No small amount of the excitement surrounding the Chevrolet plug-in electric gas hybrid Volt centers on the vehicle's design. GM has hyped this "car of tomorrow" look by withholding the final design and promoting the prototype as if that's it, there ya go. This despite the fact wind tunnel testing obviated the hyped sheetmetal early in the Volt's development. Anyway, The Detroit News reports that GM is about to show the world the "real" Volt's design. Well, not the world. "GM, which will mark its centennial on Sept. 16, will let employees take a peek at the extended range electric vehicle but not allow them to use any cameras because of concerns about the competition… No final decision has been made on when and where the Volt will be revealed to employees — and eventually the public, but spokeswoman Karla Coleman said, 'It's going to be soon.'" The DetN reckons that means November's LA Auto Show. Or January's Detroit auto show. Or next Independence Day [just kidding, I think]. And get this: "The automaker recently showed a near-production version of the Volt to a focus group in southern California. 'It was very positive,' Coleman said. 'It's not like we can change the design at this point, but we want to hear feedback about how we're doing.'" Yeah, that makes sense. [NB: TTAC will pay $1000 for exclusive rights to the first photo of the finished Chevy Volt.]

The Flex was supposed to be a big deal for Ford's downsizing SUV clientèle. But with production already stopped at Oaksville due to slow sales, the Flex is in deep doodoo. And now, Ford is announcing that the designer of the Flex is stepping down. Automotive News (sub req'd) couldn't get a straight answer from Ford as to why Richard Gresens has left the company, but there's basically two possibilities. One is that he's just another white collar statistic in Ford's war on salary costs, the other is that the Flex was as aerodynamic as a brick shithouse and its weak fuel economy is responsible for poor sales. Since nobody at Ford likely imagined that folks would be willing to downsize to the point where a 17/24 EPA-rated crossover is just not efficient enough, let's hope that Gresens isn't taking the fall for a whole company's worth of poor planning. Although given how auto biz politics work, we wouldn't be surprised. Meanwhile, Ford's vow to slice 15 percent of its salaried workforce is the perfect cover for corporate scapegoating.

Oh me, oh my, GM is opening a new powertrain development center in Pontiac, MI. Why? According to GM Media Online, "Time equals money, and in keeping with this formula, General Motors today opened a brand-new, state-of-the-art global Powertrain Engineering Development Center that will bring advanced, fuel-saving powertrains to market faster and at less cost by reducing 10 weeks from its powertrain development process." Funny, doesn't building huge facilities equal money too? But seriously, GM says that powertrain development savings will hit $200m this year, thanks in part to this new facility. The 450k square foot building is "where GM will develop and test the Chevrolet Volt's electric drive unit, motors, power electronics and engine," according to the press release (note the use of future tense). The General will also use the facility to develop electric motors for fuel cell and hybrid powertrains, as well as other advanced gasoline, biofuel and clean diesel engines and transmissions. Compressed-air pallet lifters cut test changeover times from 24 hours to 20 minutes. New dynamometers can test every powertrain in all conditions. A global operating system unifies the development process and by shifting early calibration testing from raods to labs, GM says it can cut ten weeks from development time. Which should come in handy if they want to get the Volt developed within the already "well-pushed time envelope".

It comes as no surprise that GMAC and Chrysler Financial no longer offer leases in North America. Ford Motor Credit now joins the "no lease" club by pricing its leases sky high making them unaffordable. Why now? It's simple; the captive finance arms can't get the funding to support these transactions due to the deteriorating credit of the finance arms and their parent automakers. 

Back in the day, T. Boone Pickens questioned why his then-boss, presidential nominee Bob Dole supported ethanol. Dole's answer was telling. "Let me explain something to you about politics," the Kansas Republican replied. "There are 21 farm states, and that's 42 senators. Don't waste any more of our time or your time telling us it's a bad idea, because they're going to do it." And when politics trumps policy, you get stories like this one from The Oil Drum (TOD). With gas consumption likely to decline thanks to high prices, TOD wanted to know if federal ethanol mandates would sink with the market. The Department of Energy told them ethanol mandates are still set to increase, from 9b gallons this year to 12b gallons in 2011. Which raises a problem: what to do with it all. By DOE estimates, there won't be enough gasoline to "absorb" that much ethanol in standard E10 blends in 2011. There's also not enough E85 pumping stations (or "infrastructure") for the corn juice. In other words, the feds are mandating more ethanol than we can use so that Midwest senators will be pliant for other senators' pork projects. We've sure got this energy thing licked, huh?

