On the Move

Monday, February 6, 2012 For Advertising Information Contact Your Local Cars.Com On-The-Move Sales Team at 599-2329

Buick’s eAssist gives LaCrosse an economical boostBuffed-up Buick must fig-

ure it finally washed all the gray from its lineup.

I understand — appear-ances aside.

Ultra-contemporary Bufords like the Enclave crossover and the sleek LaCrosse and Regal sedans don’t seem to contain a single gene from an old torque-mon-ster Gran Sport or a Wildcat 455 or even a ‘65 Riviera.

But the 2012 LaCrosse with eAssist — an econom-ical four-cylinder sedan boosted occasionally by a small electric motor — may stretch Buick’s new stovepipe jeans a bit.

My first thought when I heard the name was: “It comes with a home scoot-er?”

So if I overshoot the park-ing lot at the Twilight Palms Retirement Home and bag one of the fake Greco foun-tains out front, I can just pry my scooter out of the wreck-age and quietly putter unno-ticed to my room?

Probably not. Despite its geriatric-sounding name, eAssist is a mild hybrid sys-tem that maintains a real six-speed automatic trans-mission and doesn’t rely on large, heavy battery packs.

And yes, I can hear the sneers from Prius purists. But get this: A LaCrosse with the four-banger and eAssist costs about $1,300 more than the base four-cyl-inder LaCrosse did and is rated at 25 miles per gallon city and 36 highway — a 28 percent improvement in fuel economy.

While I would rather work as a hippety-hoppity music DJ than drive most hybrids

daily — just call me LL Cool Box — the LaCrosse struck me as a pretty darn good value.

And much of the time, it is, though with some unex-pected irritations that I’ll tell you about in a minute.

The carbon-black LaCrosse I had recently looked gener-ally like one of the stylish V-6-powered models.

A sloping hood flowed gracefully into a raked-back windshield and curvaceous top — strong lines for a car known previously as an over-60s sedan.

The doors were enormous, and the LaCrosse would probably be as slab-sided as a senior recreation center if not for some clever char-acter lines on the side. The best one zips over the front door handle before kicking dramatically over the rear handle, putting a meaty lit-tle shoulder over the back wheel.

Speaking of which, I didn’t care much for my car’s small-ish 235/50 tires on 17-inch wheels because they gave it a kind of green-weenie look — and it’s really not.

But you still get a decent Buick interior, which most of us expect in a sedan with a $36,880 sticker on the back window.

As you might guess looking at the doors on the LaCrosse, leg- and headroom in back rival those in some cabs.

Moreover, the black inte-rior in mine was nicely detailed.

The plastic on the dash, for instance, looked kind of like black leather, complete with white stitching on its edges.

The hood over the instru-ment panel was padded, as were the armrests on the

door panels — made of the same leather-looking plastic as the dash.

A large center stack domi-nated much of the dash, and black leather seats with flat-toned surfaces and sub-tle stitched seams looked classy.

But you can find that sort of content on any mid-lev-el LaCrosse. What makes this car kind of special is its 2.4-liter, 182-horsepower four-cylinder engine paired with a 15-horse electric motor.

A small box contain-ing lithium-ion batteries is mounted in the trunk behind the back seat, consuming about two cubic feet of space,

By Terry BoxThe Dallas Morning News

The 2012 Buick LaCrosse eAssist is a mild hybrid system that maintains a real six-speed automatic transmission.

GM/MCT phoTos

See BUICK, Page 2

Page 2 / Monday, February 6, 2012 Tallahassee Democrat / OnTheMOve

GM says. It powers an electric

motor/generator that is mounted where you normal-ly find a conventional alter-nator. When summoned to action, it provides a little extra grunt and torque for the gas engine.

Automatic start/stop shuts the engine off when you’re at full rest, and the motor/gen-erator helps get the car roll-ing again, as well as offering some extra shove in passing situations.

It also recharges the bat-teries.

At least, that’s how it all works on paper.

With spin from the elec-tric motor — rated at 110 pound-feet of torque — the four-banger under the hood feels smooth and reasonably torquey, revving pretty will-ingly to 6,500 rpm.

It doesn’t offer much surge — and virtually no snap — but green Robin and Batman will push the LaCrosse to 60 in 9.2 seconds, which is OK for a kind-of hybrid.

But I struggled some with the car’s bad coasting behav-ior. When I let off the accel-erator and the LaCrosse’s torque converter apparent-ly locked, the car was jolted as the speed dropped below 20 mph.

