Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - February 13, 2014, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A16 Canadian Energy. Global Reach. PacificNorthWestLNG. com Businesses seeking potential procurement opportunities with Pacific NorthWest LNG are asked to submit an Expression of Interest and Qualifications to each of the three international engineering contractors that have been selected for the project's Front- End Engineering and Design: Bechtel Ltd. PLNGXPRO@ bechtel. com TSH Consortium TSH@ technip. com KBR/ JGC joint venture FLONKBR- PNWSubcon@ kbr. com FLONKBR- PNWPurch@ kbr. com If the project proceeds to construction, tenders will be issued in 2015 and beyond. Pacific NorthWest LNG is seeking Canadian businesses who want to participate in building its proposed natural gas liquefaction and export facility in Port Edward, near Prince Rupert, BC. If your company has experience in the construction and installation of large- scale, complex facilities, we want to hear from you. The project will provide a wide range of opportunities for contractors and suppliers, including: . Civil & earthworks contractors . Mechanical contractors . Electrical contractors . Instrumentation contractors . Marine structure works contractors . Heavy industrial fabricators . Pre- engineered building design, fabrication & assemblers . Experienced LNG tank assemblers . Experienced LNG tank concrete foundation & wall constructors . Heavy industrial project freight forwarders BUILDING CANADA'S FUTURE BUSINESS EDITOR: SHANE MINKIN 204- 697- 7308 business@ freepress. mb. ca I MARKET DETAILS A17 I winnipegfreepress. com THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2014 A 16 I N what could turn out to be a stunning reversal for the auto industry, late- model used cars have gotten less dependable for the first time since 1998, J. D. Power's Vehicle Dependability Study has found. The widely watched report card on how well cars hold up over time says owners of three- year- old vehicles ( 2011 models) reported six per cent more troubles than owners of three- year- old vehicles ( 2010 models) did last year. Power says it's the first time quality has declined since the 1998 survey. Automakers, especially the Big Three, are striving to convince buyers quality is continuing to rise and that their vehicles will run a long time without problems. A Honda TV ad, for example, shows a proud dad pointing out to his blas� daughter that the car just hit 100,000 miles. Chevrolet's tag line asserts its trucks are the " longest- lasting, mostdependable." Such claims will become hard to swallow if the latest Power VDS isn't simply a hiccup, but instead shows the start of annually declining dependability. That's possible. Problems that showed up in the 2014 VDS suggest " a continuing challenge" for car companies in maintaining quality as vehicles age, said David Sargent, Power's global automotive vicepresident. " Some of the changes that automakers implemented for the 2011 model year have led to a noticeable increase in problems reported," he said. The biggest contributor to the decline: engine and transmission issues. Those accounted for nearly six of the seven additional problems per 100 vehicles reported in this year's study. The 2011 models had 133 problems per 100 cars, while a year earlier, 2010 models had 126 problems per 100. Among engines/ transmissions, " The decline in quality is particularity acute for vehicles with four- cylinder engines," Power reports. In the move to smaller engines as a way to boost fuel economy to meet federal regulations tightening to an average 4.31 litres per 100 km ( 54.5 mpg) in 2026, automakers have saddled drivers with " engine hesitation, rough transmission shifts and lack of power." Building new cars and trucks that remain largely free of troubles is worth repeat sales to automakers. Power data show 56 per cent of owners who reported no problems stayed with the same brand next time they bought a new car or truck. And shoppers are much more likely to avoid models from brands with low dependability rankings, Power data show. The survey is based on responses from more than 41,000 original owners of threeyear- old vehicles. It is different from Power's Initial Quality Study, or IQS. That measures the number of things gone wrong with new vehicles during the first 90 days of ownership. The VDS scores gives brands overall scores - Lexus was by far the best - and also breaks out the results into segments based on size and type of vehicle. General Motors was segment champ, tops in eight. Toyota won seven. Brand scores: The number indicates problems per 100 cars for 2011 models; lower is better. . Lexus ( 68) . Mercedes- Benz ( 104) . Cadillac ( 107) . Acura ( 109) . Buick ( 112) . Honda ( 114) . Lincoln ( 114) . Toyota ( 114) . Porsche ( 125) . Infiniti ( 128) . BMW ( 130) . Subaru ( 131) . Chevrolet ( 132) . Jaguar ( 132) . Mazda ( 132) . GMC ( 133) . INDUSTRY AVERAGE ( 133) . Ford ( 140) . Nissan ( 142) . Audi ( 151) . Kia ( 151) . Volvo ( 152) . Scion ( 153) . Chrysler ( 155) . Volkswagen ( 158) . Ram ( 165) . Mitsubishi ( 166) . Hyundai ( 169) . Jeep ( 178) . Land Rover ( 179) . Dodge ( 181) . Mini ( 185) - USA Today SCAN TO SEE SEGMENT WINNERS Report raps newer used autos Finds first drop in quality since ' 98 By James R. Healey BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - A sinkhole collapsed part of the National Corvette Museum in Kentucky on Wednesday, damaging eight cars. Museum spokeswoman Katie Frassinelli said six of the cars were owned by the museum and two - a 1993 ZR- 1 Spyder and a 2009 ZR1 Blue Devil - were on loan from General Motors. A Bowling Green city spokeswoman said the hole opened up at about 5: 40 a. m. CST, setting off an alarm and a call to the fire department. Frassinelli said no one was in the museum at the time. The hole is in part of the domed section of the museum, and that area will remain closed. The fire department estimated the hole is roughly 12 metres across and 7.5 to nine metres deep. A short distance away, other Corvettes sit undamaged. Frassinelli said the rest of the museum was open Wednesday. Bowling Green is the lone place where General Motors builds the iconic Corvette. - The Associated Press TOKYO - Toyota is recalling 1.9 million hybrid Prius cars globally because of a software glitch that could cause the vehicle to stall. Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday that 997,000 Prius cars in Japan, some 713,000 in North America, another 130,000 in Europe and the rest in other regions are being recalled for a problem in the software to control the hybrid system. No accidents or injuries have been reported related to the problem. Toyota Canada says 13,791 Prius cars are being recalled in the country. The software could cause transistors to become damaged, causing warnings lights to go off, driving power to be reduced or the car to stop. The recalled Prius vehicles were manufactured between March 2009 and February 2014. Toyota Canada is also recalling another 25,577 vehicles - RAV4s from model year 2012, Tacomas from 2012- 2013 and Lexus RX350s from 2012- 2013. The company says these vehicles are being recalled to fix an electronic circuit condition that can cause the vehicle stability control, anti- lock brake, and traction control functions to intermittently turn off. - The Associated Press Sinkhole swallows vintage Vettes HANDOUT - NATIONAL CORVETTE MUSEUM / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Eight cars collapsed into a sinkhole at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Ky., on Wednesday. The museum still opened but closed off the damaged area. Toyota recalls 1.9M cars DAVID ZALUBOWSKI / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES In Canada, 13,791 Prius cars are being recalled over a software glitch. A_ 16_ Feb- 13- 14_ FP_ 01. indd A 16 2/ 12/ 14 9: 17: 23 PM ;