China Business News [via Gasgoo] reports that Automotive Industry Holding (BAIC) is miffed. They’re walking from any Opel, Saab and Volvo deals. BAIC will not engage in more talks— for the time being. China Business Daily claims to have a source on the inside.
As a shareholder in New New Chrysler, I’m not happy to hear that Fiat doesn’t have firm idea when Chrysler will resume production. On the other hand, the whole Chrysler food chain is broken, from factories that have no reason to exist to dealers who’ve been terminated with extreme prejudice, and all the suppliers in between. But here’s the kicker. This quote arrives accompanied by the glad tidings that the Conner Avenue plant is back on-line! Our Best and Brightest will know that this is the factory that makes the Dodge Viper, the over-powered death car that Chrysler wanted to sell to some poor sucker as a discreet business. But couldn’t. More indignity? Automotive News [sub]: “On May 15, Chrysler received a $5.5 million offer from Devon Motor Works to buy the Viper operation, with no assumption of liabilities, and to lease the plant for one year. Devon Motors was founded by Scott Devon, CEO of Cole’s Quality Foods Inc., of Grand Rapids, Mich., a maker of frozen garlic bread and toast, a receptionist at Cole’s said at the time.” Well, she should know.
Snickers in Detroit, horrors in Rüsselsheim: Suddenly departed Government Motors purchasing chief Bo Andersson is taking a job in Russia. He will be Putin charge as chairman of Russian automaker Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod, better known as hapless GAZ.
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Unnamed Global Insight analysts are shooting their mouths off to Autocar, peddling their unique brand of humor as inside information on Chrysler-Fiat product plans. The big punchline? A forthcoming Alfa-Romeo 169 will be lovingly assembled in Brampton, Ontario, on a Dodge Charger platform. And what, you might ask, is the asking price for this hypothetical bella macchina? A cool $62 grand. And that’s US dollars, mind you. Which would be a steal of a deal if it looks like a four-door 8C Competizione and rocks the 8C’s Ferrari-sourced engine. But that’s the Bob Lutz of “ifs.” Hard to believe and impossible to ignore. Let’s hope this is all simply a joke that occurred to the Global Insight guys over a weekend of heavy drinking. Otherwise, we’d also have to believe that the Cinquecento (Chryco’s great Italian hope) will peak at 25k units sold per year in 2015. For comparison, BMW’s MINI sold over 54k units last year (and projecting increases), per Automotive News [sub]. Fiat is refusing comment.
Speaking at the Automotive News [sub] Manufacturing Conference, GM global manufacturing and labor relations honcho Gary Cowger (remember him?) had a “by Jove, we’ve got it!” moment that placed him in instant contention for the “Minimum” prefix recently vacated by Chrysler’s Bob Nardelli. Even the hosting publication couldn’t keep the scorn from dripping off its nut graph. “General Motors thinks it has created a method to build small vehicles profitably in North America and calls it interbuildability. Competitors know the concept as standardization.” Can you feel the love (in the air tonight)?
TTAC has it on good authority (without independent confirmation) that GM is moving forward with plans to import 30,000 Zeta-platformed Holdens per year from Australia to sell to US police agencies. Our source is not privy to the whys and wherefores. “I’m not sure why they don’t use existing capacity at the Camaro plant in Canada,” our source admits. “I can only assume GM needed to somehow replace the G8 capacity.” By the same token, he “can’t imagine this will make the federal government or taxpayers too happy.” Unless, tin foil hat wearers, the feds already knew, as this G8 invasion was part of the 17,205 “domestic” vehicles ordered under the auspices of the economic stimulus package. US jobs? Nuh-uh.
Ousted Tesla founder Martin Eberhart pens a paean to the blogosphere over at Tendo Communications‘ blog, arguing (among other things) that “blogging promotes transparency and builds credibility.”
“For blogging to ring true, it needs to be more than an exercise kept up for the sake of appearance. At Tesla, we began with my blog, which provided direct access to the company’s co-founder and CEO. From there, we expanded into a multi-channel approach until we had separate blogs for marketing/sales, engineering, and notable thought leaders/customers. So whether people had questions about the design of a component, the marketing of the Roadster, or what motivated folks to submit deposits, they could expect a straight answer right from the horse’s mouth.”
