Apr 25
2008 Cadillac CTS gets tuned by D3 Research & Design
Volvo Aims for Zero Accidents
2008 Cadillac CTS gets tuned by D3 Research & Design
Apr 25
The evolution of the Group C organisation, has lead to almost forty sportscars being registered for the season.
Group C’s Charlie Agg, comments, “I am delighted with the ultimate response to what we have proposed for this season. We looked for our racing members to sign up for the season, offering them what we considered to be an excellent package for the four races and test sessions of track time, competitive racing, together with a social and hospitality programme the like of which the Group C series competitors have not experienced before.
“It has taken a considerable effort to achieve this – but once people grasped the rationale behind what we were trying to achieve and why, almost everyone understood that a commitment to the season was not only in their best interests but also in the interests of Group C as a whole, going forward.”
Again, in 2008 Group C will see entrants from all over the globe participating in the series. Brian De Vries will seek to improve on his 2007 runners-up finishes in the fabulous Intrepid and he will be joined by fellow American, Jim Loftus while Australian, Rob Sherrard is looking forward to his second season in Group C with eager anticipation. The ever-growing contingent of continental European entrants will again take on a strong entry from the UK to ensure that race fans are treated to the sight of Mazda, Spice, Aston Martin, Tiga, Argo, Nissan and others mixing it with more than a dozen Jaguars and Porsches.
The new race formats with the Sprint and 1 ½ Hour Enduro Format – which will include both refuelling and driver changes offer Group C entrants the chance to pair themselves with guest drivers and the organisers are currently lining up a number of star names from both the original Group C period and the current era to sit alongside some of the cars’ regular drivers.
Continua leyendo “Group C vintage racing set for booming grids”
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Apr 25
Despite the doom and gloom pervading the current economic climate, H&H enjoyed a notably successful sale on its first visit to Harrogate. Auction goers both old and new were bowled over by the Harrogate International Centre’s spacious indoor exhibition facilities. Newly refurbished but not yet open to the general public, the adjoining Royal Hall had its floor area decorated with automobilia and its VIP boxes filled with racing motorcycles. With its towering ceiling, gilt-laden mouldings and classical tableau paintings, this truly magnificent ‘saleroom’ played host to visitors from throughout the British Isles and Europe as well as others from South Africa and Japan.
Perhaps understandably given its rarity and importance within the canon of Aston Martin models, the DB6 Short Chassis Volante (1 of 37) attracted international interest. A presentable but by no means concours car, it sold to Europe for a new auction world record price of £324,500. Not quite as scarce as its open-topped sibling, the 1962 Aston Martin DB4 Series IV Vantage (1 of 45) had undergone a sympathetic and well executed restoration. Simply stunning ‘in the metal’, the grand tourer boasted an enlarged engine capacity and close ratio gears. A sophisticated alternative to the ubiquitous DB5, it was bought by an American collector for £209,000. Although, these two Astons hogged the limelight by taking some £533,500 between them, the sale witnessed a number of strong results throughout.
Highlight among the prewar cars was the delightfully patinated 1937 Lagonda LG45 Drophead Coupe. Entered by a Northern Irish collector, it was sold to a European enthusiast for £88,000. Hailing from the same Lincolnshire stable, the 1926 Delage DI Tourer and 1935 Railton Eight Saloon commanded £18,150 and £17,600 respectively. All four of the catalogued Bentleys changed hands with the highest price going to the 1951/69 Bentley MKVI Turbocharged Special at £27,500. Though, the 1937 4.25 Litre Saloon (£24,750), 1988 Mulsanne S (£15,675) and dilapidated 1956 Bentley S1 Freestone & Webb Saloon (£10,780) were keenly contested too. Another restoration project but one bearing the highly appropriate registration number ‘XKA 1’, the 1956 Jaguar XK140 Roadster comfortably exceeded its high estimate to fetch £31,900. Pleasingly, the three cars consigned from the Yorkshire Motor Museum found new owners with the delightful 1923 Wolseley 10HP ‘200 Mile Race’ Recreation recording £25,300, t
he 2003 Jaguar XKR Coupe £18,700 and the 1970 Triumph TR6 £10,175.
