Mr. Juriga’s forgery is just one of many extraordinary twists in a bizarre business dispute that has been simmering in Connecticut since 1989. At issue: Did General Motors steal a breakthrough design in automotive cooling technology for its Corvette from Jack Evans, an inventor from Sharon, and then attempt, as Mr. Evans claimed, to drive him out of business so he wouldn’t have the will or the means to fight back? G.M. denied the charge, but Mr. Evans insisted he has been robbed of a valuable trade secret.

”G.M. stole from me,” he said, ”and I’ll never stop fighting until I get back what was mine.”

Despite the forgery, G.M. won its case in Superior Court in August. Judge Robert McWeeny ruled in favor of the company, saying that Mr. Evans effectively gave away his rights to his trade secret years ago when he demonstrated the system to G.M.

Mr. Evans, who was seeking $612 million in damages, filed an appeal in November. A well-heeled group of 163 investors, among them several members of the du Pont family, is helping to fund the litigation and will get a cut if Mr. Evans wins. Fish & Richardson, one of the nation’s largest law firms specializing in intellectual property, is willing to gamble on the case. The firm, which has represented Mr. Evans since 1999, said it would continue the legal fight on a partial contingency basis.

This dispute is costing both sides millions. Mr. Evans estimated his legal bills are $3.5 million. G.M. won’t disclose how much the case has cost the company, but, to handle its defense, it retained a hard-driving and high-priced litigator, John T. Hickey Jr., of Kirkland & Ellis. Legal experts estimated the company’s legal bill could be as high as $6 million.

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A recent FAA revised Special Airworthiness Bulletin (SAIB) recommended that waterless coolants be used in certain Bombardier-Rotax engines. The podcast addresses the potential issues of conventional ethylene-glycol/water coolant use in Rotax 912 and 914 series engines if the engine coolant exit temperatures exceed 120 degreesC. Dangers include possible coolant losses, engine overheating, knocking, engine damage or in-flight shutdown.

The podcast details the advantages of using waterless coolant in these engines, including the higher boiling point of Evans waterless coolants — above 180 degreesC at atmospheric pressure. This provides a wide separation between its boiling point and the operating temperature of the system, avoiding the danger of overheating and possible engine shutdown.

Evans Cooling Technology Podcast Series focuses on the latest trends and developments in engine cooling. This podcast can be downloaded at http://www.evanscooling.com/media-gallery/. For more information on Evans waterless coolants, visit the Evans website at www.evanscooling.com, or call +1.860.668.1114.

About Evans Cooling Systems, Inc.

Evans Cooling Systems, Inc., with headquarters and R&D facilities in Sharon, Conn., has focused on engine cooling and related areas for over 35 years. The company has a distribution center, as well as a team of high performance engine cooling experts based in Pottstown, Penn., a heavy duty diesel sales and marketing office in Suffield, Conn., as well as facilities in China. Evans is committed to maintaining a cleaner, safer environment, and continually seeks to improve product and process choices for many heavy duty diesel, high performance and mainstream engine applications. Evans waterless engine cooling technology is used today by numerous fleets, with trials in process at major carriers worldwide. www.evanscooling.com, +1.860.668.1114.

From U.S. News & World Report

At General Motors, they used to call their surging competitor “Mr. T,” as if intimidated by a muscular rival who seemed able to seize market share at will. But Toyota suddenly looks pretty meek, thanks to a mystifying safety problem that has led to a huge recall, an unprecedented production shutdown, and an ugly dent in a once sterling reputation.

This corporate nightmare has mushroomed since last fall, when Toyota recalled about 4 million vehicles because of floor mats with a propensity to slip down into the driver’s side foot well, potentially interfering with the pedals and causing sudden acceleration. Now Toyota has recalled an additional 2.3 million vehicles for a problem that sounds similar, but the company says it’s different: faulty gas pedals that can stick if they become worn, causing—once again—sudden acceleration.

[See 15 cars fueling the auto recovery.]

Recalls aren’t unusual. Here’s what normally happens: The owner gets notified of the recall and brings the car to a dealer, where the problem is fixed in a day or two with no charge to the customer. But this recall is more confusing and far more draconian than usual. For one thing, Toyota announced the recall before there was a fix in place, so dealers didn’t even know what to do if you brought them the car. Toyota implies that most of the recalled vehicles can still be driven safely, but it also offers these instructions for people who feel their car might have a sticky gas pedal: “The vehicle should be driven to the nearest safe location, the engine shut off, and a Toyota dealer contacted for assistance.” Beyond that, Toyota has also issued some Dukes of Hazzard style maneuvers drivers should use if they’re cruising along and the pedal does, in fact, stick, such as shifting into neutral or turning off the ignition (but don’t take the key out!). Do they teach that in driver’s ed?