It happened consistently, ranging from a shudder to a sharp bump. But no matter the intensity, it was as irri-tating as talk radio — espe-cially mired in the Dallas North Crawlway’s bumper-to-bumper traffic.

My car was an early mod-el that probably lacked some

polish and refinement, or it might have just contained a gremlin.

Either way, I might spend some time on a test drive before buying an eAssist vehicle.

Otherwise, the Buick per-formed fairly well. It stepped over bumps with surprising Euro firmness and turned nicely into curves.

Though limited by its econo -spec t ires, the LaCrosse offered fairly live-ly steering, feeling light and quick when I was putting around and growing heavi-er at speed.

It was a mostly pleasant vehicle with huge poten-tial. And if I absolutely must drive some sort of hybrid to my weekend DJ job in the foreboding, not-so-distant future, please give me one that is still more car than science experiment.

2012 BUICK LACROSSE: n Type of vehicle: Front-wheel-drive, five-passenger, four-door sedan n Base price (including desti-nation charge): $30,170 n Price as tested: $36,880 n Fuel economy: 25 miles per gallon city, 36 highway n Weight: 3,850 pounds n Engine: 2.4-liter four-cylin-der with 182 horsepower and 172 pound-feet of torque, plus a 15-horsepower electric motor with 110 pound-feet of torque n Transmission: Six-speed automatic n Performance: 0 to 60 mph in 9.2 seconds n Safety rating: Five stars for driver and passenger for frontal crash; five-star front and four-star rear for side crash; four stars for rollover —SOURCES: General Motors;

Motor Trend

BuickFrom Page 1

GM/MCT

The 2012 Buick LaCrosse eAssist is a mild hybrid system that maintains a real six-speed automatic transmission.

Chrysler, other US automakers post strong January numbers

L O S A N G E L E S — Chrysler Group reported its first annual profit in years, and the U.S. auto industry displayed renewed vigor, posting January sales num-bers that were the strongest for the month since 2008.

Chrysler’s profit was a sign that the Detroit auto-maker is recovering from its bankruptcy reorganization and the conflicting strate-gies of its recent owners, analysts said.

“It is great to see that the phoenix can come out of the ashes,” said Thilo Koslowski, an auto analyst at research firm Gartner Inc. “Chrysler has really changed its cul-ture. The organization is much more empowered than it has been in the past, and it is coming out with excit-ing products.”

Chrysler said Wednesday that it earned $183 million last year, compared with a loss of $652 million in 2010. Sales rose 31 percent to $55 billion. It was Chrysler’s first annual profit as an indepen-dent company since 1997.

The automaker is riding a wave of growing auto sales that has caught the entire industry.

Americans purchased more than 900,000 vehicles last month, an 11.4 per-cent increase over January 2010, according to Autoda-ta Corp.

“It is significant to see 900,000 in January when much of the country is in a deep freeze,” said Bob Cart-er, Toyota’s group vice presi-dent and general manager. “We are bullish on where the industry is going.”

The volume translates into a seasonally adjusted annu-al sales pace of 14.2 million autos. With the exception of the federal cash-for-clunkers economic stimulus program in the middle of the reces-

sion, that rate was the best since May 2008, according to auto information company Edmunds.com.

Auto executives said the gradually improving econ-omy, stronger consumer confidence and the need to replace an aging U.S. fleet, where the average vehicle is now about 11 years old, contributed to the industry’s strength.

Although there’s still volatility in the economic news, “in general, it is much more positive than it was six months ago,” said Don John-son, U.S. sales vice presi-dent at General Motors Co.

But Hyundai Motor Ameri-ca’s chief exec-utive issued a more cautious view.

“Although total industry sales looked strong, our sense is that much of the g a i n c a me from the fleet sales,” said Hyundai’s John Krafcik. Such sales to rental car com-panies, commercial custom-ers and government agencies are typically less profitable than sales to consumers.

Many automakers posted double-digit sales gains.

Chrysler’s January sales were 44.3 percent above the same month in the prior year, Autodata said. Volkswagen Group was up 39.5 percent. It was VW’s best January in 38 years. Nissan North America sales rose 10.4 per-cent; Hyundai climbed 14.7 percent; Kia Motors America jumped 27.8 percent; Subaru of America, 20.9 percent.

Among the top five in sales, Ford Motor Co. sales rose 7.3 percent. Toyota Motor Corp. sales rose 7.5 percent. Honda Motor Co. rose 8.8 percent.