Just a little "Inside Baseball" stuff here folks. Those of you who aren't interested in a throw-down between the Simon Cowell of the autoblogosphere (us) and the Paul Abdul (Autoblog) are free to wander about the cabin. Autoblog's Noah Joseph was kind enough to link to TTAC for a post about Tata Motor's rumored resurrection of the once-storied Daimler marque. I mean, the Maserati-loving, Italian junketeering scribe (just sayin') could have followed his colleagues' lead and simply linked to our source for the story; following our news agenda without alerting their readers (most of which never darken our server) that they'd done so. All's fair in love and linkage. But no. Joseph felt compelled to take a shot at TTAC. "NOTE: I didn't know what our policy was about sourcing TTAC with all their flame-throwing, so feel free to remove the via from below." Howzzat? The site that allows more flame-throwing in its comment section than ever produced by the Silent Scope's heavy accuses US of incendiary behavior? Anyway, cool! Bring it on! But, uh, how does an Autoblog reader remove an attribution? Is it one of those "don't think of a pink elephant deals?" UPDATE: AB's pulled the post. 

In a maximum interview with Auto Motor und Sport, GM Car Czar Bob Lutz tells us to expect 1m annual production of E-Flex EVs in 2020. Meanwhile, we can expect "no more than" 10k Volts by 2012. (For reference, it took Toyota ten years to sell one million Priora, and that they won't hit 1m annually until (you guessed it) 2010. As in the year the Volt comes out.) Lutz also confirms that though Opel-branded E-Flex-mobiles may be forthcoming, the Volt will be a world model to be sold in left and right-hand drive markets. Interestingly, Lutz says he can't remember has never seen anything like the current downturn in the U.S. auto market. Never mind. "Not only will we survive," Lutz barks. "We'll be stronger and more competitive than before." After all, they'll be launching a world-beating plug-in electric – gas hybrid, double annual capacity of it every year and (presumably) turning a profit on it. 

While Chrysler and GMAC are cutting out leasing altogether, Ford is just raising lease prices on its sucky-residual trucks and SUVs to make them "lease proof." The Wall Street Journal reports Ford officials sent a memo to dealers Monday that said "due to extreme losses Ford Credit is taking on off-lease vehicles, it will be necessary for Ford Motor Credit Company to adjust residuals mid-quarter on the following vehicle lines." The memo specifies the Ford F-150 and Super Duty pickups, and the Ford Explorer and Sport Trac SUVs. They're raising lease prices so high customers won't agree to the terms. [NB: We've predicted this de facto exit from leasing for GM.] Last week, Ford revealed that average auction values for 24- and 36-month lease vehicles were down $2.7k and $2.4k each, respectively. In its recent financial statements, FoMoCo wrote-off $2.1b for leasing losses. 

Breaking news from TTAC contributor Samir Syed, who just finished lunch with Canadian Auto Workers President Basil "Buzz" Hargrove. In a stunning admission, the union boss said he told GM CEO Rick Wagoner that a bankruptcy filing was inevitable. But wait! There's more. Buzz reckons ALL of Detroit's automakers are going down. "I don't see how they can survive in their current form." Samir's full report on his chin wag with the outgoing union boss will appear on Wednesday's TTAC editorial page.

In the aftermath of Black Hole Tuesday (June ’08 sales numbers), a big story got lost in the vortex. Yes, The Big 2.8 tanked, Toyota and Nissan took hits to the jaw and Honda was proclaimed the new Messiah. But June’s unsung winner puts Honda’s accomplishments to shame. In the midst of a violently contracting U.S. new car market, Hyundai-Kia (“HK”) kicked ass. And that butt-whooping is a direct threat to Detroit’s survival.  

