Nissan's freshly-minted North American sales chief reckons it's time to address the English patient in the automaker's model line: the Sentra. Mark McNabb tells Wardsauto that he's trying to figure out why, why dear lord, Sentra's sales are on a slippery slope to nowhere. And no wonder; year-to-date sales of the refreshed model are down 10.9 percent to 91,463 units. Helpfully enough, Wards' suggest that the Sentra falls between two stools (so to speak). They report that U.S. compact car sales (e.g. Nissan Sentra) are down 4.3 percent, while sub-compact sales (e.g. Nissan Versa) have increased by a whopping 37.3 percent. Is the Versa– up 364.3 percent in the first 10 months to 67,688 units– cannibalizing the Sentra? McNabb doesn't know and doesn't really seem to care. "He says his first priority with the Sentra will be 'to make sure dealers are engaged with the vehicle.'" Nissan dealers actively await McNabb's wedding plans. “There’s a big market here for that car," says Walter Dolan, senior sales consultant at Pinnacle Nissan in Scottsdale, AZ. "But we’re not seeing a lot of support behind the car coming out of Nissan." Rsponding to the crticism, McNabb promises to see “if there’s something [in Sentra advertising] we can tweak to get the car going a little bit stronger.” Anyway, it may be a big problem, but it's not a major concern. “It’s definitely, from a profit standpoint, not that bad,” McNabb said. Definitely. 

Although 79 percent of Ford's UAW workers approved their new contract, it now appears that not all these yea sayers didn't understood what they were voting for. While only 16 percent of GM's contributions to the union-controlled VEBA health care superfund will take the form of stock or assets, almost half of Ford's VEBA payments will be company paper. As– I mean "if" Ford stock drops, the amount of money available for retiree's health care will also drop. In spite of UAW president Ron Gettlefinger's assertion that the VEBA will shield workers from bankruptcy, Fitch Ratings analyst Mark Oline told Bloomberg this arrangement "does not achieve one of the primary goals of the UAW– a separation between the financing for retiree health care and the fate of Ford." One worker warned the new reality "may cause problems in the plants." But what can they do? A strike or even a work slowdown could push the company into bankruptcy. With The Blue Oval in hock up to its logo, Chapter 11 would leave very little for the VEBA once all other debts were paid.

Now that the dust has settled on the United Auto Workers (UAW) contract negotiations with Chrysler, UAW boss Ron Gettelfinger is finally speaking out about the American automaker's private equity owners. And he likes them. In practice. But not in theory. Speaking to at a Reuters industry pow-wow, Gettelfinger declared that "Private equity firms, a lot of them, they're vultures; a lot of them are strip and flip. I think that can be said as a matter of fact. There are some of those folks that I almost feel dirty when they leave a room after I have met with them." Some? Like, say, Cerberus, who fired 10k UAW members before the ink was dry on the UAW's new contract? The same Cerberus who sweet-talked Gettlefinger into going along with the sale in the first place? "He acknowledged the seeming contradiction, saying that maybe he was 'speaking out of both sides of my mouth.' But he said: 'If you look at what was on the table at the time, as far as the Chrysler deal, there wasn't a lot of options out there.'" If that isn't enough to make a union member's head spin, Gettelfinger also backed away from his previous contention that he was blind-sided by Chrysler's post-contract job cuts. "The union leader also said that job cuts… were not a complete surprise, given weakness in the U.S. autos market. 'We knew there were going to be adjustments,' he said. I'm sure ex-Chrysler workers will be delighted to learn they were "adjusted" rather than "fired."  

Canadian Auto Workers' president Buzz Hargrove has publicly declared "no concessions" re: next summer's contract with the U.S. automakers. He may want to soften that stance a bit. Just as American automakers are trying to cut operating expenses any way they can, Financial Post reports that Canada is now "the most expensive place in the world to make cars." They attribute this dubious honor to the strong loonie and "other factors" that include the new lower-paying contracts with the UAW and the health care concessions. Many suppliers are cutting production and closing plants in Canada, and the automakers are expected to follow suit as Canadian production costs continue to grow relative to operations in the U.S., Mexico and Asia. Will Buzz take the Canadian auto industry down with him or acquiesce to what seems like an inevitable cut in wages and benefits? Watch this space.

GM's new contract with the United Auto Workers (UAW) was sold to all and sundry as a necessary step to protect U.S. jobs. Meanwhile, GM continues to send jobs overseas. The Times of India reports that GM's set to triple parts production on the subcontinent, ramping-up to $1b worth over the next three years. The Indian-made bits and pieces will head-off for GM products worldwide. GM's President and Managing Director of GM India told reporters in Chennai that GM is currently exporting $300m of parts from India. Karl Slym also revealed that The General was planning to set up a powertrain production facility in country. It's not clear if the engines would find homes abroad. That could depend on the success of the Chevrolet Captiva SUV in the Indian market. In an echo of GM's Opel becomes Saturn Astra U.S. strategy, GM will begin by importing the Captiva from Korea. If it's a hit, they'll shift to local production. 

