Sonari Glinton

U.S. Automakers Are On A Roll, But Hiring Is Slow And Steady

Sonari Glinton — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 07:21:00 +0000

There is one basic question that keeps being asked about the U.S. auto industry: Is it on the rebound?

"People ask a lot, is the auto industry back?" says Kristin Dziczek, a director at the Center for Automotive Research. "And it depends on what scale you want to look at."

So if we're looking at scales, let's start with productivity. In this case, how many work hours it takes to build a car. Productivity in U.S. plants is 39 percent higher than it was in 2000.

Garment Industry Monitors Work On Immigration Overhaul

Sonari Glinton — Mon, 27 May 2013 08:47:00 +0000

In Los Angeles, the business of fashion is big. The apparel business employs as many as 45,000 workers in L.A. County, many of them immigrants.

Consequently, the garment industry is worried about the outcome of the immigration debate and watching closely to see what happens.

'You Don't Have Another Choice'

One of the heavyweights is American Apparel, which makes more than 40 million articles of clothing each year out of its factory near downtown L.A.

The clothing industry is notorious for employing illegal workers.

L.A. Blue Jeans Makers Fear Their Business Will Fade Away

Sonari Glinton — Fri, 24 May 2013 22:06:00 +0000

Los Angeles is the world leader in the most American of clothing items: bluejeans. High-end, hand-stitched, designer bluejeans that will you run well over $100 a pair.

But as the U.S.

More Jobs, But Wait: They May Not Pay Much

Sonari Glinton — Sat, 04 May 2013 09:51:00 +0000

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. The economy added 165,000 jobs in April. That exceeded the expectations of economists. It also drove down the unemployment rate to a four-year low, 7.5 percent. Unfortunately, the biggest gains were in lower-paying fields like hospitality and temp agencies. And as the school year comes to a close and young people start looking, the question is will there be enough work for them. NPR's Sonari Glinton reports.

SONARI GLINTON, BYLINE: Wall Street got pretty excited about the jobs numbers.

House Panel Examines Government Loan To Fisker Automotive

Sonari Glinton — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 09:51:00 +0000

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Auto executives got a grilling on Capitol Hill yesterday. Not the usual suspects from Detroit's Big Three. Think much, much smaller. Executives from the hybrid carmaker Fisker testified about hundreds of millions of dollars in loans Fisker got from the government. Today, the company is on the verge of collapse.

NPR's Sonari Glinton reports.

SONARI GLINTON, BYLINE: Fisker, the car company, isn't dead yet. But Congress has already begun the autopsy.

REPRESENTATIVE JIM JORDAN: Today's hearing is about getting to the bottom of the U.S.

Ford Unit Apologizes For Demeaning Ads

Sonari Glinton — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 09:33:00 +0000

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

And out next business story fits in the category of what were they thinking? Ford Motor Company is apologizing for ads sketched up by an agency in India - ads that have been decried as demeaning to women. They are cartoon drawings showing off how spacious a Ford trunk can be. One spoofs Italy's former prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi. He's at the wheel, and in the trunk, three women, tied up.

NPR's Sonari Glinton reports.

SONARI GLINTON, BYLINE: The ads were never used commercially.

Examining Dual Trends In The Economy

Sonari Glinton — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 08:47:00 +0000

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Good morning, I'm Renee Montagne.

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

And I'm David Greene.

The U.S. economy has been so good at sending mixed signals. We'll hear a couple of reasons for optimism. The housing and stock markets appear to be having parallel rebounds. The stock market is up. And after years of being a drag on the economy, construction and home prices are beginning to see a turnaround.

GM's Archive Offers Glimpse Of Its Past And Future

Sonari Glinton — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 10:30:00 +0000

After more than 100 years of ups and downs, General Motors has a lot of history. Most of GM's history is in the form of cars — hundreds of actual individual cars. The company tries to keep at least two of each car in storage. NPR's Sonari Glinton went on a walk through GM's attic to find out about the company's past and future.

As Construction Picks Up, American Truck Makers Race

Sonari Glinton — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 23:20:00 +0000

Economists look at many tea leaves as they try to determine the health of the economy. One of the most important surrounds vehicle sales, and more specifically pickup truck sales, which are tied to the construction industry. And as last month's sales rose 18 percent, the auto industry is betting big on a real estate rebound.

It's arguable that the Ford F-150 is the most important vehicle to come out of Detroit since the Model-T.

Why Buying A Car Never Changes

Sonari Glinton — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 19:18:00 +0000

"Buying a car sucks," Scott Painter says. "It's something that most consumers fear."

Back in the '90s, Painter started a company to try to change this. "The name of the company was Cars Direct," he says. "The mission was to sell cars directly."

Painter wanted his company to build virtual dealerships that would let people go online and buy cars. But after talking with a few car execs, he realized nobody would even consider his idea.

Painter was stopped by a web of state laws that make it very, very difficult to change the way cars are sold.