Late Wednesday, siouxcityjournal.com was the first to report on the expansion of Stream’s contract call center in Sergeant Bluff, “Stream addign 300 jobs.”

The suburban Boston-based company attributed the new hiring, which will raise total local employment to about 1,100, to added business growth by the clients the local call center supports. They include Sirius XM, Apple, Nike and Intuit.

Could the “cash for clunkers” auto incentive program be contributed to at least some of the Sergeant Bluff growth growth. The Wall Street reported Thursday that Sirius in the third quarter began adding satellite radio subscribers for the first time since December, “Sirius makes strides in third quarter.”

Sirius XM, which ran into financing difficulties that nearly sent it into bankruptcy early this year, before Liberty Media Corp. took a 40% stake, got a boost during the third quarter from cash-for-clunkers, the federal goverment program that paid consumers to trade in their gas-guzzlers for new, more fuel-efficient models.

The purchase of many new models comes with a subscription to Sirius XM. To activate the service, owners must call an 800 number. Customers service representatives at the Sergeant Bluff center handle many of those inbound calls, helping Sirius subscribers not only set up their service, but also answer questions about it afterwards.

Ford has issued the single-largest recall in its history, warning owners of certain models of SUVs, vans and trucks that a faulty switch could create a fire hazard, ”Ford recall his 4.5 million vehicles.”

Ford is notifying customers and instructing them to take vehicles to certified dealers, including those in Siouxland, for a complimentary installation of a fused wiring harness that will eliminate the risk of fires, the National Highway Traffic Safety Adminstration said.

The safety recall is expected to begin around Oct. 26. Owners may contact Ford at 1-800-392-3673 or NTHSA’s vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 or log on here.

Still wanting to trade in your gas-guzzler for a new fuel-efficient ride? Worry no more. The U.S. Senate is coming to the rescue, “Deal to extend cash for clunkers.”

The world’s most deliberative body struck a deal late Wednesday to save the popular “cash-for-clunkers” program from the scrap heap. Senate Democrats and Republicans agreed to vote today on a $2 billion infusion in the program, which offers rebates of up to $4,500 to motorists who junk old vehicles with low gas mileage for qualifying new fuel-efficient models.

The deal should comes as a relief to both new car dealers and consumers, who are expected to have access to the incentives through September. The program has been so successful that it burned through its initial $1 billion in funding in just a week.

Last week, the rebate program helped Siouxland dealerships sell dozens of new cars, depleting their inventories of many models.

Compacts and subcompacts have been the top sellers nationwide, with Honda Civic, Ford Focus and Toyota Corolla topping the list, according to industry and government reports.

What type of vehicles have been the most destroyed through the program? Older SUVs, not surprisingly. The 1998, 1997, 1996 and 1999 Ford Explorer hold the top four spots currently.

Check out the Top 10 list for both clunker trade-ins and cash for clunker sales, here.

Has ”Cars for Clunkers” come to the end of the road? The Obama administration says the wildly popular car incentive program would be suspended by week’s end without an infusion of cash, “LaHood: Car rebates will stop unless Senate acts.”

The federal government blew through the first $1 billion in about a week’s time, as thousands of consumers junked their old gas-guzzling cars and trucks for incentives of up to $4,500 to buy new models with better gas mileage.

President Obama is pressuring senators to approve the additional $2 billion to keep the rebate program afloat.

In the last week, Siouxlanders have flocked to local dealerships to take advantage of the one-time incentives. The rush has boosted sales and left many dealers with depleted inventories of popular high-mileage vehicles.

Watch my story in print and online Tuesday on what’s been happening with the story locally. I also am set to appear on KTIV live at 5 p.m. tonight to discuss the current status of the program.

Is there new life for local car dealers that Chrysler and General Motors discarded in their bankruptcy proceedings?

The U.S. House is scheduled to vote today a bill that would require the automakers to restore their franchise agreements as a condition of receiving federal aid. The plan is strongly opposed by both GM and Chrysler, as well as President Obama, whose administration strong armed the bankruptcy reorganizations for the U.S. automakers, ”Obama opposes House plan to protect auto dealers”

Lawmakers complain that the automakers cut dealerships with little notice or explanation, and hurt local economies already reeling from the recession.

