As previously reported, Chrysler's new task masters are getting tough in their efforts to cull the automaker's 3700 member U.S. dealer network. After excluding under-performing Chrysler stores from the company's dealer-only used car auctions, Sales Suit Steven Landry has sent 173 dealers formal notification that they have to increase sales in six months or else (i.e. lose their franchise). Hang on. That's not it. "We're not going after any dealers to get rid of them," Steven Landry told The Detroit Free Press. "The notes that we sent out say that you are under-performing by a very high degree compared to other dealers in your market, and we'd like them to improve their performance." The question is: how? Surely providing dealers with vehicles people want to buy is the best way to improve their performance. Surely putting so much pressure on the dealers that they cut corners, screw customers and sully Chrysler's name for decades to come is the worst possible solution. Oh wait. Private equity firms don't think long term. Right. Carry on.  

The battle to shape the urban landscape continues, with plenty of planners considering cars machina non gratis. Despite the automotive demonization, some cities have realized that pedestrianization sacrifices commerce on the altar of political correctness. Providence, Rhode Island and other urban centers have learned that lesson the hard way. Add St. Albans, West Virginia to the list. The Sunday Gazette-Mail reports that the town is about to re-open the pedestrianized city center to four-wheeled travelers, hoping to recapture lost biz from the suburban malls. The move is in sync with former New York City urban planner Alexander Garvin theories, as found in The American City, What Works, What Doesn't. "Well-conceived, privately managed shopping centers manipulate the flow of customers from their point of arrival to their destinations. For the most part, cities are unable to do this because they neither own the properties that abut the public streets nor determine who will lease them. In short, "pedestrianization cannot attract a market where none exists." 

We repeat: the Toyota Prius is the official car of the intellectually superior. According to InsideBayArea.com, after trailing Camry, Corolla, Accord, and Civic in Santa Clara County in California's Silicon Valley last year, Prius has outsold all four through May of this year. Ron Diridon, executive director of the Mineta Transportation Institute at San Jose State University and himself a Prius militant owner, shows no lack of hubris in his assessment of the situation: "The intellectual capacity within Silicon Valley is amazing. That higher level of education reflects a higher level of understanding of the terrible consequences of global warming." Intellectual superiority aside, the free pass to the carpool lane that was available for Prius drivers, the outrageous price of gas in California and the fact you can now buy a Prius for less than sticker had a bit to do with it as well.

SG Gate columnist Arrol Gellner reckons as goeth San Francisco, so goeth America. Opposing the Vietnam War, spearheading ecological concerns, mandating energy-efficient buildings, banning smoking in public places, demanding equal access for the disabled and now, hybrid vehicles. Where would the United States be without "Berkeley radical thinking?" Gellner's self-congratulatory diatribe claims the large number of hybrids humming about Berkley signal "the beginning of the end for conventional internal-combustion-powered vehicles." Ignoring Ford and Chrysler entirely, Gellner says Detroit missed this boat "thanks to the monumental stupidity, shortsightedness and greed of General Motors executives, who preferred to wallow in the lucrative SUV trough while foreign competitors did their homework. Maybe those GM folks should've gotten out of the boardroom now and then, and taken a drive around Berkeley." Bong optional?

Canada's Report on Business had a good old chin wag with Steven Landry. Chryslerberus' Canadian-born and educated executive vice-president NAFTA sales, global marketing service and parts is charged with reigniting the market for the automaker's new, Canadian-built minivan. According to Landry, Swivel 'N Go seating is the key. "It becomes a lifestyle type of vehicle versus a people transporter." The new minivans will also sport a dual TV system; second and third row sprogs can watch different satellite TV channels or DVDs– unless you're sitting in the second row facing the third row, in which case you can watch the third row watching the screen. Siriusly. If Chyslerberus was going down this path, why doesn't their van have a bed or move the Caliberesque "chillzone" drinks cooler to the rear? In short, it looks like the van's success will ultimately depend on the aftermarket. 

I've been wary of GM's alt propulsion press vehicles since ’04, when The General faked a hybrid test drive with Autoweek, slapping a cod cover on a pushrod powerplant. So I approached USA Today scribe James Healey’s review of the hybrid Tahoe with no small amount of skepticism. "GM says the electric-only mode could take you to 32 mph under ideal conditions. But the test showed that accelerating in traffic means electric-only lasts only up to about 10 mph." Oops. "Tahoe's gasoline engine shuddered as it fired up and began contributing power. Expect the shakes to be gone in regular production models, says Mark Cieslak, chief engineer for GM's full-size trucks." Doh! But wait! There's more!

The Greenwich Times reports that a traffic engineer's plan to cut accidents caused congestion, chaos and near crashes. When the town added four-way stops (a.k.a. Mexican standoffs) in the city center, bad things happened: "A Bentley turning right from Maple onto North also failed to stop after coming around the bend in the road, causing a near collision with a car turning from North Maple. Other cars approaching the intersection from North Maple backed up while waiting for North Street traffic to make the turn, thinking that the other direction still had the right of way at the intersection." The Times dutifully chased down some of the selectmen who'd approved the scheme. Selectman Peter Crumbine, who got caught in the traffic on his way to Town Hall, was unequivocol. "It was the worst backup that I've seen in the 25 years that I've been driving up and down North Street. The initial indication is that the trial is less than a rousing success.” The Times also noted that Town Traffic Engineer Garo Garabedian was out of the office yesterday and not available for comment. 

