AutoblogGreen sets 'em up. We knock 'em down. This time, Tesla's cheerleaders are hailing the fact that Larry Sonsini has joined Tesla's Board of Directors. "The presence of Sonsini as a member of the Tesla team is of particular importance moving forward because of his area of expertise. Sonsini is Chairman of Silicon Valley law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and a specialist in IPOs and mergers and acquisitions. This is important because Tesla chairman Elon Musk has previously declared that the company will be going public, likely sometime in 2009." So the car company that's allegedly delivered two car to a single paying customer, a Silicon Valley start-up that's lighting cigars with $100 bills, wants some more cash to burn. Some more of someone else's cash to burn. And Sonsini, a man hauled in front of the House for investing in whilst advising companies who backdated options, is just the shark they need to find and devour the whales. You know, as "Tesla Motors drives forward the electric transport revolution and grows to become one of the great car companies of the 21st century." Call me cynical, but Silicon star IPO guy or no, how can anyone trust a lawyer who says his "yardstick of success" is "inner peace?"

AutoblogGreen reports that Brazil is launching a "diplomatic offensive" to promote its sugarcane ethanol exports to the EU, culminating at this November's World Biofuel Summit in São Paulo. Underlying the push: a Brazilian ethanol glut that American corn farmers have sworn their lives to keep on the other side of the border (and yes, we do have a border). Speaking to the Europeans, Brazil's Director of Energy tried to contrast Brazilian sugar-based ethanol and American corn-based ethanol. André Caranha Correa arguies that his countries product does not impact foodstocks. Of course, Brazilian ethanol does present a number of less-than-feel-good challenges, from widespread ecological impacts to the near-slave labor conditions of workers in the sugar industry. But hey, what else are charm offensives for? 

Some say it's bad enough that Porsche sullied its brand by building an SUV. Automotive News [sub] reports that Porsche is looking to add sacrilege on top of brand defilement; Cayennes may soon be produced stateside. Word first came out in Handelsblatt magazine, which cited "internal sources." VW spokesman Andreas Meurer confirmed the gastric rumor. "When we discuss whether to build the [VW] Touareg and [Audi] Q7 in the USA, we also talk about the Cayenne." Previously, we'd heard that the new U.S. plant would produce Jettas. But since The Land of the Free is the major market for the VW/Audi/Porsche SUV triplets, and the dollar's weaker than the V6 Cayenne's on-ramp acceleration, there's a compelling case for bringing VW Group truck production stateside. Germanophiles note: all three utes are currently built in Bratislava, Slovakia; BMW builds (and exports) their SUVs in South Carolina while Mercedes does the same in Alabama. As Big 2.8 supporters will tell you, as long as Cayenne profits end up in Zuffenhausen, it's still a German car. Technically speaking. On both points. 

I've always liked Lamborghinis better than Ferraris. I have no rational basis for feeling this way. Oddly enough, that makes me the perfect Lambo client; except for the "I have no money" part. But let's say you have a bit of extra cash/credit/cocaine lying around the McMansion, but you're still a couple of tens of thousands of dead presidents short of the $201k needed to purchase the (now) entry level Gallardo LP560-4. You could by a Porsche. But that's a bit like spicing-up your mac & cheese with a can of tuna. Fear not! Lamborghini has a solution for you: a certified pre-owned (CPO) purchase program! Imagine, all the joy inherent to a dealership experience plus the calming charms of buying a used Italian supercar. How could you lose? After all, Ferrari and Maserati have had similar programs in place for years. Of course, paying a monthly nut for a used bull will still cost an arm and a leg and a lucky lotto ticket. How much? If you have to ask, you have to ask. Only we can't tell you and neither can Lamborghini. But when they can, we will. Any guesses?

