The Star reports that Magna International is closing its New York state New Process Gear plant after 52 percent of the plant’s union workers rejected a 20 percent wage reduction. The haircut would have pegged hourly salary at $16, and stipulated that the factory had to break even by July 1 (good luck with that). “The plant, which employs about 1,400 people, makes transfer cases to switch power from two- to four-wheel drive vehicles.” Make that made. Magna’s statement after the jump [thanks to cnyguy and Geo. Levecque for the links].

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Facing increased budgetary pressure, the New Mexico state Legislature this week adopted legislation that will increase the cost of red light camera fines by a third, adding millions in extra revenue to state coffers. State Senator Michael S. Sanchez (D-Belen) introduced Senate Bill 519 to extend revenue sharing provisions that previously only applied to the city of Albuquerque to other New Mexico cities. The measure passed unanimously in the state Senate and by a vote of 64-1 in the House.

“Essentially, the increase in fees mostly offsets the new distribution formula in which Albuquerque retains 50 percent of the net receipts,” the Legislative Finance Committee’s fiscal analysis of Senate Bill 519 explained. “The increase of fees from $75 to $100 would yield an approximate annual increase in receipts of $2.3 million to $9.2 million, assuming a similar pattern of traffic violations.”

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The Detroit Free Press rightly points out that ChryCo execs are headed straight for the AIG bonus backlash.

Rep. John Dingell warned Chrysler Wednesday against paying more than $20 million in retention bonuses, and called for a 95% tax on all bonuses paid by companies receiving any money through the Troubled Asset Relief Program…

“While I recognize these are different from the AIG bonuses, it is still dumb for them to pay out these bonuses at this time,” said Dingell, a Dearborn Democrat. “Chrysler should think long and hard about the optics of executive bonuses, especially at a time when UAW workers and retirees are making remarkable concessions.”

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Let’s say you have one of the most unproductive car factories in the world. Car research firm CSM Worldwide says it’ll run at 37 percent this year and possibly 31 percent next year. So what do you do? That’s right, you crank up production. This story just goes to show you how a bailout can be more of a hindrance than a help. Renault has no choice but to keep production at their plant in Sandouville running despite it failing catastrophically. This is because Renault accepted a €3B bailout loan from the French government. A loan which came with a caveat, “Keep production open at French factories!” And now . . .

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Hats off to GM Spinmeister-in-Chief Steve Harris. The guy’s got his finger on the pulse, at a time when the last thing GM can afford (never mind the U.S. taxpayer) is bad PR. And so, the ailing American automaker launched a major “the Volt is real” offensive, in the face of rumors (need I mention any names?) that the bailout-critical green car program is in chaos. (Cart and pony pics in gallery below.) The Detroit News reports that “Volt is on Track.” The words “GM Says” are conspicuous by their absence. But I e-quibble, ’cause I share Lyle Dennis’ willingness to accept Volt engineers’ “infinite confidence” that they can make Chevy’s plug-in gas/electric Hail Mary work. And here’s the news: like Tesla, GM’s already hard at work on Volt 2.0.

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Yes, in the midst of the GM – Opel divorce, the tell-me-why-we-went-upmarket-again Insignia turbo six has appeared on our favorite Spanish auto blog Motorpasion (hola amigos!). I could summarize their info, but I know that our Best and Brightest are a multilingual mob—or at least] listened to Dora the Explorer way too many times. So here’s the quatro uno uno from la boca de caballo. But remember: these are spy shots. No digas ni mu or ni pío de esto.

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I’ve never made a secret of the fact that I loathe auto shows. And I’m talking about the press days, where I can meet all my good friends from Automotive News, The Detroit News, Autoblog, Jalopnik, Motor Trend, etc. and score tons of child-friendly swag and jump into any vehicle I want without getting my knuckles rapped. Of course, it’s work. You couldn’t get to me to the civilian side of these events for love (for cars I got lots) nor money (which my writers could certainly use). Look don’t touch? Touch don’t drive? Line-up to see something you saw on the Internet weeks or months ago? Pay for the privilege? Crap food? I get the bonding with the kids thing, and I know there are OCD brochure collectors out there. Modelizers need apply. But other than that, why bother? Manufacturers are wondering the same thing. So . . . say goodbye to the British Motor Show, where attendance has plummeted in recent years. Tokyo’s next. Another sign that the traditional industry template is broken. And not a moment too soon. A bit late, actually. But there you go.

Is is that time again? The time when the MSM drinks copious amounts of Kool-Aid labeled J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability survey (VDS)? Assuming that there are TTAC readers who’ve joined us in the interim, let’s consider a couple of salient facts (as taught to us by Michael Karesh at the no-longer-TTAC-affiliated TrueDelta). First, the differences between brands in J.D.’s VDS is insignificant. Buick has 122 problems per 100 vehicles while Lexus has (shock!) 126 problems per vehicle. In the real world, this doesn’t mean you’re less or more likely to experience a problem in YOUR Buick or YOUR Lexus.

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Confused1096 writes:

I have a 2001 Ford Windstar LX that is slowly driving me (and two mechanics) crazy. I have an intermittent issue with hard starting and rough idle on initial start up. The problem will clear up after the van has been running about 4 or 5 minutes. There are no codes in the computer’s memory. I’ve been chasing this for a month now with no luck.

The van has 76,000 miles; it is equipped with the 3.8L V6 and a 4-speed automatic. Other than this issue it has ran great since I bought it three years ago. The battery is new, recent tune up, fuel filter, IAC valve, PCV valve, and coolant sensor. This thing has been babied since purchase (I’m a regular here, after all). Any suggestions would be appreciated.

It knows I’m car shopping. Could it simply be jealous?

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Looks like fifty cars per day is all that is needed from the Trollhätten plant to satisfy world demand. Yes, you heard that right: fifty cars per day, two days per week. With Saab apparently refocusing their production target to 12,000-13,000 cars for 2009, they’re cutting back their already slow schedule of three production days per week to two in some sort of effort to say “hey, we’re not dead yet.” Meanwhile the separate (desperate) search for a buyer for the company continues with Deutsche Bank handling the deal. They’d better act fast: Teknikens Värld says Saab’s piggy bank will be totally empty this summer. So if you’re one of those fifty people that want this Swedish meatball, act fast before they are all försvunnen.

Bloomberg (and a lot of other good-news-hungry outlets) are reporting that a recent surge in used car prices indicates that new car sales may soon rise. The theory: a falling supply of used cars and a glut of new cars will lead buyers back to the new car F&I guy. Of course, that assumes that there’s a falling supply of used cars. For that assumption, the MSM turns to . . . new car dealers: “A survey by Wachovia Securities analyst Rich Kwas showed that 42 percent of dealers report ‘too little’ used-car inventory.” Yes, well, they would do, wouldn’t they? As new car sales plummet, franchised dealers’ supply of used trade-ins declines by, oh, roughly the same amount. Or more. 

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After Germany’s cash-for-clunkers sales surge, it was only a matter of time, and not much of it, before the US followed suit. The idea failed to make into the federal stimulus package (which is like calling an all-you-can-eat buffet a Weight Watchers’ Special). And so, a bill is born. CNNMoney says aloha, clunker-mania.

The bill, introduced Tuesday by Rep. Betty Sutton, D-Ohio, would provide on- the-spot vouchers between $3,000 to $7,500 to consumers who trade in older vehicles for new, more fuel-efficient cars and trucks. The size of the vouchers would vary, depending on the fuel economy of the car being purchased.

The older vehicles, required to have been built at least eight years ago, would be scrapped and their parts recycled, while the new vehicles would have to meet a certain fuel economy standard – 27 mpg on highways for cars, 24 mpg for light trucks, Sutton said. Consumers could also opt to receive a $3,000 voucher toward mass-transit fares.

Sounds great! How could that possibly go wrong? You know . . . other than all the unintended consequences?

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BMW is not doing so well lately. I know; it’s tough all over. But there’s tough and then there’s a 90 percent profit plunge (to €330M). Aside from disappearing revenue, BMW shares something else with America’s domestic manufacturers: denial. Just-auto [sub] reports that Bimmer’s CEO reckons the sun will come out tomorrow. Well, the end of this year, anyway. And then everything will be alright, exactly as planned, ja?

BMW is sticking to the long-term targets set out in its so-called Number One strategy despite the current challenging economic times, the automaker said as it announced a fall in 2008’s net profit of almost 90% on Wednesday.

“2009 will be a transitional year for which we cannot yet make any reliable forecasts. Nevertheless, our long-term profitability targets for 2012 remain intact. We want to preserve the independence of the BMW group,” chairman Norbert Reithofer told the annual accounts press conference in Munich.

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GMAC is facing mounting criticism (lawsuits to follow) for suckling on Uncle Sam’s teat for $6B, then turning around and cutting car dealers off at the knees. And so, on the same day TTAC takes GMAC to task for doing the dirty on dealers, on the same day ChryCo CEO Bob “The Prowler” Nardelli is out and about, sniffing around the federal trough for even more bailout bucks for Chrysler’s former captive lender, GMAC has issued a press release defending its “death to dealers” policy. I mean, newfound financial probity. Color me unconvinced. As one of our Best and Brightest pointed out, where there’s smoke, there’s mirrors. (Grammarian mulligan evoked.)

Wholesale Financing

* GMAC is currently doing everything it can to provide broad-based funding support to auto dealerships during these very difficult times. For example, despite the tight credit markets, GMAC continues to provide wholesale financing for about 75 percent of GM auto dealers – a level consistent with the past five years.
* Dealers are not required to finance their wholesale inventory with GMAC; they are free to choose any lender. However, we recognize that many banks and financial institutions have ceased to offer auto wholesale financing given the strained credit markets and uncertainty in the industry. GMAC is working to preserve such funding for its existing wholesale dealer accounts.
* GMAC currently extends over $20 Billion in wholesale financing to U.S. dealers.

Dealership Default

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The fellas at Autoexpress are saying it’s the “new MR2,” although there’s no indication yet that the planned hybrid coupe will rock the nameplate’s trademark mid-engine architecture. Toyota’s CR-Z fighter will be RWD though, making it the second rumored RWD Toyota coupe in the last year. The first, a joint Toyota-Subaru may or may not be on hold. “We have set a tough price point (expected to be around £20,000 ($28K)), as it will be easier to sell if it is affordable,” says Toyota VP Masatami Takimoto. “It has to be fun to drive, too, which means the hybrid set-up must be different to the Prius’s, with greater responsiveness.” If the hybrid coupe is “done right,” reckons Autoexpress, it will do 0-60 mph in seven seconds, while getting over 50 mpg. Looks like Honda isn’t the only firm trying to mate green with fun these days.