Detroit News auto jeffe Manny Lopez seems to think there’s orchestrated opposition to a Motown bailout. In this he could not be more wrong. Not a single elected representative has come out against federal mammary provision to Motowns’ mavens. Lest we forget, Senator John McCain reversed his anti-Detroit-bailout rhetoric in time for the election. Besides, the $25b Department of Energy is a done deal, and TARP provisions for Detroit’s captive lenders are on their way. Still, paranoia rules! “I’m not buying the ‘Let Detroit die’ line that’s being promoted by people across the country. It’s tired. It’s simplistic. And it’s misguided… Most notably the jobs that would be lost, though the ‘thought leaders’ on the coasts and politicos in Washington, D.C., don’t seem to be giving that much consideration. Carly Fiorina is among them. The former chief executive of Hewlett-Packard Corp. said in Detroit this week that the government can’t rescue the auto industry. ‘The auto industry cannot be saved from its own bad bets,’ she told the Detroit Economic Club.” Now THAT took some balls. Not that Manny’s ready to cede the point (as if). But it does inspire some classic “this is not my beautiful welfare” rhetoric.

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Or not actually leaked. But since these are crappy photos of a brochure, it wouldn’t surprise me if this was an actual mistake, rather than covert PR work. Nevertheless, thanks to our friend Mr. Neff at Autoblog, we can see ’em. And on the basis of the blurry photos of photos, I think the next generation RX looks merely ok on the outside, and just awful on the inside. The pursuit of spaceship interiors continues, which will make Barrett-Jackon’s 2050 joint auction of the 2010 Lexus RX450h alongside a 1961 Impala SS.

The latest feel-good offering from GM’s Fastlane Blog is this “cool video from the folks over at GM Europe showcasing the Saab 9-X Air concept.” And though the 9X Air has a certain appeal (sleek four-seat convertible), its relevance to GM’s current situation is as good as nil. Of course, calling the video a throwaway distraction would imply that GM has ever posted anything insightful at Fastlane. Posting a concept video is doubtless meant to convey the impression of business-as-usual at the RenCen. But to anyone who understands the quantity and quality of excrement hitting the fan in Detroit right now, the impression is of deep denial. Why on earth is GM burning much-needed cash on concepts with retracting side mirrors, a dash on loan from the Romulans and “a canopy top?” That Fastlane would note that this final feature has a patent pending shows how deep the denial goes. Just the kind of venture I want to sink my tax dollars into.

Ford has just released the first picture of the 2010 Fusion, a facelifted version of the current car. While the Fusion we have now is a decent ride, it’s just decent. The refreshed Fusion attempts to rectify the current model’s below-class horsepower, among other improvements:

–The current 2.3 liter 4-cylinder is replaced with a “new” 2.5 liter 4-cylinder with 175 horsepower (the same engine that’s in the Mazda6 4-cylinder), a jump of some 14 ponies. Torque for the 4-cylinder is also up to 172 lb ft now, an increase of 16 lb ft. The 4-cylinder also has variable cam timing, a nice addition.

–The 3.0 liter V6 will stay, but is now up to 240 horsepower from 221 and its 6-speed automatic now has a manumatic shift mode; this should prove helpful in getting around the infuriatingly geared economy-friendly transmissions.

–The range topping “Fusion Sport” will feature Ford’s not-so-awesome 3.5 liter V6 with 263 horsepower.

–All models get 6-speed automatics, an upgrade for the 4-cylinder.

–A hybrid model will come at some point with the newer generation 2.5 liter 4-cylinder unit in the 2009 Escape Hybrid.

–No EPA testing yet but Ford claims 32 mpg highway for the 4-cylinder model.

As for which one I’d buy if I was in the market for a Fusion, unless there are major suspension changes to the 3.5 liter V6 Sport model, I’d rather keep the weight down and take the almost-as-powerful 3.0 liter V6. Then again, what I’d really want is a turbocharged AWD Fusion with 350 horsepower, but considering the market’s current implosion, I doubt Alan Mulally thinks that’s a good way to spend Ford’s money.

In a break with TTAC tradition, today’s WAR comes from an “authoritative” source: Reuters. OK, it’s Kyodo news via Reuters. (Free marketeer that I am, I’m not so sure I trust a “nonprofit cooperative news agency.”) “The Kyodo news report said Toyota was expected to consider quick fixes for the cash-strapped GM, including buying up its assets and helping it secure sufficient business funds. The executives of the world’s two biggest automakers may also discuss an expanded business partnership, including Toyota making fuel-efficient compact cars for GM and providing hybrid-car technologies to the U.S. carmaker, Kyodo said, citing sources.” Obviously, this is complete and utter nonsense. Except that maybe it isn’t. If you recall, the last time GM was staring down the barrel of C11, back in May 2005, Rick Wagoner DID hop a Gulfstream for Tokyo and met with then-Toyota President Fujio Cho. The nature of those discussions was never revealed. (Until now: Pachinko!) Students of these turbulent times may also remember that Toyota offered to raise its prices to help GM (I shit you not). As TTAC has pointed out many times, GM’s survival is in Toyota’s best interest; the American automaker sets a profitable “floor” for all U.S. new car prices. This is definitely a rumor worth watching.

Reuters is now reporting that the Chrysler-GM merger (or sale, which is what it should actually be called) is moving forward. Or in their terms, the two have “cleared major deal issues.” The bad news arrives in the second sentence: “Both sides have agreed that GM Chief Executive Rick Wagoner would lead the combined automaker.” Other highlights: Reuter’s sources confirm the what many already suspected about this “merger” being more of a swap for GM’s remaining stake in GMAC. As Reuters observes, the biggest issue will be securing financing to make this whole debt-mess work and keep the companies afloat, and that’s where the White House and Congress will come in with their money printing press.

Being a fan of cars, you might find yourself liking cars that other people don’t. In fact, you should in yourself in the minority in some cars, or else you’ve become one of the “Honda or Die” people and in that case you probably also only drink Heineken. So assuming you’re not in that category, you probably have diverse – even somewhat obscure – interests. That means perhaps that you have a perverse appreciation for the Suzuki Verona, because it did have an inline-6 engine. Or Subaru SVX because it looked like a showcar, and had AWD and a flat six. Perhaps you like the Dodge Neon SRT4 because the turbo was just nasty. And since many of these views are so deeply in the minority, many of the cars we like are often flops. The general public just doesn’t like them. And that’s fine, because it means that usually these cars are cheaper to buy used. A lot of the cars on today’s Bob Lutz list fit into the category of great flops: the Merkur XR4ti, the Pontiac GTO, and the Pontiac G8. And while I like those, I have my own favorite car that was a total sales loser: Chevy Corvair. I love the design, the looks, the rear engine, the optional turbo, and the weird bodystyles available (Corvair Van!) and the fact that after they finished development (several years after it was released to the market, of course) it was actually quite good. What’s your favorite flop?

Curious about how things are progressing on the Volt front? Want to know all about how the Volt team “weighed each metric by importance and factored in what Volt vehicle-line executive Tony Posawatz diplomatically calls “qualitative factors,” such as, Are we going to hate working with these guys?” when choosing a battery supplier? Popular Science has a monster piece on the moon shot’s moon shot entitled Power Struggle that will answer all your questions about the Volt’s battery. Except for who’s going to make it and what the actual specs are. You will, however, learn that “It was a different proposition for the EV1,” according to Jon Bereisa, the chief of propulsion on the EV1 and an early instigator for the Chevy Volt. “The battery technology was not there and we knew it, but we believed that we could make up for it by designing a highly efficient car. You could say we nailed it. But we really did not achieve commercial viability.” And one analyst warns “the battery is too big, too expensive, and we are concerned about the life of the battery, the liability risk and the warranty’ — that’s what I hear at every car company I’ve gone to for the last nine years, and now I’m going to go to plug-in hybrids? The batteries are five times bigger, five times more expensive. The liability risk is five times more, or 10 times more.”

