Attention car companies who desperately want to beat Toyota at the green car game: start building diesel hybrids now. Accordingt to Automotive News [sub], Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe says his company has no plans to build a hybrid diesel car. Toyota leads worldwide sales of gas – electric hybrids, plans to offer diesels on the Tundra/Sequoia platform and sells a truck in Japan with a hybrid diesel powertrain. So what's the issue? Unlike other companies we could mention (cough, GM, cough), Toyota doesn't see the value in rushing prohibitively expensive green technology to market. "A diesel hybrid car would cost more than a gasoline hybrid," explains Watanabe, reminding the greenrush crowd that the car business is still a business. So what of diesel hybrid concepts from Mercedes and Volkswagen? We can only assume that consumers have long become accustomed to overpaying for German offerings. 

If you’ve ever stood at a Swiss platform and watched a train pull in within seconds of its ETA, you’ll know that this small country knows how to get shit done. The Geneva auto show is no exception. Its precise schedule and small scale make it the crown jewel of car confabs. This year, there was enough greenwashing to scrub the Amazon clean. Where once style, performance and a beautiful babe made show cars sexy, halo cars must now wear a badge proclaiming “Saving the planet one car at a time.” As if.

As the American Axle (AA) strike stretches into its second week, Automotive News [sub] reports that GM may be considering bailing out yet another troubled supplier. Thus far, GM has claimed the Axle-caused work stoppages gave them an opportunity to trim bloated truck and SUV inventories. But as the strike begins to halt all of GM's high profit North American truck production, and hobbles hundreds of other suppliers, this shit is getting serious. Negotiations between the United Auto Workers (UAW) and American Axle management are deadlocked. American Axle wants to cut UAW wages in half across the board, from $28/hr to $14/hr. The only viable scenario at this point: the now-standard package of buyouts, buydowns and flowbacks. Once GM has finished buying out enough of its own workers, it could move the holdout American Axle workers to its own payroll, freeing AA management to hire new employees at the now-competitive rate of $14/hr. But isn't the point of GM's buyout program to trim its payroll fat? And hasn't GM already blown its bailout budget on Delphi? Chapter 11 if they do, Chapter 11 quicker if they don't.

We've heard this somewhere before… but it wasn't Chrysler… Oh, right! Nearly two years ago, Renault-Nissan CEPO Carlos Ghosn was making noise about joining/purchasing/dismantling General Motors (at the behest of the Lion of Las Vegas, investor Kirk Kerkorian). GM CEO Rick Wagoner Wagoner circled his Board of Bystanders' wagons and GM was free to tank on its own. As the Motor Authority reports, it's the same story here kids. Anyway, Renault is hoping to make out like a bandit with its 25 percent ownership of longstanding Russian punchline automaker Lada. As Carlos puts it. "Russian car sales may surpass Germany to become Europe's largest single market this year." Also, they may not. Either way, Renault may start supplying Lada with platforms and drivetrains. Presumably it'll be the same entry level stuff Renault-Nissan is giving Chrysler to sell in South America. Wait, what? Anyone else confused?

You’re fighting your speeding ticket in court. Take a lawyer. Yes, I know: a good local attorney will cost more than the fine. But the whole point of fighting is winning. As I explained in the last installment, the average citizen doesn’t have a hope in Hell of winning in traffic court without a lawyer. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I present my case…

Leftlanenews.com reports that Pontiac will show a targa version of the Solstice at the New York Auto Show. A targa would be welcome; ridding the model of its fidgety folding canvas roof thingy. But will putting the panel in the trunk totally kill the Solstice's other bugbear: less storage space than the Bugatti Veyron's Hermes purse? I'm thinking yes. LLN also reports that GM is considering a Solstice coupe. Sometimes a new bodystyle can jump start sales of a car. Other times, it just adds to the 176-day supply of Solstii sitting on dealer lots. If you think that a sad stat– buyers were paying big ass premiums for this car just two years ago– consider the fact that GM hasn't even begun work on a second generation Solstice, or announced any improvements to the car's too much grip not enough fun driving dynamics. The GM's old next big thing ain't so big; it's just small, that's all. 

