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Strategies & Market Trends : Graham and Doddsville -- Value Investing In The New Era -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: porcupine --''''> who wrote (1442)	3/11/1999 10:29:00 PM
From: porcupine --''''>	Respond to of 1722

U.S. board to consider Boeing 737 rudder changes --'''':< By Tim Dobbyn WASHINGTON, March 10 (Reuters) - The National Transportation Safety Board may recommend extensive and potentially costly changes to the rudder system in the world's most widely used aircraft, the Boeing 737, sources said on Wednesday. The NTSB meets later this month on a final report into 1994's US Airways crash near Pittsburgh. Sources familiar with the report said it included discussion of a major revision of the hydraulic mechanism controlling the 737's rudder, which is a prime suspect in two major crashes and numerous incidents. The NTSB can only make recommendations, but if acted on by the Federal Aviation Administration the modifications could present airlines with a huge repair bill for the jetliner, which is the most widely used in the world. A report in Wednesday's edition of the Wall Street Journal said the cost was estimated at $60 million to $100 million for U.S. carriers alone. An NTSB spokesman declined to comment on any aspect of the draft report. An FAA spokeswoman also declined to comment saying, "We have not seen it." But sources told Reuters the staff draft discussed splitting the rudder, which is the large vertical fin on the tail, into two sections. Each would have its own set of hydraulic controls, so that a pilot could retain control of the aircraft even if one half of the rudder malfunctioned. The NTSB's final report later this month concerns one of the deadliest crashes linked to possible rudder problems. US Air Flight 427 was about to land at Pittsburgh International Airport on Sept. 8, 1994, when it rolled sharply and dived into the ground killing all 132 people on board. The rudder is also suspected in the 1991 crash of United Airlines Flight 585 near Colorado Springs, Colorado, that killed all 25 people on board. An investigation into that crash continues. Some changes have already been made to the rudder mechanism and many flight crews have been trained in recovery techniques, but incidents still occur in which the rudder is suspected. Most recently a US Airways Metrojet traveling from Orlando, Florida, to Hartford, Connecticut, experienced an unintended rudder movement on Feb. 23 while at cruising altitude. The flight diverted safely to Baltimore-Washington International Airport. The NTSB is investigating that event. A Boeing Co. spokesman said prudent steps had been taken to improve safety in the absence of definitive evidence blaming either the airplane or the flight crew for the accidents in which rudder problems are suspected. "Those steps include training pilots in upset recovery and changes in the rudder mechanism that we recommended to the FAA and the agency has mandated," said Boeing's Tim Neale. The NTSB is due to meet on March 23 in Springfield, Virginia, on the USAir Flight 427 crash.

To: porcupine --''''> who wrote (1442)	3/11/1999 10:42:00 PM
From: porcupine --''''>	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1722

eGM --!!!!:> GM unveils world's largest virtual car showroom By Neil Kelleher NEW YORK, March 10 (Reuters) - General Motors Corp. on Wednesday put new car buying online, accelerating the No. 1 automaker's drive into cyberspace with a Web site where consumers can escape the dreaded haggling with auto dealers. The site, located at www.gmbuypower.com, offers users access to details about every GM make and model, independent third party price comparisions, vehicle inventory, GMAC financing and the ability to talk electonically to dealers of their choice. Speaking at a press event in New York, vice president and group executive of North American vehicle sales Roy Roberts told reporters that about 75 percent of GM's 7,800 dealers nationwide have enrolled in GM BuyPower, signaling a change in the way the company will do business in the future. GM became the first automaker to set up an Internet site allowing one-stop online shopping, but some rivals have information about their vehicles on Web sites. GM BuyPower includes specifics on more than 350,000 vehicles throughout GM's car and truck brands, excluding its Saturn division. "Make no mistake about it, this is the new GM," Roberts said. "The Internet is becoming mainstream America and this is the way business will be done in the future. This is just good business, absolutely good business." Roberts said GM is encouraging its dealers to offer their cars at the lowest possible prices on the Web site. Online shopping boomed during the Christmas holiday season, and consumers spent about $17 billion on Internet purchases in 1998. Ecommerce is expected to surge to more than $1 trillion by 2003, according to Internet researcher Forrest Research. GM said that while it has no specific sales projections for GM BuyPower, it expects the site to be highly successful. Roberts said he expects a majority of the 25 percent of dealers not currently enrolled in GM BuyPower to sign up soon, noting that there is no enrollment deadline for dealers. Analysts were less enthusiastic about GM's initiative. "The jury is still out," said Jim Wangers, senior partner at Automotive Marketing Consultants Inc. "I think that despite all of the research that carmakers have been doing, this is not going to replace the traditional car-buying experience." Wangers said that while online car sales will certainly increase in the future, consumers may be hesitant when it comes to "signing on that dotted line" via a computer screen. "This is supposedly the second biggest purchase you make in your life and I think consumers will want that degree of confidence that comes with that handshake, with that human interaction," Wangers said. GM BuyPower first debuted as a pilot service in four Western states in October 1997. An overwhelmingly positive response led to the national roll-out on Wednesday. The site is the only online service enabling consumers to locate the exact GM vehicle of their choice and find out about incentives such as rebates by vehicle identification number. Other online services can only direct consumers to a dealer who typically pays a fee for that lead and who may not have the vehicle the customer wants. GM BuyPower is available 24 hours a day, and will offer consumers access to GM-certified used vehicles through its dealer page. Trained and certified GM BuyPower managers will respond to consumers' electronic inquiries within 24 hours, GM said. ((--Neil Kelleher, N.Y. Equities, 212 859-1700))