Fiat/Chrysler plans 2012 fully electric car
Published 6:28 pm Monday, March 22, 2010
Chrysler’s new Italian management is revising the company’s electric vehicle strategy, announcing Monday that it will build a fully electric Fiat 500 minicar to sell in the U.S. in 2012. But they’ll be a minimum of two years behind other major automakers including Nissan Motor Co., General Motors Co., and Ford Motor Co., all of which plan to have rechargeable electric vehicles on sale later this year. Engineers at Chrysler’s Auburn Hills, Mich., technical center are still developing the 500’s electric battery and motor system, and they’re shooting to get more than 100 miles on a single charge from a home outlet. Chrysler said the U.S. would be the first market for the electric 500, and it would announce timing for other markets closer to the launch date. Pricing was not announced.
Police say driver caused Prius crash
Police who investigated the crash of a Toyota Prius in the New York suburbs said Monday they agreed with federal regulators that driver error caused it. The investigation found that the driver, housekeeper Gloria Rosel, never braked before she crashed into a wall, Harrison police Capt. Anthony Marraccini said. She was not seriously injured. “The vehicle accelerator in this case was depressed 100 percent at the time of collision, and there was absolutely no indication of any brake application,” Marraccini said Monday.
Tiffany quadruples quarterly profits
Rising sales, particularly during the holidays, helped quadruple jeweler Tiffany &Co.’s fourth-quarter profit, the company said Monday, indicating luxury customers are willing to spend more as fears about the economy lessen. The quarter that ended Jan. 31 produced more than half of Tiffany’s fiscal 2009 profit, and the company, known for its signature turquoise boxes, forecast fiscal 2010 earnings ahead of Wall Street’s expectations. Tiffany earned more $140.4 million, or $1.10 per share, compared with $31.1 million, or 25 cents per share a year earlier. Excluding a restructuring charge, Tiffany earned 86 cents per share in the year-ago quarter. There were no one-time items in the current quarter. Its revenue rose 17 percent to $981.4 million with growth in all regions.
Dell to sell smart phone in U.S. soon
AT&T says Dell’s first smart phone for the U.S. market will be called the “Aero.” The carrier said Monday it will sell the phone soon. The phone is based on Dell Inc.’s Mini 3 phone, which is already sold in China and Brazil, but has a custom-made user interface designed by AT&T Inc. and Dell. The phone will run Google Inc.’s Android software. The price and the specific launch date were not announced. AT&T has previously said it would carry Dell’s phone. Compaq, now part of Hewlett-Packard Co., produced a line of handheld PCs named “Aero” a decade ago, when they competed with the Dell “Axim” line.
From Herald news services
