I'm not sure I'd want The New York Times brokering a deal for me. In this case, the Gray Lady's Op Ed folk are suggesting that New York City's Taxi and Limousine Commission acquiesce to cabbies' demands for a $1 per trip fuel surcharge. In exchange, the paper calls for a free ride IF a cabbie talks on his or her cell during a fare. It sounds sensible enough– until you consider the fact that there is already a law against cabbies on cell phones (even hands-free) whilst working. In other words, the NYT wants the government to bribe taxi drivers to comply with an existing regulation. Surely the time to do the carrot stick thing was before the law was enacted. "New York did raise taxi fares two years ago, which helped drivers’ incomes, at least until the price of staying on the road quickly climbed to more than $4 a gallon at area stations. According to drivers’ advocates, costs have risen as much as $1,000 a month for some drivers." If The Big Apple's "giving" taxi drivers an extra grand, they should look for some sort of new concession. Suggestions?

Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) union president Basil a.k.a. Buzz Hargrove is stepping down early. Although Buzz was expected to retire when he reached the mandatory retirement age of 65 next year, he's now leaving "soon after" the union selects his successor this summer. His hand-picked heir-apparent is the equally-outspoken not-to-say borderline-militant Ken Lewenza, current president of Windsor, Ontario Local 444. Buzz is leaving amid the controversy we've all come know and love; rumors say the national executive board is pressuring their staff to support Lewenza's bid. The Victoria Times Colonist quotes columnist Gord Henderson, who describes Buzz' golden boy as having a "Dr. Jekyll-Mr. Hyde persona" whose "flights of rhetoric are a wonder to behold, akin to watching Mount Vesuvius blow its stack." So we shouldn't run out of Lutz Award-worthy quotes from north of the border. With Canada's dubious distinction as  the highest-priced labor force in the North American and auto industry manufacturers shutting down Canadian plants, Lewenza will have plenty opportunity to display his brand of "old-time table-thumping unionism." So don't go away; we'll be back with more!

Jim Majeta at Kicking Tires reports a change in GM's upcoming hybrid electric – gas hybrid Chevrolet Volt's fuel tank size. The 12-gallon tank with a 600-mile projected range is no more. GM's not saying by how much they're shrinking the tank, but the new projected range is 360 petrochemical miles. As that's just over half the previous gas-only range, a straight division yields a 7.2-gallon tank. Per the article, "GM says because most cars [will in theory] travel 40 miles or less each day, there was really no need to have a 12-gallon fuel tank – and the added weight – to extend the range by 600 miles." Translation: "We have problems meeting weight and packaging requirements, big time. Besides, the only range we have to beat is the Tesla Roadster's." Speaking of another manufacturer suffering from premature specification…

You can't make this shit up. The Wall Street Journal publishes an article saying GM is considering killing some of its "damaged" brands. GM spinmeister Tony Cervone categorically denies the story. The Detroit News says nope, it's true. And now CNNMoney reports that GM Marketing Maven Mark LeNeve sent a letter to The General's store owners denying the denial of the denial. In other words, the Wall Street Journal story isn't true. (They aren't killing brands.) "We engage you, our dealers, in this process of improving our business," the intercepted missive assures. "That is the extent of the 'examination' that is going on at this time for Saturn or any other GM brand. There is no breaking news here." That said, if one were inclined to read between the lines… "It is true that we constantly review our plan for improving volume and profitability for Saturn and all our brands," he wrote. Constantly reviewing as in checking results against targets? Nah, couldn't be. He must mean revising their sales targets downwards. Anyway, there is either more or less here than meets the eye. I think.

Forbes reports that China's Chery Automobile is looking into a purchase of Ford's struggling Volvo division. According to Chinese media reports, Chery is shopping for some $4.4b in financing to make the purchase, although observers are skeptical that the purchase could actually take place. Chery (which is owned by the city of Wuhan) can not simply buy Volvo outright, as it has not yet been able to raise funds on Chinese capital markets. Having failed to meet the Hong Kong stock index's capital structure requirements, and with the Shanghai stock exchange taking a beating, Chery must rely on outside financing to make a play for Volvo. And as Zhang Xin, an auto analyst with Guotai Jun'an Securities points out, Chery's entire asset value is less than the rumored price tag for Volvo. Furthermore, Ford has already set up a joint venture with Changan Motors to build the Volvo S40 in China, while Chery has entered an alliance with Chrysler. And Ford is letting the considerable barriers to the deal do all the talking, as the International Herald Tribune reports that Ford once again refuses to comment on the possible deal. Still, with a new suitor for Volvo being hinted at each of the last few weeks, Ford's insistence that it is "committed" to Volvo seems just a tad disingenuous.

