Remember when Hummers were cool and the people that attacked them were just fringe lunatics? You might also remember how last month, GM moved 2608 examples of the Hummer H3, its most fuel efficient (ahem) Hummer. That's down some 18 percent compared to February '07. The biggest problem with the H3 isn't the mileage though, it's the irritating 5-cylinder engine and craptastic interior. GM has finally moved to address the first of these problems; the H3 will get the 3.6-liter direct injection V6 out of the Cadillac CTS. In the baby Caddy, it makes 300+ horsepower, and it should do the same in the Hummer. There's also some speculation on the ol' interwebs that GM will also give the H3 a 4.5-liter diesel V8 in the next year. Before kvetching that diesel is now well over four bucks a gallon, remember that some people are less concerned about per gallon costs and more interested in the authenticity and feel of a vehicle. "Good fuel economy" is only a lifestyle for Prius buyers. For some people "diesel powered mutant army truck" is all the lifestyle they want– regardless of MPG.

As we reported earlier, the X-Prize (of "paying people to shoot themselves into space in home-built rockets" fame) is bringing its "Revolution Through Competition" approach to the lofty goal of the 100mpg car. Well, they finally got the money together, thanks to title sponsor Progressive Insurance. And they even have a Senate resolution praising them for their bold, visionary whatever. So let the games begin! Oh, but first your garage-built go-kart must pass safety, cost, features and business plan inspections to ensure that only production-capable, consumer-friendly cars compete. Yup, they said business plans. Sorry Tesla!

We reported earlier that ToMoCo is considering adding a pickup to the Scion line in hopes of boosting sagging sales of its "youth brand." The Detroit News reports that a hybrid drivetrain might be the sales medicine Scion needs. "Does it make sense to have a hybrid powertrain?" asks Scion VP Jack Hollis, answering his own rhetorical flourish with "We don't know the answers but we're very open-minded." Although the gas – electrification of the current lineup makes a lot more sense than a Scion truck or SUV, it raises a few questions about Toyota's burgeoning brand portfolio. If Lexus gets a hybrid and Toyota launches a new Prius brand, where does a hybrid Scion fit in the mix? GM-style brand proliferation issues aside, Toyota has committed to equipping all of its offerings with hybrid drivetrains by 2020; the sooner it can exploit economies of scale, the quicker it can lower its costs for the still-expensive system. Note to Volt: the car in front is still a Toyota. 

The S60 is Volvo's neglected middle child. Baby brother S40 is hipper, faster, and gets all the chicks. Older brother S80 is bigger and more luxurious. Where does that leave the S60? Not languishing on dealership lots, given that it's Volvo's best-selling sedan (if barely). But I'm hard-pressed to figure out why. Apparently, Volvo can't figure out why either– the S60 has purportedly been on the chopping block for a couple of years now, though no one seems willing to make that final cut yet. So let me take a stab at it.

We reported earlier that Indian automaker Tata had entered an agreement to license compressed-air technology from French firm MDI. But we hadn't seen a prototype… until now. The MDI Air Car was discovered by Autoblog Green at the New York Auto Shows X-Prize display, confirming the goofiness of the concept. Think Manx dune buggy meets golf cart meets tree frog. No word yet as to how the vehicle (one hesitates to use the term "car" so loosely) will conform the 100mpg performance required for participation in the X-Prize. Although we typically embrace the use of revolutionary technologies, this one just seems way too far removed from reality… unless you want a carbon-neutral trip to the 19th hole.

Neurologist-turned-electric-car-expert Lyle Dennis had a private audience with Jon Lauckner, Bob Lutz' lackey "first deputy." Dr. Dennis inquired about the "expected timing, location, and cadence of ramp-up for initial Chevy Volt production." The good doctor wondered if GM is going to roll out the production Volt with "with a small fleet … or… release it like you did the new non-hybrid Malibu?" Lauckner replied that GM's going to introduce the electric – gas hybrid gradually. "Selected people" [read: GM employees] will drive pre-production versions before GM gradually brings the Volt to a Chevy showroom near… someone. Lauckner didn't mention the effect of this plan on the Volt's production date. And his comment represents an about face from previous statements about the Volt's debut: "It makes no sense if you're ramping up production to have people frustrated because the car is in theory able to be sold in every area but they cant get their hands on one because the amount of volume is relatively small." Such as… the Chevrolet Malibu and Buick Enclave launches? [thanks to KixStart for the link]

