The Argentinian-produced Volkswagen Amarok pickup might be coming to the US if VW thinks it can sell enough of them. VW of America’s Stephan Jacoby tells pickuptrucks.com “we’d have to sell at least 100,000 Amarok pickups to make it feasible.” But don’t get too excited: the only compact pickup to sell in those numbers is the Toyota Tacoma, which sold 102,327 units year-to-date.
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Automotive News China [sub] reports that Mercedes believes its Chinese-built cars are every bit as good as its German-built models. Ulrich Walker, Chairman and CEO of Daimler Northeast Asia says:

Yes, our cars here are exportable. There is no difference in quality with those made outside China.

But, as Bertel Schmitt reports, demand for luxury cars is strong enough in China that we won’t be seeing “Beijing, China” as the point of assembly on US-market Mercs.

Credit reporting agency TransUnion is forecasting a rise in auto loan delinquencies next year, adding to the list of factors that could slow a turnaround in auto sector sales and profits in 2010. 60-day auto loan delinquency has been rising throughout 2009, reports the WSJ, as tighter lending standards have increased the ratio of delinquencies in outstanding loans. Those tighter standards sill contribute to a slight downturn in delinquencies in the first half of next year TransUnion’s Peter Turek tells Automotive News [sub], but by halfway through the year those numbers should increase again. Nationwide, TransUnion reckons .92 of all auto loans will be in delinquency by the end of 2010, compared to .86 at the end of this year. The average national auto debt is $12,542, and the Freep reports that loan terms are falling and average credit scores for approved loans are rising.

Wouldn’t it be fun to be able to go back in time and make different choices about the cars we bought? As I sit here and contemplate the qualities and my memories of the Mark II Supra, I ask myself just what the hell I was thinking when I bought that ’83 T-Bird Turbo Coupe instead of a Supra? Don’t remind me; it was in a moment of typical youthful impulsiveness. The Supra had it all over the noisy, thrashy, live-axle T-Bird: a silky-smooth DOHC inline six, more horsepower, IRS, four-wheel disc brakes, and Toyota’s superb build and material quality. Live and learn. (Read More…)

New Aston Martins don’t come around every day. When they do, the entire automotive world holds its breath and watches as a new legend is born. Such a moment has arrived… Ladies and gentlemen, feast your eyes on the Aston Martin Lagonda DB1.8 Gosling Vantage (courtesy: Vincent Maltese). Coming soon.

I knew I’d seen it before. Recognize it? Full (wood)body expose after the jump: (Read More…)

Normally we’re more than a little skeptical of the Center for Automotive Research’s home-town homerism. But then, the Detroit-funded think tank usually has its rose-colored shades firmly in place. This time around, their findings are surprisingly pessimistic. CAR’s chief economist Sean McAlinden tells Reuters

If [Chrysler’s] market share drops to like 6 percent in the next two years, that’s a 40 percent drop in market share and they only dropped their dealerships by 25 percent

With Chrysler’s sales falling by 20 to 50 percent each month since bankruptcy, this strikes us as a very real possibility. Which means dealers hoping to be reinstated by recently passed arbitration legislation will face an uphill slog. And, according to Automotive News [sub], an expensive one. Reinstatement arbitration will carry a pricetag of between $12k and $100k. If Chrysler’s sales continue to decline in the short term, and with no new product on tap they seem certain to, Chrysler may be forced to re-think a number of elements of its much-vaunted turnaround plan.

In Italian tradition, there’s not a lot of love lost between the Southern and Northern parts of the country. In part, because the North has always held the majority of the wealth and in part, because the two cultures are so very different. In this light, Sergio Marchionne’s plans, straight from Fiat’s Turin headquarters, to end production at their plant in Sicily, probably didn’t do much to help North-South relations. But don’t worry, the Italian government (and possibly Indian automakers) are here to help. The Times of India reports that the minister for economic development, Claudio Scajola, invited Indian firms to invest in the Italian automotive industry. More specifically, the invite was to take over Fiat’s unprofitable car unit in Sicily, which is being eyed for closure. “We are absolutely happy and open to any Indian investment in the automotive industry as well as in any other industry,” Claudio Scajola told reporters in Mumbai. “We do hope that Indian investors come to Italy.” Tata Motors declined to comment and Mahindra & Mahindra said they do not comment on speculation. Chinese firm Chery has denied being in talks to buy the plant. Looks like Claudio Scajalo needs a harder sell to bring those Asians westward.

There are guys at my gym that work out hard, three times a day, chiseling their chests and abs to perfection, compensating for the fact that God didn’t give them High School Musical faces. They are masterpieces of strength, structure – everything other than looks. From now on, I will secretly call them Crosstours.

“We intend to pay the debt,” GM’s CEO Ed Whitacre told reporters yesterday. “We’ll be finished by June.” Except that nothing has changed since we determined that GM is “taking taxpayers for a ride.” Here’s what he should have said:

By June we intend to return a small percentage of the taxpayer assistance that rescued this company from sure liquidation. GM will need to achieve an unprecedented market cap valuation at an eventual IPO in order to truly repay taxpayers for this second chance, and I will not rest until we clearly and honestly achieve that goal. Until that day comes, please refrain from printing misleading headlines like ‘GM To Repay Loan By June,’ as these imply that we are able to make the taxpayers whole when, as an unprofitable company, we have no such ability. Thank you.

It’s a strange world. Europeans are changing their already small cars for tiny ones. Manufacturers fall over themselves building ever smaller and cheaper cars. In the USA, small cars are suddenly big. Ford’s analyst George Pipas says that this year, small cars accounted for 21 percent of all U.S. vehicle sales. By 2013, Pipas predicts that compact cars, subcompact cars and crossover vehicles built off small car platforms will account for 36 percent of total new vehicle sales in the United States. Car executives that still have a job bemoan the times where big cars meant big profits.

A new frugality is rampant on the globe. Makers of luxo-barges, such as BMW and Mercedes are in big doo-doo.
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The Aston Martin Cygnet: because the auto industry just isn’t surreal enough these days. For its next trick, the Aston Martin grille will be appearing on a Corolla. Is there a photoshopper in the house?

Freshly wedded Suzuki and Volkswagen are not losing any time in consummating the marriage. Joint work will start immediately, or rather on January 10, 2010 said Suzuki Chief Executive Osamu Suzuki to Reuters. With that date, Suzuki-San is already bowing to Wolfsburg’s ingrained culture. As of this coming Friday evening, everybody who is somebody at VW will be off skiing in Zermatt or soaking in the surf of the Maledives, not to return before January 10^th. No linkup with Suzuki will change that.
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Unfazed by Swedish unions calling for an investigation into the Ford-Volvo-Geely deal, Geely is getting itself ready to swallow the big Swedish fish. The deal is already being feted as episode two of the takeover of international icons by the Chinese.
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A person that’s a motivating, inspirational leader that’s familiar with big companies — manufacturing or industrial — would be helpful… We can’t pay people a whole lot of money here

Ed Whitacre offers up the opportunity of a lifetime [via Automotive News [sub]] : a chance to lead General Motors to victory over decades of inertia and sclerosis in a brutal market for a million bucks (if Feinberg likes you). Candidates need not have CEO experience or strong auto credentials, although Whitacre warns that the job takes him 14 hours a day, 5½ or six days a week. And when he does manage to steal away for a relaxing Sunday of rattlesnake extermination, his phone constantly rings. Plus, the RenCen is a freaking maze, y’know?

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