Plenty of rich Corinthian news today from the world of champagne wishes and caviar dreams. Among the weirdest is that Daimler has no plans to axe Maybach because (gasp!) it’s making money! How, you ask? By putting a rolling soft top on its 62S stretched sedan, calling it a Landaulet and charging folks $1.35m. Classy! If you’re having trouble getting a seven-figure auto loan at reasonable terms (and we’ve all been there, no?), Daimler understands. The Germans are helping undercut the raison d’automobile for its high-end German luxury brand by helping Aston build a $100k Lagonda S-Class competitor, aimed at the entry-level plutocrat, Maserati Quattroporte cross-shopping crowd. Egmcartech reports that the sedan, based on Aston’s VH platform, will go on sale in 2012. There will also be a Lagonda version of the Rapide, set to cost more than the sportier Aston version. Meanwhile, as Bugatti unleashes its Veyron GT, there’s word from Automotive News [sub] that the Alsatian luxury brand is developing a Rolls-Royce competitor in partnership with its VW-owned sister company, Bentley. That should come available sometime after the Veyron ends production in 2012.

Automotive News [sub] reports Toyota’s profits are set to slide 40 percent when the firm announces its annual numbers. At issue: exposure to weak American sales and a slowdown in China. And though reaping just over half its expected profits sounds like bad news, ToMoCo will still pull down $12.8b this year. Needless to say, that’s a mighty impressive accomplishment for a firm that’s so dependent on flagging US sales. Koichi Ogawa, chief portfolio manager at Daiwa Asset Management, says Toyota is still on solid ground. “Given that the price of fuel and some raw materials is falling, earnings in the auto sector are likely to start to recover in six months to a year. This could be a good buying opportunity for long-term investors.” A quick look at Toyota stock shows it’s fallen steadily from its longtime high of $137/share in February of 2007. It’s still dropping, currently trading at about $65. Still… with a rock-solid 6.5 price-to-earnings ratio, and a portfolio that includes massive investments in hybrid and electric technology, Toyota is no GM or Ford. No siree.

According to the Economic Times, Porsche Holdings SE has purchased “a small parcel of Volkswagen shares off-market, ‘significantly under the current market price.” How small? The deal has increased Porsche’s stake in VW has by a “low single-figure” percentage, according to Porsche spokesman Albrecht Bamler. The deal was but the first salvo in Porsche’s final assault, as the Suddeutsche Zeitung (via Bloomberg) reports that Porsche Holdings will have bought a majority stake in Volkswagen by November 26. But wait, there’s more! Once Porsche buys the final 15 percent or so shares it needs to own VW, expect swift changes in the way Europe’s largest automaker does business. Automotive News Europe [sub] reports that Porsche CFO Holger Haerter has already spilled the beans to Handelsblatt. “I am working right now on a joint paper on the future management model together with my finance colleague at VW. We will be discussing this with the VW and Porsche board of directors,” says Haerter. But Haerter’s leak privileges only extend to news that won’t completely piss off his new minions. Accordingly, he only mentions that VW managers will sit on the management board of Porsche Holdings, a body currently manned only by Porsche CEO Wendelin Wiedeking and Haerter himself. Still no word on how Wiedeking and Haerter plan on eviscerating the Piech/Union/Niedersachsen Provincial Government faction at VW.

As the Detroit News‘ auto jefe AND a regular reader of the free-market Mises Institute, it’s no surprise that Manny Lopez is ambivalent about Motown’s bailout bucks. In his latest column, Manny accuses the Germans of sour grapes. “Auto industry officials in Deutschland are calling the auto loan program a ‘distortion of competition’ and bastardization of the free market, among other things. And in the purest sense, it is.” So, column over, right? Wrong. Lopez proceeds to turn protectionism into a question of relativity, comparing the bailout to closed Asian markets (which are being opened, thanks to the WTO) and the province of Niedersachsen’s stake in VW (which is also in the process of being weakened by the EU). Besides, says Lopez, BMW and VW are getting local tax breaks for building plants stateside. From there, it’s but a short step to bailout apologia. “Certainly (the bailout) looks like it’s going to favor General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC. They don’t pay big bucks to legislative lobbyists for nothing, after all.” Which is argument enough for Lopez to support a $40b bailout for European automakers. None of which makes any sense. Jesus Christ Manny, Man-up! Either that or whisper words of wisdom and let it be.

