Representatives of China’s BAIC are on their way to Frankfurt, where they will pile in limos with the proper branding and go to nearby Rüsselsheim. There, they will receive entry to the inner sanctum of Opel: The due diligence room.
Opel will open wide and BAIC will be able to inspect books, trade secrets, business plans. The next step will be a binding offer, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung [sub] reports. In the coming weeks, BAIC Chairman Xu Heyi himself will land in Frankfurt and will present his plan to unions in Rüsselsheim and politicos in Berlin. Xu knows how to deal with the Germans. His company has a successful joint venture with Daimler.
China Daily, widely regarded as the (English-speaking) voice of China’s central government is appalled:
All bankrupt US carmaker General Motors Corporation needs from the proposed sale of its Hummer brand to Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery is money, with experience and expertise in making vehicles not an issue in the deal.
“All I need is cash,” Hummer CEO Jim Taylor told China Daily in a recent telephone interview.
In a wild orgy of he-said-she-said-it-whispered, Chinese media, from China Daily, to Shanghai Daily, to car186.com, all the way to Motor Trend (with the help of the ever-so-reliable Google Translate), the MSM are busy reporting yesterday’s news of Geely buying Volvo. However, it’s no surprise of the connoisseur of the Chinese news cycle . . .
The automotive retail landscape has been dramatically reshaped as both Chrysler and GM together have terminated almost 2,000 dealers as part of their on-going restructuring efforts. They were able to use the bankruptcy process to circumvent strong state franchise laws to shed dealers. At times there appeared to be no rhyme or reason to the selection process, leaving both dealers and consumers perplexed. Last week, as new details and documents surfaced on thetruthaboutcars.com on why certain GM dealership agreements would not be renewed in 2010, Automotive Traveler took an in-depth look at the closing process.
Earlier this afternoon, I filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with Uncle Sam re: the Stimulus Package spending on 27,205 Chrysler, Ford and GM vehicles. What we want to know: the models purchased. Why we want to know it: is Uncle Sam spending U.S. bailout bucks to purchase vehicles made outside of the United States? And how fuel efficient are these vehicles? As saving jobs and the environment were the two rationales behind the authorization, we feel the government should reveal this information. So far the GSA, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Jack Reed (one of RF’s RI homies) have either ignored or flat out denied our request. So I’ve filed the FOIA request using my own name/address as follows:
The PT Cruiser tooling in Toluca, Mexico couldn’t be pawned off to an unsuspecting Chinese firm, so they’ll just keep selling the things to unsuspecting Americans (or die trying), reports Inside Line. Originally set to be axed or updated in 2004, the PT Cruiser (hated by many, loved by at least one) will live on until the summer of 2011 when production at Toluca will switch to the Fiat 500 and a Fiat Panda-based Jeep product. That means the PT will have been produced for 11 years by the time it finally, mercifully dies.
Ford CEO Alan Mulally, speaking at the Detroit Economic Club’s National Summit, expressed his concerns about the health of the auto industry’s supplier base. “The most important thing that we do now is help them consolidate because we have this overcapacity,” Mulally is quoted as saying in Automotive News [sub]. “Everybody is going to be really careful that we do that and that we don’t topple the supply base.” Too bad the White House doesn’t agree, and suppliers have been screwed over since the bailouts began. Mulally also admitted that US automakers have a long way to go in convincing Americans of the value of their businesses. “Some things have happened, disappointed a lot of people, but we’ve got to really polish the value of what business brings to mankind,” he said. “We’re fighting for the soul of design and manufacturing in the United States.”
That’s the early word on V-Vehicle Company, which will occupy the former Guide Corp. plant in Monroe, LA. In addition to Silicon Valley VC firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Automotive News [sub] reports that Texas natural gas baron T. Boone Pickens is also providing financial backing to the new company which “will produce a high-quality, environmentally friendly and fuel-efficient car for the U.S. market,” according to a statement. “The goal of the company is to provide the American buyer greater product value and a superior automotive experience.”
Our fine government is a model of efficiency. Why just a week ago, the statistics for year 2007 vehicle thefts were published in the June 10, 2009, Federal Register. I’d hate to think how long these stats would have taken to compile without the advantage of computerization. I digress. Let’s take a look at the data.
Let’s get one thing straight: There are very few inanimate objects which inspire my personal distaste, contempt, and revulsion as much as the Toyota Prius does. It’s a sad, sick, suppository-shaped little plastic box which exists for the sole purpose of letting spoiled, faux-progressive Americans feel virtuous as they continue to consume the lion’s share of the world’s finite resources. I will go to my grave believing that the Japanese Government subsidized its development for the purposes of economic warfare on the United States, and that the Prius lost money for years in a way that no automotive nameplate that does not begin with “Aston” would consider even vaguely defensible. Sometimes, the Prius even kills its own assembly-line workers. In my perfect world, it would extend the same service to its smug, open-mouthed, emo-glasses-wearing, lane-blocking owners.
In 50 to 100 years. But don’t let that un-alarm you. The New York Times parrots—I mean reports—on a new study by the Obama Administration’s U.S. Global Change Research Program. The report predicts a list of bad, bad things that are going to happen thanks to “unequivocal” global warming. Hang on, are they implying that there’s another kind? Anyway, the Gray Lady points out that “Earlier cuts [in greenhouse has emissions] will be more effective than comparable later cuts, the document adds. Without efforts to limit emissions, the United States could warm 7 to 11 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the century. Cutting emissions could hold that increase to just 4 to 6.5 degrees Fahrenheit.” Balmy, barmy or Barney?
We just received this e-mail from a TTAC commentator’s friend in the SJPD.
Just finished working 6 shifts in San Jose. I can say from the front lines, stolen cars, burglaries, vandalism and theft are significantly up from where they were a few years ago. The bad times are back. I recommend you exercise higher than normal precautions regarding the security of your property and person. This story is just one example. It probably won’t make the papers but on one shift we had four trucks where the catalytic converters were stolen. Go figure. I also took more than the usual rate of stolen car reports. And if you think they’re stealing luxury cars, think again. The cars stolen were all worth between $300 and $4000. They were all parked on public streets in front of residences. Robberies are up. People are hungry and mean again. Take care and be safe out there.
[Update: Oops, time for a reading comprehension lesson. Sorry for the confusion.]
Sir Peter Blake sold limited edition prints from his VXR8 Bathurst S to a queue that stretched all the way round the bootfair.
Artist ‘Swifty’ paid homage to his favourite car by selling a limited edition run of Vauxhall Viva prints out of the boot of a Vauxhall heritage vehicle; Nick Reynolds hit the credit crunch theme with recession piggy banks, and Pure Evil donned a five door Astra to sell his distinctive prints.
Rising star of the fashion world William Tempest adorned his Agila with boot fair bunting and created heat-sensitive mugs for £10 a go whilst Pam Hogg was radiant in her glitter ball Vauxhall Tigra covered with over 2,500 mirrored mosaics. Meanwhile, Rubbish magazine patrolled the area with Karl Lagerfeld inspired fashion police and doling out fashion advice from their designer handbag styled Vauxhall Corsa.
I’ve been very lucky as of late. Last week I found a 1976 Cadillac Eldorado with only 33,000 original miles sulking in a friend’s garage. New battery. An oil change and the beauty flew like a wing of God. I still have goosebumps over that ride and for $4,000. Definitely worth the thought. Then I found a more contemporary 1988 Lincoln Town Car on the side of the road. Perhaps this would be the first opportunity to plan for the government’s impending debt-icide for this country? What do you say John Q government subsidizer? As a dealer, should I now plan to start accumulating these insatiable steel coffins of eternal debtnation?
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