Lincoln’s recent styling direction has certainly generated its fair share of controversy here at TTAC, and certainly Lincoln’s sales need to improve if dealers are going to swallow the loss of Mercury. Accordingly, Ford has hired Max Wolff, former head of exterior design for Cadillac to reshape the look of Lincoln. Which is an interesting choice considering that Cadillac’s exterior designs, though distinctly superior to Lincoln’s of late, have not been without their controversies. Besides, what are you supposed to expect from a designer who’s been sticking to Cadillac’s Art&Science playbook for years? But there’s a bigger question here: is Lincoln a mere makeover away of success in the brutally competitive luxury space? Would an MKS in a freshly-tailored suit be a real threat to the E Class or 5 Series? And if not, what should Mr Wolff be wrapping in his Cadillac-sharpened sheetmetal?

This, according to TrueCar.com, is what automakers spent on incentives last month. Though Chrysler and GM have cut compared to November of last year, their incentive spending is on the march compared to last month, and they still vie for industry “leadership” in these profit-sapping spiffs. But that’s just TrueCar’s perspective…

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In a supplemental memo related to forthcoming fuel economy standards for the years after 2017 [full doc in PDF here], the EPA has revealed the results of its consultations with stakeholders including the auto industry, and it seems that there are tradeoffs to high standards. The industry’s complaint seems to be that the government has underestimated the impact of higher fuel economy standards on such details as

vehicle performance, utility (e.g., towing capability), and comfort (e.g., noise, vibration, and harshness), the role of competing regulatory or technical requirements (e.g., criteria pollutant and/or safety standards), and assumptions regarding future gasoline fuel properties (e.g., octane levels).

All of which comes with a real price. The government is targeting a 2-6 percent increase in fuel economy standards between 2017 and 2025, which amounts to a range of 47-62 MPG. The NHTSA/EPA estimates show that this level of increase will cost automakers between $770 and $3,500 per vehicle to meet, but automakers insist that these estimates are too low. And apparently, the government takes these concerns seriously enough to blow its end-of-November deadline for narrowing the range of possible standards. At the top of the list of issues for study: the age-old trade-off between efficiency and safety.

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Now that Bob Lutz is lounging on the beach and catching early-bird specials (between Lotus board meetings and GM dog-and-pony shows), it’s good to know that there are still a few good men left to sprinkle The Detroit News with a few double-take-inspiring quotes. Jim Hall of 2953 Analytics is a reliable source of controversial gems, and thanks to one particularly context-free quotation, he’s provided the perfect place to kick off an age-old debate: Vette or Viper. But Hall wasn’t talking about either car’s performance, instead forwarding the thesis that:

Automotive News [sub] reports that October’s Seasonally Adjusted Annual Selling Rate (SAAR) hit 12.2m last month, making November the market’s second month back over the 12m mark since last year’s Cash For Clunkers-fueled buying spree. Analysts are calling the 12m mark an “important psychological level,” although sales appear to be essentially flat compared to last month. Check back for an updated chart as more automakers report their sales.

The Korean Development Bank, which owns 17 percent of GM’s GM-Daewoo Korean subsidiary, has been rolling about a billion dollars in Daewoo’s debt over on a monthly basis for most of this year. The debt, a legacy of a $2b+ loss on currency speculation. Now, The Korea Times reports that GM-Daewoo has paid back about a billion of that mature KDB debt, as GM-Daewoo boss Mike Arcamone explains

this action reflects GM Daewoo’s strong financial performance this year enabling us to make full payment on the outstanding facility … Full repayment of the credit facility will decrease the company’s future borrowing costs

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Does the new BMW Six Series improve on Bangle’s wild-eyed vision of an avant-garde gentleman’s coupe, or is it as bland as the music it’s introduced to here? Personally, I’d vote for the latter, but then I always thought that the last Sechser was one of Bangle’s more successful designs, injecting some much-needed vitality in the otherwise ultra-conservative world of German full-sized coupes. But then I’m still decades away from being in the target demographic for the Six Series… what say you?

Both Toyota and the remains of its joint venture known as NUMMI have sued the remains of “Old GM” for breach of contract according to two separate reports in the Wall Street Journal [sub]. NUMMI is seeking $365m, claiming GM caused the collapse of the joint venture by unilaterally pulling out as it collapsed into bankruptcy,  sticking Toyota and NUMMI with the bill.

Those decisions breached … commitments to Nummi and sounded its death knell,” said the lawsuit, filed last week. And unlike Toyota, GM’s bankruptcy estate “has refused to contribute to Nummi’s deficit during the wind down”

Toyota, meanwhile, is suing for some $73m in development costs for the Pontiac Vibe, a vehicle that GM was supposed to sell for another two years.

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Well, now we know why Audi let VW have its trademark LED headlight “mascara”… it had even crazier headlights warming up in the bullpen. Here they are attached to some car that will reportedly be sold as the next Audi A6.

