Toyota says its profit for the fiscal year through March 2012 will fall 31 percent to 280 billion yen ($3.5 billion) in an outlook that underlines a robust recovery in the latter half of the fiscal year from the damage of an earthquake and tsunami.
Toyota Motor Corp. made the announcement Friday. It had not given an earnings forecast earlier because of uncertainties in its production outlook after the disasters on March 11 wiped out key parts suppliers in northeastern Japan.
Last month, it said January-March quarterly profit crumpled more than 75 percent because of the parts shortage that is hurting production.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
TOKYO (AP) -- Toyota says its profit for the fiscal year through March 2012 will fall 31 percent to 280 billion yen ($3.5 billion) in an outlook that underlines a robust recovery in the latter half of the fiscal year from the damage of the quake and tsunami.
Toyota Motor Corp. had not given an earnings forecast earlier because of uncertainties in its production outlook after the disaster wiped out key parts suppliers in northeastern Japan.
Last month, it said January-March quarterly profit crumpled more than 75 percent because of the parts shortage that is hurting production.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Googlers get free electric car charging
Google is installing 150 110-volt “Level 1″ and 71 fast-charging “Level 2″ 240-volt options — which can charge an electric car like the Nissan Leaf to an 80-percent charge in around 3 hours. The charging stations are more beneficial for people who live further from the Mountain View, Calif. Googleplex and its associated campuses and might encourage more Google employees to drive electric cars. So drivers can simply drop off their cars while they head off to work and return to have a near-full or full charge to make it back home.
Google already has an electric motorcycle sharing program called Gfleet. The company has 30 electric cars and plug-in electric hybrids, most of which are hybrid Chevy Volts or pure plug-in electric Nissan Leafs. The Gfleet program started in 2007 when the company retrofitted a fleet of Toyota Priuses with batteries from A123 to give Google employees a “green” option for car sharing instead of typical car sharing programs like Zipcar, which predominantly use cars powered by internal combustion engines.
Google is notorious for offering its employees a whole host of perks for working at the search giant. They get free transportation between the Googleplex and other areas in the San Francisco Bay Area. The company also gives its employees free food at the cafeteria. And there are reports of times when company officials are basically handing out wads of cash to their employees.
Most electric cars are limited in their range. The Nissan Leaf, one of the cheapest electric cars at $33,000, can travel around 100 miles before needing a charge. Tesla Motors’ super-powered batteries last much longer, but the cars are significantly more expensive — the Roadster, for example, can travel around 200 miles but costs $109,000. That company’s next car, a sedan, will be less expensive and can travel up to 300 miles, but it will still be significantly more expensive than the Nissan Leaf.
Google has invested $400 million in clean technology plays, including wind power and solar power plants. The company recently invested $55 million in a wind farm in southern California that will generate 1,550 megawatts of power. Google’s clean energy investments don’t come out of the company’s traditional investment arm, Google Ventures. Instead, the money comes from the company’s main treasury and is invested by the company’s Green Business Operations team.
Google already has an electric motorcycle sharing program called Gfleet. The company has 30 electric cars and plug-in electric hybrids, most of which are hybrid Chevy Volts or pure plug-in electric Nissan Leafs. The Gfleet program started in 2007 when the company retrofitted a fleet of Toyota Priuses with batteries from A123 to give Google employees a “green” option for car sharing instead of typical car sharing programs like Zipcar, which predominantly use cars powered by internal combustion engines.
Google is notorious for offering its employees a whole host of perks for working at the search giant. They get free transportation between the Googleplex and other areas in the San Francisco Bay Area. The company also gives its employees free food at the cafeteria. And there are reports of times when company officials are basically handing out wads of cash to their employees.
Most electric cars are limited in their range. The Nissan Leaf, one of the cheapest electric cars at $33,000, can travel around 100 miles before needing a charge. Tesla Motors’ super-powered batteries last much longer, but the cars are significantly more expensive — the Roadster, for example, can travel around 200 miles but costs $109,000. That company’s next car, a sedan, will be less expensive and can travel up to 300 miles, but it will still be significantly more expensive than the Nissan Leaf.
