Actually, we're not sure what number Tesla Roadster is chronicled here. But a private and likely very well off citizen in California has procured one and put a video of himself driving it on Ye Olde YouTube. What we can see from the video is: (1) The carbon fiber hood is very light and (2) mother of god, it's quick. A confidential source confirms that the customer paid sticker ($120k) for his lithium-ion-powered automotive trinket. No word on recharge time or range in the video. (As this guy's stable probably includes a fleet of slick cars, I doubt it's of very much consequence.) Now, if Tesla can just amp-up production, not "fad out," keep costs under control (have you seen that showroom?), raise more money, build a more profitable product and fend off competitors, we can take them off the Death Watch. [hat tip to Jonny Lieberman]

When The National Motorists Association blog noticed a large number of pro-red-light-ticket-camera editorials coming out of the Orlando Tribune, they decided to investigate. Turns out that every one of the pro-camera pieces was written by a single member of the Tribune's editorial board, George Diaz. Well wouldn't you know it: Diaz is "the point man on editorials pushing for red light camera legislation in Florida" for the National Campaign To Stop Red Light Running. The lobbying group is funded by the fine people who make and sell red-light-ticket- cameras. Needless to say, the Tribune has ethical standards which state that Editorial staffers "should avoid situations in which their activities in connection with any group or cause could be perceived as influencing what the Sentinel publishes or broadcasts." What's more, "when conflicts of interest are unavoidable but not obvious to readers, they should be disclosed in the story." And of course, Diaz did neither. For shame.

In a recent interview with the Weekly Standard, Iowa Senator Charles Grassley weighed-in on the food-for-fuel debate. "If part of our problem is that the Chinese are going to eat meat and you've got to have corn and soybeans to feed the Chinese their meat, then why isn't it just as legitimate for the Chinese to go back and eat rice as it is for us to change our policy on corn to ethanol?" Despite the growing consensus (so to speak) that ethanol is not an environmentally-friendly fuel, drives up food prices and contributes to world starvation, Grassley isn't willing to surrender the $4.5b of federal ethanol subsidies and the farm lobby support that goes with it. The Weekly Standard condemns Grassley's position. "As this 'let them eat rice' soundbite made clear, the debate over the food versus fuel issue is about as undignified as a full out real food fight at a summer camp cafeteria."  

As you may or may not have seen, Nissan is building a convertible Murano. OK, so… besides the obvious question (what were they drinking?), I'm starting to see the 4-door crossover drop top as a good idea. A few reasons why. I recently drove the new Murano. It was so dull that not only do I barely remember spending a week with it, but the TTAC governing body told me to not even bother with a review (it would have been a Second Take, granted). Besides looking like a moon buggy, the 17 mpg soft-roader has nothing going for it. Hacking off the roof could only help. Additionally, as an American loving American, I proudly stand behind all 4-door convertibles. No other cars so perfectly capture our fading but still proud space race zeitgeist. And since the domestics aren't building one, go Nissan! Finally, one of my least favorite rental cars — the PT Cruiser — is improved by at least 500% once the top comes off. You?

"One advantage of private ownership is that we can sell nonearning assets to generate cash," Chrysler President and Vice Chairman Tom LaSorda told the Detroit Free Press. "To date, we've identified over $1 billion in non-earning assets and we're more than halfway to achieving that goal." Of course, another advantage of private ownership is that Chrysler doesn't have to reveal financial information, so why advertise the fire sale? "It has a lot to do with the media," LaSorda claimed. "They like to write about us and other auto makers who post $15.5 billion or an $8.7 billion loss just to get a few headlines." A more likely motivation: heading off further cuts to ChryCo's credit ratings. At the same time, LaSorda announced a forthcoming $1.8b spend to make the Jefferson North Assembly Plant more environmentally friendly, develop new cars and keep 400 jobs in Michigan. The green initiative– including energy management systems, efficient lighting and the use of solid waste and paint sludge for energy– will clear the way for Jefferson North to build a new, car-based (i.e. brand dilluting) Jeep Grand Cherokee, scheduled to debut in 2010.