Continua leyendo “Super Rare Aston Martins Make Over Half-a-million Pounds at H&H’s Inaugural Harrogate Auction”
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Apr 25
As well as the 21st Century’s double World Rally Champion, Marcus Gronholm, the Rally Show at Chatsworth on 7/8 June will be visited by at least one World Rally Champion from the 20th Century: Stig Blomqvist, World Champion in 1984 at the wheel of an Audi quattro, is scheduled to make an appearance at the Show.
It is no coincidence that Blomqvist was also British Rally Champion in 1983. The theme for the whole weekend is a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the BRC. The Tesco 99 Octane British Rally Championship contenders will be there in force and will contest four rallies over the Chatsworth stages in the course of the weekend.
The Rally Show at Chatsworth’s “History of Rallying” demonstration features examples, some of them the actual cars, of the rally cars which won the BRC during its 50-year history. These range from an ex-works Triumph TR3a and John Sprinzel’s original Austin Healey Sprite (PMO200), through Volkswagens (including one of Bill Bengry’s original Beetles), Lotus Cortina, Mini Cooper, Triumph 2000, Hillman Imp, Escort Twin Cam and RS1800, Vauxhall Chevette, Opels and Audis, up to a modern Hyundai WRC.
The celebration of the BRC’s birthday also means that many of the winning drivers and co-drivers from down the years will be at Chatsworth on that June weekend. Among the drivers are names like Eric Jackson, Roy Fidler, John Bloxham, Will Sparrow, Chris Sclater, Billy Coleman, Russell Brookes, Pentti Airikkala, Jimmy McRae, David Llewellin, Gwyndaf Evans, Mark Higgins, Martin Rowe, Marko Ipatti, Jonny Milner and David Higgins.
One name missing from that list, but who will also be there is Malcolm Wilson - not only attending the Show, but bringing a Ford Focus WRC from his M-Sport company for Gronholm to drive. Among the co-drivers hoping to attend are Brian Melia, Alan Taylor, Don Barrow, John Brown, Ian Grindrod, Mike Nicholson, Mike Broad, Phil Short, Robert Reid, and Phil Mills.
Continua leyendo “Stars gather for the Rally Show at Chatsworth 2008″
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Apr 25
Peugeot 308 RC-Z Concept will come to assembly line
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Apr 25
Filed under: Convertibles, BMW, UK
Click above for a high-res gallery of the 2009 BMW M3 convertible.
To signal the beginning of sales of the M3 convertible in the UK, BMW decided to release two-dozen more photos of its drop-top super coupe, and that's enough of a reason for us to include them in a gallery with its white counterpart. Everything remains the same, including the choice of either a six-speed manual or six-speed DCT gearbox, all without that pesky roof to keep you from enjoying the 420 hp, 4.0-liter V8 when your sending it up into its 8.400-rpm redline.
BMW's UK press release is posted after the jump.
