Always be suspicious of peace announcements coming from Munich. Oh, wait… make that Stuttgart. I mean Großaspach. Anyway, AMG’s boss has been wondering where all the hydrocarbons have gone (long time passing). Volker Mornhinweg tells Autocar that “the horsepower war is over.” Luckily, it turns out that there are more ways to massively inflate a Mercedes price tag than just dialing up the horsepower. The new emphasis for AMG’s tuning efforts: weight saving, engine optimisation and alternative technologies. For example the new E63 AMG ( with “only” 550hp) will offer an optional, efficiency-improving manual wet-clutch gearbox. That’s the unit first seen on the SL63. Woo. Hoo. AMG also hints that smaller diesel, hybrid and four-cylinder models could be in the cards. But don’t call it eco-appeasement; the move may be more about finding some branding lebensraum. Daimler’s anschluss with Aston Martin, the emergence of AMG’s Black series and the persistence of Maybach are simply pushing AMG’s mainstream offerings in a less power-crazed (and carbon-intensive) direction.

After a weekend of concept-touting and audacious hoping, Detroit is praying that the bitter taste of bailout beggary will be cleansed by the redemptive powers of PR. From the sight of hundreds of rallying GM workers to a lineup of future concepts, the North American International Auto Show played host to a number of highly-managed media messages aimed at convincing skeptics that it’s no longer such a lonely world for American automakers. But the emphasis on public relations highlights how far Detroit still has to go, and fails to mask the desperate need for, well, bankruptcy. And while cheerleaders for a largely-imagined Detroit renaissance hold on to that feeling, time marches remorselessly on.

Automotive News [sub] reports that the Tokyo Auto Show could be canceled this year. Debate is raging within the Japan Automobile Manufacturing Association (JAMA) which hosts the show, as foreign automakers stay away and even domestics brands call for a cancelation. But JAMA won’t reveal the confirmed no-shows, and insists that the things must go on in the business of show. “A couple companies are not in favor of organizing the show under these conditions, but that is not JAMA’s opinion,” says Toshihiro Iwatake, JAMA’s executive director and secretary general. “We think the motor show is a symbol of industrial prosperity,” he said. “We have to show that our industry is healthy.” And though Japan’s automakers are as healthy as can be expected, Japan’s cratering domestic market (set to fall under 5m units in 2009) makes America’s down year look like China’s down year. If the Tokyo show is canceled, it won’t be back until 2011. By which time, Japan could be well on its way to becoming a “kuruma banare,” or demotorized society.

The New York Times reports that 600 GM employees “accepted a company invitation to demonstrate as reporters walked to a G.M. press conference Sunday morning.”

Sure, Autocar. Jaguar’s gonna finally build an F-type roadster. And just in time for a “end-of-recession” 2011 launch too. Look, I’m just not ready for more pain. Weren’t you there? Didn’t you drool over the XK180 concept as far back as 1997? Didn’t an F-Type concept make you weak in the knees in 2000? And weren’t we told it would hit production? Remember that? That was nine years and five days ago. Ratan Tata thinks he can just pry that wound open, does he? “Putting exciting projects on the back burner is the thing we should not do,” eh? Ratan? Fine. Just do it already, then. And make it look like this one.

Automotive News [sub] reports that Ford has less than $15b in cash, and a burn rate of “somewhere between $1.3 billion and $2.57 billion” in the fourth quarter. CEO Alan Mulally had earlier indicated that Ford had a solid $15b to work with, but a spokesman now reveals that his number is off. Ford has not closed the books on the fourth quarter yet, says Mark Truby, “however, our cash position will be lower than $15 billion. It would be premature to say anything more.” Ford is sticking by its earlier guidance that cash burn was reduced in the fourth quarter, but that’s not saying much considering the Blue Oval torched $7.7b in the third. In addition to the “under $15b” cash on hand, Ford has access to $10.7b in credit. But with nothing else to borrow against, survival until the brand’s Euro-revival takes hold could come down to a requested-but-unapproved $9b government “emergency line of credit.” Or magic. Never stop believing in magic.

A recently-released Kelley Blue Book survey says that nine out of ten car-shopping Americans have at least one hunk of Detroit iron on their wish list. Even more tellingly, one third of shoppers polled would only buy a car built by Ford, Chevy or Chrysler. That’s a considerable preference for America as a nation-state of ostensible origin compared to Japan (12 percent) or Germany (five percent). “Seeing the domestic automakers’ recent struggle has ignited a heightened sense of patriotism among some American car shoppers, and the latest Kelley Blue Book Marketing Research indicates that people are pulling for the Big Three to survive and thrive,” said Jack R. Nerad, executive editorial director and executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book. Which is one way to look at it…

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So we complain quite a bit about ethanol around here, but you might be thinking, what does it really cost me? Well, according to an analysis by the Environmental Working Group, US taxpayers shelled out over $3b in ethanol subsidies in 2007 alone. As if that weren’t outrageous enough, ethanol slurped up two-thirds of all government assistance to renewable energy producers that year. The so-called E10 “blender’s credit” (51 cents credit for every gallon of gas blended with ethanol) racked up $2.9b of the bill, with the Alcohol Fuel Tax Credit adding another $50m. In addition to countless state-funded subsidies for ethanol producers, distributers and refiners. If this is starting to sound like more money than it’s worth, don’t worry. It’s only going to get worse. Ethanol blending mandates were set at 4.7b gallons in 2007, climbed to 9b gallons in 2008 and will reach 12b gallons in 2011. Regardless of whether consumers want it or not. Unscientifically projecting those numbers forward, blender’s credit claims for 2008 could easily top $5b after the IRS adds it all up. Oh yeah, and the Ethanol industry is already asking for $1.5b in “emergency” loan guarantees and short-term credit facilities. And an expansion of blending mandates to E15 and beyond. How great is that?

