So, GM is walking away from its half-share in the Fremont, CA, NUMMI plant. That much is clear. But what happens next? The Prius rebadge rumor lives on, but the signs are beginning to point towards a Tacoma rebadge. After all, GM has announced its intention to shut down its Shreveport, LA, plants by 2012. Which means an end to Colorado production there, and a giant sucking sound where GM’s small truck offering used to be. Will GM rebadge the Taco? And if so, why not keep the 50 percent stake in NUMMI? Make some sense of this, please.
Bloomberg is reporting that GM CEO Fritz Henderson will meet with Toyota President Akio Toyoda this August, and that a GM rebadge of the Prius could be on the agenda. “Two people familiar with the plan” confirm the Prius angle, and with the death of the Pontiac Vibe, GM certainly has to figure out what it will do with its NUMMI capacity which it shares with Toyota. “Having a stronger line-up is an urgent matter for GM,” says Yoshihiro Okumura of Chiba-gin Asset Management Co. “Demand will continue to shift to small cars.” But neither automaker will even confirm that plans for an executive meeting of the minds is on the table. Moreover, as Jim Hall of 2953 Analytics points out, “Toyota is not normally in the practice of giving away the crown jewels.” On the other hand, GM has recently canceled its only hybrid car, the Malibu Hybrid, and the sale of Saturn to Penske will further cut into its hybrid offerings.
UPDATE: Our Frank Williams points out a GM press release that just hit the wires which says “As part of its long-term viability plan, General Motors has decided that its ownership stake in the New United Motor Manufacturing Incorporated (NUMMI) joint venture with Toyota will not be a part of the ‘New GM.’” The plot thickens.
Er, bought. According to the Freep, the Michigan Economic Growth Authority put together the $779 million tax credit package which secured Orion Assembly’s future as the home of the Chevy Aveo’s replacement. A 25-year, 100 percent tax abatement from the municipality of Orion Township (worth some $100 million) didn’t hurt either. Nor did Oakland County’s $136.5 million in retraining money. GM will drop $600-$800 million retooling the plant, “saving” some 1,200 jobs at Orion and another 200 at nearby Pontiac Stamping. But this decision wasn’t a simple dollars-and-cents deal, according to the the parties involved. Oh, no.
The FIat 500 may be the only Fiat-branded vehicle to be sold in the new Fiatsler empire, but according to Automotive News [sub] the model will be offered in four, possibly five body styles. “Hatchback, convertible, station wagon and sporty hatchback,” models will roll out of Chrysler’s Toluca, Mexico, plant starting in 2011. Or not? AN suggests that a US production site for the 500 could under consideration, despite persistent hecho en Mexico rumors. And that “sporty hatchback”? It’s the Abarth! Will Americans only be offered the 135 hp Abarth, or is the 180 hp Abarth SS on the docket as well? No word from Turin (er, Auburn Hills?) yet. Oh, and how small is the 500 again? “About 10 inches shorter than Toyota’s Yaris hatchback?” That’s small.
[TTAC reviews the 500 here, TTAC lists Google Translate(d) foreign reviews of Fiat products here.]
GM is walking away from its Saturn Vue and Pontiac Torrent Theta-based CUVs, bringing its Thetan, uh, Theta CUV levels to just the Equinox and the SRX. And the just released GMC Terrain. And the forthcoming Saab 9-4X. And now a clay model of a Buick Theta CUV has surfaced on CBS’s Early Show, along with rumors of a 2012 launch (and dual-mode hybrid version). Assuming the Saturn Vue is sold for a few more years by the Penske boyz, and the Suzuki XL7 soldiers on a bit longer, we’re looking at the prospect of seven versions of the same platform in one market. Re:invention or déjà vu?
And I’m inclined to agree. Hyundai had some of the best sales numbers of 2008, and they rolled out some killer products like the Genesis and Kia Soul. Too bad Forbes based their whole article off of the JD Power Initial Quality Survey.
The truth is, as I’ve said all along, I have no ambition to run an auto company. I’m not the salesman-in-chief. And GM will rise or fall on the quality of its products — like the taut, athletic design of the new Buick Enclave. Its French-seamed leather and warm wood tones make the Enclave more than transportation. It’s a modern driver’s retreat.
—President Barack Obama at the Television and Radio Correspondents Dinner shortly after unveiling his Oprah-inspired “car company giveaway.”