Continue reading Pics Aplenty: BMW M3 Convertible
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Apr 25
2008 Saab 9-3 Convertible Yellow Edition
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Apr 25
Filed under: Time Warp, Coupes, Sedans/Saloons, Wagons/Estates, Cadillac, Chrysler, Lincoln, Pontiac
Click on the 300C to see all five stamps in high-resolution
All the way back in 2004, we wondered out loud why the U.S. Postal Service chose only to showcase cars from the first half of the decade starting in 1950. All of you waiting on pins and needles now have an official date when this offense will be rectified: October 3, 2008. Starting on that day, each of the 37,000 Post Office locations will begin offering five new "50s Fins and Chrome" 42-cent first-class stamps as part of the "America on the Move" series. We've gallerized each of the upcoming stamps for your viewing enjoyment:
- '57 Chrysler 300C
- '57 Lincoln Premiere
- '57 Pontiac Safari
- '57 Studebaker Golden Hawk
- '59 Cadillac Eldorado
[Source: U.S. Postal Service]
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Apr 25
Filed under: Etc., EV/Plug-in, On Two Wheels, Green Daily
DIY to the max is one great way to describe the Voltzilla homemade electric motorcycle you see in the picture above. The Voltzilla (also called the ForkenCycle) is the creation of Russ Gries, who was able to score a free (if old) battery-powered forklift from his work and then bought (for $50) a 1976 Honda CB550. Our friend Darin interviewed Gries over at Ecomodder. Gries says that while he “loves to tinker,” gas engines are not his friend. Working on the EV motorcyce was a lot more fun. Plus, since he was able to sell the forklift chassis for scrap, the total cost for the Voltzilla thus far is $15.61. Now that’s cheap. Since the bike is based on the forklift, there are a number of differences between this motorcycle and other EV two wheelers: it’s 24 volts (instead of the more common 48), it has a transmission and a reverse gear. With the cheap cost, you can safely guess that those are some golf cart batteries moving the Voltzilla along. Check out Ecomodder for more details. Thanks to James and Darin for the tips! There are some sweet videos of the Voltzilla after the jump.
[Source: Ecomodder and Treehugger]
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Apr 25
Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Subaru
Thanks to Subaru's newest marketing campaign, we finally know what really makes a Subaru a Subaru. Love. Really? Allow Tim Mahoney, chief marketing officer for Subaru of America, to explain, "Love is the most powerful emotion and 'I love my Subaru' is the most used phrase I hear about our brand. We wanted to show the bond between Subaru owners and their cars through this work."
While it seems that current owners may love their cars, Subaru's research into the subject shows that the majority of the population have no strong feelings toward the brand at all. Past Subaru ads have communicated the rational reasons for purchasing a Subaru, but the marketing team now intends to key in on three specific subjects: the heart, the brain and the wallet, highlighting all of the considerations of a consumer looking for a new car. Will the new advertisements resonate with consumers? Dunno, but we do know that while we love ourselves some STI, there isn't much else that Subaru has to offer which make our hearts race.
[Source: Subaru]
Continue reading What really makes a Subaru a Subaru? Love?
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Apr 25
Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety, Canada
Transport Canada has been planning on implementing a change which would lower Canadian bumper safety standards from the current 8 km/h standard to 4 km/h. This halving of the standard would bring the Canadian testing in line with the regulations of both Europe and the U.S. Apparently, Transport Canada believes that vehicles would be cheaper to import while maintaining automobile safety. In fact, Canadian officials believe that the new standard could actually improve pedestrian safety. Or not, according to the IIHS, which has sent a letter to Transport Canada urging them to reconsider making the change. The IIHS response is pretty scathing, Using words and phrases like "unsubstantiated, incorrect assumptions, ill-informed and misleading," but the response could seemingly be summed up this way: Yo hosers, what were you thinking, eh? Thanks for the tip, Karen![Source: Auto North]
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Apr 25
Filed under: Nissan, European Union, North America, Japan
As we’ve reported before, Nissan is committed to the continuously variable transmission (CVT) for use in passenger cars due to the environmental improvements that the alternative transmission’s enhanced efficiency allows. CVT transmissions are not locked into set gear ratios, instead they can offer any ratio which falls in between their minimum and maximum values as defined by multiple internal pulleys or planetary gearsets. In 2007, Nissan surpassed its stated goal of selling a million CVT transmission units in passenger cars by selling 1,088,000 in total, just less than thirty percent of its total global sales. In North America and Japan, though, the CVT represents almost half of Nissan’s total transmission output.
Just how much good are Nissan’s CVT’s for the environment? Nissan’s data suggests that a million cars equipped with CVT’s is equal to the carbon reduction of 200,000 hybrids — many of which use CVT transmissions as it is.
