We keep racking and stacking the Bailout Watches and Uncle Sam keeps the federal funds flowing. As Eddy reported before the weekend, Congress is looking to send another $25 billion to the Department of Energy to bless upon car companies re-tooling old factories to build more fuel-efficient products. In the form of loans, of course. Twenty-five-year loans. The funds are buried inside the 1200-page American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (a.k.a. climate change bill), currently earmarked for Senate debate (so to speak). Whatever. The new funds will bring the total auto industry bailout ever-closer to the $200 billion mark. Anyway, should the legislation pass muster, the entire electric vehicle industry—from manufacturers to fleet buyers—will feel the love. Click here for the relevant text.
Ford is jumping on the recently-signed Car Allowance Rebate System (a.k.a. Cash for Clunkers) to lure customers into the showroom. Ford’s home page includes a highlighted link to the “Recycle Your Ride” program. A prospective Ford buyer can enter details about their current vehicle into a drop-down menu system and quickly see if it qualifies for scrappage. They can also discover which Ford models earn the $4500 or $3500 federal voucher against the crusher candidate. So far the Dodge, Chevrolet, Honda and Nissan websites have nothing. Toyota and Volkswagen both offer primitive informational pages, but nothing to match the sophistication of Ford’s effort. You would think the government-owned auto companies would be all over the government-run incentive program. But no. And get this: KBB’s man tells the New York Times that the consumers might be better off without the vouchers . . .
The FIat 500 may be the only Fiat-branded vehicle to be sold in the new Fiatsler empire, but according to Automotive News [sub] the model will be offered in four, possibly five body styles. “Hatchback, convertible, station wagon and sporty hatchback,” models will roll out of Chrysler’s Toluca, Mexico, plant starting in 2011. Or not? AN suggests that a US production site for the 500 could under consideration, despite persistent hecho en Mexico rumors. And that “sporty hatchback”? It’s the Abarth! Will Americans only be offered the 135 hp Abarth, or is the 180 hp Abarth SS on the docket as well? No word from Turin (er, Auburn Hills?) yet. Oh, and how small is the 500 again? “About 10 inches shorter than Toyota’s Yaris hatchback?” That’s small.
[TTAC reviews the 500 here, TTAC lists Google Translate(d) foreign reviews of Fiat products here.]
Ref. number: Marketing / Programs and Promotions / G_0000032412
Subject: Miltary, College and Credit Union Member Discount Program Change
Beginning Monday July 1, 2009, Saturn, Hummer and Saab vehicles will no longer be eligible for the GM Military, College, or Credit Union Member Discount programs.
Dealers will still be able to get approvals for any Saturn, Hummer or Saab vehicles delivered prior to July 1, 2009, but BARS will not pay on deliveries of these vehicles that occur after July 1, 2009.
I have a question about my 2002 Nissan Maxima. A while back, I had the battery disconnected for a few hours. After reconnecting, the car forgot how to maintain idle right after starting: if I don’t nudge the gas pedal for several seconds after starting, RPMs fall to 0. Internet research is conflicting. Some say it will heal on its own, others say dealer-only repair.
It’s been a few months now. How do I fix this? Is it really dealer only? If I don’t fix, will I hurt the car? (I don’t mind nudging the gas pedal–kind of like when I set the carburetor choke on my ’74 Nova.)
All this talk about the Porsche Panamera over the weekend (review to follow, eventually) had me thinking about automotive desirability. I reckon when you get to a certain price point, all rational considerations disappear in a cloud of Franklins. Anyone who buys a car for over $100,000 or so owns at least another two or five or twelve other vehicles. So they’re not bothered about any one car’s resale value or reliability. Vehicle choice is purely a question of taste. The higher up you go in this pistonhead pantheon, the more true this becomes. So, while anyone contemplating this choice of whips could probably buy both, I’m interested to see which way our Best and Brightest falls. If you had to put one of these in your garage, would you opt for the world’s fastest Bug or the gold-plated Big Mac?
In fact, Jean Jennings loves her some, well, anything—as long as the company providing the four-wheeled thing butters her bread either directly or indirectly (via advertising). Way back in March 2008, TTAC took the president and editor-in-chief of Automobile magazine to task for pimping for Jeep. Now, even as Old GM becomes Old GM II (a.k.a. New GM), the bankrupt automaker’s turning to Jean for a spirited defense of their beleaguered plug-in Hail Mary. This, remember, is the car the pre-C11 GM Presidential Task Force on Automobiles dismissed as . . . well, shall we recap? “GM is at least one generation behind Toyota on advanced, “green” powertrain development. In an attempt to leapfrog Toyota, GM has devoted significant resources to the Chevy Volt. While the Volt holds promise, it is currently projected to be much more expensive than its gasoline-fueled peers and will likely need substantial reductions in manufacturing cost in order to become commercially viable.” Anyway, misery loves company. Automobile magazine’s owner, Source Interlink, recently emerged from bankruptcy. Despite the objection of the IRS. See what paying Bill Clinton $15.4 million in do-nothing consulting fees can do for you?
