China’s automobile sales should hit an all-time high in March and help the country to beat the US in automobile sales during the first quarter, a key official from the national planning body said to Gasgoo.

“The 14 major automakers sold 1.026 million vehicles in China last month, which account for 90 to 91 percent of the total market,” said Chen Bin, director general of the Department of Industry at the National Development and Reform Commission.

The total sales will likely overtake the monthly sales record of 1.059 million units in March 2008.

This will be the third consecutive month that China has sold more vehicles than the US. It also puts the Middle Kingdom well on its way to become the worldwide king of auto sales in 2009, toppling the US from its threadbare throne. It will also help Volkswagen in its race to the #2 spot behind Toyota. VW is underexposed in the US, but very strong in China.

I had every intention of taking a Lincoln MKS for a spin. I couldn’t do it. The MKS dodging tumbleweeds in the showroom was ugly as sin and as cheap as chips. “Cheap” as in poorly designed and executed. The Monroney for Lincoln’s front wheel-drive, V6 flagship added up a bunch of numbers knocking on forty large. When I told the salesman I’d rather have two BMW E39 BMW M5s, he pointed me to the 46k-mile ’05 Lincoln LS V8 Sport busy putting flat spots on its tires. The sticker said something about $18K, but I got the distinct impression that a Salmon and some pocket lint would make her mine. But did I want her?

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Ah, the good old days, back when the only automotive bailout on the table consisted of a paltry $25 billion federal loan program to retool old factories (a.k.a. Chrysler, Ford and GM plants) to build fuel efficient cars. At the end of last year, when the NSFW hit the fan, President Bush tried to divert those Department of Energy (DOE) funds to Chrysler and GM, as an end run around an recalcitrant Congress. The DOE said, hey, don’t rush me babe. In the end, Bush shoved aside Congressional and bureacratic dithering—I mean, due diligence, ignored the original intent of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, sent $17.4 billion worth of TARP booty to the two zombie automakers and pissed off to Texas. Since that fateful day, GM alone has blown through the 20 bil barrier. So, what of that $25 billion DOE fund? Well, Chrysler and GM can’t have it; they failed the loan requirement’s viability test. And how. Which leaves.  . . Ford. The Detroit Free Press [almost] reports that The Blue Oval Boyz have applied for $11 billion from the federal fund. Will this Uncle Sam suckle punt Ford from the Motown moral high ground, and ding Dearborn’s dead cat bounce? Of course not! It’s a loan.

When GM CEO Roger Smith wanted to create a different kind of car company (like he didn’t have several already), he commissioned a Saturn factory in Spring Hill, TN. For a short time, the factory, the brand, the model they built, the dealers who sold them and the customers who bought them all lived happily ever after. And then the GM borg assimilated Saturn. At first, they neglected it. Then they gutted it like a fish. Then they stocked dealers with a bunch of unloved German-style imports, built somewhere other than the Volunteer State. And now, that pioneering Saturn factory builds GM’s fourth badge-engineered Lambda platform. The Chevy Traverse is not doing well, saleswise. In fact, LSJ.com reports that the TN factory producing these unloved CUVs is currently operating at 24 percent of capacity. That’s after the General spent, wait for it, $690 million re-equipping the plant for the task. And remember what we said about politics informing GM’s business decisions? Check this out . . .

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Another Georgia red light camera program has fallen thanks to a state-mandated extension in the duration of the yellow warning period at monitored intersections. Members of the Dalton City Council yesterday voted unanimously to cancel its contract with the UK-owned photo ticketing firm LaserCraft Inc. which has been operating the traffic cameras on a month-to-month basis since May. “Thus far it appears the increase in yellow time has resulted in a significant decrease in violations,” Dalton Police Chief Jason Parker told the city council yesterday.

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The KitchenAid Espresso Pro Line – delivering 15 bars of pressure, with a separate steam unit pump. Just holding it in my hands at the store convinced me. Solid weight, no rattle. Cast iron and proper machining, no plastic cheats anywhere. I was tempted to take the lid off and peak inside, but didn’t. Given what would follow I should have pulled out an Umbraco-set and given it a go.