Vanity Fair's "Society and Style" blog has introduced "StickShift: The Gay Car Blog." Note: it's not a "Car Blog for Gays." It's a "Gay Car Blog." So what constitutes a "gay car?" According to blogger Brett Berk, "a car's gayness is based in its inhabiting the margins of conventionality. A Gay Car is quirkier, more enigmatic, or more fiercely accessorized than the average vehicle. (It also likes to sleep with other Gay Cars)." If that weren't stereotypical enough, and we think it is, Berk says he "won't go after low-hanging fruit like Saturns or Subarus." Instead he'll look at "cars that emit the subtle semiotic signals that register on my GayCarDar." Not to mention answering burning questions like "How Do Gay Guys Keep Their Cars So Clean?" Berk concludes by saying "So gas up, fasten your seatbelt, and get ready to suck some tailpipe." Needless to say, the folks over at Gaywheels aren't particularly amused. 

Fitch Ratings has access to information about Chrysler's finances that neither you nor I nor a whole bunch of really powerful people can access. Now that Chrysler's eliminated leasing, Fitch doesn't like what they see. They've downgraded Chrysler from B- to CCC, with a negative outlook. Not to get too technical, it's yet another indication that Chrysler has one foot in the grave. Or, if you prefer, MarketWatch reports that "The downgrade reflects Chrysler's restricted access to economic retail financing for its vehicles, which is expected to result in a further step-down in retail volumes. Lack of competitive financing is also expected to result in more costly subvention payments and other forms of sales incentives. Fitch is also concerned with the state of the securitization market and the ability of the automakers to access this market on an economic basis over the near term, given the steep drop in residual values (particularly in SUVs and pickup trucks), higher default rates, higher loss severity being experienced and jittery capital markets." Cash burn? Oh yeah, cash burn. "Fitch expects that Chrysler could reach minimum required levels to finance ongoing operations in the second half of 2009. This could be accelerated in the event that suppliers or retail customers become concerned with Chrysler's financial condition and restrict trade credit or reduce retail purchases." 

Even though diesel fuel costs more than gasoline, even though diesel engines cost more than their gasoline equivalents, VW plans to sell TDI versions of the Jetta and Sportwagon stateside in 2009. To get the party started, VeeDub's announced that TDI buyers will be eligible for a $1.3k Federal Income Tax Credit. Yup, your tax money in their pocket, under the Advanced Lean Burn Technology Motor Vehicle credit program. The EPA has certified the TDI at 29 mpg city, 41 mpg highway. BUT VW cites test results from "leading third-party certifier, AMCI" (paid by VW of course) claiming the models get 38 mpg in the city and 44 on the highway. And while they work that one out, Toyota can't build enough their gas – electric Priora fast enough, even with a $500 price hike. [Source: VW]

Let's start with the basics. It's not really a good idea to park a dummy cop– I mean a REAL dummy cop– in a genuine police car to scare motorists into slowing down. It may be effective, but once motorists realize the cop isn't real two things will happen. First, they'll be pissed off at being "fooled"– which does nothing for respect for the law. Second, they'll begin thinking real cops may be dummies (REAL dummies), and speed past. Looking closer at this story [via the San Mateo Daily News], it gets worse and worserer. In this case, the cops are allowing a civilian named Anna Kuhre to position the inflatable cop. Training schmaining. What about road safety? And get this: they allow Kuhre to pick-up the squad car from the station and drive it to its new location. Background check my ass. Why in the world would you risk unauthorized use of a police car? And again, what's the impact on safety of the general public thinking that cop cars are being driven by neighborhood busy-bodies? What if a criminal caps her ass? Oh wait, did I mention that Kurhe is the first member of a planned Neighborhood Traffic Corps, complete with radar guns (will the resulting "warnings" go to insurance companies?). Hey! Here's an idea: let the police do the policing. And if you really want to make a stink about all this, it's clearly a case of racial discrimination! [thanks to David Holzman for the tip]

How can Dodge dealers offer trucks for 50 percent off of sticker price, as several have done in the past month? Money from the mother ship. Right now, Chrysler is offering up to $5k – $6k rebates to customers buying a Ram 1500. At the same time, ChryCo's kicking-in up to an additional $9.5k in "dealer incentives." The extra cash is a desperate move to clear th decks before the new Ram arrives; helping dealers to do what's got to be done to sell their moribund Rams without going out of business (ostensibly). So when you see a $35K Ram for $17.5K, Chrysler's subsidizing the bulk of the difference to the dealer. Great for generating dealership traffic, great for bargain hunters. Not so great for Chrysler's finances or future.