Well, you can't accuse either side of the political spectrum of hanging around while gas prices have opened-up the debate on America's energy policy, or lack thereof. While President Bush has removed the executive order against off-shore drilling (over to you congress), former Vice President Al Gore has asked Americans to help foot the bill for a ten-year, three trillion dollar "moon shot" effort to switch to "clean" electricity from solar, wind and geothermal power. While this is an extremely inconvenient solution for coal mining states that leaves pro-nuclear partisans in the cold, I mention Al's plan here because it's implicit that the transition would enable a nation of plug-in hybrids or pure EVs. Hey, what about hydrogen? Big Al made no mention of water vaporware. But The Boston Herald reports that a group of scientists have priced-out a U.S. switch to hydrogen-powered vehicles at $200b. No mention was made of the energy source for the fuel, but apparently the the Committee on Assessment of Resource Needs for Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Technologies have bigger fish to fry (deep freeze?). "The cost of platinum is approximately 57 percent of the fuel-cell stack costs and represents the greatest challenge to further cost reductions," the study said. "Future platinum supply is a critical issue in forward projections of fuel-cell costs." If it's not one thing, it's another.

Automotive News reports that members of GM's national dealer council purchased more than 107k GM shares on July 14. The store owners claim the million dollar move was a symbolic gesture to "show support and confidence in GM's future." No really. "We firmly believe in GM and that we have the best products to sell," proclaimed Duane Paddock, co-chair of GM's national dealer council and owner of Paddock Chevrolet in Kenmore, N.Y. "Our fuel economy is the best story in the industry and the best way to do it [the show support thing] was to buy an investment stock." Paddock says he added $100k worth of GM shares to his $200k position. [Reporter Jamie Lareau neglected to ask if that 200 large represented his original investment or a recent valuation.] The dealers made the purchase the day before Rick Wagoner's cost-cutting announcement. The day after Wagoner's chin wag, GM stock rose 16.6 percent, closing at $11.48. Today, GM stock surged another 11.9 percent, closing at $12.85 a share. It has to be asked– if not by the SEC then by us– was this really an It's a Wonderful Life-style gesture or was it insider dealing dressed-up for the media?

In his most recent GM Deathwatch, RF raised the specter of "Bailout Fatigue." The Detroit News' Gordon Trowbridge agrees. Their man in Washington says to the government's preference for financial sector bailouts like Bear Stearns, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Indy Mac will queer the pitch for Motown. Rep. John Dingell cries foul! "If Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae ask for a bailout and they get it, [automakers] should be able to ask and get it, too," says the Dearborn democrat. Former Michigan governor James Blanchard agrees: "government  seems to treat financial services with special care, and not care about manufacturing until the last minute." President Bush begs to differ: "If your question is, should the government bail out private enterprise, the answer is, no, it shouldn't." According to the Chief Excutive, the Fannie/Freddy "rescue" isn't a bailout because "the shareholders still own the company." And now a word from someone without a horse in the race. "Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are fundamentally sound businesses," says University of Maryland economist Peter Morici, implying of course that the D3 aren't. Besides, Fanny and Freddy hold 91 percent of America's mortgage debt on houses under $470k, while Detroit only employs about as many workers as Chrysler did when it was bailed out in 1979. 

Edmunds Inside Line has dropped some cash for spy photos for Honda's new Prius-fighting dedicated hybrid model. And it seems that IL and Honda are in the same boat: they've both dropped good money on something that looks identical to a Prius. Go ahead and follow the link for actual photos, or you can just feast you eyes on any image online of a current Prius, because you're basically getting the same thing either way. KGP photography caught the forthcoming Honda Hybrid undergoing hot weather tests in California's Death Valley, going head-to-head with Honda's Civic Hybrid and a current Prius. They say the new Honda is larger than a Prius and will be a global model, though its name and performance details remain under wraps. Expect its finalized looks to be very close to the fuel-cell FCX Clarity, itself something of a dead ringer for the Prius. It's obvious that Honda wants a model that screams "saving the planet" as it drives by. Still, one can't help wondering whether a hybrid Fit (the standard version of which faces high demand from eco-types) wouldn't have achieved a similar statement with a more flexible package and more familial resemblance.

We often get accused of diesel-bashing. But there's no getting around the fact that the decline of the diesel market penetration in Europe has begun. With diesel now costing the same as gasoline in Germany (we should be so lucky), the higher up-front costs of most diesel versions just doesn't pan out. Auto, Motor und Sport (print version only) has done an analysis of the minimum km per year required to amortize various diesel versions of popular cars. A few examples: 38k km (23k miles) for the BMW X-5; 30k km (18.3k miles) for the Opel Corsa, 25k km (15.3k miles for the MB E-class). In may, diesel's Eurozone market share dropped to 44 percent, from 47 percent in April. One study predicts that diesels will eventually lose fully half their market share. Another study shows that at least one-fourth of current German diesel drivers are seriously considering switching to a gas car with their next purchase. It looks like the party's over before the States could find the address. 

