Sometimes this is an easy question to answer. If you’re talking General Motors, I’d have taken Wagoner out of the driver seat sometime in 2005. At least. But when you’re talking about an aging family member who may be giving up their connection to the outside world, deciding when to take away the keys can be a wrenching decision. The New York Times reports that new tests may help identify when patients with Alzheimer’s begin to place themselves and others in danger by getting behind the wheel. But for elderly people without an early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s or dementia, the signs that a family member may no longer be able to drive safely are not always immediately evident. Have you had to take the keys away fom a family member who was no longer able to drive? Was it possible to do so before an accident occurred? Does your state or local government require additional testing for elderly drivers? Have you been denied driving privileges for reasons other than criminal charges?
Automotive News [sub] reports that Ford CEO Alan Mulally and Executive Chairman Bill Ford will take a 30 percent pay cut as part of a package of management cutbacks aimed at easing passage of a recent Ford-UAW agreement. Additionally, Bill Ford’s entire compensation package will be “set aside” until the company returns to profitability and the Board will forgo all cash compensation this year. Finally, 2009 performance bonuses for global salaried employees and senior executives have been canceled. Read Bill Ford and Alan Mulally’s memo to Ford employees at the Detroit Free Press. And what of those UAW concessions? A UAW memo on the Ford agreement is also up at the Freep (PDF), and it includes the jaunty assurance that “there is no loss in your base hourly pay, no reduction in your health care and no reduction in your pension.” So what are the concessions?
Over the years TTAC has witnessed many skirmishes in the war between those who support car dealers (mostly car salespeople) and those who oppose car dealers (the rest of the known sentient universe). It’s time to put this particular argument to rest. Car dealers suck. Here’s why: buyers never know what kind of deal they got.
Bloomberg reports that a GM bankruptcy filing could result in an up to $1.2b payout to its advisors, lawyers, accountants and affiliated toadies. According to UCLA Bankruptcy professor, Lynn LoPucki, the GM bailout bonanza could easily shatter the previous record for bankruptcy fees, set at $906 million by Lehman Brothers. “The bonanza has already begun and will continue through the bankruptcy,” LoPucki tells Bloomberg. Her estimate is based on bankruptcy statistics that she collects, and she says the size and complexity of GM would make its bankruptcy significantly more expensive than even the Lehman filing. And of course news of these fees has anti-bankruptcy politicians downplaying rumors that the Obama administration will arrange a Chapter 11 reorganization for GM.
Due to overwhelming (negative) reaction to the choices we made for Monday’s logo poll, we are starting from scratch but this time with professional graphics designers. Several have expressed a desire to offer their services, gratis, for which we are eternally grateful and we hope to provide the winner with something. I’m thinking a permanent, prominent link on TTAC to their portfolio or business site and the glory and recognition that goes with being “Designer to TheTruthAboutCars” or somesuch. I digress.
Euphemisms are our friends. If it weren’t for “calamari” my kids would have never tried squid. Similarly, the SUV became a more palatable version of the station wagon– although I am not sure how the wagon became an object of scorn by my generation. I have many happy memories slouched down in the third row, kissing girls. I suppose piloting one of those behemoths might have tempered my enthusiasm for the genre. The early SUV’s were thinly disguised trucks and evolved to become more like tall wagons currently known as crossovers. If the designers over at BMW have their way, mutant ninja vehicles will soon replace the crossovers. In the meantime, we have the 2010 Lexus RX350.
“All of a sudden out of nowhere, the check engine light comes on, along with a couple of other lights, the chimes start going off, and the display under the speedometer alternates between “Service Stabilitrack Soon” and “Service Brakes Immediately”. When this happens, I lose power braking! Luckily, all 3 times I was going very slow in electric-only mode, twice at drive-thrus and once in the grocery lot. The first couple of times this happened I turned off the ignition and restarted, and everything was back to normal, except that the “Check Engine” light stayed on for a day or so and then it went off. Yesterday when this happened for the 3rd time, I had to turn of and restart the truck about 10 times to get it back to normal.”
gltech published a brief blog beginning to outline his brake issues, which he’s now expanded to include battery problems. Other posters on greenhybrid started chiming-in; they’re having the same issues with firmware updates and such. Several are also losing braking on a regular basis.
