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Oil Prices Resume March Toward $100

NEW YORK -- Oil futures advanced toward $100 a barrel Thursday as severe weather forced additional North Sea oil platforms to shut down and fire hit at a Texas refinery, stoking concerns that supplies of oil, gas and heating oil aren't sufficient to meet demand, according to the Associated Press.

Gas prices, meanwhile, rose further above $3 a gallon in response to crude prices, which have soared 42 percent since August. Overnight, the national average price of a gallon of gas rose 1.8 cents to $3.061, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 12:06 PM to Crude oil market | Permalink | Comments 0

SEMA: 2,000 Vendors, but One Star

The 2007 Specialty Equipment Market Association trade show at the Las Vegas Convention Center has a superstar, according to the New York Times.

Chip Foose is, arguably, the closest thing the auto industry has to a design superstar. Increasingly, he plays a major role in setting the tone at this annual extravaganza for aftermarket parts companies, industry executives, dealers, buyers and journalists.

The SEMA show is an idea farm, and no one seems to have more fertile ideas than Mr. Foose. From a design standpoint, SEMA is very much “The Chip Foose Show.” AutoWeek magazine describes the million-plus square feet of show floor here as “Foosetopia.”

Last year, Mr. Foose had at least 30 vehicles on display, which SEMA characterized as a record for a single individual. This year, organizers were unsure of the total number of Foose-designed vehicles here, but they conceded he had more than exhibitors with the next highest totals: the Ford Motor Company with 25 and General Motors with 28.

The show has the attention of the mainstream auto industry, which has begun using SEMA to introduce production vehicles — for example, Toyota’s showing of its 2009 Corolla and Matrix models. SEMA officials estimated that more than 100,000 people would attend the show, where auto industry engineers, dreamers and backyard mechanics display new ideas, extreme creations and envelope-pushing customizations.

Google the words “Foose” and “SEMA” and you will get more than 193,000 hits.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 11:28 AM to Design , Shows | Permalink | Comments 0

Ford Reports Narrower Loss for 3Q

DEARBORN, Mich. -- Ford posted a third-quarter loss of $380 million on Thursday, a vast improvement over its $5.2 billion loss a year earlier, according to the Associated Press.

The second-biggest U.S-based automaker said it is near a deal to sell its Jaguar and Land Rover units but its CEO said there are no plans to sell its Volvo business.

The latest results beat Wall Street expectations, and its shares rose more than 2 percent in morning trading.

But the loss contrasted to the $750 million profit Ford reported for its second quarter, its first profitable quarter in two years.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 11:23 AM to Ford | Permalink | Comments 0