[Source: Just-Auto - sub. req’d]
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Apr 25
Filed under: Supercars, Maserati, Earnings/Financials, Ferrari
The auto industry may be mired in tough times at the moment, but the sales downturn here in the States doesn't seem to be bothering Ferrari and Maserati. Ferrari sales were up 4% year over year to 1,654 units, due in part to outstanding sales of its 612 Scaglietti and 599 GTB Fiorano. Brisk sales of the hot Italian supercars led to a 20% increase in revenue over last year's record numbers, to 456 million euro. It never hurts when you have an 18-month backlog of buyers that are waiting patiently for their Italian Stallion, and new models are on the way to potentially boost sales further.
Maserati has also seen a resurgence in sales, with a 21% improvement in year over year sales to 2,234 units for the quarter. While Maserati made a profit of 10 million euro for the quarter, which sounds lousy until you consider the famed Italian automaker was in the red for 17 straight years until 2007. While the Italian automaker has a checkered past with regards to sales and earnings performance, the gorgeous GranTurismo and a steady backlog of customers translates into good times for quite a while at Maserati.
[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]
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Apr 25
Filed under: Manufacturing/Plants, PSA, Citroen, Peugeot, European Union
PSA Peugeot Citroën, already Europe’s leader in low CO2 emissions, is planning on introducing a new line of small-bore three cylinder engines. It seems that the French automaker is keen on keeping their eco-friendly reputation, as this information comes shortly after we heard that PSA plans to make its Stop & Start system standard across its line. Their one liter three cylinders are expected to offer from seventy to one-hundred horsepower. PSA’s “aim is to offer the market vehicles with CO2 emissions below 100g/km with no additional technology.” We would imagine that this line of engines, especially when equipped with stop/start technology, will be quite the fuel misers. Currently, there’s no word on what vehicles these engines are slated to be installed in.
To make their ambitious goals a reality, PSA is setting up two manufacturing sites to build the engines. The first operational facility will open in 2011 and have a capacity of 600,000 engines per year.
[Source: Just-Auto - sub. req’d]
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Apr 25
When automakers reach out to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LBGT) community, there's always a risk involved. Just ask Ford, which had to deal with the American Family Association's boycott just for advertising in gay-centric publications. General Motors apparently doesn't care what associations like the AFA think and is reaching out to the LBGT community for its Project Driveway program that places a hydrogen fuel cell-powered Chevy Equinox in the garages of ordinary people for three month-long test drives. Travis Parman, who GayWheels.com cites as the automaker's media relations manager for the LBGT community, says "Our goal is to get Equinox Fuel Cell test drivers that are as diverse as America. And since the LGBT community tends to have a lot of early adopters, we wanted to reach out and encourage LGBT residents to apply." GM is looking for people who live in specific zip codes in New York, Washington D.C. and Southern California to apply. We're not sure if being anything but heterosexual will help your cause, but at least GM is saying it wouldn't hurt.
[Source: GayWheels.com]
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Apr 25
Under-fire FIA president Max Mosley has an official invitation to visit Israel withdrawn.
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Apr 25
Filed under: Etc., AutoblogGreen Exclusive, Green Daily
click to enlarge
The fourth annual Green Grand Prix takes place next weekend in Watkins Glen in upstate New York. AutoblogGreen received a few photos taken at the 2007 Green Grand Prix that we’d like to share. Looks like some of our old friends were a the race last year, along with some vehicles we’d like to learn more about. Each photo in our gallery below has a caption that describes what you see in the image, but let’s just point out that we have here a wood-powered Isuzu Trooper, a 1933 Ford pickup that burns propane and a flex-fuel Ford Escape hybrid. There’s also a nice shot of our friend Jory Squibb’s Moonbeam. The Green Grand Prix is the only official SCCA Time-Speed-Distance Road Rally for alternate fueled vehicles and hybrids in the United States and takes place on May 3. There’s more information in our original post on the race.
