Or, more charitably (if equally egomaniacally), great minds think alike. Or, even less charitably (to both the Freep and TTAC), duh. First, let me get this off my chest. We've done the GM Attention Deficiency Disorder thing here, here, recently here and just about everywhere since ever I started this website. The fact that the Freep's Tom Walsh has only just reached this conclusion- after trying to reconcile J.D. Power's IQS rankings with domestic auto sales– is mind-boggling. As is the format of his treatise: "conversation with self." As are the simple-minded counter-arguments forwarded by his Detroit-loving half. "This [J.D.'s survey results] means that Detroit’s Big Two – General Motors and Ford Motor – are back in the game again. Right up there in quality with Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Hyundai, Audi and all those other foreign brands.” “Who cares?” “Whaddya mean, who cares? I care. We’ve got lots of trouble here in River City with plants closing, suppliers bankrupt, lots of people losing jobs. Better quality means our hometown companies will stop shrinking and start growing again.” Like Walsh's column, this realization is too little, too late. And too optimistic, too soon. 

But my God, does Roger Cohen take his time getting to the point. Before the New York Times op ed writer argues for your elected representatives to allow cheap[er] Brazilian ethanol into the U.S., Cohen attempts to entertain us with a discussion of national "re-branding." He begins with the most elliptical lead I've ever read. "Perhaps there’s something to treadmill wisdom. We’re all so narrow-band these days, using the vast resources of broadband to direct ourselves into a chosen news and ideological tunnel. Polarized pluralism defines us." Translation: Cohen was running on a treadmill (geddit?), watching an unknown news channel (broadband) when he fell into a reverie about his Brazilian exile, when the country's economy was almost as hyper-inflated as his prose. And then he thought, wow! "Energy is the country’s new brand." I'm thinking Brazil needs something a bit sexier, but the point– yes! the point!– is corn ethanol bad; sugar cane ethanol, good. "Sugar cane is not a staple. It’s eight times more productive than corn. It grows year round. It must be processed fast, so CO2-spewing transport to distant ethanol plants is impossible (unlike for corn)." The environmental impact of shipping Brazilian ethanol, pathetic workers' wages and the deforestation be damned. See? That wasn't so hard, was it?

I was wrong. In spite of indications to the contrary, the GMC salesman blogger defending your right to suck-up fuel and clog the roadways with oversized trucks didn't have a change of heart about hybrids. In his latest anonymous posting on the Commercial Auto Dealers web site, the same person who warned us about the dangers of hybrids (so quiet we'll all fall asleep behind the wheel) is "irked"  about environmentalists who "who think hybrids are God's gift to humankind" because of "Al Gore's half-truths and theories."  And he's specifically "annoyed" with those of you who've commented about his views on trucks vs. hybrids. Just to make sure you understand where he's coming from, he states "I'm sticking with my truck and I'm not going to feel guilty about it." Neither should anyone else "feel guilty about going to your local GMC truck dealer and getting the biggest, baddest truck you can find and driving it for no reason at all." Gas prices be damned. After all, "when [hybrid owners] need a tow, the guys with the big trucks are the ones they're going to call first."

It's easy to understand why folks are getting excited about the forthcoming Toyota-Subaru rear wheel-drive (RWD) coupe. But it seems that waiting is driving the autoblogosphere crazy. Take the recent revelation at Autoexpress that Subaru is working on an Impreza Coupe alongside a future Toyota Celica. Autoexpress insists that this Subaru-engineered Imprezica will sport either 180hp and RWD or an STI engine making 300hp and all wheel-drive (AWD). So they must be describing the long-rumored Toyobaru RWD sports coupe, right? The answer seems to be a resounding "maybe." Motor Authority asserts that the Impreza Coupe is "not basis of the new RWD sports car to be sold by both companies." That RWD sports car will have a 220hp base model with RWD and a 300hp AWD flagship model. So are these the same car or what? For what it's worth, Motor Authority also has spy photos of what they say is a prototype of the (non-Impreza) "RWD sports car." Take a gander for yourself, but it looks pretty Impreza-like to this blogger. Can Subaru really sell a RWD version of the eternally AWD Impreza? Will the RWD base version and AWD flagship carry different names? Can the internet be whipped into any more of a fanboy frenzy over this car? So many questions…

NAFTA eh? Turns out that America's trade policy with its southern neighbor didn't quite work out as planned. ""The pressure has not been to raise the Mexican wages up, it's been to push the U.S. wages down," Ben Davis, the director of the AFL-CIO Solidarity office in Mexico City tells The Detroit News. True dat. "Mexican auto unions are taking a cue from U.S. labor leaders by offering two-tier hiring systems and salary cuts that bring already low wages down to near-Chinese levels." Taking a cue? Or, dare I say it, taking pay-offs? "Wage concessions were apparently key to convincing Ford Motor Co. to direct many of the 4,500 new jobs involved in building Fiestas to the Ford plant in Cuautitlan. Union leaders at the plant told the Associated Press they had agreed to cut wages for new hires to about half of the current wage of $4.50 per hour." $2.25 an hour? Yes. Under NAFTA, Mexico is only obliged to pay workers the national minimum wage: $5 a day. ""We need to be more competitive," said Ford union leader Juan Jose Sosa Arreola. "That's the truth. That's a reality." Once again, the truth hurts. Oh, and five Ford execs banked $60m last year. And Bill Ford's deferred millions await the fruit of Mexican labor.

