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Tesla worth half of GM?
Delay in new satellites launch might cause GPS chaos
MINI 50 Mayfair and MINI 50 Camden special editions

Posted: 25 May 2009 02:56 PM PDT

I know this might sound incredible, but according to an article from Bloomberg, Californian startup Tesla Motors could be worth half of GM. This is based on last week’s announcement that Daimler has acquired about 9% for a total of $50 million, which values Tesla at $550 million, which is about 47% of how much GM is worth, according to yesterday’s stock price.

I’m saying this is unbelievable because let’s look at the figures. Last year, GM sold 8.35 million vehicles worldwide, bringing in $149 billion in revenue. Comparing to that, Tesla sold 450 Roadsters, which means they had around $45 million in revenue. However, Tesla’s co-founder, Marc Tarpennin, who’s the company’s former vice president of engineering and a current shareholder, says the two companies can’t really be compared, because everyone expects GM to file for bankruptcy on June 1, which explains the very low share price.

Tesla Motors was founded in 2003 and since then it raised about $200 million in private capital, including more than $70 million from Elon Musk (founder of the popular payment system PayPal) and other investments from Google’s founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin and VantagePoint Venture Partners. Also, according to the company’s Securities and Exhange Comission filing, the investors converted $86.2 million of bonds into stock, erasing all of Tesla’s debt.

[Source: Bloomberg]

Post published on Rpmgo.com

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Delay in new satellites launch might cause GPS chaos

Posted: 25 May 2009 10:01 AM PDT

According to an US Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, the replacement of in-orbits satellites is month behind schedule and millions of dollars over budget, which could mean that satellite navigation might start not working once the old satellites begin to fail. The report mentions that it’s not known if the Air Force will be able to acquire and launch new satellites in time to maintain the current level of GPS service.

Most of the satellites currently in use have a life expectancy of 8 years (some can last up to 15 years) and satellite navigation and GPS devices use three or more satellites to triangulate the motorist’s location.

[Source: Auto Express]

Post published on Rpmgo.com

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MINI 50 Mayfair and MINI 50 Camden special editions

Posted: 25 May 2009 09:32 AM PDT

This year, it will be 50 years since the MINI brand came to life, with the legendary Mini classic and, to celebrate their anniversary, the company has announced two special limited editions, the MINI 50 Mayfair and the MINI 50 Camden, which debuted at the MINI United Festival at the Silverstone track. The Mayfair and Camden ‘packages’ will be available for all the MINI models, including the 120 hp MINI Cooper, the 110 hp diesel MINI Cooper D and the 175 hp MINI Cooper S.

The MINI 50 Mayfair comes in a special Hot Chocolate metallic combined with a white roof paintwork (Pepper White and Midnight Black are also available on request), plus three-dimensional stripes in light-brown Toffy metallic paint for the engine compartment lid. Other features include the 17 inch white painted Infinity Stream Spoke Design light-alloy wheels, Carbon Black interior with brownish black trim for the dashboard, seats covered in Lounge leather with piping round the edges, double-cap seams on the seats and gearshift lever knob finished in turquoise-green color and Toffy brown inlay in the lower half of the steering wheel.

The MINI 50 Camden was given a White Silver metallic paint combined with a white roof (Midnight Black and Horizon Blue colors also available), three-dimensional silver stripe trim on the side of the engine compartment lid, special 17-inch alloy wheels, mirror caps in twin-tone stripes, xenon headlights with black-tinted lenses, while the interior boasts Carbon Black finish with special trim on the instrument panel.

Both models will also have Mayfair and Camden badges and the market launch was announced for September, with production scheduled to last for only one year.

Full Photo Gallery: MINI 50 Mayfair and MINI 50 Camden