Gallery: 2007 Green Grand Prix
[Source: Ericho Communications]
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Apr 25
Filed under: I.C.E., Cadillac, GM
Bose in-car audio systems were originally introduced in 1983 on the Cadillac Seville and in the ensuing 25 years have made their way into all manner of expensive road-going machinery. Most recently, the purveyors of high-end in-car audio systems have outfitted the Bose Media System in the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti. That system, which features a 30-gig hard drive and a simplistic button layout including proximity sensors on the knobs to detect a user's interactions, will soon be available to the rest of us hacks. Bose is currently and actively pursuing partnerships with other automakers to offer the system in more plebian forms of personal transport. One of those automakers could be General Motors, which has had a long history with the company. The new system will also feature all the other features of expensive head units that we've come to expect, including navigation, satellite radio, voice commands and hands-free mobile phone integration.
[Source: Detroit Free Press]
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Apr 25
The Subaru Impreza has been the performance car of a generation. With a turbocharged engine and four-wheel drive chassis in an affordable package, it's not hard to see why.
But with the latest generation of 'Scooby', the Impreza has evolved from a three-box saloon (and estate) car into a hatchback; and that puts it up against some very impressive opposition.
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Apr 25
Video may have killed the radio star but it has definitely helped the car - today's music videos feature roaring V8s and five hundred horsepower Ferraris.
Vijay Pattni rounds up the top ten music videos where the cars are the stars.
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Apr 25
Filed under: EV/Plug-in, USA
Legion are the electric car companies that start with a just a vision in someones mind’s eye and a CAD program. Some of them go on to produce a prototype or 10, while others seem to only produce press releases. We won’t even mention the outright fraudsters. ElektrikCar is the newest CAD EV to catch our attention and while it does share many of the same lines as the Lexus CS 2054 Concept (think Minority Report) it’s still original enough to call their own.
If the search for investors and the “other million things you need to do to successfully start an electric car company” goes well, the eventual product will be a “Limited Edition,” carbon fiber composite bodied, far-ranging, under $80K, eye-grabbing, purple streak. We wish them luck. For a better look at this EV vision hit the jump for the video.
[Source: YouTube / ElektrikCar]
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Apr 25
Filed under: Car Buying, Hatchbacks, GM, Pontiac, Driving
Click above for high-res gallery of the 2009 Pontiac Vibe
When the original Pontiac Vibe hit dealer showrooms for the 2003 model year, it was a different kind of General Motors vehicle in just about every way. Sure, it wore a Pontiac badge and had that horrible plastic cladding hanging off its sides, but the vehicle's basic shape was unlike anything else in the General's lineup. There was a very good reason for this, as the Vibe is produced by GM's joint venture with Toyota called NUMMI, or the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. This JV currently produces the Vibe, Corolla and Tacoma pickup for both automakers, and the new Vibe is basically the same vehicle as the 2009 Toyota Matrix with a different skin and interior.
For 2009, the Vibe loses all that plastic armor but keeps its Toyota ties, receiving the recently updated Corolla underpinnings and powertrains. Will the Vibe's many changes make the little Pontiac good enough for prospective buyers to consider again? We took a brand new 2009 Vibe GT for a week-long spin to find out.
All photos Copyright (C)2008 Chris Shunk / Weblogs, Inc.
Continue reading In the Autoblog Garage: 2009 Pontiac Vibe
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Apr 25
Filed under: Emerging Technologies, EV/Plug-in, Hybrid
Click on the image to see more high-res images of the hybrid helper concept
Have you ever witnessed a semi truck belching black smoke from its exhaust stacks as it struggles to maintain speed up a steep grade? If so, you’ve likely also witnessed the circus that ensues on the way back down the other side, as the truck picks up huge amounts of speed and momentum. This seems like the perfect situation to implement regenerative braking, and indeed, conceptual designs are being worked up for this exact scenario. The remote hybrid helper (RHH) would be used in hilly areas by semi trucks carrying heavy loads. The RHH attaches to the rear-most trailer and uses electric motors to push the truck uphill, then recaptures energy on the way back down.
