| Nissan: Not Planning to Play a Role in Hybrids TheCarConnection.com submits: Speaking of the Tokyo Motor Show, hybrid vehicles, and executive pronouncements, Nissan's (NSANY) head honcho, Carlos Ghosn, has made some interesting statements about Nissan's technology plans. Speaking from the exhibition floor, Ghosn said that Nissan doesn't want to be a big player in the hybrid market, having chosen instead to set its sights further down the road: "We are not intending to play a leadership role in hybrids. One company already assumed leadership in the technology. We want leadership on EVs." Sounds a little reminiscent of Honda's (HMC) view on EVs versus fuel-cell vehicles -- although Ghosn gets points for standing firm instead of bending to marketplace demands. Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
BYD Set to Make Cautious Entry into U.S. Electric Car Market Ravi Nagarajan submits:BYD (BYDDF.PK) is likely to select the Los Angeles market as its entry point for the all-electric e6 model according to an article in the Wall Street Journal. The selection of Southern California for the product introduction makes a great deal of sense given the high density of the region, concerns about air pollution, and the possibility that the car will be purchased by Hollywood celebrities eager to display their “green” credentials to the world. As we discussed earlier this year, the e6 model is unique because of the relatively long range that drivers can expect from a full charge. At 205 miles, the range is long enough to satisfy the requirements of any commuter and can also be useful for longer trips. Even more notable is the claim that a 50% charge can be achieved in only ten minutes. However, it should be noted that BYD appears to have reduced the maximum range estimate from the 249 mile estimate which appeared on its website earlier this year. In addition, the top speed of the vehicle is now listed at 87 mph and the zero to 100 kph estimate is 14 seconds, up from 8 seconds.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
As the Oil Age Ends, A Return of the Canal and Rail Age? Gregor Macdonald submits: The world’s largest train ferry worked for over 50 years taking both passenger trains and freight trains to respective landings at Benicia and Port Costa, across the Carquinez Straight. This was in fact the route chosen by the Central Pacific RR Company during the 1879-1930 period, as part of the transcontinental railroad. The Solano, extra wide at 116 feet, and measuring 424 feet in length, could make the passage in just 9 minutes. That’s quite impressive considering tides, the heavy load, and the total distance between the two docks: one mile. The photo below shows the Solano coming into land at what appears to be the Port Costa dock: Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Rail Freight Indicates Recovery in Canada Outpaces the U.S. John Lounsbury submits:An article at TheStreet.com discusses the continuing improvement in rail freight traffic in the U.S. As mentioned in that article, Canada is doing better. While the U.S. rail freight has a long way to go to reach pre-recession levels, Canada is substantially there. The data for rail traffic is tracked, reported weekly and summarized monthly by the Association of American Railroads. Rail freight is reported in two broad categories: (1) Carloads, comprised substantially of commodities, raw and partially processed materials and large assemblies; and (2) Intermodal traffic (containers and trailers), holding primarily smaller assemblies and finished goods and foodstuffs. Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
4 Stocks That Will Go Up Because of the 60-Mile Traffic Jam in China James Altucher submits:China just made world history with the first 60 mile traffic jam. Cars were moving 1 mile an hour for over ten days. I don't even want to think of the bathroom logistics on this one. So let's think of more important things: how can we make some money off this event?eLong (LONG): The first stock that came to mind is eLONG, the Chinese online travel company. Clearly, people have to start thinking more about air travel when the thought of a multi-day or even month long traffic jam could be looming around any turn. Additionally, with booming middle class growth (50 million new middle class citizens a year), there should be a natural bump up in travel demand. I've written about this stock before and still like it for a number of the same reasons: Expedia (EXPE) has been steadily buying shares. It now owns a big chunk of the company. My guess is eventually it will buy the entire company and it is simply trying to buy stock on the cheap right now.Great balance sheet with $130 million in cash and no debt.Quarterly Revenue is growing at a 45% year over year rate.It's interesting to compare LONG’s use of search engine optimization compared with competitor, Ctrip (CTRP). Searching on “Shanghai hotel reservation” on China Google results in this page. You don’t need to read Chinese to see that eLong shows up higher on the search results than its bigger competitor. Location is everything on Google (GOOG) and the higher you are, the more sales you get. Online bookings continue to ramp up and should see a continued bump due to the media's coverage of the 60 mile traffic jam. China XD Plastics (CXDC)The next stock that could benefit from the traffic jam play is CXDC. This is one I have also written about recently. CXDC is the largest domestic supplier of plastics to the car industry in China. The company has a forward P/E of just 7 despite 90% revenue growth and over 200% earnings growth over the past year. McKinsey estimates that China's car market will grow 10-fold between now and 2030. This will drive growth to every parts supplier in the industry. Now we will undoubtedly be hearing from the environmental groups regarding this traffic jam and the resulting pollution from it. They will point out the exhaust and the need for limits on car pollution especially considering the Chinese auto growth. The electric car crowd will look to gain steam here, especially since the Chinese government has been making a big push towards electric vehicles.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |