plus 3, 3rd electric car maker eyes Elkhart - Courier-Journal

3rd electric car maker eyes Elkhart - Courier-Journal
Fitch Takes Various Actions on Distribution Financial Services RV ... - Yahoo Finance
3rd electric vehicle maker eyeing Elkhart County - Martinsville Reporter-Times
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3rd electric car maker eyes Elkhart - Courier-Journal

Posted: 24 Dec 2009 09:20 PM PST

GOSHEN, Ind. — Job-hungry Elkhart County could become home to three electric vehicle manufacturers if a Norwegian company chooses it as a factory site.

The Elkhart County Council gave preliminary approval this week to a 10-year property tax break intended to lure Think North America to the Middlebury area. The company said it also is considering sites in Oregon and Michigan for its first U.S. plant.

Parent company Think Global makes compact, two-door electric passenger cars at a plant in Finland. It plans for the new factory to produce 2,500 autos per year initially and to employ 415 people by 2013.

"It is really one of the first highway-ready, fully functioning electric vehicles," said Tom Kemeny, Think North America's chief financial officer. "There is no tailpipe. There are no emissions."

The Think City is made with recyclable plastic body panels and can travel more than 100 miles per charge.

"It's an urban vehicle," Kemeny said. "This isn't to get from Detroit down to here."

He didn't specify what the car's estimated retail price would be but said maintenance and operation costs would be 75 percent lower than those of a gas-powered vehicle.

Wakarusa already is home to two electric vehicle operations.

Navistar International Corp. plans to build all-electric delivery trucks starting next year with help from a $39million federal grant. Startup Electric Motors Corp. intends to make electric-hybrid drive trains to be installed in various vehicles, starting with a joint venture with Gulf Stream that would make light-duty electric trucks.

Council President John Letherman said that type of development would "put people back to work, put us on the cutting edge of electric car manufacturing."

Elkhart County's unemployment rate, driven by job cuts at recreational vehicle manufacturers in the reputed RV capital of the world, spiked in March at 18.9 percent but has fallen steadily since, hitting 14.5 percent in November.

According to paperwork filed for the tax abatement, Think would open a plant at a vacant building north of Middlebury. It would invest $24.76million in new machinery through 2013 and the 415 workers would earn an average of $33,253.

Think would save about 50 percent on property taxes over 10 years, or about $500,000. Kemeny said Think also is pursuing state and federal incentives.

"I think we are further along with Indiana than we are with other states," said Brendan Prebow, a spokesman for Think North America.

"Elkhart County and Middlebury offer a lot in terms of manufacturing," he said. "There is a well-established automotive supply base already. There is a well-established, trained work force and it is centrally located to the U.S."

Privately owned Think was recapitalized last summer, according to The New York Times, and Indianapolis-based battery maker Ener1 now owns a 31 percent share. Prebo said that funding already has been earmarked for the planned U.S. plant.

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Fitch Takes Various Actions on Distribution Financial Services RV ... - Yahoo Finance

Posted: 24 Dec 2009 09:53 AM PST

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On Dec. 23, 2009, Fitch Ratings downgraded two classes and affirmed one class of Distribution Financial Services RV/Marine Trust 2001-1 as part of its ongoing surveillance process.

The rating actions reflect the weaker than expected performance of the transaction above Fitch's original base case expectations for both delinquencies and cumulative net losses (CNL) and the under-collateralization of the notes. Fitch placed the Class D notes on Rating Watch Negative on Dec. 23, 2008.

Current loss performance is considerably worse than originally expected, and the future, projected performance for the transaction has been revised upwards. Total delinquencies are currently 5.89% and CNL is 4.37%.

Fitch's analysis incorporated anticipated losses on defaulted collateral given Fitch's recovery expectations. Fitch's recovery expectations are based on collateral-specific cash flow expectations. The resulting anticipated collateral losses were then applied to the transaction structure, enabling Fitch to asses the impact of the losses on the securities and available credit enhancement. Fitch's Recovery Ratings (RR) are designed to estimate recoveries on a forward-looking basis while taking into account the time value of money.

Fitch will continue to closely monitor the performance of the transaction, and will take further rating actions as deemed necessary.

Fitch has taken the following rating actions, which include assigning Outlooks:

--Class B notes affirmed at 'AA'; Outlook Stable;

--Class C notes downgraded to 'BB' from 'A'; Outlook Negative;

--Class D notes downgraded to 'C/RR4' from 'B-'.

Applicable Criteria available on Fitch's web site at 'www.fitchratings.com': 'Rating U.S. Auto-Loan Backed Securitizations: A Tune-Up,' dated May 30, 2007, and 'Global Structured Finance Rating Criteria', dated Sept. 30, 2009.

Additional information is available at 'www.fitchratings.com'.

ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: HTTP://FITCHRATINGS.COM/UNDERSTANDINGCREDITRATINGS. IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE AGENCY'S PUBLIC WEBSITE 'WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM'. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH'S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE 'CODE OF CONDUCT' SECTION OF THIS SITE.

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3rd electric vehicle maker eyeing Elkhart County - Martinsville Reporter-Times

Posted: 25 Dec 2009 01:52 AM PST

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Job-hungry Elkhart County could become home to three electric vehicle manufacturers if a Norwegian company chooses northern Indiana as the site of a new factory. The Elkhart County Council gave preliminary approval this week to a 10-year property tax ...