Asian brands are making

a comeback after some were hurt by inventory shortag-es caused by the Japanese earthquake and tsunami last year. The Asian brands held a market share of 45.8 per-cent in January, their best since March, when they had 48.5 percent, Edmunds.com reported.

“The domestics are in for a fight in 2012,” said Jessi-ca Caldwell, an Edmunds analyst.

Of the major automakers, only GM posted lower Janu-ary sales, falling 6.1 percent. While the results at Chevro-let, its biggest brand, were

just below level, sales fell at Buick, Cadillac and GMC.

S e r g i o M a rch io -nne, chief executive of Chrysler and Fiat, the Ital-ian automak-er that owns 58.5 percent of Chrysler,

said competition will only get tougher.

“Nobody is falling asleep at the switch here,” Marchio-nne said.

Since emerging from ba nkruptcy i n 20 0 9, Chrysler has introduced new models and merged develop-ment operations with Fiat. A health care fund, known as the VEBA trust, operated by the United Autoworkers Union owns the remainder of Chrysler’s shares.

Helped by a memorable “Imported From Detroit” advertising campaign launched during the Super Bowl last year, Chrysler sold 1.4 million vehicles in the U.S. last year, a 26 percent increase over the previous year. Its share of the U.S. market grew to 10.7 per-cent, up more than a per-centage point, according to Autodata.

The rebirth of the Dodge Dart is one example of Chrysler’s changed culture, Gartner analyst Koslows-ki said. The 2013 model of the Dart will be the first Chrysler vehicle based on Fiat architecture, in this case the Alfa Romeo Giu-lietta. It will be produced at Chrysler’s assembly plant in Belvidere, Ill.

Chrysler looks to be solid-ifying its position in the U.S. market after more than a decade of changing own-ers with varied business strategies.

Daimler, the owner of Mercedes-Benz, acquired Chrysler in 1998 but was unable to integrate the American company into its global operations prof-itably. The deal was billed as a “merger of equals,” but the German automaker called the shots, selling Chrysler to Cerberus Capital Man-agement in 2007.

But Cerberus quickly ran into problems and lost con-trol of the business during the 2009 bankruptcy reor-ganization and federal gov-ernment bailout.

Marchionne’s strong lead-ership was “something that was sorely lacking while Cerberus was in control of the company,” said Alec Gutierrez, an analyst at auto information company Kel-ley Blue Book. Cerberus, he said, primarily focused on cost cutting.

For the fourth quar-ter, Chrysler reported net income of $225 million, a swing from a loss of $199 million for the year-earli-er period. It was the com-pany’s highest quarterly profit since it emerged from bankruptcy in 2009. Quar-terly sales rose 41 percent to $15.1 billion.

The company also is building up its cash on hand. Chrysler had $9.6 billion at year-end, up from $7.3 bil-lion a year earlier.

By Jerry HirschLos Angeles Times

Chrysler looks to be solidify-ing its position in the U.S. market after more than a decade of chang-ing owners with varied business strategies.

OnTheMOve / Tallahassee Democrat Monday, February 6, 2012 / Page 3

TD-0000198207


Indiana’s electric-vehicle bust

ELKHART, Ind. — For pol-iticians betting on electric vehicles to drive job growth, the view from inside Think City’s plant here is their worst nightmare: 100 unfinished vehicles lined up with no word whether they will be completed.

Only two years ago the tiny Think cars — two can fit in a regular parking space — were expected to bring more than 400 jobs to this ailing city and act as a lifeline to suppliers who once made parts for gas-guzzling rec-reational vehicles.

“We’ve said we’re out to make Indiana the electric vehicle state. It’s beginning to look like the state capital will be Elkhart County,” Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels said in January 2010 in announcing government incentives used to lure Think to his state.

Instead, the Hoosier state’s big bet has been a bust. The plant is devoid of activity; there are just two employ-ees. A Russian investor who recently purchased Think’s bankrupt parent in Norway has been silent about its future. A government-backed Indianapolis battery mak-er that was to supply Think wrote off a $73 million invest-ment in the car company and on Thursday declared bank-ruptcy. Two unrelated elec-tric truck makers Indiana planned to nurture have yet to get off the ground.

