Washingtonpost news updates: million

Showing posts with label million. Show all posts

Friday, February 10, 2012

Kiefer Sutherland returns to Fox, ‘Touch’ scores 12 million viewers

Martin (Kiefer Sutherland, R) tries to understand his son Jake (David Mazouz, L) in “Touch.” (Richard Foreman - Fox) Kiefer Sutherland’s back!

About 12 million people caught Fox’s preview Wednesday night of its new Kiefer Sutherland drama series — this time with him chewing the scenery appropriate to a father desperately trying to find a way to communicate with his non-verbal son who, turns out, is too busy calculating out all the numbers in the world in order to predict upcoming drama-worthy moments of heroism for Dad.

“Touch” retained about 62 percent of its “American Idol” leadin, which is the highest retention ever for a drama opening after “Idol.” Of course, “Idol” is not the ratings behemoth it used to be — just a singing competition that beat its combined four network competition by 7 percent (19.5 million viewers compared to everyone else’s combined 18.3 million).

Among 18-49 year old viewers, who are the currency of the television industry, “Idol” out-rated the combined four-other-broadcast-network average by 21 percent Wednesday night.

But, let’s get back to Kiefer being BACK!

The “Touch” preview was Fox’s highest rated drama series opening in three years. Here we feel compelled to note that the drama that opened so well three years ago was “Lie to Me,” and we all know how that show panned out.

But let’s not dwell on unpleasant memories — Kiefer’s BACK!

“Touch” is the season’s second highest rated drama series opening this season, behind only ABC’s fairytale drama “Once Upon a Time” among 18-49 year olds, who, we cannot say too often, are the currency of television industry. The rest of you — watch whatever you want — nobody cares. Except us! We think everyone should count because, gosh darn it, these are public airwaves Fox is using to bring us Kiefer’s latest hair-raising ordeal, and you over 49-year-olds are still pay taxes, right?

So, while yes, “Touch” is the season’s second highest rated drama, behind only ABC fairytales, among 18-49 year olds, in the most comprehensive age bracket — the one Nielsen calls Viewers 2+, and we call “everybody” — the preview of “Touch” is this TV season’s fourth biggest new-drama opening, behind CBS’s cop who forgets nothing series “Unforgettable,” CBS’s JJ Abrams drama “Person of Interest,” and ABC’s “Once Upon a Time.”

View the original article here

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Obama visits Washington Auto Show; his old Chrysler being offered on eBay for $1 million

Barack Obama stepping into a Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 at the Washington Auto Show on Tuesday. (Saul Loeb/Getty Images)

Funny how President Obama has suddenly become a car guy. First, he bragged about saving America’s auto industry in the State of the Union speech. Now’s he hanging out at the Washington Auto Show.

The president, escorted by execs from Ford, Dodge and General Motors, checked out 15 electric and hybrid models Tuesday, climbing in and inspecting the interiors. “The U.S. auto industry is back,” said Obama, who took a shot at “some folks who were willing to let this industry die.” (Itt-may Omney-ray?)

Not that he gets to drive anywhere, but at some point the president will need a new ride. (Can’t take the Beast with him, sadly.) Meanwhile, whither the wheels he left behind? If you’ve got $1 million and a burning desire for a 2005 Chrysler 300C once driven by the then-senator, you can snag it on eBay.

Obama leased the car until 2007, when he replaced it with a greener Ford Escape hybrid, reports CNN. Chicago’s Tim O’Boyle bought it from a showroom — only 20,800 miles on it — and tried to auction it off after the 2008 election. Jokers ran the price up to $100 million. Ha! No sale.

Barack Obama’s 2005 Chrysler 300C, now being offered on eBay for $1 million. (Photo courtesy of Lisa Czibor) Hoping to capitalize on the campaign season, O’Boyle got serious again two weeks ago and re-listed the car — with pre-screening and a $2,000 deposit required to bid. ”Please understand that the $1 million dollar starting price is not a joke,” reads the listing, noting that Pope John Paul II’s 1975 Ford Escort sold for $690,000; Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s 1977 Peugeot went for more than $2 million, and Adolf Hitler’s Mercedes convertible for $8 million.

The current Blue Book value of the Chrysler is around $14,000. Last year, a Connecticut man paid $26,000 for Obama’s 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee.

The auction ends Wednesday night. As of press time, exactly zero bids.

View the original article here

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Fisker, electric carmaker backed by $529 million U.S. loan, balks at Solyndra comparison

Fisker, electric carmaker backed by $529 million U.S. loan, balks at Solyndra comparison - The Washington Post Print SubscriptionConversationsToday's PaperGoing Out GuideJobsCarsReal EstateRentalsClassifiedsHomePoliticsCampaign 2012CongressCourts &LawThe Fed PageHealth CarePollingWhite HouseBlogs & ColumnsIssues: EnergyTop Blogs

Election 2012 | Felicia SonmezThe Fix | Chris CillizzaFederal Eye | Ed O’KeefeFact Checker | Glenn KesslerOpinionsAll OpinionsPostPartisanLeft-LeaningRight-LeaningTolesCartoonsTelnaesAnimationsLocalColumnist IndexLocalDC: Politics| NewsMD: Politics| CommunitiesVA: Politics| CommunitiesCrimeEducationOn Faith/LocalObituariesTraffic & CommutingWeatherBlogs & ColumnsThe Root DCTop Blogs

Post NowThe BuzzCapital Weather GangDr. GridlockSportsRedskins/NFLCapitals/NHLWizards/NBANationals/MLBDC United/SoccerCollegesAllMetSportsOther SportsBlogs & ColumnsTop Blogs

