Regular readers should know by now that Autoblog Green will say nice things about anything that it considers "green enough." But as chic as it may be at the moment, the "green at all costs" posture has its downsides, particularly when you end up saying that the demise of the Bajaj three-wheeler is "unfortunate." Then again, maybe there really is something to be said for third-world three wheelers, because now ABG is all thrilled about the prospect of another pedicab special, this time from Thai firm Tuk Tuk, hitting the US market. The Tuk Tuk is currently undergoing EPA and NHTSA testing to see if the mainstay of Bangkok's taxi industry is ready for U.S. sales. And yes, for those who must know, the two-stroke engine which gave the Tuk Tuk it's goofy name is staying in the developing world where it belongs, to be replaced for American duty by either a 200cc or 650cc liquid-cooled four-stroke. It will be offered in a variety of body styles, for passenger, cargo or truck duty. The three-wheeled oddity may even be offered with an LPG drivetrain, which is sure to have the eco-friendly ice cream vendors lined up around the block.

We've reported that Delphi was a little tardy on making its required pension contributions. Some $323m short, to be precise. Even so, Delphi said it wouldn't be transferring its obligations to the Pension Benefit Guarantee Company (PCBG). The Detroit News reports that the PBGC is switching into proactive mode. "We will act forcefully to protect Delphi's pension plans," the PCBG's director warned. "Especially in light of the company's decision not to seek renewal of its pension funding waivers." Charles E.F. Millard ain't just whistling Dixie. "We will draw down certain letters of credit and keep liens in place on the company's assets until Delphi has successfully emerged and made its pension plans whole." As Delphi won't be seeking an extension of it's pension-funding obligation waiver from the IRS, the PBGC will cash some $173m in Delphi credit when the deadline expires (23rd of May). Delphi spokesfolks say the company "expects to be able to meet its pension funding strategy through a combination of cash contributions and transfers of certain unfunded pension liabilities to a plan sponsored by GM." Delphi's skipped $2.3b in pension contributions since declaring bankruptcy in 2005. At the end of 2007, the former GM parts division was carrying an unfunded pension obligation of $3.3b. So who's gonna end up with that hot potato? 

Automotive News [sub] reports that Opel is moving upmarket. It's GM's attempt to "democratize technology" and emphasize their Euro-brand's "traditional German manufacturing attributes." The new strategy is designed to move Opel away from its image as "the European Chevrolet"– so that Chevrolet can become the European Chevrolet. "Opel and Chevrolet will be bookends with a clear position for both," GM-Europe President Carl-Peter Forster promises. "Over time, we will emphasize Opel's German heritage, engineering and design." But don't worry: GM plans to keep the German domestic affordable. "We are not talking about a premium price for Opel," Forster said, "but a one percent to three percent increase is foreseeable." Design, technology and image are all part of the brand touch-up– not, Forster insists, a "reinvention." Yes well, Europe is facing a premium small car glut as Fiat, MINI and others seek full-sized profits from compact cars. With GM dependent on overseas sales to keep the wolf from the door, Opel had better hope this gambit pays off.

It ain't easy being a small independent sportscar maker. Just ask Spyker. The Dutch firm lost $110m and a Formula One team last year. While Lotus knows exactly what hard times look like, they reversed the curse by eschewing flashy F1 campaigns in favor of a profitable technical consultancy and contract manufacturing (including the Tesla Roadster). The Motor Authority reports that Spyker and Lotus are facing the future under the umbrella of a "Parts and Platform Commonality Agreement." Lotus will  source parts and assist in the design of forthcoming Spyker C8 Aileron and D12 Sports Utility. Spyker will… pay for it. The two firms have worked together in the past; Spyker considered buying Lotus back in the day. With a Lotus-fettled Spyker at the top end of the market, is there still room for a new Lotus Esprit? No.

California's Air Resources Board (CARB) has been a Detroit boogeyman for some time, occupying the angry, bitter section of auto exec's hearts (normally reserved for the UAW and the folks who control Japan's currency). But The Detroit News reports that tensions may be easing between the industry and the the California cloudchasers. CARB Chairwoman Mary Nichols told reporters at the Society for Automotive Engineers (SAE) Government/Industry session that the board is considering modifying California's emissions controls to become regional, rather than statewide rules. Details are still emerging as to what exactly just what the Hell that means. And that means the thaw in relations is largely rhetorical, with the industry accepting that CARB regulations are basically unstoppable and CARB reaching out to quell manufacturer and dealer concerns. "We can have a national fuel economy policy and still allow California a role as a laboratory for innovative approaches to reducing carbon dioxide emissions," says Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers President Dave McCurdy, stressing that a national approach is better. Nichols, for her part, says the regulations will entail only "a small increase in costs" and "a little bit of creative repackaging." Meanwhile, Green Car Congress reports that California's Pavely regulations would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 41 percent more than new CAFE standards, if applied nationally. How great is that?