The Departments of Energy and Agriculture have released a new Biofuel Action Plan, designed to guide U.S. policy towards biofuel development. As Green Car Congress reports, the plan mandates improved oversight over biofuel development, especially in the area of sustainability. More importantly, it confirms that the market for E10 ethanol blends will be saturated in the next few years. Of course, mandated ethanol production levels aren’t dropping to reflect this. As a result, federal agencies are testing E15 and E20 blends, in hopes of proliferating them to soak-up surplus, federally-subsidized ethanol. Meanwhile, the United Nations has a new report out too. “Policy interventions, especially in the form of subsidies and mandated blending of biofuels with fossil fuels, are driving the rush to liquid biofuels,” notes the UN’s State of Food and Agriculture report. “However, many of the measures being implemented by both developed and developing countries have high economic, social and environmental costs.”And will the ethanol industry please stop bleating-on about saving Americans 10 cents a gallon at the pumps? The feds are giving them a .50 a gallon “blender’s credit.” So I reckon it’s costing us– even those of us who don’t use it– .40 a gallon.

Alex Molinaroli, president of Johnson Controls’ Power Solutions business, echoes one of TTAC’s ongoing beefs with the U.S. auto industry: Attention Deficit Disorder. Molinaroli tells Automotive News [sub] that “automobile manufacturers are not going to be able to afford to keep investing in all these different technologies,” referring to the “gas-friendly to gas-free” approach to alternative energy vehicles. Molinaroli’s got a prescription for companies who can’t decide whether hydrogen, biofuel, compressed-air, electric or hybrid cars will be the future: hybrid and electric, baby. “You see the long-term r&d effort focused on the electric car. That’s where the real strategic efforts are. People talk about fuel cells, but I don’t really see the kind of energy and effort around that that I see around the electric power train.” Of course it makes sense that Molinaroli would Molina-roll that way; his firm is currently developing Mercedes-Benz’s hybrid S-Class. Stil, pop those Adderalls boys, the future’s electric.

Mitsubishi’s Normal, Il factory is the nation’s most under-utilized auto plant. Facing declining American sales, its operators have cut costs to survive. But unlike other transplants, Mitsubishi employs UAW workers, so it can’t just kill its workforce and feed them to Japanese-made robots, right? Well, Mitsubishi has actually surpassed the realm of mere xenophobic science fiction and has managed to wrangle concessions from the United Auto Workers. Bloomberg reports that 1,260 members of UAW Local 2488 approved pay cuts of nearly five dollars per hour and higher benefit costs in a new four-year contract with Mitsubishi. So much for the long-running Detroit narrative of the UAW being blind to the struggles of automakers and squeezing the life from domestic manufacturing. Sales and production have been cut in half at Mitsubishi’s American operations since 2002, and apparently the union get it. It’s not exactly a happy story for anyone, but the bottom line is that jobs are being kept in this country. Incidentally, this story explains with the utmost clarity why Detroit and the UAW joined forces to make a run on the federal piggybank. Otherwise they would have had to face the music and make an unpleasant but ultimately sustainable compromise like this one.

CAR Magazine has been covering the ongoing collaboration negotiations between BMW and Mercedes for some time. As usual, nothing unites like a common enemy, and the longtime rivals have been brought together by the looming leviathan that is the new Porsche-VW alliance. But partnership does not come easily after decades of fierce competition. CAR speculates on the possible causes of ongoing difficulties thusly: “Maybe it’s a mutual case of ‘not invented here’. Maybe it’s what decades of ingrained rivalry does to you. Or a mix of shortsightedness, ignorance and stubborness. Perhaps a combination of the above.” Whatever the cause, BMW and Mercedes have yet to finalize any plans to share M-B’s new M295 all-aluminium V12. Is BMW, like McLaren, suffering from a restrictive Daimler contract with Aston-Martin? We’ll may never know. What is clear is that Mercedes needs a new corporate four-banger for its burgeoning small-car portfolio. The current C-class four is “too big, too heavy and too expensive” say CAR, and a new, shared four-cylinder could be jointly developed for Benz’s A-, B-, C-, E- and GLK-classes, and BMW’s 1-, X1, 3, X3, and MINI models. If no German alliance forms, PSA and Fiat are waiting in the wings, hoping to snag a technical partner for their own next-gen four-bangers. Meanwhile, “other collaboration opportunities between Munich and Stuttgart include more pace-setting hybrid modules, more efficient dual-clutch and automatic transmissions, advanced driver assistance systems and a highly flexible small car concept.” No mention yet of the Sudetenland.

