According to SEMA, legislation has been introduced in the Oregon House of Representatives at the request of Governor Ted Kulongoski to ban aftermarket parts if alternatives are available that “decrease greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles.” In reality, Oregon H.B. 2186 (pdf) merely states that the “Environmental Quality Commission may adopt by rule the following to help this state achieve the greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals.” The specific option that SEMA is steamed about states that “Restrictions and prohibitions on the sale and distribution of after-market motor vehicle parts, including but not limited to tires, if alternatives are available that decrease greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles,” may be enacted.
It’s T minus 11 days before Congress does the thumbs-up thumbs-down thing on the artist formerly known as the world’s largest automaker. GM is up shit creek without a paddle. The United Auto Workers aren’t going to agree to parity with the transplant assembly workers, as required. The bondholders aren’t going to exchange debt for equity, as required. The company doesn’t have a clue what to do about its brands or products, as required. There is no way whatsoever for GM to prove to your elected officials that it has a hope in hell of repaying the $13.4b loans already made—never mind the $100b or so needed to keep the ailing American automaker in business for another year. So GM CEO Rick Wagoner is doing the only thing he knows how to do, that he can do: cutting expenses. This time, it’s white collar workers for one simple reason: that’s all that’s left. Bloomberg tells of the $14m per year CEO’s decision to throw his remaining management to the wolves . . .
The marching orders from TTAC Central were clear: get my hands on a Pontiac G8 GXP and give the B&B a story. Locally, there were nine manually-transmission’d prospects in GM’s online inventory locator. But as Mr. Karesh later warned me, the hi-performance, rear wheel-drive muscle cars I found were nothing but a time sensitive mirage. (Read More…)
G’day! The Sydney Morning Herald is first up with news that Ford will have to stump-up $4b for a 2008 pension shortfall. “The collapsing stock market left the fund with a $4.1 billion deficit for its projected obligations, after 2007’s $3 billion surplus, Ford said in its fourth-quarter financial results. That may force an infusion of money starting next year, according to the viability plan filed with Congress in December.”
While Honda preps a beefed-up, AWD Venza-alike for the US market, this is the Accord Wagon that Europeans get to look forward to. The Type S comes with a 2.2 liter turbodiesel that makes 180 hp and pulls 280 factotums of torque [Ed. ha ha] at 2k RPM. Not your typical Honda screamer, eh? Anyway, while Europe yawns at the coming of the Acura brand and the US version of the Euro Accord gets the dismal reception it deserves, Honda seems set on playing me-too with a crossoverized version of the Accord wagon. To which I say fiddlesticks. Even if a diesel isn’t in the cards for the US, just bring us this freaking wagon. Have you seen Acura’s CUV sales?
Car designers are not the best people to choose the most beautiful car in the world (MBCITW). Carmaking is a collaborative art and car designers work within a . . . Wait. Did I say art? Business. Making cars is a business. Anyone who ascends to the pinnacle of a car company’s design department did so as much by their political savvy as their aesthetic sensibilities. As a result, you’d be hard pressed to find a more pretentious group of people. Their every word is weighed, calculated and delivered to strengthen their reputation for intelligence and good taste. So, anyway, I decided to call photographer Michael Furman to get his take on this hot topic. Michael has snapped thousands of cars from every era. “There are plenty of gorgeous women in the world,” Michael opines. “With most of them, the feeling you get when you first see them eventually wanes. Only the most beautiful get more beautiful over time.” The 1938 Bentley Embiricos [above] is Michael’s second choice for MBCITW. His first? The 1938 Alfa Romeo 2900D MM. Which he’s photographing next week, and will share with us soon thereafter. [Question: should we ask other industry types to name their MBCITW and make this into a series?]
Ford has released a study (via PR Newswire) that shows its proprietary (for now) SYNC system reducing the amount of time spent looking away from the road while performing tasks that probably shouldn’t be done while driving anyway. Want to find a new song on your iPod while doing 65 on the freeway? Ford says that without SYNC this task can take 25 seconds of crash risking attention from the road. With SYNC, the task is done in a mere two seconds. Reading a text can take 11 seconds, but Ford claims that SYNC’s text-to-speech output can reduce the task to two seconds. “We know people want to stay connected in their vehicles, so Ford is continuing to deliver that connectivity for them responsibly and safely, says Susan Cischke, Ford’s group vice president of Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering. But unfortunately, their study used subjects who were already regular SYNC users. If you’re still getting used to the system, fiddling with it could return your in-car cell phone use to DUI-levels of danger. After all, how hard is it to wait for a light (or heaven forbid, suffer through a song you don’t like) before messing with your iPod? Luckily, if you do crash while playing with SYNC on the go, Ford has added an Onstar-like 911 feature to rush rescuers to your mangled Focus. Or if you want OnStar-like features from a non-Detroit OEM, that might be in the cards as GM is in talks to license its in-car Big Brother.
