Not the marrying kind, Renault-Nissan's Infiniti and Mercedes will build cars in Mexico

When Zetsche and Ghosn announced four years ago that the companies would cooperate on joint projects where it made sense, Zetsche said he never expected then that he’d be announcing a project as wide-ranging in scope as this one. Daimler and Renault-Nissan will share the roughly 1 billion euro ($1.4  billion) investment cost. It will be constructed near a Nissan plant that was built 22 years earlier in  Aguascalientes in north-central Mexico.

Ghosn said the plant represents one of the largest joint projects with Daimler, previously Chrysler’s partner for nine years. “It also shows how our collaboration, which began in Europe, has become global in scope.”

So why not take the next step and merge? It’s perfect the way it is now, Zetsche says, because you don’t have to cooperate if it doesn’t feel right. Ghosn says he doesn’t feel a need to blur brands or corporate cultures.

Close work between Infiniti, Nissan’s premium brand, and Mercedes at every stage of development, from research and design to production, will ensure that the vehicles in the project will retain their distinct identities.

Daimler and the Renault-Nissan Alliance began their collaborative relationship in April 2010, starting with three primarily European “pillar projects,” including a small car platform for the next-generation Smart car from Mercedes. Since then, their cooperation has expanded to 12 projects, ranging from Europe to the Americas and Japan.

This week, Infiniti and Daimler launched production of four-cylinder gasoline engines in Decherd, Tenn., for Mercedes C-Class and Infiniti Q50 cars.

Later this year, Renault-Nissan and Daimler will start selling the next-generation Smart and Twingo city cars, developed on a shared platform, the Twingo and the four-seater Smart being produced at the Renault plant in Novo Mesto, Slovenia, the two-seater Smart in Hambach, France. It was a very small car, but producing it was a very big headache for Daimler. For Renault, nothing could be simpler.

Source:

www.forbes.com

Posted by Editorial Team on 8:14 AM in collaboration, cylinder gasoline, Daimler, joint projects, Mercedes, Mexico, Renault-Nissan, Renault-Nissan's, Zetsche

Verizon’s New Prepaid Plans Bring Rollover Data, Unlimited Calls and Texts Starting at $45

Verizon’s New Prepaid Plans Bring Rollover Data, Unlimited Calls and Texts, Starting at $45 (Photo : Reuters)

Verizon is bringing a data rollover option for its prepaid users under the new ALLSET Plans, along with unlimited voice and text for as low as $45.

Verizon Wireless, the largest carrier in the U.S., is upping the game in the contract-free prepaid category with its ALLSET Plans. Instead of offering different price plans, the new ALLSET brings a single option for smartphone and feature phone users. For smartphone users, Verizon offers unlimited voice, text and 500MB data for $45. Introducing a new pricing structure called Bridge Data within ALLSET, Verizon offers rollover data options with either one month or 3 months validity.

Under the new Bridge Data plan, ALLSET subscribers can buy a $5 plan for 500MB data that will sit on top of the originally allotted 500MB from the $45 ALLSET monthly plan. While the initial data resets every billing cycle, use it or not, data earned from Bridge Data sticks around regardless of billing cycles. Subscribers can choose higher data allowance under Bridge Data options, $10 for 1GB and $20 for 3GB with 90 days validity. Verizon is also offering 1GB monthly fixed data with smartphone plans for a limited time, if subscribers enroll into Auto Pay feature, the carrier said in a press release, Tuesday.

The Bridge Data plans can be useful for users who finish the allotted data before the billing cycle ends. If a subscriber buys a 1GB plan and uses only half of it before a new 500MB data kicks in at the start of a new billing cycle, the unused data will sit on top of the newly allotted 500MB. So users can first finish the monthly fixed data, which cannot be rolled over, and then continue with the Bridged data left over from the previous month.

Verizon is also offering unlimited texting to Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico at no additional charge. New customers joining the ALLSET prepaid plans will get 1,000 minutes free for a month to Canada and Mexico. This offer is valid for a limited time with no last date specified.

Though the data rollover option seems a feasible solution for several users, the expensive price plans add to the downside. In addition to the pricey monthly plan, subscribers are also limited to use only 3G on the network, even if the smartphones are LTE-capable. But Verizon's nationwide spread network is still a winning factor over other small prepaid carriers.

News Source: www.hngn.com

Posted by Editorial Team on 5:16 AM in $45, 3G, 500MB, Mexico, nationwide, press release, Rollover Data, Texts Starting, Unlimited Calls, Verizon Wireless