Autoblog

One of the highlights of the recent Audi Mileage Marathon for participating journalists was the in-car internet connectivity. The Q7s and other vehicles used in the marathon were equipped with a Cradlepoint mobile WiFi router and USB wireless broadband adapter. We were able to open up our laptops (when we were in the passenger seat, of course!) and connect to the net to write our stories while on the go.

Delphi is now teaming up Autonet mobile to market in-car internet their connectivity products. Autonet is the company providing the in-car WiFi uConnect system that will become available from Chrysler dealers this fall. That unit is basically a standard WiFi router with a broadband adapter installed inside the box. The Delphi-Autonet partnership will take this technology and go a few steps further to add a variety of telematics services as well as improving the robustness of the systems. One of the issues that automotive engineers have to deal with on modern cars is radio frequency interference. Delphi will be using its experience in automotive electronics to help Autonet harden its systems and meet the requirements of carmakers for factory installation.

[Source: Autonet Mobile]

Our first thought was "Boy, retirement plans sure ain't what they used to be." Reality, of course, is more banal, it's just UAW Local 651 going all nostalgic while demolition of the Flint East plant continues. The plant's last occupant was Delphi, but the plant has a history nearly as long as the automotive industry itself. With that much provenance, Local 651 is most likely right in assuming that some former workers might want to have a brick from the plant to put on their mantle. Michiganders looking for a memento will need to sign up on next Tuesday so the union can get a bead on how many people are interested. We'd like to sign up for the return of industry and good blue collar jobs, nevermind the old bricks.

[Source: Detroit Free Press, Photo: Getty/Jim Pugliano]

Bankrupt supplier Delphi was expected to finalize a financing package this morning that would finally allow the company to emerge from the red, but in the 11th hour one of its investors backed out leaving the supplier, its largest customer General Motors and the company's shareholders in the lurch. Appaloosa Management LP had lead a $2.55 billion equity plan that was a large part of Delphi's financing package, and without which, the supplier will have to remain in its technically bankrupt state until other arrangements can be made. Appaloosa expressed that it would be willing to consider alternative arrangements, while Delphi has suggested it may take the investment firm to court. For its part, GM, which also pledged up to $2.8 billion in loans for Delphi, expressed its regret over this morning's turn of events in a press released pasted after the jump.

[Source: Automotive News, sub. req'd]

click above image to view video

We've seen a lot of cool technology coming out of the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, but few gadgets are more useful or cool than this dual-view navigation screen from Delphi. When out of Park, the driver can only see navigation or radio controls on the nav screen, but a passenger riding shotgun can watch a movie. The driver can't even lean over to see the other view while driving, as Delphi employed special blocking technology to keep its invention from causing accidents. One screen with two simultaneous uses is good stuff. Check out Engadget's embedded YouTube clip of the technology in action after the jump.

[Source: Engadget]

One of Delphi's major reveals during CES this week is surely to get the iPhone fanbois frothing at the mouth – even if it's just a concept. The software allows users to monitor and control several aspects of a vehicle's system, everything from unlocking doors to starting the car and getting the temperature just right.

The connection is made from the phone to a Bluetooth-enabled key-fob that then connects to the car. According to Delphi, that gives geeks the opportunity to connect to their vehicle from a mile away.

Beyond the aforementioned features, the system can start or stop the car, roll down the windows, check tire pressure, monitor oil and brake fluid life, as well as detecting if the car has been broken into. If and when the system is ready for primetime, Delphi expects it to be available for a number of smart phones.

Thanks for the tip Corinne!

[Source: PCMag]

General Motors is serious about satellite radio, and the amount of nameplates that offer standard XM is growing all the time. Previously, GM made XM standard on all Cadillacs, and now the subscription radio service will also be available for all new Buick, HUMMER, and Saab models as well. The move enlarges XM's customer base while also giving new-car drivers a chance to test the technology for three months free of charge. Of course, after the gratis period runs out, those drivers are free to become former XM customers, but by then, the hope would be that they're so in love with the service that they simply renew and keep it going. There are now 50 GM products with standard XM, and six million XM-equipped vehicles have been built by the General since 2001.

[Source: GM]

Delphi, the UAW, and GM have come to an accord. Pending approval by UAW members and federal bankruptcy court, it would mean that Delphi can focus on the other pressing matters in front of it after spending two years in bankruptcy.

