It's been reported here (and at other less reputable outlets like Der Spiegel, Financial Times) that VW would not be selling the Mk VI Golf stateside. But wait! Panicky VW of America spokesfolks tell Edmunds Inside Line that the new Golf will be sold in the U.S. after all, uncooperative exchange rates be damned. "We are currently planning the new Golf VI and GTI introduction for the fall of next year," says VWoA rep Steve Keys. "The estimated volumes are already included in our 2009 financials." Inside Line reckons a new VW Civic competitor will be built stateside, and that's what has everyone confused. Given that VW won't even decide on a new plant location until this summer, and won't start producing vehicles for another three years, we're willing to bet that VW will cut the Euro-Golf from the US lineup for the Mk VII generation. Meanwhile, we still don't know if the Mk VI will continue to be saddled with the lumpen 2.5 liter I5, or if we'll get a taste of fuel-sipping Euro-spec engines. If VW's really saving almost $2k in production cost on each new Golf, they should be able to take the currency knocks and still offer at least one fuel-efficient engine, right? Right?

I greeted my temporary assignment to Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada with joyful anticipation. After numerous hours in an E-3 looking for simulated bogeys over the Mojave Desert, the proximity to Sin City was a welcome reprieve. Stepping down from my jet, Technical Sgt. Peters handed me a set of keys and pointed to the terminal's parking lot. Examining the plate number on the tag, and seeing a Chevy emblem on the key, I expected a minivan. Instead, a ginormous Express 3500 15-Passenger van assaulted my vision. For this I defend my country?

As this 1999 New York Times article illustrates, Ford's Wayne factory was once Ford's golden goose. The factory cranked-out about $3.7b profit per year building Expeditions and Navigators. Tempus fugit. Nine years later, Yahoo! Business reports that the golden goose will be put into a cryogenic freeze for at least nine weeks, starting June 23rd. The unusually long "temporary shut down" could well become permanent. The Michigan Truck plant builds the Expedition and Navigator. According to the Kansas City Star, "Expedition sales are down 31 percent for the first five months of the year, and Navigator sales are off 22 percent, according to Autodata Corp. Ford had a 124-day supply of Navigators and a 100-day inventory of Expeditions." It seems safe to say that production for the 2008 model year will be over by the time Michigan Truck shuts down next Monday. If future production of these barges is ever needed–a highly doubtful proposition– one of Ford's underutilized pickup truck factories could take over. As for costs savings, United Auto Workers get 95 percent of their pay while the factory is "off-line." This "right sizing" an expensive business, but Ford had to do something to shut off the production spigot.

I was just on the virtual horn with Mr. Berkowitz and we were discussing that for $47,000 the 430 horsepower Corvette is a fantastic bargain. We're also both young, dumb and childless. So Farago's pronouncement of the Corvette as a "death Car" has no effect on us. But then Justin dropped this bomb, "my girlfriend's mom, who is on her third Lexus SC430, told me she thinks the Corvette is the lowest class car a person can buy." Ouch. Take that, Vetteirati. And hey, with the Camaro still not in production, the lady makes a point. But not a great point. See my friends, next to Dodger Stadium yesterday I witnessed the scuzziest car imaginable. That's right, a Fox-bodied Mustang 5.0 with Truck Nutz. Seriously, beat that.

Chevy has dropped the performance specs for the new ZR1 super Corvette. And for the best model line GM currently has, there's no reason to weave the numbers into sonorous prose. So here we go: 638 horsepower from the supercharged 6.2 liter small block V8; top speed is 205 mph, 0-60 in 3.4 seconds, 0-100 in 7 seconds, seats to wet in 1 second. Oh, and because it is June of 2008, we should mention the fuel economy: 14 city/20 highway. Yup, the ZR1 is so badass that not only will it completely smoke anything else with an MSRP under $100,000 (save Godzilla perhaps), but you'll get 20 mpg highway if you keep your foot off the damn pedal. Which may well be impossible. The Corvette is THE most important car in the GM lineup from an image perspective (it's also arguably the best executed car they offer) and they're damn well right to offer super high performance versions every few years, just to cast a halo on the halo car. Finally, we arrive at today's announced price: a hefty $103,000 + a $10,000 options pack (plus dealer rip-off fees). And that means you can either approach the ZR1 as the deal of the century compared to a Ferrari (which costs more and has even higher dealer rip-off fees), or totally overpriced compared to the $72,000 Corvette Z06. As for me, I'd be happy with a lowly base Corvette and its paltry 430 horsepower.

