Globe and Mail Reports Atlanta Thrashers moving to Winnipeg

I know this is not related to the auto industry or Honda, however I work for the group that is potentially bringing the 'Jets' back to Winnipeg and like any Winnipegger, I am excited at the prospect of being able to take my son to NHL hockey! Go Jets Go!

STEPHEN BRUNT
Globe and Mail Update
Published Thursday, May. 19, 2011 8:57PM EDT
Last updated Friday, May. 20, 2011 8:18AM EDT

Mark Chipman

An agreement to sell the National Hockey League’s Atlanta Thrashers to a Winnipeg group which plans to relocate the franchise to the Manitoba capital is done.

Sources confirmed Thursday night that preparations are being made for an announcement Tuesday, confirming the sale and transfer of the Thrashers to True North Sports and Entertainment, which owns and operates the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League and the MTS Centre arena, which would become the NHL team’s new home.

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Gary Bettman, the commissioner of the National Hockey League, is expected to travel to Winnipeg to make the news official.

The announcement would end months of speculation about whether one of the NHL’s financially-troubled American sunbelt teams might move north, filling the void left when the Winnipeg Jets packed up and left for Phoenix in 1996, where they became the Coyotes.

Much of the talk this spring had centred on that failing franchise, which was bought by the league after being placed in bankruptcy by its former owner Jerry Moyes in 2009.

But sources in Winnipeg suggest that the Thrashers had in fact been the primary target of potential owners Mark Chipman and David Thomson all along, and that some months back, the NHL board of governors quietly approved the sale and transfer of the team, pending the negotiation of a purchase agreement between Atlanta Spirit LLC, the Thrashers’ owners, and True North.

In the meantime, no potential owner materialized who was prepared to keep the team in Georgia, and local governments there showed no interest in propping up the Thrashers.

“There seems to be a consensus there is going to be a team in Winnpeg,” former major league pitcher Tom Glavine, who had tried unsuccessfully to find new ownership for the hockey team in Atlanta, acknowledged last week. ““The question is who, and unfortunately the bullseye seems to be on the Thrashers’ back.”

When it appeared this spring that the Coyotes might also be in play, after a deal to sell the team to Matthew Hulsizer underwritten by a municipal bond issue fell apart in the face of political opposition from the Goldwater Institute, the Winnipeg group sought to take advantage of what suddenly seemed a buyers’ market, with two teams available and no other potential owners or relocations sites on the horizon.

After the City of Glendale agreed to cover $25-million of the Coyotes losses for the 2011-2012 season, and the NHL opted to operate the club in Arizona for at least one more year, True North’s full focus returned to Atlanta, and a deal was hammered out this week.

Even before those final negotiations took place, the potential Winnipeg owners concluded an agreement with the Manitoba government which will allow revenues from a sports bar with slot machine to be used for improvements to the arena, and to be used towards the debt service on the building.

That’s consistent with what Manitoba premier Greg Selinger told reporters earlier this week, when he said that the provincial government had no interest in subsidizing an NHL team, but that the province had financially supported the renovation of the MTS Centre in the past, and would continue to be willing to do so.

More related to this story
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Source;
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/atlanta-thrashers-moving-to-winnipeg/article2029179/

Mazda 2 Coming to Canada? = More Competition for the Honda FIT!

NEW YORK – The Mazda2, a slick little subcompact sold in Europe and Asia, is coming to Canada, confirmed Mazda Motor Corporation president and CEO Takashi Yamanouchi.


“I've just decided,” said Yamanouchi, a 42-year veteran of Mazda who assumed the top job last November.

The Globe and Mail is the first news outlet to confirm that the Mazda2 will join Mazda Canada' lineup. The announcement was not part of formal Yamanouchi's formal remarks during press days for the New York International Auto Show at the Jacob Javits Centre.

While Yamanouchi would not confirm an exact launch date, sources suggest the Mazda2 would go on sale within the next year. It is designed to compete against the Honda Fit, Toyota Yaris, Hyundai Accent and Chevrolet Aveo, among others.

The Mazda2, of course, is the foundation for the Ford Fiesta already on sale in Europe and other markets. The Fiesta is due at a 2011 model. Yamanouchi said Mazda has wrestled with the decision to add the subcompact to the Mazda Canada's lineup.

