Most hybrid/EV companies run on deposits. With most “game-changing” products still deep in development, firms often squeeze deposits out of prospective customers to keep cashflow coming before their cars come to market. Not so with Toyota. The LA Times blog notes that Toyota has asked its Palo Alto, CA dealer to stop taking $500 deposits on plug-in Prius models that are still several years from launch. “We asked the folks at Magnussen (Toyota of Palo Alto) to back off a little bit,” Toyota spokesman Irv Miller said. “Let us get our product to market and figure out where we’re going with it before we start putting the cart in front of the horse.” Magnussen has refunded all 25 cash deposits it received, and has created a free waiting list that has already grown to 44. But Toyota’s warning to Magnussen isn’t stopping other Toyota dealers from collecting cash deposits. “I’ve got a few people in town who wanted to come in and leave deposits” on a plug-in hybrid, says Matt Meyer, Sales director of Toyota San Louis Obispo. “I’m not going to tell them ‘No,’ because I don’t tell my customers ‘No.'” Both dealerships say the deposits are fully refundable, but Toyota could still go after San Louis Obispo with a cease-and-desist. That Toyota is trying to reign in hype rather than spur it on is telling. Not only does it show that its future products will face astronomical demand, it also proves that short-term cash is not worth even a few possibly disastisfied customers. Contrast this approach with Chrysler’s un-product EV hype for a quick lesson in how white-hot demand for next-gen powertrains should and should not be exploited.

No, Chrysler doesn’t have any plans to show its three reported EV prototypes to the public. After all, that might imply that these mythical vehicles have some chance of making it into production. Instead, the Auburn Hills mob will be displaying the unnamed, unhinted-at prototypes to dealers only. Because what dealers doesn’t love cars that they can’t sell? Anyway, mission accomplished for Chrysler co-president Jim Press, who leveraged the announcement to make the dubious claim that “we are making substantial progress on electrification of our vehicles.” No, seriously; Chrysler is focusing on developing hybrid electric plug-in vehicles with a range of 300 miles. Not only that, but Press claims ChryCo can “move forward with advanced products for electrification with or without partners.” With the current crop of Chrysler products making a compelling case for suicide, it seems that they’ve learned [from GM] that It doesn’t matter how bad your products are right now. If you swear you have a world-beater just around the corner, the government will bail you out. Press is right on message: “The biggest issue for the auto market today is getting adequate credit, not $4.00 a gallon gas.” Just so.

A carbon fiber Formula 1 machine can sprint from 0 – 120mph in less than five seconds and survive crashes at 100. Sadly, the price of the hi-tech material is prohibitively expensive, restricted use to racing cars, luxury bicycles, boats and aviation. Now that those planes are getting long in the teeth, a German joint venture named CFK-Valley Stade reckons it can recycle carbon fiber (CF) from old Airbus frames for automotive applications. The project involves 77 (count ’em 77) research institutes and a major waste disposal company. Dow Chemical will be joining CFK-Valley Stade to build a plant to recycle more than 1k tons a year, starting (you guessed it) 2010. The exact chemical process is complex/boring, but the CF is shredded and subjected to pyrolysis. The fibers are then isolated and combed. The finished product is sub-aviation quality, but a lot cheaper. For cars, recycled CF may be used for interior parts, gas pumps, body parts or exterior mirrors. A VW spokesperson says at the expected lower price, CF will drift from its present applications in the company’s Bugatti and Lamborghini brands down market, to VW (SEAT?). Is this the antidote to the sad tendency of car companies to think thin, but build fat?

The United Kingdom is an oil exporter. Due to falling supplies, that could well change. In fact, by [that most magical of years] 2010, The Land of Hope and Glory is set to become a net oil importer. And so the UK government has issued a record 97 new licences to 54 applicants for onshore oil and gas exploration. (Five years ago, only eight licences were granted.) Companies from the United States, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom are ready to sink their bits. Speaking to The BBC the managing director of Egdon Resources, an exploration and production firm that operates an oil field in the Lincolnshire Wolds, says it might be done in snap.  “If we find oil, it’s quick and easy to put in small, low-key production facilities and then tanker the oil out to refineries.” Strangely, not everyone is happy at this prospect. The director of the South Downs Society, says the drilling would lead to the destruction of trees and hedgerows. (Go figure.) Yes, and the visual impact of the drilling tower and its lighting would be “inappropriate.” “It’s very quiet, full of wildlife when you walk along the footpaths,” Jacquetta Fewster insists. “You’ll often come a across a deer.” Mamby-pampby NIMBY?