Jaguar lost Tata $463 million during its first ten months as part of the Indian firm, reports Automotive News [sub]. That loss stings twice as bad considering it makes up the bulk of Tata Motors’ $520 million consolidated loss in the fiscal year ending March 31. “There has already been 2,000 job losses. We may be looking at more job losses, more plant shutdowns,” says Tata VP Ravi Khant. Will that kill the crazy Extended-Range EV plans for the forthcoming XE? Tata recently refinanced $3 billion in debt, according to AN, but with a hybrid LRX reportedly approved as well, Tata’s staring at some hefty development costs. Best of luck to ’em.
Despite the backbiting and overextension engendered by round one of the Department of Energy’s retooling loans, another $25 billion could be headed down the pipe. Automotive News [sub] reports that a second dose of retooling loans (the first having launched our Bailout Watch series) is headed towards a vote this weekend. The DOE’s loan budget would be doubled under the current climate change bill sponsored by Reps Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Ed Markey (D-MA). But before Ford starts counting its (non-bailout) chickens, remember this: “no comparable bill has been introduced in the Senate, and similar legislation was shot down in the Senate last year.” And with luxury firms (Tesla), foreign transplants (Nissan) and the proudly bailout-free (Ford) topping the list of tranche un, don’t expect a groundswell of support for tranche deux.
Ford has been benefiting heavily from “good kid syndrome” lately. You know how it goes, as long as your behavior is marginally better than your sibling’s, you’re the good kid. Just ask the self-styled Autoextremist.
I believe that Ford will emerge as the largest and most profitable U.S. automaker and stay that way for the foreseeable future. They have the strongest management team (led by ex-Boeing executive Alan Mulally who is simply one of the best who has ever worked in this business), they have sensational products here and on the way (their new product cadence is extremely impressive and rivals that of any automaker in the business), and they are demonstrating signs of real momentum in an absolutely dreadful market. I expect Ford to be a global force to be reckoned with in this business for years to come.
Mr. Delorenzo isn’t wrong, per se. Ford’s management and products look downright promising . . . compared to the other Detroit firms. Which is like saying you’ve got the nicest Camaro in the trailer park. Meanwhile, far from the oracles of product cadence and “real momentum,” people are looking at Ford’s numbers, and the words “global force to be reckoned with” aren’t flowing off any of their keyboards.
Rumors of a sub-Boxster Porsche roadster appear to be off again. “Another model line is not something we are concentrating on at the moment . . . my gut feeling is that we do not need one,” Porsche S&M boss Klaus Berning tells the Telegraph (via MotorAuthority). Rumors had centered around VW’s Bluesport roadster concept, which is likely to go into production as both VW and Audi-branded sports cars. That could have spelled a brutal brand dilution for Porsche, but independent development isn’t exactly a great option either, considering Porsche’s tenuous financial status. Weirdly, Berning does admit that it “could be possible to have a four-cylinder again in a 911 but it would be a Porsche four-cylinder. The 911 is the core of the brand and it follows different rules to the rest of the brand models.”
Manny Lopez has a cow about Tesla’s $465 million Department of Energy loan over at the Detroit News, concluding that tax dollars shouldn’t “be spent, propping up millionaires and billionaires, who, unlike their Detroit CEO brethren, fly in private planes when they’re not toying around town in their electric cars.” And why is it that Detroit’s CEOs don’t fly on corporate jets? Oh, right. Sweet Pete DeLorenzo lays into Tesla as well, saying it got the loans “so that it can become a real car company instead of a boondoggle that makes outrageously overpriced battery-eating kit cars.” MLive‘s Rick Haglund even figures Elon Musk’s divorce-by-blog reflects an unseriousness that makes his firm undeserving of taxpayer support.
“The Buick LeSabre is made in Ontario, Canada . . . the UAW worker in Canada makes the same wage as the UAW worker in the U.S.”
—Vice President Joe Biden in the Detroit News
TTAC frontrunner Michigan has won the Chevy Viva sweepstakes and will be hosting production of the Aveo replacement, reports the Freep. The new compact will be based on Chevrolet’s Spark world car, and produced at the Orion Township plant near Pontiac. Orion currently produces Malibu and G6 sedans. The plan reportedly saves 1,200 jobs at the Orion plant which had been marked for death. Sorry, Wisconsin and Tennessee!
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