As U.S. politicians respond to the imperative "Do something, anything about all those soccer moms driving around while yakking on cell phones (except my wife, of course)," it looks like we ain't got game. According to the country cell phone bans list, use a cell phone whilst driving in New Delhi, India– hands-free or no– and you're looking at prison time. But do all these legal strictures actually increase road safety? The Wall Street Journal [sub] reports that many researchers have concluded that the only deterrent that makes a difference is the New Delhi solution. The New York Times [reg] recently reported on work from Carnegie Mellon saying that even listening on a hands-free cell phone impairs drivers as much as knocking back a few beers. Nobody seems to talk about the safety benefits of cell phones including calling AAA for help with a flat tire, calling 911 to report accidents, reporting road debris before someone gets hurt or calling in drunk drivers. Perspective people, perspective.

The problems at Chrysler are immense: lackluster products, development cutbacks, a hugely bloated dealer network, cash flow issues, you name it. And don't forget Chrysler Finance. Although the former cash cow is now behind the veil of private ownership, the lender is in deep doo-doo. Not as deep as GMAC's ResCap. If GMAC's mortgage unit goes down, it'll take GMAC with it, and, potentially, sink GM. Even if GMAC somehow makes it though this incipient recession, GM's supplier problems– including the unresolved strike at American Axle and the ongoing debacle at Delphi– are looking more and more like a Gordian knot making love to a black hole (thank you Jonny). In fact, taken as a whole, GM's problems are worse than they were in late 2005. Oh, did I mention that the window for Chrysler owners Cerberus to sue Daimler for fraudulent conveyance ends in early August? Folk, it’s getting ugly, and we're not even calculating Ford's woes or the simple fact that Detroit's manufacturing jobs are leaving the country. We will be here through these dog days. When the excrement hits the air re-circulation device, just remember: we told you so. And we will take no joy in what happens next. 

Chrysler's finally seen the light. After years of building versions of everything they build to sell under every brand they sell, they've canceled the Chrysler version of the Dodge Journey CUV. Co-prez Jim Press stopped by the passive construction site to explain that "resources have been deployed to basically support" development of the small car to be manufactured by Nissan. "It's a segment we are not competing in now." (What was his first clue?) Bloomberg reports that this move means Chrysler will only be introducing three new models for the 2009 model year: the Journey, the Challenger and a redesigned Ram. That leaves Chrysler looking toward the magic year 2010, when they hope to have their new compact ready to go along with new versions of the Grand Cherokee and Durango (no mention of the Aspen, though) and a redesigned Charger and 300. Will it be a case of too little, too late? We'll have to wait a couple of years to find out — if Chrysler lasts that long.

How else are we supposed to spin this? The Detroit News reports that Ford engineering veep Paul Mascarenas has announced an "international campaign (?) with five universities to develop a car that is simple, lightweight, practical and priced below $7,000." Something like, I dunno, the Tata Nano? Of for God's sake, you say, stop picking on these guys. The Model T redux is part of that national transportation week weak deal, and a laudable effort to encourage and reward young engineering talent. What's this then? Mascarenas says the program, which will award an $25k to the winning university, is more than an academic exercise. "The Model T has assured its place in history; perhaps 100 years from now, someone will be standing here honoring one of these cars." Which cars? The cars they haven't built? Or the cars that Ford won't be building? Or the ones Ford will be building, after all the paperwork's been signed. Meanwhile, GM's global sales veep has a thing or two to say about the whole past – future thing. "GM is venturing into the future with some ambitious plans, a solid determination, as we launch into our second century," John Middlebrook intoned. "We believe strongly about what we will deliver." For what they are to deliver, may the federal bankruptcy court make us truly thankful. Amen. [thanks to MgoBLUE for the link] 

Ferraristi are set to get down on their knees and pray as the Prancing Horse has finally released pictures of their new California, The front mid-engined machine will debut (a French word) at the next Paris Auto Show. The +2 convertible features a folding hardtop and seven-speed dual clutch transmission. The horny Fornie's 4.2-liter V8 engine will hurl the aluminum-bodied GT to 60 mph in less than four seconds. Carbon-ceramic brakes should retard said insanity at will. [ED: At least until the damn thing breaks.] The Kalifornia's F1-Trac traction control system "has been further enhanced to suit the typical driving conditions expected for this new GT." Valet parking stand? Climate-controlled garage? Maranello's madmen are promising more details in advance of the show, 'cause they really need to build-up some hype for this new car in order to fill-up the order book before production. Not. [Hat tip to PistonHeads for the lead]

Slumping U.S. new car sales– and their effect on manufacturers– are getting a lot of ink (and unleashing torrents of the red variety). Meanwhile, the American used car market ain't a load of laughs, either. Dollar Rental has checked-in with their financial results for the first quarter of the financial year. Explaining their $297.9m Q1 loss, Dollar's CEO brings the noise. "As we had anticipated, weakness in demand and pricing in January, coupled with an increase in fleet costs, adversely affected our performance in the quarter." Now don't get to thinking that this is good news for The Big 2.8, reflecting their oft-stated commitment to cutting back residual-killing fleet sales. Dollar asserts that "vehicle depreciation costs per vehicle increased approximately 31 percent in the first quarter of 2008 over the first quarter of 2007, and were above the Company's expectations due primarily to softness in the used car market." In other words, unloading their old shit is proving problematical. Solution? "The Company expects that its new fleet optimization software, together with the anticipated extension of fleet holding periods, should moderate the increase in vehicle depreciation costs over the course of the year and should enable the Company to operate a more efficient fleet program." Bottom line: look for rental cars to get older and prices to go up. 

GM Car Czar Bob Lutz doesn't know who we are (which is a shame since RF gave him the "Maximum Bob" moniker and we've named an award in his honor). GM's jeffe of press releases, Christopher Barger, doesn't want to admit he does. However, we know through our "inside sources" (i.e. server stats) that quite a few people in GM read TTAC. In spite of that, you won't find TTAC on GM's Fastlane blog's list of "Auto Links" and especially not in their list of "Blogs We Like." And we have never, not ONCE had a post or email or interview with a single GM flack. However, no one seemed to let GM Europe know of our pariah status. Yesterday, I was searching the web and ended-up on GM Europe's "Social Media Newsroom" web site. I scanned down the page to their Blog Roll. The list was in alphabetical order (after the GM blogs listed at the top, of course). And there, fourth from the bottom was The Truth About Cars. Clerical error? Secret admirer? Glasnost? No matter how you slice it, the Euro-blog (not bog) roll is the only GM part of the GM Empire that acknowledges TTAC's existence. Regardless of the reason, we challenge GM to show some balls and put us in the listings on all their other blog sites. After all, we put stuff about GM on our front page all the time. And remember guys: 800 words, unedited, whenever you like.

In a direct homage to Glorious Communist Plans of Stalin and Mao, Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn has announced his employer's latest five-year plan. The New York Times reveals the catchy name: GT 2012 (G for Growth, T for Trust). Trust? "In our industry, the companies that are performing best are the ones that have established a high level of trust with the different stakeholders.” So no American Axle, Plastech troubles for them, then. Anyway, amongst Carlos' goals: improved quality control, expansion of the Infiniti lineup into Europe, mo' and mo' better entry level cars , increased sales in the BRIC and Middle East, and something about profit (per-share dividend of 42 yen for '09'10, the rest TBA). Oh, and electric vehicles in the U.S. market within two years (yes 2010) and globally ever after. Just remember: they chose to do it. "Nissan decided to accelerate  development of battery-powered vehicles because of high gasoline prices and environmental concerns, not just because of the need to meet stricter fuel-economy standards." The conflict being? And in a dig at another electric vehicle, Carlos proclaims "We're not interested in some Stars Wars prototype." Tough talk for a man who says "“We’re talking about hundreds of [electric] vehicles first."

AuoblogGreen is at it again, doing whatever it can to support Tesla Motors in this, their decade of need. This time 'round, the tree hugger's favorite automotive website is trying to referee what the Brits call a "slanging match" between ousted Tesla founder Martin Eberhard and Tesla mouthpiece Darryl Siry re: Eberhard's Roadster. As in where the Hell is it? Is Eberhard's Roadster VIN number 2 or the second car produced or both or neither? What did the company promise him? Why did Tesla build VIN 3 and 4 first? Feel free to click over and get the "he said, she said" version. Suffice it to say, I couldn't give a shit. And I have a very hard time understanding why anyone would. The reason I'm blogging this: we still don't know whether or not to end this Birth Watch (and convert to Death Watch). Hard to believe, but Tesla hasn't announced a single "real" customer delivery. We've heard unconfirmed reports that Autoblog founder Jason Calacanis got his (so to speak). Tesla should either promote this fact or tell Calacanis to shut up, while Autobloggreen should focus on what's really going on (or not) at Tesla. IMHO.

Worldscreen.com reports that NBC will see Ford's Knight Rider and raise it an everything. In other words, GM has cut a product placement deal that should see the peacock network festooned with GM products, featured in everything from "My Own Worst Enemy" to "Top Gear." Yes, there is that. Anyone harboring the idea that the NBC version of the no-holds-barred British car program will be critical of advertisers' vehicles would do well to clock the fact that this GM – NBC tie-up is worth several tens of millions of dollars. That and the admission that the accord (so to speak) is "not just been about media units, it's also about how we as an advertiser can dig deeper into their brands… and ours." This from Dino Bernacchi, GM's director of marketing alliances and branded entertainment. But the inappropriately-branded car puns don't stop there. "NBC has really been aggressive to promote alternative ideas in-program and around-the-program that leverages multiple touch points. We call it Fusion Marketing— partnering with the creative community around ideas that build relationships with a passionate audience but done through the lens of the entertainment property to showcase the cool, new great cars and trucks we offer. This deal sets a tone for how we'll be approaching this year's upfronts." Hey, at least they're up front about it. Or, as far as viewers are concerned, not.