While GM CEO Rick Wagoner is telling the world that his administration has created "stronger brands" [look for the GM Death Watch on Wagoner's "turnaround report" later today], his marketing maven has announced that The General's fourth Lambda-based crossover will go on sale this fall. While Mark LaNeve didn't announce a price or exact specification for the Chevrolet Traverse, the Freep reports that he set a sales target: 80k to 100k units per year. If Chevy has enough parts for the job, that goal is bound to eat into the Saturn Outlook and GMC Acadia's share of the crossover pie. Combined, the two brand's vehicles Lambda danced their way to to 107,513 sales in '07. If you add their sister-under-the-skin, the short-supply Buick Enclave, the total ratchets-up to 136,799. So LaNeve is hoping for total Lambda crossover sales of 216,799 to 236,799 units across four GM brands in a down market. At least– as those Saturn, GMC and Buick numbers only represent part-year sales. What are the odds?

Martin Eberhard isn't the only one to get the boot from Tesla Motors. The Mercury News reports a number of employees, including "several senior executives" have been shown the door in what company founder Eberhard calls "firings," not layoffs. Daryl Siry, Tesla's vice president in charge of trying to convince people otherwise, said the "layoffs" were related to "performance management." The firings were outed by Eberhard which he called it a "bloodbath" on his teslafounders blog. Marty listed 26 people who've gotten the ax and warned of terminations to come. I got that information from another news report, because when I went to the site to read what he wrote, I found this:

This blog entry has been taken down at the strong request of Tesla's management. By taking it down, I am in no way admitting that anything I wrote was in violation of any agreement I signed with Tesla Motors, and I stand behind the truth of what I wrote.

But it was explained to me that Tesla and its financial backer(s) can spend far more than I can on a lawsuit…

Most of the comments on this blog entry have also be taken down; sorry for the inconvenience.

There was no mention of any of this on Tesla's site, where the last news release listed was about Eberhard's "transition" to their "advisory board." If GM fired 10 percent of their employees or a number of executives got the boot at Chrysler or Ford, their PR departments would be all over it to damage control and every major news outlet would have it on the front page. Yet Tesla wants its cull to fly under the radar. Oh well.

China is GM's Golden Child. The General currently holds 34 percent of a ménage à trois with SIAC Motor Corp and Liuzhou Wuling Automobile. Reuters reports that according to the Shanghai Securities News, GM is in talks with SAIC which holds 50.1 percent of their GM venture) about increasing their stake. The paper didn't say how much more GM wanted; GM's chief in China, Kevin Wale said they were "weighing their options." This deal would certainly bolster GM's bottom line and help cover their North American losses. However, SAIC builds cars under their own name. They are also GM's direct competitors in China, and they've publicly stated they want to expand their lineup. So how receptive they'll be to The General's entreaties is yet to be determined.

Nissan says the Altima Coupe was designed separately from the Altima sedan. It’s a different car, from the ground-up. Roger that. Not since the Chevrolet Lumina Sedan and Minivan have two more disparate vehicles shared the same name. While Chrysler’s auto show folk are talking-up the joys of a “shared genetic pool,” the Altima Coupe 3.5SE isn’t even swimming in the same ocean as the sedan. In fact, the Altima Coupe deserves a sexier name, something distinctive, with more panache. I suggest “Accord-killer,” but it’s unlikely to get approved by any legal department, anywhere.

Fair disclosure: we stole that headline from Engadget. And boy, are we late to this story. electrifyingtimes.com reveals that the conflagration of a single "neighborhood electric vehicle" in Key West– albeit one that immolated model Veronica Webb's dog Hercules and destroyed her house– and it's pig pile on the EV, media-wise. Everyone from the New York Post's Page Six ("Hell-Car burns model's home") to El Rushbo (GM stooge that he is) have covered the story. And the majority are spinning the GEM's fiery end as reflective of inherent danger and/or a possible trend. The reverse spinmeister for the vehicle's maker, Chrysler's GEMCar, claimed that the fire was an isolated incident– as far as they know. "We have gone through our files looking for any other reports of fires relating either to use or charging of GEMs, and haven't found anything," Max Gates revealed. "We don't have anything in our records to indicate there's ever been a previous incident like this." Can you imagine the coverage if a Tesla Roadster or Chevy Volt ever appeared suffered a similar fate? [thanks to starlightmica for the tip]

