The Sun reports that most German of British brands– I mean British of German brands– is set to build cars outside The Land of Hope and Glory. The paper reckons BMW will manufactur its MINI SUV in Graz, now that the plant's X3 production is headed stateside. A spokesperson for the propeller people said the MINI brand's geographical locus will remain in Oxford, as both the fast-selling standard car and the sure-to-be-a-hit Clubman greet the world from Southeast England. In fact, the factory is maxxed-out at 260k units per annum. Hence the move to the Fatherland. In a related story, Motortrader reports that most Kuwaiti of English car brands, Aston Martin, is also looking to craft vehicles abroad, beginning with the four-door Rapide. Bidders for the work read like a who's who of outsourcing: Italy's Pininfarina, Germany's Karmann, Austria/Canada's Magna and Finland's Valmet. 

The Sun »

Source: Sprechen-Sie MINI?

Xavier Navarro
Filed under: Emerging Technologies, Solar, Green Daily

Don't run yet! I'm the first who would like to cover my car with film and get it powered to run on photovoltaic energy, but that option isn't hear yet. New research could make it a little bit closer, though. Physicist Neil Greenham from Cambridge University's Cavendish Laboratory had been researching polymer light emitting diodes (LEDs), used for displays in some televisions, MP3 players and mobile phones. But then he joined a research group trying to use similar polymers to generate electricity from light. Now, his work has resulted an organic solar cell that doesn't use expensive silicon. Silicon-made photovoltaic panels are expensive, heavy and not very green to make.

Nevertheless, this technology has a drawback: very low efficiency. While state-of-the-art silicon panels can yield 40 percent efficiency, commercially available panels usually get about 15 percent. Greenham's target is 5 percent, which could power many types of devices with a cheaper cost. To make things more interesting, the scientists want to "print" solar cells with an ultra-thin mix of two semiconducting polymers on a flexible plastic backing up to one meter wide. The process, which would be low-temperature, would have a much smaller carbon footprint.

Related:

• Jay Leno's Big Dog Garage needed $450,000+ to make it green
• More on Steve Titus' new Solar Bug - price revealed, along with high-res photos
• Solar Miata: the ideal car for a sunny day is now powered by the sun

[Source: Desolasol]

Source: Polymer solar panels that are cheaper, lighter and greener

Jonathon Ramsey
Etc., Japan, Toyota

We've all heard the horror stories of life in middle management. In Japan, the ill appears to be especially acute. So many Japanese workers die from simply being overworked that there's a name for it: karoshi. Wikipedia says, "The major medical causes of karōshi deaths are heart attack and stroke due to stress." From March 2006 to March 2007, 303 people were claimed to have died of it with 147 of those cases acknowledged as accurate by the government.

Thirty-year-old Kenichi Uchino worked 60 hours a week for five months for Toyota in Japan, and then worked 70 hours a week for a month -- and then he died. His wife, Hiroko, filed for workman's compensation benefits after the death of her husband, and her claim was denied. The Labor Ministry said the death didn't come from overwork.

A court in Nagoya, though, had a different opinion, and has ordered the Ministry of Labor to pay benefits. His work schedule sounds brutal, although we know of people who put in the same kind of hours in the US. However, unlike in America, it's common practice in Japan not to pay for overtime. We don't know if that was the case here, but regardless of whether he was being paid, the operative word for any employee putting in those kinds of hours should be: help.

[Source: Detroit News]

Source: Japanese court rules Toyota employee died from too much work