“There has been a lot of discussion about that,” he said. “There is concern it would cannibalize Mazda3 sales. We need it to be incremental.”

The Mazda3 is the Canadian operation's most important model by far. The compact was Canada's best-selling car overall for the first two months of this year and No. 3 overall in Canada in 2008, behind the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla.

Mazda officials are rightly concerned that some buyers might opt for the less expensive Mazda2 rather than purchase the Mazda3. Mazda would need to price the Mazda2 starting below $15,000 for it to make any sense at all and that is at least $1,000 less than the most economical Mazda3.

Pricing the Mazda2 so that it can be profitable and also compete effectively won't be easy. The strong yen makes Japanese exports expensive overseas.

Nonetheless, Yamanouchi said that Canada is Mazda's fourth-largest market in the world and plays a critical role in the company's fortunes. Given 50 per cent of all passenger car sales in Canada are comprised of compact and subcompact models, Mazda Canada has been under pressure to sell the Mazda2 for some time.

News of the Mazda2 coming to Canada was the most startling development during a second media day at the New York show. But it was by far not the only announcement.

Subaru unveiled the 2010 Legacy sedan and Outback wagon, promising to tackle rivals such as the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Ford Fusion, Nissan Altima and Chevrolet Malibu with more vigor.

Subaru Canada president and CEO Katsuhiro Yokoyama said the outgoing all-wheel-drive Legacy is slightly undersized compared to other midsize sedans. But the 2010 model, with its all-new platform, more robust styling and added features, is better positioned to take on the sales leaders in the midsize sedan segment.

“Now we can compete, but first we must get on the shopping list,” he said.

That means Subaru Canada will not cut its marketing budget this year in an effort to reach out to new customers. The company is reasonably well positioned to do so, too. Last year Subaru Canada had its best sales year ever, selling nearly 20,000 vehicles despite the economic downturn. Sales remain strong this year, also.

Yokoyama said Subaru's success in Canada can be traced to the new models launched in the last 18 months. The Forester crossover, in fact, won its category in the annual car of the year awards handed out by the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC).

The Impreza compact, meanwhile, is one of the few AWD compact cars sold in Canada and it enjoys a strong reputation for safety and reliability.

The third pillar in the company's product lineup in Canada is the Legacy/Outback combination. It will roll into dealer showrooms late this summer. Pricing will be announced later this year.


Other announcements at the show:
Scion, Toyota's youth brand, showed a minicar concept clearly based on the Toyota iQ sold in Europe and Asia. Scion comes to Canada next year and a production version of the minicar might be part of the lineup, competing against the Smart fortwo.

Mercedes-Benz showed the E63 AMG, a 518-horsepower version of the E-Class; Hyundai previewed the next Santa Fe with a crossover concept; Mitsubishi had an upscale concept version of its Outlander crossover; and Acura's ZDX prototype, based on the MDX crossover utility platform, will go on sale in the fall. The ZDX is a so-called four-door coupe and will be built in Alliston, Ontario.


Source;
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/blogs/driving/

Globe & Mail; Insight into Honda's hybrid plans

Jeremy Cato, October 2, 2008 at 10:27 AM EDT

PARIS -- Honda rarely, rarely tips its hand about future products. This is a secretive company, secretive to the point of being a bit paranoid.

So it was a surprise to see the Japanese auto maker jump the gun with pictures and selective tidbits about the Honda Insight hybrid-electric car it will put on sale next April – and show tomorrow at the Paris Auto Show.

Now the five-passenger hatchback Honda will show in Paris is officially a “concept.” Ignore that. Honda types say the production Insight will be almost identical to the concept. It is unusual for Honda to tout a car that won't go on sale for months, to leak details, share pictures and the like. Honda is doing this to steal Toyota's thunder.

Toyota, of course, is the world leader at selling hybrids. Honda has never liked that, not given that Honda actually beat Toyota to market in North America with its two-door hybrid. It did not sell well and neither have the Accord Hybrid – discontinued – and the Civic Hybrid.

So far, Honda's hybrid efforts have been a bit embarrassing – especially so for a company that prides itself on being a so-called engine company dominated by the smartest of engineers.