This little tidbit kind of encompasses everything GM faces now and major challenges going forward. The potential inability to compete in the hybrid game and how it relates to the Volt; the disintegrating dealer network and lack of communication between different arms of GM; and the brain drain as GM sheds staff that probably caused the minor problem of losing brakes in a brand new $50k car.
Motorists will no longer be sent to jail on the mere accusation of a machine in Maricopa County, Arizona. County Attorney Andrew Thomas yesterday announced that he will dismiss all criminal speeding and reckless driving cases brought to him when the only evidence presented is a photo radar ticket. Thomas condemned the process that imposes jail time on those accused of driving 20 MPH over the speed limit without any human witness to the alleged crime.
“The bottom line is, the way the law is written and the way our Constitution is written, to bring criminal prosecutions based on photo radar evidence only is not something our office can do, or frankly should do, given the Constitutional mandates,” Thomas said.
In the autoblogosphere, Ford gets brownie points for not sidling up the federal bailout buffet. This despite the fact that FoMoCo CEO Alan Mulally sat shoulder-to-shoulder with GM CEO Rick Wagoner and Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli at the pre-trough-snuffling congressional hearings. This despite the fact Big Al has lined-up a line of credit just in case he has to roll up one of those million dollar bills Ford pays him. Unfortunately, out there in the real world, consumers hear “Detroit Bailout,” not “Chrysler and GM Bailout.” Which is, coincidentally enough, fair enough. Ford is in deep shit. MSNBC ran the numbers; they’re bad enough for Uncle Sam to hide the checkbook. As if. If only. OK, here we go. . .
All day, Japanese carmakers have been issuing January production and sales numbers. They are horrible. Three makers report production reductions of around 60 percent. Mazda and Mitsubishi reported export reduction of over 70 percent. There is a bloodbath in the making in the land of the cherry blossom.
Honda posted year-on-year falls in domestic production and sales, exports and overseas output in January, the Nikkei [sub] reports. Domestically, production fell 23 percent to 77,224 vehicles and sales slid 23.4 percent to 34,160 units, both marking the third consecutive month of decline. Exports dropped by 46.3 percent to 32,934 units and overseas production tumbled 37.9 percent to 149,327 vehicles, both down for the fourth straight month. Compared to others, Honda is doing fairly well, especially due to its burgeoning motorcycle business in the 3rd world. And that was the good news . . . . (Read More…)
An overview of what happened in other parts of the world while you were in bed. TTAC provides round-the-clock coverage of everything that has wheels. Or has its wheels coming off. WAS is being filed from Beijing until further notice.
Paris backpedals after slap from Brussels: France struck a clause from its €6b bailout package. Recipients were prohibited from closing a plant in France and moving it elsewhere in Europe. Automobilwoche [sub] reports that the clause ran afoul of EU rules. Despite the cleaned-up clause, the French government claims there’s a “moral obligation” for the French to stay in France. Brussels will perform a thorough vetting of the French moral imperative.
Russian bailout:Reuters reports that Russia’s car sales have slumped by one-third. In an effort to save its nascent car industry, Russia will subsidize car loans for consumers buying any one of 30 foreign and domestic models. The car-loan subsidies, worth $55.45m, will compensate banks for charging lower rates on car loans. “The decision to help seven foreign brands along with two Russian ones is a surprise coming from a government that introduced sweeping measures in January to protect local car makers from foreign competition,” says a shocked Reuters. The Ruskies have earmarked another $347m to buy up unsold parts and commercial vehicles from local producers such as AvtoVAZ, as well as Fiat, Isuzu, and SsangYong. [For a full list of parts and vehicles eligible for the two aid programs, click on www.minprom.gov.ru] Russia began a 30 percent import duty on second-hand cars on January 1 to prop up the struggling domestic car industry. The move stirred concerns about protectionism from Russia’s trading partners, and led to large-scale protests in major Russian cities that rely on the second-hand car industry.
“As for our auto industry, everyone recognizes that years of bad decision-making and a global recession have pushed our automakers to the brink. We should not, and will not, protect them from their own bad practices.
“But we are committed to the goal of a re-tooled, re-imagined auto industry that can compete and win. Millions of jobs depend on it. Scores of communities depend on it. And I believe the nation that invented the automobile cannot walk away from it.”
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