GREGORY: Do you expect and would you like to see President Obama encourage the country to buy American cars?

HENDERSON: No, actually. I — I think the consumer should buy exactly what kind of car they think meets their needs and that excites them. And as I look at it, it’s our job to make sure we provide that, not necessarily have it mandated or otherwise encouraged. I think we have fantastic cars and trucks. We’re going to win in the marketplace and not necessarily because — just because we’re a U.S. company.

Faced with ever dropping car sales and an aging population, Japan is turning up the money tap to solve both. According to Reuters, Japan is considering introducing subsidies of up to $3K for the purchases of gasoline/electricity hybrids and other low emission vehicles. If the opposition party has their say, certain demographically desirable emissions will be subsidized too.
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This GM bailout mishegos is driving the mainstream media meshugganah. To wit: conservative pretty boy Sean Hannity has been GM’s bitch for years, happily driving tweaked freebies and working plugs for GM product into his rants and “unscripted” comments. Now that his sponsor is toast, Mr. “We Love GM” has to defend the American automaker (to maintain his flag-wrapped appeal) and criticize Barack Obama for his corporate interventionism—knowing full well that the multi-million dollar Hannity–GM gravy train would have derailed months ago if not for your tax money. New York Times columnist Frank Rich may not be boxed in by GM payola, but the man’s clearly conflicted. “Even Rick Wagoner’s Firing Got Lousy Mileage” starts by kvetching that “pitchfork-bearing populists” (as opposed to Mac-wielding elitists) weren’t satisfied when President Obama brought them the head of Richard M. Wagoner. Although he, Rich, is. Mister! Are you following this?

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Land Rover? Indian-owned manufacturer of four-wheeled global warming devices by appointment to the Queen? The very same. The BBC reports that Landie has scored a $400 million “loan” from the European Investment Bank (Banque Européenne d’Investissement). While you’re wondering where the EIB figures in the shadowy conspiracy to create a world government (under the aegis of the Rothschilds), let’s show Auntie Beeb a little love for their mastery of English as she is spoke.

Jaguar Land Rover said it could be a number of weeks before any cash was handed over. Sources at the company were more cautious, stressing that whilst they were confident the money will be approved, they did not want to assume it would.

So other than calling the payment a “loan” (boy does THAT sound familiar), how does the EIB justify running roughshod over World Trade Organization (WTO) prohibitions against government subsidies? Environmentalism, of course. Wait; Land Rover? Yes.
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No, it has nothing to do with Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey Circus. I know: I shouldn’t be dissing the Smart. Even though American purveyors of Daimler’s diminutive darling are having a little problem with customers walking away from their advance deposits, Smart was the only brand amongst America’s 46 automotive nameplates that posted a sales gain in March. OK, we’re talking about a one percent gain, to just 1,746 units (the rounding error for Camry sales). So . . . the Smart is one of a handful of cars that makes me want to get out and walk, but The New York Times hearts the fashion victim’s overpriced rolling penalty box, big style. About which the Gray Lady brings glad tidings! Daimler is dumping 200 Smarts into an Austin, TX car share program. True story. What’s more, YOU pay THEM for access to the cars.

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You want unintended consequences? You’ve got unintended consequences: The German Abwrackprämie is turning into an eruption of Mt. St. Helens proportions. When the German government launched their cash4clunkers boondoggle two months ago, the lawmakers earmarked €1.5 bn to pay for the program. At a rate of €2.5K for each German jalopy put out of its misery (exchanged for a brand new one), the money should have lasted for 600K cars. Mind you, the German new car market stands now at around 3 million annually, so 20 percent on top of that was seen as a goal to which nobody dreamed of aspiring. Now, Germany finds itself in the grips of the Abwrackprämien virus that’s spreading faster than the winter flu.

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A TTAC reader writes: “Did you read the Wards Auto World article about how full Chrysler’s product pipeline is? So inaccurate. I had to throw away the magazine because of it. As a former product planner for Chrysler up until April of last year (on the Jeep WK), I can tell you the state of the business that I knew.

As a kid, I was conflicted by The Land of the Misfit Toys. Sure, I could empathize with the discarded playthings’ emotional scarring. And I had a pre-Captain Planet understanding about the need to recycle—thanks to 10 years at a deeply dippy Quaker school. But the MFTs were clearly—how do I put this gently?—less than desirable. A train with square wheels? A cowboy riding an ostrich? A doll suffering from clinical depression? I remember thinking, what kind of child is going to love these toys? It’s the same question that pops into my head whenever I see a Chevrolet SSR, Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid, Plymouth Prowler, BMW M-Coupe or Lexus IS-F. These are all vehicles without a hope in hell of mainstream acceptance, destined for endless depreciation and permanent exile in The Land of Misfit Motors. And still the hits keep not happening, from economy cars (the Saturn Astra) right up to “priceless” one-off monstrosities (Maybach Exelero). And I love them all. So share with the group. What’s your favorite misfit automobile, and would you ever own one?

Unintended consequences are the meme du jour in blogoville. Here comes a juicy one: Grapefruits. Carmageddon is severely upsetting the international grapefruit trade, the Nikkei [sub] reports. Here’s why:

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I view the government’s intervention in GM’s business (or lack thereof) as automotive ebola. But we can all agree on one thing: the president’s decision to fire GM CEO Rick Wagoner was a no-brainer. Giving the Harvard MBA and GM lifer millions of dollars to guide GM to viability was like letting Al Qaeda run a liberal arts university. Now that Wagoner’s gone, his supporters are notable by their absence. That’s because deep-sixing Red Ink Rick was the right thing to do. It was also the easy thing to do. While the MSM is lionizing Steve Rattner, the head of the presidential quango that defenestrated the GM CEO, the Obama administration’s wallow in the GM quagmire is just beginning.

In the pigs-will-fly department, newly installed GM CEO Fritz Henderson told the Financial Times that “private investors are interested acquiring a stake in Opel.” Wow. Really? We know that there are a number of people who’ve expressed interest, amongst them such unlikely prospects as some Opel dealers and the workers council. But do they have the wherewithal, the money, and the blessing of the German government, which would have to guarantee a large chunk of the loans needed, and seems to be more reluctant to do so as the days go by?

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Our Twitter handle: TTAC. Go figure. And there’s a bit more housekeeping I need to share with y’all. Our man Niedermeyer (the younger) is heading over to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam for a couple of weeks. He’ll be posting car-related material from the country whose motto is Độc lập – Tự do – Hạnh phúc (Independence – Freedom – Happiness). During that time, our posting pace may slow slightly. Your patience and support are, as always, most appreciated. Hey! With the big GM news on Monday, we ALMOST made a million uniques per month this week: 996,962. With a bit of luck, we’ll crest that number during the next shoe dropping debacle. I hope to have some other big news for you next month, including enhanced features for Friends of TTAC (Người bạn của TTAC). At the very least, we’re talking avatars and the ability for you to see all comments on all posts on one page, with instant access to the relevant thread. Of course, you gotta donate some money to the cause for those bells and whistles, but you don’t gotta do nothin’ to get the same TTAC for nothin’. Meanwhile, please use the comments below to give us a heads-up on what you’ve been enjoying on the site recently and, yes, what sucks. Which means the anti anti-flaming TTAC policy is suspended FOR JUST THIS POST. Go play. Have fun.