The Nation Newspaper

Tag: GM

  • Corrupt LASTMA officials will go, says GM

    Any Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) official found wanting will be shown the way out, its General Manager (GM) Olawale Musa has said.

    He spoke on Tuesday at the authority’s Oshodi headquarters during the decoration of 444 officers with their new ranks and the valedictory ceremony for a former director, Peter Okonji.

    Musa warned the officials against acts capable of dragging LASTMA’s name in the mud.

    The promotion, he said, was in fulfilment of the government’s promise to boost public servants morale through improved welfare, prompt payment of salaries and allowances, trainings and creation of a friendly-working.

    He urged the officials to rededicate themselves to duty and ensure free flow of traffic.

    According to him, they must professional and civil in the control of traffic and enforcement of traffic laws.

    The authority, he said, would not condone laxity at a time when all hands are on deck to rid the state of traffic gridlock in order to drive socio-economic development.

    LASTMA, Musa said, had drafted over 500 officials to work round the clock to restore sanity on the roads.

    He thanked the retiring Director and Head of Engineering Department for making the authority proud while in service.

    “I envy him because he’s a good man. We thank God for him because not all the people that joined service with him are alive today for retirement service,” he said.

    LASTMA Chief Executive Officer Chris Olakpe, a retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG), said: “I have no doubt that as a professional, the service has prepared him for the years ahead and therefore he would continue to be relevant and also make himself available to the service of his community and people generally,” he said.

    Lagos State Head of Service Folasade Adesoye, represented by Rashidat Olatunji, said: “You started your career well and ended well. We thank God you did not die in service. We pray you won’t retire to sorrow and death. You will be blessed everywhere you go because you have sowed good seeds in Lagos. We want you to do things in moderation as you grow older and spend your retirement benefit wisely.”

    LASTMA Lagos Island Area Controller Lateefat Olaitan Giwa thanked Okonji for his impact on the officials.

    “Many don’t know him until he joined us for the management meeting. He is too quiet. I wish I can be as quiet as him,” Giwa said.

    Member of the audience burst into laughter, saying “it is too late.”

    Okonji thanked Governor Akinwunmi Ambode and LASTMA chiefs for creating a conducive environment for workers to do their job.

    He also thanked the workers, saying: “you have all made my stay in LASTMA enjoyable. I pray God will reward you all and make your service enjoyable. LASTMA will be greater than what we are witnessing now.”

  • GM to build new SUV in Mexico

    General Motors confirmed on Friday that it would produce a new sport utility model in Mexico, despite President Donald Trump’s efforts to put on pressure United States companies to add manufacturing at home.

    The new version of the Chevrolet Blazer, a revival of an old brand name, will be built in Mexico and exported to the US, said GM spokesman Patrick Morrissey.

    Morrissey said GM makes decisions on where vehicles will be made “years in advance. This decision was made several years ago and was based on available capacity at the time. We remain committed to investing and growing jobs in the US,” Morrissey said.

    The move comes as the US, Canada and Mexico remain mired in tough negotiations over a rewrite of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Trump has an extensive record of calling out companies that manufacture overseas and export to the US.

    Morrissey said GM was “committed to working with the administration on a modernised NAFTA”.

    GM has described the Blazer as a midsized SUV, a market that has surged in recent years with lower gasoline prices. GM said the car would be available in early next year.

     

  • Lagos Wastewater Management Office gets GM

    The Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, has  appointed  Maroof Adebola Matanmi, an engineer, the general manager of the Lagos Wastewater Management Office.

    Until his appointment, Matanmi was the acting coordinator of the office after the elevation of the immediate past coordinator, Abdul to permanent secretary.

    In a statement, Assistant Director, Public Affairs, Mrs Grace Alo, said Matanmi  is a “well-rounded professional who has worked as the Council Engineer and head of the Engineering department in various local government areas across the state”.

    He joined the civil service in 2006 and had a stint at the sewage department of the Ministry of Environment before he was deployed to the Ministry of Transportation as director,  Transport Operations.

    Last year, he was redeployed to the Wastewater Office until his appointment on February 7.

  • Ex-Daily Times GM Othihiwa is 75

    Ex-Daily Times GM Othihiwa is 75

    Veteran reporter Odafe Othihiwa clocks 75 today.

    The former Daily Times and AIT General Manager  was born in Owodokpo Igbide, Isoko South Local Government Area of Delta State.

    Othihiwa attended Protestant Teacher Training College, Yaba Lagos and taught for 10 years.

    In 1969, he signed up for journalism and was the news editor of the defunct Daily Express  and Lagos city editor and  chief reporter of  Daily Times.

    He attended International Institute for Journalism West Berlin, West Germany.

    Othihiwa proceeded to the United States (US) and worked with the The Times of Grainville, The Oakland Tribune, The Atlanta Daily World and The Seattle Times.

