A new study that concludes that rainforests absorb more CO2 than can be saved by clearing the land for biofuel crops. Razing rainforests for bio-fuels? Surely not! Uh-huh. U.S. and European government legislation mandating huge increases in ethanol consumption is already amping-up ethanol production in developing countries. Wired Science reports "In Indonesia, for example, environmentalists estimate that foreign biofuel demand will drive energy companies to clear the country's remaining peat rainforests, a valuable CO2 sink. The resulting slash-and-burn could release 50 billion tons of CO2 — nearly a decade's worth of US greenhouse emissions — into the atmosphere." Renton Rightelato, co-author of the aforementioned study, said the West's focus on biofuels distracts its citizenry from the real problem. "People feel they're saving the planet [by encouraging bio-fuels]. They're not. Biofuels are essentially being used as a way of avoiding the real problem: reducing the use of fossil fuels." Doh!

JD Powers' mob have released yet another study detailing the personal predilections of American automotive consumers. Although this reveal has a headline to warm the hearts of the BOSE Mountain Boyz– "Branding Substantially Increases the Prices Consumers Are Will to to Pay for Automotive Premium Surround Sound Audio Systems"– the survey examines the full range of "emerging technologies." JD's researchers called 17k American consumers [at dinner time] and asked them which automotive gee-whizzery floats their e-boat, both before and after price considerations. If you suck money out of the equation, U.S. car buyers are up for run-flat tires (77 percent of those polled), two-stage smart airbags (75 percent), navigation systems (70 percent) and premium surround sound (67 percent). At the bottom of the list: rear seat entertainment (49 percent), lane departure warning systems (42 percent) and in-vehicle Internet (41 percent). Put financial considerations back on the table and all the stats drop by over a half, leaving sat nav the price-conscious feature seeker's friend A 28 percent approval rating may not seem like much, but it beats the Hell out of Congress' popularity. 

According to Erica Barnett over at WorldChanging.com, the recent lane closures on Seattle's I-5 failed to create a highly anticipated traffic snarl. In fact, half of the usual 120k per day traffic simply "disappeared." This led Ms. Barnett to the only possible conclusion: eliminating roadways is an excellent way to reduce traffic! How's that again? "Drivers are adaptable. When faced with the prospect of gridlock—and given ample warning and time to prepare—people found alternate routes, rode transit, worked from home, and avoided unnecessary trips." That doesn't sound too bad at all! In fact, it sounds great! To be fair, Barnett is not entirely insensitive to the Pollyanna factor. "For congestion-as-incentive to work in the long term, it has to be paired with alternatives that are viable in the long term–flexible work schedules that allow workers to stay home a few days a week, mass transit that is affordable, frequent, and convenient, and an infrastructure that supports bike and pedestrian commuting, among other things." Yes, well, meanwhile, she says if King County Metro had provided more buses during the lane closures, they could have rendered the lanes unnecessary. Huh.

General Motors has rejected a request by the Canadian Autoworkers Union (CAW) to force employees who don't drive a GM-manufactured vehicle to pay a $100 per year parking fee and park at the back of the lot at GM plants. Newsdurhamregion.com reports plant chairman Keith Osborne told GM president Arturo Elias "people need to understand there are economic consequences that accompany their choice of vehicle." Osborne says he wants to "send a message to our membership that it is important to support the industry." Opposing: Spokesman Stew Low. "It is our desire that consumers will choose GM vehicles because they are high quality, offer the safety features and value… they are looking for. While we appreciate the idea to promote GM cars and trucks, we have decided not to move forward with the idea the union presented as some of those non-GM vehicles may belong to visitors (or) suppliers." The CAW already restricts access to their own parking lots; vehicles not built by General Motors, Chrysler and Ford are banished  to Siberia the farthest corner of the parking lot.

