Sunday, 24 September 2023
Saturday, 23 September 2023
GM, STELLANTIS DEALERS AND CUSTOMERS FACE DWINDLING PARTS AS UAW STRIKE EXPANDS
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| Reuters |
U.S. auto workers expanded their strike on Friday with a clear target for distress: dealers who sell and service GM and Stellantis vehicles.
Selling and installing parts is one of the most profitable parts of the auto business, but it is also one of the most vulnerable, because the industry relies on just-in-time shipments. The strategy of choking parts delivery increases problems for some dealers who say it already had been difficult to source some components.
"It's going to become near impossible to get a lot of these parts," said Richard Fasulo, a diagnostic technician from Wappinger, New York, who works for a Cadillac franchise dealer and used car dealers. The broader strike, which targets 38 parts distribution centers owned by GM and Stellantis, "is going to have these shops telling their customers 'We don't know when we can fix your vehicle. It might be indefinitely.'"
Selling repair parts and service returns is the key to many dealers' profits, and returns 40% or better gross profit margins for big auto retail chains such as AutoNation (AN.N) and Lithia (LAD.N).
REUS GOAL HANDS DORTMUND NERVOUS 1-0 WIN OVER WOLFSBURG
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| Reuters |
Borussia Dortmund's Marco Reus slotted in a second half winner to give his team a 1-0 victory over in-form VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday after a largely toothless game.
Dortmund had more than 60% possession throughout but apart from a curled Reus free kick into the top corner that goalkeeper Koen Casteels palmed wide, they had little to show for in terms of chances.
Despite six changes to the team that lost 2-0 on Tuesday to Paris St Germain in their Champions League opener, coach Edin Terzic could not inject any sense of urgency into his side in the first half.
They did pick up the pace after the break and came close with Julian Brandt before Reus completed a move launched by substitute Donyell Malen in the 68th for the winner.
"I think it was a deserved win," said Terzic. "We controlled the game from the start, kept possession. We did not succeed in creating chances with that possession in the first half.
MLB ROUNUP: RONALD ACUNA JR JOINS 40/40 CLUB IN BRAVES' WIN
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| Reuters |
Ronald Acuna Jr. and Austin Riley homered in the first inning, and the Atlanta Braves defeated the host Washington Nationals 9-6 to move closer to the 100-win mark Friday night.
Marcell Ozuna smashed a three-run homer in the seventh, and Riley drove in runs on three separate plate appearances to finish with four runs batted in for the National League East champion Braves (99-55).
Acuna led off the game with his 40th home run of the season. He became just the fifth player to join the 40-40 club with his 68 steals. He's the only player in MLB history to have 40 or more home runs and 60 or more steals in the same year. Two batters after Acuna, Riley's 37th homer gave Atlanta a 3-0 lead before an out was recorded.
Braves starter Charlie Morton was done after one scoreless inning; the right-hander walked two. He departed because of discomfort in his right index finger, according to information from the team. Michael Tonkin (7-2) was the winning pitcher with two innings of relief.
After the game, the Nationals announced that Saturday's game was postponed due to severe weather in the forecast and would be played as part of a split-admission doubleheader on Sunday.
BIDEN TO VISIT MICHIGAN TO SUPPORT AUTO STRIKE, A DAY BEFORE TRUMP
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| Reuters |
U.S. President Joe Biden will travel to Michigan on Tuesday to show support for the United Auto Workers' strike against Detroit automakers, putting him in the center of the dispute that has pitted his labor allies against major manufacturers.
Biden, a Democrat, sees himself as a pro-union president and his visit to the state, a day before former President Donald Trump is scheduled to be there, will underscore his support for union workers' right to take action and engage in collective bargaining.
"Tuesday, I’ll go to Michigan to join the picket line and stand in solidarity with the men and women of UAW as they fight for a fair share of the value they helped create," Biden said on Friday in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. "It’s time for a win-win agreement that keeps American auto manufacturing thriving with well-paid UAW jobs."
Friday, 22 September 2023
OLYMPIC MEDALIST SUES US BOBSLED COACH
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| Reuters |
Aja Evans, a 2014 Olympic bobsled bronze medalist, has filed a lawsuit alleging that a doctor who worked on Team USA's medical staff subjected her to nearly a decade of sexual abuse and harassment during treatment.
The doctor, Jonathan Wilhelm, a chiropractor who resides in Montana, as well as the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) and USA Bobsled and Skeleton Federation were named as defendants in the lawsuit filed on Wednesday in a state court in upstate New York.
Evans, 35, said in a news release on Thursday that Wilhelm's "repeated molestation and sexual assault" left her "physically and emotionally damaged, to the point where I experience chronic anxiety and fell out of love with the sport of bobsledding."
The lawsuit said Wilhelm's treatment "mirrors the abuse perpetuated" by Larry Nassar, the former USA Gymnastics team doctor serving a potential 175-year prison sentence following his 2018 conviction for sexually abusing female gymnasts.
MCLAREN SIGN LE MANS WINNER HIRAKAWA AS F1 RESERVE FOR 2024
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| Toyota Gazoo Racing |
McLaren have signed Japan's 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Ryo Hirakawa as a Formula One reserve driver for next season, the team announced on Friday.
The 29-year-old won last year's Le Mans with New Zealand's Brendon Hartley and Switzerland's Sebastien Buemi as well as the endurance world championship with Toyota, a series the trio currently lead in the Hypercar category.
McLaren said Hirakawa would support them in the simulator as well as track testing while continuing to race for Toyota in world endurance.