    He was the first African reporter to interview former US President Jimmy Carter in 1978.

    In 1982, Othihiwa was honoured with the award of the Knighthood order of St. Augustine by the Head of the World Anglican Communion, Most Rev Robert Runcie.

    He is married with children.

  • Turn waste to wealth, GM tells MAPOLY students

    An environmental expert, Mrs Olufunmilayo Kuti, has urged students to embrace the Waste-to-Wealth Project of the Ogun State Government to become entrepreneurs.

    Mrs Kuti, Ogun State Environmental Protection Agency (OGEPA) General Manager (GM), said there were over 140 companies in the state into waste processing, urging the students to make money from the waste generated in their hostels.

    Mrs Kuti spoke at a seminar at the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY) in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. The one-day seminar with the theme: Say No to Littering, was organised by the polytechnic’s chapter of Junior Chambers International (JCI).

    The environmental agency donated waste bins to more than 20 departments in the school to stop indiscriminate disposal of waste on the campus.

    Kuti said dirty environment and indiscriminate waste disposal would have negative effects on students’ health, adding that the Waste-to-Wealth Project would keep the campus clean and help prevent illness in the school.

    She said: “It is simple to generate wealth from waste. The materials that students mostly drop on the gound, such as sachet water nylon, bottles and used cans,  could be gathered and sold to companies. There are many companies in the state that will buy those materials which we see as waste products.

    “The moment you have enough waste, we will link you with these companies. We have some people who pick these wastes, gather them together and we have more than 140 companies in the state who are into this. Nylons and bottles are not degradable. When they get into the environment, they block drainages and cause flooding and diseases. They breed bacteria that cause illness and infections.

    “We have donated these bins on behalf of the state government to students. We are also looking at the private sector participation to enable private sector players to pick the waste materials themselves from dumpsites.”

    Director of Students’ Affairs Seyi Shobande thanked the agency for donating the waste bins. He advised students to take advantage of the state’s environmental policy to make money.

  • GM to pay $1 million fine for ignition switch case

    General Motors (GM) has reportedly agreed to pay $1 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as part of the settlement for its faulty ignition switch.

    The SEC announced its verdict last Wednesday. The civil penalty of $1 million to be paid by GM will finally settle the ongoing government investigations into the company’s handling of the defect.

    The ignition switch scandal is the result of faulty ignition switches which reportedly shut off the engine during driving and as a result prevented the airbags from inflating.

    The case was first highlighted in February 2014, when GM recalled nearly 800,000 of its small cars due to faulty ignition switches. The number of recalls, however, continued to climb in the following months and nearly 30 million cars were recalled from all over the world.

    Due to the ignition switch flaw, nearly 124 people lost their lives and 275 people ended up being injured.

     

    Prosecution and penalties

    The first major lawsuit was filed on in July 2014 at a U.S. District Court in Manhattan. The lawsuit was filed on the behalf of 658 people who claimed to be severely affected by the ignition scandal. The lawsuit alleged that even if GM was aware of the problematic switches since 2001, it did not take any measures and recall any of the affected cars till 2014.

    Another lawsuit was filed by the Orange County District Attorney on behalf of the people of California when the company failed to disclose its defects. The lawsuit alleged that GM was engaged in unfair competition and cited false advertisements violating the law of California.

  • GM China sales rose, Ford’s fell in April

    Despite worries that China’s economy is growing at a slower pace and last year’s volatility in China’s stock markets, demand remains strong, especially in the so-called second-tier cities with populations of less than 5 million.

    Automakers are reporting strong sales of SUVs. General Motors’ posted a 7.5 per cent sales increase in April over a year earlier for its China joint ventures, while Ford’s sales fell 11 per cent last month in the world’s largest auto market.

    GM’s largest brand in China, rose 56 per cent from April 2015 to 98,992, led by the Excelle GT sedan and Envision SUV, which will be introduced in the U.S. this summer.

    Cadillac, which is still relatively new in China, posted a 13 per cent sales increase to 7,007, as it launched the new CT6 fullsize sedan in late January.

    Chevrolet sales in China fell 29 per cent to 35,431. Sales of the Baojun brand rose 56 per cent to 37,915, while Wuling sales slipped 14 per cent to 98,580, as demand softened for small commercial vans.

    Ford sold a total of 82,324 vehicles through its Changan Ford and Jiangling Motors joint ventures, along with vehicles imported from other markets, compared with 92,406 in April 2015.

    Ford’s SUVs continues to sell well in China, including the Ford Ecosport, Kuga, Edge, Explorer and Everest. Ford introduced the new Kuga and the Edge V6 at the recent Beijing Auto Expo.

    Despite the decline in April sales, sales for the first four months of 2016 of Ford’s joint ventures and imports in China are 6.7 per cent higher than a year ago.

