My wife and step-daughter became U.S. citizens today. The ceremony was disappointing from the git go: over 500 people trying to escape bitter cold through two theater doors. (God help us if there had been a fire, terrorist attack or general panic). The judge was about as inspiring as a tax attorney; harping-on about voter awareness, voter registration, voting, keeping an eye on the elected officials you may or may not have voted for, voting them out (or back in office), etc. Although I'm about as PC as a Mac, I was also annoyed when the robed one kept harping-on about the Mayflower– as if Myles Standish single-handedly established the United States. The oath was meh and the multitudes muttered their way through the Pledge of Allegiance. While I am a proud American, I was not proud of the swearing-in. In fact, I was bummed. And then, when we were leaving, I saw an immaculately-dressed man clutching his certificate mount the running board of an equally immaculate black Cadillac Escalade. He held the paper aloft and beamed from ear-to-ear as he posed for a photo, commemorating the day he became a U.S. citizen. Now that's what I'm talking about! 

Crude oil futures surged to $108.21 a barrel today, the highest since trading began in 1983. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 and Dow averages, gold, platinum and other metals all dropped. Call it speculation, but with surging demand in China, investors currently view rising oil futures as a safer bet than anything else on Wall Street these days. "The grab for hard assets is on due to the lack of confidence in the rest of the markets at the moment." said John Kilduff, senior VP of energy at MF Global Ltd. in New York. Houston investment banker Matt Simmons sees prices heading to $120, "in the short term." Simmons, also known for Twilight in the Desert— his inductive analysis of Saudi oil fields– says, "I'm one of the few people who's not surprised to see crude at $107. I still think it's a bargain." Still, others worry about a ceiling. "The perception in the financial community is that the oil market is the one safe harbor," said Rick Mueller, director of oil practice at Energy Security Analysis Inc. in Wakefield, Massachusetts. "The speculation that's moving oil higher will eventually undercut some of the safety they seek. As prices rise, the economy will weaken and eventually hit demand." Gas prices? Not so much.

The Windsor Star reports that fire fighters have extinguished a blaze at Chrysler's Windsor, Ontario plant (Chrysler minivans). The fire appears to have started the plant's paint shop, also the source of a recent fire at Porsche's Zuffenhausen factory. The fire was noticed at about 12:30 local time, as smoke and flames rose from the roof of the factory. According to CAW officials on site, was evacuated without any injuries to workers. "The evacuation system worked," said CAW Local 444 President Ken Lewenza. "Everybody's out of the workplace. We're now in the process of getting the plant operating." Officials estimate that the plant will return to normal production by later today. We've received no confirmation of rumored sightings of Cerberus executives with gas cans and copies of insurance contracts in the area.

Earlier, we brought you news about a toll plaza protest in Maine. Now from Florida we hear that "tens of thousands drivers on the 408 might find themselves a bit confused." So says a female TV news co-anchor; to which her male counterpart helpfully adds (for the hard of thinking) "and [there's] fear that confusion could cause accidents." That's how the duo introduces a story for WKMG warning viewers about the opening of a new toll plaza that forces drivers to pass through two plazas– but only pay at one of them. Motorists must motor through the Holland East Plaza and the new toll plaza while workers build E-Pass lanes. Even with signs displaying "No toll, do not stop" in English, Spanish, Lithuanian and Farsi, officials say the presence of two plazas could cause motorists to slow down or stop. One worker described the project as "like changing the carpet in your house– with the furniture still inside." The project should be completed by 2009– barring any natural disasters such as hurricanes, union interference or scheduling inefficiency. Expressway Authority spokesman Brian Hutchings says: "We do know that it's going to be potentially confusing so we want people to stay on their game." God knows the personal injury lawyers will be.

AMG is the world's largest purveyor of $100k+ automobiles. Daimler says the average Mercedes AMG buyer has an annual household income of $348,854. So… The Chicago Sun Times is reporting that Mercedes has decided to semi-transform its in-house tuner AMG into a semi-separate automotive demi-brand. Announced at the launch of the new C63 AMG, the spin-off is an attempt to raise the profile of AMG as a super-premium. Uh, that's it.  No wait; performance brand. Starting in the second quarter of this year, seven pilot AMG Performance Centers will begin offering sales and service for the blistering-fast, mondo depreciating uber-Benzs. The goal: 30 such centers in the U.S. by year's end. The new dealer network– attached to the old dealer network– will offer a number of marketing features aimed at luring buyers away from BMW's M, Lexus' F, and Cadillac's V-line. We're talking a traveling roadshow, a new website and an ad campaign. While the seriously rich are still… seriously rich, Daimler is launching the AMG demi-brand straight into the teeth of the worst automotive market for over a decade. Good luck with that.