Indiana’s foray into electric vehicles is a cautionary tale for states in hot pursuit of high tech manufacturing jobs. Think’s story illustrates how politicians so badly wanted to stimulate job growth that they showered it and the bat-tery supplier with tax breaks and incentives while at the same time failing to deter-mine whether there was a market for the car: a plastic two-seater with a top speed of about 65 miles an hour

and a price tag approaching $42,000.

“Where’s the value?” Gregg Fore, an Elkhart rec-reational vehicle industry executive, said of Think. “I could buy a golf cart for five grand if that’s what I wanted to drive.”

Fore says the federal and state governments as well as Elkhart subsidized the Think project apparently believ-ing those breaks would drive down the vehicle’s price and make the cars more attrac-tive. “By giving money to the battery company and elec-tric car company, they are saying, ‘We want you to buy their products even though we know you don’t want them.’ “

Indiana’s total losses aren’t immediately known. Kate-lyn Hancock, a spokeswom-an for the Indiana Econom-ic Development Corp., the state’s economic development arm, declined to disclose how much battery maker Ener1 and Think had received in taxpayer-funded credits and incentives, claiming such information is confidential. Ener1 also refused to provide the information.

What is known, however, is that both the Obama and Bush administrations poured millions of dollars into bat-tery production in a quest to power thousands of Think City vehicles with lithium-ion batteries. To date, Ener1, par-ent of the battery company, has spent $55 million in fed-eral funding, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

In hindsight, some analysts say government backing of the car didn’t seem like a bad investment. “It looked like electric vehicles were it in 2008. It really did,” said Theo-dore O’Neill, an analyst who has followed the electric car industry. “You had the gov-ernment calling the shots and doling the money out with the major (automakers).”

Still, O’Neill says he wouldn’t buy such a car. “For

$40,000, you can get a certi-fied pre-owned BMW con-vertible and a Vespa scooter. Both of them. And if you want to have a good time, put the top down.” General Motors’ Chevrolet Volt electric car also comes for about the same price.

Think City’s plant, a 10-min-ute drive from Elkhart’s Main Street, appears all but aban-doned these days. When a reporter visited recently, the parking lot was empty and the visitor entrance and lobby were laced with cob-webs. A single pickup truck and a sign telling visitors to ring the buzzer were the only signs of life near the rear of the building. Inside two men were quietly babysitting the plant, awaiting headlights and seatbelts from Europe so the cars would meet U.S. standards.

What eventually happens to these cars isn’t clear. No one in Elkhart could point to a local executive in charge of production. A person identi-fied as a spokesman declined to comment, saying he was no longer on the payroll.

The person who may have the most to say about Think’s future also isn’t talking. Rus-sian investor Boris Zingarev-ich bought Think Global, the Norwegian parent company, at auction a month after its bankruptcy.

Reached by phone in Rus-sia, Slava Bychkov, a spokes-man for Ilim Group, said he could not provide details of the car company’s future.

“The management is now under the restart process and will communicate their strategy in (the) near future,” Bychkov said.

The situation is a far cry from what was envisioned in 2009: a bustling plant build-ing cars that would be part of the American dream of a gasoline-free future. Every level of government, from the city to the state to the federal government, bought into the dream by pledging millions of dollars in incentives and tax breaks to Think, which prom-ised to build those cars.

In the two years that fol-lowed, Daniels announced deals across the state that he said would bring electric

vehicle-related employment: 1,600 jobs in Elkhart County for hybrid pick-up trucks, 300 jobs in Central Indiana for plug-in hybrid work trucks. The truck ventures have yet to get off the ground. Ener1, the battery supplier to Think with three locations in Indi-ana, envisioned creating 1,400 jobs; Think itself was sup-posed to create 415 jobs in Indiana.

Vice President Joe Biden seized on the excitement over Think, posing a year ago beside a car to promote the battery company. He her-alded the battery maker as one of “100 Recovery Act Projects changing Ameri-ca,” putting people back to work and helping transform the economy.

President Barack Obama swooped into Elkhart three times, turning the battered city into a poster child for an economy in need of govern-ment intervention. Unemploy-ment had topped 20 percent as the recreational vehicle industry, which during its peak employed as many as 50,000 people in Elkhart

County, had nose-dived and failed to recover. That Think City had set up shop in a mas-sive building where RV win-dows and doors were once manufactured was seen as a sign of rebirth.

Everyone involved appar-ently became so jazzed about jobs that they didn’t spend much time thinking about who would buy Think cars. “I would get knots in my stom-ach. What are we going to do? Your heart ached because you knew how hungry they were for jobs,” said Dorinda Heiden-Guss, president of the Economic Development Cor-poration of Elkhart County.

