auto parts manufacturers,auto parts suppliers

Mercedes-Benz has achieved an overall four star rating in the latest JD Power consumer satisfaction index (CSI) achieving an 82.8 per cent score from the survey of 16,000 UK motorists.

The rating positioned the automaker sixth in the table overall, climbing from 11th last year.

JD Power’s consumer satisfaction index includes 28 brands and 100 models and owners provide detailed information about their cars which they have typically owned for about two years.

The current survey covers the period from September 2005 to August 2006.

Owners rate the manufacturers on 77 attributes grouped in four areas; quality/reliability, vehicle appeal, service and ownership cost.

With a score of 84.7 per cent those owners placed Mercedes-Benz second in the results for vehicle appeal.

In the league table of cars, Mercedes-Benz E-Class owners gave it five stars and a rating of 84.2 per cent.

The Mercedes-Benz C-Class also achieved a high score of 82.8 per cent, just above the Mercedes-Benz A-Class which scored 82.2 per cent.

Courtesy: Mercedes-Benz UK Ltd.

AKRON, Ohio — The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, the nation’s leading commercial tire manufacturer, announced today it has joined the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s SmartWay Transport Partnership, which previously approved using the company’s Fuel Max linehaul tires on SmartWay tractors and trailers.

SmartWay is a collaboration between the truck transportation industry and EPA to help increase energy efficiency and significantly reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and air pollution.

“We continue to do our part for the environment with our innovative technologies that reduce tire rolling resistance and energy use at all facilities and eliminate all waste disposal in landfills. We also offer solution-based business tools that calculate fuel consumption and help fleets lower their costs of operation, said Steve McClellan, Goodyear vice president of commercial tire systems.

“Through the SmartWay Transport program, we see opportunities to further our relationships with America’s fleets and truck and trailer manufacturers in the pursuit of even greater gains in fuel efficiency and emission reductions. The savings are substantial,” McClellan said. Continue reading ‘Goodyear joins US EPA SmartWay Transport Partnership’ »

Click above for a high resolution gallery of the GT9

There are only a handful of cars that can strike fear into the Bugatti Veyron. The Koenigsegg CCX comes close with a top speed of 242.42 mph, and the SSC Aero Twin-Turbo is even faster, hitting a two-way average speed of 255.83 mph and officially taking the crown of world’s fastest car back in September. These über-fast supercars will now be looking over their shoulders with the new kid on the block, the 9ff GT9. Based on the Porsche 911 GT3, 9ff stretches the chassis about a foot and chops the roofline for improved aerodynamics. A carbon-kevlar subframe houses a twin-turbo 4.2-liter flat-6 pushing out 987 bhp. Our German is a bit rough, but we can translate enough of Autobild’s recent story on the 9ff GT9 to know they achieved ridiculous speeds in the super Porsche at the Papenburg high speed oval in Germany. 409 km/h to be exact, which roughly translates to 253 mph. We’re not sure if there is more speed left in the GT9 to top the Bugatti or the SSC, but it’s impressive nonetheless.

DETROIT — A two-week strike at auto- parts maker American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings could last much longer, largely because the company is profitable yet wants concessions, say some labor experts and workers on the picket lines.

As the strike dragged on Monday, it caused a parts shortage that crippled General Motors’ ability to make pickup trucks, big sport utility vehicles and vans. The company says it has shut down part or all of 28 plants, affecting 37,000 hourly workers.

American Axle wants concessions like those that the United Auto Workers gave to GM, Ford, Chrysler and parts makers Delphi and Dana.

American Axle says its manufacturing workers can make up to $73.48 per hour in wages and benefits, three times the rate at its U.S. competitors.