Fiat is [still] planning on reintroducing its Alfa Romeo line to the United States "sometime after 2008." To ensure profitability in the face of a weak reputation for quality dollar and a strong Euro, Reuters reports the company will/would have to manufacture at least some of its cars outside Europe. Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has indicated that Mexico is at the top of the list, although a Confederate tax break deal may be doable. Eventually. "We can think of producing [in the Americas] in the medium-long term," Marchionne opined. Which Alfa models would be produced or sold stateside remains equally unknown (unknowable?). The tasty 8C is likely to lead the charge; it's just about the only Alfa whose price premium can overcome the exchange rate. Meanwhile, big changes are in the air at Alfa. New CEO Luca De Meo says he hopes to "restore Alfa Romeo's place among premium brands by the time of its 100th anniversary on June 25, 2010." With new versions of Alfa mid- and full-sized sedans set to appear around that date, we reckon that's when we may see the Italian automaker's wares stateside. Or not. 

According to an AutoExpress article that reads suspiciously like a press release, GM's UK subsidiary Vauxhall will be getting a "new" logo. They, ahem, "report" that "the sharp yet simple new logo will set a more upmarket tone for the company as it aims to pitch its forthcoming models against prestige rivals." Translation: many UK consumers think of Vauxhalls as downmarket tat and between the French (Renault mainly) and Germans (BMW and VW), we're under heavy fire. The storied Vauxhall name and its models are so tainted that the Vectra nameplate is being replaced with Insignia this summer. How long will the Vauxhall name survive in the UK? (Ireland switched to Opel in 1982.) The only thing stronger than 3-Series sales in the UK is British nationalism. Vauxhall ain't going nowhere. 

That's right, the Chevrolet Spark is selling like hot naan in India. The Hindu reports GM manage to put 3,691 Sparks into peoples' driveways last month, up from just 1,286 the year before. For those of you not familiar with the decade-old Spark, it's also known as the Chevrolet Exclusive, Chevrolet Matiz, Chevrolet Joy, Daewoo Matiz, Pontiac Matiz, Pontiac G2, FSO Matiz, Chevrolet Taxi 7:24 Chronos and of course the hot sounding UZ Matiz (not to mention the Chery QQ). All variations of the Spark come with your choice of 0.8 and 1.0-liter engines. In contrast to the General's fortunes, India's overall auto market has experienced a bit of contraction, moving only 7,42,027 units through February vs. 8,27,594 vehicles the previous year. A big however, however, is in order. The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM 'natch) counts motorcycle sales amongst the totals. If you look at just motorized four-wheeled transportation devices, they're up 2.31 percent.

In his seminal work "The Origin of Competitive Strength," former Toyota chief of Product Planning Akira Kawahara claimed that platform-sharing was a main source of early strength for Toyota. As proof that Kawahara-san's strategy of multiple brands on similar platforms still holds favor at ToMoCo, According to Automotive News [sub], the Japanese automaker is considering launching a new Prius brand. Executive VP for R&D Kazuo Okamoto confirms that Toyota is developing plans for an entire Prius range, as "Prius recognition levels [are] rising." Calling the development "a reasonable direction," Okamoto admitted that Toyota may use the Prius platform for coupes, wagons and sedans. Having already invested in a Scion dealership network which is seeing sagging sales, Toyota could leverage some considerable synergy (pun intended) with the introduction of a Prius brand alongside its ostensibly "youth-market" brand. Then again, if Toyota marketers are to be believed, criminals with hearts of gold just want a Prius with a bigger trunk.

Motherhood, apple pie and baseball, right? I suppose it depends on your point of view. If you live on the Left Coast, it might be strippers, tacos and gangland slayings. Elsewhere, it could be moose, mooseburgers and moose-tipping. Anyway, today's question comes to us from TTAC's own Samir Syed, and I really like it. Then again, I like all queries without correct answers. Let's call 'em philosophical questions. To a certain mindset, nothing will ever be redder, whiter and bluer than a '57 Chevy Bel Air Coupe. But I serious doubt that's what de Tocqueville would say. Perhaps a Ford F-series? At the risk of igniting the usual firestorm, what about America's favorite car, the best-selling Toyota Camry? When I look out my window and contemplate the full majesty of the American Dream, the only honest answer is… the BMW 3-series. Every wannabe in Los Angeles has one. You?