The Insider| Mike JonesCapitals Insider| Katie CarreraWizards Insider | Michael LeeNationals Journal| Adam KilgoreNationalCorrectionsEnergy & EnvironmentHealth & ScienceHigher EducationNational SecurityOn FaithOn LeadershipInnovationsOn GivingBlogs & ColumnsTop Blogs

Ideas@InnovationsPost LeadershipUnder GodCheckpoint WashingtonWorldAfricaTheAmericasAsia &PacificEuropeMiddle EastNational SecurityWar ZonesSpecial ReportsCheckpoint WashingtonBusinessEconomyIndustriesLocal BusinessMarketsPolicy&RegulationTechnologyWorldBusinessBlogs & ColumnsInnovationsOn Small BusinessTop Blogs

Wonkblog | Ezra KleinPost Tech | Cecilia KangFaster ForwardWhere We LiveInvestigationsLifestyleAdviceCarolyn HaxFoodHome & GardenStyleTravelWeddingsWellnessMagazineKidsPostTop Blogs

Arts PostAll We Can EatReliable Source | Roxanne Roberts & Amy ArgetsingerOn Parenting | Janice D’ArcyEntertainmentBooksCelebritiesComicsGoing Out GuideHoroscopesMoviesMuseumsPuzzlesTheater & DanceTVTop Blogs

TV Column | Lisa de MoraesCelebritology | Jen ChaneyClick Track | Chris Richards & David MalitzComic Riffs | Michael CavnaMultimediaInnovationsPhotosVideosThe Washington PostMake us your start page

PersonalizeThe Washington PostCampaign 2012CongressCourts &LawThe Fed PageHealth CarePollingWhite HouseBlogs & ColumnsIssues: EnergyIn the NewsSupreme Court SOPA and PIPA South Carolina debate GOP race Polarized news SOTU ???initialComments:true! pubdate:10/21/2011 21:13 EDT! commentPeriod:3! commentEndDate:10/24/11 9:13 EDT! currentDate:1/21/12 3:0 EST! allowComments:false! displayComments:true!

Gingrich surge makes a sharper, tighter race

Happy National Squirrel Day

Share your snow photos

New public face of assisted suicide in the...

Correction:Earlier versions of this article should have indicated that stimulus funding was used to finance government loans to Solyndra and other companies, but not Fisker Automotive.

Fisker, electric carmaker backed by $529 million U.S. loan, balks at Solyndra comparison

Jonathan Alcorn/BLOOMBERG - The plug-in charger for a Toyota Motor Corp. Prius plug-in hybrid vehicle is displayed in Santa Monica, Calif. on Thursday, Sept. 29, 2011.

Text SizePrintE-mailReprints By Carol D. Leonnig and Joe Stephens,

An electric car company backed by more than a half-billion dollars in Department of Energy loan guarantees has missed early manufacturing goals and has gradually pushed back plans for U.S. production and the creation of thousands of jobs.

This week, Fisker delayed until 2013 the production of the moderately priced family car it plans to build in Delaware. It also learned that its Finnish-produced luxury model, the $96,000 Karma, which is two years late in reaching U.S. markets, failed to meet a promised energy-efficiency standard.

Comments

Weigh InCorrections?

Gallery

?Companies are always striving to be the most innovative. Here’s a look at the 10 companies that recently made Fast Company’s list of the most innovative companies in energy.

With the demise of Solyndra, a solar company that also won a half-billion-dollar loan from a program to spur clean-energy technologies, the Energy Department’s loan guarantees have come under intense scrutiny, and the Obama administration has been under fire for making risky loans to unproven ventures. The administration has stood behind the lending, some of it funded by stimulus, saying that risk is inherent in backing emerging technologies.

Fisker was among the big winners in the administration’s effort for broader development of electric vehicles, and company officials said their problems bear no resemblance to those of Solyndra, which filed for bankruptcy protection in September.

“Without any excuses, yes, we did have some delays,” company co-founder Henrik Fisker said during a stop in the District this week to show off his company’s sleek new Karma. “But this is completely different. You can’t compare at all.”

The Energy Department confirmed this week that it has eased expectations after conditionally approving the loan to Fisker and has made allowances for scaling back projections in the final loan agreement. But the agency declined to make public those adjusted terms, including projected car sales volume or milestones the company must meet in connection with its $529 million loan. Agency officials attributed Fisker’s delays to regulatory hurdles and issues beyond the company’s control.

Henrik Fisker said in an interview Wednesday that, as of this week, the Karma had been cleared for sale in the United States. Forty have arrived from Finland to be delivered to dealers, and four identical silver versions of the low-slung sedan were parked outside the District’s Mandarin Oriental hotel.

“Next year we will reach the 12,000 or 15,000 vehicles we predicted,” Fisker said. “We are really past the start-up risks. That means the skeptics who said we would never produce a car were wrong.”

Energy Secretary Steven Chu was ebullient in September 2009 when he announced the Obama administration’s conditional backing for the California-based start-up.

“This investment will create thousands of new American jobs and is another critical step in making sure we are positioned to compete for the clean-energy jobs of the future,” Chu said in a statement at the time. He and President Obama had used similar language when heralding the future of Solyndra.

The Fisker commitment was questioned by some from the start, partly because of the company’s political connections. A key investor is a venture capital firm, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, whose partners include former Democratic vice president Al Gore. The investment house raised $2 million for Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign.

Continued12Next Page

EmailTumblrRedditStumbleuponDiggDeliciousWeigh InDiscussion PolicyAbout Discussions, Badges Newest firstOldest firstMost Recommended first SuperFan Badge

SuperFan badge holders consistently post smart, timely comments about Washington area sports and teams.