Jim Dollinger (a.k.a. Buickman) has been fighting the good fight for GM’s survival for a very long time. Yes, Jim’s a bit OTT. And no, I don’t agree with his recipe for recovery. But Jim doesn’t flame websites, their authors or fellow commentators. And so he’s always been welcome here. But then TTAC invites opposing points of view (as long as they conform to our no-flaming posting policy). Jim reports that the same can not be said of GM Inside News. “I’ve been a member of Insidenews for over three years and a regular contributor. No surprise that I was ridiculed initially for lashing out at RIR and calling for his ouster, this well before it became fashionable. These days many have come around to the same opinion. although the obvious company stooges still inhabit the forums, increasingly more and more members are voicing their dissatisfaction with GM management. After the latest stupidity of GMS for all and pulling of leases, I made the comment “to hell with General Motors.” Since then, I haven’t been able to log in (from any computer). My daughter [a Cadillac dealer in Florida] made some comments about GMIN being hypocites and sent private messages to those who agree with my positions. She was also blocked. Truly, I’m not all that upset; I have plenty of other things to occupy my days. I just thought you might be interested to know that these people, whoever they are, can’t handle the truth and display prejudice and editorial control while proclaiming to hold an open and honest forum for discussion (since they had zero call to “ban” me, they just “jammed” me instead). Funny how they also are quick to ridicule TTAC, all the while refusing to look in the mirror and see themselves for what they are.”

Recent shit-talking about all-electric range by GM’s Bob Lutz highlights a crucial benefit of the Volt’s Extended Range Electric Vehicle (EREV- nee “serial hybrid”) concept. Though an EREV may be less cost-effective than a plug-in parallel hybrid over the long haul (or not), its initial EV-only range is better. Which means EREV marketers can claim “zero fuel use” for many standard commutes. Autocar reports that Mazda has fallen under the EREV spell, and is hard at work on its own system using a rotary engine as a battery generator. According to “senior sources,” testing is “sufficiently advanced that Mazda has a working prototype in a Mazda 5 MPV bodyshell.” Unlike GM though, Mazda isn’t relying on its EREV to fly it to the moon by late 2010. Start-stop is the first step on Mazda’s voyage of eco-discovery, set to deploy in Japan next year and around the world thereafter. There are currently no plans to bring an EREV to market. Still, using a small rotary engine as an electricity generator has lots of potential upside. It eliminates the engine’s thirstiness by running constantly at lower rpms, and could actually be more efficient at battery-charging than a standard ICE. Hopefully the system won’t be entirely dependent on rotary engines though, as Mazda’s sister company Ford will doubtless be interested in appropriating the technology.

Y’all ready to impersonate 12-year-old boys? Cool. Hunter S. Thompson had a quick question he used to sum people up, “Beatles or Stones?” I’m thinking “Ferrari or Lamborghini?” is the automotive corollary. So let’s stop and think for a minute — both makes offer gobs of power from exotic engines, savage shapes and the type of instant prestige you can only hope to buy. Ferraris are pretty sweet. I mean, the racing history alone might grab a few (or many) votes. From the 166M to the 250 GTO to the 333 SP the results speak louder than my best metaphors. And that’s not even taking into account F1. And what about the road cars? Daytona? 288 GTO? F40? F430? Etc, etc? Like wow, dude. But then you have the raging bulls, the supercars that Ferruccio Lamborghini built specifically to spite Enzo and his long standing “the customer is always wrong” policy. I’m talking Miura, Countach, Diable, Murcielago and Gallardo here. Not to mention the LM002 and Espada. There’s also the fact that most Ferrari owners would happily pledge Omega House. I’m not saying that Lamborghini owners are necessarily Delta Tau Chi material, but what do you think Bluto, D Day and Otter would drive?

The best thing about the 1987 Dodge Lancer Shelby was the turbo lag followed by eye peeling acceleration. My dad always looked over at me, grinning with a wild look in his eyes as he dumped the clutch, and then hung on to the torque steering helm as I laughed all the way to the next stoplight in Santa Cruz, California (when it was still cheap to live there).

In the mid-1980’s, Carroll Shelby saw enough potential in the second generation Chrysler K-Cars, he lent his name to no less than four versions: a Charger, Omni GLH (Goes Like Hell), Daytona, and the Lancer. Of all the cars, the Lancer had the most potential to capture the marketplace, a true American 3-series competitor. With its 5-door hatchback styling, crisp Euro inspired lines, and a fairly nice interior (that was as good as anything during the time period), the Lancer Shelby should have taken the driving world by storm, however, it has faded into almost extinction.

