Visteon sees new Missouri plant employing 200

CHICAGO, June 20 (Reuters) - U.S. auto parts maker Visteon Corp. (VC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) has begun building a plant southwest of St. Louis to support new interiors business with automakers including Chrysler Group, it said on Wednesday.

Visteon said the Eureka, Missouri, plant is expected to begin production in summer 2008 and employ 200 workers by early 2009. The plant will supply door panels, consoles and cockpits to Chrysler's St. Louis North assembly plant initially.

Visteon, based in suburban Detroit, is in a three-year restructuring that includes fixing, closing or selling some 30 plants. It received property tax abatements, payroll tax incentives and training grants for the Eureka plant, it said.

Oil tumbles on big jump in inventories

Prices fall after crude, gasoline supplies post surprise increase ahead of summer driving season.

June 20 2007: 10:40 AM EDT

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Oil prices sank nearly $1 Wednesday after a government report said supplies of crude and gasoline jumped more than Wall Street had expected.

U.S. crude for July delivery slid 89 cents to $68.21 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil had traded down 21 cents just prior to the report's release.

In its weekly inventory report, the federal government's Energy Information Administration said gasoline supplies, closely watched in the summer driving season, climbed 1.8 million barrels last week. Analysts were looking for a 1-million-barrel rise, according to Reuters.

Crude stocks jumped 6.9 million barrels, while distillates, used to make heating oil and diesel fuel, also rose by 100,000 barrels. Analysts were looking for an increase of 100,000 barrels of crude and an 800,000-barrel increase in distillates.

The report comes as traders have been focused on whether struggling U.S. refiners could lift supplies of gasoline during the peak summer demand season, while also reviving low heating fuels stocks, Reuters reported.

Chrysler Courting Investors, Dealers

Associated Press 06.20.07, 10:14 AM ET

DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group said Wednesday investors and dealers from 19 countries are visiting its headquarters this week to learn about the potential for the automaker's franchises in their markets.

As part of its effort to continue to increase sales and expand its operations in markets outside of North America, Chrysler said it has identified a need for additional sales outlets in key established and growth markets.

"While we will continue to aggressively defend our position in NAFTA, it is important that we expand in other markets so that we are not as dependent on the ups and downs of a single region," Tom LaSorda, Chrysler Group's president and chief executive, said in a statement. "With a more global focus we will be better able to take advantage of emerging opportunities."

New York-based private-equity firm Cerberus Capital Management is in the process of acquiring a controlling stake in Chrysler in a deal worth $7 billion. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter.

Cerberus LLC News

Cerberus' purchase of Chrysler approved by FTC http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070620/AUTO01/706200362/1148
DetNews.com - Detroit,MI,USA
Christopher S. Rugaber / Associated Press Latest Auto News from the AP WASHINGTON -- Federal antitrust regulators have cleared Cerberus Capital Management's ...


Cerberus hires financial services chief http://www.financialnews-us.com/?page=uspeoplemoves&contentid=2448072288
Financial News Online US - London,UK
Cerberus Capital Management has tapped a longtime bank executive to run its financial services division, as buyouts in the sector have tripled since last ...


Cerberus Acquires Torex Retail for $274.5 Million (Update1) http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=aFmMDClPK1fo&refer=europe
Bloomberg - USA
By Vivek Shankar June 20 (Bloomberg) -- Cerberus Capital Management LP acquired UK software developer Torex Retail Plc for about 204.4 million pounds ...


Today's top 10
http://www.thestate.com/business/story/96701.html
The State - Columbia,SC,USA
Federal antitrust regulators have cleared Cerberus Capital Management's $7.4 billion purchase of Chrysler. A Canadian company's cheap generic version of the ...

Court decides passengers can challenge stops.

TCC - The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that passengers in vehicles may challenge the legality of a traffic stop when the stop results in an arrest.

The Washington Post reports that the unanimous decision by the court came in the case of a California man, Bruce Brendlin, who had been charged with drug possession after police stopped the car in which he was riding. Drug paraphernalia were found in the car. Brendlin took his case to court, charging that the items were found in an unreasonable search and seizure, a violation of the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution.