The deal would require a one-time payout from GM, in return for which Delphi could pay lower wages and trim its business operations in line with its current condition. No amount has been given yet for the payout, but wages would be capped at $18.50 an hour, down from $27 per hour now. The agreement also gives Delphi the go-ahead to close plants -- it wants to shutter 21 of its 29 US factories -- shed 4/5 of its hourly work force and thousands of salaried employees, and eliminate some of its business operations.

Now what remains pressing for Delphi is to get the new capital it needs. Talks continue for a $3.4 billion infusion from Appaloosa Management LP and other banking partners. GM estimates that during the Delphi crisis, it has been hit with an estimated $7 billion bill for Delphi's restructuring.

[Source: CNN]

The UAW is walking a few tightropes right now, and it can't afford to fall off of any of them. In talks with bankrupt auto supplier Delphi Corp. and its private equity partners, at stake for the UAW is coming to an agreement that benefits both sides, but one that does not put the UAW at a disadvantage when it comes to negotiating new labor agreements with other automakers this summer.

Delphi had given the UAW two different proposals, neither of which the UAW felt it could take to its membership. The UAW's counterproposal on wages and benefits was only ten pages long, but is so complicated that it will take a while yet for Delphi to really sort out what it really means. Coming to an agreement with the UAW is essential for Delphi to emerge from bankruptcy as a recapitalized company. However, the UAW knows that if it gives any more concessions to Delphi, the big three automakers will want the same thing during their contact talks this summer. With the Delphi situation also involving legacy issues for GM, Cerberus exiting the deal and other private equity companies having to restructure, and the UAW needing to get its next move right, it is a thick plot for all involved.

[Source: Detroit News]

One of the major players in the acquisition of bankrupt mega-parts supplier, Delphi, is Cerberus Capital Management. That name should ring familiar to anyone following the ongoing saga of the (potential) sale of Chrysler, as Cerberus is one of the three firms making a play for the ailing side of the German-American hybrid.

Over the past year, Cerberus has been actively pursuing a stake in Delphi, but as of yesterday, has pulled out of the running. The reason? It's not entirely clear, but the firm's quest to purchase Chrysler is at the forefront of many analysts' minds.

The move doesn't signify a reduction of interest by Cerberus towards the automotive sector altogether – they've got too many fingers in a lot of pies – but, instead, is seen as a way of concentrating the firm's focus on a possible Chrysler buyout.

This doesn't make Chrysler's cross-town competitor, General Motors, particularly happy, as the sale of Delphi is vital to the General's recovery plans. Additionally, the decision by Cerberus to walk away from talks may have been influenced by a breakdown in talks with the UAW, something that will be a necessity if Cerberus plans to make nice during their acquisition of Chrysler.

There's more to follow in the coming months, so as always, watch this space.

[Source: Detroit News]

Ford's Broadmeadows facility has run out of at least one key component for V8 engines, and will have to shut down until its supplier resolves labor issues. The supplier, Coghlan and Russell Engineering, owes employees a boatload of money - in the order of 1.5 million-plus Austrailian dollars. Because of the outstanding payments, workers are holding out until they get the funds they're due, including pension and unemployment stipends. Ford and Delphi had offered to float Coghlan and Russell for a couple of months, but the workers rejected that proposal because the two companies would not cover pensions and unemployment obligations, citing the precedent it would set. The two-month loan would have given C&R time to examine a plan for getting out of trouble, as well as giving the automakers time to explore alternate suppliers.

Since an agreement could not be achieved, Ford and possibly GM production will be impacted. Both Holden and Ford have not been having an easy time of it in Australia lately. As hot as we are for their cars -- the boot-stomping Falcon and hotly anticipated Zeta platform -- both Holden and Ford have had to lay off workers. Coghlan and Russell is not the only supplier in dire straits, either. A fastener supplier threatened to shut Holden and Ford production down back in August by going bankrupt. Brake supplier PBR stepped in at the last minute and has been propping up that company, keeping production lines moving. If there's not enough parts now, we can only imagine the clamor that would ensue should supply fail just as US sales of the Oz-developed platforms gets underway.

Thanks for the tip, Simon

[Source: GoAuto]