The largest problem with the Lancer lay in its fundamental layout. Americans of the 1980’s viewed its useful hatchback as a marque of a cheap vehicle. That perception only worsened as the Lancer was only equipped with a 2.2L four-banger, another American no-no. Despite being producing 175bhp (147bhp in the non-Shelby), the drastic torque steer, turbo lag, and non-Euro feeling body lean chased off the import buyers as well.

Yet the few that bought one discovered something incredibly rare in Chrysler’s history, a car with character, a car that tackled corners with élan never seen in an American designed and produced sedan. They also discovered turbos that failed at 75K miles, electrical glitches, and early failing shocks.

I will always remember a car that tackled Highway 1 in Big Sur with aplomb, a car that surged with gusto across the plains of Texas, and a car that still remains interesting in its design. If you ever see a Dodge Lancer Shelby, count yourself lucky. Rare when new, they are positively unknown, unloved, and non-existent now, which is a shame.

Gary Witzenburg is a former GM spinmeister who worked on the ill-fated EV1, which was, by his reckoning, “a major success.” Gazza’s enthusiasm for The General’s, well, everything, makes the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders seem like a bunch of under-dressed Eeyores. Anyway, now that The Car Connection has disconnected from Witzenburg’s rants, the man who never met a GM turnaround he didn’t believe in provides a rehash of his Motor Trend EV1 story “A Progress Report on GM’s Plug-in EV From a Former EV1 Insider.” So, what do we learn? That the professional (though not official) GM apologist is certifiable, with a chip on his shoulder the size of [Roswell] New Mexico. “The Chevy Volt is more than a flying car; it’s a rocket to the moon, GM’s own NASA-style program to reinvent automotive technology and thus assure the triumph of truth, justice and the American Way. And that’s why the Chevy Volt has been on the cover of every publication in the country for the last 18 months. This is not about cars. It’s about America, dammit. Times are tough, and we’re all tired of people in other countries laughing at us.” Uh, OK. Anyway, yada yada yada… this might just work. “Just as with the GM EV1, the Chevrolet Volt’s biggest challenge is to be just as good as everybody expects it to be.” Oh dear.

“Meanwhile, American business is taking seriously your concern about the cost of gasoline. General Motors is one of our sponsors. We are proud and honored that they are a sponsor of this program.

Everybody’s out there flapping their gums — Thomas Friedman, all these other people who don’t know what they’re talking about. General Motors is doing things, designing terrific cars, crossovers, trucks, SUVs, that use alternative fuels, different ways to power their vehicles. They even have the Escalade hybrid out there now to go along with the Tahoe hybrid, and they’re working on all kinds of different technologies that will help you use less gasoline. One of the alternatives they’re using is flex-fuel cars that use biofuels like ethanol if you want them, and they’re making them if you want them. They have four million of these flex-fuel vehicles on the road, across the globe, and they’re committed to building even more. GM has more modeled that are capable of running on E85 ethanol than any other manufacturer. The Buick Lucerne — that’s the one we’re getting next to tool around here — is one of the cars running on E85. General Motors, they respond to your concerns. They don’t tell you you’re stupid. You can see all their cars at RushLimbaugh.com. “

The market for diesel technology just got a little more interesting. Nissan, who initially snubbed hybrid technology in favour of diesels, have announced they’ve become the first Japanese car maker to launch a diesel car in Japan for 6 years. The X-Trail 20GT SUV has an engine, co-developed by Nissan’s partner, Renault, which is billed as the world’s first “clean” diesel to meet Japan’s new emissions standards, due to kick in by October 2009. These standards are said to be the strictest in the world. The only other diesel car available in Japan is the Mercedes-Benz E320 CDI sedan at a cost of 8 million yen ($73,510) (far more than the 3 million yen ($27,710) Nissan are asking for the X-Trail 20GT). Other car makers aren’t far behind, Volkswagen, Honda, Mitsubishi and Subaru are planning to offer “clean” diesels in the next few years in Japan. The curious part to this story is the notable absence of Toyota. They have pulled all diesels from their line up in Japan (the last being the Land Cruiser Prado, in July 2007) and are agressively pushing hybrids. With the government planning on giving consumer incentives on models which meet the new standards and Toyota & Honda’s hybrids car set to fall in price, it looks like an old fashioned showdown is in the works. Soon, Japanese car enthusiasts can have their own arguments about whether diesel or hybrids are better. Lucky them.