If you’re a concerned parent with a suspect Toyota, you could easily imagine that the gas pedal seems a little stickier than usual. And do what? Risk your kids’ lives by driving them around in a death trap? Pull off on the side of the highway and call a taxi? Garage the car and rent something safe—at $300 per week—until Toyota figures out what’s going on? Stressing out your customers like that isn’t exactly the way to win repeat business.

The sales and production stoppage suggests an even bigger problem, with lots of legal liability. Toyota has stopped selling or building eight models, including the Camry, Corolla, and RAV 4, which represent more than 50 percent of its sales. That will cost Toyota millions, maybe billions, of dollars. It already ranks near the top in the annals of corporate meltdowns, and it’s not necessarily over. GM, meanwhile, is poaching Toyota customers with special financing and other incentives, along with cars that go the speed you want them to.

[See 10 products that boomed during the recession.]

How did this happen? Toyota itself may not even know yet, and it could take months or years for the full story to develop. But Toyota’s dramatic comedown isn’t as sudden as it might seem. Some industry-watchers feel the saga has been building for years and may even have been inevitable.

In his 2009 book, How the Mighty Fall, business guru Jim Collins outlined five stages of decline that many big companies go through. Mostly he wrote about companies that lose their edge gradually, even imperceptibly, until thousands of tiny termite holes bring down the house. Toyota might qualify as an accelerated version of such a collapse.

Toyota has grown steadily into the world’s biggest automaker, earning customer loyalty for the reliability and longevity of its vehicles. But problems have been slowly building. The T100 pickup sold in the 1990s failed to hit Toyota’s usual mark for quality, with some critics complaining that it was an underpowered make-do truck that paled next to American counterparts. Beginning around 1999, thousands of Toyota owners complained about mysterious “sludge” buildup that wrecked their engines, prompting criticism that Toyota was growing too fast and skimping on quality; Toyota resisted the claims but settled a class action lawsuit brought by owners in 2007. Toyota owners have also complained about faulty head lamps on the Prius hybrid, and more than 100,000 Tundra pickups were recalled in 2009 for problems with rusting frames. On the business side, Toyota badly miscalculated when it built a new pickup plant in Texas, with sales far below projections.

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Last month our family went to dinner at a somewhat fancy restaurant. We knew it would be pricier than McDonalds, but the menu still held a surprise for us. It presented the appetizers, dinners and desserts in such a way that we weren’t sure what the prices were. Sure, there were little tiny numbers by all the menu items, but these numerals had no dollar signs next to them and no decimals or cents. Next to every menu item was a 9 or 5 or 12, etc. After a little confusion we figured it out, of course, but for a while we didn’t know what to order because we didn’t know what things cost.

Most of us grow up knowing that everything has a price. Nothing is free and that’s a lesson we learn at a pretty early age.

When I was ten I would get a weekly allowance of a quarter. I knew exactly what a quarter would buy. It would be five Snickers bars, or a Mad magazine. If I saved two weeks’ allowance I could buy a Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine at Lawson’s milk store. And if I saved four quarters, I could buy a model airplane or boat at Southgate, the shopping center near my home in Maple Heights, Ohio.

As adults we may not know exact prices, but we know roughly what houses in certain neighborhoods cost and what cars, clothes and movies cost. We know a month long vacation to Australia is going to be pricier than a weekend camping trip.

In point of fact, everything has a price. Unfortunately, whereas some products — like a gallon of milk or a bundle of twine — have a simple, straightforward cost, other things have hidden costs that are concealed from immediate view.

SLUDGE
What a great word. Sludge. It sounds like what it is, like the words “ish” and “muck”. Anyone who has worked on a car knows what sludge is, that yucky goo that builds up inside an engine due to motor oil oxidation and degradation.

The funny thing is, no one ever sets out to buy sludge. So how do we put a price on it?
We all know the damage it can do. This gooey oil can block sensors and cause cars to run badly. Excessive sludge accumulation can even cause an engine to seize.

The reality is, however, that this sludge problem is the hidden price of choosing petroleum motor oils. That is why people in the know say conventional oils have to be changed all the time. Their molecular structure is irregular. In the presence of high temperatures the oil’s lighter ingredients boil off, making the oil thicker. In addition, many of the complex chemicals naturally found in petroleum basestocks begin to react with each other, forming sludge, gums and varnishes. Cold temperatures can also be a culprit, resulting in a gelled mess that pumps poorly, if at all.

Synthetic motor oils, because of their higher flash points and their ability to withstand oxidation and evaporation loss, are far more resistant to sludge development. And in cold temps synthetics remain fluid far beyond anything petroleum oils can achieve, even with their special additives. As a result, in all circumstances engines run cleaner with synthetics, offering better fuel economy, wear protection and superior performance.