We've been helping to circulate rumors of possible Volvo sales recently, most of which have centered on Chinese firms as the potential buyer. All the while Ford has insisted that Volvo isn't for sale; statements which we've treated with the incredulity that all pre-sale denials deserve. But it seems Ford's sticking with the Swedes. In a post on his Autocar blog, Hilton Holloway describes Volvo's 20-year quest to emulate Audi's upmarket appeal, and its utter failure to escape its stodgy image. One Volvo exec tells Holloway that "he wished he had BMW's customers, who would tick all the options boxes and update their car every couple of years." Obviously that's not about to happen anytime soon. So FoMoCo is set to dial back Volvo's upmarket ambitions and reposition the Gothenberg brand as a VW-style "upmarket mainstream" marque. This means building cheaper cars that are "more closely related to Ford models" so that U.S. production can boost Volvo's profit margins. It also means Volvo wants to hoik sales from 420k to 600k vehicles per annum. The new Volvos could be green lighted as early as January. With such short development times, look for Volvo to descend into the bowels of brand engineering with its new generation of high-volume models. It could well be "one Ford" too many.

Toyota's Senior VP for NA engineering and manufacturing is rooting for the D3. "Competition is good for us," Steve St. Angelo told The Detroit News. 'The customers are the big winners, because it makes all of us better." But there's more to Toyota's largesse than simple concern for consumer choice. "We share many of the same suppliers, so if one of our suppliers has difficulty with either Chrysler, GM or Ford, there's a good chance they are going to have difficulty for us." And because of this interconnectedness, Toyota is helping its American rivals however it can without breaking U.S. antitrust laws. "When any of our competitors want to come to our plants, we let them," says St. Angelo. "We really don't want anybody to go bankrupt." The ToMoCo honcho professes faith in the D3's current leadership. "If you really look at the leaders of the Detroit Three, they're some of the finest leaders that this business has ever had. I hope and I think that they'll come out of this. It would help our company. It would help America. It would help our suppliers. It would help everyone." Not to mention the fact that rooting for Detroit helps Toyota in its quest to morph from evil, America-destroying transplant to leader of the United States of Toyota (as examined by Automotive News [sub] columnist Edward Lapham).

In a recent article, The Economist wondered if Detroit's automakers would win their "race against time." In other words, will Ford, GM or Chrysler return to profitability before their cash conflagration throws them into the Chapter 11 burn unit? At the risk of providing a piercing glimpse into the obvious, The Big 2.8 need to change course or flame out. STAT. The Economist rightly suggests that Ford is the only carmaker of the three with a coherent strategy for escaping C11. For contrast, let's recap GM's and Chrysler's plans…

By the end of this month, Chrysler will offer EVDO routers (that's for CDMA services Verizon, Sprint and Alltel) for their cars. This for a whopping $499 a pop. And then there's the monthly service fee– which could be as low as $30. Or whatever the major carriers charge (i.e. more like $60 a month). While you can pick up an EVDO computer modem for free at your local cell phone store, when purchasing a new car, a $500 option may not feel expensive. Then again, is Chrysler kidding? It's bad enough when the guy in front of me is trying to pair his Bluetooth headset to the phone while driving. Now he's going to be on G Chat and Facebook? The system might operate only when parked, at which point I'd just go inside whatever Starbucks I'm parked in front of and use their internet for free. Speaking as an incipient lawyer, how Chrysler's in-house counsel signed off on this project, I have no idea. 

GM may have a several thousand disappointed Voltophiles on their hands before this sad saga plays out. Automotive News [sub] reports Dennis Lyle from GM-Volt.com claims over 33k people have joined his unofficial waiting list, expressing a desire buy the electrowundercar when it's "released in 2010." Oh dear. First of all, a 2010 release date is a reality only to those who live in GM Car Czar Bob Lutz' fantasy world. Next, GM's already said they'll build fewer than 40k Volts per year for the first five years, and many of those will be exported. And you know those left stateside will go to GM execs, politicians, celebrities and celebrity politicians. Finally, Lyle's prospective buyers indicated they were willing to pay an average of $31,261 for a vehicle that GM's already said will top the $40k mark (and will lose money on, even at that price). You have to wonder how long the people on this list will put up with GM's gratuitous promises (being charitable) before they finally give up.