According to Motor Trend, none other than Maximum Bob Lutz (or his mouth, which is independently operated) was behind plans to convert the C7 Corvette to a mid-engined layout. And from certain perspectives (albeit not the traditional one) such a move would have made a lot of sense. Besides putting Ferrari on notice, a mid-engined ‘vette would be easier to convert to a fuel-saving cylinder shutoff system, since the current front-engine, rear-transaxle layout necessitates a separate clutch to disengage cylinders. The extra weight of a mid-engine cowl and the complication of reeingineering the entire platform has killed plans for a mid-engined Corvette, and GM has pushed the C7 model release back to 2014. In other words, unless GM seriously gets its shit together ASAP, the current ‘vette could be the last model ever made. In any case, the C6 will likely be the last V8-only Corvette, since CAFE standards will likely necessitate a V6 base engine. And you thought a mid-engined Corvette was sacrilege…

Quality, if you believe Bob Lutz, is not only the absence of things gone wrong.”We shoot not only for absence of problems, but we especially shoot for a joyous owner experience,” proclaims the Car Czar in the latest “Case For GM” video at GM’s Fastlane blog. Which is a convenient way of taking attention away from the “things gone wrong” element of quality, and allows Lutz to spend the rest of the video claiming that body gaps on the Chevy Malibu are smaller than those of any Japanese or German premium brand. In other words, this video confirms what GM marketing has already told us for some time: useless J.D. Power “Initial Quality” rankings define GM’s perception of quality, rather than the durability of its products. So yes, the Malibu has shinier paint and tighter gaps than GM products of seven to eight years ago. But Lutz isn’t Sarah Palin. He can’t simply play the expectations game and expect consumers to choose his company’s products. Word to Bob: make another video. This time try wowing us with your warranty claim breakdowns. Otherwise you’re just bragging about shinier lipstick on the same old pig. Gosh darn it.

Delphi has been lingering in Chapter 11 for nearly three years now, with little relief appearing on the horizon. Automotive News (sub) reports that the GM spinoff has filed a new reorganization plan, which appears to more realistically reflect its predicament. In the new filing, Delphi’s worth is estimated at $7.2b, down significantly from the $12.8b value the firm was said to carry at the beginning of this year. With its only investor, Appaloosa Capital, having bailed, Delphi needs to raise $3.75b in order to emerge from bankruptcy. But that number doesn’t reflect the fact that the new plan calls for GM to make a $10.6b investment in its parts maker, including taking over $3.4b worth of pension obligations. In other words, GM must sink more money into Delphi than the part supplier is worth or risk a supply shortfall since other firms won’t touch Delphi’s GM contract pricing. And it’s not like GM has tons of cash just sitting in the bank to bailout its spinoff. This is where GM’s cash burn and supplier cost-shuffling come together to put the General between a rock and a hard place. There’s no word on if, when, or how GM is going back its struggling supplier, but a hearing is planned for October 23 and a final ruling should arrive by December 17. GM needs $10.6b by then to prevent its entire business from crumbling. Otherwise, Delphi goes to Chapter 7 while GM begins a bankruptcy court adventure of its own.

A study by Experion Automotive reported in Automotive News (sub) shows that nearly $25b in US auto loans are currently delinquent. In the second quarter of 2008, some 2.48 percent of all auto loans were 30 days past due according to the study, and .75 percent are 60 days past due. Both number are up noticeably compared to last year. All in all, there’s little in the way of encouraging news in the Experion report. Only the percentage of delinquent loans made to those with good credit scores (680+ on the 300-800 scales) is actually down, dipping to 56.5 percent compared to 61.1 percent last year. Well, that explains why auto loans are now considered “distressed assets.”

