| Business whiz put his cool life into causes | | Posted Monday, October 30, 2006 10:46:33 PM by Blog57 Team | | D avid Andrew was living the dream. A loft in the Pearl. Manicures, pedicures, massages. Parker pens. Stylish clothes, expensive shoes. Trips to London, Victoria. Wine tasting in Napa and Sonoma, Tuscany and Umbria with his wife, Shanin. Two fast Taurus SHO autos, a Lexus SUV, an Audi. Life had been easy. As a boy, David oozed confidence. And he got almost all A's without a sweat. He was the student president, captain of the football, basketball and golf teams, the popular heartbreaker. He talked his way out of tickets. After only two years of Bible college, he took a job in the warehouse of a flooring business and worked his way up to become one of the top account managers in the city. His next move was to become founding co-owner of Surface, a Southeast Portland flooring store with a cool, hip vibe.... | |
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| | | German DAX Gains, Led by ThyssenKrupp, Volkswagen; MAN Declines | | Posted Saturday, October 07, 2006 10:46:02 PM by Blog57 Team | | Oct. 5 (Bloomberg) -- German stocks advanced, led by ThyssenKrupp AG. Steelmakers gained across Europe on speculation they may become takeover targets after Tata Steel Ltd. of India said it might buy U.K. rival Corus Group Plc. Volkswagen AG, Europe's largest carmaker, climbed after its Audi AG luxury car unit said sales in the first nine months increased. The benchmark DAX Index rose 28.91, or 0.5 percent, to 6075.28 as of 5:30 p.m. in Frankfurt as 21 stocks rose and 9 dropped. The HDAX Index of the country's 110 biggest companies climbed 0.5 percent to 3127.10. ``We are in a good situation,'' said Achim Matzke, head of global technical and index research at Commerzbank AG. ``All in all, we are positive for stocks.'' ThyssenKrupp, Germany's largest steelmaker, added 94 cents, or 3.6 percent, to 27.18 euros.... | |
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| | | Dealership property in demand | | Posted Thursday, September 14, 2006 6:46:21 PM by Blog57 Team | | DEMAND FOR car dealership properties have never been stronger in Yorkshire, says property advisers GVA Grimley. Jonathan Peasgood, a partner in GVA Grimley's investment team, said private investors and property companies have been increasing their interest in dealership properties since 2004. "This has especially been so as more traditional property sectors became scarce. "The continued trend for larger, high-quality dealerships has also added to their desirability. Indeed, it is no longer unusual to see a dealership of 35,000 to 40,000sq-ft." With the opportunity to increase asset value through sale and leaseback, the ownership profile of dealership properties is also changing. In 2000, approximately 80% of dealerships were owned freehold by the operators.... | |
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| | | The New Audi S3 - International Launch Information | | Posted Saturday, September 09, 2006 8:46:31 AM by Blog57 Team | | The equipment, data and prices stated here refer to the model range offered for sale in Germany. Subject to amendment; errors and omissions excepted. Dynamism and driving pleasure – the international launch of the new Audi S3 is underway in Europe Dynamism, sportiness and sophistication – the Audi A3 occupies an outstanding position in the premium compact class. Now its top-of-the-range version is ready to go, the new Audi S3 boasting 195 kW (265 bhp) and quattro permanent four-wheel drive. With its sparkling performance it pursues the ideal of pure driving pleasure coupled with excellent everyday practicality – like all Audi S models. .... | |
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| | | Audi July Global Car Deliveries +2% At 74,300 Vehicles-2 | | Posted Tuesday, August 15, 2006 8:45:53 AM by Blog57 Team | | Rising sales for the new Q7 sports-utility-vehicle and the flagship A8 model also contributed to the increase, Audi spokesman Eric Felber said. In the first seven months, the premium brand of Volkswagen AG (VOW.XE) delivered around 537,800 cars to customers, up 8.7% on the year. The spokesman said Audi is on track to reach the eleventh consecutive sales record this year after delivering a total of 829,109 cars to customers last year. Deliveries on the brand's German home turf were down 2.6% on the year in July at 22,138 cars and up 0.5% in the first seven months at 149,636. In Western Europe excluding Germany, Audi delivered 30,800 cars to customers in July, 0.7% more than last year. In the first seven months, Audi deliveries came in at 236,200 cars, up 4.9% on the year in Western Europe.... | |
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| | | Europeans, BMW excepted, will struggle to make money | | Posted Sunday, August 13, 2006 10:45:56 PM by Blog57 Team | | European big car manufacturers are learning how to keep in the black, just, while sales stagnate and the competition ratchets up. Perhaps the best way to view with equanimity the general chronically low rate of European profitability is to look across the Atlantic and see the haemorrhaging balance sheets of General Motors and Ford. By these standards, Europeans aren't doing too badly. But the latest round of financial results for the first half of 2006 point to tough times ahead for France's Peugeot and Italy's Fiat, with questions also troubling investors in Germany's Volkswagen and the other French car maker Renault. Only German luxury car maker and money making machine BMW can scan the future horizon with confidence, although DaimlerChrysler's Mercedes division seems to have turned the corner, with profit margins accelerating.... | |
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| | | Early morning crash leaves four in hospital | | Posted Sunday, July 23, 2006 8:45:51 AM by Blog57 Team | | The men, all from Bradford, were involved in a two-car accident on Dewsbury Road at 3am on Sunday. Three men - aged 37, 36 and 42 - were travelling in a red Audi 80 in the direction of Birkenshaw. A 35-year-old man was travelling in the same direction in a silver Toyota Corolla. A collision occurred between the cars and both vehicles left the road. The Audi hit a tree. Its three occupants were taken to Dewsbury District Hospital and are all in a `satisfactory' condition. .... | |
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| | | UK: BMW eyes US launch for diesel-powered cars | | Posted Friday, July 21, 2006 10:45:52 PM by Blog57 Team | | -powered cars in the US by 2008, according to a report in the UK. The Financial Times, reporting from the British International Motor Show, said the company was going to use a urea-based additive to meet emissions standards. "Urea will take another two years but then diesel is really clean and can be sold in all 50 states," the paper quoted BMW sales and marketing head Michael Ganal as saying. "The US is more open to diesel than two or three years ago." Prospects for diesel engine vehicles in the US light vehicle market are positive on the back of high petrol prices and increased manufacturer interest in offering diesel options, according to a research report published by just-auto. But growth is unlikely to be spectacular, with hybrids retaining an important role as an alternative to petrol in the US auto market mix.... | |
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| | | This little car doesn't let on that it's the most affordable Audi | | Posted Friday, June 30, 2006 12:46:27 PM by Blog57 Team | | Along with the first-class drive is a first-class interior environment. This little car doesn't let on that it's the most affordable Audi. Slip into the leather-clad driver's seat and you could swear you're in a $60,000 car. The steering wheel controls include both buttons and grippy little wheels that are easy to locate and use. Typical of Audis for at least the past five years, the speedometer is graduated in 10s up to 80 km/h, and then skips to 20s from there up. Makes perfect sense to me. The only drawback to the A3's pleasant interior is the tight dimensions of the rear seating area. So if you routinely take three other adults on extended road trips, this probably isn't the best choice. But then again, neither is anything else in the A3's class. Fold the seats down, though, and the practical hatchback layout allows for 1,574 litres of stuff space.... | |
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