Yesterday’s discussion of Porsche’s identity as a pure sports car company (compared to an SUV-peddling luxury brand) was predictably emotional, so here’s the cold, hard truth. The Cayenne has been Porsche’s best seller in the US since its introduction, excepting a 911-happy 2006. Oh, and this year it’s on track to come in second… to the Panamera. Meanwhile, Porsche’s Boxster/Cayman duo has been dropping off since before the most recent recession even began, and 911 sales are approaching a 15-year low. Now that we know the facts, is there any debate about what would happen to Porsche if it stuck to its sports car knitting?

Ford currently offers four vehicles with its EcoBoost-branded direct-injection, turbocharged V6: Taurus and Flex, and the Lincoln MKS and MKT. But what percentage of buyers do you think spends the $750 to $1,700 to upgrade to Ford’s engine technology of the future? Write down your guesses and hit the jump to see how close you were…

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The following is a “Confidential” memo from the US embassy in Berlin, leaked in the latest Wikileaks dump, describing German reaction to GM’s flip-flop decision to not sell its German subsidiary, Opel. The memo reveals that Germany saw GM as a “unreliable partner” and that at least one German government official believed that “if the U.S. Government had GM under better control, this would not have happened.” The document also confirms that GM scuttled the deal largely over concerns about Russian access to its intellectual property, and that Opel may well have been happy to see the deal fall apart rather than face losing its entire BMW supply business. Though none of this information is completely new, the leaked document provides a fascinating insight into the muddled mess that was the Opel rescue.

BERLIN 00001395 001.2 OF 002

Classified By: ECONMIN Robert A. Pollard for reasons 1.4 (b,d).

1. (C) Summary: Just hours after Chancellor Merkel’s historic November 3 address to a joint session of Congress, General Motors (GM) canceled its sale of Opel to Canadian auto parts manufacturer Magna. The decision, which followed repeated assurances from GM that it was a done deal, came as a complete shock in Germany and dominated media coverage throughout the day. Merkel herself was reportedly highly upset over GM’s flip flop. Ulrich Wilhelm, the Chancellor’s spokesman on Opel said the German government “regretted” the decision, and reminded GM that it must now repay Berlin’s 1.5 billion bridge loan to Opel by the end of the month, while FDP Economics Minister Rainer Bruederle described GM’s action as “totally unacceptable.” The cabinet was expected to discuss the GM move on November 4. Opel’s labor unions, which had strongly backed the Magna sale because of its promise to save jobs and keep plants open, announced that workers would withdraw all concessions made under the terms of the Magna deal and start a general strike at Opel plants on November 5. While anger is widespread, there are already some voices outside the government advocating acceptance of GM’s announcement as the only viable alternative to a total collapse of Opel. End Summary.

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Drunk driving is often heralded as a model for government-led shifts in personal behavior, as the social taboo around drinking and driving has become stronger with time. But what about other drugs, both illegal and legal? Most drugs do not impair driving ability as obviously as alcohol, and intoxication is not always easy to spot… in fact, it’s not technically illegal to drive when taking a legal medication that may impair driving. As a result, NHTSA is noticing a distinct uptick in the number of positive tests for legal and illegal drugs performed on drivers who died in car wrecks.

According to data compiled by NHTSA, 63 percent of the 21,798 drivers who were killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2009 were tested for drugs. Of these, 3,952 tested positive for drug involvement, representing 18 percent of the total for that year. The report also showed drug use reported by the states among fatally injured drivers increasing from 13 percent in 2005, to 15 percent in 2006, 16 percent in 2007, and 18 percent in 2008.

The drug data released today was collected by NHTSA as part of its Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) and included information collected from the states under three broad categories: whether the driver was tested, the type of test conducted, and the test results. The types of drugs recorded in FARS include narcotics, depressants, stimulants, hallucinogens, cannabinoids, phencyclidines (PCPs), anabolic steroids, and inhalants. The groups include both illicit drugs, as well as legally prescribed drugs and over-the-counter medicines.

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The designer of Cadillac’s recent ULC city car concept seems to think so. Niki Smart tells Autocar

The time is ripe for Cadillac to make this car. We need a bigger spread of models, particularly for Europe. The Mini’s success is proof of people’s open-mindedness.

Whether or not Cadillac needs a subcompact car in its lineup, Smart’s point that the MINI is proof of consumers’ “open-mindedness” is worth examining. Specifically because MINI was launched as a unique brand, its success is more of a testament to the brand’s slick marketing than any consumer “open-mindedness.” After all, BMW made certain to launch the MINI as a MINI before bringing out a BMW version of its front-drive chassis… and when it does bring out a BMW-branded version, it can probably expect a certain amount of pushback from hard-core fans of the brand.

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AutoWeek reports: