MW owns: BMW, Mini, and Rolls Royce
Fiat owns: Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Fiat, Lancia, Maserati; Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep–20-percent stake
Ford Motor Company owns: Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Volvo (for now), and still owns 13.4 percent of Mazda
General Motors owns: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC. Also owns a controlling interest in Daewoo, as well as Opel and Vauxhall in Europe and Holden in Australia.
Honda owns: Honda, Acura
Hyundai owns: Hyundai, Kia
Tata Motors (India) owns: Jaguar and Land Rover
Mazda (partially owned by Ford)
Daimler AG owns: Mercedes-Benz and Smart
Nissan owns: Nissan and Infiniti (Nissan is owned by Renault--France)
Porsche owns: Porsche and a majority share in Volkswagen
Subaru (A controlling interest of Subaru is owned by Toyota)
Toyota Motor Company owns: Lexus, Toyota, Scion, Daihatsu and Hino Motors, with a stake in Fuji Industries (Subaru’s parent company) and Isuzu
Volkswagen owns: Audi, Volkswagen, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, and overseas SEAT and Skoda.
In formal negotiations to be sold:
Hummer: Tengzhong (China)
Saturn: Penske Automotive Group
Saab: Koenigsegg (Sweden)
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
5 Jobs You Should be Glad You Don't Have
SUBJECT: 5 Jobs You Should be Glad You Don't Have
We all know times are tough, and the rough economy means that none of our competitors are hiring, so you're stuck here at your desk for the time being. So you think you have it bad? See what these poor souls have to go through in 5 of the worst jobs in the world.
1. Sewage worker in India
This should be obvious. India's sewage systems are a relic of British times, which means that they often narrow to dank, smelly, waste-filled passages. When there's a blockage, sewage workers have to descend into that hell and manually sort it out.
Municipal corporations are the most corrupt and apathetic organizations in the nation, so these workers can forget about protective suits and gear, which have often been sold off in the black market. Skin rashes and eye soreness, respiratory and liver problems, fears of hepatitis and rabies (the rats down there are massive) are just some of the complications of this sort of job. The gases in the sewers have the potential to asphyxiate and dozens of workers lose their lives in this manner every year. The pay for this death-defying, nauseating work? Rs. 5000 a month.
2. Personal assistant to a (Bollywood) Star
It may seem wonderful from the outside. Behind the scenes, however, each star has an army of assistants-makeup, wardrobe, personal, drivers, cooks, maids-helping them get through the day. While this may seem like a dream job, given the proximity to the glitz and glamour, those in the know shudder when they recall miserly pay, ridiculous working hours, and tantrums-on-demand. Would you fancy being the assistant tasked with driving a star's pet for 15 hours nonstop to the shoot location because the star "missed her baby?" Or dealing with a starlet's enraged and steroid-fueled boyfriend because he can't handle their break-up? For more on how ridiculous star's demands can be, check out The Smoking Gun'scompilation of backstage riders-things stars demand at concert locations. What price abuse? Pay varies, but our sources tell us that Bollywood stars are among the stingiest in the world.
3. Video Game tester
This job may sound like every kid's dream, but the reality is far starker. There is such high demand for video game testers that the workforce is treated extremely badly-there is absolutely no job security and workers are given extremely short notice before shifts. Once on the job, individual testers are often assigned extremely limited portions of a game-with the sole aim of making it crash or uncovering a bug-so a typical day may involve playing the same level 500 times. Hardware tests may involve turning a console on and off 1000 times-does that sound like fun? When deadlines near, all-nighters are common, often with little or no notice.
4. Roustabout on an oil rig
A relatively specialized field, roustabouts perform maintenance on oil rigs and pipelines, using hand and power tools. Oil rigs are dangerous workplaces, and injuries-sometimes fatal-are common. Working here also involves extended periods on-site, away at sea and far away from home-with just a swarthy, sweaty work crew for company. The job involves intense physical labour and dismemberment or worse is only a slip up away.
5. Recycling plant worker/Garbage Collector
Though recycling happens on the informal level in India-with a city's ragpickers removing everything of value from the garbage dumps-the jobs of garbage collectors are frequently on the bottom of every worst jobs list. Recycling workers regularly have to deal with dirty diapers, dead animals, hypodermic needles and rotting meat.
We all know times are tough, and the rough economy means that none of our competitors are hiring, so you're stuck here at your desk for the time being. So you think you have it bad? See what these poor souls have to go through in 5 of the worst jobs in the world.
1. Sewage worker in India
This should be obvious. India's sewage systems are a relic of British times, which means that they often narrow to dank, smelly, waste-filled passages. When there's a blockage, sewage workers have to descend into that hell and manually sort it out.
Municipal corporations are the most corrupt and apathetic organizations in the nation, so these workers can forget about protective suits and gear, which have often been sold off in the black market. Skin rashes and eye soreness, respiratory and liver problems, fears of hepatitis and rabies (the rats down there are massive) are just some of the complications of this sort of job. The gases in the sewers have the potential to asphyxiate and dozens of workers lose their lives in this manner every year. The pay for this death-defying, nauseating work? Rs. 5000 a month.
2. Personal assistant to a (Bollywood) Star
It may seem wonderful from the outside. Behind the scenes, however, each star has an army of assistants-makeup, wardrobe, personal, drivers, cooks, maids-helping them get through the day. While this may seem like a dream job, given the proximity to the glitz and glamour, those in the know shudder when they recall miserly pay, ridiculous working hours, and tantrums-on-demand. Would you fancy being the assistant tasked with driving a star's pet for 15 hours nonstop to the shoot location because the star "missed her baby?" Or dealing with a starlet's enraged and steroid-fueled boyfriend because he can't handle their break-up? For more on how ridiculous star's demands can be, check out The Smoking Gun'scompilation of backstage riders-things stars demand at concert locations. What price abuse? Pay varies, but our sources tell us that Bollywood stars are among the stingiest in the world.
3. Video Game tester
This job may sound like every kid's dream, but the reality is far starker. There is such high demand for video game testers that the workforce is treated extremely badly-there is absolutely no job security and workers are given extremely short notice before shifts. Once on the job, individual testers are often assigned extremely limited portions of a game-with the sole aim of making it crash or uncovering a bug-so a typical day may involve playing the same level 500 times. Hardware tests may involve turning a console on and off 1000 times-does that sound like fun? When deadlines near, all-nighters are common, often with little or no notice.
4. Roustabout on an oil rig
A relatively specialized field, roustabouts perform maintenance on oil rigs and pipelines, using hand and power tools. Oil rigs are dangerous workplaces, and injuries-sometimes fatal-are common. Working here also involves extended periods on-site, away at sea and far away from home-with just a swarthy, sweaty work crew for company. The job involves intense physical labour and dismemberment or worse is only a slip up away.
5. Recycling plant worker/Garbage Collector
Though recycling happens on the informal level in India-with a city's ragpickers removing everything of value from the garbage dumps-the jobs of garbage collectors are frequently on the bottom of every worst jobs list. Recycling workers regularly have to deal with dirty diapers, dead animals, hypodermic needles and rotting meat.
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