Still not sure if GM should focus on Corvettes as it cuts the fat from its racing and motorsport budgets? Check out this video of GM development driver Jim Mero lapping the Nürburgring in 7:26:4. For those that don't keep up on these things, that's over two seconds faster than the Nissan GTR's recent headline-grabbing jaunt on the Nordschleife. And seeing as the Nürburgring is the longest, baddest track out there, this is no small accomplishment. Especially when it comes to challenging the European perspective that American firms simply can't build cars that go fast and handle well. Add the Corvette's competitiveness on the GT racing circuit (when it's running on regular fuel instead of E85) to the mix, and it's one of the few things GM (and the whole of the American auto industry, really) has to be proud of right now.

With GM slashing wildly at any line items that aren't nailed down, how much of its precious cash will The General remove from its motorsports budget? The Car Connection poses the question based on the following choice snippet from Rick Wagoner's latest fireside chat o' doom: "We will implement significant reductions in promotional and event budgets, motor sports activities and back-office expenses." To be perfectly honest, cutting motorsport makes a lot of sense right now. After all, they're not winning many NASCAR races and TV ratings have been in decline for two straight years (although there's been some writers-strike rebound this year). So if GM's woes are based (even partially) on a lack of fuel-efficient vehicles, can you win on Sunday and sell on Monday when gas is over $4 per gallon? I'd hope GM will cut almost all of its motorsport to focus on the only product that even remotely relies on racing credibility: Corvettes in GT racing. Your thoughts?

In the ancient Buddhist text Visuddhi-Magga, "name" and "form" are described as powerless in their respective isolation. But when they propitiously combine and mutually support one another, they attain power and "spring up and go forth." GM's announcement that the 2010 Chevy Cruze would [eventually] replace the Cobalt marks a dubious milestone in its continuing struggle to establish a lasting presence in the all-important compact car market. The Cruze will be the recipient of the eightieth name that GM has used on one of its mid-sized or smaller sedans since 1968.

GM's CEO heir-apparent and current COO Fritz Henderson revealed GM's latest product-planning philosophy in an interview with the AP (via CNN Money). "Let's do cars that people love, even if they're small." And WTH, let's make some money doing it! Fritz's recipe: "close the price gap versus the market segment leaders and drive more volume. You're significantly improving aggregate profitability." The former CFO [who isn't Rick Wagoner] wants to aggregate profitability "one or two models at a time." But Fritz realizes "one product launch does not a success make… if we get the car right and we get the promotion right, we can make progress and we can actually bring people back to the car." Uh, what about all those cars GM's already launched? Fritz's remarks bring to mind an image of Wile E. Coyote, realizing he screwed up one of his Road Runner traps, racing the burning fuse to get to the dynamite before it goes off. And anyone who has ever seen a Road Runner cartoon knows how that scene plays out.

CNN Money quotes GM Product Planner Extraordinaire Bob Lutz: "The reason we made no money on small cars is because hello! nobody wanted them. At $1.75 and $2.25 (per gallon), everybody was happy with full-size utilities with V-8 engines. Now that's shifting, so the profitability is going to go down on trucks and the profitability on cars is going up." Um. No. The reason you made no money on small cars is because hello! you didn't build small cars anyone outside of fleet buyers would even think about buying. Toyota didn't have any problem making money selling small cars. Honda didn't have any trouble making money selling small cars. If you had been as serious about building small cars as you've been about building trucks, if instead of adopting a "throw it against the wall and see what sticks" marketing plan, if you hadn't all but forgotten Saturn existed until last year and if you hadn't parts-bin engineered whatever you could throw together for the rental companies, you'd be well ahead of the curve now. But now you're playing catch-up while the competition forges ahead. Maybe you need to think about something the Marines should have taught you in flight school: to hit a moving target, you have to aim ahead of it.

My WRX's temperature gauge indicated it was 98 degrees yesterday in Los Angeles. It felt hotter. Muggy, too. I'm at a red light when a beautiful brunette pulls up next to me in a white Camaro, her hair blowing in the wind. Got to love LA, right? Well, the thing is, there wasn't any wind. In fact, she was driving a hard top with windows rolled up. Her hair was blowing because the A/C in that old F-body was so damn mighty. On a race track it's said that a car's only as good as its brakes. Out here in what's essentially an overpopulated desert, the same can be said about a vehicle's air conditioning. At that moment, my rally-bred Subaru was feeling pretty damn poor. In that moment in time, I would have killed for my old Pontiac Station Wagon, whose chiller could keep a side of beef fresh. Say what you want about American cars (and TTAC says a lot ), but USDA Choice A/C is still the envy of the world. So, my dear TTACers, what's your favorite automotive national trait?