Barkley Garrett, Elkhart’s economic development direc-tor, said, “You have to look at it in the context of deal-ing with almost 20 percent unemployment. When you have one out of every five peo-ple in your community out of work — every job looks like a good job.”

Morever, Think City fit neatly into Elkhart’s goal of attracting technology compa-

By Julie WernauChicago Tribune

Michael Tercha/chicago Tribune

Th!nk City electric cars await additional assembly at the plant in Elkhart, Ind., on Jan. 10.

See BUST, Page 6


Squealing noise a warning from brakesQUESTION: I’ve begun

hearing a faint squealing noise from my car — in the front, I think. It increases as I speed up and some-times goes away if I use the brakes. With the holidays, this isn’t the best time for a car repair. Is it important that I fix this right away?

—Doreen H. ANSWER: There’s a

good chance the noise you’ve so nicely described is a brake-pad wear sen-sor beginning to sound off. These are little metal tabs attached to the inner brake pad that come into contact with the brake rotor when

the pad’s friction mate-rial wears thin. While the nail on a blackboard sound will become increasingly annoying and embarrass-ing with further driving, the early warning of worn brake pads can head off some expensive damage. If a brake pad loses most or all of its friction material, its steel backing and/or the rivets attaching the friction material will cause severe damage to the brake rotor, along with decreased stop-ping ability.

Audible wear sensors are found on some but not all brake pads. Higher-end vehicles typically use an electrical sensor that illu-minates a warning light

when pad thickness signifi-cantly decreases, rather than subjecting the driver to an awkward sound. This probe-type of wear sensor requires replacement after activation for about $10-$40 apiece. Other warn-ing light-type sensors are embedded within the brake pad, making replacement more straightforward.

A tab-type sensor can make noise in the way you described because brake pads ride just a hair away from the brake rotor, and flexing of both parts while

driving or braking can cause intermittent contact. As your pads wear fur-ther, the noise will become louder and more continu-ous, to the point you won’t want to drive the car. The good news is you still have perhaps a month of driv-ing remaining before this happens, and at least sev-eral more months of unim-paired brake operation.

If you’re consider-ing a brief delay in hav-ing the brakes looked at, I’d feel better knowing the cause was in fact a wear sensor rather than some-thing else that may require more immediate attention. Many wheels have suffi-ciently large gaps between

the spokes to allow a nice view of the brake caliper and rotor. If so, the edge of the outer brake pad is usu-ally visible if the wheel is rotated just right. Thick-ness of the friction mate-rial on a new brake pad is a bit greater than that of a pencil. If you see it’s less than one-third of this dimension, or if the gap between the pad’s metal backing and the rotor if the friction material isn’t vis-ible, there’s a good chance a wear sensor is signaling or will be soon. Inner brake pads typically wear at a slightly greater rate than the outers, so a sort-of-thin outer pad means it’s time for brakes now.

NOTE: I received sev-eral reader inquiries regarding where to pur-chase brake fluid test strips. The strips I rec-ommended are made by Phoenix Systems and are available in two quanti-ties: a sample pack con-taining two for about $10 and a tube of 100 for about $67. You can find them at Walmart.com, eBay.com or Phoenix Systems’s own website, http://www.phoe-nixsystem.com.

— Brad Bergholdt is an auto-motive technology instructor

at Evergreen Valley College in San Jose, Calif. Readers may send him email at under-the-hoodearthlink.net; he cannot

make personal replies.

By Brad BergholdtMcClatchy-Tribune News Service

Chrysler to add 1,800 jobs at crucial Illinois plantBELVIDERE, Ill . —

Chrysler has announced that it plans to add 1,800 jobs at its Belvidere Assembly Plant to build the Dodge Dart this year.

“ You a re t he new Chrysler,” Fiat and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne told workers gathered at the plant to hear the announcement.

Previously, Chrysler said it would add 400 to 500 work-ers to two existing shifts, but

this most recent announce-ment is the first time the company released the total employment number.

About 2,700 now work at the plant, assembling the Jeep Compass and Jeep Patriot. When the workers are added, it will be the first time since 2008 that the plant will operate three shifts.

Marchionne said that the company’s Belvidere plant is one of the most produc-tive of all Fiat and Chrysler plants. It ranked third out of 34 plants among many

manufacturers in a recent study, Marchionne said, and is being used as a bench-mark for Fiat’s plants in Europe.

