Work begins on nation's largest transportation project
Jun 9, 2009    USA Today    
 

Toyota Wants New Prius to Be America's Next Top Model  

Jun 9, 2009 Washington Post  
By Blaine Harden

TOYOTA CITY, Japan -- Memo to the beleaguered U.S. car industry: As the recession eases, torment from Toyota may increase.

Designers of the Prius, the curiously shaped hybrid that since 1997 has allowed up-to-the-minute Americans to advertise their eco-correctness, are going after the Average Joe.

The third-generation Prius is not just for "some special people," said Wahei Hirai, Toyota's managing officer for design. "This is a mainstream car."

The new model is more powerful than its predecessors, with more headroom, a bigger trunk, better gas mileage and a lower price. It is only now being rolled out in the United States, but judging from exceptionally brisk Japanese sales and effusive early reviews, the car looks like a hit. In May, the Prius was Japan's best-selling car.

To keep up with surging domestic demand, overtime has been brought back at the two plants that assemble the car. Workers have been transferred in from factories around the country. Production has grown to 50,000 cars a month, but customers in Japan must wait three to four months to drive home a new Prius.

Sep. 22, 2008 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- Employees are not the only ones worried about high gasoline prices and the effect on their pocketbooks. Employers are, too.

Some companies are coming up with ways to help employees cope with high gas prices and transportation costs, including offering four-day workweeks and setting up van pools, according to a recent study by Mercer, a benefits consulting company.

Sep 21, 2008 Alaska Journal of Commerce 
Tim Bradner

Sep. 21, 2008 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- No matter who wins the presidential election, if you're in business, there's new government paperwork in your future. And no matter whether you believe in global warming, if your business operates buildings or mobile equipment, you'll be measuring and filing reports on greenhouse gases, that cocktail or chemicals -- carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, methane and three other gases -- scientists say are causing climate change.

Sep 22, 2008 The Dallas Morning News 
Eric Torbenson

Sep. 22, 2008 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- While wholesale natural gas and crude oil prices have fallen sharply since July, that doesn't mean your winter heating bills will do the same.

Sep 21, 2008 New York Times 
MICHELLE YORK

ITHACA, N.Y. — With its rolling hills, scenic waterfalls and ecologically minded college students, this Finger Lakes city can sometimes seem a green oasis.

Until you sit in traffic. Then it seems like Washington, minus the politicians. “There are tons of commuters,” said Jacob A. Roberts, who rides a bicycle to avoid tie-ups and save money. “At 8:30 and 5:30, it’s bumper to bumper.”

Sep 21, 2008 New York Times 
FELICITY BARRINGER
SAN FRANCISCO

FIFTY years after an Oklahoma senator, Mike Monroney, made sure that all automakers put labels on their cars with detailed price information, California’s regulators are following suit with a label that reflects modern values. Instead of telling buyers the car’s retail price and the cost of its options, the labels, which must appear on all new cars in California dealerships on Jan. 1, indicate how much pollution the car produces.