Honda is about to offer the hydrogen-powered FCX Clarity to "customers" on a limited long-term lease basis. For 600 bucks a month, a handful of lucky leaseholders will get to boast that their car is cleaner than Mitt Romney's closet, and fill-up… at home. According to American Honda chief executive Tetsuo Iwamura, the Clarity is a "shining symbol of the progress we've made with fuel cell vehicles and of our belief in the promise of this technology." Belief in a promise. Gotcha. Just in case you didn't quite catch the fact that Mr. Iwamura is standing in a wiggle room, AFP found an expert to throw a little cold water on Ye Olde hydrogen economy. Texan Timothy Wilkins, an attorney for the firm Bracewell & Giuliani (yes, THAT Giuliani), warns that "producing hydrogen like the gasoline scale, to fully integrated in the vehicle fleet and [provide] the infrastructure for fueling stations will take one century." As Napoleon told his generals when they informed him that growing trees along French roads to shade his troops would take 100 years, "Better get on with it then, mate." Luckily, we don't have to wait that long for a test drive report on the Clarity. Once and future TTAC'er Jonny Leiberman reports to us via podcast below.

Journalists on this site have complained about how ugly and technologically complex recent BMWs have become. To that list I would also add a jarring ride, an overly aggressive throttle tip-in and jerky transmissions. Don’t get me wrong. In the main, the propeller people’s products still do exactly what it says on the tin: ultimate driving. But these defects make it difficult to drive most Bimmers smoothly, as one can an equivalent Mercedes, Audi or Cadillac (CTS). So when my BMW buddy nagged me to check out the 2008 650i coupe, I wondered: why bother?

Even though their sales are down 5.7 percent this year, Maximum Bob Lutz told Reuters that GM is doing doing just fine. At the Reuters Autos Summit in Detroit yesterday, the septuagenarian Car Czar revealed "We are looking at the numbers for November and we are making our numbers." Even though he didn't say what those numbers are, he did share the secret of their success: "Some days we are a little behind, some days we are a little ahead and some days we are lots ahead, so on balance to me it looks like we are making track." Uh, except for the days they're lots behind.  Anyway, although several industry experts speaking at the summit predicted worse sales next year, Maximum Bob says it won't happen. Or it will. "Next year (will) possibly dip in the first half and then come out of it in the second half of the year so that overall 2008 could be a tiny bit worse than 2007 or a tiny bit better." It must be encouraging for the stockholders to know the top executives in the company have such a firm grasp of the obvious.

When former GM division and bankrupt parts supplier Delphi tried to get their re-organization plan approved by a federal judge earlier this month, shareholders and creditors panned it. In the last filing, Delphi's top brass wanted to cut the shareholders' recovery from $470m to $69m. The latest revision ups the pay-off to $190m. To make that happen, Delphi looted took money from the right to purchase stock assigned to the United Auto Workers (UAW) and other unions– reducing the UAW's cut by 6.4m shares. Even so, creditors aren't happy with the new plan. But they're caught by the short hairs; they lose everything if Delphi goes under. The clincher: if the new new new plan isn't in place by December 31, Delphi's IRS waiver expires. Delphi would have to cough-up $1.4b for taxes and penalties on pension obligations. Other disclosures from the filing: their legal expenses have topped $320m and could reach as high as $400m. And they're capping the agreement to supplement some long-term employees' retirement plans. Oh, and they're still going to give their top executives at least $216m in bonuses, post-bankruptcy.

Ted Turner used to have a sign on his desk: "Lead, Follow or Try to Snort as much Cocaine As I do." No wait. "Lead, Follow or Get Out of the Way." Americans tend to view the statement as Ted did: vindication for centralized power. In other words, I'm the leader. Follow me or **** off. While the three-role rule applies to all human interactions, it doesn't say you should pick one and stick with it forever. There are times when it's best to lead, times when you're better off implementing a leader's vision, and times when the further you remove yourself from the leader and his followers, the better (just ask Congressman Leo Ryan's family). Clearly, GM Car Czar Bob Lutz swings wildly between leader and disparu. While the media loves Bob the leader and completely misses disinterested Bob (the man who can't be bothered to listen when "his people" pepper him with "details"), it is Lutz' abject inability to follow that defines both the man and his– I mean "the" company. But it's not really his fault. GM CEO Rick Wagoner is not a leader, so who could he follow? The fact that GM's former CFO (Wagoner) lets Lutz run riot/rampant tells you that Wagoner is either seriously deluded about Lutz' abilities, or gets out of his way because, well, what do I know? When GM's epitaph is finally written, Wagoner will be seen as a slave to the diseased corporate culture that created him. And Lutz will be seen as figure of pathos; GM's very own King Lear.