We've seen video of Acura's forthcoming NSX testing on the Nurburgring. It looked like little more than a chopped-up, hopped-up Honda S2000.  Possibly because the test mule was clad in ill-fitting S2000 panels. In any case, KGP photography has caught a camouflaged NSX testing on the road. The NSX's proportions have come to resemble Acura's Advanced Sports Car Concept; there's no question that it's far more GT coupe than the previous mid-engined model. Rumors that the new Acura will offer 2+2 seating now look unlikely. Not that manufacturers are above calling even the tiniest areas "+2 seating." With over 500hp coming from the front-midships V10, we know the thing has some go. If you ignore the too-tight S2000 clothes in the Nurburgring video, you'll see (and hear) the NSX tearing some serious ass. If Top Gear doesn't do a three-way test of this NSX, the Lexus LF-A and the Nissan GTR on Nurburgring, we're seriously going to stop watching… for free, on the internet. Seriously.

Mergers have not always treated the car industry well (hello DCX), but in the cutthroat EV/HEV/PHEV game, joint-venture hookups now appear to be the order of the day. Toyota's got Panasonic for a partner, Daimler's got JCI-Saft, and Nissan has NEC, while GM juggles Cobasys, A123 and LG Chem. Now, two new joint ventures are joining the electric drivetrain development fray. PSA (makers of Peugeot and Citroen cars) has joined Mitsubishi to develop an EV drivetrain for city cars. Auto Motor und Sport reports that Mitsubishi will bring knowledge gleaned from its own partnership with battery maker Yuasa to the joint venture. Elsewhere, Bosch and Samsung have set up a joint lithium-ion battery venture in Korea, according to Green Car Congress. The new venture, SB LiMotive Co. Ltd, will open its doors this September with production beginning in 2010. Samsung's lithium-ion expertise from its consumer electronics battery business will meet Bosch's vehicle-based electronics experience in hopes of creating new industry-leading electric powertrains. Samsung has already developed a manganese-oxide-based lithium-ion cell for EV use; it's looking into vanadium-oxide as a next-gen anode for EV applications. For the eager EV suitors of Silicone Valley (hello Tesla), these hyperconglomerate hookups could mean even more competition for OEM affections, says CNET. Gotta pass those genes proprietary technology development costs along…

In today's most excellent editorial, Michael Karesh highlighted Toyota and GM's relative approaches re: creating and selling new automotive technology. Karesh didn't delve into the cultural differences between the two automakers. For insight into ToMoCo's slow and steady vs. GM's ADD, I offer this quote from Jeffrey Kluger's Simplexity: "Exploitative organisms are creatures with fixed niches and well-established survival strategies. An exploitative organism is unlikely to try something evolutionarily new, preferring instead to stick with what it knows and exploit its environment for familiar resources. This is good for the individual or the next few generations, since playing it safe prevents you from making adaptive mistakes. But it can be bad for the species, which may be slow to adjust to a rapid change in circumstances…. Explorative organisms tend to seek new niches, mutate fast, explore new survival strategies when the opportunities present themselves. This can be costly in the short run, since any evolutionary innovation has a chance of failing, but over the long run it keeps the species flexible." As mainstream manufacturers, both Toyota and GM are intrinsically exploitative organisms. But GM acts like an explorative. And therein lies its weakness. In case you were wondering. In any case, today's news…

Subaru's freshly-unveiled Exiga CUV may be only a vowel away from sharing names with Lotus' Elise-based road racer, but that's where the resemblance ends. The three-row, seven-passenger Subie is a Japanese market only seven-seat option to the once-hideous, now bland Tribeca. Autocar UK claims that the Exiga is based on the Impreza. Elsewhere, we hear it's based on the Legacy. As a JDM-only product, Subaru will offer an front wheel-drive base version without shocking its export customers. Power comes from either naturally aspirated (FWD only) or turbo versions of the corporate 2.0-liter boxer four. The turbo version puts out a tidy 222 hp, in AWD trim only. A diesel version is rumored, but only if Subaru decides to export the Exiga to Europe. Now, if we could only get this turbo-AWD family-hauling thingie to mate with the superlight road-racing Lotus Exige…

Remember when we told you Toyota would be dropping $673m on new battery facilities? In addition to expanding next-gen Li-ion production (and next-next-gen development labs), ToMoCo also wants to increase its current-spec NiMH production capacity. And no wonder. Toyota can't keep the NiMH batteries in stock, limiting sales of its hybrid lineup. The AP reports via the San Jose Mercury that Toyota's investments in production capacity won't bear fruit until next year. "Hybrids are selling so well we are doing all we can to increase production," says executive VP for production Takeshi Uchiyamada. "We need new lines." But the ramifications of Toyota's lack of insight (pun kinda intended) aren't limited to lost sales. Uchiyamada acknowledges that white-hot demand for the NiMH packs are preventing him from extending Toyota's production-greening efforts to the production of "green" hybrid cars. (Figure that one out.) As the industry pioneer in hybrid manufacturing, Toyota's battery shortage is clearly a measure of its product's success. On the other hand, as a longtime leader in production efficiency, it's hard to believe Toyota was caught napping by demand for its hybrids. It seems that when it comes to hybrids, Toyota's "just-in-time" ethic translates a little closer to "hurry up and wait." 