As someone who solicited and edited Brock Yates’ rants, and then didn’t, I can identify the former Car and Driver superstar’s style in a single sentence. “Now I tell the truth for a living,” “The Mechanic” declares on Edmunds Straightline, tweaking TTAC. “A good living. I get big checks to write this garbage. Big enough that I can buy any car I want. OK, that’s a stretch. The Mechanic cannot afford a Rolls or a Bugatti, but I’ve got money to spend. And I’ve got good taste. I’m also college-educated. Literate. And I appreciate the best. When I spend my money I spend it on quality goods. And the car I choose to be seen in must be a quality item. The finest of its kind. In other words, I would not buy an American car. It’s hard for me to even type that. Fact is, I’d like to buy an American car, a great American car. It just doesn’t exist.” It’s hard to tell if “The Mechanic” actually is a [heavily re-written] Brock Yates. But this much is for sure: publishing this belligerent throw-down under a pseudonym demonstrates Edmunds’ fear of losing its advertising revenue. In fact, I reckon it’s only a matter of time before those sponsors fix The Mechanic, if you know what I mean. [Thanks to HarveyBirdman for the link]

Or the concept version of it, at least. Honda says what you see here (and what they will show at the Paris auto show) is 90% of what we can expect when they roll out the production version – on sale in the US next spring. While Honda has said it will be the best priced car in the segment (what segment? It’s the Prius and nothing else), many have estimated its price will be below $20,000. Unlike the first generation Insight, which was a 2-seat bicycle, this new one very much follows the Prius layout: 5 passenger, 5 door (that means hatchback), and lots of high-tech gadgets. Making those gadgets optional should help to add high-profit margin items to the sales sheet, as well. While we have no information on engine or mileage, I’d be willing to bet that the all important MPGs will be very impressive. Honda is hoping to sell 100,000 of these in the US per year, and another 100,000 per year worldwide. Something tells me that won’t be a problem at all.

As much as we criticize ethanol around these parts, we all use it. E10 is a fact of life, thanks to ethanol’s anti-knock properties and lack of groundwater contamination lawsuits. So what if ethanol were used more intelligently as an additive, instead of being hawked as an alt-fuel? PickupTrucks.com has news that Ford’s second-generation EcoBoost turbocharged engines could go that very route. Although the first round of EcoBoost engines aren’t even on sale yet, the second generation is being developed under the codename “Bobcat.” These new engines are said to feature “ethanol boost technology,” not-so-coincidentally developed by Ethanol Boosting Systems of Cambridge, MA.  In essence, a variable ethanol direct-injection system allows turbocharged engines to operate at a higher compression ratio. This means more power and up to 15 percent better efficiency than a first-gen EcoBoost engine. Plus, you only have to top-up on ethanol every month or so. With talk of getting 500 hp and 700 lb-ft from a 5.0 turbo-V8, developers are positioning the Bobcat as big-pickup diesel competition. And Ford is already saying Bobcat engines will be a $1,100 option (give or take), which compares well to diesel’s $5k premium. But don’t start looking for the Bobcat option box any time soon. “The first Bobcat test engines may be built before the end of the year, but they have not received final approval for production,” according to PickupTrucks’ “industry sources.”

It was Marx who said that history repeats itself – albeit the first time as tragedy, and the second time as farce. Between the World Wars, Talbot built cars that were among the most expensive in Europe, and most beautiful ever. The post-war period of austerity was hard on Talbot, and the company was integrated into what was later the European affiliate of Chrysler. When Peugeot bought Chrysler’s European operations in 1978, it unearthed this proud but almost dead brand, and sold some undistinguished cars for a few years until it changed its mind about the whole idea. Fast forward: according to Automobilwoche, PSA Peugeot Citroen is now planning the add further disgrace to injury. Renault-Nissan’s Dacia marque of superaffordable cars is a runaway success, which Peugeot would like to emulate without damaging its present brands. So it is thinking of importing cheapo third-world-built cars and marketing them under the Talbot name. Aaargh! Dacia is a great idea whose time has come, and is managed with considerable skill. No wonder the concept is attracting copycats. But some marketing people have no respect for historical significance. Why not just think up a new brand name? Personally, I’d rather drive something called Guglhupf or Superfromage than a made-in-India Talbot.

