Maximum Bob Lutz was not invited to grovel testify before congress this week, for all of the obvious reasons. So Lutz earned his champagne and cigars the honest way this week: driving cars and blogging about it at Fastlane. Of course, that doesn’t mean Lutz doesn’t have an opinion about the bailout. He’s just strictly forbidden from saying anything besides “I am not going to comment here about any government loans or hearings or GM’s financial situation — just like I wouldn’t engage you in conversation about it if I ran into you in the produce aisle.” Wheh. There goes one recurring nightmare. Besides, as Lutz points out “we have other places online for that conversation, such as gmfactsandfiction.com.” And if that’s not Lutzy enough for you, just wait until he starts talking about the Volt he’s been driving!

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Loans and leases are getting hard to come by for anyone interested in a car or truck from GM, Chrysler or Ford. Banks now routinely put out lists with “red lines” through makes and models they no longer want to finance. Those products are increasingly domestic in origin. Redlined vehicles are harder to sell, forcing down values, rendering loans even more unattractive, making those cars and trucks even harder to sell, forcing down… you can see where this is going. Major lenders in the US are not waiting for The Big 2.8 to file for bankruptcy. They’re treating them like it’s a done deal.

Seeking Alpha prides itself “the premier financial website for actionable stock market opinion and analysis.” When it comes to what should happen with GM, they are on our side: “Buyout better than bailout,” writes Seeking Alpha. Roger that. We have been picking-up indications that Chinese automakers SAIC and Dongfeng may have plans to buy assets of GM (and while they are at it, maybe even of Chrysler). China would get what it badly needs for its thriving domestic car industry to become an even more thriving international car industry: accepted brands, a worldwide distribution network and know-how necessary to comply with US and worldwide standards. Apparently, private equity firms are keen to aid this “transfer.” Behind all of this (of course) stands the Chinese government. The People’s Republic owns most of automakers SAIC and Dongfeng, along with a good chunk of the private equity firm Blackstone, a good chunk of Morgan, and a good chunk of T-bills (to the tune of $585b).

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Like everyone, Honda is cutting production. The Financial Times reports that Honda’s Swindon, England plant is shutting down for the months of February and March. The Japanese company’s reputation for employee friendliness is taking a bit hit with the news that Honda’s “5,000 workers in Swindon will be laid off without pay during the shutdown.” The much lauded Japanese no layoff policy has gone by the wayside at Honda just as it has at Mazda and Isuzu. Toyota is likewise shoving people out the door of it’s Japanese factories without pay, but continues to hide behind the “contract workers” ruse which has long allowed them to in reality hire and fire to meet demand changes while claiming not to do so. Toyota “plans to reduce the number of contract workers on its Japanese payroll to about 3,000 by the first quarter of next year from more than 9,000 in the same period this year.” In simple terms, Toyota is laying off 6,000 people … without calling them layoffs. Meanwhile, “Fitch Ratings downgraded Nissan’s long-term debt rating on Friday from “A-minus” to “BBB-plus” and signaled that further cuts could follow.” Layoffs, plant shut-downs, debt rating downgrades and plunging profits. Sound familiar?

Courtesy of Ford’s Fusion microsite (MICROSITE!) and other reliable sources (Dick Cheney), we can report the pricing on Ford’s updated 2010 Fusion:

Fusion S – $19,270 – 2.5 liter 4-cylinder, 175 hp, six speed manual (6-speed auto optional)
Fusion SE – $20,545 – 2.5 liter 4-cylinder, 175 hp, six speed manual (Options: 6-speed auto, 3.0 V6, AWD only with the V6)
Fusion SEL – $23,975 – 2.5 liter 4-cylinder, 175 hp, six speed automatic (Options: 3.0 V6, AWD only with the V6)
Fusion Sport – $25,825 – 3.5 liter V6, 263 hp, six speed automatic (Options: AWD)
Fusion Hybrid – $27,270 – 2.5 liter I4, voodoo electronics

Standard Equipment:
All models include A/C, the full complement of six airbags, aluminum or painted steel wheels, tire pressure monitoring system, antilock brakes, and electronic stability control.