Last November, we told you the RV industry was tanking. Back then, Winnebago put a happy face on looming disaster, saying "we still have the demographic wind at our back." Fast forward four months and Winnebago's hanging on by the skin of its Vista. The Wall Street Journal reports that two smaller RV manufacturers have gone Tango Uniform; the big boys are in big trouble. "Coachmen Industries Inc., whose sales have declined 40% over the past three years, is borrowing against the value of life-insurance policies it holds on employees and retirees." Unlike GM's purchase of it's H.Q., "Fleetwood Enterprises Inc., which has posted five straight years of losses, recently sold its Riverside, Calif., headquarters and is seeking buyers for other properties, in an effort to raise $100 million to finance a looming bond redemption." The industry's set to take another hit, thanks to 145k trailers and mobile homes purchased by the U.S. government before and after Hurricane Katrina (shelling-out $2.7b in no-bid contracts, no less). Now known as Toxic Trailers— thanks to their high formaldehyde levels– the products are sure to inspire a class action lawsuit that could be a knockout blow both financially and PR-wise for the whole RV industry. 

Conventional wisdom says never buy a car the first year it's on the market, whether it's a brand new model or a redesign of an existing one. TrueDelta's latest quarterly results say… it depends from whence cometh the car. The 2008 Honda Accord, Nissan Rogue and Mercedes C-Class, for example, all boast a better than average repair rate. On the other hand, GM. Last year, the GMC Acadia and Saturn's Aura and Outlook showed higher than normal repair rates. So far this model year, they're lower than average rates. The cycle is repeating for the 2008 Cadillac CTS (2.5 times the average repair rate) and Saturn Vue (1.5 times the average). TrueDelta developer Michael Karesh sums it up thus: "For GM, rough launches appear to be the rule rather than the exception." So the next time GM CEO Rick Wagoner and Co. feel like mouthing-off about the "perception gap" supposed afflicting their narrow-minded non-customers, they should visit TrueDelta (and/or TTAC) for some cold, hard truth. if we don't say so ourself. Which we do. 

Industry Week's David Blanchard offers an analysis of Just In Time (JIT) manufacturing's dangers, from Boeing's delayed Dreamliner to Motown's supplier woes ("woes" as in torpedoes aimed straight the mothership's hull). Blanchard says JIT is fine in theory. "Some Japanese automakers have done quite well with that type of win-win relationship, often symbolized by the idea of the keiretsu, or joint partnership. The Detroit Three automakers, on the other hand, apparently see greater promise in pursuing lose-lose relationships… Look at the relationship (if you want to call it that) between Chrysler and one of its Tier One suppliers, Plastech, who had fallen on hard times. Rather than offering assistance to a key supplier, Chrysler canceled its contract with Plastech, which not only led Chrysler to temporarily shut down production at four assembly plants, but also caused Plastech to file for bankruptcy protection." While that's not the way it went down– Chrysler bailed and bailed until it bailed– Blanchard's wider point is valid. "The key word in supply chain management is management, and when relationships aren't managed properly (or at all), then there really isn't much of a supply chain. What you've got instead is a mad free-for-all, and ultimately, a lot of unhappy customers." And, we might add, employees, shareholders and dealers.

The fact that we’re even having this discussion tells you how far Audi’s come in the uber-sports sedan sweepstakes. Normally, this comparo would write itself. BMW M3 = driver’s car with super smooth, vicious punch. Audi RS4 = sure-footed supersonic GT with numb tiller. BMW fun. Audi fast. BMW wins. But since this contest was first mooted, The Boys from Bavaria have made the jump to V8 space, while Audi have finally figured-out how to make not dying entertaining. But has anything changed? 

In my imagination, GM execs start every major meeting cranking-up the Talking Heads' "Burning down the House" and dancing in that awkward style peculiar to drunk 50-somethings at the latter part of their daughter's wedding. In real life, they probably exchange worried glances over highly polished tables every now and then and continue their "work" with grim, monotone determination. Well here's an arched eyebrow for you guys: The Wall Street Journal reports that GM CFO Ray Young is "open to raising additional financing to weather the auto industry's current downturn and other challenges facing the company" at the same time that he "remains confident in its liquidity for 2008." I love a mixed message in morning. Smells like… bankruptcy. "If the current adverse economic conditions persist or deteriorate further we would consider a wide range of actions," Mr. Young said. On Ray's To-Do list: "opportunistically" tapping credit markets, including funding sources in the U.S., selling "noncore" assets and/or "reprioritizing" its capital spending. Question: what credit markets? GM credit ratings sucks. Cerberus' struggles with Chrysler have polluted the private equity pond and GM's already spending $2b on interest payments. What non-core assets? GM's already sold off everything it's got of any real value. And what do you mean by "reprioritizing" cap ex? Cutting back on product development? And I wonder why this article neglected to mention the newly released information that GM's cash burn for the year is estimated at $8b– and counting.  $24b (claimed liquidity) – $10b (float) – $8b (current cash burn) – ? = C11. [thanks to jthorner for the tip]

