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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 26, 2010

BIPARTISAN GROUP URGES PRESIDENTIAL ACTION TO BRING GM TO NEGOTIATING TABLE AND SAVE DELPHI PENSIONS

In Personal Letter, Schumer, Gillibrand, Slaughter, Massa, Lee, Maffei Urge Obama Administration To Ensure Equitable Treatment for Delphi Employees By Bringing GM to Negotiating Table

15,000 Workers Across The Country Are Currently Being Impacted

Schumer: Administration Must Do All It Can to Ensure that Employees Get the Retirement They Worked So Hard For

Today, U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, as well as Representatives Louise Slaughter, Eric Massa, Chris Lee, and Dan Maffei, have announced that they sent a personal letter to President Barack Obama asking him to assist in bringing GM to the negotiating table in efforts to reverse a decision to refer the pension plans of the Delphi Corporation’s salaried retirees to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC).

The members of Congress urged the Administration to insist that GM treat these workers in the same manner as all other Delphi workers absorbed by GM, and fully fund their pensions, in addition to the pensions of other Delphi employees.

The members of Congress noted that these retirees have already been subjected to cuts in their health and life insurance benefits, and that any further cuts would place too great a burden on retirees, many of whom started their careers at GM, and only became Delphi employees when the two companies split. Thirty two members of Congress signed the letter to President Obama

“The way Delphi’s salaried retirees are being treated is fundamentally unfair,” said Schumer. “Many of them have been long time employees and some even began their careers, decades ago, as GM employees. They have sacrificed enough already, and to ask them to accept another burden is unfair and unreasonable. They deserve equitable treatment, and that’s why I am urging the Obama Administration to bring GM to the negotiating table and bring this saga to fair and equitable end.”

“We need to ensure that Delphi’s salaried retirees receive equitable treatment,” said Senator Gillibrand. “In the midst of these tough economic times, families in Upstate New York cannot afford to sacrifice their pension benefits. I will continue to fight for fair treatment for our Delphi retirees.”

“The workers at Delphi don’t deserve this,” said Slaughter. “The Western New York workers that built GM’s proud local tradition should not bear the brunt of this action. The idea that Delphi workers who have worked side-by-side with others at GM are not only losing their health care and life insurance benefits, but also stand to lose 70 percent of their pension is not only unwanted, it’s unjust.”

"I stand with the men and women that have spent their lives working at Delphi," said Congressman Eric Massa. "To slash the pensions of these retirees by up to 70% just because they were salaried employees is fundamentally unfair. We hope that President Obama will join us in calling for GM to renegotiate these conditions."

“I’m encouraged that so many of my colleagues, Democrat and Republican alike, have joined this fight to demand fairness and equity for all Delphi retirees,” said Congressman Lee. “Delphi salaried retirees are not looking for more than they have earned. They are simply looking for fair and equal treatment, just like the men and women they worked beside for so many years.”

“This is an issue about fundamental fairness,” Congressman Maffei said. “The Delphi retirees, who worked their whole lives and played by the rules, deserve the pension and retirement plans they negotiated and expected. Further cuts will be unbearable for many families.”

General Motors has already agreed to assume the pensions of Delphi’s hourly workers, and today the Senators and Representatives said that the salaried workers deserve the same treatment. The bipartisan members of Congress noted that if the pensions are transferred to the PBGC, the benefits may be cut by up to 70%. Delphi was originally spun off from General Motors in 1999 and has been operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection since October 2005. Delphi is GM’s largest supplier and sold the company $5.5 billion in parts and services in 2008, accounting for 31 percent of Delphi’s revenue. Since Delphi declared bankruptcy in 2005, GM has taken charges of almost $11 billion to pay for the restructuring efforts of Delphi’s North American operation.

In the letter, the members of Congress wrote: “As a 60 percent shareholder in GM, the federal government is in a position to do something to restore fairness for these retirees and to minimize the economic impact of the pension loss on their communities.”

The full text of the letter is below:
February 25, 2010

The Honorable Barack Obama
President
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President:

The auto industry helped build America’s middle class. Now, the very people who built GM through their labor are facing the prospect of losing the middle class retirement that they earned over a lifetime of service. Today, we write to ask for your assistance and intervention on behalf of the Delphi retirees, many of whom stand to lose a substantial portion of their pensions in the aftermath of the Delphi and GM bankruptcies.

In 1999, Delphi was created through the spinoff of the automotive components group from GM. The majority of the Delphi employees spent two-thirds of their careers as GM employees. In 2005, Delphi entered bankruptcy protection. As part of the restructuring of the company, many long-term employees were forced into early retirement. Early retirement or supplemental benefits are not guaranteed by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. In February 2009, the Delphi salaried retirees lost their health care benefits for themselves and their families. On July 31, 2009, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation terminated Delphi’s pension plans and became the trustee as of August 10, 2009.

In the case of Delphi hourly employees under certain collective bargaining agreements, GM agreed to make up the difference between the PBGC benefit and what the retiree had earned. The Delphi salaried employees and some of the hourly employees such as those represented by the International Union of Operating Engineers, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), and the Machinists unions had no such agreement and are facing drastic reductions in their pension benefits. More than 20,000 salaried retirees and 100 union retirees were left with no additional pension benefit guarantee. They are looking for fair treatment.