London's new Mayor Boris Johnson has scrapped his predecessors plans to hike congestion charges to nearly $50 per day, reports the Times. Not only has BoJo repealed Ken Livingstone's proposed fee bump, but he's even paid Porsche's six-figure legal bill after the German automaker lead the charge against the increase. "I am delighted that we have been able to scrap the £25 charge, which would have hit families and small businesses hardest," said Johnson. "I believe the proposal would actually have made congestion worse by allowing thousands of small cars in for free." And what makes "Red" Ken Livingstone most angry about the reversal of his controversial legacy? Environmental damage? Long commute times? No, it's the lost revenue for the city government. "The claim that £10m has been 'saved' by scrapping the CO2 charge is entirely false – in reality London will lose £30 million – £60million expected annual revenue from the scheme," said Livingstone. With that admission, any pretext that the beefed-up congestion charge is actually an environmental or traffic-calming measure is well and truly put to bed. Along with Mr Livingstone's political career. And good riddance too.

We all know that GM is burning through cash faster than a well-oiled cash burning machine, but nobody seems to know where the next GM greenback fix is going to come from. Automotive News (sub) reports that a JP Morgan analyst thinks it could come from GM's VEBA contributions. The General has set aside some $14.5b for the UAW fund which was envisioned as a way for GM to get out from under its crippling benefit liability. But with cash tight and credit increasingly unavailable, the UAW may just have to loan that money back to GM to keep the lights on for another few years. Analyst Himanshu Patel reckons GM needs $10b to prevent a major cash crunch by 2009, and that GM could squeeze up to $6b from the UAW fund. "Why would the UAW agree to this? My short answer is they have to," Patel said, adding "the UAW now is extremely motivated to keep GM, Ford and Chrysler out of bankruptcy." Oh yeah, and GM would have to pay the UAW up to 12 percent interest on the friendly loan. It's a risky move though, given that nothing indicates that GM will ever be able to pay the money back. But then GM and the UAW are up the same creek with the same lack of equipment, so the partners in failure may have little choice to double down for another round. Unless of course there's some other white knight waiting to throw $10b into the giant sucking sound that is General Motors. Which there isn't.

Guess what? SUVs are dead and gone, nearly buried. Goodbye, nice knowing ya! When the future business case histories are completed, the research will show that while some people bought big boys to compensate for small johnsons or to venture off pavement, others purchased SUVs because they were a lot like station wagons. Sure we have CUVs (crossovers) to (kinda) plug the gap. But here's the thing, putting a sedan up on stilts adds weight — a lot of weight. Turning a 4-door into a 5-door? Not so much. A top spec Nissan Murano weighs in at 4,130 pounds whereas a fully optioned Altima sedan is just 3,292 lbs. 838 pounds of flabola. Of course, there's no Altima wagon, but we can look at Subaru. A Legacy 2.5 GT Limited (with auto) weighs 3,490 lbs. Compare that to the essentially identical Outback 2.5 XT Limited's 3,605 lbs. That's just 115 pounds, the weight of a healthy teenage girl. For fun, a Tribeca weighs 4,129 pounds. A slushbox Impreza 4-door  weighs 3,131 pounds. The 5-door? The exact same (though… Subaru's website may be mistaken). Long story short, wagons offer the same amount of practical utility as CUV/SUVs and are inherently better on gas. Yet I don't see a single Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, Chevy Malibu, Nissan Altima, Ford Fusion or Mazda 6 wagon. Not anywhere. Any thoughts?

Henry Ford: "You don't build a reputation on what you're going to do." GM CEO Rick Wagoner: "Our team continues to develop further action plans to optimize our operating structure under these new market conditions, improve our cash and funding position, and keep our key product and technology investments on track." I know that many of our Best and Brightest are cubicle-dwellers; workers well-versed in the kind of euphemisms used by managers to obfuscate– I mean "hide" inactivity and incompetence. (My personal pet peeve is verbizing perfectly good nouns, as in "let's action that plan.") Just so we're all on the same page, I'm saying that a great leader does NOT resort to doublespeak and big words when the chips are down. Winston Churchill didn't say "I pledge to maximize my personal contribution to right-sizing the National Socialist Government by exanguination and perspicacity." He said ""I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat." If Rick Wagoner really wanted to save GM– and not his own ass– he would start by speaking plain English. As if. 

BMW International has posted a film, photo montage and downloadable soundtrack for its new 7-Series sedan. Yes, it's "The Dawn of a New Era." In watching the film and slideshow with its urbane classical soundtrack, I find myself crying. Whether it's tears of joy at this new marvelous vehicle or sadness at the human race, I cannot say. It might just be embarrassment that I care at all. Nevertheless, BMW calls the new 7er "A completely new interpretation on style, luxury, and driving dynamics." I suppose that when discussing a range-topping sedan, they might as well use-range topping ridiculous claims. Most importantly, from the films, it looks like the 7-Series looks far better in motion than it did in most of the still photos released last week (putting it in the context of lavish landscapes and palatial homes doesn't hurt either). Your thoughts?

With mature markets under-performing spectacularly, Toyota continues to invest in supplying China's endless thirst for cars. Shanghai Daily reports that ToMoCo is about to drop some $529m on increased production capacity in the Middle Kingdom. With volume leaders GM and VW in its sights, Toyota hopes to snag ten percent market share (1m vehicles). Sales are already headed for 700k this year. Toyota is scrambling to meet demand with a production capacity of only 640k units annually. And so its joint-venture plants are getting more money for more cars; Guangzhou Auto Group will double production to 400k units, while Sichuan FAW Toyota will hit 30k and Changchun FAW Toyota will build up to 10k Priora and Land Cruisers. Of course tooling-up takes time; ToMoCo won't be finished until 2010. By which time steel and fuel prices may have taken some of the zest from the Chinese market. Still, in its pursuit/maintenance of world domination, Toyota can't afford not to build more cars in China. 

