Writing in his FastLane blog, GM Car Czar Bob Lutz revealed that he's taken Chevy's prototype electric – gas plug-in hybrid for a spin. "I drove an official 'engineering development vehicle' with the 16-kwh lithium-ion battery pack we’ve been testing for our E-Flex System and I have to say – pun half-intended – it was electrifying." Half-intended? Which half? But seriously Bob, how was it? "While the car is still most definitely a work in progress, the thrill of driving electrically — that instant, silent torque — is certainly present and accounted for! Of course, as you can imagine, I miss the throaty roar of an engine. Once we get this whole battery thing perfected, our friends at XM Satellite Radio may have to start an Internal Combustion Channel." No seriously, Bob, where are we with this Volt thing? "Don’t run to the Chevy dealer and order your Volt yet." C'mon Bob, really. "Eventually, if and when we settle on the right battery, our E-Flex System engineers will have a lot of integrating, tuning and tweaking to do before the Volt is ready for prime time." If? Oh, by the way, while MB decided to literally sign-off on the Malibu Volt mule (how great does that sound?), it should be pointed out (as the cheerleaders at gm-volt.com do) that Maximum Bob drove the prototype all of eight miles. Woo-hoo! [thanks to KixStart for the links]

Talk about your diminished expectations… Post-Black Tuesday, GM CEO Rick Wagoner's told the world [via The Financial Times] that his employer has enough cash to make it through '08. And while you're filing that under "methinks he doth protest too much," Wagoner defends GM's (and the rest of the 2.8's) reliance on big trucks and full sized SUVs by… pointing a finger at Toyota. By his way of thinking, you can't blame Detroit (i.e. him) for missing the SUV and pickup truck exodus because Toyota got caught building a new truck factory at the wrong time. Huh? Toyota added a full-sized truck to its product portfolio to compete vigorously in one of the few segments of the market where they were weak. (Lest we forget, they built the Prius in record numbers at the same time.) Sure it turns out that Toyota's Tundra timing was off, but they aren't at risk of closing up shop because of it. Bottom line: ToMoCo books more profit in one year than GM's entire net worth. Comparing GM's management decisions to Toyota's is patently absurd. Will no one rid us of this troublesome man? 

Honda was the first automaker to offer Americans a car-based SUV with a third row of seats. It didn't matter that an Odyssey minivan was more fun to drive. Families wanted a third row without the stigma of a minivan or the bulk of a conventional SUV. The Pilot outsold all other midsize car-based SUVs. Then new competitors piled into the segment: Hyundai Veracruz, GMC Acadia, Mazda CX-9 and more. Honda lost its place at the head of the class. For the 2009 model year, Honda has responded with a fully redesigned Pilot. Have they done enough to reclaim their supremacy?

The New York Times reports that the diesel version of the European market Honda Accord is headed for your Acura dealer as a TSX in 2009. Bosch, a key supplier, "sneaked" a demonstration version of the Honda Diesel into The Big Apple, where The Old Gray Lady got her hands on it. With no official EPA test numbers to speak of, the Times achieved "a remarkable 53 miles a gallon on the highway, 34 in the city and 44 in combined driving… including a bumper-to-bumper crawl through Manhattan." My personal TSX clocks-in at around 20 mpg in city driving and the 30s on the open highway; the Times' numbers a big jump in the right direction. Honda might be onto something here. Unlike Mercedes' Cailfornia-compliant oil burner, the Honda's mill doesn't require a urea tank. So much for German Engineering Superiority. If the final US market TSX can hit those fuel economy numbers… the diesel fuel price premium will still kneecap sales. The $5.13/gallon question is, since when is diesel the upmarket alternative to hybrids (including the ill-fated Mercedes 300SD)? The high-end Accord V6 hybrid was a flop. Will the TSX Diesel face the same fate? 

May’s new car sales numbers are in and things are looking bleak for The Big 2.8. Their corporate Spinmeisters can blame a down economy and sky-high gas prices all they like, but sales drops well into the double digits are never good news. Market share declines aren’t exactly glad tidings, either. That said, truth be told, Black Tuesday is actually a good sign. It shows that the domestic automakers have finally “accepted” the market. Whether they’re too late is another question entirely.