The New York Times' editorial board is calling it. The SUV's Time of Death is… Black Tuesday. And while their headline says "RIP," what they actually mean is "may you rot in Hell you gas-sucking, planet-warming bastard." "It’s hard to convince most Americans that there is a silver lining to $4-a-gallon gasoline. But General Motors provided a nugget of good news when it announced that it would shutter much of its production of pickups and sport utility vehicles — and might even get rid of the Hummer, the relative of the Abrams tank unleashed on the streets in the cheap-gas days of the 1990s. It’s hardly the solution to global warming, or the country’s dependence on imported oil, but it’s a start." No ambiguity there, then. Nope. Nor is there any doubt– well, just a little– that high gas prices are just what the planet ordered. And can I get that with a side order of MORE taxes? "Expensive gasoline is not good news for most American families… Still, Americans’ response to rising gasoline prices makes an excellent case for a gas tax. It proves that drivers will change their behavior in response to high fuel prices. And even if Detroit doesn’t buy global warming, drivers can help persuade it to embrace fuel efficiency. They don’t even have to know that the Honda Civic emits less than half the 13 tons of greenhouse gases spewed by the Ford F-150."

WardsAutomotive reports from the floor of [their very own] Automotive Interiors Show that electronics supplier Continental AG is in love with Vegas, baby. "What happens outside the car should also happen inside the car,” company rep Brian Droessler told the throngs. Huh? "The Internet in cars is coming," Droessler explains. "People want it.” So what about safety? "Continental’s new dual-mode display screen situated in a vehicle’s center stack. Based on the angle of the viewers, the screen shows one image to the driver and another to the front-seat passenger, without either person seeing what the other is viewing." In other words, the driver can look at maps and arrows while the passenger watches a Savannah Sampson movie. (Needless to say, the display system will be available in the U.S. in 2010.) No seriously. Safety is serious. Hence another Ward's article on in-car info overload. "Twenty-two percent of car accidents or near-accidents are due to non-driving related distractions, says Steve Polakowski, executive director-advanced interiors and electrical/electronics systems for Magna International Inc.’s Decoma International subsidiary." But really, we heart toys! Hence another article on a new sat nav system that predicts traffic jams, and routes (BMW?) drivers accordingly. Mixed messages? Nah. Just caring and sharing. [NB: equal time was given to fans of Eric Stromer.] 

Rumors that Nissan will build Dodge's Hornet compact car are spreading like an STD on spring break. Not only are many of the car blogs– Autoblog, Motor Authority— covering the story, the subscription-only Automotive News is bringing the noise as well. We already knew Nissan would be building compact cars for Dodge in Mexico and possibly other overseas markets, and that Dodge would build the next generation full-size pickup for Nissan. AND we knew Dodge was looking to outsource production of its Hornet compact car to anyone, even the Chinese. So this isn't exactly groundbreaking. But there's other reason to yawn: the people that really care if Dodge has a compact car are Dodge dealers. Nissan moves about 10k Versas per month (handily outselling the much-ballyhooed Honda Fit for example). But it's not what anyone would call a class leader as a vehicle. That means Dodge will be selling a fairly high MPG car, with an extraordinarily ugly shape (if the Hornet concept is the basis) without Nissan's reputation for top-tier and reliable econoboxes. It wouldn't even have the novelty of being the first fully Chinese-made car to sell in the US. The upshot: with a Dodge standard rebate, the Hornet might just be dirty cheap. And I mean dirty.

Critics of Chevrolet's upcoming plug-in gas – electric hybrid Volt fail to realize one thing: it doesn't matter if the car isn't perfect. It doesn't even matter if the Volt fails to achieve ANY of its much-hyped metrics: price, range or reliability. It's what happens AFTER GM's Hail Mary is released that counts. If GM can keep plugging-away (so to speak) on the Volt, they could, eventually, offer a genuine competitor to the the all-conquering Toyota Prius. One need only look at the fiddly roof still blighting the once red-hot Pontiac Solstice to know the odds of this happening are not high. Or, alternatively, contemplate GM's new product development history vs. the genesis of the Prius.

Yesterday, Cardomain bragged told their tribes that they were having dinner with GM Car Czar Maximum Bob Lutz. They asked readers what questions they should demand (in a sycophantic sort of way) of the winner of TTAC's first annual Bob Lutz Award. Cardomain received all of 15 responses, most of which were pretty lame. However, there were a few good ones. "Why is it so easy for foreign GM divisions in Australia and Europe to make great cars, and so hard for GM in America to make them?" We haven't been invited to dinner with anyone (and aren't holding our breath until an invitation shows up in our mailbox). But still, it's an interesting question– one that our own RF answered with "Is your pension bankruptcy proof?" So now, we're giving you, TTAC's Best and Brightest, the chance to play fantasy asshole. If Bob Lutz' handlers suddenly suffered a total breakdown in judgment and invited us– OK, you– to a one-on-one dinner with their head of Global Product Development, what would you ask GM's car guru?