Compare it, if you will, with the renderings below. The gallery. In the other post.

Automotive News [sub]: “Drawings of the redesigned 2011 Hyundai Sonata reveal a dramatic style shift from conservative to sleek and fluid, drawing inspiration from the Genesis sedan.” TTAC: Yes, well, in theory. In practice, the actual, honest-to-god, in-the-flesh Hyundai Sonata will look nothing like this image, front or rear [after the jump]. Why would it? In fact, why would do carmakers release preposterous concept-stage renderings when the eventual car can’t bear more than a passing resemblance to the adolescent imagineering (think: practicality, safety regs, cost, etc.)? Sure the pretty pics make the car look sexy. But didn’t 60s and 70s public architecture already die for that sin? And, by the way, if this isn’t the most derivative design I’ve ever seen, I don’t want to see the one that is. Oh wait, Genesis. Snap!

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One of the lingering holdovers from the Daimler-Chrysler era, Sprinters at the Dodge dealer, is coming to an end. Automotive News [sub] reports that the commercial/recreational vans will be yanked from Dodge dealerships starting January 1, and will be sold at 150 select Mercedes dealers going forward. 45 Freightliner dealers will continue to sell Sprinters under the Freightliner brand, but all remaining Sprinters will be sold as Mercedes models under the new distribution plan. Which begs the question: why?

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Youthful turns to Faithful, which eventually turns to Old Faithful, with the oil leaks to show. You’ve loved Old Faithful. But all around there are hotties and hussies that tempt you. Some are fun. Others are Chryslers. But the moment has come. It’s time to either fix or sell. What to do?

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The Sebring’s hood goes smooth starting with the 2010 model year. Will JC Whitney step into the breach?

Just in time for the 40th anniversary of Moammar al-Gaddafi takeover of Libya, the Colonel and “Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution” designed a car. Not just a car of course. The Moammar-mobile is “the future of the automotive industry.” That according to a press release cited by Der Spiegel. The name of the car harkens back to Gadaffi’s military past and future ambitions: It’s “The Rocket.”

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The National Auto Dealer’s Association is warning its members that a government audit of the $3b CARS program is imminent. “We expect that a high percentage of dealers will be audited,” NADA explains in a letter reported in Automotive News [sub]. “Please make sure that all transaction paperwork and trade-in vehicles are in order.” Widespread fraud has been reported in the German clunker rebate program, particularly in regards to vehicle disposal. Or, rather, the lack thereof. Apparently pretending to destroy a vehicle and then driving it to Poland (Mexico in our case) for sale on the black market is is not an approved disposal method. Anyway, investigating fraud seems like the prudent thing to do after spending $3b in a few short weeks, but try telling the dealers that.

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Omnicom Group Inc.’s BBDO is Chrysler’s ad agency.  At least for now. The Wall Street Journal reports the ailing automaker “has grown dissatisfied with the agency’s creative output.” The semi-nationalized automaker’s looking elsewhere for someone who wants to take on the sisyphean task of convincing Americans they need to buy cars from a bankrupt automaker with stale inventory that’s owned by another automaker with the one of the worst reliability ratings on the globe. Of course, marketing being what it is, all that’s needed is a catchy slogan akin to Toyota’s “What a feeling,” VW’s “Think small,” or Chevy’s “Like a rock,” right? That’s where you come in. What slogan or catch phrase would convince you to buy a Chrysler product? “Most smartly different?” Or what?

Experian’s AutoCheck has thrown down the gauntlet to its competitor, CarFax. AutoCheck says it’s better at providing the accident information car buyers want. This morning’s press release is all about diss and dat. “A new quantitative analysis conducted by Pipal Research, an independent, custom research firm, comparing AutoCheck and Carfax vehicle history reports, demonstrates that AutoCheck holds significant competitive advantages by reporting twice the number of accidents . . . By having access to more reported accident information when stocking their inventories and at the time of sale, dealers are better equipped to bring higher quality used cars onto their lots and be able to demonstrate that quality to consumers who place high value on this information.” CarFax is having none of it. “We’ve had claims like this made us against us in the past,” Communications Director Larry Gamache says. “Show me the study.” Gamache has no doubts about the supremacy of his company’s accident data. “We have 22,000 sources of information and 6.5 billion pieces of information in our database. CarFax is bar none the absolute best provider of vehicle history information. Period.” Ball’s in your court AutoCheck.

Pistonheads [birthplace of TTAC] reports that Škoda Australia is showcasing a one-off conversion worthy of Jeremy Clarkson’s “pin your labradors to the back window” accolade: the Octavia RS-P. No awning over the toy shop here, mate. Škoda’s boffins remapped the standard vRS’s 197-bhp motor to churn out 254 bhp and 258 lb·ft of torque. They added a three-inch stainless steel exhaust, a bigger air filter, 355mm front and 310mm rear brake discs and popped some Yokohama Advans onto black 18-inch alloys. Oh, did I mention the cross brace in the boot, front and rear strut braces and fully adjustable dampers? I’m thinking front-wheel drive makes this “little nose heavy” Škoda about as useful as tits on a tomcat. So, any good Škoda jokes, then?

I know it’s early in the day, but GM’s spinmeistery has ascended to new heights. When contemplating the failure that is GM’s California eBay experiment, GM’s vice president of US sales displayed a Glengarry Glen Ross-like inability to face the music. The facts: despite Automotive News‘ [sub] not-entirely-accurate assertion that the GM-eBay hook-up “lets consumers in California buy a new GM vehicle on the eBay Motors Web site” (every US state requires consumers to buy new cars through a dealer), the program has converted only 50 out of 16,000 listings. In total.

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When Christian von Koenigsegg announced he’d cut a deal between Koenigsegg Group (KG) and GM to buy Saab, he also “hinted” that the Swedish government would contribute to the deal. Since then there’s been a lot of speculation about whether KG has access to enough cash to gain control of New GM’s deathbed-dwelling subdivision. At the same time, analysts have wondered if Saab has enough money to keep the lights on until the deal goes down. Saab’s suppliers have demanded clarifications from KG/GM before delivering parts. Yesterday’s reports that Koenigsegg’s partner in their solar-powered EV project (Swiss company NLV Solar) is facing lawsuits for fraud did nothing to reassure skittish fans of a KG-run Saab. Today’s news offers some respite. According to Industry Daily [via Swedish Wire], Koenigsegg Group has secured enough funds to qualify for a Swedish government-guaranteed loan at the European investment Bank. The source of this much-needed financial infusion? Unnamed sources finger unnamed new investors that include . . . wait for it . . . GM. US taxpayers to the rädda, again?

According to data released last week at a Peoria (Arizona) council study session, the number of traffic accidents doubled at locations where red light cameras were installed. City data also indicate that more recent changes in intersection yellow timing have reduced the number of red light violations. So far, the financial impact of the program has been substantial. On January 31, 2008, the city authorized an Australian company, Redflex Traffic Systems, to issue automated traffic violations at four city intersections. As of June 30, 2009, Redflex had mailed 25,706 citations worth $5,501,084.

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Automotive Traveler’s Rich Truesdell went a hunting down into Death Valley and caught this lardy-looking VeeDub pulling a trailer through the desert. Rich reckons the German automaker may be planning on building not one but two new sedans down in its Chatanooga, TN plant: XL and XXL. We shall see.

Bye-buy cash for clunkers, German style: €5b ($7b) in government money has been gobbled up by Germans who exchanged their 9-years-or-older auto for something new. On Tuesday, there remained money for 16K cars; today, it’s all gone. At 10:14 am, the last application was processed. No more money in the kitty. The program is closed.
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