CLYDE, OH-Whirpool plans to invest $175 million in its existing northern Ohio facility to add two new production lines for building energy-efficient washing machines. MORE

BIRMINGHAM, AL-Automotive supplier Royal Technologies Corp. is investing $30 million to build a new interior trim plan in Alabama. MORE

BOSTON-BG Automotive Group has begun to visit potential sites in and around the Boston area to locate a facility to assemble electric vehicles. The company will require about 150 employees per shift per facility. MORE

CHATTANOOGA, TN-Volkswagen has released an image of the new vehicle set for production at the carmaker’s assembly plant being built at Enterprise South. The four-door car, known at this point only as the NMS for “new mid-sized sedan,” will be slightly larger than the Passat. MORE

BERLIN-Many workers in Germany see working part time as preferable to possibly losing one's job entirely. MORE

DETROIT-Whatever its track record with alternative-fuel vehicles, General Motors is not giving short shrift to the 2010 Chevrolet Volt in the financial viability plan it is submitting to Congress. MORE

FORT COLLINS, CO-Solar panel manufacturer AVA Solar Inc. lifted the veil on its new assembly plant near Longmont, CO, to accommodate a visit from Sen. Mark Udall, D-CO. Udall joined senior AVA executives, board members and much of the company’s 175-member workforce on a tour of the plant, where production has begun on photovoltaic generating modules. MORE

WASHINGTON-President Obama’s $787.2 billion economic recovery bill includes an unprecedented $8 billion for the construction of high-speed rail lines and the purchase of engines and rolling stock. MORE

LINCOLN, AL-Honda has begun building Ridgeline pickup trucks at its assembly plant in Alabama. MORE

DETROIT-General Motors is said to be considering shutting or selling as many as four European plants as it tries to meet the terms of a U.S. government bailout. MORE