As Tesla prepares to miss another deadline release its electric sports car to its customers, there's a chance competitors may get there first. Or at least do it better. We've already reported Danish designer Henrik Fisker's ambitions. The Telegraph reveals that another upstart start-up is aiming at Tesla's target market. The UK's Lightning will be powered by four wheel-mounted electric motors hooked-up to Nano Titanate batteries. According to their maker, the Lightning's power pack won't explode or catch fire, charges to 90 percent of capacity in 10 minutes, doesn't mind extreme temperatures ("think mobile phone left in freezing car") and lasts 15 years. All that and a Kevlar and fiberglass body sexy enough to give the great Dane wood. The Lightning will cost £150k. We find that fact strangely reassuring, as well as MD Chris Dell's refreshing realism about his progeny's prospects. "I'm quite confident that Lightning will have a car running by the end of the year and that it's likely to do pretty much what is claimed. Whether anything like it will ever be affordable while there's oil on the planet is another matter. If nothing else, it might make people realise there are alternatives and, if they really want to walk as green as they talk, governments need to start encouraging them. The political challenges might prove tougher than the technology."

Autoblog Green reports that Honda UK has upbraided UK parents for not car pooling to school. "Nearly half of all parents who drive their children to school, take only one child in their car," Honda chided potential customers. "As a result there are over five million empty seats on Britain’s school run every day." What's more, "If these same parents drove a people carrier, like the six-seat Honda FR-V [you know, just for example], a staggering 942,596 cars would vanish from the roads during the school run." That's quite a claim (and a VERY strange image). But wait! There's a less Honda-intensive solution. "Honda’s research found that parents are able to share lifts – 60 per cent said they knew of another child within 500 metres of their home that attended the same school as their own child.” That's the kind of PC stat that made us check the source: an internet opt-in survey on tickbox.net. Still, it's plenty clever PR. And we reckon it's only a matter of time before Honda's green strategy ramps-up on this side of the pond.  

Henrik Fisker left Aston Martin to reskin (and rename) the BMW 6-Series (Latigo) and Mercedes SL55 (Tramonto). When we spoke with Danish designer back in May '06, we were not entirely convinced there was enough of a difference between "coachbuilding" and "tuning" to justify the $200k premium Fisker asked for his sheetmetal makeover and [relative to Alpine and Brabus] mild performance tweaks. So we were not surprised to read that lackluster sales (15 claimed units) have led the great Dane to go green. Hoping that F. Scott Fitzgerald was wrong about that whole "no second act" thing, Fisker's now a Tesla wannabe. He's hooked-up with Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide. Together they might will build a $100k plug-in hybrid. Of the exact details of this venture– platform, body style, propulsion, etc,– Fisker knows says nothing. But he's well into the whole eco-cake-and-eat-it deal. "We want people to drive beautiful fast cars that make environmental sense– cars that are eco-chic and will have less of an impact on global warming."

As I drove to my neighborhood Kia dealer, the window signage caught my eye. Actually, make that grabbed both eyeballs and ripped them out, Oedipus-style. DRIVE TODAY! NO CREDIT! BAD CREDIT! I wondered how long before the words “What price are you looking to pay?” would effect the same injury to my ears. While dealerships like this make Kia’s 100,000 mile warranty look like a mixed blessing, let’s face it: they know their market. As does the Kia Optima.

Back in the day, the descriptive phrase "living room on wheels" applied to an automobile was a compliment. That I never got. I simply couldn't understand why anyone would want to experience the joys of driving completely insulated from the joys of driving. While I didn't expect everyone to lust after a Dino (the car, not the animated dinosaur), there were BMWs and Mercedes and Toyotas and VWs about that offered a Miley Cyrus solution. Why couldn't Detroit at least move in that direction? When I drove the first Honda Accord, I rejoiced: the Japanese "got it:" road feel, steering feel, handling, braking, the works. I remember thinking right then and there that Detroit was going to get its butt kicked. I was wrong and I was right. As the success of the originall Lexus LS proved, the Japanese understood that building better American-style (i.e. pillow-soft and deadly silent) cars than the Americans was the key to mainstream success. While there are plenty of driver's cars for sale these days, it behooves those of us who prefer them to remember that most people don't. Or do they? If you put an Avalon driver in a BMW 3-Series, would they eventually learn to stop worrying and learn to love the Bimmer? The success of the new Lancer suggests not.