The newly-restyled Nissan Murano went on sale this week. The good news: the MSRP is $1500 lower than the previous model's. The bad news: someone let Subaru's stylists into Nissan's studios. Apparently pissed they had to give up the "flying vagina" on the B9 Tribeca, they surreptitiously altered the front of Nissan's CUV to show the next evolutionary step in the development of the infamous flying-v. While they were at it, they threw in a bunch of insectoid headlights under creased plastic covers. Then they moved to the rear where they designed a derrière that looks like a WRX hatchback with a fanny lift. The only logical explanation is that Nissan discovered their mischief too late to make any corrections and still make the planned intro date. At least I hope this wasn't intentional!

GM's come-up with a new use for OnStar: collecting data on test mules. The Detroit News reports that The General racked up 1m miles testing the Lambda CUVS and collected the test data via telemetrics. Since OnStar can't tell them when a body panel's buzzing or note that a radio knob just fell off, they also collect data from dealers. That's how they found out the Malibu's hazard light switch wouldn't pop out like it was supposed to; which resulted in an "engineering analysis" of the problem and an "engineering tool change." Perhaps they should do an engineering analysis of their PR department too. In the same article, the DetN also reports GM "has added a shift at its Lake Orion plant to build more" Malibus to meet demand. And this right after they attributed the shortage of Malibus to problems with their part supply chain. Looks like someone needs to get their story straight.

According to Harlingen Texas police (via the Valley Morning Star), it was a “routine” traffic stop– until they ran the usual license check. They discovered that Valerie Ortiz Sanchez had 76 outstanding traffic warrants and more than $15k in unpaid fines, stretching back some nine years. When Sanchez was brought before Municipal Court Judge Valerie Garcia, the judge needed nearly 20 minutes to read the list of charges (including drunk driving). The judge then dismissed some of the outdated, outstanding warrants, “reducing” total fines and fees owed to $15,696. Moments after paying the fines and leaving the Harlingen city jail, Sanchez was arrested by police from San Benito. Officials there say Sanchez has at least 10 outstanding warrants and owes $2,718 in fines and court fees dating back to 2007. “Basically, driving is a privilege not a right and it can be revoked,” proclaimed Harlingen police spokesman David Osborne. Basically, but not specifically.

In contrast to earlier reports, goauto is now reporting that GM is not bringing a Holden Commodore/Pontiac G8 wagon the U.S. of A. Fair enough? On the one hand, Maximum Bob is unusually realistic when he proclaimed "the sad truth is, as much as some of us like 'sportwagons', they just don't sell in the US." When left to their rear wheel-drive (RWD) devices, wagons don't sell stateside. The Lexus IS300 Sportcross – failure. BMW's RWD wagons  – did pretty badly until the letter "x" showed up in their names. The ugly Dodge Magnum – dead. On the other hand, there's something to be said for "doing your thing." If GM wants RWD to be its thing– especially Pontiac's– then wouldn't it make sense to go all the way with it? How much extra can the Pontiac G8 wagon cost to federalize as GM's already doing it for the sedan? Unless there's a problem with parts…

Is it OK for a motorist to simply buy environmental absolution? The concept is certainly in keeping with traditional Western philosophy: you sin, you pay. Even a lousy student of history knows that powerful organizations have been creating, reinforcing and exploiting that equation for their own selfish ends for the last ten thousand years or so. (The Catholic Church's history of selling "penance reduction" for cash springs to mind.) And if you take the idea of paying for your sins to its logical conclusion, you end up in that kinky "I was a crack 'ho before I was born again" [applause] place, where you start believing that you gotta really sin before you can really repent. Don't you feel guilty driving that Lincoln Navigator? Hell no. I'm saving a rain forest! Call me a Rhode Islander, but I distrust anyone who brokers that kind of crazy ass deal, never mind the deal itself. Literally. Never mind it. The truth of it is, any car owner who thinks that they can buy "forgiveness" for polluting the planet (if they believe that they are) is simply trying to avoid the totality of their personal responsibility. 

