GM idles four plants in wake of Japanese earthquake
In the aftermath of recent earthquakes in Japan, GM is expecting a shortage in the supply of certain parts, so it's shutting down four of its plants in North America for two weeks.
Idle
GM cutting production at two plants
General Motors is scheduling downtime at its Orion Assembly and Oshawa factories to adjust the supply of several models. This is at least the third planned idling at Orion this year.
Chevy Volt battery workers at LG Chem idle since "there's nothing to do" *UPDATE
Despite rising Chevrolet Volt sales – September was the second record sales month in a row – not all is well in Volt productionville. According to local TV news reports, the Western Michigan LG Chem plant that makes the battery packs for GM's plug-in hybrid does not have enough work to keep all of its workers busy.
Hyundai to slow production of Santa Fe, Sonata
A 15-percent drop in Sonata sales since the beginning of 2008 is one reason Hyundai will idle its Alabama plant for 11 days between now and the end of the year (the near-2-percent drop in Santa Fe sales didn't help either). According to Hyundai Motor Company o
DEP wants Pennsylvania's diesel idling legislation toughened-up
Right now, each state in the U.S. has its own laws regarding diesel engine idling, and legislation can vary greatly from state-to-state. Pennsylvania is considering creating new standards and Senate Bill 295 is currently being discussed by the House. The Department of Environmental Protection has taken a long look at the Bill and is recommending that it be made tougher.
9 year old girl's $140,000 anti-idling ad campaign
Anna Talman, 9, noticed it was hard to breathe when cars are idling. "I saw a car idling and thought it would be a problem because it was making it hard for me to breathe" she says. So she did what any other 9 year old would do. Move? No. She started a group, Edmonton's Children-Organized Anti-Idling Recruiters (ECO-AIR), and tried to get a law passed by the Edmonton city council. "When they're idling in front of their house or waiting to pick up their kids from school, or at the drive in at McD
Care to try making your car a "Homemade Hybrid" with the ten second rule?
Kristin, a contributor to Celsias.com has done a bit of research online, as well as some real-world testing to come up with what she is calling the "Homemade Hybrid" ten second rule. The idea is to shut your car off and restart it manually whenever you stop for a stop light where you expect to be sitting for more than ten seconds. I have heard of the old rule that it takes three minutes of stopping the engine to save the gas it takes to restart the car, and have thought that seemed like a lon