Google has invested $400 million in clean technology plays, including wind power and solar power plants. The company recently invested $55 million in a wind farm in southern California that will generate 1,550 megawatts of power. Google’s clean energy investments don’t come out of the company’s traditional investment arm, Google Ventures. Instead, the money comes from the company’s main treasury and is invested by the company’s Green Business Operations team.
Can Electric Cars Put A Jolt In The Job Market?
Electric cars now enjoy a white-hot market, with customers on waiting lists for many models. General Motors is building a new Maryland plant to meet demand for motors for its Chevy Volt. But can the tax-subsidized vehicles also create sustainable job market?
With the technology for electric cars steadily improving, and gas prices fluctuating, consumer interest has taken off.
"We've been sold out since they brought the Volt to market. And I'm probably sold out well into 2012," says Neil Kopit, director of marketing at Criswell Auto, which operates a GM dealership in Gaithersburg, Md.
In the past year, GM has invested nearly $1 billion in electric vehicles. And last month, the carmaker broke ground on a $270 million electric motor plant near Baltimore, Md. The project will create more than 200 blue-collar and managerial positions, along with hundreds more assembly line jobs when the plant starts production.
Mike Robinson, GM's vice president for environment, energy and safety policy, expects the new plant will be a job engine for many years to come.
"This is the wave of the future. And we expect that plant is going to produce 40,000 or so electric motors for us by 2013," he says. "And we do think this is a long-term bet that makes sense, and we expect market volumes will support that kind production."
Such expectations have other carmakers staking out their corner of the market, as well. Nissan has its all-electric Leaf; Toyota is working on a small electric car; and Mitsubishi and Honda have models ready to roll into showrooms by the end of the year. Industry analysts predict there could be as many as 1.5 million electric cars on U.S. roads by 2015.
At the Criswell dealership, software engineer Mark Bartosik and filmmaker Swati Srivastava wrote a check for $43,000 for their new Volt. As a result, they'll receive a $7,500 tax credit from the government next year.
"I think it's a market that's waiting to explode," Bartosik says. "When the price comes down just a little bit more, and there's a little bit more volume, there simply won't be enough vehicles for people to be able to buy them."
Another part of electric cars' appeal, Srivastava says, is that it's easier to predict how much they cost to operate.
"Gas prices are always volatile," she says. "It keeps us dependent on the Middle East for oil and everything. It makes no sense to us why people do not just buy more electric cars."
President Obama wants to make sure that happens, which is why the federal government provides buyers of electric cars up to $7,500 in tax credits. But that prompts a question: With a sticker price of more than $40,000, would sales of electric cars be hopping without a tax subsidy?
For now at least, the subsidy is needed, says auto industry analyst George Magliano, of IHS Global Insight.
Acceptance of electric cars "will not occur without some sort of incentives, unless the price of the technology changes," he says. "People who are buying them today are basically people that want to make a statement. And without the push from the government, this is a difficult sell."
But Magliano also thinks that green technology will boost economic growth and create tens of thousands of new jobs. GM's Mike Robinson says he isn't worried about the challenges that lie ahead.
"Our own expectation is the costs will come down as we go through what engineers [call] 'generations of learning,'" Robinson says. "We'll go through that on the battery technology; the motor technology; it will help drive costs down. And if the customer doesn't see value at the end of this, we won't be successful."
Electric and hybrid vehicles make up less than 2 percent of the auto market. For now, analysts say it's still a "niche vehicle," relegated to the greenest corner of the marketplace.
With the technology for electric cars steadily improving, and gas prices fluctuating, consumer interest has taken off.
"We've been sold out since they brought the Volt to market. And I'm probably sold out well into 2012," says Neil Kopit, director of marketing at Criswell Auto, which operates a GM dealership in Gaithersburg, Md.
In the past year, GM has invested nearly $1 billion in electric vehicles. And last month, the carmaker broke ground on a $270 million electric motor plant near Baltimore, Md. The project will create more than 200 blue-collar and managerial positions, along with hundreds more assembly line jobs when the plant starts production.
Mike Robinson, GM's vice president for environment, energy and safety policy, expects the new plant will be a job engine for many years to come.