“The truth is that you are working in a plant that is an example of the kind of mosa-ics that we are working to create,” Marchionne said.

The Auburn Hills, Mich., automaker also recently spent $600 million to build a new 638,000-square-foot body shop here.

“This significant invest-ment ... will ensure this tre-

mendous job engine for the Rock River Valley will be utilized for many years to come,” U.S. Rep. Don Man-zullo, R-Illinois, said in a statement.

Chrysler’s Belvidere plant, which opened in 1965, has long been a cornerstone of the Belvidere and Rockford communities.

In the early 1970s, the large Chrysler Newport sedan was assembled here. But in the late 1970s, the plant was transformed so it could build the smaller and

more fuel-efficient Dodge Omni and Plymouth Hori-zon.

From 1994 to 2005, it built the Dodge Neon. From 2005 until 2011, the compact Dodge Caliber was produced here. Production of the Cali-ber ended in December.

Now, the plant’s future is resting on the success of the Dodge Dart, arguably the most important new car Chrysler has launched since it emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The compact sedan is

expected to be the first credible small car for any Chrysler brand in years. Chrysler discontinued the Dodge Neon in 2005.

It also is the first car to combine Fiat and Chrysler technology, and is built on a widened and lengthened version of the Alfa Romeo Giulietta.

The Dart was revealed at the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit last month and is scheduled to go on sale this spring.

By Brent SnavelyDetroit Free Press

Under the hood

Lexus reveals LF-LC sports coupe, signaling a new direction

DETROIT — Lexus on Monday unveiled its LF-LC hybrid sports coupe, a con-cept vehicle that signals a new design direction for the luxury brand. The rear-wheel-drive coupe was designed in

America at Toyota’s Calty design studio in Newport Beach, Calif.

“This is more than just a new car for us,” Mark Temp-lin, vice president of the Lex-us division told a packed ball-room of journalists at Cobo Center. “It signals the start of something big.”

He said Lexus is embark-ing on the third phase of its development, creating inspi-rational and emotional prod-ucts, after first launching its brand in 1989 and then expanding its vehicle lineup. Lexus gave up its luxury sales crown last year to BMW due to product shortages resulting

from last year’s earthquake and tsunami. But in 2012, Toy-ota’s luxury nameplate will be bringing out nine new or updated vehicles.

“Lexus will grow more than any luxury brand in the industry,” Templin declared, describing the brand’s new direction as a “transforma-

tion” and “design revolu-tion.”

The LF-LC will use Lexus’ next-generation hybrid pow-ertrain. The coupe has long, flowing lines and a glass roof. Its tail lamps were inspired by a jet plane’s afterburners.

The car’s interior is chock-full of touch screens to control

everything from the windows and doors to entertainment features. The coupe also fea-tures a tech board, which Tem-plin described as a tilt-up iPad built into the console.

Lexus also introduced an update of its LX full-size SUV, which goes on sale later this year.

By Katherine YungDetroit Free Press


nies, Garrett said. It seemed to make sense. “The diversifi-cation was great. The number of jobs, the amount of invest-ment,” Garrett added.

Think was to have 415 workers by 2013. By the end of 2011, it was projected to produce 2,500 vehicles with the potential to build 60,000 cars a year.

The concept worked like this: The first cars were pro-duced in Europe, then shipped to Elkhart where seatbelts and headlights would be replaced to meet U.S. stan-dards. Ultimately, the entire car was to be produced in the Midwest.

Think’s future looked bright in December 2010. Daniels proudly accepted the first 15 Think vehicles at a news conference at Fort Harrison State Park, to be used by the Department of Natural Resources, thanks to federal tax incentives and a $5 million grant from the federal government.

But it didn’t take long for things to start to unravel. The vehicle launched in the U.S. at the end of 2010 with a sticker price of $41,695, about $8,000 above Think’s previously announced target price. As a result, sales were a fraction of what had been projected. At its height, Think City’s plant only employed 25 people. And most of the 200 or so vehicles Think City sold in the U.S. were to government fleets, sweetened by govern-ment subsidies.

Recalls added to Think’s woes. The first, in January 2011, was related to improp-erly installed seat belts. A month later, a recall involved defective defroster systems. Finally, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administra-tion determined the car had a tendency to slip out of the park position.