As a burgeoning fuel crisis unseats the credit crunch as the downer du jour, the subprime woes of GMAC and ResCap are bubbling away under the surface. Reuters reports that GMAC has completed a $60b refinancing and funding package in hopes of returning its ResCap mortgage branch to reality liquidity. The bailout arrived just as ResCap revealed that it needed to raise $2b in cash by the end of June to meet its obligations, after losing $859m in the first quarter of this year. ResCap has refinanced its unsecured debt, renewed bank credit lines, and exchanged nearly $10m in bonds for higher-interest, longer-term debt. GMAC shareholders GM and Cerberus jointly provided $750m guarantee as part of a $3.75b line of credit extended from GMAC to ResCap, and have thereby exposed themselves to the first loss, should ResCap default. Interestingly, the bailout came in a week that saw rampant speculation (since denied) of a Cerberus sale of portions of GMAC and Chrysler. Far from punting, Cerberus is actually buying-up hundreds of millions of dollars worth of GMAC's resort funding division and ResCap's model home assets, since market conditions are slowing asset sales. "The fact that ResCap's owners – both GMAC and Cerberus – remain willing to pony-up cash in order to keep the mortgage subsidiary afloat, strongly suggests that they still see something there that's worth saving," KDP analyst Thomas Ferguson tells Reuters. Avoiding bankruptcy perhaps? Whatever it is, GM and Cerberus better hope it pays off, and soon.

Michael Karesh's deconstruction of J.D. Powers' Initial Quality Survey (IQS) got me thinking. Clearly, J.D.'s mob shelter behind the [accurate] assumption that most people can't be bothered to, as they say, "do the math." Just as automakers draw strength (or not) from our natural instinct to slot brands into clear-cut categories, J.D. plays to the peanut gallery's desire to quickly identify "winners" and "losers." Add in a bit of Argumentum ad Ignorantiam (a proposition is true because it hasn't been proved false) and voila! Porsche is America's most reliable car brand. An Audi is more reliable than a BMW. Never mind the difference between initial quality and five years down the road. Never mind the varying definitions of quality, or the fact that J.D. won't tell you its exact methodology. Pay no attention to the man behind that curtain because he's an old bald guy– just like that pathetic pre-tornado snake oil salesman. The '08 IQS represents the same sort of lazy thinking Detroit has been feeding itself– and feeding off of– for decades. It's one thing to fool others, another to fool yourself. Here, Lieberman and I attempt a reality check. 

J.D. Power has released its Initial Quality Study (IQS) results. Once again, the scores combine design quality (stuff that can’t be fixed, like BMW's iDrive) and manufacturing quality (stuff that can and should be fixed). Once again, these results convey little useful information. For one thing, J.D. only releases the scores for makes, not for individual models. For another, the make scores are so close together that the rankings aren't particularly revealing. Only a single make beats the average (1.18 problems) by more than 20 percent: Porsche. The list of who’s doing 20 percent worse than average is longer: Chrysler, Mitsubishi, Saab, Suzuki, Saturn, Land Rover, MINI and Jeep. So these are the makes to avoid, right? It depends on how wound-up you get about a single additional initial problem for every three cars (you’re buying at least three, right?) in the first 90 days. And remember: J.D. doesn’t release individual model scores. At some point, J.D’ll give us “circle dots,” but these won’t divulge which models score poorly enough to earn only a single dot— the lowest score is two dots.  

[Fair disclosure: Michael Karesh runs TrueDelta, which also measures vehicle quality.]

VW has released the pricing for the Jetta Sportwagon. The base S version, with a 170hp 2.5-liter five-banger is $18,999. For that price, you get power everything and a stick. For an automatic (six speed auto, not DSG), tack on a whopping $2k. The next version up the ladder: the $21,349 SE, complete with and leatherette, an upgraded sound system, standard alloys, and a whole lot more "available" luxury options. Again, add two grand for the autobox. If you really want to throw resale to the wind, you can get the Sportwagon with the beloved 2.0T engine with 200 horsepower. That'll set you back a staggering $25,990 for a manual version or $27,090 for the DSG automatic. In addition to the superior powerplant, the 2.0T SEL version comes pretty much fully loaded. Doesn't currency fluctuation suck? Still no word on the TDI version, set to go on sale in late summer or the fall. (Source: VW)

Automotive News [sub] dutifully reports that the auto industry's lobbying group are arguing that proposals to strengthen vehicle roofs conflict with recently-increased CAFE standards. [Never mind the fact that heavier lids are dubious from a safety point of view.] In testimony before the Senate, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers' shills argued that roof-strengthening measure sought by safety advocates could hurt the fuel economy of large pickups and SUVs by up to ten percent. But since CAFE increases (along with those crazy gas prices) basically herald the demise of mainstream "large pickup and SUV" ownership, it seems that the AAM is barking up the wrong tree. Meanwhile, lawmakers are playing-up to telegenic emotional outbursts from "victims" of "heartless car companies" during their public hearings. While all of us know someone who's been killed or seriously injured in a car accident, automotive regulations should be based on proper scientific analysis of the full implications of existing and proposed regulations– research into which the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration excels. Those who criticize NHTSA's new roof crush standards– requiring roofs to support 2.5 times the vehicle's weight (up from the current 1.5 times)– should consider the possibility that not all government agencies work against the public interest. Besides, if this is such a serious problem, why are convertibles still exempt from ALL roof crush standards? 