"This is the wave of the future. And we expect that plant is going to produce 40,000 or so electric motors for us by 2013," he says. "And we do think this is a long-term bet that makes sense, and we expect market volumes will support that kind production."
Such expectations have other carmakers staking out their corner of the market, as well. Nissan has its all-electric Leaf; Toyota is working on a small electric car; and Mitsubishi and Honda have models ready to roll into showrooms by the end of the year. Industry analysts predict there could be as many as 1.5 million electric cars on U.S. roads by 2015.
At the Criswell dealership, software engineer Mark Bartosik and filmmaker Swati Srivastava wrote a check for $43,000 for their new Volt. As a result, they'll receive a $7,500 tax credit from the government next year.
"I think it's a market that's waiting to explode," Bartosik says. "When the price comes down just a little bit more, and there's a little bit more volume, there simply won't be enough vehicles for people to be able to buy them."
Another part of electric cars' appeal, Srivastava says, is that it's easier to predict how much they cost to operate.
"Gas prices are always volatile," she says. "It keeps us dependent on the Middle East for oil and everything. It makes no sense to us why people do not just buy more electric cars."
President Obama wants to make sure that happens, which is why the federal government provides buyers of electric cars up to $7,500 in tax credits. But that prompts a question: With a sticker price of more than $40,000, would sales of electric cars be hopping without a tax subsidy?
For now at least, the subsidy is needed, says auto industry analyst George Magliano, of IHS Global Insight.
Acceptance of electric cars "will not occur without some sort of incentives, unless the price of the technology changes," he says. "People who are buying them today are basically people that want to make a statement. And without the push from the government, this is a difficult sell."
But Magliano also thinks that green technology will boost economic growth and create tens of thousands of new jobs. GM's Mike Robinson says he isn't worried about the challenges that lie ahead.
"Our own expectation is the costs will come down as we go through what engineers [call] 'generations of learning,'" Robinson says. "We'll go through that on the battery technology; the motor technology; it will help drive costs down. And if the customer doesn't see value at the end of this, we won't be successful."
Electric and hybrid vehicles make up less than 2 percent of the auto market. For now, analysts say it's still a "niche vehicle," relegated to the greenest corner of the marketplace.
Designer’s bags are for tall women
It turns out that tall-drink-of-water L’Wren Scott is self-conscious about being so tall.
Scott, the model-turned-stylist-turned-designer, appeared at the flagship Barneys New York store to launch her handbag for lady collection. As she designed each bag — the weekender, the shoulder bag, the clutch — she kept in mind the size of each piece.
How long are the straps? How wide is the frame? How far does it open?
She said it’s how she approaches everything. "I am obsessed with proportion, and how proportion is perceived."
Scott stands 6-foot-3, and it feels as if she’s been that tall forever, she said. Height drives her own fashion choices. It’s why she doesn’t wear poufy, Doris Day styles, opting instead for lean silhouettes, Scott explained, and she thinks most women operate the same way: Once they find a look they like, they stick with it.
The skirts and dresses in her collection usually are often in three lengths — mini, just above the knee and just below. Her runway show is a top-tier, A-list event, which draws mostly her friends such as Kyra Sedgwick and Ellen Barkin, and boyfriend Mick Jagger.
Scott, the model-turned-stylist-turned-designer, appeared at the flagship Barneys New York store to launch her handbag for lady collection. As she designed each bag — the weekender, the shoulder bag, the clutch — she kept in mind the size of each piece.
How long are the straps? How wide is the frame? How far does it open?
She said it’s how she approaches everything. "I am obsessed with proportion, and how proportion is perceived."
Scott stands 6-foot-3, and it feels as if she’s been that tall forever, she said. Height drives her own fashion choices. It’s why she doesn’t wear poufy, Doris Day styles, opting instead for lean silhouettes, Scott explained, and she thinks most women operate the same way: Once they find a look they like, they stick with it.
The skirts and dresses in her collection usually are often in three lengths — mini, just above the knee and just below. Her runway show is a top-tier, A-list event, which draws mostly her friends such as Kyra Sedgwick and Ellen Barkin, and boyfriend Mick Jagger.
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