Surprise! As in none. In an article that sets new standards for brevity, Automotive News [AN, sub] reports that General Motors is extending its Employee Discount for Everyone (except GM employees) sale through September. The Wall Street Journal reports that the discounts now cover 80 percent of GM’s ’09 models. And if that isn’t a sign of desperate times– and it surely is– GM is luring existing leaseholders with “Targeted Lease Bonus Cash.” If they come out of their lease before January third (and not a day later), they get money to use towards a purchase or lease on a number of new (’09) GM vehicles. The ’09s included in the deal: Trailblazer ($6k), Tahoe and Tahoe Hybrid ($4k); Silverado/Avalance and Express ($3k); and Impala ($500). The bonus cash has dropped from $2k to $1k for the Corvette, Colorado, HHR, Aveo and C4500. Oh, and the $1k bonus bucks now applies to the Malibu four-cylinder and NOT the six (as before). Another, even bigger change: the bonus cash can be applied to a lease from ANY financial institution (not just GMAC). On the regular rebate side of things, the cash on the hood for the Enclave and Acadia has sunk from $1500 to $1000.  Oh, and GM workers hoping to cash-in on their $500 Farm Bureau Insurance discount are shit out of luck. The discount now only applies to non-GM employees.

Evaluating the Canadian-designed, built and sold Acura CSX without mentioning the Honda Civic is no easy task. (See?) Comparisons are so tempting, namely because the latter is an excellent car in its own right. The feeling’s mutual. Honda of Japan loved the Acura CSX so much that it served as a template for the JDM Civic. And why not? The CSX delivers an excellent compact luxury package without the reliability issues bedeviling certain (cough German cough) imports. Said otherwise, the CSX is the penny-pinching—I mean, thinking man’s luxury compact.

Today I got this month’s issue of Octane in the mail. What a delight. While the American car magazine landscape is severely lacking in depth, compelling articles, witty writing, and pornographic photography (save 0-60), the Brits are not. I subscribe to Octane and CAR because I’m still excited to see them waiting for me in the mailbox. In many ways, internet just kills print media: in the speed with which it can bring you information, the opportunities for writers to be candid (the result of lower overheard – and lower salaries), and the sheer volume of information and pictures we can include without too much added cost. But there’s still something very special about holding great photography in your hand, from a glossy sheet of paper that’s not out of your printer. Octane is, on the most basic level, just car porn. In addition to the stunning full spreads, they write about cars that aren’t made anymore, dream cars, and talk about the “pre-war” era as though it was the 1980s. Aston Martin mentioned they might revive the Lagonda name today. Months ago, Octane recommended buying a Lagonda if you felt pre-war Bentleys were all too common. Which is, of course, what has always held me back from buying one.

The Detroit News reports that Volvo CEO Fredrik Arp is the third Ford big boss in the last month to fall/get pushed from power (after Canada and Australia’s suits). Arp has handed the reins to Stephen Odell, a former Ford Europe exec. Odell’s got a full proverbial plate: massive layoffs (1200 workers), rising raw material costs, a weak dollar, a weak sales in their core market (that’s you Yanks), the dud S80, the D.O.A. C30 and falling demand for SUVs (e.g. the XC90 and soon-to-be-released XC60). Leaving those issues aside, Ford’s Executive Vice President exchanged the usual PR pleasantries. “Fredrik has decided that now is the right time to hand over to a new president and CEO,” Lewis Booth pronounced. “Who will lead the Volvo team through the next stage of its recovery.” The next stage of recovery? What recovery? Doesn’t Booth mean the next stage of Volvo’s sale? According to Ford’sofficial profile, Stephen Odell’s speciality is sales and marketing. Who better to prep Ford’s ailing Swede for sale?