  • GM to shut plants temporarily after Japan earthquakes

    GENERAL Motors Corporation is to begin two-week closures at four North American manufacturing plants as a result of supply chain problems caused by the recent earthquakes in Japan.

    Closures have been scheduled to begin at plants in Spring Hill, Tenn.; Oshawa, Ontario; Lordstown, Ohio; and Fairfax, Kan at the weekend.

    GM said the temporary shutdowns were not expected to have any impact on its full-year North American production plan nor does it expect a material impact on either second-quarter or full-year financial results.

    The Spring Hill facility produces the Cadillac XT5 and GMC Acadia. It also manufactures four-cylinder engines and includes a stamping facility, a body shop, a paint shop and two injection-molding operations.  As of last month there were 2,643 employees in Spring Hill.

    Lordstown is where GM builds its Chevy Cruze. The plant employs 4,150 hourly union workers and 350 salaried employees.

    The Fairfax plant manufactures the Chevy Malibu.

    More than 3,200 hourly union workers are employed at the facility, along with 270 salaried staff.

    The GM plant in Oshawa manufactures the Chevy Camaro and Impala, the Buick Regal and the Cadillac XTS on its flex line and the fleet Impala and Chevy Equinox on its consolidated line.

    The company has 23,000 employees in Canada at three separate locations.GM stock traded down about 1.2% in the noon hour Friday, at $32.28 in a 52-week range of $24.62 to $36.88.

  • GM Ignition switch set for trial

    General Motors will go to trial this month for what is considered to be the first “bellwether” case in the ignition switch fiasco.

    A United States judge rejected GM’s motion to dismiss the case, paving the way for a trial date of January 11.

    During the trial, a jury will hear the case of Robert Scheuer, who allegedly sustained injuries because of an ignition switch defect on his 2003 Saturn Ion. In May 2014, another vehicle forced Scheuer off an Oklahoma highway causing him to collide with two trees. Thanks to a faulty ignition switch, the airbags did not deploy, his suit claims.

    The Ion was one of a number of older cars recalled because they can slip out of the “run” position while in motion. In certain cars, the engine may stall and airbags may not deploy in a crash.

    GM started recalling 2.6 million cars last year to fix the defect, although the company has since admitted to knowing about the problem over a decade earlier. A victim’s compensation program headed by attorney Kenneth Feinberg tallied 124 deaths related to the ignition switches.

    The first GM ignition switch trial is only one of six bellwether trials scheduled for the year, reports Reuters. The results of these cases could determine the fate of future cases involving defective ignition switches.

  • GM may revive Hummer to battle Wrangler

    GM may revive Hummer to battle Wrangler

    The calendar may say 2015, but one of the most popular vehicles on the road remains a trucklet born in World War II. As the Jeep Wrangler sets sales records in the United States and around the world, General Motors could finally field a true off-road truck under the GMC brand — if it can only make up its mind after more than a decade of eating Jeep dust.

    According to The Wall Street Journal, executives from the GMC brand were asking dealers at a recent national conference whether adding a small off-roader to the lineup was a good idea. Last year, Jeep sold 234,579 Wranglers worldwide, with sales up 13 percent in the United States.

    For car fans, this is deja vu all over again. Back when it was building Hummer into a sizable business at the turn of the century, GM laid plans for a Wrangler-killer that would have been called the Hummer H4. The car above was a concept version, dubbed the Hummer HX, unveiled at the 2008 Detroit auto show. Sometimes concept cars are little more than mockups; the HX had a full spec sheet, including a 302-hp V-6, removable roof panels and 24 inches of ground clearance. The H4 would have been built off a modified version of GM’s mid-size truck chassis, but the economic collapse and GM’s bankruptcy sank the H4, the entire Hummer brand and the executives who wanted to kick Jeep in the teeth.

    Only now, as gas prices ease and GM has returned to full financial health, does the company have the resources to consider a niche truck like a Wranger fighter. GM showed off a hint of its off-road thinking with the Chevy Colorado ZR2 concept at the Los Angeles auto show last year, yet if it approved a full-bore new GMC product today, GM would need at least three years to build it.

    Why such reluctance to give buyers what they want? In carbuilding, momentum means everything, and being popular only makes it harder for a newcomer. The U.S. sales charts would say every company should build a full-size pickup, but if you’re not Ford or GM or Chrysler, doing so requires spending at least $1 billion for a vehicle that — no matter how smart you are — will take years to win acceptance, can’t be sold elsewhere and will likely never make back the investment. It is not just that Jeep sells a lot of Wranglers; it is that those buyers want a Jeep again and again and again, despite what some magazine might say.

    In other words, the next Wrangler will look much more like other SUVs under the skin and less like the WWII throwback its fans demand today. (Building the folding windshield out of a unibody frame is going to be worthy of an SAE paper or two.) When the Wrangler changes that dramatically, it will be the first time in ages that GM or another competitor could steal some momentum — if they can only get in gear.