Alternatively, the RHH could be used in heavy shipping lanes and ports, places where pollution is accumulating quickly. An opposing idea would be to integrate a similar system directly into the trailer chassis, eliminating the need for an additional hook-up but forcing the truck to haul heavy batteries on long, flat sections. With a bit more research and development, this could potentially be a winning concept.
Gallery: Remote Hybrid Helper
[Source: The Greener Grass]
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Apr 25
Filed under: Government/Legal, Jaguar, Land Rover, Tata
[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]
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Apr 25
by Adrian Hearn
The BMW M3 Convertible goes on sale this weekend, joining the stunning coupe model on the German car maker's forecourt.
And it's the first M3 Convertible to feature an electronically-operated retractable hard-top roof which will open or shut in 22 seconds.
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Apr 25
Filed under: Etc., EV/Plug-in, Green Culture, On Two Wheels, Green Daily
It’s Friday afternoon. There are a few minutes to go for all of you stuck in the office before the weekend hits. Why not enjoy a little laugh courtesy of the comic Diesel Sweeties. Diesel Sweeties is a strip that blends old school computer graphics with some eco-aware young people who like video games and robots who like cats. Diesel Sweeties was created by rstevens back in 2000 and is now syndicated in some newspapers.
We’re not going to spoil the punchline to a recent comic that fits well with AutoblogGreen. Click here to read rstevens’ genius idea to solve the four problems listed in by the robot in the image on the right. There are other green-transport-related strips here and here. In fact, go ahead and just click around the DS site for a while. Your boss won’t mind, I’m sure, and this strip is quite genius. Thanks to Shawn for the tip!
[Source: Diesel Sweeties]
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Apr 25
Kimi Raikkonen sets the pace during practice at the Spanish Grand Prix, topping the time charts in both sessions.
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Apr 25
Filed under: Spy Photos, Wagons/Estates, Cadillac
Click above for high-res gallery of Cadillac CTS Wagon spy shots
Codenamed internally as the GMX 206, the Cadillac CTS Wagon has clearly gone beyond the consideration phase within GM's hallowed halls and is actively being developed. This prototype was just caught by spy photographers and the profile is unmistakable evidence that the CTS will soon get some extra cargo space. Cadillac's plan to expand the CTS into a full-fledged lineup that can compete with the likes of the the BMW 3-Series and Audi A4 hinges on producing more variants than just the sedan. The CTS Coupe Concept was introduced at the Detroit Auto Show in January, so it's no surprise that we're seeing the wagon in development now and we would expect a convertible version of the coupe eventually, as well. Sources say that Cadillac will build around 10,000 - 12,000 units of the CTS wagon at the same Lansing Grand River Assembly Plant as the sedan and coupe, with most of those being earmarked for sale in Europe. And we have to say that the Family Truckster has never looked so sharp.
[Source: Chris Doane for Brenda Priddy & Co.]
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Apr 25
Filed under: Etc., EV/Plug-in, UK
Drivers of the much-maligned Reva G Wiz, the all-electric quadricycle, have reason to smile this morning as they pass by filling stations with long queues and rationed supplies. The reason for the mayhem can be traced directly to an upcoming two-day walk out by 1,200 employees at Britain’s third largest refinery at Grangemouth. Ineos, the refinery owner, has made changes to its worker’s pension arrangement which would appear to be unacceptable to the Unite union and negotiations have failed to halt the shutting down of some of it’s production in preparation for the labor action.
The results of the disagreement are more wide-ranging than just two days of reduced supply. It takes time for a facility of that nature to return to its previous capacity so the effects might be felt for up to three weeks. BP’s Forties pipeline may also have to be shut down because of the walk-out which could cost the companies and the government each £25 million a day. Although motoring organizations had advised motorist not to “panic-buy”, supplies at many Edinburgh gas stations were getting low and one had already gone dry, according to an article in the Guardian.
[Source: Guardian]
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