When the going gets tough, the unions file lawsuits. Yesterday, seven unions including the UAW asked the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to order employers to bargain with them, even if they don't represent the majority of employees. The union claims the National Labor Relations Act requires this. Daniel Halem, a lawyer who represents many employers, disagrees. He told the New York Times that "Unions must have the support of a majority of employees. This concept is totally at odds with [the petition]." The unions know they won't have much of a chance of getting the Bush-appointed NLRB to side with them. However, they're banking "that there will be a Democratic president someday who will appoint a board that will look favorably upon their argument." Hope springs eternal, or are they setting themselves up for a fall?

Car engines generate plenty of heat. According to Technology Review, researchers at MIT have a bright idea: use “thermophotovoltaics” to convert heat into light, then convert the light into electricity. The prototype system uses gasoline to heat tungsten to illuminate a photovoltaic cell to generate electricity. The hope is that systems based on this research could eventually replace the current gas-wasting alternators and air conditioning compressors. Of course, this technology hasn’t escaped the attention of the Department of Defence. "The military has had a lot of interest in it for portable power supplies in the field. Because there are no moving parts, there wouldn't be any noise, so you couldn't detect it," says NASA researcher Donald Chubb. It’ll be a few years before we see any practical applications, but as one of the key research sponsors, Toyota would be the first automaker in line.

By their own admission, General Motors' North American operations are currently doing business with negative working capital (NWC). At About.com, an unnamed investment adviser has some advice on that subject. "Negative working capital is a sign of managerial efficiency in a business with low inventory and accounts receivable. In any other situation, it is a sign a company may be facing bankruptcy or serious financial trouble." Any guess which one of those descriptions applies to GM?

Germany's AutoZeitung (via MotorAuthority) reports that Porsche is planning to create a hatchback about the size of a VW Golf. The brand defilement new model is designed to help the luxury sports car maker meet Europe's proposed, tighter CO2 emission standards. Projected for introduction after the 2009 launch of the four-door Panamera, Porsche's relatively down market parts-bin special would have a front-mounted 295hp boxer engine (from the Boxster) driving all four wheels. Porsche hasn't released any official sketches yet, but we can only pray it won't look like a 5/8 scale Cayenne. Still, with the new model's engine mass in front of the wheels, handling could be interesting– kind of like driving a 911 in reverse.

As [active] union membership at The Big 2.8 continues to dwindle, the UAW is making a full-court press on the transplants. They've already launched an attack on Toyota and now they're targeting Honda, according to The Birmingham News. After an unsuccessful attempt to organize Honda's Marysville, Ohio plant, the UAW's now focusing on the Lincoln, Alabama facility. Union representatives have been meeting with small groups of employees at the plant, which turns out 300k Odyssey minivans, Honda Pilot sport utility vehicles and V-6 engines annually. They've warned workers they can expect the company "to step up a campaign of 'fear and intimidation' against pro-union workers." UAW organizer Frank White told employees, "The company will try to divide you by gender and along racial lines. They will try to divide you on shifts, saying day shift didn't reach quota so you'll have to work harder tonight." Sounds like the union knows a few "fear and intimidation" tactics of their own.

Tesla Motors is set to send its lithium-ion battery-powered prototype Roadster on a 200-mile road trip. According to Green Wombat , it's a publicity stunt "designed to demolish the perception that electric cars are short-range put-put mobiles more suited to suburban cul-de-sacs than the open road." Tesla PR wonk David Vespremi claims it's no biggie; Tesla has already "put the car through its paces during long-distance testing." The trip is sponsored by the Hyatt hotel chain and will include several stops at Hyatts along the route. Even though Tesla claims a 200-mile range for the Roadster and they're taking it on a 200-mile road trip, AutoBlogGreen reports they'll be stopping at a Hyatt in Sacramento "to show off the charging capability (and charge the batteries)." According to Vespremi, this was "the plan all along." Funny that this plan doesn't show up in any of the news stories about the jaunt before now. TTAC has been questioning their range claims from the start; too bad the company can't won't use this opportunity to prove us wrong.