In spite of the fact that BMW's eliminating jobs around the world, the German automaker is expanding their Spartanburg, South Carolina plant. The Spartanburg Herald-Journal reports the transplant aims to churn-out 240k vehicles per year by 2012. That's well up from the approximate 160k Bimmer's NA plant currently produces. At the moment, Bimmer builds the Z4 roadster and X5 sports utility activity vehicle in the Palmetto State. Later this year, they'll add the X6 sports whatever-it-is. In 2009, Spartenburg will produce a diesel version of the X5 and a hybrid version X6 for the U.S. market. The following year, BMW plans to emigrate Z4 production to Germany and immigrate the next-gen X3 from Magna Steyr in Graz, Austria. What if the weak dollar strengthens? As they say in S.C., dum spiro spero.

Occasional Ferrari designer Pininfarina has unveiled a futuristic concept car that puts a motor at every wheel. According to EVWorld, the Sintesi (Italian for synthesis) is powered by Nuvera's Quadrivium (Latin for a small hydrogen fuel cell and electric motor driving each wheel, apparently). By breaking up the drive train into smaller pieces– a strategy its makers call "liquid" packaging– Pininfarina was free to sculpt an aggressively aerodynamic (i.e. lozenge-like) projectile around four occupants. From the side, the leading edge of the Sintesi's hood seems to channel a bit of muscle car. The coda tronca (cutoff tail) calls to mind a Starfleet shuttle craft. The interior is dominated by a translucent epoxy instrument panel. Though Andrea Pininfarina made all the right noises about his sponsor for the project, the Italian fashionista says his design firm plans to release their own electric vehicle in 2009. So there.

Last July, Delphi agreed to pay GM $2.7b when it emerged from bankruptcy to resolve "long-standing issues." In November, GM said it would settle for $750m in cash and $1.2b in stock AND it would loan Delphi $750m towards the $6.1b needed to exit bankruptcy. And now… GM's agreed to loan their former division another $2.8b. The Detroit News says the new agreement still transfers Delphi stock to GM (now worth $200m less). And Delphi's cash payment to GM shrinks to $175m. Yes, well, five of the six non-GM investors bankrolling Delphi say they'll walk, unhappy with GM's part of the deal. The lead investor, Appaloosa Management, claims the loans are "contrary to Delphi's stated goal of reducing its reliance on and exposure to GM and developing relationships with other (automakers)." And here's the kicker: Delphi has asked the bankruptcy court to force Appaloosa and its partners to continue supporting the restructuring plan. (How to win friends…) Meanwhile, Delphi is still wrangling over providing collateral for some $2b in unpaid pension obligations. They've only put up $150m so far; the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. has filed $600m in liens against Delphi's foreign assets. Legally, the PBGC could seize Delphi's foreign ops to satisfy those obligations. Practically, all Hell would break loose. 

Watching Rick Wagoner is like listening to some weird ass fairy tale: the Emperor's New Car Company. Only no one's saying Wagoner's buck naked and GM isn't new, it's old. As my father says, the only thing worse than getting old is the alternative. GM under Wagoner's administration seems Hell bent on exploring the alternative. Did you know that GM's market cap has shrunk by two-thirds since Wagoner assumed control? Did you know that the only reason the American automaker isn't in worse shape is that Wagoner sold EVERYTHING? Wagoner knows that and more, 'cause he's an accountant. In fact, Wagoner was GM's Chief Financial Officer (CFO) before he ascended to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) spot. And now he's chosen his CFO to be GM's new CEO; only he's calling Fritz the new COO, 'cause, well, Wagoner's still CEO. So here we have not one but TWO beancounters at the top of GM. Who've let a nutcase named Bob Lutz (winner of TTAC's Bob Lutz award) decide what kind of cars to build at a time when their North American market share is slipping, slipping, slipping… And let's be Frank here; the reason that the company is in such trouble is that this terrible triumvirate doesn't know how to build fully competitive cars. Or price them. Or brand them. Or advertise them Or… Doh! Anyway, as long as Wagoner's at the top of GM, you can be sure of one thing: someone somewhere will be cooking the books. 

