The Porsche vs. Nissan catfight over Nurburgring lap times has done more to publicize both company’s products than anything else. Besides, as Chris Harris of Driver’s Republic puts it, “Nurburing lap times… say far more about the conditions of the track and (fortitude) of the driver… than they do the vehicle in question.” Still, Harris was drawn to recreate the battle, pitting Porsche GT2 against Nissan GTR on the Nordschleife. Driver’s Republic presents the experiment in its online-magazine format, which brings high-quality photos, video, words and telemetric data together in one highly entertaining read. Check it out.

Stung by the public outcry over Jet-Gate, Detroit’s automakers are orchestrating a “cavalcade of fuel-efficient American-brand vehicles to Washington, D.C., in December, when Congress reconsiders the industry’s plea for quick action on low-interest loans,” according to the Detroit Free Press. “The aim,” intones the Freep, “is to put a populist face on the need for the American auto industry’s survival and to build grassroots support for federal aid, in the wake of criticism that the Detroit Three chief executive officers and UAW President Ron Gettelfinger did not make a convincing case during two days of congressional hearings last week.” The Caravan of Love will include auto suppliers, dealers and the UAW, escorting Detroit’s finest in a grand processional of pathos to the Mother Of All Beggin Bowls, though they’ll probably skip on the whole “Respica te, hominem te memento” bit. The events will begin with a December 7th rally in Hart Plaza, then the “cavalcade” would head to Washington, with stops along the way for rallies and news conferences. Things will wrap up with yet more testimony from Detroit’s newly-clothed-with-glory CEOs, and the ceremonial presentation of a giant check for $25b. Hallelujah, I’ve got the spirit!

Hat Tip: Jalopnik

Hyundai has apprently learned nothing about vehicle marketing in the last five years. What they are supposed to do is develop overly-complicated high-efficiency models, put lots of eco-friendly badges on them, advertise them at rest in an unspoiled natural envrionment, and then charge people through the nose for them. Instead, they’re taking existing models, improving their efficiency with low-tech fixes, and selling them for even less money than the normal versions. Whatever they’re putting in the water over at Hyundai HQ, it’s making for some dangerously common-sense business decisions. The Car Connection reports that Hyundai started with normal Elantra and Accents to create their new “Blue” line of improved-efficiency sedans, and then decontented them to save weight, lowered them to improve aero performance and fitted low rolling resistance tires. Sure, this means you’ll get no a/c and no power anything, and you’ll probably suffer through some horrendous ride quality and handling, thanks to the tweaked suspension and crummy tires, but these are small prices to pay for saving the world. And not being the only family on the block with a Prius. GM has tried a similar approach to fuel efficiency with its Cobalt XFE, but its underpromotion is keeping it MIA from market success. No word yet on pricing or availability for Hyundai’s Blue line, but if they avoid the XFE’s mistakes, this should be a fairly popular option for the budget automaker.

***Ferrari FXX Evo 860hp Supercar DONUTS!!***

GM is doing whatever it can to tame its cash conflagration this week, as it seeks to survive another few weeks and prove to congress that it’s serious about shaping up. The Wall Street Journal reports that these efforts have crossed over from the sublime to the ridiculous (always closer than they seem), as everything from clock maintenance to escalator operation budgets are being slashed to save cash. So just how tight is GM cinching its belt? GM is eliminating clock maintenance, stopping RenCen escalator operation at 7pm, eliminating voice mail at plants, buying cheaper pencils, and next year it will reduce its press fleet and cancel its “Mark of Excellence” dealer award. Worst of all? “At GM’s metal-fabricating plant in Grand Blanc, Mich., Steve Bean, a union committeeman, said he recently had to tell workers they would have to wait until at least next year to get $270 stipends they were promised in order to buy T-shirts, hats or coats emblazoned with their union local.” On a more… significant front, Bloomberg reports that GM will seek to reduce its $43b in debt and renegotiate elements of its 2007 UAW contract as part of its restructuring plan which is due to Congress on December 2. Should GM exchange debt at levels less than the original value, Standard and Poors would consider those issues in default while not necessarily cutting the automaker’s overall debt rating, according to S&P analyst Robert Schulz. “A financial restructuring, along with government loans, is an alternative to bankruptcy,” says Schulz. “It doesn’t fix the economic environment, though, and it’s the economic conditions that are causing their cash burn.”

“So you want to drive the speed demon, huh?” The local eco-dealership was empty save for a salesman spinning laps around electric cars and trucks in a Zap Zappy, a sort of poor man’s Segway. “You know the ZX40 won’t do more than 25 miles per hour, right?” asks the sales manager. She looks as if this revelation typically scares off twenty-somethings like myself. “Sure,” I say. How bad could it be?

Let’s just agree now that if Ford, GM and Chrysler get their $25b in December, the $21m they invested in lobbying efforts this year was a brilliant investment. Of course, as the Detroit News reports, that’s actually $21.6m and that only covers the first three quarters of this year; fourth-quarter lobbying disclosures don’t come out until January, and with their companies on the line you can bet the D3 will be throwing what’s left in their wallets at DC until the last bailout option is depleted. The problem for Detroit though is that their political contributions are actually shrinking in relative terms. The auto industry is only 34th on the list of contributers to congressional election campaigns, down from the 16th spot eight years ago, and even generous campaign contributions don’t guarantee your safety. For example, Chrysler owners Cerberus Capital Management donated $37,500 to Senator Richard Shelby’s (R-AL) 2008 campaign, only to have Shelby badmouth the industry from his position as a ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee. And though it spends more on lobbying than the other Detroit firms, General Motors says its reducing its efforts. “In fact, it’s decreased considerably,” spokesman Greg Martin said. “We’re looking at every operational expense and cutting where we can. That includes our efforts here in D.C. Lobbying is a legal, very transparent means to have your voice heard in Washington, especially as it relates to political issues that have a substantial effect on your business.” And if it pays off, it will make Porsche’s play on the hedge funds look like a mediocre investement. Where else can you invest $25m and have it turn into $25b in less than a year? Only in American government.