Anyone remember the 1932 film If I Had A Million? Didn't think so. Long story short, a dying rich man picks eight people at random from the phone book and gives each of them $1,000,000. The best sequence (of course) belongs to W.C. Fields. Fed-up with "road hogs" and "Sunday drivers," he buys a phalanx of jalopies and begins to run the offending cars off the road. Then, when both the hog and Fields's jalopy have been totaled in a ditch, he climbs into the next junker (he's paying a a bunch of kids to follow behind him in "fresh "cars) and looks for a new target. I mention this classic scene because the Tata Nano's $2,500 price has given me ideas. I mean, for not that much money I could remove a lot of first gen Dodge Caravans from the road [Ed: Jonny's convinced that all traffic everywhere would improve if still existing K-Car Dodge Caravans were outlawed]. However, like most of my fantasies, this one ain't going to happen. Looks like the rising cost of steel is turning into the rising price of Tata Nanos. For their part, Tata ain't saying nuthin' 'bout nuthin'. But Automotive News [sub] is reporting that the Indian automaker is trying to cut deals with its suppliers to keep raw material costs down. Luckily for Tata, they happen to own Tata Steel Ltd., the largest steel producer in India. However, as John Adams said, facts are stubborn things– steel prices are up. As for my twisted plans, I should be able to get all the Hummer H2s I need for less than $2,500 real soon. 

Fiat makes some really wonderful small cars. But as always, it's more fun to do it with someone else! And so Fiat likes to take lovers, much like the Italian Prime Minister does (e.g. former topless model/current Minister for Equal Opportunities Mara Carfagna, Ministers of Parliament Gabriella Giammanco, Micaela Biancofiore and Nunzia De Girolamo and Venezuelan Model Aida Yespica). Consider: The Fiat Panda and 500 share a platform with the upcoming Ford Ka. Fiat partnered with PSA Peugeot-Citroen for the (these are real names) Fiorino, Bipper, and Nemo small vans. In Europe, Fiat sells the car us North Americans know as the Suzuki SX4 as the Fiat Sedici. And Fiat has been rumored to be talking to Tata about accessing Jaguar's RWD platforms for future models. And now, BMW! Automotive News reports that Fiat is looking to hook-up with BMW for future platform engineering and powerplants. In particular, BMW and Fiat may co-develop the next gen Fiat 500 and MINI. Considering the 500 is reported to be not the most phenomenal car to drive, this would be good news for the Italians. For its part, BMW realizes the importance of collaboration. The current MINI Cooper's 1.6-liter mill was co-developed with PSA Peugeot-Citroen, which also makes a home in a number of small French car-things. And BMW has declared that future BMW branded 4-cylinder engines will be shared with PSA. So how long is it, really, before there are just two car platforms in the world: one RWD, one FWD, with 30 different badges?

Those of us old enough to remember the Kennedy/Nixon debate remember Dinah Shore encouraging us to "See the USA in your Chevrolet." Then Chevy invited us to enjoy "baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet" driving "the Heartbeat of America" as we participated in "an American Revolution." So much for flag-waving. In yesterday's press release, Chevy crows that their new Cruze– the Daewoo Optra they're going to build in Lordstown OH—  features a new "global design language" that was "developed by a global design and engineering team." They warn tell us this "new global design language… will continue to be a signature element for future vehicles carrying the gold bowtie." Let's hope they're not talking about the new schnoz they're sticking on the front of the 2009 Aveo5. Where are Bill Mitchell or Harley Earl when you need them? Oh that's right; they're dead. Never mind then.

Yes, I know this, uh, feature was originally posted last month. And I realize I've been dumping on The Detroit News for a couple of days now. But they deserve it and honestly, even if this isn't the world's ugliest car (remember: the Aztec and Tribeca B9 are SUVs), the 789 sure doesn't qualify as "best of past, present." Seriously, am I supposed to take this car seriously? "Take the most distinctive elements of the 1957, 1958 and 1959 Chevrolets," Larry Edsall (no really) writes. "Put them together around a new Corvette chassis and what do you have? You have the spectacular 789 from Kanter Concepts and n2a Motors." Apparently, I'm in the minority in thinking that the only reason there isn't a single ten-foot pole mark on this thing is because people wouldn't touch it with one. "The goal is to sell as many as 100 copies. Nos. 15, 16 and 17 are under construction with sales contracts just in for Nos. 18 and 19, [CEO Greg] Langmesser said." No way! I mean, n2a stands for "no two alike"– which doesn't fill me with confidence to their build quality, even at $75k ABOVE the cost of a donor Corvette. And for those who [happen to] agree with me that this is a hideous piece, check out that site for the Anteros. Or, if you're of a delicate disposition, not.