In an announcement that surely had industry-types frantically calling their favorite headhunters, Businessweek reports that nine of Toyota's top U.S. executives will be retiring by the end of the year. There are now openings for vice president positions in logistics, sales, motorsports, business technology, Toyota University and the top job at Toyota Racing Development. Toyota maintains that these are all normally-scheduled retirements but… what of the Jim Press effect? Aren't experienced Toyota managers learning that they're worth their weight in gold to, ahem, less successful, car companies? Analysts say that this year's sagging sales mean the the time is right for ToMoCo of NA to bring-up a new generation of leaders. Before you polish-up your c.v., the Japanese automaker has a long history of promoting from within. Hai!

Just a few weeks ago, we told you about Nissan's plans to launch the Infiniti brand in Europe. Infiniti has broken their Euro-cherry with their first-ever non-U.S. model launch: the FX50. Leaving aside that the fact that a gas-guzzling five-seat muscle truck may be the wrong model with which to tempt Europeans, the new FX is a gentle evolution. The headlights are a bit weirder, the bronze is even more… bronzy. The V8 engine grows from 4.5-liters and 320 horsepower to 5.0-liters and 390 horsepower. (There will likely be a 3.7-liter out of the G37 also, since the V6 version currently makes up the overwhelming majority of FX's sold in the U.S.) The FX50's transmission is now a seven-speed automatic (pray it's the GT-R's dual clutch system, expect it to be a regular slushbox). If Infiniti really wants to be a player in Europe, this car really needs a V6 diesel. Meanwhile, the FX50 hits U.S. and Canadian showrooms in June.

34-Picture Pixamo Gallery 

The annuls of automotive history are littered with all sorts of coulda, woulda, shoulda beens, and vehicles that were just plain wrong. The Edsel springs to mind. Weird-looking, pricey and built with 1957 technology (in 1958), Ford's Oldsmobile competitor was doomed from the get-go. Then we have the Volkswagen Phaeton, Gen Y's notion of what a failure should be. Unlike the Edsel, Piech's folly was quite handsome, mega-advanced, impeccably built and a decided bargain in the world of high end luxo-barges– especially when fully equipped with a [prodigiously thirsty] 444 hp W12. Its sin? Its badge. But Audi's Allroad is my favorite failure. It was the right car at the right time with the wrong consumers. The Allroad offered more off-road prowess than any soccer mom could need, more interior space than competitors' SUVs and came stuffed with a hot twin-turbo 2.7-liter V6. But Audi didn't stand by its wagon. These days its pushing its eyesore, mega-mouthed, gas-hog stretched Touareg, the Q7. Yippity doo da. Your fave?

Lamborghini has unveiled the new Gallardo LP560-4, claiming its lighter, faster and, inexplicably, greener than its predecessor. I know, I know; you're thinking thank God, I can finally drive one of Sant'Agata's finest without the painful pangs of eco-guilt. So what really makes this Lambo more eco-friendly than other supercars? Why they've improved carbon emissions by 18 percent! Yes, it now gets 17mpg combined– up from 14mpg on last year's model! Exactly the kind of engineering achievements that will have current owners trading in their old, dirty, sinful Gallardos. Lambo CEO Stephan Winkelmann couldn't help but undercut his own bizarre marketing canard, saying "being a supersports car is all about accelerating and top speed… If you want to go fast, you consume, and if you consume, you have emissions. You will never come to the average emissions of the average car." Um, so… is there something we're missing here? Why on earth announce that your expensive, handmade Italian sportscar uses Volkswagen technology to improve its environmental footprint by "lessening friction between mechanized gears, improving the power/weight ratio and engine design?" There may well be a better way to eviscerate the passionate, emotional image of Lamborghini, but we can't think of it.

OK, we're not just looking for the number of questionable E85 propaganda pronouncements in this video report on Autoblog founder Jason Calacanis' Mahalo Daily. We're also interested in the quality of your dissection (i.e. what they didn't say as well as what they did). Bonus points will be awarded for avoiding jargon and (of course) sarcasm. And yes, you can point out fascinating, non-E85-oriented details gleaned from the vid (music, dress, eyebrow work, attempts to avoid staring at certain biological bits, accents, etc.). There is no prize for your punditry per se, but Frank and I will choose the commentator who's the most infotaining and post their name underneath this text, in recognition of your (yes your) service to the cause of common sense environmentalism (the emphasis here on mental). We're talking major props from TTAC's Best and Brightest, as well. Take no prisoners. (As if.)