God I love that guy over at The Newspaper. Not only did he somehow score one of the world’s best urls, but he’s also dedicated his site to revealing the government scams, deceit and constitutional affronts plaguing American motorists. Today, we get a special blog, for those of us who want to believe in divine justice (retribution?). “An Australian red light camera operator lost the ability to issue tickets in Knoxville, Tennessee because it failed to send the required documents to the city on time… Redflex blamed FedEx for delivering the package on August 1… ‘Unfortunately, the FedEx vehicle transporting the shipment from our facility to our Los Angeles sort facility arrived later than scheduled and missed the outbound flight,’ a FedEx customer relations employee wrote to Redflex. ‘Regrettably, efforts to expedite the shipment have been unsuccessful.’ FedEx will refund the shipping cost of just over $30, which is scant consolation to the Australian company that lost the opportunity to take $5 million from Tennessee drivers.” I wonder if the FedEx driver ran any lights…

Detroit Electric was the company that proved way back in 1911 that an American automaker can make an 80 mile-range EV (albeit with a top speed of 20 mph). When you consider that a brand spankety-new Chinese Zap Xebra gets about a quarter of that range with only a 40 mph top speed, the march of technology doesn’t seem too inspiring, does it? Anyway, DE is a Dutch company nowadays, zombified to provide a palatable brand name for Zap’s spurious Alias and buses built by China Youngman Group. But neither Zap nor Youngman made with the $100m joint investment they promised, nor the $5m consoloation investment they offered later, according to Earth2Tech. “Most of it had to do with they wanted to do buses first and we wanted to do cars first,” says Zap CEO Steve Schneider, invoking long-cliched “creative differences.” So Owner/CEO and former CEO of Lotus Engineering Dan Lam shook off the losers (who thought a Chinese bus company and Silicone vaporware hawkers would make bad partners?) and has found new investors for his firm. And this time they have real money and everything: $300m over five years. Though none of the “Dutch, American and Malaysian” investors were named, it’s obvious that Malaysian automaker Proton is in on the deal. Paul Tan got to check out DE’s three new whips at the irony-free Detroit Electric launch in Kuala Lumpur, and they’re all based on Proton models. The good news is that means DE gives the (Proton-owned) Lotus Elise the EV treatment. The bad news is that the Savvy and Persona are along for the ride. The Elise’s 4.3 second 0-60 time, 6.5 hour charge time and 200-mile range prove that Tesla didn’t exactly reinvent the wheel with the idea of an EV Elise. Especially considering DE have somehow managed to get a manual transmission to work in theirs. DE wants to get cars on the road within 18 months, and the Malaysian government is reportedly rolling out the pork carpet. We shall see.

And York should piss off. I’m sorry, but court papers released yesterday— part of an SEC slap on the wrist– reveal that Jer’ told his boss Kirk Kerkorian that investing in GM was a “no-brainer.” Of course, this was back in ’05– when the shit was already hitting the fan. Immediately before The Lion of Las Vegas forced York’s elevation to GM’s Board of Directors, and then tried to broker a GM – Renault merger. OK, OK, Kirk eventually made his crust on the playing the dozens with GM (hence the SEC ruling). But I’m thinking that York isn’t the brainiest “auto industry gadfly” in the biz– although it seems like piercing glimpses into the obvious are all that’s needed to catch Automotive News‘ editorial eye. (Sorry guys, but you write this stuff.) “The winners will be those companies that can change their output from larger to smaller and more fuel-efficient vehicles,” York revealed in a presentation to auto dealers and investors. “And that can improve their efficiency to make substantial profits on a less-rich mix of products sold.” And if you doubt York’s sagacity, well, he doesn’t. “There’s no doubt in my mind Cerberus’ strategy was to fix Chrysler up as best they could and find a merger partner,” York said. “I don’t know this for a fact. Nevertheless, there is no doubt in my mind.”

As Farago pointed out in his latest General Motors Death Watch, Automotive News [AN, sub] has suddenly decided enough is enough. The currently moribund U.S. new car (truck?) market is about to rebound. Excellent! I was getting tired of berating Motown for its unsustainable optimism. So, what are the facts that underpin scribe Richard Trout’s faith in the immediate future? “Heavy incentives on pickups and SUVs, combined with gasoline prices that are down about 40 cents a gallon from the July peak, may help the Detroit 3 and Toyota Motor Corp. shore up sagging U.S. sales.” Yes, OK, they “may.” But where’s the evidence they will? In fact,  Trout relies entirely on GM’s spinmeistery. “But GM executives found some cause for encouragement in sales of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups and the giant Tahoe and Yukon SUVs. The big light trucks had their best months of the year, stoked no doubt by GM employee pricing incentives that whacked thousands off sticker prices.” Folks, not to belabor the point that RF made so eloquently, this is not what responsible adults call journalism.