Instead, they are receiving notification from the PBGC of the reduction in their benefits. We would like to share with you information collected by the Delphi Salaried Retirees Association on the reductions that went into effect on February 1, 2010. They will have a profoundly negative impact on the individual retirees, their families, and their communities, which are already struggling to survive the most severe economic downturn since the Great Depression.

As a 60 percent shareholder in GM, the federal government is in a position to do something to restore fairness for these retirees and to minimize the economic impact of the pension loss on their communities. We request that the Administration bring GM to the negotiating table to work out a fair solution for the Delphi retirees.

Sincerely,

Senator Sherrod Brown (OH)
Senator George Voinovich (OH)
Senator Herb Kohl (WI)
Senator Russell Feingold (WI)
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (NY)
Senator Charles Schumer (NY)
Senator Tom Harkin (IA)
Senator Roger Wicker (MS)
Senator Thad Cochran (MS)

Rep. Tim Ryan (OH-17)
Rep. Michael Turner (OH-03)
Rep. Steven La Tourette (OH-14)
Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy (OH-15)
Rep. Betty Sutton (OH-13)
Rep. Charles Wilson (OH-06)
Rep. Zack Space (OH-1
Rep. Steve Austria (OH-07)
Rep. Marcy Kaptur (OH-09)
Rep. Marcia Fudge (OH-11)
Rep. John Boccieri (OH-16)
Rep. Steve Driehaus (OH-01)
Rep. Dale Kildee (MI-05)
Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (MI-11)
Rep. John Dingell (MI-15)
Rep. Gary Peters (MI-09)
Rep. Louise Slaughter (NY-2
Rep. Eric Massa (NY-29)
Rep. Chris Lee (NY-26)
Rep. Daniel Maffei (NY-25)
Rep. Gregg Harper (MS-03)
Rep. Bennie Thompson (MS-02)
Rep. Rob Andrews (NJ-01)
###

http://schumer.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=322586&

http://schumer.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=322586&




12:44 pm, February 25, 2010

CFO to leave Delphi Automotive for new job at pharmaceutical firm

By Ryan Beene
Delphi Automotive L.L.P. CFO John Sheehan plans to leave the Troy-based supplier to be the CFO at a Pittsburgh-area pharmaceutical company.

Sheehan, 49, will begin his new role at Mylan Inc. on April 1, where he will oversee the company's global finance operations, including accounting and financial control, financial planning, analysis, treasury and tax, according to a statement issued by Mylan today.

Mylan generated about $5 billion in 2009 revenue and has seen massive growth in recent years, jumping from $2.2 billion in 2007 revenue to revenue of $5.1 billion in 2008.

Sheehan was Delphi's chief restructuring officer from the time Delphi filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October 2005, until being named CFO in October 2008.

He had been at Delphi since 2002, when he was hired as chief accounting officer and controller.

“Through an extremely difficult period for our company and our industry, John has been a tenacious and steadfast advocate for us with the financial community, assuring that we had adequate funding to operate and meet our commitments to our customers,” Delphi CEO Rodney O'Neal said in a statement.

“While we will miss his guidance, work ethic, and leadership of the financial team at Delphi, we wish him the very best in new endeavors.”
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20100225/FREE/100229909



POSTED: 11:16 A.M. FEB. 25, 2010

European Commission probes auto suppliers in antitrust investigation

• BY JEWEL GOPWANI
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

The European Commission today confirmed it is investigating automotive parts suppliers that make electronics on suspicion of antitrust practices.

The commission carried out unannounced inspections of several companies on Wednesday.

German auto supplier Leoni AG confirmed that the European commission visited the the company’s headquarters in Nuremburg. “The European Union is doing research on a global international level,” said Sven Schmidt, spokesman for Leoni. Leoni’s largest customers are BMW, Peugeot and Daimler. Leoni, which acquired its electronics business from French supplier Valeo in 2008, does not supply parts to Toyota.

“The Commission has reason to believe that the companies concerned may have violated EU antitrust rules,” the commission said in a statement.

Here is the statement from the European Commission, released today:
Antitrust: Commission confirms investigation into suspected cartel in the sector of automotive electrical and electronic components suppliers
The European Commission can confirm that, starting on 24 February 2010, Commission officials carried out unannounced inspections in several Member States at the premises of companies active in the sector of automotive electrical distribution systems (sometimes referred to as wiring harnesses) and of other components for automotive electronic and electrical distribution systems.

The Commission has reason to believe that the companies concerned may have violated EU antitrust rules that prohibit cartels and restrictive business practices (Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union – TFEU and Article 53 of the Agreement on the European Economic Area). The Commission's investigation is being coordinated with several other competition authorities worldwide.

Wire harnesses are generally considered the "central nervous system" of a car, linking the car's computers to the various relevant functions in the vehicle.

The Commission officials were accompanied by their counterparts from the relevant national competition authorities.