THE VW/AUDI LETTER
Today’s automakers are well aware of the problems associated with conventional petroleum motor oils knowing that engine designs have been a contributing factor in the sludge problem. One reason is that engine compartments are smaller and hotter than in the old days. They put more demands on motor oil. Another reason, though, is that with all those brain boxes and sensors, engines simply need to be kept cleaner or they don’t run right.

This summer VW/Audi of America sent a letter to vehicle owners informing owners of 1998-2004 VW Passats and 1997-2004 Audi A4s that they will receive extended warranty coverage on the 1.8L turbocharged engines. In the letter, VW/Audi recommended synthetic 5W-40 engine oils that meet the VW 502.00 spec because the use of petroleum oils increases the risk of sludge formation.

To their credit VW/Audi does not require that the oil be changed at the dealership. Vehicle owners simply need to keep records of their oil and filter maintenance.

The reason VW/Audi took this stance is easy to surmise. Execs at VW/Audi did not want to get embroiled in the oil related storms that cost Mercedes 32 million dollars or Toyota’s bad press due to sludge problems.

TROUBLES AT TOYOTA
In recent years Toyota has also had to deal with serious sludge issues. A 2002 article in Automotive News detailed the high volume of sludge related complaints received by Toyota.

The trouble centered around Toyota’s 3.0-liter Sienna V-6 engine. With over 3.3 million such engines the problem could not easily be hidden in a glove compartment. I had become aware of the problem even before it appeared in print.

Accusations flew that the engine was flawed (Toyota, owners spar over sludge, Automotive News, Feb 8, 2002) but Toyota would never acknowledge this. (Toyota to Cover Oil Gelation Damage, by Tim Sullivan, Lube Report, Feb 27, 2002)

The Automotive News article cites numerous sources to make its case. Larry Perry, an A.S.E.-Certified Master Technician who owns a repair shop and hosts a radio talk show in Florida was quoted as saying, “We believe Toyota reduced the size of the cooling passages to the cylinder heads in those engines in order to increase combustion temperatures for more of a complete burn to reduce exhaust emissions.” Perry, who has seen more than his share of sludge problems went on to say, “the solution is to use only 100% synthetic motor oil.”

In the end, Toyota Motor Sales USA made a one time offer to cover the repairs to vehicles damaged by sludge. For Toyota, this was the tangible price they paid for sludge.

A REASONABLE RECOMMENDATION
We live in a complicated world. Nothing is really all that black and white. On the one hand, it would appear that the sludge problem would lead to the conclusion that we need to press for more frequent oil changes. On the other hand, we are all too well aware of the strong desire for convenience, often resulting in negligence with regard to routine oil change maintenance.

Because of this latter trend, which shows no sign of abating, I strongly recommend that you train your technicians to teach your customers the benefits of synthetic motor oils. Motorists who use conventional petroleum lubes are putting their vehicles at risk if they do not change the oil regularly. Sludge is a waste of time and money that is no longer necessary. With the advent of synlube technologies, engines can remain cleaner and last longer than ever before.

When it matters, when you want the best for your customers’ vehicles, synthetic motor oils are the only reasonable recommendation.

Ed Newman is the Marketing & Advertising Manager for AMSOIL INC.

Consumers saddled with sludge-clogged Toyota engines may soon get some help from the Japanese auto giant under the terms of a class-action lawsuit settlement that covers roughly 3.5 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles damaged by engine oil sludge.

An engine gummed up with oil sludge can cost thousands of dollars to repair and in many cases must be replaced. The class action settlement could potentially cost the automaker hundreds of millions of dollars.

The agreement will allow consumers whose claims have been denied by Toyota to submit those claims to a third-party mediator at no cost for binding arbitration.

The lawsuit, filed in a Louisiana district court, could receive final approval by the middle of February. Details of the settlement are being mailed to 7.5 million current and previous Toyota and Lexus owners.

The agreement provides owners of sludge-damaged Toyotas eight years plus 120 days from the original purchase date to file a complaint.

Toyota consumers who have repaired their sludge-damaged engines may be able to recover their costs. The car only needs to show evidence of oil sludge damage.

The terms of the settlement are transferable to future vehicle owners.

Toyota owners have repeatedly written ConsumerAffairs.com detailing Toyota’s attempts to blame sludge problems on inadequate vehicle maintenance by the owner.

Charles in Arkansas said: “At 36,000 miles the engine gummed up and quit running. My wife had the oil changed at Wal-Mart and did not keep receipts for the oil changes. The North Little Rock dealer and the Toyota representative told us such problems were rare and that we had caused the problem but for $2,500 they could fix it. They inferred that my wife was a liar,” he wrote.

With the new agreement, consumers need only show reasonable maintenance in terms of oil changes.

