– An alliance formed by General Motors Corp., Sun Microsystems and EDS has donated more than $32 million in computer-aided design, manufacturing and engineering software, hardware and training to Northwestern University in Evanston. Students in the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science will use the same engineering and design tools that GM engineers used to create the 2002 Chevrolet Avalanche and TrailBlazer. The software will let them design, engineer and validate products in a virtual reality world.
– GM is predicting victory for the first time since 1994 in the battle for the top spot in the truck market, which has been held by Ford. GM’s truck sales were up 36 percent in November from a year earlier, and its year-to-date truck sales are up 7 percent through November. Truck sales at Ford were up 7 percent in November but are down 4 percent for the year.
– Paul Ballew, GM general director for market and industry analysis, says the company has made strong gains in truck sales among college graduates, affluent households and two-income families. He says revamped or all-new vehicles such as the GMC Envoy and Sierra and Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado and TrailBlazer, account for the gains.
– New figures contradict Amtrak’s projections that train ridership rose after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Amtrak’s ridership was down 6 percent in September and 1 percent in October from a year earlier, according to numbers from the congressionally appointed Amtrak Reform Council. Amtrak says that its projection of a 17 percent ridership increase relied on ticket sales but that an unusually high number of passengers canceled plans or traded in their tickets.
– Bridgestone/Firestone is auctioning equipment from its Decatur plant, which will close by year-end. Several dozen workers and former workers were among the more than 400 bidders at the first auction, at which a bucket of Allen wrenches went for $27.50 and three computer monitors sold for $60. Other items for sale included welding equipment, snowblowers, saws, pumps and drill presses. The plant became a flash point in last year’s Firestone tire recall after Bridgestone said most of the defective tires, linked to 203 deaths and more than 700 injuries, were made there. But Bridgestone says it is closing the 59-year-old plant because of its age and inefficiency.