Surprise inspections are a preliminary step into suspected anticompetitive practices. The fact that the European Commission carries out such inspections does not mean that the companies are guilty of anti-competitive behaviour nor does it prejudge the outcome of the investigation itself. The European Commission respects the rights of defence, in particular the right of companies to be heard in the Commission’s proceedings against them.

There is no strict deadline to complete inquiries into anticompetitive conduct. Their duration depends on a number of factors, including the complexity of each case, the extent to which the undertakings concerned co-operate with the Commission and the exercise of the rights of defence.
http://www.freep.com/article/20100225/BUSINESS01/100225026/1002/BUSINESS/European-Commission-probes-auto-suppliers-in-anti-trust-investigation



Thursday, February 25, 2010, 12:03pm EST | Modified: Thursday, February 25, 2010, 12:09pm

Dayton region eyes federal dollars after visit from White House 'Car Czar'

Dayton Business Journal - by Joe Cogliano DBJ Staff Reporter

The Dayton region may soon go after more federal dollars to spark economic development in the wake of a wave of automotive industry job losses locally. This comes after President Barack Obama's "Car Czar" visited the local community rocked by the closing of a General Motors assembly plant.

Ed Montgomery, executive director of the White House Council on Automotive Communities and Workers, led a slate of federal government representatives who converged on Moraine Wednesday to discuss ways to boost job creation in that city and surrounding areas, which have been hit hard by the loss of automotive jobs.

“It’s not every day that a city gets an opportunity to collectively have all the federal agencies that we would like to work with in the room at one time,” said Mike Davis, Moraine’s director of economic development.

Any help from the federal government would go toward implementing a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy report, or CEDS, released in January. The report includes several regional initiatives as well as a recommendation on redeveloping the former GM auto assembly plant which closed in Moraine in December of 2008.

The U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Small Business Administration, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration were among those in attendance.

Montgomery led a discussion about how each federal agency might be able to provide assistance with various aspects of the plan. Davis said he expects a document from Montgomery’s office soon outlining the next steps the city and its regional partners should take.

“I think we were well represented from a regional level and I think that the federal government made a good effort to try and cut through some of the red tape to make visible to us the programs that are available,” Davis said.

According to the CEDS report, the region should target the following industries: renewable energy, aerospace, advance materials and manufacturing, health services and technology, logistics and distribution, business and professional services.

E-mail jcogliano@bizjournals.com. Call (937) 528-4424.
http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/stories/2010/02/22/daily24.html



GM NEWS:

GM Partner Coskata Named Top Innovative Company by MITYesterday, Technology Review,which is published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, announced its 2010 first annual list of the 50 most innovative companies in the world.

Spanning the fields of energy, computing, the Web, biomedicine, and materials, each company on the list was evaluated based on its business model, strategies for deploying and scaling up its technologies, and the likelihood of success. Each company excelled not only at inventing technology, but also at using it to transform how we live and work.

Coskata, a biology-based renewable energy company that is commercializing technology to produce biofuels from a wide variety of feedstocks and other sources was named as a Top Private Energy Company. Using proprietary microorganisms and transformative bioreactor designs, the company will produce ethanol that can be cost competitive with gasoline unsubsidized almost anywhere in the world. Coskata earns this recognition alongside other companies such as Apple, Google, and Twitter.

GM announced its partnership with Coskata in early 2008 to use the company's breakthrough technology, which affordably and efficiently makes ethanol from practically any renewable source, including garbage, old tires and plant waste.

“We invested in Coskata so that we could enable the rapid deployment of commercially viable and environmentally sustainable ethanol globally,” said Bob Babik, GM Vehicle Emissions director. “We’re proud to say that we have already accepted some of Coskata’s ethanol at our Milford facility for testing.”
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HUMMER Sale to Tengzhong Cannot be Completed
GM announced that Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machines Co., Ltd. was unable to complete the acquisition of HUMMER.As a result, GM will begin the orderly wind-down of the HUMMER operations.

“One year ago, GM announced that we were going to divest HUMMER, as part of focusing our efforts on Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac going forward. We have since considered a number of possibilities for HUMMER along the way, and we are disappointed that the deal with Tengzhong could not be completed," said John Smith, GM vice president of Corporate Planning and Alliances. "GM will now work closely with HUMMER employees, dealers and suppliers to wind down the business in an orderly and responsible manner."

GM will continue to honor HUMMER warranties, while providing service support and spare parts to current HUMMER owners around the world.
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GM at the Olympics
As the 2010 Winter Olympic Games draw to a close, GM Canada has managed to capture some special moments of the Chevrolet Volt and Equinox Fuel Cell at the games. Visit the GM Canada Socrates homepage and click on the "Follow GM at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics" icon under announcements. This website highlights the many activities leading up to and during the games including the arrival of the Chevrolet Volt which created a huge buzz in the city. GM has also provided gas-free vehicles from Chevrolet, with eight Equinox fuel cell vehicles on the ground since October transporting athletes, government officials, VANOC representatives, celebrities, media, bloggers, and everyday Vancouver-ites.

GM Canada is proud to be part of this iconic event, as the Official Vehicle Partner of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games and Paralympic Games.
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In the Media
GM Brands Rank Tops for Service
GM’s brand dealerships are now providing the best service among mass-market automakers to drivers in their early years of ownership, a comprehensive annual report says, according to the Toronto Star.
J.D. Power and Associates said Wednesday its study shows retailers under six GM brands – including three that are being eliminated – posted most of the highest scores for service to customers with new vehicles in the first three years of operation in the United States, Canada and several other countries.
HUMMER, Saturn, Buick and Chevrolet dealerships led the rankings while Pontiac and GMC held the sixth and seventh positions for levels of service initiation, quality, advice, and facility.
The only brand to break GM's dominance at the top of the study's rankings is BMW's Mini branch.
Among luxury brands, Toyota's Lexus, GM's Cadillac, Jaguar, Honda's Acura and BMW generated the highest scores.
Read more here: http://www.wheels.ca/Article%20Category/article/784670
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Life Insurance Extended Enrollment Ends Tomorrow
The extension of the MetLife Group Variable Universal Life (GVUL) insurance enrollment period ends Friday, Feb. 26 at midnight. Those who do not enroll for existing life insurance coverages, including Basic Life Insurance, Optional Life Insurance, and Dependent Life Insurance, may experience delays in life insurance transition and may be unable to confirm their beneficiary information online.

Personal Accident Insurance (PAI) remains the same and is not included in the enrollment.

To enroll, go to Driving My Benefits:http://drivingmybenefits.gm.com/na/us/drivingmybenefits/en/index.htmlto review the GVUL information, access the Web Enrollment Instructions and link to the MetLife site (https://mybenefits.metlife.com/MyBenefits/). Once in the site, be sure and select: "Life Insurance - Group Variable Universal Life (GVUL) Enroll in Group Variable Universal Life Insurance."

If you need additional assistance, contact the MetLife enrollment line directly at 800-846-0124, Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.- 6 p.m. EST.
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Impala Versus Accord – What Size are They?
Several readers commented on yesterday’s sales factoid on the sales of the Chevy Impala: “Did you know the Chevy Impala is the number one selling large car in the U.S.?

Michael Poss wrote: “I am always excited to hear about the great success of GM products, however I am not certain that this statement is correct. The US EPA classifies the Chevy Impala and the Honda Accord as both large cars. I am not sure if there is any other classification that really counts. Maybe some sources mistakenly don't consider the Accord as a large car ….. I am working on the future GM large cars and I hope we can one day outsell the Accord!"

Anuj Patel clarifies: “It is correct in that the EPA classifies the Accord sedan as a large car. The EPA classifications are based on interior volume, which is why the coupe is classified as mid-size car (104 cubic feet). However GM classifies the vehicle as a mid-car; our categorization is based on length, width, price class, and other vehicles in the market that it competes with. Besides the EPA, it is commonplace to classify the Accord as a mid-car, for example market forecasting and analytical firms J.D. Powers and CSM Worldwide also classify the Accord as a mid-car.”
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EcoCAR Competitors to Host Chat Today
Representatives from two universities participating in the EcoCAR: The Next Challenge competition will be featured on GM’s Fastlane blog oday at 3 p.m. to host a web chat about their progress in the competition and the challenges they are working to overcome to build their advanced technology vehicles. The universities, North Carolina State University and University of Wisconsin, are two of 16 universities competing in the three-year competition sponsored by GM and the U.S. Department of Energy.
Join the discussion on Fastlane here: http://fastlane.gmblogs.com/
You can find the latest news and happenings from the competition on its “Green Garage” blog: http://greengarageblog.org/
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Haiti Earthquake Relief Exceeds $1 Million
Two fund-raising drives raised more than $35,000 in contributions for the American Red Cross Haiti Relief and Development Fund, bringing the combined current total from Chevrolet, GMC, GM, and the GM Foundation to more than $1 million for Haitian earthquake relief efforts.

“The outpouring of support from friends and coworkers in every part of General Motors has been really remarkable,” said John T. Montford, chairman of the GM Foundation & Senior Advisor for Government Relations and Global Public Policy. “I believe our combined efforts will make a significant difference in the lives of the Haitian people.”
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Explorer Scouts Enter Special 2010 Camaro in Autorama
The UAW Local 160/GM Tech Center Explorer Scouts posts have created a gold, black and red 2010 Chevrolet Camaro for entry in the Detroit Autorama Hot Rod Show at Cobo Hall, Feb. 26-28.

The Explorer Scouts, a division of the Boy Scouts of America’s Learning for Life Program, teach young women and men age 14 to 21 about career choices. The Tech Center Explorer Scout program specializes in teaching about careers in the auto industry.

This year, the Scouts created a work of art with their 2010 Camaro. Features include:
• Gold, black and red paint job with a gold-flake clear coat
• GM Performance Parts commemorative 427 cu. in., ZL1 all-aluminum big block engine producing 500 HP
• Camaro accessories ground effects kit and rear fascia
• Trunk-mounted video system that includes video games
• Black powder-coated accessories including 21-inch wheels
• Custom one-of-a-kind interior, featuring black, orange and gold colors

Dedicated to the 100th Anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America, the Camaro features congratulatory plaques signed by GM executives and UAW Local 160 representatives. More than 30 Explorer Scouts participated in the program this year. They were guided by 17 adult advisors (UAW, GM, GM retirees) who volunteered their time to better prepare our youth for tomorrow.

