BRIEFS - Car-charging stations open

• Car-charging stations open

RALEIGH, NC (AP):

Raleigh has opened car-charging stations for the coming electric cars and hybrid cars already in the city, part of at least 30 stations planned by the end of next summer.

The News and Observer of Raleigh reported that North Carolina expects to have more than 350 stations across the state. Many will be financed by federal stimulus money.

Most of Raleigh's stations will be in public parking garages or near the North Carolina State University Centennial campus.

Raleigh's stations will provide free electricity, but drivers must pay for parking.

Mayor Charles Meeker says the stations will make Raleigh a leader in electric vehicles in the south-east.

• Zero emission vehicles refuel in NW Arizona

GOLDEN VALLEY, Ariz (AP):

Four teams of international electric car drivers will be pulling over for a pit stop Monday afternoon in Golden Valley as part of the North American leg of the zero-emission race around the world.

The teams from Australia, Switzerland, Germany and South Korea have been travelling since August 16, when they set out in their custom-built electric vehicles from the United Nations Palace in Geneva.

The four teams have passed through Belgium, Germany, Austria, Russia and China. They then took a boat to Vancouver and have since been driving down the West Coast on their way to Cancun, Mexico.

Following their stop in Golden Valley, the zero-emission racers will continue their trek toward Cancun, where they will headline the United Nations Climate Conference November 29.

• GM recalls pickups

DETROIT (AP):

More than 192,000 General Motors and Isuzu mid-size pickup trucks are being recalled because of a problem with the system that anchors child-safety seats, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Wednesday.

The recall affects Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon models from the 2004 to 2011 model years. Also affected are Isuzu I-280 and I-350 pickups from 2006 and I-290, and I-370 models from 2007 and 2008. The Isuzus were built by GM at its factory in Shreveport, Louisiana.

• Chrysler to invest in Kokomo plants

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP):

Hard-hit Kokomo, Indiana, got a big boost from Chrysler on Tuesday when the automaker announced it plans to pump another US$843 million into its casting and transmission factories.

The investment was announced ahead of a visit to the Kokomo transmission plant Tuesday by President Barack Obama and Vice-President Joe Biden, who planned to discuss the auto industry bailout.

Chrysler said in a statement that the money would pay for equipment to modernise both factories. It would extend the life of the plants and help retain nearly 2,250 jobs, equipping it to build a new front-wheel-drive transmission for unspecified future vehicles, the company said.

The automaker already has announced that the transmission plant will build a new 8-speed automatic transmission in Kokomo in 2013 with a German parts supplier.

• Joint venture

MILAN (AP): Fiat and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne on Friday proposed a joint venture with Chrysler LLC to build Alfa Romeo and Jeep-brand vehicles at Turin's Mirafiori auto plant. The proposal to produce Jeep and Alfa Romeos for the European and export markets is the first significant step toward integration in Europe between the Italian and US automakers since Fiat took control of Chrysler with a 20 per cent stake in June 2009.

In the US, Fiat has launched the iconic, subcompact 500 and has started to build engines with Fiat technology at US plants. Marchionne made the proposal during a meeting with unions in Turin, part of his efforts to reach more flexible work agreements at Italy's plants as a condition to €20 billion (US$26.64 billion) in investments planned for Italy.