The recalls occurred just as a $5 million loan from bat-tery partner Ener1 was com-ing due. When Think couldn’t pay, battery company Ener1 lent an additional $10 mil-lion to keep the car compa-ny afloat because it needed a

buyer for its batteries. In May 2011, Ener1 wrote

off its $73 million stake in Think. The following month, Think Global filed for bank-ruptcy in Norway listing $32 million it owed Ener1.

The bankruptcy marked Think’s fourth trip through bankruptcy court, and the ramifications for Ener1 were profound. The recipient of a $118.5 million Depart-ment of Energy grant saw its shares tumble to pennies and its shares delisted from the Nasdaq Stock Exchange. Shareholders sued, claiming management hadn’t flagged the severity of Think’s finan-cial woes when they decid-ed to invest in the battery maker.

On Thursday, Ener1 itself filed for bankruptcy in New York. About 275 Indiana

employees are expected to continue with the company as it restructures through a pre-packaged bankruptcy, the U.S. Energy Department said Thursday.

The company will receive $81 million in private capital, DOE spokesperson Jen Stut-sman said. That investment, she said, “demonstrates that the (battery) technology has merit.”

For now, a plan to invest

$237 million in a third Ener1 facility in Indiana in Mt. Com-fort — expected to produce enough batteries for 60,000 electric cars — is on hold.

Brian Sinderson, a spokes-man for the battery compa-ny, said it plans to continue to provide batteries to cus-tomers in the electric grid, transportation and industrial markets and intends to ful-fill its commitments to the grants and incentives it has

been awarded. In its most recent report as a recipient of the Recovery Act, Ener1 had spent $55 million of its 50/50 cost sharing grant. .

With the bankruptcies of the battery maker and Think, the future of both will be determined in Russia.

Zingarevich — who filings show owns 47.3 percent of shares in Ener1 — signed a memorandum of understand-ing with Ener1 to cooperate in relaunching Think.

Ener1 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with about $91 million in debt out-standing. The company is ask-ing a judge to sign off on a pre-packaged deal that would cut the debt in half and repay current note holders with new equity in a reorganized com-pany. The plan would infuse Ener1 with $81 in new capital.

Zingarevich would be solely responsible for $50 million, including a $20 million post-petition credit line. He and a group of noteholders would team up to provide the rest, and he would end up a large holder of preferred stock in the company.

Zingarevich, founder of llim Group, one of Russia’s largest timber companies, renamed Think, which is now Electric Mobility Solutions and said in a press release that a new version of the auto-mobile would launch in the first quarter of this year.

Michael Lew, an analyst who has followed Ener1 and Think, said no one is clear what the plan is for the future of the two companies.

“There’s always hope,” he said. “But you need to know what exactly the plan is.”

Michael Tercha/chicago Tribune

The two remaining employees, supervisor Rodney Smith, left, and mechanic Josh Medford, convert a Th!nk City electric car to U.S. standards at the closed plant in Elkhart, Ind., on Jan. 10.

BUSTFrom Page 4

The first recall, in January 2011, was related to improperly installed seat belts. A month later, a recall involved defective defroster systems. Finally, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration determined the car had a tendency to slip out of the park position.


Tremendous selection of quality, certified GM vehicles to choose from!

www.championchevy.com • 888-700-0213

3127 W. Tennessee St. | Tallahassee, FL

SuperCenter

TD-0000198206

A/C, Split Folding RearSeat, Tilt Wheel, CDPlayer, AM/FM Radio,PW, Leather Upholstery.

‘10 TOYOTATundra

$37,9951-888-700-0213

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A/C, Split Folding RearSeat, Tilt Wheel, PwrMoonroof, CD Player,AM/FM Radio, PW.

‘08 BMW Other

$27,9951-888-700-0213

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A/C, Split Folding RearSeat, Tilt Wheel, PwrMoonroof, CD Player,AM/FM Radio, PW.

‘10 ACURA TSX

$26,9951-888-700-0213

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A/C, Tilt Wheel, CDPlayer, AM/FM Radio,PW, Leather Upholstery,Cruise.

‘10 CADILLAC DTS

$25,9951-888-700-0213

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A/C, Split Folding RearSeat, Tilt Wheel, CDPlayer, AM/FM Radio,PW, Cruise.

‘08 TOYOTASienna

$24,9991-888-700-0213

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‘10 CHEVROLETTraverse

$24,9951-888-700-0213

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A/C, Split Folding RearSeat, Tilt Wheel, CDPlayer, AM/FM Radio,PW, Cruise, PS.

