Kickstart: Don't float away

As we reach the warm, lazy days of summer (at least in the Northern Hemisphere) it's important to remember not to relax too much while floating on an inflatable raft or toy.

During the first week of June, crews from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution stationed at Appledore in southern England in the United Kingdom, were called out when three men on an inflatable duck found themselves pulled out to sea.

"A member of the public immediately went out to them on his paddleboard to help and try to bring the men back to shore," RNLI Appledore wrote in a news release. "Struggling against the current, the man managed to tow the inflatable closer to shore, where the men all jumped out and swam to the beach. The inflatable was immediately blown back out to sea."

The paddle boarder was a hero, the rescue crew said, adding that no one should take an inflatable into the open ocean because there is no way to control them.

All three men made it home safely. The duck was recovered, adopted as an "apprentice crew member" and named Quackers.

Federal spending to support the growth of U.S.-based electric vehicle production — and all the components needed to make those EVs including individual battery components — is leading to massive announcements and investments.

A new lithium-ion battery separator plant by Entek Manufacturing Inc. in Terre Haute, Ind., is just one example. Automakers also are putting big dollars into battery projects. Toyota Motor North America just announced it was building a $50 million battery lab at its research and development center in York Township, Mich.

"[Toyota] will also work with other North American partner suppliers to incorporate locally-produced battery parts and materials in support," the company said in a news release.

The story behind the advanced manufacturing production tax credit — Section 45X — within the Inflation Reduction Act is a bit complicated, though, as Audrey LaForest of Automotive News (and formerly of PN) writes.

"Just one 75-kWh battery pack could mean a tax credit of $2,625 for the battery cell manufacturer and $750 for the module maker," she writes, adding that, "with that kind of cash on the table, the credits have come under scrutiny."

Check out her story for more background on just what the credits may mean for suppliers and car buyers.

Auto supplier Faurecia SE is now, officially, Forvia SE.

The French auto supplier first announced the planned name change in 2022 when Faurecia acquired lighting supplier Hella. But both the Faurecia and Hella names continued to be used for brand names with Forvia as a corporate structure.

On May 30, Faurecia shareholders officially approved the new name.

CEO Patrick Koller marked the change June 9 by ringing the bell to start the trading day at the Euronext stock exchange.