The Camaro will be displayed in booth #750 at the Detroit's Autorama at Cobo Hall, today through Sunday.
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Camaro Performs in the Snow
There's been lots of great media coverage of the Camaro, but if you're surviving the Winter of 2010 in the Midwest you may wonder how it performs in the snow. Watch this video to see it go in the snow - a V6-powered Camaro LT with 19" tires cruising around Black Lake at the Milford Proving Ground. The car was driven by GM engineer, Mark Dickens.
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Safety and Distracted Driving
HR Communications sent a note to GM employees yesterday about Safety and Distracted Driving. Employees are reminded with the increased availability and use of hand-held communication devices, it is important to review accountability for safe vehicle operation and the potential danger of distracted driving.

Employees must obey all local ordinances and/or state laws addressing the use of hand-held devices when driving for personal or company business.

Regarding text messaging, drivers must not read or type messages while driving. This also includes the use of hand-held NAVI, e-mail web browsing applications.
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J.D.Power Releases Customer Satisfaction with Dealer Service
Yesterday J.D. Power released their report on customer satisfaction with dealer service, and as reported in eNewsline,the Cadillac brand came in second only to Lexus in the luxury segment and GM’s other brands occupied six of the top seven spots in what J.D. Power refers to as mass market brands.

“Despite these results, I hear every day from many of our GM employees who often think GM dealers don't do a good job serving our customers. Can we and our dealers do even better? Absolutely! But, we should celebrate the positive facts this 100,000-person J.D. Power survey provides,” said Paul Copses, executive director, GM Service and Parts Operations. “We also can’t ignore the results of our recently completed anonymous mystery shopping exercise of approximately 16,000 dealer visits which gave our dealers’ service high marks in many areas…and yes, areas where we must improve.”

“We’ll soon be asking many GM employees to extend our mystery shopping exercise. My guess is that we’ll also learn more ways to improve, but we will also hear of many employees who were thrilled with their experience.

“I’ll come back to you with further blogs on what we are doing collectively in the Vehicle Sales, Marketing, Service, and Onstar team in conjunction with our dealers to address price, convenience, and the value our dealers provide. I think you’ll be pleased with what you hear. Better yet, make sure you're visiting one of our dealers today for your service needs.”
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Lawmaker: Toyota withheld crash lawsuit evidence

US lawmaker says Toyota documents show automaker withheld evidence in crash lawsuits

Stephen Manning, AP Business Writer, On Friday February 26, 2010, 3:20 pm

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A U.S. lawmaker says internal Toyota documents show the automaker deliberately withheld key vehicle design and testing evidence in lawsuits filed by Toyota drivers injured in crashes.

House oversight committee chairman Edolphus Towns says Toyota tried to shield its testing data on potential problems with Toyota vehicles and settled many lawsuits to avoid disclosing the information.

Towns says the data was known as the "Books of Knowledge." The committee learned about it from records it subpoenaed from a former top Toyota liability lawyer who is now suing the company over his dismissal.

In a letter sent to Toyota today, Towns asks the automaker to provide more details on the database.

Toyota was the subject of two congressional hearings this week on the recall of 8.5 million vehicles over safety concerns.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Lawmaker-Toyota-withheld-apf-2188961006.html?x=0



Are Toyota's Suppliers in Collusion? Antitrust and the Automotive Supply Chain

Posted At : February 25, 2010 9:17 AM

Related Categories: Spend Management, Sourcing, Jason Busch, Supply Risk

Earlier today, the news broke that government officials in the US, EU and Japan recently searched the offices of a number of Toyota suppliers that may be involved in cartel-like activities. According to The Wall Street Journal’s summary, “Investigators raided the offices of auto-parts suppliers tightly tied to Toyota Motor Corp. in recent days stemming from a probe in alleged anticompetitive practices.”

A spokeswoman from the US Department of Justice (DOJ) quoted in the article further suggests that, “The Antitrust Division is investigating the possibility of anti-competitive cartel conduct of automotive electronic components suppliers … We are coordinating with the European Commission and other foreign competition authorities."

Suppliers said to be at the subject of the investigation include: Yazaki (whose transliterated name sounds ironically similar to “yakuza”, the name given to organized Japanese crime syndicates), Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd., Furukawa Electric and Denso. But the important question to ask in this case is not “who” but “how” and “why” in the context of Toyota’s overall procurement and supply management strategies.

Toyota is known for a number of procurement practices. They pioneered, among other techniques, the preferred split of business approach amongst a small group of suppliers, awarding procurement volume based on an 80/10/10 or 60/20/20 rule or similar split percentages thereof. This model concentrates spend with a top supplier while giving just enough to others to create secondary options for the same part and component families.

The approach also helps to keep preferred suppliers, the ones receiving the largest percentage of business for a given part or component/bill of materials, on its toes. In addition, Toyota is also known for its deep category knowledge that leads to sourcing strategies as much based on target costing as price discovery through multi-round negotiations and other sourcing approaches (Honda also deserves credit for a similar knowledge-driven procurement approach).