Kowalski! Report! It’s a prototype vehicle integrating a lithium-ion battery, digital smart energy management, two-wheel balancing, dual electric wheel motors and a dockable user interface that allows off-board connectivity. Translation? It’s a wheelchair for bipeds built for permanent wheelies. Rico! We’re going to need a press pass to the New York Auto Show. Thanks Rico, I didn’t know you had it in you. Private, I want you attach a small explosive charge to the bottom of that thing. We’ll give those guys a hot seat they’ll never forget. Skipper? Not now Kowalski; we’re about to capitalize on an automaker’s ADD all the way to the south pole. But Skipper, the Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility vehicle—–Don’t withhold acronyms from me Kowalski. You know how much I love acronyms. Sorry Skip. The P.U.M.A. is a battery powered prototype. It’s effective operating range may only be a few hundred yards. And it’s made by GM. Good point, Private. OK boys, plan B. What’s that Skipper? We wait for GM to go C11. Then we pick-up a Tahoe Hybrid and use it to power this thing. When will that be Skipper? Soon. End of days, Skip? End of days, boys, end of days.

MPAVictoria writes:

Hello everyone, thank you for taking the time to read my question. I own a ’97 Ford Probe with around 160–170 thousand kilometres. I am not sure because the odometer quit working about a year and a half ago.

In the last six months I have spent about $2000 replacing the timing belt, alternator, other belts, the exhaust system and the windshield. My mechanic is now telling me that I need another $1,500 in suspension work in the very near future. Plus, my car is now holding revs until it warms up so I think I may need to get that checked out, and I also think it will soon be time to replace the crankshaft ignition sensor for the third time in 4 years, about an 8–9 hundred dollar job. All of these expenses on a 12 year old car have got me thinking about replacing it with something newer.

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I once met a girl in a complicated and unfulfilling dream. But it was so vivid, that for years afterwards, I had trouble remembering whether she had been a real girlfriend or a figment of my nocturnal imagination. Stumbling across this 1967 MGB-GT brings up the same confusion: did I actually own an identical “B”, or was it too just a dream?

The New York Times‘ headline writer offers a piercing glimpse into the obvious: “Russian Auto Bailout Protects Jobs, Not Efficiency.” Remind me again how ANY bailout improves efficiency? Oh right: federally-funded union buyouts get rid of excess workers and facilities at the taxpayers’ expense, leaving fewer workers on the books—although adding to the automakers’ debt mountain. But that’s OK, ’cause when they file for Chapter 11, all that goes away. Da? Well, that’s not the way in works in Russia. In Russia, the government “loans” their domestic automakers billions (trillions) of rubles and . . . that’s it. I’ll be white this time, Boris. [NB: the above picture was taken in 1999.] The Gray Lady links cause and effect.

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“The new Terrain brings GMC’s history of innovation and engineering excellence into a smaller, fuel-efficient package for today’s buyer,” Buick-Pontiac-GMC vice president Susan Docherty said in a statement. “The capability attributes that make a vehicle a GMC are ingrained in Terrain, making it an appealing choice for existing traditional SUV customers who are looking for distinctive styling and increased efficiency.”

Just what the world needed: another non-street legal Maserati. The GranTurismo MC arrives not-so-hot-on-the-heels of the 2004 Maserati Enzo (a.k.a. the MC12), of which Maser made solo 50. I know the trident brand has a storied racing heritage, but why is Maserati chasing the exact same market as Ferrari with a car that might as well be a Ferrari (if it isn’t already a Ferrari, seeing that it has a Ferrari engine)? Shouldn’t Maserati be building luxury GTs? Still, it looks like a bit of fun. Maserati is asking for €135,000 plus VAT (17.5 percent in the UK) for the MC hammer, and inviting owners to race in a “gentlemen’s” series. After you. No after YOU.

TTAC’s Ken Elias was well pleased when Ford announced that it had trimmed $9.9 billion from its debt mountain by “convincing” investors to exchange debt for cash and stock. More specifically, Ford Motor Credit will use $2.4 billion in cash and stock to buy back the debt once the offer closes Wednesday. Ford agreed to pay investors about $380 in cash and stock for every $1,000 in bonds, or 38 cents on the dollar, according to company officials. As the BBC reports, removing call-it-ten-billion from Ford’s $25.8 billion debt lowers The Blue Oval Boyz’ interest payments by $500M per annum. FoMoCo’s stock rose sixteen percent on the news. Yes, well, Fitch Ratings isn’t planning a fiesta just yet. The Wall Street Journal reports that the agency isn’t impressed with Ford’s cash burn. Or rather they are, just not in a good way. And who can blame them? Last year, Mulally’s minions torched . . . ready? $20.7 billion. Remember: all the really bad news arrived at the end of ’07. Fitch analyst Mark Oline was sanguine. “Using liquidity reduces any buffer which they could need if the sales markets don’t improve in 2010.” If? Standard & Poor’s is also non-plussed . . .

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