A 9-foot bridge was the last stop for a bus carrying the Garfield High School girls softball team.

Even if the GPS system had settings for car, motorcycle, bus or truck,it chose a route through the Washington Park Arboretum where the 12-foot-high vehicle crashed after going under a 9-foot bridge.The bus driver said he didn’t see the flashing lights warning about the bridge height.

The softball team girls and the coach had minor injuries and,of course,the brigde had just a few scratches.

Another Michigan United Auto Workers local is threatening to strike General Motors Corp., the automaker said Saturday.

The UAW warned GM that it may strike the automaker’s Grand Rapids metal stamping plant. If progress isn’t made in bargaining a local contract within five days, the union says it will issue an official five-day strike notice, which is required before a walkout.

Three factories, in Flint, Lansing and Warren, issued five-day strike notices last week warning GM the union will strike if local contracts aren’t soon reached.

GM is in the midst of plant-level bargaining under way since last fall.

The automaker has contracts in place only in a handful of about 70 UAW locals throughout the United States

A plant in Parma, Ohio, threatened a strike last week, but then reached a tentative deal with the automaker.

Source

BMW Group (BMW and MINI combined) sales down by 5.4 percent in March as expected, stronger increase in the second half of the year anticipated.
Woodcliff Lake, NJ – April 1, 2008… The BMW Group in the U.S. (BMW and MINI combined) today reported March vehicle sales of 27,404, down 5.4 percent from the 28,980 vehicles sold in the same month of 2007. For the first quarter of 2008, BMW Group sales are down 9.2 percent, to 68,529 vehicles versus the 75,433 sold in the first three months of 2007.

The results reflect BMW Group’s expectations for the month. As planned and already communicated, BMW of North America expects a stronger increase in sales in the second half of the year. Sales will be driven by new products coming to market this year. Among others, this year sees the introduction of the BMW 1 Series Coupe and Convertible; BMW’s X6 Sports Activity Coupe; BMW M3 Coupe, Sedan and Convertible; and the new twin-turbo charged Advanced Diesel engines for the 3 Series and the X5. MINI continues its success story in the U.S. with the launch of its third variant – the all new MINI Clubman – which hit showrooms just last month.

BMW Brand Sales
BMW brand sales were down 8.7 percent, to 23,115 vehicles compared to 25,325 vehicles sold during March 2007. Year-to-date, BMW reported sales of 58,365 vehicles compared to the 67,360 reported in the same period a year ago, a decrease of 13.4 percent.

BMW Automobile Sales
Monthly sales of BMW brand automobiles increased 2.6 percent in March, to 19,231 versus 18,746 in 2007. During the first quarter of 2008, BMW automobile sales are down 10.6 percent to 46,153 versus 51,616 reported in the same period last year.

BMW Sports Activity Vehicles
Sales of BMW Sports Activity Vehicles were down 41 percent for the month, to 3,884 vehicles compared to the 6,579 reported in March 2007. Year-to-date, BMW SAV sales are down 22.4 percent to 12,212 vehicles from 15,744 in 2007.

MINI Brand Sales
MINI USA reported a 17.3 percent increase in March sales, to 4,289 cars compared to 3,655 cars sold in the same period a year ago. MINI USA also reported sales of 10,164 for the first quarter of 2008, an increase of 25.9 percent over the 8,073 sold in the same period a year ago.