“I’m sure in the fullness of time we’ll all look back and think of things that might have been done differently, or perhaps should have been done differently.”
Presidential Task Force On The Automobiles Steve Rattner in an Automotive News [sub] piece on potential conflicts of interest created by the auto industry bailout.
The marketing mavens at GM commissioned a Youtube video of two “bumblebee boys” washing a Camaro for Chevrolet’s “Gay Days At The Movies” promotion. The bankrupt automaker pulled the ad after a single day for being “tasteless.” (As the Chinese market ad in the post below proves, using sex to sell fast cars is never OK.) Only yesterday, GM’s Dave Barthmuss told USA Today that the video might surprise some “because you don’t see it in the mainstream.” But the ad would “make sense for this particular audience.” Today, Barthmuss tells USA Today that “the video was not appropriate and not in good taste.” The only problem was that (apparently) nobody at GM had actually seen the video. The spot has been yanked from YouTube; it’s internet MIA. So why spend (taxpayer) money on ads like this if you aren’t even going to use them? And what about the video makes it any more tasteless than, say, a Camaro in Harvest Gold or It’s A Girl Pink?
Our pals at Automotive Traveller snapped a few pictures of MINI’s forthcoming Cute Ute in psychedelic camofluage. Under the skin it should be quite similar to BMW’s X1, and it will forgo the Clubman’s barn-doors for a proper rear hatch.
… we get one that’s styled just like the XF. Oh well. Welcome to the 21st Century, XJ!
The AP reports that GM design chief Ed Welburn is heading a group studying name and logo changes for the General. What, like “Precision Motors“? “Changing the background of the familiar square blue-and-white GM logo has been discussed,” according to the AP’s anonymous sources, but nothing has been decided yet. The same anonymous sources do indicate, however, that “the company is looking into changing the background color of its corporate logo from blue to green in an effort to show consumers that it is leaner and greener, more focused on fuel efficiency and better able to make quick decisions.” And remind consumers, no doubt, that GM is fully committed to covering up fundamental problems with quick, cosmetic fixes. Now more than ever.
Passing committee is just the first of many steps on the way to a complete episode of Schoolhouse Rocks. And the way Automotive News [sub] tells it, the latest iteration of the Great Dealer Restoration may just face a rocky path. The substance of H.R. 2743 has been attached to a 2010 financial services spending bill that passed the House Appropriations Committee. The problem is that this amendment represents a policy change, in that it would cut funding to the automakers if they refuse to reinstate dealers as ordered. Such policy changes are not technically supposed to be attached to spending bills. No worries though. According to AN’s paraphrase of Rep Steven LaTourette (R-OH),
“Some lawmakers will ask the House Rules Committee early next week to issue a rule to protect the bill from so-called ‘point of order’ challenges that would spike the dealer provision”
And that’s why I’m so particularly fond of Porsches.
A passionate plea against government involvement in the automotive industry as imagined by either Borat or Kim Jong Il. Hat tip to Benoît Fortin!
The Standard Of The World (so to speak) may have found its long-awaited flagship in China, reports Car and Driver. Dubbed the SLS, this stretched (four inches longer than STS) Sigma platform beast was developed for the Chinese market by Shanghai GM. Previously available only in China and Middle Eastern markets, the SLS is a great excuse for GM to not develop a new flagship. C&D does note that a “reskin” and an LS V8 will make the model distinct to the US market. Meanwhile, the return to bad habits continues across Cadillac’s product planning.
GM has filed a request in bankruptcy court to cancel the franchise agreements of 38 dealers who rejected wind-down agreements. In doing so, GM has identified, for the first time, dealers which it plans to cut. Read the full pleading here in PDF form for a complete breakdown (starting on page 32) of the dealers on the chopping block.
Businessweek reports that GM’s Korean Daewoo Automotive Technology (GM-DAT) partner is in as much trouble as the Detroit-based mothership. GM-DAT, which develops much of GM’s small-car capability, has seen its sales fall nearly in half in June (particularly in Russia and Korea), prompting some to question whether the firm will emerge from a mounting liquidity crunch. Last year GM-DAT exported 900,000 vehicles and one million knock-down kits last year, accounting for a quarter of GM’s global sales. But as the firm’s Chevy and Buick brands have sagged, so to has GM-DAT’s income. The Korean unit is seeking loans from the Korean Development Bank, which owns 28 percent of the firm. KDB reportedly will only back GM-DAT if it becomes a full-line vehicle developer, rather than a small-car specialist. This would threaten GM’s Holden subsidiary in Australia, which has put the kibosh on such talks. Meanwhile, we’re hearing rumblings that the GM-DAT liquidity crisis is being caused by GM underpaying for its imports.
Before: early pictures of the just-confirmed-for-America Honda Crosstour testing in Britain, via AutoExpress. Early in development, the Crosstour is still just a slightly beefed-up AWD wagon.
Automotive News [sub] reports that GM’s dealers will have recourse in state courts for claims involving product-liability, warranties, compliance with lemon laws, privacy/no call laws, and environmental and tax laws. Termination disputes are to be handled by GM’s bankruptcy court, however. “We didn’t get everything we wanted,” admits Colorado Attorney General John Suthers. “But the new GM will be fully subject to state regulation.” Suthers and Nebraska AG Jon Bruning negotiated the agreement with GM on behalf of 43 other states. Already-culled dealers are the virgins in the volcano, unless their The Automobile Dealer Economic Rights Restoration Act of 2009 passes. But The General is still alive, and the dealers that survived the cull still have to do business with it. Or at least sue it. Some must die that others may live and litigate.
Commenter j_slez (who compiled GM and Toyota monthly sales since 2004 for us already) writes:
I saw the call for a log-scale GM plot, and since the change only took a minute I threw that together, even though I’m not a fan of it personally. It does help separate the lower-selling brands. Part of the point of the original is that they’re all low-selling. I replaced Pontiac with all of the “Old GM” brands – it doesn’t make much difference really.
Then I did Toyota. They’ve got a bit of a dive themselves of late.
Rumors surrounding a possible Buick Theta-based CUV are being amplified by rumors that the Saturn VUE plug-in hybrid will make it to market under a different brand. GM’s Tom Stephens confirms to Reuters that a plug-in ute will be available in 2011 (as planned), just under a different brand name. With rumors of a hybrid powertrain in the works for the forthcoming LaCrosse, green may be yet another new attribute for the brand confusion that is Buick. “We’ve got a strategy that says there are no silver bullets,” as Stephens says, curiously ignoring the Volt. “We need all of this.” Which, in a nutshell, is the attitude that is destroying Buick…
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