Tag: benefits

Video: Sebastian Vettel on the benefits of KERS, adjustable rear wing

Filed under: Europe, Technology, Videos, Racing

Red Bull 2011

Sebastian Vettel on KERS – Click above to view video after the jump

Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel, winner of last weekend’s Formula 1 opening round in Australia, has taken to YouTube to explain what the addition of KERS and and an adjustable rear wing means for drivers. Technically speaking, KERS is good for a six-second, 80-horsepower boost.

According to Vettel, that’s best used as a way to help get off the grid ahead of the pack, or sneak through a gap in traffic at the start of a race. Otherwise, it can be used to hold off an attack during the race or as an edge going for the overtake.

The adjustable rear wing is only available as an overtaking aid at certain points in a race within a specified distance of an opponent. It’s designed to reduce the increased drag when a driver steps out of the slipstream and into clean air. By reducing the wing’s pitch, the driver can lose some of the increased resistance. Click past the jump for Vettel’s explanation.

[Source: YouTube]

Continue reading Video: Sebastian Vettel on the benefits of KERS, adjustable rear wing

Video: Sebastian Vettel on the benefits of KERS, adjustable rear wing originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 02 Apr 2011 11:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Detroit 3 in discussions with UAW on how to share benefits of “amazing turnaround”?

Filed under: Chrysler, Ford, GM, Earnings/Financials, UAW/Unions

Bob King, UAW president

It’s no secret that some members of the United Auto Workers aren’t thrilled about the concessions that the union made during bankruptcy negotiations with both General Motors and Chrysler. Now that both of those automakers are back on their feet, the UAW wants a slice of their new-found prosperity. According to Bloomberg, UAW President Bob King believes that his members’ sacrifices helped keep GM and Chrysler afloat, and now they deserve to share in the fruits of those concessions. King said that UAW members each gave up between $7,000 and $30,000 each as part of negotiations since 2005, and the union gave up wage increases for cost of living, surrendered raises and ditched bonuses to keep the Big Three afloat during the darker days of 2009.

The UAW is expected to negotiate new contracts with Ford, GM and Chrysler early this year before they expire in September, and all three automakers are being tight-lipped about how additional compensation could factor into those negotiations. King has also been jockeying for positions on the executive boards of the domestic automakers in an attempt to better represent the union’s needs.

[Source: Bloomberg | Image: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images]

Detroit 3 in discussions with UAW on how to share benefits of “amazing turnaround”? originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 05 Jan 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Friends with Benefits: Hyundai shifts Santa Fe production to Kia plant to build more Sonatas

Filed under: Budget, Sedan, Plants/Manufacturing, Hyundai

Straight from HQ at The Department of the Obvious, the 2011 Hyundai Sonata is selling as quickly as Miley Cyrus tickets before Cyrus lost the plot. That’s got Hyundai Motor America shuffling production plans around in order to build enough Sonatas in the U.S., instead of getting them from South Korea.

Hyundai’s Alabama plant produces the Sonata sedan and the Santa Fe, but Santa Fe assembly is being moved to a Kia plant in Georgia where the Sorento is built – easy stuff as they share a platform. With a production capacity of 300,000 cars at the Alabama plant running full tilt, the way things are going, it’s no wonder Hyundai might be looking use all of it.

[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req.]

Friends with Benefits: Hyundai shifts Santa Fe production to Kia plant to build more Sonatas originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 17:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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