The financial press [and TTAC] has had its say about ex-Home Depot CEO Robert Nardelli's ascension to Chrysler's throne. The general consensus: there's gonna be some major ass kicking in Auburn Hills. But what do Chrysler dealers think of the executive who never met a problem that he couldn't sic Six Sigma upon? Dealer Magazine surveyed Chrysler stores around the country, asking owners for their thoughts on Boot'em Bob. Obviously, the results were carefully edited and selected to represent a wide range of opinions (lest anyone think Chrysler dealers have an adversarial relationship with the company that turned channel stuffing into an art form, dreams of culling them like an African game keeper facing a plague of elephants and restricted access to the corporation's used car inventory). We get the expected "we are hopeful" and "it's too early to tell." And then… "There are too many name plates in the Chrysler Jeep Dodge lines, many of which are in direct competition with each other. How would Chrysler Corp look if Chrysler were the car line, Dodge the truck line, and Jeep the SUV line?" "Nardelli may be capable in GE or Home Depot areas but the auto biz is a whole different game." "The first thing to do is make products that people truly want to own." I guess they told him. 

GM plans to spend at least $100m to promote the new Chevy Malibu. In hopes of making the model more competitive against Camry and Accord and less of a fleet queen, GM has given the Malibu an Opelized makeover. John Wolkonowicz reckons "This will be the nicest-looking mid-size car out there. It's simple, and it looks capable and looks aggressive." But the Global Insight analyst also warns, "If they think they are going to cannibalize a bunch of sales from Camry and Accord drivers, they are fooling themselves. You're not going to change those people's minds." Bloomberg.com describes the Malibu as "the latest Lutz-inspired model that GM Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner is counting on to help end a seven-year slide in U.S. sales and recover from more than $12 billion in losses in 2005 and 2006." Here's hoping that the Malibu will be more successful in that mission than the last automotive marines sent to storm the beaches: Chevrolet Silverado, Saturn Aura, and Lambda crossovers (Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook).

CNN Money reports that side impact tests performed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) rate the 2008 BMW 5-Series as "marginal." The result placed the Bimmer at the bottom of a six-member "luxury sedan" pack (providing you accept the Amanti as a member of that group). The IIHS test shows that you're be better off sitting in a Kia if your whip gets T-boned by an SUV at 31 mph. ["Good:" Kia Amanti, Acura RL, Volvo S80; "acceptable;" Cadillac STS, Mercedes E-Class; "marginal:" BMW 5-Series.] The test is not without controversy; to mimic a truck, the IIHS' side impact sled plows into the target vehicle ABOVE the car's side impact beam. In that case, side impact airbags are your best friend. In the 5-Series' case, air bags coddled the dummy's head, but chest and abdomen airbags "performed poorly." BMW's spokesman says the IIHS dummy was injured by the arm rest. "The issue is that depending on the location of seat, the location of dummy, the location of the sled, the results could change," Thomas Plucinsky told The Detroit News. "This was one test on one day on one car." And a bad day it was too. 

In an uncharacteristic gesture of solidarity with beleaguered UK motorists, the British government is drawing up rules that would stop city councils using parking tickets to raise revenue and ease off their clamping campaigns, mate. Christian Today reports that the UK Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly wants city councils abandon revenue targets for meter maids. What's more, these oft-reviled civil servants should only summon the dreaded clamper (how Dickensian is that?) as a last resort for motorists who "persistently break the rules" or fail to pay parking fines. Unfortunately, the proscriptions would only apply to council employees, not the legions of "cowboy clampers" roaming urban areas in the name of the rule-of-law CO2 reduction congestion prevention profit. Edmund King of the RAC motorists' group will be glad to see the back of aggressive city clampers, comparing the practice to a legendary English highwayman. "Clamping is a crude activity which should have been outlawed at the time of Dick Turpin."

By law, foreign automakers seeking a foothold in China must form joint ventures (JVs) with domestic “partners.” As we've outlined before, there's an immediate downside: China's scant regard for intellectual property rights (IPR). For example, GM found itself suing Chinese automaker Chery (whose name middle-finger salutes Chevy) over the QQ, a blatant copy of the Daewoo Matiz. The case was settled out of court, but the issue of IPR remains unresolved. Now that Chinese automakers are consolidating and striking out on their own, what’s going to happen to their foreign partners and their IPR? What do you think?