What a doozy. Our coverage of Black Tuesday– which has nothing to do with Senator Obama wrapping up the nomination– has been long, hard and bloody. Farago and I attempted to get a grip on the financial fiasco in yesterday's podcast but made little if any headway. The story, in case you missed it, is this: Detroit is fucked. The only thing more dead than Hummer is Chrysler (it just doesn't want to admit it yet). The Ford F150 got outsold by four different cars. GM's trucks and SUVs aren't doing any better. Sales are down, down, down. Except for Subaru, whose symmetrical AWD cars have seen sales increase for three straight months. Go figure. My question for you is, what happens next? Besides layoffs, buyouts and plant closures. Federal loan guarantees? And then what? What will the American automotive landscape look like in… 2010? Look deep into your crystal balls people. We want the future.

Our fearless leader was not the only one who finds fault with the fact that GM CEO Rick Wagoner raked-in over $14.4m during a year when his employer lost some $38.7b. Automotive News [sub] reports that shareholders at yesterday's annual meeting attempted to inject a measure of sanity into GM's executive compensation. And failed. A proposal to give shareholders an annual "advisory vote" on executive pay and bennies received only 32 percent approval. Another proposal would have tied 75 percent of future stock options and restricted executive stock awards to GM's share price, market share and credit rating. Nope. That one received only 16 percent approval. A measure giving shareholder cumulative voting passed. Again. The same proposal passed in 2006… This time 'round, CEO Rick Wagoner passed the proposal to the board's corporate governance committee for review. But then, when the board has your back, why should you care about the stockholders? “And since we’re asking rhetorical questions, are there any remaining reasons to hold GM stock?” 

This is just prurient, base, vulgar car lust in action. I have no cutting analysis to offer you, no insightful realizations, not even a regurgitated press release from a manufacturer intent on wowing you with numbers. Nope, it's just the sounds of Ferrari's new California model. OK, a couple of stats. The engine giving pistonheads eargasms is a fresh 4.3-liter V8 with direct injection, making 460 horsepower, routed to a seven-speed dual clutch transaxle. I think the Ferrari California is a good looking model but it's not breathtaking, and the folding hardtop is the kind of embarrassing mainstream compromise that should be outside of Ferrari's brand profile. Nevertheless, it's coming. (Make your own damn pun.)

AutoExpress offers a "review" (in the Motor trend sense of the word) of the European Focus, complete with Ford's new dual clutch gearbox. Parsing AutoExpress' usual PR puffery, it's not sounding amazing. Whereas VW's DSG is a viable alternative to a manual transmission– it accelerates faster than rowing your own and returns even better mileage than the stick– Ford's sounds little better than a bog standard autobox. AutoExpress says "But there are no steering wheel-mounted paddleshifters with which to change up or down – and no Sport mode on the box, either – as Ford is keen to stress the gains in economy and emissions offered by Powershift, rather than its outright sportiness." Right, so that puts the "stick replacement" theory to bed. It's just a better automatic transmission. AutoExpress also notes that the Powershift's a very expensive option only available on higher end cars (this is what VW does, too, but not as badly). The rumor is that PowerShift is coming to the US (would be great paired with EcoBoost). Let's hope FoMoCo's boffins reprogram it not to suck.

Chrysler has reported its May sales stats, and it's an ugly picture: overall sales fell 25 percent from last year, to 148,747 units. The Sebring is down 30 percent, the "company saving" 300 fell 59 percent, and the crotchety PT Cruiser slid 48 percent. Overall Chrysler brand sales nosedived 38 percent. Aside from the Patriot (up 82 percent), Jeep's peaked. Every other Jeep product saw double digit declines: Compass (-17), Grand Cherokee (-23) and yes, the Wrangler (-25). Dodge also died a death. While the Caliber was up seven percent, everything else cratered. The Charger faltered (-25), the Avenger retreated (-26) and the Caravan blew town (-25). Obviously all the trucks are getting trashed, from -37 percent for the Ram to -69 percent for the Durango and -56 percent for the Nitro. The only silver lining: The Dodge Boys sold 7520 units of the new Journey (with or without puddles). If they keep up the big mo, they're looking at 87k p.a. (yes, I have a calculator). Co-Prez Jim Press put a brave face on the results, claiming "it's alright Jack keep your hands off my stack." Just kidding. (Or not.) ChryCo's "determined to provide consumers what they need and want." So keep the 300 (available with SRT looks but without the crazy engine) and Charger, Patriot, Wrangler, and Grand Cherokee and Sebring convertible. Everything else has got to go.