Looks like Farago and I inadvertently kicked open a can of worms yesterday when discussing the new/maybe one day Camaro. Robert maintained that Bob Lutz is an "Idiot" for even suggesting a 4-banger muscle car. For my part I defended Lutz (dirty, i feel so dirty), because I happen to love the engine he's talking about. See, the 2.0-liter turbocharged and intercooled EcoTec I4 puts out a robust 260 horsepower and a rotund 260 lb-ft of torque. And that's currently. Rumor has it that Chevy will be boring the EcoTec out to 2.5-liters, which could easily net the engine 50 more hp, meaning that the base Camaro would have more juice than the 4th gen V8 F-body. Of course, if you need more, get the LS3-powered range topper. Point is, does cylinder count matter? Really?

U.S. automakers aren't the only ones struggling to keep their costs in line. BMW needs to shed 8100 "excess" employees to achieve their planned 500 million Euro cost-savings. Automotive News' [sub] sources vary on how many workers have signed ominously named "termination agreements." BMW claims 5k workers have left the building. Other analysts claim that just over a thousand BMW workers chose to put an "ex" in front of their job description. Further complicating Bimmer's best laid plan to trim expenditure: raw material costs just keep on a rising. We told you a few days ago how the price of steel has doubled. That's going to hit companies like BMW hard, as their cars weigh so damn much. Meanwhile, BMW's lucrative American pie ain't sweet like it once was. The dollar is down, gas prices are ridiculous, and U.S. consumers aren't buying as many cars as they once were. It may not be the ultimate headache, but put it all together and it's got to hurt.

The congressional crazy train just keeps on rolling, as haggling over changes to roof-crush standards have taken [another] turn for the surreal. Needless to say, lawmakers never stopped posturing long enough to question the safety value of making vehicles more top-heavy. In fact, they launched a whole new round of stupid. In response to the administration's attempts to write limits on future rollover lawsuits into the new rules, Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark) told Bush to drop the lawsuit-limiting language or "you'll get a reaction from Congress that you won't like." Pryor and his equally hysterical colleagues failed to realize (or admit) that limits on lawsuits are actually the responsible choice– once you accept that increasing roof crush standards requires automakers to build top-heavy vehicles more likely to roll over. This rush to righteous anger over Bush's perceived pandering only further marginalizes the much-needed debate over the actual benefits of reinforced roofs. With the NHTSA facing a July 1 deadline for new rules, don't hold your breath for that action. 

It wasn't all that long ago that GM was focused on maintaining its 29 percent market share. Boy what they wouldn't sell give to be back at that point right now (not including executive pay). Automotive News [sub] reporting that GM's market share is below 20 percent for the first time in the company's history (dating back 100 years to 1908). As of May 2008, it's 19.1 percent to be exact. Meanwhile, despite a fall in sales number, Toyota's market share jumped up to 18.4 percent. Count out the impossible-to-count out fleet sales and you can be sure Toyota has passed GM in private market sales. On the positive side, least when GM isn't number one in its home market any more, a lot of the pressure to move the metal at all costs will decrease. Maybe. Alright, no.

AutoExpress has released details of the next generation Vauxhall Astra (that's our Saturn Astra) VXR. The hot version will go on sale in– you guessed it– 2010. To comply with stricter fuel economy regs, GM's European ops will downsize the engine in the GTI-competitor, from its present 237 hp 2.0-liter to a 1.8-liter turbo, with something around 240 horsepower. Vauxhall claimsthe new powerplant will be more economical and efficient– both of which are probably true. But I'd imagine it's also because the torque steer in the 2.0-liter turbo model is supposedly driver-wrist-destroying. Is it coming to America? Considering how meager the American Astra sales have been– around 1000 a month (Cadillac still shifts 1500 Escalades)– the idea that we'll be getting the next gen Astra is sounding increasingly preposterous. It's too bad, because the car itself (both the regular Astra and hot versions) are credible Golf competitors. You know; in Europe.