Environmentally-sensitive rental car customers can now drive someone else's vehicle with a clean conscious. Automotive News [sub] reports that Enterprise, National and Alamo are all set to sell "carbon offsets" with their rental contracts. The opt-in program adds $1.25 to the price of the rental. The money goes towards "carbon offset projects, such as wind farms, that reduce the amount of carbon dioxide going into the atmosphere." TerraPass, which handles the credits, estimates that every 100k customers participating will offset over 30m pounds of CO2. We called TerraPass to ask how much of the fee went directly to projects (i.e. what percentage was "absorbed" by administrative costs). Their PR rep Samantha Weeks said "We're a privately held company. We don't disclose information like that." So now you [don't] know. 

One of my favorite TV ads of all time was for Q-Tips. This scruffy looking guy in a plaid bathrobe walks up to the camera and asks "Don't you hate everybody telling you how to clean things?" Bang! I'm his. Yeah! I DO hate it, all those stupid ads about cleaning stuff! I'm OCD enough without hundreds of graphic lessons in how to annihilate [previously unimagined] germs. And then the guys says "Well I'm going to show you how to clean your ears." And bang! I'm his again. OK, show me how to clean my ears! Well, this is a bit like that. Don't you hate all those morning-after Detroit Auto Show roundups? Well Jonny Lieberman's going to tell you like it was. And here's a bit of goss: it seems Loverman will once again bless us with his literary talents. Hearing the news is like a tsunami having breakfast with a sinkhole. Or something like that.

The Steve Fossett World Land Speed Racing (LSR) Team is looking for a few good women. New Car Net reports they want to recruit a woman to pilot their jet-powered car to a supersonic land speed record. The LSR team thinks a woman would be "an excellent role model to inspire young women in all corners of the earth." Oh, and they think it would attract more sponsors. And, coincidentally, the cockpit of the car was "built on the small size" so they think a woman would be "ideally suited for the task." Not just anyone can apply though. They're looking for someone who has "reactions and judgment proven in the top ranks of professional racing, aerobatic and experimental test flight." Didn't their mommas ever warn them 'bout messin' around with fast women?

Yesterday, we took a "Whose Fault Is It Anyway?" look at consumers who used carmaker's easy credit to buy (in the ironic sense of that word) vehicles they couldn't afford. Today, the San Antonio Business Journal reports that The Alamo City guv'mint has teamed-up with Ford "to make it easier for more working individuals and families to buy a new or used car." Here's the deal: low income buyers save up $1000. FoMoCo and San Antonio's Department of Community Initiatives match the buyer's grand with two more, creating a $3k down-payment towards a new or used vehicle from one of eight participating Ford or Mercury (!) dealers. To qualify for the "down payment assistance program" the buyer's income must not exceed 300 percent of the federal poverty level (that's $61,950 for a family of four). Applicants must also be a San Antonio resident, an insurable driver, not have declared bankruptcy within the last seven years and be "current" with all creditors. (Driver's license?) Oh, and they have to qualify for financing. Welcome to America! 

Forget SYNC. MSNBC reports Ford's next great contribution to automotive technology will be getting rid of the gas cap. Matt O'Leary, chief engineer for the F-150 explains: "People just don't like the cap. Anyone who drives a vehicle hates that." So in response to the outcry coming from gas stations across the country, they're taking the EasyFuel capless refueling system first introduced on the Ford GT– and currently available on the 2008 Explorer– and expanding it across their entire North American line. O'Leary is confident the idea will eventually spread to all manufacturers. GM's Mark LaNeve isn't quite as enthusiastic. "The removal of the gas cap never shows up like a problem in any of our research." Like, wow.