TTAC commentator (and now unintentional blogger) Lichtronamo dropped us an interesting email, which we reprint for your dining and dancing pleasure: "I was reading a Saturn brand Special Advertising Section in the April 2008 Automobile magazine (starting on page 40 and ending at page 53). On the last page, I caught this little nugget of info re: the Saturn brand: "Saturn was named for the rocket, not the planet". This raises at least two questions: 1. Wasn't Oldsmobile the "rocket" brand when Saturn was first launched (both the real rocket and the car brand, I guess)? 2. If Saturn was named after the rocket and not the planet– as suggested by the ad– then why is the Saturn logo a stylized image of the planet? Rethink that! [Note: if you come across a TTAC worthy item– in the media or real life– email robert.farago@thetruthaboutcars.com, including your user name.] 

One of TTAC's Best and Brightest asked the obvious question: "is Lawrence Ulrich working for you secretly?" Nope. It's just that love is breaking out all over for the new Pontiac G8 pickup ute sport truck thingie. More specifically, The New York Times car hack asks "Who exactly was clamoring for a two-seat, gas-guzzling pickup with the cheapest-looking interior this side of a Motel 6?" [NB: TTAC would have said "Who the Hell…"] The Wheels' description of the G8 without the rear seats is plenty pithy: "The 6-liter V-8 from the G8 sport sedan, good for 361 horsepower and a 0-60 time of 5.4 seconds. The 74-inch cargo bed can handle just under 1,100 pounds, and there’s a 3,500-pound towing capacity. Now, if it could only tow itself away." Ulrich describes the "we don't know what to call it so you do it" Aussie import as "Like Hell Camino: a pointless hodgepodge that’s worthy of an expletive-filled diss from 50 Cent himself." [thanks to Nicholas Weaver for the link]

Our ’06 Volvo V50’s battery crapped-out three days ago. I jumped it, got 100 yards down the driveway… The dash panel turned into a Christmas tree. POWER SYSTEM FAILURE! SERVICE IMMEDIATELY! The engine, brakes and steering died; the car had to be flat-bedded to the dealer. And then the 2004 Porsche Boxster’s battery lunched. It exhibited so many odd symptoms— power windows flopping up and down, radio mysteriously turning on, baffling warning lights— that I never thought instant battery failure. Independent techs who work on Eurolux cars tell me that Audi and Porsche and Volvo (and the like) batteries are so under-sized (in the interest of economy) and overstressed (thanks to electronic-toys overload) that they’re failing prematurely. If this is the state of the 19th century lead-acid art, what are we to expect when millions of cars are powered by batteries? 

The Washington Post reports Chrysler is adding in-car internet access to their hot selling– I mean vehicles. Web access will arrive via cell phone towers; users will need a wireless phone carrier to ensure continuous service. Chrysler is touting themselves as the first car company to provide in-car internetage, conveniently overlooking "ConnectedDrive." BMW's system offered Google access last year; it's expanding to unrestricted www access this year. (Chrysler will be the first to offer internet access in the U.S.) Regardless where it's offered or who offers it, the idea of some n00b playing Halo 3 while blasting down the interstate at 75mph is really scary. Yes, I know there'll be built-in safeguards, but it won't take the MMORPG crowd very long to figure out how to override them. In fact, the hack should be on the internet before Chrysler buyers can access the internet via their car to get it.

As talks between American Axle and the UAW continue, AA has moved some of the production for GM's large SUV axles to Mexico. They've also moved axle production for Chrysler's pickups and SUVs South of the Border, allowing Chrysler to continue turning out Dakotas and Durangos nobody wants without interruption. The Detroit Free Press cites industry experts who predict that by the end of the month, the auto industry will have lost over 100k units in productivity which they'll never recover due to soft SUV and pickup sales. Whether the Mexican move is permanent or just a warning shot across the UAW's bow remains to be seen. But the AA workers who are now living on $200/week strike pay better hope the union bends a little, and soon. Otherwise they could be on the unemployment line instead of the picket line.