It's no secret that the profit on a used car can be several orders of magnitude greater than the now-minuscule markup on a new car. It's also not unknown that an super-abundance of dealers and a deadly dearth of customers have left hundreds of Ford and Buick-Pontiac-GMC dealers in the soup, struggling to sell enough new cars to stay in business. Ward's Dealer Business reports a new trend: dealers who let their new car franchise lapse and carry on selling used vehicles. Unable to carry a 56 new car inventory, The Davis Auto Mart near Lansing, Michigan handed-in their Buick-Pontiac-GMC. San Diego's Bob Baker Auto Group ditched their Ford franchise this month. The movement will benefit The Big 2.8, who desperately need to trim their bloated dealer network. Meanwhile, it appears that there's plenty of life after dis-enfranchisement. The owner of Performance Auto Mall in Syracuse says the chief advantage of a new car franchise– access to good quality used cars– is history. "Years ago, with new-car shingles, we could go to factory auctions and buy good cars of all brands below market,” Ron Boukair told Ward's. "I now can buy a Chevy Impala for $1,000 less on the Internet than I could get at a closed factory auction." 

The University of Michigan's Transportation Research Institute have released the prosaically titled report "The Effect of Lead-Vehicle Size on Driver Following Behavior." Its authors gave randomly selected drivers (Hey! You!) video-equipped cars for two to five weeks, and then studied their driving behavior. The result: passenger car drivers followed light trucks at shorter distances than they followed passenger cars by an average of 5.6 m (18.6 ft), but at the same velocities and range-rates." Bizarrely enough, when drivers could see through, over or around lead vehicles, they maintained significantly longer (i.e., safer) following distances. The study's authors have a message for truck-tailgating drivers: being able to see a big ass vehicle's stop lights ain't enough. Back off jack. (Only in more scientific language.)

Like most U.S. states, Connecticut has a "lemon law" for consumers who buy a defective vehicle. In the Constitution state, the offending manufacturer must provide a refund or a comparable new vehicle AND reimburse buyers for certain other charges, including sales taxes. Chrysler wants that tax money back, even though its paid by the consumer (not the manufacturer) and a superior court judge said go sing. The RepublicanAmerican reports that Connecticut's Attorney General is not amused by Chrysler's decision to take its case to the state supreme court. "It could be called the height of chutzpah for a car manufacturer that sells a defective car to seek repayment for the tax paid by the consumer," Richard Blumenthal kvetched. Chrysler spokesperson Elaine (no relation) Lutz says the state's picking on carmakers. "Connecticut retailers are entitled to reimbursement of sales tax on refunds to consumers. Chrysler is asking… for the same treatment." You'd think Chrysler would want to keep stum about its lemons, but there are millions of dollars at stake. Oy. 

Detroit News columnist John McCormick’s [undeclared] Caddy junket hath yielded a (gasp!) positive review of the new CTS. "Ready to confound your expectations," "pleasing evolution," "goes head to head with the best," yada yada yada. But before his paean to the brand whose "excellent progress" has resulted in a double digit sales decline, McCormick takes a few shots at potential Caddy customers who are unaware of the majesty that is the CTS. "The problem, as Cadillac general manager Jim Taylor acknowledges, is that even with brand new, competitive product, it is difficult to convey even basic information to buyers who are not knowledgeable enthusiasts." What was that about GM's $2.9b annual ad spend? Never mind. As far as McCormick is concerned, Detroit can't buy a break with the key demographic: German car-loving effete intellectual bi-coastal snobs. (Lexus doesn't get a look in.) "But with the launch of the all new 2008 CTS, Cadillac feels even more deserving of attention from the blinkered coastal sets." We repeat: there is no perception gap. 