Option Pricing:
3.0 liter V6 (240hp, 6-speed auto transmission with manumatic feature) – $1610
AWD – $1900 (this is an educated estimate; waiting for more info from Ford)

Waiting for more info from Ford:
Cost of AWD, cost of the automatic transmission

In their best-case scenario, Ford and GM would already be waiting anxiously by the mailbox for their federal bailout checks. Instead, it’s back to the drawing board to try to come up with enough cash to survive until December 8. Plus they still have to convince Congress that they have some kind of plan to survive beyond waiting anxiously by said mailbox. Accordingly, GM and Ford are announcing another round of cut-and-shuffle. Ford will close its Chicago Taurus/TaurusX/Sable/MKS plant for the weeks of Dec. 15 and 22, and its Flat Rock, MI Mustang/Mazda6 plant for the week of Dec. 22. According to Automotive News [sub], “the only Ford assembly operations scheduled to run the week of Dec. 22 are a van plant in Avon Lake, Ohio, an F-150 pickup production line in Kansas City, Mo. and an F-150 plant in Dearborn, Mich.” Meanwhile, GM will close the Impala plant in Oshawa, Ont. and the Lordstown, OH Cobalt/G5 plant from Jan. 12 to Jan. 20. Automotive News [sub] reports that GM will also shut down its Orion Township, MI Malibu/G6 plant from Jan. 5 to Jan. 12. GM’s Kansas City, KS Aura/LaCrosse plant will be closed Dec. 23-Jan. 20, and a planned week of downtime there has been moved up to Jan. 12 from Jan. 26. The permanent closure of GM’s Oshawa, Ont. truck plant has also been moved up, from July to May 14.

“Built on a platform with a wheelbase of 100.4in, an overall length of 161.6in, an overall width of 70.3in and overall height of 63.4in, the Soul offers enough space for five adults with some space left for storage. The car rides on a fully independent front and twist-beam rear suspension system, with front MacPherson struts and coil springs. In the rear, the Soul suspension is sub-frame-mounted with a transverse torsion beam axle with trailing arms. To maximize space, the rear anti-roll stabilizer bar is mounted inside the torsion beam. The engine lineup will consist of a 120hp 1.6L unit and a 140hp 2.0L option. Fuel economy for both engines is estimated at 30mpg.”

GM has become the first Detroit firm to acknowledge the toxic fallout from what’s fast becoming known as Corporate Jet-Gate. Reuters (via Yahoo News) reports that GM will send back two of its leased corporate jets, after attracting widespread criticism for jetting to DC with begging bowls in hand. Actually, according to GM spokesfolks, GM decided to return the aircraft because of a “really aggressive cutback in travel.” Seriously? “There is a perception issue,” says GM’s Tom Wilkinson of CEO Rick Wagoner’s travel to Washington on a private jet. “We need to be very sensitive to that going forward.” What’s next? Alan Mulally’s Lexus?

We’ve been harping on the UAW for not making concessions either at this week’s congressional testimony or subsequent press conferences. After all, how is congress supposed to take your endorsement of a $25b bailout seriously when you are part of the problem and yet refuse to give up a single iota? Well, by passing the buck (for now), Congress has apparently convinced Detroit that it has to offer something, and the union boys are starting to understand that they have to be part of the solution. At least for PR purposes. The UAW’s controversial job bank program has been widely floated as a possible concession, and apparently Gettelfinger wants folks to know that GM isn’t paying his union brothers $77/hr to do nothing. “It’s not gone yet but it’s almost gone,” Gettelfinger tells the Detroit News. “We’re on the verge of eliminating that provision.” So, why does the DetN lede their story with “reports that the United Auto Workers union is in talks to dismantle the controversial jobs bank program are premature, according to people familiar with the situation”? (Read More…)

CNN Money Editor-at-Large Paul R Monica reckons GM is so Dow, I mean down, on its luck that it should be delisted from the Dow Jones Industrial Average. By Monica’s math, GM has a market cap of less than $2 billion, and its stock price has been treading water near $3. “Normally, when a blue-chip company sinks to such depths of despair,” writes Monica, “it gets tossed from the S&P 500. But not only is GM still a member of that index, it remains a component of the granddaddy of market barometers: the venerable Dow Jones Industrial average.” He reveals that Dow executive director John Prestbo is keeping a close eye on the General and any sign of a bankruptcy in the offing. “A company operating under bankruptcy protection is not on a level playing field,” says Prestbo. “What we try to do is make sure every company in the Dow is operating under the same kind of marketplace.”

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Arizona’s ambitious statewide speed camera program faces increasing resistance both from the public and from state and local officials. At least half a dozen speed cameras have been temporarily taken out of service by ordinary citizens using nothing more Post-It Notes and silly string. A video released yesterday documented a speed camera having its lens covered with silly string. Vigilantes then labeled with signs variously reading, “scamera,” “scamera: ka-ching!” and scamera: smile.” Over the past month other cameras have had their lenses covered with multiple yellow notes with the phrase “honest mistake” written on them. This is a subtle dig at camera operator Redflex which had argued that the importation, marketing and use of certain radar equipment in violation of federal law was an honest oversight. The Post-It Notes refer to a July incident where Redflex angered the office of Secretary of State Jan Brewer (R) which had been investigating a citizen’s complaint against the company. According to Brewer’s office, a Redflex employee “wrote a short response to the complaint on a post it note,” making light of an official inquiry into the company’s falsification of legal documents.

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