Short Lines (November 01, 2000)

Continental General Tire Inc., has denied that it understated potential problems with its TG52S, Ameri-Way and Ameri-Tech tire lines in the U.S. An U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigation on the tires ran from March to July of 1993, but a report in the Chicago Sun-Times claimed that 13 people in the U.S. have died following the closure of the investigation.

General Motors of Canada has ended speculation about the future of the firm’s St.Catherines engine plant with the announcement that the firm would spend $440 million to build a new V6 engine. The multi-platform engine will save 300 jobs at the plant, which has suffered approximately 1000 layoffs over the past decade.

Toyota Motor Corporation has joined the California Fuel Cell Partnership, a demonstration program designed to promote the benefits of fuel cell vehicles. Toyota joins Ford, DaimlerChrysler, Volkswagen, Honda, Nissan and Hyundai, as well as Shell, BP and Texaco. Canadian fuel cell pioneer Ballard Energy Systems is also a member, as are several U.S. government agencies. High on the priority list for the partnership is the development of a refueling infrastructure for fuel cell vehicles, once suitable fuels are determined.

Ford Motor Company has appealed a California court ruling that the company replace distributor mounted TFI-IV ignition modules on 1983-1995 models to correct a stalling problem. The firm denies that the units are defective, and states that the NHTSA has not issued a recall, although that administration is responsible for recall activity in the U.S.

In another alternate powerplant development, South Korean Hyundai Motor Co. has announced a collaboration with U.S. based Capstone Turbine Corp. to develop hybrid powerplant technology. A turbine-electric Santa-Fe sport utility vehicle will be tested in the first half of 2001.

Tire pressure monitoring moves forward with B.C.-based SmarTire Systems announcing an agreement in principle to supply the aftermarket with units jointly developed with and supplied to Honeywell. The companies will market products for auto and light truck markets into both the North American and European markets. In another tire-related announcement, Goodyear has acquired a 20 percent equity stake in Colorado-based Phase IV Engineering Inc., a developer of custom radio telemetry systems. The announcement comes within a week of Goodyear’s introduction of a radio-based intelligent system for OTR vehicle tires. Johnson Controls has also joined the fray with a radio monitoring system slated for summer 2001 as a dealer-installed new option. OEM customers were not disclosed.