Barry Zekelman is not short of a bob or two. Canada.com reports that the Windsor industrialist recently sold his steel tube-making business to Russia’s OAO Novolipetsk Steel for a cool $1.5b billion. Baz worked hard for the money; he helped build-up the family biz from its $2 million dollar roots. So it’s no surprise, really, that Zekelman isn’t a patient man when it comes to plunking down $1,553,354.47 for a Veyron-shaped plaything and getting bupkis in return. Earlier this month, Mr. Zekelman filed a lawsuit against VW’s luxury brand in Michigan court [pdf here]. After pointing out that “although it conducts business in Troy, Michigan, it has not registered with the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth as required,” Zekelman’s briefs accuse Bugatti salesman Ross Dressel of ye olde bait and switch routine . . . .
During the last three weeks, our WordPress software has [wrongly] interecepted some of our Best and Brightest’s comments as spam. While we sympathize, we really have no control over what e-mails get flagged this way. Perhaps you participate on another blog that uses Akismet and that blog has misidentified you as a spammer. If so, Akismet will identify your username, e-mail address and/or IP address as a spammer and hold your comments for manual approval. We manually release all such comments—once we check the filter. One of the admins has to do this, so it may take some time before the comment appears under the post. If you resubmit the comment, it only compounds the problem; we have to tell Akismet, “No, Not Spam,” for each submission and then manually delete the duplicates. If your comment doesn’t appear immediately, please have patience. We’ll eventually get to it and release it into the wild. Thank you for your understanding.
Chrysler has removed Hyundai and Mitusbishi logos from the joint Global Engine Manufacturing Alliance plant in Dundee, Michigan, reports the Freep. Plant employees anonymously confirm ChryCo’s executive desire to be rid of the alliance, and GEMA reps tell Automotive News [sub] that “there are discussions about that going on at the highest levels.” The Dundee plant manufactures 1.8-, 2.0- and 2.4-liter Hyundai-designed engines for Chrysler’s small cars, and internationally the alliance builds engines for over twenty models. The obvious motivation is the same as all of Chrysler’s recent announcements, namely moving into a tighter orbit around planet Fiat. Chrysler is proving to be more useful to Fiat as a tool to screw with Fiat’s international competitors than as a way of making inroads on the American market. Meanwhile, Fiat’s actual plan for Chrysler in the US seems to be limited to creating a client for Fiat’s engines and platforms. So much so that Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne is reportedly considering replacing Cummins diesel engines with Fiat oil burners in upcoming Ram 1500 models.
Cash for Clunkers may be over, but its swath of confusion rolls on unabated. Keloland reports that South Dakotans are being told that their clunker rebates are taxable as income. “They didn’t realize that would be taxable. A lot of people don’t realize that. So they’re not happy and kind of surprised when they find that out,” says Minnehaha County Treasurer Pam Nelson. Omaha.com reports that clunker rebates are also liable for state income tax hits of $192.50 to $247.50 depending on the amount of the rebate. Nebraska city sales taxes also apply. Surely other states will be making announcements about local arrangements, but in the meantime, where is the confusion coming from? The cars.gov website’s FAQ holds the key. “Is the credit subject to being taxed as income to the consumers that participate in the program?” CARS asks itself. “NO,” is the answer. “The CARS Act expressly provides that the credit is not income for the consumer.” Unless it is. Have fun with that.
As Mahindra inches closer to a US market launch, we’re hearing that the Indian firm is looking for US production capacity to avoid an import penalty. Automotive News [sub] reports that Mahindra’s pickup will go on sale “in phases” starting in early 2010, while the Scorpio SUV (shown here) will roll out about a year later. As for US production, Mahindra’s Executivev VP For International Operations Previn Shah says that he’s “exploring various options,” but that purchasing an existing factory makes the most sense. Do we smell a white knight for NUMMI?
The typically boosterish San Antonio Business Journal sees nothing but blue skies and green lights ahead as the decades long move of manufacturing jobs out of California and into Texas continues with the announcement that the Tacoma is moving into the brand spanking new San Antonio factory. San Antonio has been busy not building very many Tundras, so locals there are thrilled at the prospect of feasting on NUMMI’s loss. “Year to date through July, Toyota says it sold 42,419 Tundras — down 52.6 percent from the same seven-month period in 2008. The news isn’t much better for the Tacoma, a smaller truck. During the first seven months of this year, Toyota sold 65,713 Tacomas. It sold 95,732 Tacomas during the same selling period in 2008.” Toyota will have to spend an estimated $100 million tooling up San Antonio to build Tacomas, but the combined volume of Tundras and Tacomas still will not fill the San Antonio factory unless something dramatic happens to increase Toyota’s truck sales.