While historically there have been numerous benefits to this model, including less adversarial supplier relationships compared with other automotive OEMS, one of the challenges of this approach is that it makes breaking into the preferred supplier mix at Toyota a tough thing for new suppliers. Our research in the area suggests that this may be one of the reasons why competitive suppliers to the ones targeted as part of the global collusion probe are raising their voices.

In contrast to other automotive OEMs that rely more on market-driven competition in many negotiations -- an approach that requires as many competitors as possible -- Toyota focuses primarily on knowledge-based sourcing models that provide preference to existing suppliers with whom it is currently doing business with, provided these incumbents have met specific quality (e.g., PPM, escapes), on-time delivery and related metrics in the past.

The possibility also remains that actual collusion exists in the market as well. Given Japan’s past close linkages between companies and supply chains in keiretsu-driven relationship hierarchies and traditions, the possibility exists that Toyota’s supply chain may still have some remnants of this legacy way of doing business within specific corporate families and structures.

- Jason Busch
http://www.spendmatters.com/index.cfm/2010/2/25/Are-Toyotas-Suppliers-in-Collusion




latimes.com L. A. Times

AUTOS

Lawmakers just getting started on scrutiny of Toyota

More hearings examining the automaker and the agency that oversees it are planned in coming weeks, and legislation to beef up regulation is likely.

By Ken Bensinger and Ralph Vartabedian
February 26, 2010
Reporting from Washington

Akio Toyoda's moment in the national spotlight may be over, but Washington is just getting started.

A day after the president of Toyota Motor Corp. apologized to Congress and millions of his customers over the automaker's handling of sudden acceleration problems, lawmakers said Thursday that they were planning further hearings scrutinizing both Toyota and the federal agency that oversees it.

One possible outcome: new laws aimed at keeping regulators up to date with the rapid advances in automotive technology, including computer-controlled engine systems.

"This is not the end," said Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which held a hearing Wednesday that featured Toyoda and his top U.S. lieutenant, Yoshimi Inaba. A day earlier, the House Commerce and Energy Committee held a similar hearing.

"We have to go further and really look at the record," said Towns, suggesting that he would hold more hearings. "I'm not ruling out legislation."

Next week, the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, chaired by Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.), will hold its own Toyota hearing. On Thursday it invited five witnesses, including Shinichi Sasaki, Toyota's top safety official in Japan, to appear, along with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

The automaker has been asked to explain its handling of complaints about sudden acceleration in its vehicles, a problem that has been blamed in at least 34 deaths since 2000, as well as thousands of other consumer complaints. Officials are asking how long Toyota knew about the problem, whether it dragged its feet in deciding to make recalls and whether glitches in vehicle electronics could contribute to the problem.

Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Iowa), vice chairman of the House Energy and Commerce investigations subcommittee, said this week's action was "just the beginning" of what could be a series of probes into the issue.

A former trial lawyer with experience in auto accident litigation, Braley said he wanted to reach a "definitive conclusion whether the electronic throttle system in Toyota vehicles is a factor" in sudden acceleration.

Legislators also said they would be turning their attention to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which oversees vehicle safety and has been criticized as being ill-prepared to regulate automakers and their increasingly high-tech cars.

Rockefeller's committee sent a letter to the Transportation Department's inspector general Wednesday demanding an audit of NHTSA to determine whether it had thoroughly and fairly investigated the causes of sudden acceleration and whether its officials have "the potential to be excessively influenced by the industry they are supposed to oversee."

Although LaHood defended the agency, saying it was "not a lap dog for anybody" in his testimony this week, those concerns were echoed by Rep. Bobby L. Rush (D-Ill.), chairman of the commerce subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce panel.

Saying he was "deeply troubled" by the regulator's limitations, Rush announced plans to convene a hearing next month to probe the role NHTSA had in the Toyota crisis, as well as the agency's general effectiveness given its relatively low budget. Only two of the 125 engineers on the regulator's staff are electrical engineers, LaHood acknowledged after repeated questioning from committee members.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista), the ranking minority member of the House oversight committee, said he would consider calling former NHTSA and Transportation Department officials who served under President George W. Bush before Congress. The idea, he said, is to explore the role they had in eight investigations of runaway acceleration in Toyota vehicles that resulted in only two minor recalls since 2003.

One outcome of all the scrutiny, which lawmakers suggested could take place over months, could be new legislation and vehicle regulations. Congress will take a look at laws to require event data recorders, or black boxes, in every vehicle, and to ensure the recorders can be easily read by regulators.

Toyota has said that although all its vehicles made in recent years have such a device, there is only one machine capable of decoding them in the country, and it cannot be used without a company official present.

Another potential law would require that all new cars have a so-called brake override feature -- a piece of software that ensures the throttle goes to idle when the brake pedal is depressed. After issuing nearly 10 million recall notices to handle sudden acceleration, Toyota said it would install the override on new cars starting with the 2011 model year, as well as some of the recalled models.

