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Posts By: Edward Niedermeyer
According to the Freep, Fiat’s Sergio Marchionne is planning on running its Alfa Romeo right at the heart of the established import luxury market. With an LX-platform 169 sedan (still an acknowledged maybe) and a “GTX” version of the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee. This is in line with Global Insight‘s breakdown of the Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep/Fiat/Alfa-Romeo empire. Got brands?
Ahead of schedule and under budget? Maybe this one will come down to door closing sounds. So why the flashback to the concept bait-and-switch? If the Volt’s butterfly-into-larvae morph doesn’t remind folks of the Old, Bad GM, what will? Ask Farah for yourself at his Live Chat Confessional, 4 pm Eastern, at Fastlane.
It’s BMW’s most efficient 3 series yet, which means it’s a brand-killer stateside Not to worry though, the new M5 will have 600hp. We’ll get that. Anyway, the two liter BMW oil burner gets 62.8mpg (52 miles per US gallon, non-EPA testing) and emits fewer than 120 grams of carbon per kilometer. Too bad it still starts at about $38K (in the UK). And takes 10.9 seconds to reach 62 mph. And since we’re in the realm of Euro-diesel fantasy, wouldn’t you just as soon cough up $40-42K for a 123d five-door? It may only get 50 mpg (41 US, etc), but it’s the first diesel to produce 100 hp per liter, and “a gem of an engine,” according to Autocar. Back in the stark reality of the American market though, that new M5 is going to have a twin-turbo V10. And in case that’s not enough, it will also boast a boost button based on the F1 KERS system. Good times.
While the faintest signs of economic turnaround have Detroit going back to optimistic prognosis mode, Toyota’s new boss isn’t ready to be caught guessing. Automotive News [sub] reports that Akio Toyoda is forecasting losses through March 2010, saying “we want to do everything possible to avoid a third consecutive year of losses.” Toyoda’s goal? Profitability using only 70 percent of his firm’s production capacity. Which means no plant shutdowns are planned. Keep breathing, San Antonio. Emphasizing the conservative approach is Toyota’s forecast of an $8.8 billion loss through March 2010. Analysts expect the loss to be closer to $5 billion, says AN. More autonomy for US operations and an emphasis on regionally marketed products are also major components of Toyoda’s revamp of the world’s largest automaker.
As a presidential candidate, Barack Obama made a campaign promise to have one million plug-in hybrids on America’s roads by 2015. That’s an ambitious plan, considering we didn’t hit the million hybrid milestone until eight years after the Prius was introduced. Back in April, GM’s Volt Man Tony Posawatz admitted to MSNBC that “it certainly is a difficult challenge to achieve that goal.” He went on to say that GM would have “tens of thousands” of Volts on the road by 2015. But, “it’s not readily obvious, based on the product plans that have been communicated, that the 2015 objective aligns with what is currently on the books,” he said. Would someone please tell Tony who pays the bills? Anyway, the tune has changed. “I can tell you we can definitely do the heavy lifting part of that,” GM’s Brita Gross tells Automotive News [sub]. “We definitely will lift up our end of that.” But how?
Or is that regulatory purgatory? Automotive News [sub] screams “Dealers decide who gets discounts,” confirming that America’s very own scrappage scheme is not going to be the quick eco-nomic (geddit?) stimulus the fans predicted. Of course, AN was getting a bit histrionic; the headline was just their wacky way of explaining that NADA is advising dealers to wait for regulations to publicly endorse the deal. The big news is the regulations. Now that the congressional pomp is over, the folks behind Government Motors are finding that the incentive game isn’t always easy. In fact, “It’s complex and not like anything we’ve ever run before,” admits the NHTSA’s Rae Tyson. “We’re starting from scratch.” What could possibly go wrong?
Will Chevrolet’s Volt ever be test-driven in range-extended mode? With pre-production underway, one hopes that the “we don’t want people to hear the engine turn on” excuse won’t be long for this world. Meanwhile, see if you can tell where in the podcast Farago and Niedermeyer switch into their own range-extended mode.
GM spokesfolks confirm to Automotive News [sub] that the deadline to submit bids for the General Motors asset sale has passed. And surprise! Nobody has taken on the Treasury in the 363 sale’s bidding process. Sorry, America. But AP Services LLC, an affiliate of AlixPartners is having its $58.9 million in fees contested by the US Bankruptcy Trustee. In addition to a $20 million retainer and $16 million for services provided in May, AP Services stands to receive another $13 million upon the completion of the Section 363 sale. As RF’s General Motors Zombie Watch 7 reports, the consulting firm also “seeks a discretionary fee of an unknown but potentially unlimited amount that will be determined” at the sole discretion of GM. The US Trustee is also objecting to the $46.6 million in fees paid to Evercore Group LLC, another GM restructuring consultant.
Autoweek figures that the “dramatic decline in diesel fuel price” is what’s causing VW and Mercedes diesel sales to increase as a percentage of total sales in recent months. But only VW’s Jetta, and M-B’s ML, GL and R Classes have diesel options to take advantage of the mini-boom. To be fair, though, not many would have predicted a year ago that Jetta diesel sales would approach 4k units per month (3,862 in May). But will it last?
GM’s North American VP for quality, Rick Spina, latches on to the latest JD Power IQS with a blog post at Fastlane titled “What Quality Gap?” and a webchat inviting every pissed-off GM owner to bitch about their quality problems.
For all the naysayers out there … get this … in the J.D. Power & Associates 2009 Initial Quality Study, Cadillac, our flagship brand, improved by 19 percent since last year’s study and comes in third, just behind Lexus and Porsche. That’s pretty darn good considering brands typically improve around 5 percent a year. And Chevy, our volume leader, eliminates the quality gap to join company with very competitive import brands like Honda and Toyota. Simply put, the quality gap is history.
Oh really?
Did Iacocca get it right? Is the Volt the new K-Car? Is Buick’s catch-up act starving the Cadillac brand? So many questions, so little time…
“They’re on you day and night. Their oversight is just too extreme. That’s why our 10-year loan, we paid it back in three years. We couldn’t stand the government. The bureaucracy kills you.”
Lee Iacocca in the Detroit Free Press.
Energy Secretary Steven Chu gave a speech in Des Moines, Iowa, yesterday in which he argued that all cars sold in America should be E85 capable. “I’ve been told it costs about $100 in gaskets and fuel lines to turn a car so that it can go all the way to E85,” Chu is quoted as saying in the Des Moines Register. “But a new car, it would only cost $100 out of $15,000. Wouldn’t it be nice to put in those fuel lines and gaskets so that we can use any ratio we wanted?” Sure, if E85 were a viable alternative fuel, and not just an agricultural subsidy.
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