Mercedes: Nothing 'stupid' planned to top Lexus in luxury race

Sunday,07 November 2010


 compiled By : Jameel W. Karaki


Mercedes-Benz won't be "stupid" in adding sales incentives to its cars as the company pushes to become the top-selling luxury brand in the U.S., an executive said.


Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus brand, helped by customer discounts in October, has remained the No. 1 selling luxury brand in the U.S. this year, a title it has held since 2000. Mercedes and BMW have gained on Lexus with new products as the Japanese brand deals with record recalls.

"December is a big month," said Dietmar Exler, vice president of Mercedes-Benz Financial USA. "There will be some programs, but there will be nothing stupid just to be No. 1."

Lexus more than doubled average incentive spending from a year earlier to $2,152 per vehicle in October, according to TrueCar.com. Mercedes increased average incentive spending by 9.4 percent to $4,389 in the month, the researcher said.

Lexus led Mercedes in the U.S. by 5,449 sales through October.

Mercedes offered "crazy" lease deals on some models last month, said Jesse Toprak, vice president of industry trends for TrueCar. Leases on the C-Class sedan cost about $300 a month, comparable to deals on Honda Motor Co.'s Accord, he said.



'Better deals'

"They are clearly trying to get the luxury sales lead this year," Toprak said of Mercedes. "Lexus is going to do what it takes to keep that spot, which only means better deals for consumers."

U.S. sales for this year through October totaled 183,529 for Lexus, 178,080 for Mercedes and 176,736 for BMW, the global leader in luxury-vehicle deliveries.

Exler took the helm of Mercedes-Benz Financial in the U.S. in February just as the automaker's sales began to accelerate. The company has been helped by a move into less expensive luxury categories. Incentives amounts are typically decided by an automaker's marketing department.

Sales of the C-Class sedan, the only Mercedes with a starting price under $35,000, rose 15 percent this year through October, according to Autodata Corp.

The average amount financed by Mercedes-Benz Financial for new vehicles is around $50,000, according to the unit. The lower-priced vehicles create greater pressure to reduce costs, Exler said.

2011 Honda V4 Crosstourer Concept

Sunday,07 November 2010


By : Jameel W. Karaki

Honda has revealed the V4 Crosstourer Concept, the world's first V4 Adventure Tourer motorcycle at EICMA 2010, an International Bicycle and Motorcycle Exhibition in Milan, Italy.


Sharing the phenomenal V4 engine and the revolutionary Dual Clutch Transmission with the VFR1200F, the V4 Crosstourer Concept will deliver all the fun and excitement of a road sports bike; but with the comfortable upright riding position and maneuverability of an adventure machine.

The VFR1200F was the first model to utilize the new iconic V4 engine that signified the beginning of the new era in Honda's engine line-up. The V4 Crosstourer Concept will utilise the same engine as the Road Sport category VFR to bring the benefits of this world-beating engine to a new type of customer. This will be the first time an Adventure Tourer bike has been fitted with a compact and powerful four cylinder V-engine unit.

The riding experience will be further enhanced with the V4 Crosstourer Concept being developed with the revolutionary Dual Clutch Transmission that gives seamless gear changes for a sport riding feel. The new bike is the second Honda to be fitted with this innovative transmission system after the VFR1200F and it is the first time this award-winning technology has been seen in this category.

Honda has always strived to bring innovative designs and innovative technology to our motorcycle customers. As a company famed for challenging conventional motorcycle thinking, Honda is committed to producing bikes which fulfil the needs and desires of our customers.

Together with 800cc Crossrunner also revealed at EICMA, the V4 Crosstourer concept expands Honda's state-of-the-art V4 model line-up.

http://alwatandaily.kuwait.tt/resources/pdf/905/14.pdf

«مجهولون» اقتحموا ثانوية بنات وعلقوا سروالاً على السارية ودونوا عبارات مخلة بالآداب

في واقعة تؤكد الاستهتار بالقيم والأخلاق

كتب عبدالرزاق النجار وفهد البغلي:

في واقعة غريبة شهدتها منطقة الشامية تؤكد ان هناك من هو مستعد للضرب عرض الحائط بالقيم والمبادئ والثوابت المتعلقة بهيبة الدولة.

وما أقدم عليه مستهترون (مجهولون) أمس عندما هاجموا احدى مدارس البنات وعلقوا سروالا داخليا رجاليا يطلق عليه (خري) على السارية في ساحة المدرسة.

كما قاموا بتدوين عبارات غير لائقة وخادشة للحياء على جدران المدرسة تسيء الى الهيئة الادارية ومجموعة كبيرة من الطالبات الامر الذي استنفر رجال جهاز أمن الدولة والمباحث الجنائية والامن العام للتعامل مع هذا التصرف الغريب.