Unlike enlightened TTAC readers, your average Wall Street type believes that The Big 2.8's survival recovery hinges on transferring their health care liabilities to a union-administered health care superfund (a.k.a. VEBA)– PROVIDED they pay somewhere around 60 to 70 cents per dollar of health care liability. BUT to do the deal, GM would have to find some $30b, Ford would need some $15b,and Chrysler around $7b. Guess what? They don't have that kind of money hanging around, and their current "distress" makes the cost of borrowing somewhere between "onerous" and "usurious." SO the automakers are looking at paying for the VEBA with a large percentage of their own stock– except for Chrysler who might want to pay cash on the installment plan instead. BUT the union doesn't like the idea of a health care fund paid for by stock or deferred payments all that much, because, well, what if the automaker goes belly-up? Only, again, Wall Street thinks they won't go bankrupt IF the carmakers create a health care VEBA. And THAT means if they do the deal the cost of borrowing to fund the deal would go down AND their stock would go up. And IF the union had agreed to take stock in lieu of cash money AND the stock goes up, the rise would cover the aforementioned discount on the full health care liability. That's IF the union cashes out at the top of the market and invests in something less volatile than their employers' stock. Like, I dunno, Toyota stock. Don't laugh. It could happen. Anyway, if you want to try that again, we recommend Kaisernetwork.org's summation.

Despite my emphatic warnings to travel by livestock if needs be, sharp looks and a flea-market sticker price have helped the Mitsubishi Lancer GTS to sell out in the U.S. The sportier version of the Lancer is leagues ahead of the regular ES that was the target of abuse in the June review posted on TTAC. But it still bites, especially with the Communist "every RPM will suffer equally" continuously variable transmission. Still, this is fabulous news for Mitsubishi, which only a few years ago was considering switching from building cars to panhandling for change in Manhattan.  Escaping from the domestic-auto love nest has been great for Mitsubishi, and makes it yet another manufacturer to be better off away from GM, Ford, or Chrysler, along with Subaru and Suzuki. But two questions linger: can Mitsubishi bring over more Lancers to satisfy demand before too late? Will Mitsu use the new cash to upgrade to Playskool plastics? Can Mitsubishi revamp the Eclipse and Galant, two monstrously important cars for the brand?

VW may be moving from Detroit to Washington, DC. So it's out of the frying pan, into the home of liars. Other than DC's proximity to the regulators who determine what kind of cars get built and the city's more convenient airline connections to the Fatherland, I can't fathom any good reason for the brand to move to Cap City (in both senses of the word). I've got nothing against DC, but it's another highly insular company town. I mean, if you were the head of a car company looking for a place to attract world class talent and keep them from sticking their collective heads up their collective asses, wouldn't you go to the home of car culture? As Jed Clampett's friends said "California's the place you ought to be!" Actually, I'd put my people in Knoxville, TN. Low-cost of living, friendly folk and The Tail of the Dragon, one of this country's wildest public roads. Yeah I know: the police have cracked-down on TOD hoons, big time. But you could cut a deal. Anyway, as much as I love Little Rhody, this is not motorhead mecca– as Mr. Berkowitz so KINDLY pointed out. I wonder how much houses go for down in Knoxville…

American greenies don't hold a monopoly on Hummer hatred. China Car Times reports a Mazda6 club outing encountered a Hummer H2. In a move that would make Greenpeace proud, the school of 20 Mazdas surrounded the H2 and forced the driver to slow to 30kph (about 18mph). They were so proud of their actions they videotaped the entire incident and put it on the internet. Hummer-positive internet viewers tracked down the license plate numbers on the Mazdas and posted the drivers' names, home addresses and telephone numbers along with negative comments. The Mazda drivers should just be thankful the H2 driver didn't put it in 4wd low and pretend he was a tank driver in Tiananmen Square.

As Motor Trend (MT) and its buff book brethren hemorrhage readers and cash to the Internet, they’ve reacted in the only way they know how: by kow-towing to their advertisers with even greater ardor and even lower journalistic standards (yes, “special advertising section” readers, it is possible). But what really galls is their continued belief that they’re superior to both Internet websites and those who visit them. MT’s first test review of the 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX is a perfect case in point.

Just as humans get recalled by their Maker, so do hearses. Consumeraffairs.com reports that Cadillac is recalling 1049 hearses built in 2006 and 2007 because of a "potential fire hazard." It seems some of the hearses have faulty fuel neck assemblies that could leak while refueling or while the vehicle is moving, resulting in a "potential fire."  (Is that more serious than a real fire?) Since the fuel tank is under the… uh… cargo area, there's a chance the vehicle could become a rolling crematorium. Dealers will replace the fuel tanks in the vehicles being recalled. Humans who have been recalled are on their own when it comes to dealing with "potential fire."