Chrysler shut down 789 dealerships, including five in Northwest Iowa, last month. GM GM plans to shutter about 2,400 dealerships, including a dozen or more in Siouxland, by October 2010. Unlike Chrysler, GM has not publicly disclosed its list of dealers being eliminated.

The bill is likely to pass the House, but it faces an uncertain future in the Senate, where Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley has introduced similar legislation. The idea has received a chilly response, however, from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, who said Thursday, ”yesterday that “when you have a bankruptcy, there are winners and losers.”

Update: The House approved the auto dealer measure late Thursday as part of a broader spending bill.

Top brass from General Motors and Chrysler were back on Capitol Hill today, where they took yet another grilling at a congressional hearing, “GM, Chrysler executives defend dealership closings.”

GM CEO Fritz Henderson and Chrysler Deputy CEO Jim Press told a skeptical House panel that the decision to let go hundreds of dealers across the country was painful but necessary to preserve the automakers as they emerge from bankruptcy.

Henderson told the panel that 95 percent of the roughly 4,100 eligible GM dealers have signed up to be part of the new automaker that emerges from bankruptcy.” Almost 90 percent of dealerships slated for termination had signed or verbally agreed to wind-down terms by today’s deadline.

In print in the Journal today, I report on the GM agreements, which one dealer described as having a loaded gun pointed at your head. All of the area dealers I spoke to said they had or planned to sign either the so-called participation or wind-down agreements.

A pair of court rulings today cleared the way for final approval of Chrysler’s partnership with Italy’s Fiat.

In Washington, D.C., the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal by a trio of Indiana pension and construction funds, consumer groups and others to block the automaker’s sale, ”Supreme Court to let Chrysler sale go forward.”

Meanwhile in New York, a bankruptcy judge approved Chrysler’s plan to terminate 789 of its dealer franchises.

U.S. Judge Arthur Gonzalez’s order says the franchises, which represent about 25 percent of the company’s dealer base, can no longer act as authorized Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep dealers, effective immediately.

The decision appears to end any faint hopes the affected dealers had of keeping their franchises beyond today.

Siouxland dealers losing their Dodge, Chrysler or Jeep franchises include Motor Inn of Le Mars and Estherville, Iowa; McCormick Motors in Ida Grove, Schuelke Auto Co. in Storm Lake and Ken Krause Motors in Emmetsburg.

For five area Chrysler dealers, today is likely the final day they can sell new Dodge, Chrysler or Jeep autos or do factory-backed warranty work.

Chrysler is expected to get bankruptcy court approve today to eliminate nearly 800 dealers, or a quarter of network. Judge Arthur Gonzalez, who is overseeing the case, has indicated he will approve the motion to reject dealers, largely because the dealers were not part of the sale of most Chrysler assets to Italian automaker Fiat.

But a group of rejected dealers argue a ruling Monday by the U.S. Supreme Court indicates the bankruptcy court should scuttle plans to end those dealer agreements, ”Chrysler to sever dealers, but move may be delayed.”

The Siouxland dealers who are set to lose their Dodge, Chrysler or Jeep franchises include Motor Inn of Le Mars and Estherville, Iowa; McCormick Motors in Ida Grove, Schuelke Auto Co. in Storm Lake and Ken Krause Motors in Emmetsburg.

The U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily delayed the sale of most of Chrysler’s assets to Italian automaker Fiat.

The Detroit Free-Press reports
the one-page order by Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg stopped the sale “pending further order” by her or the full court, based on an appeal by three Indiana pension funds holding $45 million in Chrysler’s secured loans. Ginsburg gave no time frame for when those next orders might arrive.

“Ginsburg could still lift the stay and let the sale proceed at any moment, or attempt to have the case heard by the full court, a step that could delay the transaction for months. Four other justices would have to agree with Ginsburg to force a hearing by the full court.”

It’s uncertain what impact, if any, the decision will have on the nearly 800 Chrysler dealers, including five in Siouxland, that are set to lose their franchises on Tuesday.

Read the Supreme Court order here.

I’ll be appearing live on KTIV’s 5 p.m. newscast tonight to discuss the latest developments surrounding Chrysler and GM as the automakers each attempt to emerge from bankruptcy.