الواقعة حصلت عندما فوجئت الهيئة الادارية وطالبات مدرسة ثانوية صباحا بوجود قطعة من ملابس داخلية فوق سارية العلم وشوهوا الجدران بعبارات غير لائقة فسارعت الهيئة الادارية بابلاغ أجهزة الامن التي سارعت بالحضور الى المكان وطوقت الموقع واستدعت الادلة الجنائية التي قامت برفع البصمات من موقع الحادث.

وخضع حراس الامن إلى التحقيق الاولي لمعرفة ما اذا كانوا قد سمعوا أو شاهدوا اشخاصاً دخلوا مبنى المدرسة في الوقت الذي تبذل فيه الاجهزة الامنية الجهود للبحث عن اي كاميرات مراقبة قريبة من المدرسة يتسنى لها الاطلاع عليها من أجل التأكد ما اذا كانت هذه الكاميرات قد صورت الاحداث التي جرت بهدف الكشف عن الجناة باسرع وقت ممكن.

وحضر في موقع البلاغ اللواء طارق حمادة والعقيد منصور العتيبي والمقدم فوزي بوزبر والمقدم هيف العجمي والمقدم طلال النسيم والرائد مشعل الخميس والنقيب بشار الشباك والنقيب سليمان الرشيد.

ومما يذكر ان السروال «الخري» هو رجالي ويصل إلى الركبة.

http://alwatan.kuwait.tt/ArticleDetails.aspx?Id=65920

مركبة {همفي} طائرة للمهمات الخاصة

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 منحت وكالة مشروعات البحوث المتقدمة في وزارة الدفاع عقوداً، قيمتها 9 ملايين دولار لتطوير تلك المركبة.

وتتصور الوكالة إمكانية قدرة المركبة الطائرة على تنفيذ مجموعات مختلفة من المهمات العسكرية، من بينها قصف مواقع العدو، والقيام بعلميات مكوكية لإخلاء الجنود الجرحى من مناطق مختلفة وإليها.

ويسعى البرنامج إلى «الجمع بين فوائد المركبات الأرضية وإمكانات طائرات الهليكوبتر في مركبة واحدة مزودة بقدرات المرونة في الحركة».

وتتميز هذه المركبة، التي لديها القدرة على الطيران، بأنها مزودة بأجنحة يمكن طيها، وإخراجها عن الطيران. وبمروحة مركبة في السقف. وهي ستكون طائرة روبوت، أي أنها ستكون من غير طيار، أو سائق خلف عجلة القيادة.

وتقول وكالة مشروعات البحوث المتقدمة، إن مركبة «همفي» هذه تستطيع قطع مسافة 500 كيلومتر، من دون الحاجة إلى التزود بالوقود، وهذا يعني أنها اقتصادية أكثر من استخدام الوقود من مركبة «همفي» العادية.

ويقول سكوت كلافلين، مدير شركة باور اينوفيشين، إن شركته حصلت على عقد بمليار دولار لتصميم ماكينة ذات طاقة عالية خفيفة الوزن للمركبة، التي أطلق عليها اسم ترانسفورم.

وسيقود كافلين فريقاً من نحو 12 مهندساً، لتطوير تلك الماكينة، ويقول، «إننا سعيدون للعمل في هذا المشروع، إذ إنه لم يتم البتة صنع ماكينة من هذا النوع من قبل».

وقد اختارت وكالة مشروعات البحوث المتقدمة ست شركات، للعمل في مشروع تطوير مركبة همفي الطائرة في مرحلة العام الأول من المشروع، وحالياً فقد عينت مؤسسة إيه - إيه - آي وشركة لوكهيد مارتن كمقاولين أساسيين للمشروع.

Bush tax cuts: Obama seeks compromise

Bush tax cuts: Obama seeks compromise

Bush tax cuts: Obama seeks compromise

By Jeanne Sahadi, senior writerNovember 3, 2010: 5:25 PM ET


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- A day after Republicans won control of the House of Representatives, President Obama said that he is willing to negotiate to ensure the Bush tax cuts are extended for the middle class by Jan. 1.
"How that negotiation works itself out, I think it's too early to say. But, you know, this is going to be one of my top priorities," Obama said during a press conference Wednesday. (7 key money issues facing the lame-duck Congress)
The president had been saying publicly that he only wanted the cuts extended permanently on income up to $250,000 for married couples and $200,000 for single filers. Under his proposal, the portion of the cuts that apply to income over $250,000 would expire after Dec. 31.


Republicans, meanwhile, have been pushing for a permanent extension of the cuts for everyone regardless of income.

Both parties have expressed concern that raising taxes on the majority of Americans would harm the economic recovery.

