California Edison, the Electric Power Research Institute, Johnson Controls-Saft and Michigan’s DTE Energy.

Ford is currently using the Edge and Escape SUVs as test-beds for plug-in hybrids. More details of the government’s grant are expected to be released tomorrow when an official announcement is made.

Programmable key will rein in teen drivers

So you think junior is a little too lead-footed when he drives the family car? Starting next year, Ford Motor Co. will give you the power to do something about it.

The company will roll out a new feature on many 2010 models that can limit teen drivers to 80 m.p.h. (128 km/h), using a computer chip in the key.

Parents also have the option of programming the teen's key to limit the audio system's volume, and to sound continuous alerts if the driver doesn't wear a seat belt.

"Our message to parents is, hey, we are providing you some conditions to give your new drivers that may allow you to feel a little more comfortable in giving them the car more often," said Jim Buczkowski, Ford's director of electronic and electrical systems engineering.

The feature, called "MyKey," will be standard on an unspecified number of Ford models when the 2010 cars and trucks come out late next summer. The feature will spread to the entire Ford, Lincoln and Mercury lineup as models are updated, spokesman Wes Sherwood said.

Ford arrived at the 80 m.p.h limit even though freeway speed limits are lower in most states because it wanted to leave a margin in case an unusual situation arises, Buczkowski said. In some states, freeway speed limits are above 70 m.p.h., Sherwood said.

"Just lopping it off at exactly 70 m.p.h. was felt to be too limiting," Buczkowski said.

The company already uses computer chips in its keys to prevent thefts. The car won't start unless it recognizes the chip in the key.

"It's making use of existing technology, and through the magic of software, we're able to build features on top of the features we already have," Buczkowski said.

In addition to speed limits, MyKey also will limit the volume of the audio system, and it will sound a six-second chime every minute if seat belts are not fastened. The chime sounds for adult drivers, too, but ends after five minutes to avoid annoying adults who adamantly don't want to wear seat belts, Buczkowski said.

Parents also have the option of having the car sound a chime if the teen exceeds 45, 55 or 65 m.p.h.

Ford said its market research shows 75 per cent of parents like the speed and audio limits, but as you might expect, 67 per cent of teens don't like them.

Danisha Williams, a 16-year-old senior at Southfield-Lathrup High School in suburban Detroit, said she's against the idea.

"I wouldn't want my parents to have that much control over how I'm driving," she said. "If your parents are holding your hand, you're never going to learn.''

Brittany Hawthorne, 17, another Southfield-Lathrup senior, said there may be emergency situations where she'd have to drive more than 80, possibly to accelerate to avoid a crash.

Ford's research shows that parents would be more likely to let teens use their vehicles with the system, Sherwood said, and if it gets them the car more often, the number of teens objecting drops by nearly half.

A top official from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a research group funded by the auto insurance industry that is pushing to raise the minimum driving age to 17 or 18, found the key intriguing. IIHS says car crashes are the leading cause of death among teenagers.

"Research we've done has shown that speeding is a major factor in teen crashes, especially novice teen drivers," said Anne McCartt, the institute's senior vice president for research. "So I think a system that tries to correct the speeding behavior has the potential to improve safety.''

More than 5,000 U.S. teens die each year in car crashes. The rate of crashes, fatal and nonfatal, per mile driven for 16-year-old drivers is almost 10 times the rate for drivers ages 30 to 59, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

2009 Ford F-150 Video Preview

Kansas City Starts Production of 2009 Ford F-150

Ford Motor Company employees at Kansas City Assembly Plant celebrated the production of the new 2009 Ford F-150, which offers the most capability in the full-size pickup market with unsurpassed fuel economy. “Ford is the truck leader and core F-150 truck buyers expect and demand the best truck on the market,” said Ford Motor Company Group Vice President of Global Manufacturing and Labor Affairs Joe Hinrichs, who thanked plant employees for a successful launch of the new F-150. “Ford’s quality is on par with the best in the industry and the team at Kansas City Assembly Plant is delivering a truck that is ‘Built Ford Tough’ with an unrelenting focus on quality and craftsmanship.” On sale later this month, the new F-150 offers fuel economy that has improved an average of 8 percent across the entire lineup as a result of a wide-range of engineering enhancements. The fuel economy gains reach as high as 12 percent versus the prior model year on F-150 models equipped with the high-volume 3-valve, 5.4-liter V-8 engine. At the same time, the new F-150 delivers class-leading towing capability of 11,300 pounds and hauling capacity of 3,030 pounds – a combination no other competitor can match. The new F-150, part Ford’s F-Series lineup that remains the best selling vehicle on the market, also offers more standard safety equipment than any other half-ton pickup on the market, with comparable or better pricing at all three cab configurations versus the competition. The F-150 Lariat SuperCrew, for example, starts at $35,820*, more than $5,000 less than a comparably equipped 2009 Dodge Ram. Ford invested $110 million in Kansas City Assembly Plant for new tooling and equipment to build the new F-150, which offers consumers the most cab styles, box options and trim levels. Upgrades include the addition of 24 new clearcoat robots for flexible automation in the paint shop. In final assembly, the box line was extended to support installation of the F-150 cargo management system and the tailgate step. The plant also added 65 new error-proofing devices to ensure quality is built into every new F-150. In the body shop, state-of-the-art, precision lasers were installed to mate the roof and body-side panels to the truck’s new roof structure, which features the industry’s first use of super high-strength, dual-phase steel. The stiffer, tighter structure contributes to improved safety and delivers a quieter more refined ride. These measures, along with other design changes are key to delivering Ford’s most capable F-150 ever. Even before production of the 2009 F-150 began, prototypes of the new truck endured 4.5 million miles of real-world and laboratory testing and quality checks where genuine truck customers use their pickups. And while the truck was undergoing tough testing, Kansas City employees were focused on ways to build in quality into each new F-150. “The team at Kansas City Assembly Plant understands the importance of the F-150 to Ford,” said Ken Ward, plant manager, Kansas City Assembly Plant. “They are proud to build Ford’s most capable F-150 ever.”

Source: Ford

Ford Wins Truck Trends "Best in Class Work Truck 2008"

Ford Super Duty F-250 (Truck Trend Magazine)

This class is about back-breaking heavy-duty work chores and abuse. As such, we look more closely than usual at things like price, GVWR, actual curb weight, and engine options. We like that the Ford had the lowest base price, the highest real payload number, a towing capacity we know (for a fact) is quite conservative, and has one of the most sophisticated and high-tech twin-turbo diesel engines around. That's not to say there isn't plenty to love about the Cummins Ram or the Duramax Silverado HD too, but in the end having the truck look as different as possible from the half-ton version seems to tip the scales in the Super Duty's direction.

United States Senate Approves $25 Billion Automotive Industry Loans

The Detroit News is reporting that the United States Senate has approved a $25 billion dollar loan for the automotive industry to re-build factories and produce more fuel efficient vehicles. In a 78 to 12 vote, the bill is expected to be signed by President Bush before the current government's budget expires tomorrow. Talk about last minute, right? General Motors spokesman, Greg Martin, stated the loans "will help speed the transition to cleaner, more fuel-efficient vehicles". Automakers will have 25 years to repay the loans and have the choice to defer repayment for up to five years. The lay also states that since they feature sub-investment grade credit, for every $1 billion the manufacturers borrow, they will have to save more than $100 million. Ford Motor Company also made a statement regarding the loans, s is an important first step to providing access to capital for important investments in the future at a time when the capital markets are distressed".