Ford wants its workers to connect with their future. And now GM is encouraging their employees to "build your future and live your dream." According to The Detroit News, specialists will show up at GM's factories across the nation to hold "opportunity expos" to beg show workers "the ways in which they can benefit" by giving up their well-paying jobs with great benefits for a few thousand dollars and the opportunity to take their chances on the job market. To try to entice people to show up, they're also entering anyone who comes to the seminar into a drawing for a $15k voucher towards a new GM vehicle. Meanwhile, Chrysler is reopening their buyout programs and offering employees who've already said "no" the chance to say "HELL NO." Some employees are confused as to why they're doing it. Comments posted on the Detroit Free Press' site show that not everyone who put in for Chrysler's buyout is given the buyout. One commenter stated "…there were just under 300 people at the Belvidere Assembly Plant who put in for the buy-out. Only approximately 200 of us were given the buy-out." Another commenter asks when they'd see a corresponding reduction in management, adding "most of the work done by management was once done by UNION clerical personel, and for a damned sight less money." It looks like The Big 2.8 still have a lot of work to do if they're counting on dumping old employees and hiring cheaper replacements to balance the books.

General Motors may be singularly unwilling to tell its shareholders and stakeholders when the company will return to profitability (or exactly how they're going to get there), but they're happy to announce a three-year plan for their annual ad spend. And the winner is.. online media. GM says it will allocate fully $1.5b of its $3b annual advertising budget to the Internet. The revelation keeps the death knell pealing for newspapers. According to followthemedia, GM's 2007 online display ad spend clocked-in at somewhere between $193m to $208m. At the same time, America's most profligate auto advertiser trimmed newspaper advertising by 32 percent, to $149.3m. The new Internet-heavy target will also eat into TV advertising. And where GM leads– in ad spending anyway– other automakers follow. "You know it’s getting dangerous for traditional media," scribe Steven Stone wars. "When the likes of Joel Ewanick, Marketing VP for Hyundai Motor America, says, 'Online is getting to the point where it may be more important than the 30-second spot.'" So look for GM advertising on TTAC soon. In other news, Hell is getting chilly.

Speaking at the Morgan Stanley Global Automotive Conference in New York, Ford CEO Alan Mulally confident predicted that Ford's global rationalization (i.e. same vehicles, different wrappers) will allow the embattled automaker to make money on its small cars in the American market (providing they sell enough of them). The AP [via The Houston Chronicle] reports that Big Al told the assembled throngs he'd been surprised (surprised I tell you) by the complexity of Ford's assembly process. "For instance, the Lincoln Navigator large sport utility vehicle had 128 possible console combinations," roughly one per customer [kidding, I think]. Since taking the reins, Ford has reduced complexity by "up to 80 percent" on "some" models. "You can imagine what that means to the cost structure worldwide," he told the analysts, who tend to prefer hard numbers to vague assurances. Still, Mulally confidently predicted– well "hopes"– his employer will equip 500k vehicles per year with EcoBoost engines by 2013. "It's absolutely going to be a competitive advantage," Mulally asserted. Meanwhile, FoMoCo's CEO conceded that "Ford's market share in trucks and sport utility vehicles has slipped recently, which he attributed to competition." So now you tell us.

In rounding out our coverage of Hyundai's offerings in NYC, we've got shots of the facelifted Sonata and Genesis Coupe. Both are much, much better in person than in pictures. The Sonata's biggest aesthetic improvement is the interior, which goes from zero to hero. Build quality and fit and finish are way better, and it no longer is ergonomically challenged. Hyundai's Mission: Bland sedan has, dare I say, some style. As for the Genesis coupe, while I thought the initial press shots showed a hideous Lexus IS knock-off in coupe form, in person it's more of an Infiniti G37 coupe knock-off. Very slick car, and with Kia's use of a 290 hp turbocharged four in the Koup concept, the turbo four that Hyundai announced for the Genesis coupe sounds promising. Although Hyundai didn't have any prices, you'll be glad to know that Hyundai's trademark olfactory character is unchanged in this RWD coupe: even the preproduction show car's interior smelled like a Hyundai interior, which I'd describe as musty crayon.

Click here for Pixamo gallery