Now that you’ve attached that cherry faux sunroof you snagged on EBay onto your econobox, it’s time to spruce up the interior. No, I’m not talking about a pine-scented Magic Tree® air freshener (review to follow). Nothing says upwardly mobile motor like a leather-wrapped steering wheel. Now you could stunt down to your local auto parts store and pick-up one of those slide-on leather covers for about twenty bucks. But unless you have hands the size of Sasquatch, you may find this to be a sub-optimal solution. Thankfully, a slimmer, higher quality alternative is available. If properly installed, it adds a tasteful touch to any tiller. 

The United Nannies Nations has decided that all new European trucks and "tourist coaches" must be fitted with electronic stability control (ESC) to reduce the carnage on European roadways. A press release from a meeting which took place in Geneva last week states ESC in these vehicles "could ultimately save over 500 deaths and 2500 serious injuries per year in the European Union." Under the agreement, which the EU plans to enforce, ESC will be required on heavy vehicles approved under Regulation 13 of the UN Economic Commission for Europe. Reg 13 (fitting number, by the way) is "a braking regulation widely accepted not only in Europe but also in many other parts of the world." The requirements for heavy vehicles will be phased in by 2010, with agreement on requirements for light vehicles expected in 2008 "by means of a global harmonised regulation on light vehicle control." Now let's all join hands and sing "Kum-bah-ya" as we relinquish control of our vehicles to those who want total control of our lives know what's best for us.

Those of us who lust after automotive products from afar are already pining for the Ford Mondeo and S-Max, Buick Park Avenue (China), Alfa Romeo 159 and Fiat 500. Mazda joins America's automotive unrequited love list with the new Mazda2. Mazda's subcompact car (B-segment, if that's your language) sells below the grand slam home run Mazda3. The Zoom-Zoomers are introducing an America-friendly variant to the Chinese market. Where most subcompact sedans look stubby, waving their metaphorical ass in the air, this is one sharp-looking wee beastie. It's also, purportedly, fun to drive. Fantastic mileage is a given. Subcompacts (which are actually compact size but who's counting) are making a comeback stateside: Nissan Versa, Honda Fit, Toyota Yaris, Hyundai Accent, Kia Rio, Chevy Aveo, Suzuki SX4. Mazda's entry would be a perfect fit for the U.S., and it snaps into Mazda's brand portfolio very well. But the daunting prospects of U.S. crash tests and limited profitability assures American pistonheads more long distance love.

As we've reported, thousands of Canadian cars buyers have headed south of the border to save money on new and used cars. Several manufacturers have [belatedly] responded to the exodus by offering incentives that bring Canadian new car prices back in line with their American equivalent. But not all, and used car prices are still significantly lower. So the trade continues apace. Only now the Canadian government has stepped in and staunched the wound. The Toronto Globe and Mail reports that Transport Canada now refuses to license imported American cars until they're fitted with a Canada-compliant anti-theft immobilizer. Seriously. They're stopping vehicles at the border and/or allowing new car buyers to drive them home– and that's all. At least until the device is fitted and the car inspected (and Honda of Canada says they know of no legal aftermarket conversion). Transport Canada spokesman Patrick Charette moved to quash conspiracy theorists (that's us) by pointing out the new reg was announced two years ago. Mr. Hill ain't buying it. The Calgary financial consultant bought a 2008 Sienna in the U.S. last month, saving CA$15k. The vehicle is currently sitting on a dealer's lot 320 kilometers away from his driveway. "This is either collusion or unintended consequences." While dozens of frustrated buyers cry foul, the list of banned vehicles was broadened last week to include 2008 models manufactured after Sept. 1 and sold in the United States by Ford, Hyundai and Suzuki; all 2008 GM models, several Honda vehicles and about half of the Toyota Motor Corp. lineup.

Of course, they kinda have to, as the Maranello Mob don't have "get out of global warming free" card to hand the European Union when new CO2 regs come into force. As Reuters reports, the semi-democratic bureaucrats in the European Union (EU) are preparing legislation that will require manufacturers' fleets to average 120 grams of CO2 per km by 2012. And so Ferrari's GM has announced his employer's intention to reduce their bella machinas' CO2 production by 40 percent by the EU deadline. "We have to face the challenge of reducing consumption but not affecting the performance of the car," Amedeo Felisa told Reuters in Frankfurt. "Otherwise we move [away] from our position in the market and we do not want to do that." Felisa also took the opportunity to remind the world that the integrity of the Earth's polar ice caps doesn't depend on the CO2 levels emitted by Ferrari's 6k annual production run. "Our volumes will not … affect the environment," he said, piercingly glimpsing the obvious. And anyway, improving mpg with high-tech, lightweight materials shouldn't be that hard for Ferrari, an automaker whose products are not exactly what you'd call "price sensitive."