In recent years, Ford has sold off valuable assets, including Aston Martin and Hertz Rentals. They're currently flogging Land Rover and Jaguar to India's Tata Motors (fingers crossed). Although Ford's got plenty of cash for the time being– having mortgaged itself up to the eyeballs in '06 for $23b– the American automaker's just about out of stuff to sell. So is Ford is going to have to face the music and… start selling cars? Analysts quoted in the International Herald Tribune say you got that right. John Casesa claims Ford couldn't get diddly squat for Mercury (who?), Ford Financial or Volvo. That's because "interest from private equity companies had pushed takeover prices sky-high, but the credit squeeze that began last year has made it harder for those companies to borrow, forcing asset prices down." Oh, and Ford Financial is staring at a credit meltdown and Volvo isn't making any money. In fact, Ford wrote down about $2.4b of the Swedish brand's value in January. So there really is nothing left for Ford to do but make and sell profitable vehicles in the North American market. What are the odds? (Hint: check the stock price.) 

When Chrysler went to court to retrieve tooling from their bankrupt supplier Pastech, the automaker's Director of Interior Purchasing dissed their former "partner's" quality control. Douglas Doran testified that Plastech components had triggered 450 "quality issues" in 2007. Doran drolly described the defect rate as "more than the average supplier." According to The Detroit News, Plastech execs have finally fired back. They claim that parts quality had improved steadily since 2006. What's more (or less), company data shows that there were five times fewer quality issues in the fourth quarter of 2007 than in the same period in 2006. In January of this year, a month before declaring bankruptcy, Plastech reported 26 problems per million parts. While Plastech's suits figure that's below industry targets, analysts counter that it also isnt industry leading. With the only proof of financial malfeasance by Plastech coming from an auditing firm staffed by former Chrysler flacks who refuse to answer our questions, it's beginning to look more like Chrysler squeezed on price, then whined about quality.

Focus magazine [via The International Herald Tribune] says leaked Porsche internal planning documents reveal that Porsche Holdings is secretly (well, not now) aiming for a 75 percent share in Volkswagen. Analysts point out that a more sizable share would give Porsche access to VW's cash flow through a "domination and profit transfer agreement." (That's a far cry from a "collegial partnership," but hey, who's listening?) To get their hands on VeeDub's cash, Porsche would have to up its $15b deal by an additional $35b. Apparently, Porsche's got the finances to git 'er done. BUT… The German state of Lower Saxony is unlikely to surrender any part of its 20 percent VW stake, which "safeguards" 82k jobs withiin its jurisdiction. Furthermore, much of Porsche's controlling family oppose the deal; they're not in love with either VW's risk or VW chairman Ferdinand Piech. Porsche denied the Focus Magazine story this morning, saying Piech is the anti-Christ. No wait; the deal "overlooks the realities of VW's shareholder structure."

Nobody can accuse Daimler of ignoring the green marketing craze that is sweeping the industry. They've shown high-tech lithium-ion-based diesel and mild hybrid concepts in near-production models (in contrast to other automakers' futuristic flights of fancy). A "BlueEfficiency" package will be available across its Mercedes-Benz model line by year's end, bringing lower weights, reduced rolling resistance and 10 percent better efficiency. None of these efforts will be particularly profitable, but unlike other companies, Daimler is willing to admit it. According to Automotive News [sub], Daimler research chief Thomas Weber says the company isn't expecting its green initiatives to make it any money. "We have to make sure that we keep an eye on the profit situation," said Weber. "Our strategic goal is not to make a lot of money with this, but also not to lose a lot of money with this." What, no mention of how eco-oriented vehicles help the German automaker bank the bucks by meeting new Euro and U.S. CO2/mpg regs, so they can sell high-profit gas guzzlers? Hey, glasnost only goes so far.

I used to detest Lexus' styling– if you want to call it that. The SC was just one of many derivative, disgusting designs. That all changed in 2005, when the beta "L-finesse" produced the magnificent second IS. The 2007 LS revealed that the IS was no accident. (Maserati Quattroporte aside, I consider the Lexus LS the world's best-looking mass-produced luxury sedan.) We can now dare and dream that the third generation SC will bring us the rough-sporty side of the "L-finesse" philosophy. My rendering operates from the principle that the new convertible should ditch the LF-A concepts' over-dramatic air-intakes. And an an increased wheelbase is a must for the new SC; it needs to blow the 3-Series convertible out of the proverbial water. Design-wise, I'm thinking it will…

[For more Avarvarii photochopistry, click here]