We haven’t said much about the United Auto Workers (UAW) lately. That’s because the union has kept a low profile. And why wouldn’t they? At the expense of nothing very much, their members continue to either draw the same paycheck (on the government’s dime) or cash-out (on the government’s dime). They also get billions in (federal) cash money into their VEBA health care superfund. And stock in both New Chrysler and New GM. Not that they really wanted a stake in their zombie masters, but, hey, it’s better than getting slapped in the face with a wet fish. Still, ’tis the nature of the beast to bitch. On the union’s far left, the The Party for Socialism and Liberation (“a newly formed working class party of leaders and activists from many different struggles, founded to promote the movement for revolutionary change”) has a thing or two to say about the UAW’s New Deal with New Chrysler. Only it doesn’t sound like the stuff of barricade manning.
The most definitive difference between Chrysler’s swift conversion from Old to New Chrysler and the General’s “reinvention”: the element of surprise. Or lack thereof. The General’s list of creditors on GM’s court filing (dealers, parts manufactures, advertising media, bondholders, et al.) are all painfully aware of what happens when “The Fix” is in. They now know what it means when The President of the United States promises the public that “we will get this done in a swift and expeditious manner.” Forewarned is forearmed. And there’s another crucial difference between Fiatsler’s transformation and the plans for Government Motors: the GM dealer body is a wealthier, more connected group of businessmen than the Chrysler dealer body. In other words, “Old” GM may not go so quietly into that good night.
Aston Martin is thinking small. In what has to be the ne plus ultra in brand dilution, they will offer the “Cygnet” in 2010. And what, you ask, is a Cygnet? It’s a rebadged Toyota iQ. No, I really didn’t make that up. According to Bloomberg, James Bond’s favorite autobuilder will sell a “luxury commuter” based on Toyota’s three-seater one-liter city car. It’ll be built in Japan and sell (somewhere) for a yet-undisclosed price. Let’s just hope the Cygnet doesn’t mark Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd.’s swan song.
The Louisiana State Legislature last week sent Governor Bobby Jindal (R) a bill that will stop small towns from padding their budgets by issuing minor speeding tickets on interstate highways. In adopting the measure, state lawmakers put themselves on the record for the first time in clear support of red light cameras and speed cameras. State Representative Hollis Downs (R-Ruston) has spent the past four years negotiating a compromise with local officials and law enforcement agencies to shut down speed traps. The state’s Legislative Auditor found fifteen cities made more than half their budget from speeding tickets (view report). Under the bill introduced by Downs, non-home rule jurisdictions would not be allowed to retain any revenue from speeding tickets issued for violations of between one and ten MPH over the speed limit on an interstate. Instead, the state will pocket the revenue.
On paper, the Audi A3 TDI is an exercise in futility. The model shares platform bits with a Golf Rabbit. It’s smaller than a Jetta Sportwagen. It carries a lofty price premium; the diesel-powered A3 “boasts” the same engine that can be had across the street at the Vee-Dub for thousands less. It’s not as fast, sporty or capacious as the rear wheel-drive BMW 335d. By any rational measure, the A3 TDI is an answer to a question that few Americans even thought about asking. Which is why it’s better to judge the A3 TDI “in the flesh.”
Over the weekend, Porsche complained loudly about a Monday ultimatum to accept Volkswagen’s merger proposal—or else. The answer from Wolfsburg: “Ultimatum? What ultimatum?”
“There is no ultimatum,” a VW spokesman told Reuters. He would not comment further.
Parallel worlds? Porsche Chairman Wolfgang Porsche and his deputy on the supervisory board, Uwe Hueck, said in a statement on Saturday they had been given an ultimatum by VW and Lower Saxony and that they would “not accept extortion.” Most likely explanation . . .
Ever since Porsche debuted the Cayenne, Porschephiles have heatedly debated where it fits into Porsche’s branding strategy—or if it should even exist. When SPEEDtv.com Editor in Chief Tom Jensen reviewed the Porsche Cayenne Turbo, he declared that the four-wheel-drive trucklet is a “true Porsche.” He states that “the Cayenne Turbo is absolutely faithful to Porsche’s core values of performance, quality and competency” and is therefore worthy of Porsche-hood. Despite its ungainly exterior, early reviews of the heavyweight four-door Porsche Panamera make the same claim. (Autoblog: “Not only is it painstakingly engineered and truly enjoyable to drive… most importantly, the all-new Panamera has earned the right to wear the Porsche badge.”) So what say you? What makes a Porsche a Porsche? With the “independent” sports car maker on the brink of losing its independence, has the fabled Porsche brand finally lost the plot?
You know what I loved most about car advertising? There was never a shortage of money to play with. I’m no longer tracking these things, but in 2007, GM spent $3 billion on what we call “measured media” alone. Measured media is defined as television, print, and outdoor advertising. The unmeasured expenses, what’s called “below the line,” in the vernacular, are usually just as huge, maybe bigger. Above and below the line, GM must have spent the GDP of Mongolia on advertising.
Volkswagen’s budget resembled the GDP of a much smaller country, but I thoroughly enjoyed helping them to put it to good use. Sometimes, the money was thoroughly wasted. This was one of these times . . .
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