Redflex is the Australian company that runs many if not most of America’s redlight camera programs. Although I’m not a city resident, I attended two Redflex Q&A sessions in Canton, OH over the past two nights. About 20 people attended the first meeting. Around sixty showed-up at the second– once people caught wind of what was at stake. Both meetings included city council members, city safety director Thomas Nesbitt and Hizzoner the Mayor, William Healy. Redflex Executive Vice President Aaron Rosenberg began the meeting with the video above. The clip was shown without warning. Hello and boom: a graphic and violent accident of the type Reflex’s cameras are supposed to prevent. No emotional blackmail there, then.
OK, so the latest GM Fastlane PR exercise is actually entitled “What Is GM Doing With The Money?” Defensive much? Anyway, coming from Fastlane, there’s obviously no mention of giving Cadillacs away. Or throwing cash down the Delphi hole. Or paying Brazilian workers to sit on their hands. No, having received $13.4b, GM’s Steve Harris reveals that GM’s plan is to (wait for it) comply with the terms of the loan! In other words, “prove that we can repay the loan, achieve a positive net present value, and meet federal fuel efficiency and emission requirements, and manufacture advanced technology vehicles in the U.S. ” And with the federal money, GM is “making progress,” says Harris. How? By building concepts like the Cadillac Converj. And announcing vehicles like the 2010 Equinox (Saturn Vue cannibalism!) and the 2012 Spark and Orlando (which debut after the loan is due). Hallelujah! And though Harris mentions the UAW Job Bank shutdown and “discussion” of plans to reduce dealers by 400 per year, his effort to “do a better job of communicating our successes (and) how we will be changing going forward” leaves out all the interesting bits.
CNN Money reports that Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) has pulled the “Clunker Culling” proposal from the economic stimulus plan making its way through Congress. The provision would have provided up to $4,500 in tax credits for scrapping a used vehicle with under 18 mpg and replacing it with a new car. The bill would have cost taxpayers up to $16b, according to CNN, which notes that lack of support from Republicans doomed the bill. Why? Apparently, “the provision required that the [new] vehicle be assembled in the United States.” Who knows, maybe common sense even had anything to do with it. President Obama did not take a strong position on the Clunker provision according to the Detroit News, but he is vocally backing $2b in battery development spending and a $600m purchase of fuel-efficient cars for the government fleet.
There are two main problems with debunking auto-related misconceptions. First, not everyone is ready, willing or able to confront the truth. Second, once you debunk something, it doesn’t stay debunked. TTAC’s Bob Elton dealt with the roof crush standard issue in his editorial “The Counterintuitive Truth About Roof Crush Standards” back in June 2006. He argued that increasing roof strength only increases the number of rollover accidents. Common sense: the higher a vehicle’s center of gravity, the more likely it will roll. Elton also revealed that “In 74% of cases, roof intrusion was not a factor. Rollover accidents are fatal because the occupants are usually ejected, or partially ejected, during the crash.” And that’s because… they’re not wearing their seat-belts. And yet, The Detroit News reports that “The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety [IIHS] said Wednesday it will require automakers to dramatically increase the strength of vehicle roofs to receive its top safety pick ratings.” The road to hell? You don’t know the half of it…
According to my Bloemfontein rose, the best way to cope with winter driving is stay inside. If it weren’t for the tail-out action afforded by the slippery stuff, I’d agree. Telecommuting, Stop & Shop Peapod, Netflix, Gamefly, school bus—why tempt fate? Throw another log on the fire (yup, they deliver those too), fire up the Mac and kick back. Still, there are millions of motorists who have to brave the elements to make ends meet. And winter driving can be brutal to the point of Fargo-style human popsicles. You’d kinda hope that anyone who lives the requisite 16 years required for a driver’s license whilst living in a cold climate would have a little common sense in this regard. But never underestimate the power of PR people to underestimate the intelligence of the average human being. This time we have Land Rover telling UK motorists how to survive their recent cold snap. After all, “Land Rover has 60 years of driving experience, with a line-up of supremely capable vehicles which boast permanent four-wheel drive and pioneering technology such as Electronic Traction Control, Hill Descent Control (HDC) and Terrain Response – which includes a snow setting utilising the vehicles’ traction aids.” Ready to be surprised? Then stand down, chill out and feel free to add something a little more . . . useful.
Zees ees ze DS concept, timed to coincide with the last auto show standing in Geneva. (I keed. TTAC will be in The Big Apple in April for the show and a meet.) The nouvelle DS builds on the aesthetic tradition established by the world’s most beautiful car, the original DS. Son of DS—just when you thought it was safe to worship an icon—relies on the same purity of form, startlingly simply but bold proportions, design originality and lack of affectation the made “Dessie” such a legendary design. And if you believe that, I’ve got a classically sculpted Lexus IS-F to sell you.
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