Having invested a considerable amount in its Taurus full-size car, Ford will almost certainly be discontinuing its Crown Victoria Interceptor (police model) in 2011. The Detroit News reports that Ford made the announcement to departments in June, when it invited officers to Dearborn to discuss Ford’s police fleet future. After breaking the news that the old warhorse would be put out to pasture, Ford gave officers the keys to its new Taurus, inviting them to drive the Crown Vic’s likely replacement. “We have no intention of walking away from our share of that market,” says Ford’s Jim Farley.
Nola.com reports that New Orleans’ public defenders office has yet to see any revenue from red light cameras, and will have to shut down by March. Chief Public Defender Derwyn Bunton made the announcement, saying the city’s ability to provide 6th amendment-mandated public defense options would be shut down between March and July of 2010. Moving the public defender’s office to a red light camera revenue-based funding model was a relatively recent decision by Mayor Ray Nagin. The public defender’s office represents over 88 percent of New Orleans’ 220,000 criminal and traffic court defendants each year.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has unveiled a new regulation mandating automatic reversal capability on power windows and panels with “express-up” or “one-touch closing” operation. The proposed reg [pdf here] extends the NHTSA’s power portal caveat, which currently directs manufacturers to fit their products with “recessed switches to minimize the likelihood of accidental activation.” The actual language of the public consultation doc is a bit, uh, misleading: “The amendment would require power windows and panels on motor vehicles to automatically reverse direction [through force-sensing technology] when such power windows and panels detect an obstruction to prevent children and others from being trapped, injured, or killed.” Anyway, according to the agency, “approximately 6 fatalities and 1,955 injuries result every year from the operation of vehicle power window systems.” The tales are as horrific as they are infrequent. Whilst welcoming the move, one wonders how many KSIs result from the “normal” operation of car doors.
The Autoblog fantasy living room keeps on growing fuller (and tackier) by the day. And while we may pine for the occasional item from our growing list, most of the time we’re thankful our significant others (or our own sense of good taste combined with our blogger’s budgets) keep us from going overboard.
The Mazda3’s performance has always kept it a step ahead of the other economy cars on the market. However, as Mazda’s worked to differentiate their econobox from cookie-cutter Cobalts, Corollas and Civics visually, they’ve tweaked it from “different” to “borderline bizarre.” They say, “beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes clean to the bones.” Has Mazda gone too far, or is the 2010 Mazda3s Sport still good enough underneath to make you overlook its sheet metal shortcomings?
One place you won’t find news of New GM’s reanimation of Old GM’s family and friends discount: GM’s website. To quote the Corleones, “you gotta be family.” Head to www.gmfamilyfirst.com, as the notification below specifies:
It’s back: GM Employee Discount for Friends
Share your savings all month long. Get your authorization number by September 30, 2009, through the GM Employee Discount for Friends program and share employee pricing with anyone who owns a competitive vehicle. Everything you need is online just go to gmfamilyfirst.com to request your authorization number.
All active salaried GM employees can request two GM Employee Discount for Friends authorization numbers now through September 30, 2009. Plus, your friends can combine employee pricing with most current incentives for an even better deal. PASS IT ON. Help your friends get a great deal on a new vehicle with the GM Employee Discount for Friends today!
When GM released the Chevrolet Traverse, it ended speculation about the American automaker’s ability to stay on the “no badge engineering” band wagon. The CUV is a lightly-disguised fourth iteration of GM’s Lambda-platformed mini-behemoths, appearing after the GMC Acadia, Buick Enclave and Saturn Outlook. Equally important, the Traverse hailed from GM’s Spring Hill, Tennessee, factory; ground zero in the epic failure known as Saturn brand. Or, more poignantly, the plant that’s located smack dab in the middle of Senator Bob Corker’s patch. You remember Corker: the politician who raked Chrysler, Ford and GM’s CEOs over the congressional coals when they appeared on Capitol Hill with their multi-billion dollar “bridge loan” begging bowls. All of which is a preamble to the fact that GM’s removing Chevy Traverse production from Spring Hill and sending it to Delta Township in Lansing, Michigan. Payback? Or a sign of a dead model walking? Yes and maybe, as the sales numbers reveal . . .
Highly leveraged toll road firms continue to post multi-million dollar losses as drivers shun expensive routes during the economic downturn. This week, two Australian firms with significant US holding reported overall negative results for the year ended June 30, 2009. Transurban, which owns Pocahontas Parkway in Richmond and is building High Occupancy Toll lanes on the Capital Beltway in Virginia, lost A$16.1 million. Macquarie, which owns the Indiana Toll Road, the Dulles Greenway in Virginia and the Skyway in Chicago, Illinois, lost $1.7 billion.
After a lot of hand-wringing, all indications point to China’s tiny Tengzhong finally finalizing their deal with GM to take HUMMER off their hands. According to Reuters, the deal may be signed this coming week.
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