Kia is one of the only car brands sold in America that's never built an enthusiast's car. Sensible Swedish Saab offered the 900. Before their core clientele started losing their pulse, Buick ran the Grand National. Saturn looked to the Sky for salvation. GMC got caught up in a Typhoon. Even Hyundai has the Tiburon circling its enthusiast oriented customers. Kia? Nothing but cheap. Or… maybe not. "Being practical doesn't mean you have to take the joy out of life," their web copy proclaims. "That's the thinking behind the Rio. It's affordable and likes a good time as much as you do." What exactly does THAT mean?

Now that Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli has recovered from his back injury (after bending over backwards to assure his employer that the ailing American automaker wasn't about to implode), Boot 'Em Bob's amped-up the PR. (No, I don't attribute the end of the radio silence to yesterday's Chrysler Suicide Watch.) Nardelli appeared on CNBC [reported via Bloomberg] to tell the world that ChryCo "had" $9b in the kitty last year. Let's see… a $1.6b loss last year, a catastrophic sales decline this year, the need for a multi-billion dollar float to keep the lights on, massive capital investment in competitive new small car products– oh wait, scratch that. The bottom line? "We're still in very good shape," Nardelli told the network. Yes, well, he would say that, wouldn't he? But what about this? "I have to take charge to get us through 2008 and make sure we are better positioned to 2009," Nardelli said. I have to take charge? Not I am taking charge? Uh-oh. Continuing the theme of decisiveness, Nardelli revealed to Reuters that Chrysler "may have to go back and resize" production. Ya think? The truck-heavy company's sales declined 19 percent so far this year.

Dell Computers wants to sell you a car. According to Automotive News [sub], we're talking expensive cars. Even though high gas prices and a crippled economy have put the brakes on the high end car market, Michael Dell re-thinks different. He sees "opportunity all up and down the spectrum." Dell CEO and former Sonic Automotive President Jeffrey Rachor might just be planning to spend $500m on premium and import car dealerships. Why? "When people are panicking and don't really know what to do, that's probably the period of greatest opportunity from an investor's standpoint to make changes and do good things." OK, but why cars? The elephant in the room: Dell's straight to the customer sales paradigm. Is the long-awaited era of B2C mass customization upon us? 

Admirably, y'all responded rationally to BMW's GINA Light Visionary Concept. Instead of just screaming "yucky!" like the rest of the car blogosphere, TTAC's B&B took a step back and said, "Hmmm…." Trust me, as someone who has to think about cars all day, it's nothing but fresh air to see readers take such a cerebral tack. And so the GINA is skinned in fabric. Hmmm… Going on nothing but my observation that in normal usage convertibles seem to have a seven-year life span, this may not be the best idea. But, Bangle's comment about "Function over dogma" got my little brain spinning. Why not fabric? Or plastic? Or anything else? Why always metal? Would you drive a non-metal car? Really?

Edmunds Inside Line hears from mysterious "supplier sources" that the Blue Oval won't build new Mercurys after 2012. Why on earth would Ford kill a beloved brand with such a rich heritage? Maybe because Mercury sales are set to drop below Lincoln's for the first time since 1938. The Fusion-based Milan should be the last of its current models manning the ramparts, once the Montego and Grand Marquis hit the dust sometime in 2011 or early 2012. Looking down the road, the Mercury cup hardly runneth over, without even a version of Lincoln's Flexible MKT crossover or the 2010 Ford Taurus. Edmunds rests its case with this quote from Ford Presidente del Americas, Mark Fields: "We've laid out a strategy to focus a lot of our efforts going forward on the Lincoln side of the franchise. That's where a majority of our focus is going to be, and Lincoln will become the dominant portion of the Lincoln-Mercury franchise, which is a flip from the history." But if that sounds too grim, note that Fields told Automotive News [sub] that "[Mercury] is an important part of the stable of brands." In fact, FoMoCo would continue to invest in the nameplate. Is this a sign of internal divisions over Mercury's fate? All things being equal, it's probably just a ruse to generate faith in the brand, while it's being taken out back to be shot.

