plus 3, Germany’s Export Prowess Weighs on Euro-Zone - New York Times

Germany’s Export Prowess Weighs on Euro-Zone - New York Times
Fix Your Toyota Recall at Fitzgerald Auto Mall Today - Forbes
Videos From the Web: Car Videos - San Francisco Chronicle
AutoZone to Attend Upcoming 2010 Stifel Nicolaus Consumer Conference - MSN Money

Germany’s Export Prowess Weighs on Euro-Zone - New York Times

Posted: 26 Feb 2010 01:02 PM PST

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FRANKFURT — Glasbau Hahn could easily be mistaken for one of the auto repair shops or plumbing supply outlets that characterize a former factory district a few miles from Frankfurt's banking quarter.

Yet the family-owned glassmaker, with 140 employees not counting a Hahn grandchild running loose around the front office, typifies the small, highly focused companies that may propel Germany back to growth.

The paradox is that such companies are also making life difficult for Germany's European Union partners.

Glasbau Hahn is a miniature multinational, generating more than 60 percent of its sales abroad and dominating its narrow but lucrative niche: the global market for museum display cases. Even King Tut's mummy lies in a climate-controlled vitrine made in Glasbau Hahn's workshop, which sits inconspicuously next to a railyard and across the street from a Fiat showroom.

As Glasbau Hahn and thousands of other small German exporters rebound from a dreadful 2009, they give the European Union a much-needed shot of growth. Unfortunately, some of their success comes at the expense of countries like Greece, Spain and Portugal.

The so-called peripheral countries have racked up crushing debts in part because they bought too many Mercedes cars and other imports from Germany and elsewhere, without producing enough of their own export goods. In fact, goods from Greece, Spain and Portugal were often no longer competitive on world markets because in the past decade those countries had let wages rise faster than productivity and had become too expensive.

At the same time Germany, a country of savers, exported more than it consumed, profiting from its spendthrift neighbors but not reciprocating by buying equal amounts of imports.

"These bubbles that have been growing on the periphery are a mirror image of that surplus that Germany produces," said Erik Berglof, chief economist at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in London. "It's roughly akin to China and the U.S. It gives rise to many tensions."

Germany's trade surplus is by far the largest in Europe, reaching €135.8 billion, or $184.9 billion, in 2009, according to Eurostat, the European Union's statistics office. Germany's surplus was more than triple that of the Netherlands, which was in second place.

The countries with the biggest trade deficits are also the ones with biggest economic problems: Britain, Spain, Greece and Portugal. Only France, which also ranks among the top five trade-deficit countries, has a relatively healthy economy.

Glasbau Hahn helps explain why Germany is so competitive. The company and its like are sometimes called "hidden champions." They learned long ago to compensate for slow domestic growth by expanding overseas. And to offset the high cost of labor in Germany, they concentrate on premium products that customers are willing to pay more for.

"We're never the cheapest," said Till Hahn, elder statesman of the family that has owned and managed the company since 1836.

But Mr. Hahn, a cheerful 72-year-old dressed in corduroys and an argyle sweater, points out that price is secondary to a museum curator entrusted with a Gutenberg Bible. "In 20 years no one will ask what the vitrine cost," he said "What matters is the preservation of the object."

In a characteristically German way, Glasbau Hahn applied an engineer's mentality to a seemingly mundane object. Its vitrines have elaborate dust-protection and climate control systems. The glass panels slide open with the touch of a remote control.

Glasbau Hahn's display cases are found in top museums around the world, including the British Museum in London, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg.

The company has built cases to hold copies of the U.S. Declaration of Independence at the New York Public Library and the mummy of King Tutankhamen in Luxor, Egypt, where a custom-made glass enclosure from Frankfurt preserves the boy monarch in a nitrogen atmosphere.

Glasbau Hahn's expertise and reputation has helped it beat competitors in Italy and Belgium, just as other German companies have beat their European rivals.

The problem that policy makers are wrestling with is how to correct the economic imbalances that German competitiveness creates.

