Ford's Hybrid Escape Will Use Toshiba Engines

[hatrack]

TOKYO (AP) -- "Toshiba Corp. will make motors to be used in Ford Motor Co.'s environmentally friendly hybrid cars, as the Japanese electronics company makes its first full-scale entry into the auto-parts market, officials said Thursday

Toshiba will begin making the hybrid motors in April, said company spokeswoman Junko Furuta. The company has until now made computer chips for cars and liquid crystal displays for car-navigation equipment but not main auto parts such as motors.

EDIT

Toshiba will supply the motors to Aisin AW Co., an auto-parts maker in central Japan, which supplies parts mostly to Toyota Motor Corp., Japan's top automaker, and, more recently, Ford.

Aisin AW will add other components to Toshiba's motor, which will then be used in Ford's Escape hybrid sport-utility vehicle planned for later this year, Aisin spokesman Tetsuo Iwamitsu said."

EDIT

[madrchsod]

1. no jobs here?

wold be nice if they would build it here,maybe some could go back to work...

[mastein]

2. Could be worse

Right now there are no domestic manufacturer's offering hybrids. This way once the Escape comes out (damn I wish it were out when I needed to buy a car 3 years ago) there will be demand created, thus reducing reliance on jobs in the oil economy including those in places like Saudi and Iraq, where the folks don't like us.

I'd rather give my money to a stable democratic government than a strong handed theocracy. Also, overall (vehicle) assembly jobs will be here and those are union jobs and good ones at that. Also, since this is the first venture by Tobisha into the industry there is a chance that Ford (or another maker who also orders the motors) will buy that factory down the road, and if conditions are right could move it back here because Japan is so expensive.

[Atlant]

3. What makes you think Toshiba will manufacture in Japan?

> ...there is a chance that Ford (or another maker who also orders the
> motors) will buy that factory down the road, and if conditions are
> right could move it back here because Japan is so expensive.

What makes you think Toshiba will manufacture the motors in Japan?
The Japanese outsource, too! (They're also phenomenal believers in
automation.)

Atlant

[treepig]

5. what about canada?

isn't automobile production there basically "seamlessly" intergrated with the u.s. auto industry.

the reason i bring this up is this story that states GM is selling hybrids in canada:

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/TechNews/2004/03/18/386933-cp.html

Gasoline-electric hybrid trucks sold in Canada


OTTAWA (CP) - General Motors of Canada says it has sold its first hybrid trucks in Canada and hopes to soon introduce hybrid sport-utility vehicles and passenger cars.

The hybrid trucks run off both an internal combustion engine and an electric motor, increasing fuel economy.

"The introduction of the industry's first hybrid trucks is the next phase in our strategy of focusing on the highest fuel consuming vehicles first," Michael Grimaldi, president of GM Canada, said Thursday.

GM's hybrid trucks are available as Chevrolet Silverado or GMC Sierra full-size pickups. They are currently available to fleet customers and will be available to retail consumers later this year.

[idlisambar]

4. The Ministry of Finance would never let that happen

The Japanese economy is geared toward advanced manufacturing. The way it works is the Japanese keep the production of hi-tech components in house, and let's cheap labor nations like China and the U.S. put them together to make a finished product.