Auto Motor und Sport reports that former VW Chairman and legendary ego Ferdinand Piech claims to want to replace Wendelin Wiedeking as the top dog at Porsche Holdings SE, which controls Porsche and VW. But this isn’t about Piech, claims Piech, it’s about Wiedeking. Though Wiedeking transformed Porsche into a profit-monster and is currently considered the highest-paid executive in Europe, he’s done nothing but make enemies since the Porsche/VW anschluss. He’s alienated powerful union bosses as well as VW managers by demanding higher profitability, and calling the futures of the Phaeton and the SEAT brand into question. Not to mention helping bring an end to the company-funded bordello visits and shopping sprees for union leaders. But politics matter at VW, and reports have surface that Wiedeking’s ascent to the VW oversight board planned for this month has been called into question. The Braunschweiger Zeitung even reports that GM-Europe boss Carl-Peter Forster could replace Wiedeking, in order to keep Piech and his ally VW CEO Martin Winterkorn at bay. But for the present, the paterfamilias Wolfgang Porsche has announced he’s sticking by his boy Wendelin. This will keep the Porsche/Piech family in line, but it won’t mollify the powerful VW lifers who feel threatened by their new private owners and calls for higher profits. This could get nasty.

I prefer to buy my shopping from a company in the UK called "The Co-op." It's an ethical supermarket, which invests its profits into schemes which benefit society (says them). This got me thinking, would you NOT buy a car from a company for moral reasons? Henry Ford I was a raging anti-Semite, Toyota overwork their staff, Nissan are bullying a small company to relinquish www.nissan.com (despite Nissan computers traded as "Nissan" back when Nissan was Datsun) and Volkswagen was borne of a brutal dictatorship. Maybe you can't bear the thought of your money going to GM to fund their outrageous executive pay schemes? Or maybe there's a company who you LIKE to buy from because they support a cause you like? Do morals or some other personal belief come into your car buying habits?

GM Inside News reports that The General has spiked the successor to the Kappa-platform cars: Pontiac Solstice, Saturn Sky, Opel GT and Daewoo G2X. GM's financial perils are well known, and the market demand for impractical rear wheel-drive roadsters in the current economic climate is not so hot (as in ice cold). A dedicated Kappa factory (without flex assembly), the lack of the Kappa platform's adaptability, the current cars' cost (labor-intensive production, and expensive hydroformed frame rails and major body parts) all contributed to last week's decision to let the cars die on the vine. And why not? GMI reports a $10k loss on each vehicle built, which puts the real cost of a Kappa between $30 – $40k. By coincidence, that's the same price range of yet another car Bob Lutz is championing. Hopefully GM's learned a lesson about low-volume production here: it's best to build on a shared platform on a shared assembly line. You know; in case that whole Li-ion battery pack thing doesn't pan out.

Reviving once-proud brand names as a way to sell more high-priced cars has been a favorite technique for low-volume production. Mercedes’ Maybach experiment may not have been a runaway success, but it’s not stopping Jaguar from talking about reviving the Daimler nameplate. And now Aston Martin CEO Ulrich Bez has announced [via The Autochannel] that his employer’s disinterring Aston’s old chum. “Revival of the Lagonda brand would allow us to develop cars which can have a different character than a sportscar, and therefore offer a perfect synergy.” And there you were thinking that Aston’s forthcoming Rapide four-door had all that hearkening stuff covered. Why not slap the Lagonda name on that bad boy? “Lagonda will use a unique design language as Aston Martin does,” Bez blustered. “We will take elements of DNA from the past but will be very future orientated as we are with Aston Martin.” AM plans a Langonda concept for the brand’s centennial anniversary in 2009, which could be a production model by 2012.

For a company with so much history and so many brands, you'd think GM's problem would be having too many valuable nameplates. Not so, according to GM President for the Americas. Troy Clarke tells Edmunds Inside Line "At an awareness level, the Volt obviously has consideration intent (based on 80,000 leads submitted on GM's Web site)." Clarke seems to have conveniently forgotten that the car business involves actually building and selling cars. And overhyping a car that hasn't been built actually has some downsides, even if it is GM's "MVB." "Everybody who's heard of the Volt can give you a description of what they think it is," explains Clarke. "Part of the role of our market research is to understand that, so that we make sure that as we execute the vehicle on something other than just its technical basis, we can build on the brand that the concept has already created." Translation: we still need to figure out which elements of our all-encompassing Volt hype we'll actually have to deliver. Meanwhile, Clarke confirms how much GM is actually relying on the Volt by admitting how badly GM has flubbed its post-SUV strategy. Crossovers like GM's Lambda triplets were supposed to provide a more-efficient alternative to downgrading SUV owners. Clarke says market research shows SUV owners are actually "falling into cars," while CUV buyers are upgrading from cars. In short, one-time SUV buyers can survive in a "regular car." Who'd have thunk it?