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Fix Your Toyota Recall at Fitzgerald Auto Mall Today - Forbes

Posted: 26 Feb 2010 02:14 PM PST

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GAITHERSBURG, Md., Feb. 26 /PRNewswire/ --The Toyota Service Center of Fitzgerald Auto Mall is pleased to announce increased capacity to repair recalls on affected models of Toyotas. Any Toyota owner can call to make an appointment, regardless of where you purchased your vehicle.

We hired extra service technicians, added extra service bays, and extended our service hours. We are staying ahead of current customer demand. We have shifts that work well into the night, as late as one o'clock in the morning to accommodate all repairs and minimize any inconvenience to our customers. Our technicians are proficient with the recall repairs and are extremely swift and skilled through the number of vehicles successfully completed to date.

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Make an appointment. We are open tomorrow, Saturday, February 27, from 7 am to 4 pm. If you come in later in the day, we will lend you a car, make the recall repair, and have it for you by Monday evening.

We also make overnight repairs during the week. Drop your Toyota to us in the evening on your way home from work, get a free loaner car, and pick up your car in the morning!

"We are one of the largest Toyota service centers in the United States. I usually have 65 cars in my loaner fleet for customers to use. For this recall, I almost tripled the number of free loaners for customers," says Jack Fitzgerald.

Call and make your Toyota recall repair appointment today. Call 1-800 794-3230 or visit www.fitzmall.com

SOURCE Fitzgerald Auto Mall

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Videos From the Web: Car Videos - San Francisco Chronicle

Posted: 26 Feb 2010 02:21 PM PST

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2009 CHEVROLET COBALT Green Bay, WI Stock #6638XX 920-468-6800 Formore information on this vehicle and our full inventory, call Mark Ruby at 920-468-6800. Gandrud East USED 919 Auto Plaza Dr. Green Bay, WI 54302 Come see this stylish GM Certified 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt LT Coupe. A classic combination of reliability, versatility and style, The Cobalt LT is a mid size 4 door coupe with a high tech style dash, a comfortable ride with the power and great fuel economy of a 2.2. 4cylinder. This one comes with power windows, mirrors and locks, rear spoiler, and a long list of power options, Below is a complete list of all the options for your convenience and If you have any questions please give us a call, we would be happy to answer them for you! We are one of the Midwest's largest GM and Nissan Certified used car dealers. We're different, we're better, and we'll prove it. Gandrud is your best choice for all of your New Car, Used Car, Auto Service, Auto Body Repair and Tires. For more information please contact Jared Bartelt or Greg Moran at 866-812-0365 or drop us an e-mail. We look forward to meeting you. We'd also like to say thank you in advance for the opportunity to earn your business. We won't let you down!

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AutoZone to Attend Upcoming 2010 Stifel Nicolaus Consumer Conference - MSN Money

Posted: 26 Feb 2010 01:02 PM PST

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MEMPHIS, Tenn., Feb. 26, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO) today announced it will attend the upcoming 2010 Stifel Nicolaus Consumer Conference in New York on March 8, 2010.

About AutoZone:

As of November 21, 2009, AutoZone sells auto and light truck parts, chemicals and accessories through 4,265 AutoZone stores in 48 U.S. states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico and 193 stores in Mexico.

AutoZone is the leading retailer and a leading distributor of automotive replacement parts and accessories in the United States. Each store carries an extensive product line for cars, sport utility vehicles, vans and light trucks, including new and remanufactured automotive hard parts, maintenance items, accessories, and non-automotive products. Many stores also have a commercial sales program that provides commercial credit and prompt delivery of parts and other products to local, regional and national repair garages, dealers, and service stations. AutoZone also sells the ALLDATA brand diagnostic and repair software. On the web, AutoZone sells diagnostic and repair information, and auto and light truck parts through www.autozone.com. AutoZone does not derive revenue from automotive repair or installation.

 CONTACT: AutoZone, Inc. Media: Ray Pohlman 901 495-7962 ray.pohlman@autozone.com Financial: Brian Campbell 901 495-7005 brian.campbell@autozone.com

GlobeNewswire, Inc.2010

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