Members of Congress are also weighing whether NHTSA should be empowered to levy criminal penalties on automakers for delaying safety recalls. Currently the agency is limited to civil fines, with a cap of $16.4 million, and it has not penalized a car company since 2004.

"Maybe NHTSA needs some teeth," said Towns, who questions whether the agency, which spends only about $11 million on investigations, is equipped to regulate an industry with hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue.

Much of the focus going forward will remain locked on Toyota, however.

Toyoda's three-hour testimony before Congress "shed some light, but I think it shed light in a very scary way," said Rep. Brian P. Bilbray (R-Carlsbad), who said he detected "overconfidence" on the part of Toyoda and Inaba from his perch on the House oversight panel.

"That arrogance really needs to be reined in for the safety of everybody," Bilbray added.

After his appearance before Congress, Toyoda met with dealers and company employees at the National Press Club, where he delivered an emotional speech, crying slightly as he discussed Toyota's tribulations.

On Thursday morning, Toyoda met with LaHood before traveling to Kentucky, where Toyota has extensive operations, including an assembly plant in Georgetown that employs nearly 7,000 workers.

A key question at next week's Senate hearing is likely to concern interactions between Toyota safety officials and regulators. In December, a top NHTSA official flew to Japan to meet with Sasaki, an event that LaHood said "opened Toyota's eyes to the seriousness of the situation."

ken.bensinger@

latimes.com

ralph.vartabedian@

latimes.com
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-toyota-next26-2010feb26,0,4950879.story



Toyota to unlock secrets of black-box recorders

By HANS GREIMEL, AUTOMOTIVE NEWS This article was last updated on: 02/25/10

Read more: http://www.autoweek.com/article/20100225/CARNEWS/100229931#ixzz0gajiJiuA

Reacting to criticism that data from black-box crash recorders in its vehicles can be accessed only by the company, Toyota Motor Corp. is moving to ship hundreds of data-decoding machines to the United States and make them commercially available to help diagnose vehicle problems.

The devices, known as event data recorders, are similar to the black boxes on airliners and record information such as vehicle and engine speed in the seconds before a crash.

As Toyota scrambles to address complaints of unintended acceleration, the company has come under fire from lawmakers and lawyers for crash victims because its black-box data are encoded and can’t be read by law enforcement agencies or customers. Only Toyota’s proprietary reader machines can crack the code.

And Toyota has only one such device in the United States.

Answering questions Wednesday from members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Yoshimi Inaba, head of Toyota’s North American operations, said that will change.

“We have made the decision that we will have hundreds of units of them available by the end of April,” Inaba said. “For us also, it is very important to know the reasons of any accident.”

Inaba added they will be commercially available by 2011, about a year before a federal rule requires that data from boxes can be downloaded and read by car owners.

Making better use of black-box data was a key change outlined last week in Tokyo by Toyota President Akio Toyoda. The company said the change would allow it to determine the cause of a crash or malfunction more quickly.

Some experts say access to such data may help determine whether electronic malfunctions are to blame for a rash unintended acceleration cases linked to more than 30 deaths in the United States. Others dispute the value of such data because black boxes record only the last few seconds before a crash.

Read more: http://www.autoweek.com/article/20100225/CARNEWS/100229931#ixzz0gajRdxmV
http://www.autoweek.com/article/20100225/CARNEWS/100229931



Toyota chief blasted by lawmakers despite apology

Blistered by lawmakers, Toyota CEO says he's 'deeply sorry' for deadly defects, promises fixes

Tom Raum and Ken Thomas, Associated Press Writers, On Wednesday February 24, 2010, 9:25 pm EST

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Under blistering criticism, Toyota President Akio Toyoda personally and repeatedly apologized to Congress and millions of anxious American car-owners Wednesday for deadly defects in popular models produced by his Japanese company. But angry lawmakers forcefully declared it was hardly enough.

"Where is the remorse?" scolded Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio. And Republican John Mica of Florida held aloft what he called an "absolutely appalling" Toyota report bragging of defusing a safety investigation.

Of Toyoda's apology, Kaptur said, "I do not think it reflects significant remorse for those who have died." Federal safety officials have received reports linking 34 deaths in the United States to safety defects in Toyota cars and trucks over the past decade.

"I extend my sincerest condolences to them from the bottom of my heart," responded Toyoda, grandson of the founder of the world's largest auto company. "I'm deeply sorry for any accident that Toyota drivers have experienced."

But what's most important to American drivers -- and what lawmakers pressed Toyoda and a top aide to provide -- was a better explanation for slow actions to deal with the defects and believable assurances the problems that led to sudden unintended accelerations will be fixed.

Toyoda said those changes are being made nearly around the clock, but he repeated the company's insistence that there is no link to the cars' electronic systems.

Many drivers filing complaints with Toyota and the government say their acceleration problems had nothing to do with floor mat interference or sticky gas pedals -- the culprits the company is pointing to. Outside experts have suggested electronic problems.

Toyota has recalled 8.5 million vehicles, more than 6 million of them in the United States, mostly to fix problems with floor mats trapping gas pedals or with pedals getting stuck. Toyoda said great strides were being taken by his company to put "safety first" and it was working hard to refit the millions of cars and trucks that have been recalled.