The Chinese auto market is booming. Thirty-four new models entered the PRC fray in the first half of this year. Unfortunately, "booming market" doesn't necessarily equate to high sales. Gasgoo.com makes the point with their list of the ten worst-selling cars in China. There are a few familiar names on there: Acura TL, Mitsubishi Galant, Kia Rio, Hyundai Sonata and Toyota Prius. The list also includes the car that Buick fanboys have lusted after, the Holden-based Park Avenue. It'll be interesting to see how long they keep these models on the market in China, or if they'll try to export them to maintain production in the face of low sales.

Ford's soy foam seat cushions are so not enough. Reliable Plant magazine reports that students at the University of Warwick in Coventry, UK, have built a car using botanical materials for almost everything save the frame and engine. The open-wheel single-passenger car features a body made from hemp, tires that started life on a potato farm and brake pads that once grew on a cashew tree. Suitably-named project manager Ben Wood claims he can get the car up to 150 mph "given a long straight and a tailwind." Wood hopes to design a race car that is "95 percent biodegradable or recyclable." If these products carry over into passenger car design, will the manufactures offer a 100K mile warranty against termite damage?

Bloomberg reports that Honda's first quarter earnings are up 16% over last year. Honda President President Takeo Fukui attributes the rise in profits to several factors, ranging from the weak Japanese yen making exports cheaper to the success of the new CR-V and Civic in capturing U.S. market share from Detroit's own. While incentives have reduced operating profits in the U.S., the overall outlook is still healthy- primarily due to an increase of 9.5% in overseas production. Which is just as well. Bloomberg also reports that Japan's domestic automotive output may fall, as Riken (Japan's largest maker of piston rings for engines) shut down production after the July 16 earthquake in Niigata prefecture. Pre-quake, Honda's domestic production had already fallen 4.8 percent.

The Level Field Institute calls itself "an automotive research organization founded by retired autoworkers." In practice, they're a Big 2.8-funded pressure group Hell bent on protecting Detroit's interests in Washington. Well, maybe. Their newly-launched manifesto on federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards argues against proposals to eliminate dual standards (separate foreign and U.S.-made fleet averages). They correctly conclude that this part of the Senate bill would kill U.S. small car production– which would be great for Detroit's profits and not so great for U.S. autoworkers. Conflict? The Left Level Fielders' ad also state that the Senate bill should force automakers to produce flex fuel vehicle, as it will "encourage U.S. jobs in Midwestern states hardest hit by manufacturing job losses." Quite how the Institute's researchers decided Detroit should beat cars into plowshares without help from, say, the ethanol lobby, is something of a mystery. Unless…

`If we have the worst case coming out of Washington, all bets are off. We don't know how to get there without spending $6,000 or $7,000 per car.'' In his battle to kneecap the Senate bill designed to raise federal corporate average fuel economy standards, GM's Car Czar has added $4k to $5k per car to his original estimate of the legislation's impact on GM's costs. Lutz' numbers reflect a new, theoretical strategy for meeting the new, theoretical legislation: an all-hybrid lineup. Lutz told Bloomberg that GM's current hybrid system costs about $10k per vehicle. If used on all cars and trucks, the cost would fall to $6k to $7k. Alternatively, nothing. And what about the four percent per year mandate after the new standards are met? Lawmakers might as well mandate that cars "float four inches off the ground." Huh?

Readers who’ve accompanied me on this long, strange trip– from my automotive awakening to this, the final installment of my Auto-Biography– may recall my earliest childhood memory: riding in a 1950’s VW Beetle in Austria. The bug was the automotive womb from which I sprang. I’ve carried the Volkswagen DNA ever since. Even as a freewheeling young adult, I was a loyal Volkswagonista. Eventually I strayed, looking for more space, speed, comfort and even prestige. But I’ve finally returned to my automotive happy place, reunited with my one true love.

California cops have been seizing automobiles driven by [alleged] drug buyers or johns and forcing them to pay $200 to $2k impound fees to get them back. Now, they have to stop (the cities involved that is). FOX40 News reports that the California State Supreme Court has ruled that the municipalities were overstepping their legal bounds. By impounding the cars, the cities were exceeding the penalties imposed by state and federal laws; only the state can dole out penalties for drug or prostitution-related offenses. The ruling doesn't affect similar laws that allow police to seize cars participating in street racing or "sideshows." Chicago, Miami and other U.S. cities may have to follow suit– or face being subject to one.

Back in May, investment bank UBS and auto engineering firm Ricardo released a report entitled “Is Diesel set to boom in the US?” The document concluded that hybrid technology is America’s preferred propulsion, partly due to the vehicles’ “visible badge of green awareness amongst higher income purchasers.” BUT the authors predicted that diesel sales will outpace hybrids by 300K units by 2012 (1.5m diesels vs. 1.2m hybrids). Yesterday, The Wall Street Journal revealed that Porsche will forgo diesel power and produce a hybrid-engined Cayenne. Max Warburton, a UBS analyst in London, was offended: “They say diesel isn’t consistent with their brand, but a hybrid is? I can’t see that. If they don’t do diesel, it’s going to limit the growth of their company.” And that’s a bad thing?