State Department “undesirable” and reportedly mobbed-up Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska has given up his 20 percent share in contract manufacturer and supplier Magna International. Marketwatch reports that Deripaska had bought into Magna in order to reap expertise in developing his own Russian-based automotive empire, but the credit crunch has him backing out. In fact, Deripaska had laid his 20m Class-A Magna shares as collateral for their purchase, and thanks to major retreats in the Russian stock market, Deripaska is simply walking away from his $1.54b investment. Magna stock has dropped 45 percent since Deripaska bought in, further exasperating his position and forcing his Basic Elements holding group to repritoritize. Meanwhile, Magna is happy to have had the opportunity to gain access to Russia’s auto manufacturing market, through the Deripaska-owned GAZ Group. Though Deripaska’s stake in Magna will be sold off by an unnamed creditor, collaboration could continue between the two firms. “We believe that the Russian market still holds significant opportunities for us and intend to continue to pursue joint opportunities with Russian Machines and GAZ, as well as other opportunities to advance our position in Russia,” says Magna co-CEO Siegfried Wolf.

The Times of London has a test of the new Vauhall/Opel Insignia, possibly destined for the US as the 2010 Saturn Aura, and the Mondeo-fighter apparently isn’t living up to the hype. What is the Times’ biggest beef? The beef, apparently, as the Insignia weighs a hefty 3,300 pounds, some ten percent more than the Vectra it replaces. Times scribe Andrew Frenkel is not amused, noting that the Insignia “also uses more fuel, pumps out more CO2, has slower acceleration and a lower top speed. They call this progress.” Much of the review gripes about the Insignia’s placement in the Euro-market, but it does note that the Vectra replacement does look terrific. Too bad that will likely change when if it comes Stateside, since the program to bring it as a Saturn is on hold. Handling and ride quality receive high marks, though engine performance and economy are blunted by the weight gain. One of the biggest letdowns noted by the Times is the poor interior build quality, with its “preponderance of cheap, hard plastic” and several functionality issues ranging from wiggly handbrake to disappearing (!) mirror control assemblies. Frenkel fears that beyond attractive looks and “keen pricing.” the Insignia doesn’t offer anything the Mondeo doesn’t, particularly in the crucial categories of dynamic abilities and efficiency/running costs. If its sleek looks are lost in translation to the Aura, it might not be too early to call Saturn’s last best hope DOA. If they bring it here it all.

Car Magazine (UK) reports that Porsche is developing a mid-engined “budget” sportscar to compete with the Mazda MX-5, and sharing platforms with forthcoming Audi and VW versions. With Audi’s R4 having been canceled for competing too closely with Porsche’s Boxster and Cayman models, the new mid-engined platform is being developed to fight in the $35k-$45k segment. The Audi version will likely replace the TT, finally bringing RWD dynamics to its fashion-forward coupe, along with 220hp and 280hp performance trims. The VW version would pack smaller 1.2 and 1.4 liter engines, while details on a Porsche version are still forthcoming. Since an aluminum spaceframe is off the table thanks to high costs, the roadster/coupe could end up weighing as much as 2,200 pounds. So, should Porsche even be considering a version of this VW/Audi sportscar? Product strategy in the new Porsche/VW will be a tricky proposition for some time as the newly unified firm struggles to maintain brand appeal while leveraging its new partnership. For Porsche, the question goes to volume versus brand dilution, and the possiblity of bringing back the 356 brings this dynamic to the forefront. Would a baby-Boxster bring more fans into the Zuffenhausen fan club, or will it degrade the brand and cannibalize TT sales? As usual, the issue comes down to execution. If Porsche can offer a model with vastly superior dynamics than the VW version, it may be worth it. If the new 356 doesn’t differentiate itself enough from VW and Audi verisons, Porsche’s sibling rivalry could bring yet another challenge to the already-tenuous VW-Porsche anschluss.