The Court's ruling affirmed Brendlin's standing and said that passengers, like drivers, are seized in a traffic stop and thus can claim Fourth Amendment protection. Brendlin had been denied by the California Supreme Court, which ruled that passengers are not seized by the police but could be implicated by searches.

Various groups, including the ACLU, had concurred with the opinion, although courts in Colorado and Washington had sided with the California Supreme Court.

As a result of the ruling, the case has been sent back to the California courts so legal action can proceed.

This Day in Auto History: 20 JUNE

This Day in Auto History: 6.20.1876 Edward George Seubert of the Standard Oil Company of Indiana is born in Syracuse, NY 6.20.1911 Racer Paul Pietsch is born in Neustadt, Germany 6.20.1918 Charles C. Hanch is named Chief of Automotive Products for the United States War Industries Board 6.20.1937 Jean-Pierre Wimille and Robert Benoist win the Le Mans 24-hour race in a Bugatti Type 57G, becoming the first to exceed 2000 total miles during the event 6.20.1953 The Gordon Bennett Golden Jubilee Rally is held in Ireland to commemorate the original 1903 event that introduced automobile racing to that country

Source: Automobile History Day By Day, by Douglas A. Wick

Fiat And Daimler Chrysler In Engine Alliance

Wednesday, 20 June 2007, 1:59 pm
Press Release: Fiat

Fiat Forms Strategic Alliance With Daimler Chrysler To Provide Engines

Fiat 3.0 litre JTD Turbo Diesel engines are used in Mitsubishi light commercial vehicles

Fiat Powertrain Technologies and the DaimlerChrysler Truck Group have announced a strategic co-operation agreement for the supple of powertrains, with the first step being the long-term supply of the advanced Fiat 3.0 litre JTD Turbo Diesel engine used in the new Fiat Ducato for use in the Mitsubishi Canter range of light commercial vehicles.

Starting in 2009 Fiat Powertrain Technologies will provide 80,000 3.0 litre JTD engines (codenamed F1C) a year to Mitsubishi Fuso, with plans to significantly increase volume in the following years.

The engine being supplied to the DaimlerChrysler Truck Group is a Common Rail Diesel engine, with 3.0 litre displacement, rated 115.5 kW at 3,500 rpm and a torque of 400 Nm at 1,400 rpm. Thanks to the optimized design of all engine components and to the advanced technology of its injection and turbocharging systems, this engine guarantees excellent performance and fuel consumption. The F1C engine is currently manufactured only in Foggia, Italy, but production in an additional site will shortly be started as part of the globalization of Fiat Powertrain Technologies' footprint.

The current Canter generation was introduced in 2002 and is one of the most successful light-duty trucks in Asia - sold over 132,000 times in 2006 in over 106 countries world-wide. Its great success and Mitsubishi Fuso's core competence for such vehicles makes MFTBC the world-wide Competence Centre for light-duty trucks within the DaimlerChrysler Truck Group.

Within the framework of this strategic supply-agreement the two companies are also investigating further potential business opportunities in other markets, including South East Asia.

"This agreement is a key step in our strategy aimed at developing strategic partnerships in all sectors of the Fiat Group" says Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat Group. "Our ability to partner with DaimlerChrysler is confirmation that the decision to carve out our powertrain activities as a separate sector two years ago was the right one, and that we have products and technical skills to satisfy the needs of a demanding market."

Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of DaimlerChrysler AG and responsible for the Mercedes Car Group, says: "Today's and future emission regulations demand a high level of investment and technological specialization. This agreement provides a value added for both companies, the Fiat Group and DaimlerChrysler."

Andreas Renschler, Member of the DaimlerChrysler Board of Management and responsible for the Truck Group, added: "Today is a milestone for the DaimlerChrysler Truck Group in many ways. With this alliance we have reached the best decision for our Fuso customers as we will offer them the most modern, technologically advanced and ecologically friendly light-duty engine for their businesses. And the engine will deliver high performance combined with highly competitive fuel efficiency."

"This agreement witnesses the level of our technology and supports the strategic role of FPT in expanding its business outside the captive market" said Alfredo Altavilla, CEO of Fiat Powertrain Technologies. "We trust this supply agreement can be the first step in a long-lasting and mutually satisfactory cooperation in further selected projects."