"[M]y hope ... is that given [that] we all have an interest in growing the economy and encouraging job growth that we're not going to play brinkmanship but instead we're going to act responsibly," Obama said.

A few key Democrats -- such as Senate Budget Chairman Kent Conrad -- have said they could support extending the tax cuts temporarily for upper-income households. Others, including Senate Banking Chairman Christopher Dodd, have called for pushing the $250,000 threshold higher.



The look of compromise


So what could both parties live with?



Two Washington tax policy analysts -- Clint Stretch of Deloitte Tax LLP and Anne Mathias of MF Global's Washington Research Group -- believe the most likely compromise will be a temporary extension for everyone for one or two years.

Mathias believes Obama "will not veto a bill that extends them for all."


Stretch said that a temporary extension for all carries less political risk for Republicans than other scenarios floated, such as a permanent extension for the middle-class but a temporary one for the rich.


"If the Republicans really care about high-income taxpayers, they can't let them get separated from the middle class," Stretch said.

Democrats, meanwhile, can frame a temporary extension as a way to give everyone time to figure out how to slow growth in the U.S. debt, much like what House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer suggested this summer, Stretch said.
In June, Hoyer made news when he said Congress needed "to have a serious discussion" about whether the country can afford a permanent extension "before we have a real plan for long-term deficit reduction."

The Treasury Department estimates the cost of making the tax cuts permanent for all income below $250,000 would cost $3 trillion over a decade; the cost of making them permanent for upper-income households would cost $700 billion over the same period.
Deficit hawks have been arguing that making any of the tax cuts permanent will make it infinitely harder to ever put the federal budget back on a more sustainable track -- a stated goal of all parties.

Mathias estimates that a one-year extension for everyone will cost between $250 billion and $350 billion.

QE2: Fed pulls the trigger

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- In its latest move to jump start the sluggish recovery, the Federal Reserve announced it will pump billions into the economy.

The central bank will buy $600 billion in long-term Treasuries over the next eight months, the Fed said Wednesday. The Fed also announced it will reinvest an additional $250 billion to $300 billion in Treasuries with the proceeds of its earlier investments.
The bond purchases aimed at stimulating the economy -- a policy known as quantitative easing -- will total up to $900 billion and be completed by the end of the third quarter of 2011.
Ever since the Fed first signaled back in August that it was considering a second round of monetary stimulus, dubbed QE2, investors have been preoccupied with speculating on how much the Fed would buy.

Now the verdict is in, and is roughly in line with forecasts. Mainstream estimates had predicted a total between $500 billion and $1 trillion.
It was all largely as expected," said Calvin Sullivan, chief strategy officer at Morgan Keegan. "The markets are responding as one would expect."


Stocks seesawed between gains and losses, as investors digested the news. The real surprise was in the bond market, where yields on the longer term 10-year and 30-year rose, after traders realized the Fed's plan called for 91% of its purchases at shorter maturities than expected.



Read the Fed statement

The Fed also reiterated its bearish view on the stalling economy, saying "the pace of recovery in output and employment continues to be slow."

Amid sluggish consumer spending, businesses have been reluctant to hire and the economy has grown at a snail's pace. At the same time, inflation is dangerously low, causing some economists to warn that the United States may even be flirting with deflation -- a debilitating drop-off in prices and demand.

The Fed has already kept the federal funds rate, a benchmark for interest rates on a variety of consumer and business loans, at historic lows near zero since December 2008. The Fed said Wednesday that it would continue to hold the rate at "exceptionally low levels" for an "extended period."

The federal funds rate is the central bank's key tool to spur the economy and a low rate is thought to encourage spending by making it cheaper to borrow money.

When already low rates failed to get consumers and businesses to spend, the Fed decided to resort to the more unconventional tool of quantitative easing, to lower interest rates even further.

But critics of QE2, including some Fed members, believe that too much monetary stimulus might lead to runaway inflation that could derail the economy, or future asset bubbles that could endanger economic stability over the long term.

The most outspoken voting member of the Fed, Kansas City Fed President Thomas Hoenig, was once again the lone dissent among policymakers, saying he believed the risks of additional securities purchases outweighed the benefits.

Other opponents have argued that it simply won't work. The Fed already made nearly $2 trillion in similar purchases during the Great Recession, and current low interest rates have not jolted spending, they say.

"I don't think this is going to make any difference at all," said Paul Ashworth, senior U.S. economist with Capitol Economics, who feels the plan is too small. "This is a slippery slope. Once you're on it, it's very hard to get off."



He predicts a repeat of what happened with the first round of quantitative easing two years ago. The Fed initially announced a $600 billion program in November 2008, but then four months later, increased that to $1.8 trillion, when it wasn't enough.