Over here in Europe, some snobs diss-miss Los Angeles as a non-city: no real center, little public transport, consumerist, smoggy, auto-centric. I love LA for its architecture, food, fashion, music, culture, cars and general bat shit craziness. (I spent one of the most exciting/terrifying nights of my life there, when I got a lift in a shaggy-carpeted Econoline van driven by a pimp/drug dealer). And now, there's evidence that LA is the green place to be, too– provided you define "green" as a small carbon footprint. In a new study by the Brookings Institution, the City of Angels was found to generate less carbon per head than any other major city in continental America. It's counter-intuitive but true. LA enjoys a climate that reduces the need for heating buildings in winter, and air conditioning in the summer. LA's urban sprawl isn't as bad as it looks; population density and household occupancy are high, which lowers energy usage per head. So it's NOT all about cars and smog.

Toyota has launched a site to preview their new Venza crossover wagonish type vehicle thingy. The site tells you everything you need to know about the Venza (auto-dimming mirror with built-in compass) except what you need to know (the mpg). Meanwhile, the Venza's front grill looks like a mutated Mach 3 razor, but aside from that Dali-esque design, it's a fairly upscale-looking product. ToMoCo's Ford Edge competitor comes with a 2.7-liter four-cylinder engine as standard, with an optional 3.5-liter V6. Within, the Venza's gear lever sits in the middle of the dashboard's center stack. (French car much?) Taken as a whole, the Venza's so strange that it's almost… interesting. marketing-wise, it's meant to fit between the RAV4 and Highlander– in a market space formerly occupied by the old Highlander before its "grew up" (and out). Toyota's looking to sell 75k of these… things per year, as it continues its race to become GM.

Canadian finance minister Jim Flaherty awakes!. After years of ignoring calls from Ontario's Premier Dalton McGuinty to subsidize Ontarian jobs, brushing off accusations of inaction vis-à-vis the steady outflow of Ontario's manufacturing jobs to lower-cost areas, Flaherty could hold back no longer. Call it a Shakespearean twist of fate, but of all of the 308 electoral districts in Canada, Flaherty has the misfortune of representing the federal electoral district of Whitby-Oshawa, right where GM Canada lives– the epicentre of Ontario's ailing manufacturing. Flaherty opened the newsday by announcing a $250m bailout of GM Canada. Except he didn`t call it a bailout. CBC reports the Flaherty will make money– set aside under an "environmental investment fund"– available to GM to help it pursue green technology. The move, another possible knee-jerk reaction to the closure of GM-Oshawa, has caught even Dalton McGuinty by surprise. (Dalton hasn`t decided whether to be pleasantly surprised or to, in typical provincial fashion, say it is not enough. Though the conditions of the deal aren't finalized,) Flaherty hinted heavily that the money should be used to replace truck production by smaller car production. Well duh.

When Fred Bredermeyer was 18, Chicago's Nikko Hotel gave him a job as a parking attendant. Little did the Indiana native know that he was about to embark on a career that would earn him the ultimate accolade from The International Parking Institute. Not only did Fred get the nod, but his department– the Miami Parking Authority (MPA) won "2008 Parking Organization of the Year." Obviously, I had to call Fred to congratulate him on his victory and find out what it takes to stand at the pinnacle of parking profession. There's lot of blockbuster info in the podcast, but here's a couple of off-the-air tidbits. Fred doesn't know if the Sunshine State's license test includes parallel parking and "Miami doesn't have a parking problem. It has a walking problem." Oh, and I forgot to tell Fred that "put my money in your meter baby, so it won't run down" is one of my favorite lyrics of all time. So now he knows.

Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) union officials are meeting with "top GM officials" about closing the Oshawa, Ontario truck plant. After CEO Rick Wagoner's announcement that The General's terminating Oshawa production– along with three other plants– workers blockaded GM headquarters. The Detroit News  reports CAW president Buzz Hargrove supports the blockade. Hell, he won't "rule out" the possibility of a strike. Buzz says the Wagoner's announcement was "an insult" as it's been just two weeks since the company promised workers the plant would be open at least until 2011 (what happened to 2010?). GM spokesman Stew Low says the protest is "understandable." I'm sure that really made the workers who are losing their jobs feel better. Maybe next, GM will offer them a spot of tea to go with that sympathy. But don't count on GM changing their plans to ship work from that plant to cheaper ones in the U.S. and Mexico.