The Department of Transportation’s (DOT) is administering the forthcoming Cash For Clunkers (a.k.a. CARS) program. Although the program’s popularity remains to be seen, one thing’s for sure: they’re going in with their eyes wide open. “We’ve spent more time on issues involving potential fraud than anything else,” Spokesman Rae Tyson told us. “If we discover any criminal acts, we’ll hand the cases straight to the Department of Justice for immediate investigation and prosecution.” To that end, the DOT is subcontracting to an as-yet-unnamed third party for an as-yet-unspecified fee to hire an as-yet-unspecified number of “spot checkers.” Hey, you try creating and administering a federal program in 30 days. Truth be told, with just seventeen days left before CARS goes live, the DOT’s still grappling with the basics needed to protect a billion dollars in taxpayer money.
For July 7, Magna had called a board meeting to rubber stamp the takeover plan of Opel. Now, Reuters says the board meeting has been delayed to July 14. Why, is anybody’s guess.
What is for sure is that the delay gives rival bidder Beijing Automotive (BAIC) more time to convince GM and especially the German government that their offer is better than Magna’s.
Why is Chrysler’s new board chock full of former airline men and the governmentally well-connected? Because auto firm experience isn’t necessary for these things. Just ask Chrysler’s former owners Cerberus. Or, for another perspective, ask United Airlines employees about their experience with employee ownership. Meanwhile, the Aveo still sucks and the SL65 Black Series is still bat-shit loco. Plus, we’re working on getting our sales data in a more universal format.
My A4s both have a really bad problem with brake dust on the front wheels. Sometimes the wheels look almost like they’re black chrome instead of alloy. I’ve seen advertisements for dust shields that fit between the brake and the wheel that are supposed to keep the wheels clean (Kleen Wheels is one brand). I’ve always been wary of these, as I feared they might impede brake cooling and could result in damage to the rotors or even brake failure. Have you or any of the readers had any experience with these? Do they really work, and are my fears of brake damage unfounded? And most importantly, do they look dorky – the automotive equivalent of a pocket protector?
There are a few familiar faces on Chrysler’s newly complete board, which was announced over the weekend (via Chrysler Media). But not many. Chairman C. Robert Kidder, Sergio Marchionne and Fiat Powertrain CEO Alfredo Altavilla are the previously-announced, or otherwise-obvious picks. No surprises there. The other picks? Let’s take a look, shall we?
A Texas motorist caught the city of Baytown using short yellows to trap motorists at a photo enforced intersection and of failing to protect sensitive private information. At a press conference yesterday, Byron Schirmbeck and his attorney, Randall Kallinen, announced that the city had agreed to drop a $75 ticket issued on April 12 for making a right-hand turn just 0.2 seconds after the light had turned red at the intersection of West Baker and Garth Roads. The yellow time at this intersection was set at just 3.1 seconds, even though state guidelines indicate that the yellow should have lasted no less than four seconds.
“But, but,” I sputtered, gesticulating in a fashion I hoped was somewhere between acceptably friendly and usefully threatening, “when I reserved online, I specifically chose a Chevrolet Cobalt or similar.” “This is similar,” the smiling woman behind the counter assured me. “It’s very similar. It is also a Chevrolet, and it is the only intermediate we have left.” “Listen, lady,” I said, trying desperately to not sound like a crazy person, “the 1977 Cutlass Supreme Brougham was an intermediate. This is a tin box from Korea.” Despite its obvious absurdity, it was the last even vaguely rational thing I said. Bottom line: they were out of cars here at the Asheville airport. This was what they had left. Although I eventually received a four dollar and twenty-one cent credit to my account, there was no changing the fact that I would have to drive an automatic-transmission Aveo through the Great Smoky Mountains. Oh well. At least I could perform a top-speed test.
My brother (TTAC’s doctorv8) always dreamed of owning an array of cars, ever since Hot Wheels. After nine years of post-graduate labor and years of cancer killing, 1:64 scale dreams became full-size reality. He’s secured a Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG Black Series. But not without a fight.
Here’s the (warning) 87-page ruling that allows “Old GM” to sell its best assets to “New GM.” The bottom line: Judge Robert E. Gerber of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York brushed aside objections by dissident bondholders and product-liability claimants. Judge Gerber accepted the government/bankrupt automaker’s argument that there was no alternative to the Old-to-New-GM asset sale save liquidation, which would be “a disastrous result for GM’s creditors, its employees, the suppliers who depend on GM for their own existence, and the communities in which GM operates.” What’s more (or less), “In the event of a liquidation, creditors now trying to increase their incremental recoveries would get nothing.”
It is now. The June U.S. new car sales stats are in and we can see some definite general trends. Newsbusters.org busts some chops for us Inside Baseball auto folk. Chrysler is the biggest loser, shedding five almost six percent market share in the last two years. It would look a LOT more if this chart was chronicling retail sales; some ChryCo models are so fleet it Hertz. As ToMoCo’s also holding the line on incentives, and doesn’t want to look like the bad guy during Motown’s meltdown, they’re probably OK (ish) with a steady 25 percent. Ford gets a big ass bump and surprise! GM is doing better than it was two years ago. (So much for ex-CEO Wagoner’s “bankruptcy will kill us” meme.) Still, one wonders who’s going to get the goodies as Chrysler continues to tank, and GM follows suit.
Fiat never had much luck in China, one of the few remaining growth markets on the planet. Neither had Chrysler. One word fits both: “Orribile!”
“Never say die,” says Sergio Marchionne (or in Italiano to that effect.) Today, he will try again. At a ceremony in Rome, flanked by China’s President Hu Jintao and Italy’s President Silvio “Daddy” Berlusconi, Sergio will sign a deal for joint venture with China’s Guangzhou Automobile Industry Group, Reuters reports. Hu Jintao is in town anyway to attend the G8 meeting. And what will they build together?
We left the first chapter of this episode with BS at the southern tip of Spain. He had to produce a launch movie for the Audi 80. He had run out of time, luck, and, most embarrassingly, of film. BS was in deep dung. What will happen to him? Will he finish the mission? Or will he and his bunch of mad men rot in a Spanish cell? Join us today for parte dos, part two of the great Spanish spectacle . . .
The power struggle between Wendelin Wiedeking of Porsche and Ferdinand Piech of Volkswagen has attracted other suitors. The German magazine Focus reports that three additional bidders are interested: two sovereign wealth funds (read: goverments which are tired of investing their money in T-bonds) and a hedge fund. The nationalities of the sovereign wealth funds are interesting. One is the Russian fund and the other is Chinese, says Focus. The identity of the hedge fund is unclear.
Needless to say, YSE (Your Shitty Economy) Car of the week suffered cataclysmic depreciation, thanks to General Motors. The General bought into the Swedish brand in 1989. After spending $600 million for a half-share, the General proceeded to nickel and dime the automaker to death, mostly through a non-process we know as badge-engineering. Now, if you head over to Saab’s US website, you’ll see something called the 9-5 SportCombi. To channel Mandarkian mirth, enter your zip code and start configuratoring the Aero version at . . . $42,790. All done? Now check out its predecessor, the 9-5 Aero Wagon. This example includes two out of three TTAC tokens required for automotive Valhalla: wagon, yes; stick, yes; diesel, no. This week’s YSE selection is a middle of the road, 47k mile 2005 Aero Wagon for $12,999.For Nissan Versa money, you can put what is probably the last true Saab in your garage, and enjoy some enthusiast driving while hauling around your favorite cargo. Just make sure you have one of them quirky Saab repair shops nearby.
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