You know it's a slow news day when a Ford press release touts a wheeled-brick's aerodynamics and the story (such as it is) is picked up by a blog. Granted, we've just done juts that. And Ford needs every little bit of help it can spin to launch their 2.25 ton, 6.5 foot wide Taurus X derivative— especially in this dismal economic climate. "Boxy is the New Swoopy" gushes Edmunds. Our pals quote Ford's press release liberally, "revealing" how squaring the Fairlane's roof and bumper (among other equally subtle changes) gives the Flex a 0.02 aerodynamic edge (so to speak) over the Toyota Highlander and GMC Acadia. FoMoCo claims a one mpg advantage over the competition. Fueleconomy.gov has the Flex FWD pegged at 17/24. As well as the 2009 Acadia FWD with its new DI 3.6L V6. Oops. Nowhere in Edmunds/Ford gusher is the Flex's pesky frontal area number. Nor is mention made of the 500lbs. weight gain over the Freestyle, or the Freestyle's EPA 18/25 rating (2008 corrected #'s). We expect selective stats from Ford. But Edmunds? Yeah, OK, Edmunds too.

Motown pundit Peter DeLorenzo frequently takes his hometown heroes to task for their insularity. It's more than a bit ironic; the self-styled Autoextremist steadfastly refuses to allow comments underneath his weekly rants. The columnist also backed out of simultaneous TTAC publication because he didn't want to respond to TTAC's Best and Brightest when they ripped his writing to shreds thoughtfully analyzed his insightful commentary. In e-pistle 454, DeLorenzo once again tries to play it both ways. On one hand, he [once again] validates the so-called "perception gag." You know; the deep psychological chasm between U.S. consumers' understanding of GM and Ford's products (ominously enough, Chrysler's been excluded) and the vehicles' "true" competitiveness with their transplanted rivals. Well, some of them. OK, the Chevy Mailbu. On the other hand, Sweet Pete takes Detroit to task for "indecision, non-decisions and monumentally bone-headed decisions." In sum, uber-mensch Bob Lutz and his pals tried hard, got tripped-up (in just three months) by gas prices and their handlers' stupidity, and who the fuck do you think you are criticizing Detroit anyway, Jane, you ignorant slut? Despite DeLorenzo's writing talent, it's clear the inside outsider is rhetorically conflicted. But at least DeLorenzo has doubts. Even now, deep into the last act of a Shakespearian tragedy, the same can not be said for the people who once paid his salary. 

After its M250 concept went down in flames, many thought Lotus wouldn't try to build a "real-world" sportscar again. Though the Europa brought a little more livability (and a lot more ugly) to the hardworking Elise platform, it hasn't done much for Colin Chapman's progeny. Car reports that Lotus is having another go, reviving the M250 concept back with a new set of clothes and a new 'tude. With a 276hp Toyota V6, the Eagle (not its real name) does zero to 60 in five seconds, hits 160mph and laps the Nurburgring considerably faster than its Elise stablemate. Unlike the spartan Elise, the new 2+2 offers traction control, cup holders, AC, Alpine ICE and antilock brakes. At about $90k, the 2009 Eagle is a little short of the "911 for Cayman money" goal. Speaking of which, the new, 2010 Porsche Cayman jumps from 245hp to 265hp. The Cayman S will offer 320 directly-injected horses. And here's news: the S gets an optional PDK dual-clutch gearbox (all versions will be more fuel-efficient). So it's Lotus prestige and limited production versus Porsche performance and cost advantages. I call dibs on the comparo.

While its competitors were bought out (Volkswagen – Audi) or formed abortive alliances (Daimler – Benz), BMW has long been fiercely, proudly, publicly independent. So much for that, then. These days, The Boys from Bavaria are embracing global alliances, developing EVs with Magna, MINI engines with PSA, and sharing small car platforms with Fiat. Und now BMW is partnering with longtime nemesis Mercedes-Benz. Auto Motor und Sport (AM&S) reports that BMW and Daimler plans to share components across each other's car lines. BMW development boss Klaus Draeger says ja, it's a logical extension of BMW and Daimler's hydrogen fuel-cell technology development thingie (available never). At the mo, we're talking air conditioning units and brakes. Soon, it'll be hybrid technology and robot tanks [just kidding, I think]. With so much technology to share, so much brand image to protect and Daimler's history of stiffing Chrysler, this is promises to be a genuine disaster.