Toyotas covered by the Louisiana settlement include the:

• Camry 4 cylinder from 1997-2001,
• Camry 6 cylinder from 1997-2002,
• Camry Solara 4 cylinder from 1999-2001,
• Camry Solara 6 cylinder 1999-2002,
• Sienna 6 cylinder from 1998-2002,
• Avalon 6 cylinder from 1997-2002,
• Celica 4 cylinder from 1997-1999,
• Highlander 6 cylinder from 2001-2002,
• Lexus ES 300 from 1997-2002 and
• Lexus RX 300 from 1999-2002.

Read more: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2007/01/toyota_sludge_settlement.html#ixzz0eLQHeB4l ]]> http://lubesolution.com/2010/02/toyota-agrees-to-sludge-settlement-for-consumers/feed/ 0 http://lubesolution.com/2009/10/amsoil-official-oil-of-ama-pro-road-racing/ http://lubesolution.com/2009/10/amsoil-official-oil-of-ama-pro-road-racing/#comments Sun, 25 Oct 2009 05:15:54 +0000 admin http://new.lubesolution.com/?p=105 AMSOIL has reached an agreement with AMA Pro Road Racing that will see one of the world’s leading synthetic oil brands expand their presence in the motorsports community as the Official Oil of AMA Pro Road Racing and the presenting partner of the AMA Pro Daytona SportBike class.

Based in Wisconsin, AMSOIL introduced the world’s first API-qualified synthetic motor oil in 1972. It has since developed an expansive line of high-quality synthetic lubricants, fuel additives and filtration products that continue to push the boundaries of lubrication science and redefine the performance possibilities of modern machinery and engines. AMSOIL offers products that deliver the same level of performance and protection to racers on the track and fans in the stands.

“It has been 36 years since AMSOIL brought the benefits of synthetic lubricants from jet engines to internal combustion engines, and we look forward to continuing this history of impressive performance in AMA Pro Daytona SportBike presented by AMSOIL,” said Jeremy Meyer, Race Program Manager for AMSOIL, INC. “The new AMA Pro Daytona SportBike class should offer some of the most competitive motorcycle road racing ever seen in the United States and we are honored to be one of the high performance components in the new AMA Pro Road Racing.”

Continue Reading at: Motorcycle-usa.com

According to AMSOIL Vice President Alan Amatuzio, the introduction of ExxonMobil extended drain oil is long overdue. “We’re pleased that another company has finally stepped up to the plate,” said Amatuzio. “ExxonMobil’s move, which supports AMSOIL INC’s extended drain intervals, will be seen as a significant moment in lubricant history and valuable for consumers who are going to benefit from this overall shift in the market.”

By the late 1990’s most large oil companies offered a synthetic motor oil in their product line, but none of these companies other than AMSOIL pushed drain intervals beyond the 3,000 mile change recommendation. Average oil change intervals in Europe are 10,000 miles with many vehicles recommending 15,000 mile and longer change intervals. The shorter U.S. drain interval results in millions of gallons of unneeded oil production and more than a billion dollars a year in consumer spending.

The environmental benefits of extended drain intervals include reduced packaging waste, use of natural resources and greatly reduced need for disposal of used oil. In addition, independent tests have demonstrated improved fuel economy when synthetic lubricants are used in the engine and throughout the drivetrain.

AMSOIL has been the recognized leader in synthetic lubrication since 1972. For more information about AMSOIL synthetic lubricants and performance products contact your nearest AMSOIL distributor, visit www.amsoil.com or call AMSOIL at (715) 392-7101 or 1-800-777-8491. AMSOIL INC., AMSOIL Building, Superior, WI 54880.

As motor oil is the lifeblood of a vehicle’s engine, industry-leading brands — Pennzoil, Quaker State and Shell Rotella have introduced a new consumer education program, including a Web site www.MotorOilMatters.org, as part of an initiative to educate consumers about the importance of quality motor oil and the role it can play in helping prolong an engine’s life and improve its overall efficiency.

Automotive expert Alan Taylor, the host of Car and Driver Radio and lifelong auto enthusiast, has been tapped to help drivers understand that motor oil really does matter.

“For many Americans, their vehicle is their second largest investment, so getting the most out of their car in the current economic climate has become more important than ever,” Taylor said. “Drivers need to understand why the quality of motor oil matters to their car and to their pocketbook. Educating consumers so that they understand the value quality motor oils provide is our goal.”

Applauded by industry organizations, the initiative urges consumers to be aware of the oil that goes into their engines. Off-brand, no-name or discount oils that do not meet industry standards or the vehicle manufacturer’s requirements could cost consumers in the long run by potentially damaging the vehicle’s engine or possibly voiding the manufacturer’s warranty.

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