Acura made quite a little splash when they announced a diesel version of the TSX was America-bound at this year’s NAIAS. Now, with much less fanfare, Vtec.net reports that “the i-DTEC TSX has been delayed indefinitely (if not cancelled outright).” The unnamed source says that an automatic transmission version hasn’t been able to pass 50-state emissions tests, and that Honda won’t go to market with only a manual on offer. Not that the fact that diesel is almost a dollar more expensive per gallon than gas in most markets is helping either. Nor are the other indications that diesel is dying. To make up for dropping the diesel, Acura will fast-track a V6 version of the TSX. Because all Americans know is torque.

In a four-hundred-page review of Suffolk County, New York’s financial situation released earlier this month, officials highlight the rationale for adding automated traffic enforcement devices. “At this point the County needs to make hard decisions,” the 2009 county budget review states. “Do we raise property taxes? Do we seek state approval to raise the overall sales tax rate? …Do we raise revenue from traffic tickets by instituting red light cameras?” Yes, well, county cannot install red light cameras without first obtaining permission from the state legislature. Since 2001, Albany’s frustrated the county’s attempts to convince lawmakers in Albany to grant this authority. Photo enforcement supporters believe that support from Governor David Patterson (D) will finally deliver the changes in state law needed to begin operations. The county has even begun taking steps to establish a parking violations bureau to handle the photo tickets.

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The pushing and shoving at the bailout trough continues, so say the usual unnamed sources. Reuters reports that moves are afoot to change GMAC’s legal status to a “bank holding company.” (This is the same sleight-of-hand Goldman Sachs used a few weeks ago to curry taxpayer favor.) Bank holding companies participate in the FDIC, which makes them eligible for capital injections under King Henry the Paulson’s solid-as-a-jellyfish $700b rescue/bailout plan. Rumor has it that Chrysler Financial would also be dumped into GMAC and the resulting company would be “a financial services company that would offer services including auto loans, interest bearing accounts and credit cards.” Yeah, just what we need: FDIC insured checking and savings accounts at GMAC. This is one of those nightmares from which I just can’t seem to wake up.

Reacting to happier talk around the world, every stock on Germany’s DAX closed higher today. All stock but one: Volkswagen. After blowing through the rafters yesterday, the VeeDub share price boomeranged. Result: This morning, the DAX was in the tank by more than 7 percent.  All other shares rose and did shine, but Volkswagen single-handedly brought the whole ship down. The Deutsche Börse, Germany’s stock exchange, is exasperated by Volkswagen’s wild gyrations. The Deutsche Börse is mad as hell and won’t take it anymore. As of this coming week, the VeeDub share will only make up 10 percent of the DAX, Germany’s equivalent of the Dow Jones, the Deutsche Börse decreed. Yesterday, VW represented 27 percent of Germany’s most watched index. The Euro Stoxx 50 will also reduce the weight of Wolfsburg’s shares. The German government loosed its dogs of watch to follow a trail of insider trading and market manipulation.

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Being Bob Lutz has a fantastic job. He’s rich as sin (thank you, Daimler, for buying Chrysler), and he has Czar in his unofficial title with GM. He can say whatever he feels like, whether it’s about global warming (“a crock of shit,” in his words) or random price projections for meeting the next round of EPA standards. During Maximum Bob’s epic career, he’s “championed” some very interesting though chronically unsuccessful products. Some of these were on sale twenty years ago, others are on sale today. And still others will likely never see the light of day. While so many cars have been touched by Lutz’s magic hands, we present to you his big nine.

Paul Ingrassia’s essay in The Wall Street Journal takes a stab at a question which has preoccupied me for years. How the hell did the American automotive industry, which once was the model of industrial might for the world, become a sickly embarrassment? Generally, blame is apportioned amongst these areas: management, labor unions, government, customers and bad luck. Ingrassia comes down pretty hard on management, with a supporting role for the unions.