As pro-bike protesters take to the streets of Toronto to protest the death of cycle courier Darcy Sheppard, a report from the CBC [sorry, no embed] reveals that Sheppard may have been intoxicated when he became involved in his fateful encounter. Cyclists’ anger towards former Ontario AG Michael Bryant could seem a bit misplaced if it turns out Sheppard was drunk and attempted to grab the wheel of Bryant’s car or put Bryant into a headlock. Ontario police say they are investigating both of these possible scenarios. On the other hand, Bryant has a well-established record of media manipulation dating back to his attempt to place harsh rules on street racers. Both sides are itching to be outraged at this story, but it might be best to get a few of the facts straight first.
Ford previews its next-generation Focus C-Max. As a global product, it should be one of several Europe-derived models heading stateside in a few years. Maximum Bob Lutz could not be reached for maximum comment.
“What happened to the podcasts?” has been an increasingly common refrain in the TTAC mailbox. To which we reply, “it’s freaking summer!” Messrs. Farago and Niedermeyer have been too busy chasing across the country a supermodel in a Ferrari 308 GTS to do any podcasting over the last month or so. But now that the Wagon Queen Family Truckster is broken down, it’s time to get back to the grind. You think you hate it now, but wait ’til you drive it!
Paul West of Mahoning Automotive Design is a tenacious guy. While most merely rolled their eyes at Cadillac’s front-drive “XTS” flagship plans, West wasn’t going to take Cadillac’s flailing sitting down. With Mahoning, D&D Classics and some promising industrial design students, he mocked-up an SRX-based study for a potential Cadillac flagship. “We did our best with the prototype,” he says “but only Cadillac can do the idea full justice.” It takes balls for a few upstarts from Ohio to show a major luxury brand how it should be preparing a flagship, and West knows it. But Cadillac’s inability to develop a true flagship, gives West’s study a significance that is more than just skin-deep. It’s a provocative, gutsy way to shake up the thinking at Cadillac. And if nothing else it’s provided plenty of food for thought. [West’s complete powerpoint proposal can be found in the gallery below]
GM is stepping up efforts to retain some control over Opel this week, as political pressure builds to find a solution before German elections on September 27. GM sources told the Wall Street Journal that Spain, Britain and Poland would jointly contribute “about €1B” towards repaying a German government bridge loan. Should the nationalized American automaker pay off the note, they could then sell Opel to their “preferred” third party buyer option, RHJ. The private equity fund dug around in the couch and came up with another €25M, raising its offer to buy Opel from GM to €300M. Coincidence?
BMW’s Norbert Reithofer scored some brownie points in Old Blighty by “confirming” that “the MINI Coupe concept car and another new MINI model [SPOILER ALERT: it’s a roadster] will both be built at Oxford.” Jolly good and all that, but Ze Germans just laid off 850 Oxford employees in February. So, are the Coupe and Roadster being fast-tracked for production? “We can’t put a number on it yet,” says Reithofer. “It will be years before we begin production. It takes time to scale up.” But why let that ruin some good hype?
As of now, I’d say Ford has momentum and will outsell GM in the U.S. next year–and maybe even for one month this year.
Jerry Flint wonders (via Forbes) when, not if, Ford will overtake GM. Why?
GM, with its larger lineup, outsells Ford easily in cars, but the overall difference after seven months is only a 197,637-vehicle lead for GM (GM: 1,135,674 vs. Ford at 938,037). And some 172,000 of this lead are GM models to be sold or discontinued, such as Pontiac.
Audi of America’s Johann De Nysschen calls the Volt “a car for idiots,” in an MSN interview. “No one is going to pay a $15,000 premium for a car that competes with a (Toyota) Corolla,” he tells Lawrence Ullrich. “So there are not enough idiots who will buy it.” And you have to admit that the guy has a point. For all the Volt’s hype, GM has offered little in the way of an explanation of the Volt’s potential appeal to people who don’t merely “want to show what enlightened souls they are,” as De Nysschen puts it. But don’t worry, GM has a meme for that! Specifically, that deep down the Volt isn’t an overpriced hair shirt . . . it’s a performance car!
ABC News reports that “General Motors Co. said Tuesday the rollout of its new 2010 Buick LaCrosse is being delayed for a few weeks due to quality concerns. Speaking to analysts and reporters during a conference call on August sales, GM’s vice president of U.S. sales Mark LaNeve said about 300 to 400 of the cars were shipped in August, but further deliveries are on hold until the company works out what it called ‘quality issues.'” RF just got off the phone with Buick Communications Manager Michelle Bunker, who categorically denied her boss’s assertion. “I don’t know what Mr. LaNeve said,” Bunker admitted. “But we’re shipping cars to dealers every day.” Well, we know what he said . . .
Old GM Liquidator-in-chief Al Koch tells Detroit News that there exists some unknown level of interest in The General’s cast-off assets. But he’s only saying that the level is greater than zero. “It’s not possible, until the process unfolds for a little bit, to tell the shoppers from the buyers,” Koch enthuses. “These are very, very large facilities. So the likelihood of finding a single user at any of these industrial sites — it’s not impossible — but it’s a relatively small buyer universe.” Universe? Wouldn’t it the list of buyers for outdated factories in perma-union states in an oversupplied market be more . . . sandbox-sized? A list of analyst-approved GM plants “for interest/sale” and an opportunity for wild speculation after the jump.
“Culture change is not simple to do,” GM CEO Fritz Henderson tells Bloomberg. “In the end, if you reinforce what you want in how you behave and how you act, the organization picks it up.” But Fritz isn’t merely turning GM around by example. “You’ve got to get your people involved,” he explains. “You’ve got to get your leadership involved, you have to be consistent, you have to be simple and have everyone understand what you’re trying to get accomplished.” And just what is Henderson trying to accomplish? Nothing less than a total change in perspective . . . in 50 employees.
The voice says Germanic been-there-done-that authority. The use of phrases like “sportif” and “bella macchina” say classic Italian flair. Meanwhile, the shirt, hair and necklace say “woah, brah, let’s hop in the Italia and score some babes.” If there’s a better encapsulation of Ferrari’s internationally recognizable combination of heritage, racing wonkery and nouveau riche gauche I have yet to witness it.
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