As goes ToMoCo, so Ghosn Nissan. Once truck-happy, Nissan is shifting its production away from not-so-good-on-gas trucks and SUVs and is instead building more cars. Nearly alone in the industry, Nissan's sales rose 8.4 percent in May. However, sales of the full-size Titan and Armada were off a 50 percent each. Nissan stayed afloat on the back on the Altima; the CamCord competitor saw its sales climb to 34,428 units (up 43 percent). By shifting around production at its North American plants, Nissan feels it can up production of the hot selling Altima, while decreasing production of the not big boys– without laying off any workers. The shift should yield an additional 2k Altimas a month. It doesn't mean Nissan is getting out of the truck business, though. The Titan will be replaced by a Mexican-built badge-engineered Dodge Ram while Nissan rebadges Frontiers as "Equators" for Suzuki. The plant currently building Titans will start building commercial vehicles.

The Detroit Free Press reports that Toyota has finally responded to months-old accusations that its Tacoma pickup suffers from "unintended acceleration." Reading ToMoCo's letter to ToMoCo tells the National Highway Transport Safety Administration (NHTSA), it's clear they're treating them with all the contempt engendered by the Audi 500 debacle. "Toyota believes that it is likely that many of the consumer complaints about the general issue of unwanted acceleration… as well as many of the complaints about this subject that have been received by Toyota, were inspired by publicity… Even taking (the accusations) at face value, it is clear that the majority of the complaints are related to minor drivability issues and are not indicative of a safety-related defect." NHTSA has been investigating some 32 complaints of the deus-ex-machina defect in 2004 – 08 Tacomas. Toyota held its own investigation of 12 pickups that had supposedly suffered from unintended acceleration back in October, concluding that the machines harbored "no mysterious brake-circumventing defects." In fact, having prepared for this possibility, Toyota programmed its drive-by-wire system to report an error in case the accelerator pedal and throttle are mismatched. And no such error codes have not been found on any Tacomas reported to have driven themselves into stationary objects. 

After an abortive 1995 takeover attempt (co-starring "Captain" Kirk Kerkorian), former Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca became persona non grata in Auburn Hills. With the DCX disaster fading into memory and current owners Cerberus thrashing around for something, anything that feels good, Chrysler is rehabilitating the Iaccoca legacy. Who better symbolizes the ballsy leadership needed to get Chrysler through its current, second-darkest hour, than the man who got the government to foot the bailout bill at the undisputed low point? Plus, since Bob Lutz made old feisty guys the official mascots of millennial Detroit, Chrysler had to rustle-up one of their own from somewhere. Accordingly, the Detroit Free Press reports that the Iacocca embrace will culminate at an Auburn Hills "employee rally" in Iaccoca's honor is planned for June 26. "This is a good idea," former Chrysler marketing chief Bud Liebler tells the Freep. "Cerberus is still kind of a question mark here in Detroit. And this says, 'We really care about Chrysler.' It will make employees feel good and dealers feel good." Which begs the question: how bad are things at Chrysler, if dealers and employees are really being cheered-up by 80's bailout nostalgia?  

What if you threw a party for 20 million guests and over a billion said sure, they'd love to go! The AP [via Yahoo!] reports on Tracinda's offer to buy Ford Motor Company common stock for $8/share. Roughly half of the outstanding shares were tendered against the offer. The response reflects the pervasive pessimistic view of FoMoCo future; offer stockholders a little over the present trading price and they are so out-a-here. Maybe Kirk has a dastardly plan to buy up 10k Ford Explorers for $15m (fleet pricing), sell 'em to friends in Saudi Arabia, drive up the price of Ford stock, then dump his stock at a profit. Far fetched for sure. But what other explanation can we devise for Kirk Kerkorian's hots for Ford stock? Unless, of course, you have plans to seize control of the company.

The Detroit News is reporting that sales of motorcycles and scooters are way up– a sort of positive-spin story to balance out the doom and gloom of gas prices and some bad finances for other Detroit-based businesses. Yes, many motorists are so loving the low cost and high mileage of their scooters and motorcycles. You know why they get great mileage? Low weight. Why such low weight? Because they're just engines with wheels. We have safety standards for cars for a reason– including crumple zones, federal crash test performance, brakes, airbags and seat belts. Scooters and motorcycles are allowed on the roads merely because they have been grandfathered into legality. If there was no such thing as a motorcycle until now, and someone invented them, you can be sure they wouldn't be road legal. There's a reason EMTs like our own Stephan Wilkinson call motorcycles "donor cycles" and would like to see them disappear. And speaking of EMTs, what's the impact going to be on ambulances and emergency rooms as cycles become more widespread?

The G8 economic ministers met this weekend in Tokyo to talk about the price of oil. Normally this meeting of the wealthiest nations ends with a call for the little fish of the world to do their part and pump more oil in support of the cheap oil-powered big boys. According to Reuters, they've changed their tune. There's "a growing acceptance that consumer nations must find ways to temper their own demand by focusing on technology, conservation and diversification rather than hounding OPEC to pump ever more oil." Lone old-school holdout: Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. Rudd urged the G8 to 'apply the blow-torch' to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. U.S. Energy Secretary Sam Bodman ain't buying it: "There are relatively few things we can do short term." Meanwhile, back in my home state of California, we have blown through $4/gallon headed for $5/gallon. Susanne Garfield, spokeswoman for the California Energy Commission blames refinery maintenance work. Hmm, we have been hearing about maintenance supply disruptions as temporary factors for many years now, but the prices keep going up. The $99 question is whether $5/gallon is the high point, or just a stop along the way.

Back when Cerberus bought Chrysler from Daimler, the new owner’s spinmeisters were highly animated. “We’re quicker than quick,” they proclaimed. “Our private equity owners don’t answer to The Street. We can make decisions– and get things done– fast.” The party line was designed to counter fears that Cerberus had bought-in simply strip-and-flip Chrysler. Uh-uh. They were going to restructure the ailing American automaker. Right now. And then… nothing. As Billy Preston said, nothing from nothing leaves nothing. 

Sorry we're a bit late on this one, but what's the rush? In May, sales of the Cadillac XLR fell 54.4 percent. In absolute terms, that's a slide from 206 to 94 units. So Cadillac's not so hot (as in absolute zero cold) roadster is getting a refresh for the 2009 model year. This includes engine upgrades a redesigned grill (meant to resemble the lower-level CTS sedan), redesigned taillights, an Alcantara headliner, new wood trim and, wait for it… faux side "vents" (a la Ford Focus). From now on, the XLR will only be available in either the previously high-line Platinum trim line ($86k) or the V-spec performance designation ($100k+). While the XLR is a nice car, so is the Mercedes SL. If Cadillac wants to shift a few [more] XLRs in the model's final years they need to drop prices and add a CTS quality interior. But no; it's easier to let the XLR stand proud as GM's most expensive-ever "almost there" product. 

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The automotive industry has long borrowed technology from the aerospace industry. Head-up displays, space frame construction, "drive by wire" controls and lightweight materials all first showed up on modern aircraft. Now BMW is turning back the clock a century or so. Just like a WWW I-era biplane, the BMW GINA Light Visionary concept car is fabric-skinned. The water-resistant material is stretched over a lightweight frame that can change its shape as you drive in a process that's visually akin to Bruce Banner's transformation into the Hulk. There are no visible gaps in the car's "body" except the door openings, the headlight covers open like cat's eyes, the taillights shine through the fabric and the engine is accessed through what looks like a surgical incision in the "hood."  In the video, designer Chris Bangle babbles on waxes eloquent about "a philosophy that says 'let's do things differently'" and "context over dogma" (whatever that means).  It's a cool concept, Chris, but enough is enough.  Why not just shut up for once and  (as you suggest) "let the material do the talking?"

Pickuptrucks.com reports that skyrocketing diesel prices have hit oil burners' resale values harder than their gas-powered counterparts. According to Blackbook, the value of 2005-07, 3/4 to one-ton diesel pickups have dropped nearly $6k since January; gas-engined models lost only $3k. Up until the recent fuel-price unpleasantness, lower diesel prices and higher efficiency justified the higher entry cost to diesel ownership. Today, that higher initial cost– increased by new emissions standards compliance– has taken diesel sales (and resale values) from "suck" to "craptastic." Hundreds of Workers building Cummins, Duramax and Powerstroke diesel engines have been laid off either temporarily or permanently. Pickuptrucks.com tries valiantly to end on a happy note, suggesting that diesel prices could regain sanity if developing countries cut subsidies. There's also talk of a new generation of diesel half-ton pickups that might just rescue the day. Meanwhile, unless you have a fryolater to tank from, diesel is dead. Just ask the latest round of striking truckers…