The company also said Wednesday it will offer free at-home pickup of vehicles covered by the national safety recall, pay for customers' out-of-pocket transportation costs and provide drivers free rental cars during repairs. The deal was initially announced as part of an agreement between Toyota and New York state.

Toyoda also said that new systems to allow brakes to override gas pedals were being put on new models.

"Notwithstanding that, accidents actually happen," he told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, the second of three congressional panels examining Toyota's troubles.

Toyoda, 53, remained calm when some Democratic and Republican lawmakers scolded the company for the recalls and safety problems.
He stood firm on many points, including saying he was "absolutely confident" the causes of runaway acceleration were mechanical, and not a design flaw in the company's electronic throttle control system. Many safety experts and lawmakers have suggested that the electronics systems should not be ruled out.

Rep. Mica said it was an embarrassing day not only for Toyota but for U.S. safety regulators, whom a number of lawmakers said should have acted more quickly and forcefully.

Mica held up a copy of a July 2009 internal Toyota document boasting of a "win" for Toyota in striking a deal with the U.S. government for a more limited recall involving floor mats. The document said the agreement saved the company $100 million.

The internal presentation was addressed to Yoshimi Inaba, chief of Toyota Motor North America, who sat next to Toyoda at the witness table.
"It is inconsistent with the guiding principles of Toyota," Inaba told Mica.
Toyoda's testimony got off to an agreeable start, as he promised to tell the truth and gave an opening statement in clear, if heavily accented, English.

"My name is on every car. You have my personal commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to restore the trust of our customers," he said.

Committee members praised him for voluntarily venturing onto a potential minefield. Under intensifying grilling, Toyoda chose to answer all questions in Japanese. He brought a translator with him.

Although he answered every question put to him, many of the answers repeated company talking points. He did not offer any new company concessions beyond a general promise to be more vigilant, open in communications and responsive to calls for change.

Toyoda testified for a little over three hours.

Later, Toyoda met with a more receptive audience: a group of U.S. Toyota dealers who have been in town lobbying members of Congress. "Words cannot express my gratitude," he said in English. "We need to rethink everything about our operation."

Paul Atkinson, a Houston-area Toyota dealer who spoke on behalf of other dealers, told Toyoda that "we thoroughly apologize for what happened today."

Jack Taylor, an Alexandria, Va., Toyota dealer, said he thought some of the lawmakers at the hearing "were very rude," adding he's getting 100 customers a day for the recall.

"I think they were a little rough," agreed another dealer, Troy Duhon, who employs 180 people at Toyota dealerships in New Orleans and Poway, Calif. He said new car sales at his business were down 15 percent compared with last year.

Shares of Toyota traded on the New York Stock Exchange rose steadily Wednesday as Toyoda testified, closing up 4 percent.

At the hearing, Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Pa., spoke of "injuries and the damages suffered by innocent Americans ... who like myself have grown up in an atmosphere that we had a great deal of faith in something that was stamped 'Made in Japan.'"

"It was of the highest reliability. You injured that thought process in the American public, and you will be called upon in our system to pay compensation for that," Kanjorski said.

And Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., told the Toyota chief, "It's one thing to say you're sorry. It's another when it seems as if time after time there are pronouncements that problems are being addressed and over and over again it seems like they're not being addressed."

He asked why Americans "should pay hard-earned money on a Toyota in hard economic times."

"I sincerely regret that some people actually encountered accidents in their vehicles," said Toyoda.

In one pointed exchange, Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-Calif., asked Toyoda whether U.S. regulators should require automakers to report all defects throughout the globe. When Toyoda gave a lengthy response through his translator, promising to "minimize those troubles," Bilbray became flustered.

"In all fairness, I'd just like a yes or no," Bilbray said, pointing his finger at Toyoda. Toyoda quickly said through the translator that the company would "extend full cooperation." Bilbray shot back, "We'll take that as a yes."

Committee members did not spare federal safety regulators from their withering criticism.

Rep. Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y., the committee chairman, said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration failed to follow through aggressively on thousands of complaints dating back a decade about sudden acceleration in Toyota vehicles.

NHTSA , which is part of the Transportation Department, "failed the taxpayers and Toyota failed their customers," Towns declared.

Towns asked Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who preceded Toyoda in the witness chair, a question on behalf all of Toyota owners and drivers: Are the cars safe to drive?

"We have listed every Toyota that's up for recall," LaHood said. "I want anybody who has one of those cars to take it to the dealer and make sure it gets fixed."

LaHood said the recalled vehicles posted on his department's Web site, http://www.dot.gov, "are not safe."

Rep. Darrell Issa of California, the leading Republican on the panel, waved a gas pedal before LaHood and complained that Toyota knew about problems of sticking gas pedals and improperly placed floor mats years ago and made some fixes on models sold in Japan but delayed addressing the problems on other cars, including some of its most popular models sold in the U.S., until just recently.

Associated Press writers Laurie Kellman, Stephen Manning, Alan Fram, Sonya Ross and Christine Simmons contributed to this report.
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