
Sonari Glinton
Sonari Glinton is a NPR Business Desk Correspondent based at our NPR West bureau. He covers the auto industry, consumer goods, and consumer behavior, as well as marketing and advertising for NPR and Planet Money.
In this position, which he has held since late 2010, Glinton has tackled big stories including GM's road back to profitability and Toyota's continuing struggles. In addition, Glinton covered the 2012 presidential race, the Winter Olympics in Sochi, as well as the U.S. Senate and House for NPR.
Glinton came to NPR in August 2007 and worked as a producer for All Things Considered. Over the years Glinton has produced dozen of segments about the great American Song Book and pop culture for NPR's signature programs most notably the 50 Great Voices piece on Nat King Cole feature he produced for Robert Siegel.
Glinton began his public radio career as an intern at Member station WBEZ in Chicago. He worked his way through his public radio internships working for Chicago Jazz impresario Joe Segal, waiting tables and meeting legends such as Ray Brown, Oscar Brown Jr., Marian MacPartland, Ed Thigpen, Ernestine Andersen, and Betty Carter.
Glinton attended Boston University. A Sinatra fan since his mid-teens, Glinton's first forays into journalism were album revues and a college jazz show at Boston University's WTBU. In his spare time Glinton indulges his passions for baking, vinyl albums, and the evolution of the Billboard charts.
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The destruction from the 1992 Los Angeles riots resulted in more than $1 billion in damaged property and city leaders began to rebuild as the city was still in flames. But the project to fix the city, Rebuild LA, ultimately failed to do just that — rebuild.
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Takata pleaded guilty and agreed to pay $1 billion in a settlement with the Justice Department over its airbags that were prone to rupture. Three Takaya executives have been charged with conspiracy.
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The smartphone chipmaker has agreed to buy NXP Semiconductors for $38 billion. The deal allows Qualcomm to rely less on the smartphone industry. NXP makes semiconductors for cars.
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The company posted a profit of nearly $22 million for the third quarter, the first quarterly profit since 2013. Tesla attributes the good results in part to new stores.
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Consumer Reports has released its Annual Reliability Survey. Lexus and Toyota are the top two, followed by Buick. The company ranks car brands based on a survey of more than a half-million car owners.
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Elon Musk, Tesla's CEO, says once the technology is fully enabled, the cars will be able to drive with no human input. Musk says previously built Teslas can't be retrofitted with the latest features.
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Most Americans say they should always have the option to drive themselves. That's despite the fact the average driver is excited by driverless technology.
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Being the state capital, home to Ohio State University and attractive to younger workers has made Columbus a nearly recession-proof economic hub of Ohio. Can its success be replicated elsewhere?
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They'll be on the road by 2021, the company says, and will build on automation already available for help with parking and avoiding traffic. The vehicles could be used for ride sharing, Uber-style.
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Tesla, which has roots in the tech world, is facing the challenge of becoming a successful car company amid scrutiny over its Autopilot technology.