‘09 CHRYSLERTown & Country

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‘12 CHEVROLETCruze

$21,9951-888-700-0213

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A/C, Split Folding RearSeat, Tilt Wheel, CDPlayer, AM/FM Radio,PW, PS.

‘10 SUZUKI SX4

$19,9951-888-700-0213

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‘07 NISSANArmada

$19,9951-888-700-0213

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‘07 MITSUBISHIOutlander

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‘08 CHEVROLETEquinox

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A/C, Split Folding RearSeat, Tilt Wheel, CDPlayer, AM/FM Radio,PW, Cruise, PS.

‘06 CHEVROLETImpala

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‘08 CHEVROLETMalibu

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A/C, Rear Bucket Seats,Tilt Wheel, CD Player,AM/FM Radio, PW,Cruise, PS.

‘07 PONTIAC G6

$16,9951-888-700-0213

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‘08 NISSAN Xterra

$16,9881-888-700-0213

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A/C, Split Folding RearSeat, Tilt Wheel, CDPlayer, AM/FM Radio,PW.

‘11 NISSAN Sentra

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A/C, Split Folding RearSeat, Tilt Wheel, CDPlayer, AM/FM Radio,PW, PDL, Cruise, PS.

‘04 GMC Yukon

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Tilt Wheel, CD Player,AM/FM Radio.

‘10 KIA Forte

$15,9951-888-700-0213

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A/C, Split Folding RearSeat, Tilt Wheel, CDPlayer, AM/FM Radio, PS.

‘11 CHEVROLETAveo

$14,9951-888-700-0213

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A/C, Tilt Wheel, CDPlayer, AM/FM Radio,PW, Cruise.

‘07 CHEVROLETHHR

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A/C, Split Folding RearSeat, Tilt Wheel, CDPlayer, AM/FM Radio,PW, PS.

‘03 CHEVROLETTrailBlazer

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A/C, Split Folding RearSeat, Tilt Wheel, CDPlayer, AM/FM Radio,PW, PDL.

‘04 TOYOTACorolla

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A/C, Tilt Wheel, CDPlayer, AM/FM Radio,PW, Cruise.

‘04 MERCURYGrand Marquis

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V6, 3.5 Liter ABS, Tilt,PW, PL, Cruise, Auto,5-Spd w/Overdrive &Manual Mode.

‘08 NISSAN 350Z

$20,997850-576-6171

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Tilt and TelescopicSteering Wheel, PW,Cruise, Spd-ProportionalPower Steering.

‘08 NISSANMaxima

$18,977850-576-6171

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Tilt-Adjustable SteeringWheel, PW, Spd-Proportional PowerSteering.

‘06 NISSAN 350Z

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Tilt-Adjustable SteeringWheel, PW, Cruise.

‘08 NISSAN Rogue

$17,977850-576-6171

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‘09 HONDA Accord

$16,997850-576-6171

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4 Clyinder, ABS, PW, PL,Cruise, Auto.

‘08 NISSAN Rogue

$16,997850-576-6171

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Tilt-Adjustable SteeringWheel, PW, Cruise,Spd-Proportional PowerSteering.

‘06 NISSANMurano

$16,977850-576-6171

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‘09 HONDA CR-V

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PW, Cruise, PS.

‘06 CHRYSLERCrossfire

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‘07 NISSANMurano

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Tilt And TelescopicSteering Wheel, PW,Cruise, Spd-ProportionalPower Steering.

‘08 FORD Fusion

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Tilt-Adjustable SteeringWheel, PW, Cruise, PS.

‘07 SCION tC

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Tilt-Adjustable Steeringwheel, PW, Cruise, PS.

‘04 CHEVROLETAvalanche

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‘10 NISSAN Versa

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‘05 TOYOTA Prius

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‘06 CHEVROLETSilverado 1500

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‘96 CHEVROLETCorvette

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Tilt-Adjustable SteeringWheel, Spd-ProportionalPower Steering.

‘01 TOYOTACamry

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‘07 DODGE Caliber

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‘06 KIA Spectra

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PS.

‘97 FORD F-150

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‘02 GMC Envoy

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‘01 BUICK Regal

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Tilt-Adjustable SteeringWheel, PS.

‘02 DODGE Neon

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3227 Mahan Drive | Tal lahassee, FL 32303850-576-6171

3227 Mahan Drive | Tal lahassee, FL 32303850-576-6171

TD-0000198208

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