KBB/Carmax
1. Honda Civic /Honda Accord
2. Honda Accord/Honda Civic
3. Toyota Camry/Toyota Camry
4. Toyota Corolla/Ford Mustang
5. Nissan Altima/Nissan Altima
6. Honda CR-V/ Chevrolet Tahoe
7. Toyota Prius/Ford F-150
8. Toyota Highlander/Toyota Corolla
9. Toyota RAV4/Toyota Tacoma
10. Mazda3/Nissan Maxima
11. Toyota Yaris
12. Ford Escape
13. Honda Odyssey
14. Honda Pilot
15. Honda Fit
16. Ford Mustang
17. Chevrolet Malibu
18. Toyota Sienna
19. MINI Cooper
20. Volkswagen Jetta
…You know you’re in some trouble. The AP reports that local governments are adopting the kaizen principles that launched Toyota to the production efficiency monster it is today. And the bureaucratic nightmares which once defined government inefficiency are being massively reduced. For those who are not familiar with “the five whys,” the AP describes kaizen as “a way of thinking that diagrams a job step by step, puts workers at the center, gives them a sense of the total process they’re involved in, and then frees them to think of ways to best do their jobs.” Or, as the quality services director at the Ohio Department of Administrative Services puts it,”You cannot filibuster, you cannot stall. You look at this thing and say ‘OK, justify that.'” The concept has become the hot thing in local government the nation over. As one strangely-picked example goes, the average time to process death certificates in Maine recently dropped from 95 days to five after the state introduced kaizen principles. “We got calls from people saying they want to die in Maine now because they can get the death records so quickly,” claims a Maine HHS honcho. Any of those calls come from Detroit?
Jalopnik has spy images from a currently-testing Ford Taurus, and they’ve spotted a SHO badge on the interior of one. So does this mark the return of a budget performance legend, or is it just a cruel, cruel tease? Los Jalops figure a 350hp Ecoboost V6 from the Lincoln MKS AWD would be just the ticket for a torque-steery good time. In other, more surprising news, the Taurus interior looks surprisingly decent. Let’s just hope the faux-carbon fiber is limited to models that require the driver to focus on keeping their bucking steed in the same lane.
The Indianapolis Business Journal reports that Indiana’s E85 subsidiy slush fund has run out of cash just three months into that state’s fiscal year. High demand for E85 in the summer months when regular gas cost over $4/gal caused the state subsidy of 18 cents/gal to rapidly run through its earmarked funds. Now, with gas under $2/gal, E85 demand is tanking just as the subsidy ran out, leaving ethanol boosters in a tough spot. “In June or July, we could sell E85 blindfolded,” says Jim Gentry, fuel purchasing manager for Greenfield-based GasAmerica, one of the first firms to sell E85 in the Indianapolis area. “Back in the summer, we didn’t need the 18-cent [state tax] credit.” Now? “We blew through that money,” admits Kellie Walsh, executive director of the Central Indiana Clean Cities Alliance. “I am anxious to see whether gasoline prices dropping has our flex-fuel customers continuing with E85 or if they’re going back over.” One E85 retailer says his firm hasn’t given up on E85 yet. “That being said, that’s not to say it’s the smartest business decision at this point in time,” says Ed McClure, CEO of Marionbased McClure Oil Corp. Except that Indiana still offers a $20k grant to install E85 pumps even though such conversions can be done for as little as $15k.
Google’s recent release of its Android operating system is keeping the telephones-do-everything trend alive and well. Google already supplies its Google Map data to third-party navigation developers, but Android’s open development strategy is fueling the car-phone fusion like never before. And as with all tech innovations (especially the open development kind) there are as many head scratchers as killer apps among the Android car programs previewed by the Headlight blog. One concept that makes a lot of sense is the KEI, which uses 128-bit encrypted connectivity to connect your car with your phone. KEI allows your Android-equipped phone to unlock or start your car wirelessly, with a wide range of diagnostic functions also possible down the road. Everyone loses a key at some point, so merging phone and key functions makes tons of sense. Which must be why Delphi has already previewed a similar app for the iPhone.