What we're seeing now is Honda in fighting mode. The Wall Street Journal argues that the Insight is “likely to pose the most formidable threat to Toyota” we've yet seen on the hybrid front – “delivering greenness for fewer greenbacks.”

Honda officials have led me to believe that the Insight will be highly affordable, selling in the $22,000-range or so in Canada. At that price, Honda is expecting to sell 100,000 or more Insights a year – perhaps more. Ten thousand of those might be sold in Canada.

Except Honda won't be alone in challenging Toyota and that means those sales numbers might be a stretch. General Motors already sells a slew of different hybrids, Ford has the Escape Hybrid and more like it coming in a few months, Nissan is pushing ahead, Chrysler has a wide-ranging electric car program in the works and on and on.

Oh, and did I mention the Santa Fe Hybrid Hyundai is showing in Paris?

More from Paris tomorrow, right here.

Source;
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081002.WBdriving20081002102719/WBStory/WBdriving

The smart money is on Honda

Jeremy Cato, September 10, 2008 at 11:01 AM EDT

Honda or General Motors? When it comes to hybrids, who's got it right?

I'm leaning to Honda's simple approach over GM's attempt at a moonshot.

Here's the background. On Monday, unauthorized photos of the Chevrolet Volt, GM's plug-in hybrid, were leaked to the Web. Among other places they popped up on http://www.thecarconnection.com/. GM officials say they had planned to release the photos themselves later this month to coincide with the company's centennial celebrations next month.

Production of the Volt is due to start in November of 2010. If GM pulls this off it will be an amazing technological achievement.

That's because the Volt is really an electric car with a range of about 56 km. It will have a lithium ion battery pack and a small on-board gasoline engine. GM expects owners mostly to re-charge using a wall outlet, but if you get stuck you'll be able to charge up the batteries using the on-board gas motor.

GM actually does not call the Volt a hybrid at all. It is, instead, an “extended range electric vehicle.”

No auto maker has ever managed what GM is attempting. Most troubling of all is the fact the batteries are unproven. GM insists it has all the problems licked and that running prototypes are already being tested. We'll probably see one next week in Detroit at the company's centennial celebration in Detroit.

Even if GM manages to overcome all the technological hurdles, there is the little matter of price. Most believe – me among them – that the Volt will sell for something approaching $35,000 or $40,000. Why? All the new gizmos and gadgets for one. For another, GM will be selling Volts in very small numbers – at least at the outset.

I give GM full marks for being daring, but frankly Honda's approach is less risky and more likely to work as a profitable business.

I am talking about the Insight hybrid Honda showed last week. It is a smallish five-door hatchback due to go on sale next April and it we are led to believe it will sell for about $20,000, perhaps less. The Insight is smaller than the current Civic Hybrid which lists for just under $27,000.

Honda expects to sell 200,000 Insights a year worldwide. Moreover, this Insight is the first of several more hybrids from Honda. A smaller sports hybrid, the CR-Z, will come next and there is talk that around 2012 a hybrid Fit will be added. In each case, Honda will be using hybrid technology that the company has been refining for a decade, since the first two-door Insight hybrid went on sale.

Honda just keeps grinding away at overcoming the technological hurdles, rather than trying to manage a fantastic breakthrough. On top of that, Honda's very clear and oft-stated strategy is to put hybrid systems into compacts and subcompacts because that's where the green technology achieves its greatest efficiencies.

Unlike Toyota and GM, to name two, Honda has no interest in installing hybrid drive trains in luxury sedans and SUVs. And Honda research and development people say a pure electric vehicle, or something close to it, is not ready now and won't be for some time; the battery technology is not there and is not likely to be for many years – not in a reliable and affordable way, at least.

Honda's position here makes the most sense to me. I agree that hybrid systems are best used in small cars which are most often used for city driving – where stop-start technology saves fuel and cuts emissions and regenerative braking constantly recharges the batteries.

Oh, and I like Honda's recent track record overall. Remember, Honda reported a record profit of US $1.68 billion for the quarter that ended in June. GM and Ford, to name two, have lost billions this year.

Honda doesn't need a moonshot to be successful, but GM does. Put all the various factors together and it seems to me the smart money should be on Honda.

Source;
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080910.WBdriving20080910110140/WBStory/WBdriving