Thanks to The Economist, we now have a name for ChryCo's pain. (OK, a number, but literary needs must.) In an article entitled "Detroit's race against time," the UK pub recaps the domestic automakers' litany of woes: truck-heavy line-ups, falling sales, killer depreciation and quasi-criminal stupidity [paraphrasing]. The Economist feels the cash burn. But they also understand the importance of Detroit's general cluelessness. "But if the speed with which the Detroit firms are burning cash is the biggest immediate cause for concern, the deeper question is whether they are using what remains to make their businesses viable in the long term." Ford's plans get a tentative thumbs-up, Chrysler gets a question mark and GM gets a shot to the solar plexus. "GM’s global design chief, Ed Welburn, acknowledges that its next generation of small cars will be designed in places like South Korea and Europe where they 'really know how to do small cars'. But unlike Mr Mulally, Mr Wagoner has not said what will be arriving and when. Indeed, at times he seems weighed down by the sheer complexity of managing such a bloated product portfolio." Poor bastard. [thanks to Point Given for the link]

Although Ford only makes about $100 from each Focus it currently sells, The Blue Oval Boyz plan to bank big bucks from small cars. At a dinner with journalists last night [Ed: our invitation must have gotten lost in the mail], Ford Americas President Mark Fields said the small car segment is at "critical mass" and that Ford's "eager to tap it." The Detroit News reports that the formerly mulleted Mulally minion stated "we'll see a bigger smaller car segment," and wistfully added FoMoCo wants to start charging premium prices for small cars. And how will they accomplish this goal? With "exciting designs, best-in-class fuel-economy, excellent craftsmanship and innovative new infotainment technologies." And even though the Fiesta will be hecho en Mexico, the Mother of All Union Payoffs (a.k.a. the health care VEBA deal) will save Ford enough money that they can finally build small cars at a profit. Of course, the first thing they have to do is convince the average American small car buyer that a Ford small car is worth the same money as a comparable model from Honda or Toyota. [Ken Elias' Ford Death Watch later today.]

Speaking at the Traverse City Management Briefing Seminar, GM's PC Queen Veep of environment, energy and safety policy told the assembled throngs that The General wants federal tax credits for "alternative fuel vehicles." Reporting Beth Lowery's begging bowl presentation, Automotive News' [sub] David Barkholz reveals he wasn't born yesterday. "The incentives would help coax consumers to try new technologies like the Chevrolet Volt plug-in, the hybrid electric car that GM expects to roll out in 2010." O.K., so, selfless concerns about America's energy independence aside, are your elected representatives really going to buy the idea that a plug-in vehicle (with a gas engine, lest we forget) is more important for fuel conservation than a "normal" high mileage vehicle or, God forbid, a "normal" hybrid? Stay tuned– and inflate those tires properly! 

It's never a good idea to let journalists loose on a prototype. Even the tamest of the breed feels obliged to point out the vehicle's deficiencies. In this case, AutoWeek's Hans Greimel flew to Japan to test Nissan's gas – electric Infiniti G35. Needless to say, it didn't fail to disappoint. "During a prototype test drive for journalists last week in Japan, the hybrid car suffered awkward lags when the engine kicked in to help the electric motor. Deceleration also was jerky because of battery regeneration. 'We still have a few issues with this development vehicle,' says Tatsuo Abe, manager of Nissan's hybrid engineering unit." News-wise, Nissan hasn't decided which Infiniti to hybridize, but it won't try to out-mpg the Prius. "Toyota is the current leader, and one of our intentions is to approach hybrids from a different angle," Product Veep Atsushi Shizuta told AW's Man in Japan. "This is as much about power assist as it is about fuel economy." Hans sees the flaw in that one. "Honda pitched the performance of its Accord Hybrid sedan but dumped the model at the end of the 2007 model year after lackluster sales. Honda is now planning a hybrid Fit small car, which should achieve excellent fuel economy." 

An Aveo that sounds like a Corvette? The Detroit News says it's possible using technology developed by Eberspacher GmbH and its North American subsidiary after exhaustive research [sorry– couldn't help myself]. The system, called "ActiveSilence," goes Lotus' "Safe & Sound" system one better. It works by inserting a heat-resistant speaker into the exhaust system in lieu of a muffler. Then, depending on driver preference, sound waves from the speaker can either cancel engine noise completely or tune it for a variety of sounds from limo quiet to a roaring big block. Those who want to turn their ride into a rolling ghetto blaster can even blow music out their tailpipe. The system is ready for production but an Eberspacher spokesman said it would be two or three years before you'll see hear it on the road. Once that happens there's bound to be a booming business in downloadable sounds to personalize your car with the automotive equivalent of ring tones. But the burning questions is: will it include a jack so you can plug in your iPod?