Unless your CEO happens to be a horse’s ass. Because if your CEO (Elon Musk) runs around spouting nonsense (via CNET) like “a Prius is not a true hybrid, really,” and “I’d like to take up some of [Detroit’s] manufacturing plants. When the mess gets sorted out I’d like to have a conversation with whoever’s in charge,” blogs and bloggers tend to not be so helpful in the “building credibility” department.
What a difference a weekend makes. On Friday, I spoke with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s PR person. She promised to help us identify the models involved in Uncle Sam’s purchase of 17,205 Chrysler, Ford and GM vehicles (as part of the economic stimulus package). Talk about backing away . . . Not only did Pelosi press secretary Drew Hammill deny making any such promise, her e-mail asked us to remove our story. No chance. I stand by my report. Oh, and “we do not have the information on what types of vehicles GSA has ordered. You will have to get that information from them.” As you know (and I told Hammill), the GSA stonewalled that request. Meanwhile, here’s a question: does this mean that Speaker Pelosi doesn’t care what percentage of these vehicles will be US made? Or how much more fuel efficient they will be than the vehicles they replace? If, as stated, this purchase was designed to create jobs and help the environment, how can she support it without knowing those crucial details? How, indeed.
California’s Energy Commission is examining the possibility of a government database and rating system for the fuel efficiency of car and truck tires, reports Modern Tire Dealer. “The foundation of a government administered product rating system is a comprehensive database providing reliable test results and objective information accessible to everyone. A solid analytical basis combined with full disclosure and transparency inspires the confidence required for a rating system to be successful,” says the CEC. “A ranking system driven by the ‘best in class tire’ can ignite a competitive spirit.” Under the CEC proposal, “all tires with an Rolling Resistance Factor (RRF) within 15% of the lowest RRF reported tire for that combined tire size designation and load rating will be rated ‘fuel efficient tire.'”
Ever since Farago’s fateful appearance on Autoline After Hours, I’ve been hooked on the weekly spectacle of Detroit-think. Talk about a fly on the bunker wall. Anyway, the Vines’s and DeLorenzos of this world never tire of talking about how the recent economic collapse was the sole cause of Detroit’s downfall (not true—see TTAC archives up to last year) and how “everyone is hurting right now.” The first assertion seeks to absolve Detroit of its systemic failures, while the second hopes to show that every automaker has sunk to the depths of, say, GM and Chrysler. Of course the second point is more true (for what it’s worth) than the first, but a few news items show that Toyota is succeeding admirably where GM and Chrysler have abjectly failed.
In yesterday’s NYT Magazine [sub] (theme: Infrastructure: it’s more exciting than you think), Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood talks bridges, behavior and Buick Regals in a short interview entitled “The Road Warrior.” And at the risk of reigniting an overly-political discussion, the man’s opinions are indicative of where public policy is headed (regardless of where the debate here at TTAC ends up). It’s easy to take LaHood’s talk of “livable communities,” and praise for light rail and one-car families as proof that he (per George Will’s judgment) is the “secretary of behavior modification.” But it’s important to remember a few key points . . .
After my Wall Street Journal Op-Ed gave Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank serious shit for personally intervening with GM’s turnaround plans—to save a parts distribution warehouse in his district—the WSJ has gone on the attack. OK, sure, they would have done it anyway. It probably had nothing to do with me whatsoever. Anyway, personal ego issues aside, the WSJ‘s forced Barney to explain his influence-peddling. Apparently, it was OK for the TARP-meister to ring-up GM CEO Fritz Henderson and ask (demand?) for the Norton facility to remain open because . . . it’s not a factory or a dealership. The headline above offers the politician’s distinction. Which begs a number of questions: how is a parts distribution center environmentally friendly? Does he seriously expect us to believe that he acted to save the planet? And if he can mess with GM, what’s to stop his colleagues?
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