At this week’s LA Auto Show Honda’s vice president of corporate planning and logistics told Marketwatch that Honda is considering expanding production of its popular Fit to the United States. “We have about 19 days worth of supply, which is much too low,” said Honda VP Dan Bonawitz. “We can’t fill all our dealer orders.” Honda is “exploring all options” to ramp-up Fit supply, Bonawitz said.

Barack Obama’s turd blossom David Axelrod appeared on ABC’s “This Week” today (via Reuters), quietly backing the president-elect away from is electorally-necessary support for an automaker giveaway. “We all have a stake in the survival and the prosperity of the auto industry,” said the future senior White House adviser. “But in order to do that, they’re going to have to retool and rationalize their industry for the future,” he said. “If they don’t do that, then there’s very little that taxpayers can do to help them.” This puts Obama back on the same page as the congressional Democrats, who have been markedly less supportive of a bailout since the Detroit CEO’s miserable performance before the House Financial Services Committee this week. “There must be a business model that they work off of,”  Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi tells CBS’ “Face the Nation. “No one would invest in a company without seeing that, nor should taxpayer dollars be invested without seeing that business model and that business plan.” The real question then seems to be, what do Obama, Pelosi, et al expect to see in the way of a new plan come December 2? Because other than being sure that they want to see a plan, we haven’t got much from them in the way of specifics.

We don’t write about motorsports here at TTAC. Well, except for that one time. Actually, we don’t write many E85 BOTD’s these days either. Ethanol and its lobby are in something of a retreat right now, as bailout fever crowds agriculture out of its VIP seat at the pork pump. Not to mention the fact that the MSM now seems to recognize E85 as the wasteful, pork-fueled debacle it is.  Anyway, despite the fact that the US has a glut of ethanol thanks to already set (and non-demand-based) subsidy goals, the Indianapolis Racing League has just concluded a contract to import sugar cane ethanol from Brazil to power its racers from 2009 and beyond. But don’t worry, under the terms of the multi-year deal, APEX-Brasil in cooperation with UNICA (the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association) will seek a partnership with a US-based ethanol company to supply the IndyCar Series with corn-based ethanol as well. Why? “The move to other sources of ethanol is a natural progression as the ethanol industry continues to grow and evolve. We continue to strive to be on the leading edge of the greening of racing. The IndyCar Series was the first motorsports series to mandate use of a renewable fuel, and now we will work with the ethanol industry in both the United States and Brazil to promote the use of all types of ethanol by consumers,” says IRL President Terry Angstadt. The only greening here is greenbacks being sent from Brazil, which is spending millions aggressively marketing its ethanol around the world.

Conan O’Brien presents Detroit’s call for bailout bucks.

When Autoblog caught wind of the Latin American Herald Tribune story quoting GM Brazil’s CEO as saying GM would invest $1b worth of US bailout money in Brazilian operations, they knew there was something weird about the story. Ya think? The original LAHT story paraphrases (rather than directly quoting) GM Brazil’s Jaime Ardila as saying GM’s $1b investment would come from bailout bucks, lending some credence to the official GM position that “something got lost in translation.” But even if the LAHT’s translation was completely accurate, GM would have denied this story up and down. Investing American tax dollars in the developing world? Perish the thought. For one thing, there is no bailout. Yet. If Ardila did say that bailout bucks were going to Brazil, he was way off the reservation, and endangering the still-slim odds of a bailout happening. In any case, we will know what the bailout bucks will be spent on when GM submits their plans for the money to congress on December 2. And don’t bet on seeing a billion dollar line-item for Brazilian investment, for the obvious political reasons. But as an international company that has been supported for years by its overseas units, GM will have to finesse its bailout plan to appeal to congress’s national interests. With nothing but cuts in sight for GM’s North American operations, the General will have to rely ever more heavily on profits from its growth markets abroad to achieve the “viability” congress wants to see. Unfortunately, that viability trades off directly with the bailout’s other goal, which is saving American jobs. Such are the dangers of national bailouts of multinational corporations.

Now that GM has launched its PR response to Jet-Gate, Ford is also taking steps to be ensure that it is perceived as an austere, efficient company. And no, they’re not making Mulally give up his Lexus (he was already supposed to have, although ABC News appears to have caught hime in flagrante delicto with his LS430 as recently as this summer). The AP reports that post-begathon criticism has Ford staff “looking at all of our operations to reduce costs and operate more efficiently,” which just might include giving up some undisclosed number of the five jets it currently operates. “Ford’s top priority is to continue making progress on our transformation plan, and we do not want anything to distract us,” spokesman Mark Truby said in a statement. “We are exploring all cost-effective solutions for our air travel.” Ford operated nine jets in 2005, when its stock price opened the year at $13.17. Ford’s stock is currently valued at $1.43 per share.

Salão do automóvel 2008 – Stand Platinuss

How’s that air quality treatin’ ya?