The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Tesla Motors, Ford Motor, Toyota Motor, Daimler and Honeywell International

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Aug 22, 2013, 09:30 ET

CHICAGO, Aug. 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include Tesla Motors, Inc. (Nasdaq:TSLA-Free Report), Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F-Free Report), Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE:TM-Free Report), Daimler AG (OTC:DDAIF-Free Report) and Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE:HON-Free Report).

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Here are highlights from Wednesday's Analyst Blog:

Tesla Model S Gets Highest Safety Rating

Tesla Motors, Inc.'s (Nasdaq:TSLA-Free Report) Model S has won the top vehicle safety rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The Model S obtained a five-star rating overall and also for each of its subcategories. This is indeed a coveted award for Tesla as only 1% of cars tested receive the 5-star rating from NHTSA. The board assesses vehicle performance in frontal, side and rear crash tests and resistance to rollover.

While the star ratings have a cap of 5, the Vehicle Safety Score (VSS) can cross this cap, although it happens rarely. However, Model S has managed to obtain a score of 5.4. With this, Tesla's Model S sedan ensures exceptional safety to the passengers as it has the lowest possibility of injury to passengers among all major cars sold in the U.S. The safety score of this sedan exceeded the score of most sports utility vehicles and minivans.

Model S does not have a gasoline engine block. Thus, the front section of the car provides a significantly longer crumple zone to absorb a high speed impact. The long crumple zone ensures better safety to the occupants.

Moreover, Model S is equipped with multiple deep aluminum extrusions in the side rail. This helps in absorbing the impact energy of a side pole intrustion and spreads the load to the rest of the vehicle. As a result, Model S became the sole car in the top 1% of the tested cars to receive a good rating in the side pole intrusion test. The sedan preserved 63.5% of the driver residual space compared with 7.8% for the Volvo S60, which also received 5-star rating from NHTSA in all categories.

The vehicle offers a double rear bumper if the optional third row seat is installed. This provides protection against a highway speed impact in the rear and avoids any disabling injury to the third row occupants. In the rollover test, Tesla's Model S is significantly better than other sedans as the battery pack of the car is placed below the floor pan, which provides a very low center of gravity and ensures safety.

Even Ford Motor Co.'s (NYSE:F-Free Report) 2013 Ford Focus Electric was awarded the top vehicle safety rating by the NHTSA in February. In the New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) testing by NHTSA, Focus obtained a five-star Overall Vehicle Score. The 2013 and 2014 Ford Focus sedan and hatchback were also bestowed with a five-star Overall Vehicle Score.

Tesla designs and manufactures electric vehicles and electric vehicle power train components for partners including Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE:TM-Free Report) and Daimler AG (OTC:DDAIF-Free Report). Tesla anticipates delivering little over 5,000 Model S vehicles in the third quarter of 2013 and 21,000 vehicles globally in 2013. It currently retains a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Honeywell's PKS Finds Taker

Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE:HON-Free Report) recently announced that Antipinsky Refinery CJSC will use its Experion Process Knowledge System (PKS), which provides information about refinery operations. Antipinsky will be deploying the system to control plant processes and general refinery facilities. Experion PKS is to be deployed during the third stage of construction of Antipinsky oil refinery.

The new construction is likely to double the refinery's capacity to 7.5 million tons annually and catch up with the growing demand for clean fuels and other oil products in Russia and the European Union (EU). Also, demand for Antipinsky Refinery products throughout Russia and the EU is moving higher. The products produced from the Antipinsky Refinery next year will comply with the EU quality of the Euro-5 emission standard. In addition, this project also includes the construction of a water treatment plant, sewage treatment plant, steam generation plant and other general refinery facilities with construction expected to be complete by the end of this year. Also, Honeywell will open a new office in Tyumen, Russia, which will serve oil and gas customers in Western Siberia.

With the adoption of Honeywell's PKS system, the operators will be able to manage the refinery in a more efficient way, improve operational flexibility, take informed decisions and resolve the challenges that the plant faces. The advanced automation system by Honeywell is likely to improve the overall productivity of the plant and at the same time ensure the safety and security of employees.

Honeywell is a global diversified technology and manufacturing company with a wide range of aerospace products and services, control, sensing and security technologies for buildings, homes and industry, turbochargers, automotive products, specialty chemicals, electronic and advanced materials, process technology for refining and petrochemicals, and energy efficient products and solutions for homes, business and transportation. In the last reported quarter, Honeywell reported revenues of $9.7 billion, up 2.7% year-over-year.

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