Is your faith in your country a little shaken by recent political and economic events? Man have you come to the wrong place. We’ve found a pair of stories today which seem to jointly encapsulate every negative stereotype and overly-broad criticism of America. And by God, they aren’t jokes either. First up, we have the story of a million-dollar Mustang on eBay from the Cardomain blog. That’s right, someone is asking for a million big ones for a 1998 lambo-doored Roush Mustang with 175k on the clock. Why? To quote the eBay listing: I am selling this vehicle, which is the only material thing I truly own, because I am trying to save my home and family. I will ship this vehicle anywhere in the world at my expense. the asking price is $1,000,000.00 why?? because i am in serious financial trouble. The sale of this vehicle is targeted to any millionaire out there who is willing to help get me out of my current financial situation. this vehicle is being sold as is. Shockingly, post-bailout audacity isn’t the most nauseating story on the autoblogosphere today. Our second story is so repulsive and national-pride-obliterating that we have to hide it behind the jump. Grab a barf bag and a change of citizenship form and check it out…
By taking a quid-pro-quo (cash for a new model) approach to its automaker bailout, the Australian government and Holden have opened themselves for significant criticism. And it’s starting to pile on. From The Australian we have reports of backlash from, among others, Australia’s Green party. And their scathing remarks are centered on the GM Cruze variant that received specific subsidization. Greens senator Christine Milne questioned why the “green car innovation fund” was being spent on something that was “neither particularly green, nor in any way innovative.” Says Milne of the SubsiCruze, “even if it is an efficient four-cylinder car, that is hardly green innovation. This is keeping the Australian car industry on life support instead of giving it a new lease of life.” Sound familiar? Getting tired of that question? Apparently Australia’s Greens expected something more revolutionary than a boring ICE compact. According to Senator Nick Xenophon, there is “nothing green about a petrol car. You can make it more efficient but that is just fiddling at the margins.” Incidentally, Xenephon goes on to destroy his credibility by suggesting Australia’s government subsidize a local version of GM’s Volt. Now we’re getting realistic! In other news from the exciting world of The New Mercantilism, Canadians are beginning to worry that their own bailout “is a very difficult situation, because we’ve got a financial plan without a business plan, and that’s the wrong way to do things,” according to Joe D’Cruz, a professor at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management. How did nobody see this coming? Oh wait. (Thanks to JT for the tip)
Maximum Executive Bob Lutz is spreading the Christm, excuse me, Holiday cheer over at the GM Fastlane blog today. You see, Lutz is troubled by the amount of attention that his firm has attracted since going on the holiday handout dole. Yes, “the sheer volume of words written about the auto industry in the past month or two is enough to fill the Library of Congress (Yes, I’m employing irony),” writes Lutz, or some well-paid ghostwriter. “Some of the material generated has been ill-informed and off the mark. Some have used the same old and outdated anti-Detroit rhetoric and bias we’ve been seeing for years,” continues the man of maximum. And so, Lutz suggests a steady diet of Detroit appologia from the pantheon of bailout-backing pundits. Specifically…
Well, someone had to do it. Automotive News [sub] reports that the Fed will use its $200b Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility to provide new-car dealers floorplan loans. It’s been understood since its November 25th spawning that TALF would “secure” auto loans, but a Fed FAQ released today reveals that “for TALF purposes, auto loans include retail loans and leases relating to cars, light trucks, or motorcycles and auto dealer floorplan loans.” In news that won’t thrill the small-town dealerships, the minimum TALF loan size is $10m with a three year maturity. Sorry, credit card debt is not eligible. Suzuki Motor Company announced that it would discontinue floorplan financing precisely (if you believe Automotive News [sub]) four minutes after the announcement. Coincidence?
The production version of the new Opel Meriva will keep the concept’s suicide doors, say Carscoop. Nope, no stylish, efficient people movers in the GM stable. Keep moving people. Nothing to see here.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper drafted former Molsons boss Jim Arnett less than three weeks ago to advise on auto industry policy. Now that Canada has commited $4b Canadian ($3.25b American) to Chrysler and GM, Arnett has resigned his position. The Star reports that “the Conservative government never really saw eye-to-eye with Arnett on what needed to be done,” but that Arnett will continue to advise the Ontario provincial government. Arnett, who advised the government on the 2004-2006 steel industry restructuring, was not available to comment on why he quit. Sources say Arnett “couldn’t reach the appropriate terms of reference” with the federal government. If we had to guess why Arnett might have left, we’d say it probably has something to do with Harper’s seemingly boundless enthusiasm for handing taxpayer money to Detroit. “I will not fool you. There is obviously money at risk here and there may be, well, more money as we go forward,” Harper told reporters when the Canadian bailout plan was announced.
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