The AP [via Yahoo] brings news that the UAW local representing GM's Ontario, Ohio metal stamping plant has given notice of their "intent to strike" this Thursday at 10am. Ontario makes hoods, doors, fenders and floor pans for several GM cars and trucks. Previously, GM plants in Warren and Grand Rapids threatened strikes but settled at the last moment. The UAW workers at Lansing Interiors, however, made good on their threat; the supplier's been on strike almost three weeks, pulling the rug out from under GM's Lambda crossover production (Outlook, Acadia, Enclave). Is the United Auto Workers (UAW) subjecting GM to a death by a thousand cuts? What's the point of negotiating a national contract if every plant covered by the agreement goes out on strike over "local issues?" Union Prez Big Ron Gettelfinger says that the Ontario and other strike threats "are about local contract issues and have nothing to do with American Axle." Yeah right. Most analysts see the GM strikes as an attempt to keep GM's feet to the fire, to force the automaker to bail out/buy out American Axle's union members. Whatever the reason, it will be a long time before GM starts making trucks again. In case anyone's wondering.

The Globe and Mail reports that the International Energy Agency (IEA) has cut its 2008 forecast on global demand for oil. Don't worry, the IEA says demand will still grow. But not by the aforepredicted 1,233,000 barrels per day (BPD). The new figure: 1,030,000 BPD. The 230k BPD adjustment was attributed to softening demand for oil in the USA (still the world's largest consumer) and world-record oil prices. I wonder if those two factoids are connected… Anyway, the news comes as oil futures hit $126.40 per barrel on Monday. Hedging its oil futures bets, the IEA notes that "sustained weakness in European consumption" and "reassessment of fuel subsidies in countries such as Indonesia may create more downside risks." If their predictions come to bear, it'll be a simple affirmation of market principles. That said, if oil prices go down, the consumer will be the last to see it.

Buried in a CTVnews.ca story about the upcoming launches of the Ford Flex and the 2009 F-150: Ford's view of the future. Reporter Jeremy Cato spent some QT with Ford execs (including FoMoCo CEO Big Al Mullaly himself) to find out if there's a future in their Ford. Once again, Ford's top brass tout their forthcoming product revamps to predict a return to operationally profitability by the last financial quarter. In that vein, Ford intends to release models that will be "polarizing" for most consumers. Huh? "That's is exactly what we want," proclaims the Flex's design chief. By the end of the article, Cato remains unconvinced that the Flex will be relevant. (Not everyone can– or should– be Chris Bangle.) Cato declares that all Ford's marketing-speak, brand sell-off and quality initiatives are essentially Big Al's push to turn Ford into Toyota. You know: one global brand, a solid reputation for quality and billions in profits posted like clockwork every quarter. Yeah. that one. Meanwhile, The Blue Oval Boyz concede a porno style loss for the fiscal year. Yes, "it will be a big one."

GM's Rick Wagoner clone, Fritz Henderson, recently told the AP's Tom Krisher that the U.S. auto industry is in a recession. (Insert "Duh!" here.) Regular, non-lobotomized reader of Frank Williams' By The Numbers series would have come to that conclusion two months ago. Fritz trots out the usual explanations for GM's woes: "troubled housing market, tight credit and higher gasoline prices that are sending consumers from trucks to cars at a rate much faster than the company has ever seen." The last part is particularly odd and GM-centric, because the truck-for-car swap hits GM a lot harder than Toyota or Honda given each company's respective product mix ratios. Fritz then goes on to confirm what many have speculated: "The 11-week strike at parts supplier American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc. has had only a minimal effect on the company's retail sales, largely because it had built up a large inventory of pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles at a time when the market shifted to smaller vehicles." By minimal, of course, Fritz means $800m in lost EBT (earnings before taxes, which in this case, is sales to dealers) as the AP diligently reminds us. Be careful Fritz, $800m here, $800m there, and pretty soon we'll be talking about real money.