The entire autoblogosphere is abuzz over the new Buick LaCrosse. And not just in the pre-show preview, “check this out” kind of way. Or even in the sniggering “guess what the name means in Quebec” way. No, full-service pimping of GM’s latest mid-sized sedan is clearly the order of the day. And a single thread runs through all the breathless commentary, namely the alleged youthful, modern appeal of the new LaCrosse. The message is loud and clear: this is not your father’s Buick. Or, as The DetNews‘s Scott Burgess puts it (in hopes of avoiding the painful Olds legacy), “this is not your grandfather’s Buick.” The Freep opens its paean to the LaCrosse by pointing out that it was designed by “twenty- and thirty-somethings.” “No More Blue Hair!” screams the headline at Jalopnik, who also parrot the “not your grandfather’s Buick” line. But, like the infamous “not your father’s Oldsmobile” ads everyone keeps referencing, all this sound and fury merely cements long-standing brand perceptions in the minds of consumers. And hastens the long-overdue death of Buick

When new acquaintances find out that I cover the automotive industry, the response is often a flood of pent-up questions on the topic. Though much of the interest converges on the future of the American automakers, the future of cars, fuel and mobility in general attract a lot of curiosity. Facile blogger that I am, I usually cop out by saying that telecommuting is the true future of mobility. In reality, the interplay of energy, economics, politics, technology and the environment that defines the cars and fuels of the future is a topic of near infinite complexity. Luckily, two correspondents for The Economist have tackled the issues in a new book entitled Zoom: The Global Race To Fuel The Car Of The Future.

Or not, we might add. As usual, the latest chapter in the Volt saga is both convoluted and taxpayer-funded. Automotive News [sub] reports that “A123Systems, the battery supplier for the upcoming Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid vehicle, will make lithium ion batteries for automotive use at a Michigan plant if it receives federal (136) loans, the supplier said today.” The plant would employ up to 14k, and supply batteries for 19 contracts including the Volt, Chrysler’s ENVI and Project Better Place. But this information is based on A123’s filings. There’s still no official confirmation from GM on the Volt contract, although Business Wire does quote GM’s Bob Lutz as saying “A123’s proposal to manufacture advanced battery cells and packs right here in the United States is a positive development for our industry and the nation.” The strangest part of the story is that the GM-Volt.com cheerleaders, usually privy to info straight from GM, were previously convinced that LG Chem/Compact Power had beat A123 to the contract. Back in October, GM-Volt’s Lyle Dennis seemed to confirm a Reuters report that LG/Compact had won. “As we have heard before in a subtle way from GM vice-chairman Bob Lutz,” wrote Dennis, “GM was only using one supplier’s packs in the mules. Concurrently, we had heard from Compact Power’s CEO that his batteries were being used in the mules. Sources have now confirmed this is the case and that the mules packs are performing flawlessly.” So really, who knows. GM may well be saving the announcement for the forthcoming Detroit Auto Show.

Mercedes failed to meet US-market CAFE standards in 2008 and paid a $28.9m fine in December for it, reports the Freep. VW also paid the NHTSA a fine of $4.5m in August for light truck violations, while Porsche paid $1.2m and Ferrari coughed up a $1.1m to flout CAFE through 2008. But the Mercedes fine, which came to light in a recently-released NHTSA document, is the second largest in CAFE history. DaimlerChrysler AG remains the king of CAFE failure, having paid a record $30.3m in eco-indulgences for its 2006 imported product line. Which consisted primarily of of Mercedes models. Is it any wonder then that, as Bertel noted just a few days ago, Daimler is catching the hybrid fever?

Bioengineering is one of the most promising technology trends out there, but besides a perennial design influence, nature tends to stay away from cars. Or is it the other way around? Anyway, biodiesel tends to hog the bio-car development attention, but a LiveScience post sheds some light on efforts to introduce vehicle interior components made from organic materials. A team from Baylor University have been experimenting with coco fibers, and have developed trunk liners, floorboards and car-door interior covers made from a coco-based composite material. “(Coco) fiber has very good strength, stiffness and ductility, and potentially can be used for all kinds of things,” says Baylor engineering professor Walter Bradley. Bradley’s team blends coconut husk material with polypropylene fibers before being hot-pressed (compression-molded) into required shapes. The coconut fiber provides a rigid architecture for the resulting material, which Bradley says does not burn very well or give off toxic fumes, which is key in passing tests required for use in commercial automotive parts. Bradley also extolls the virtue in using a waste by-product of the coconut milk and oil industry. “We are trying to turn trash into cash to help poor coconut farmers,” he tells LiveScience. The team is partnering with a local auto industry fiber supplier to develop commercial products.

What a difference a bailout makes. Read TTAC’s past takes on Corker here.