As much as we criticize ethanol around these parts, we all use it. E10 is a fact of life, thanks to ethanol’s anti-knock properties and lack of groundwater contamination lawsuits. So what if ethanol were used more intelligently as an additive, instead of being hawked as an alt-fuel? PickupTrucks.com has news that Ford’s second-generation EcoBoost turbocharged engines could go that very route. Although the first round of EcoBoost engines aren’t even on sale yet, the second generation is being developed under the codename “Bobcat.” These new engines are said to feature “ethanol boost technology,” not-so-coincidentally developed by Ethanol Boosting Systems of Cambridge, MA.  In essence, a variable ethanol direct-injection system allows turbocharged engines to operate at a higher compression ratio. This means more power and up to 15 percent better efficiency than a first-gen EcoBoost engine. Plus, you only have to top-up on ethanol every month or so. With talk of getting 500 hp and 700 lb-ft from a 5.0 turbo-V8, developers are positioning the Bobcat as big-pickup diesel competition. And Ford is already saying Bobcat engines will be a $1,100 option (give or take), which compares well to diesel’s $5k premium. But don’t start looking for the Bobcat option box any time soon. “The first Bobcat test engines may be built before the end of the year, but they have not received final approval for production,” according to PickupTrucks’ “industry sources.”

Detroit Electric was the company that proved way back in 1911 that an American automaker can make an 80 mile-range EV (albeit with a top speed of 20 mph). When you consider that a brand spankety-new Chinese Zap Xebra gets about a quarter of that range with only a 40 mph top speed, the march of technology doesn’t seem too inspiring, does it? Anyway, DE is a Dutch company nowadays, zombified to provide a palatable brand name for Zap’s spurious Alias and buses built by China Youngman Group. But neither Zap nor Youngman made with the $100m joint investment they promised, nor the $5m consoloation investment they offered later, according to Earth2Tech. “Most of it had to do with they wanted to do buses first and we wanted to do cars first,” says Zap CEO Steve Schneider, invoking long-cliched “creative differences.” So Owner/CEO and former CEO of Lotus Engineering Dan Lam shook off the losers (who thought a Chinese bus company and Silicone vaporware hawkers would make bad partners?) and has found new investors for his firm. And this time they have real money and everything: $300m over five years. Though none of the “Dutch, American and Malaysian” investors were named, it’s obvious that Malaysian automaker Proton is in on the deal. Paul Tan got to check out DE’s three new whips at the irony-free Detroit Electric launch in Kuala Lumpur, and they’re all based on Proton models. The good news is that means DE gives the (Proton-owned) Lotus Elise the EV treatment. The bad news is that the Savvy and Persona are along for the ride. The Elise’s 4.3 second 0-60 time, 6.5 hour charge time and 200-mile range prove that Tesla didn’t exactly reinvent the wheel with the idea of an EV Elise. Especially considering DE have somehow managed to get a manual transmission to work in theirs. DE wants to get cars on the road within 18 months, and the Malaysian government is reportedly rolling out the pork carpet. We shall see.

When a big storm comes, even the best-prepared boats get knocked around. But while the Big 2.8 take on water like a sieve, Toyota has managed to gain market share by simply avoiding double-digit losses. Unsurprisingly ToMoCo’s trucks are doing worst, dropping 17.6 percent but improving over July’s dismal performance. On the car front, the Yaris is booming with 20 percent higher sales than last August, and Camry is up 3.3 percent. But sagging Corolla sales drag Toyota’s overall car sales down 3.4 percent from a year ago. Scion’s skid has leveled off, recording almost exactly as many sales as in July. Lexus follows the ToMoCo trend of hybrids up, everything else down, with a 9.8 percent decrease in cars and a 7.8 decrease in trucks sold in August. Between its brands, Toyota now sells nearly twice as many hybrids as it does Scions, with 19,529 sold in August and 185,051 sold on the year to date. The only way to boost sales there is to increase production. Again. Still.

Cars.com’s Kickingtires blog has a question: “With consumers so concerned about fuel economy, why is General Motors waiting two years to bring out the Chevrolet Cruze, the replacement for the compact Chevy Cobalt?” Of course, we would ask the question with more of a “if the Cruze isn’t being sold for two years, why is GM hyping it now?” slant. Either way, even Kicking Tires is saying something’s gone wrong, horribly wrong, here. But no matter, Bob Lutz has the answer. “We’re waiting on the new world car because that gives us time to develop the 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder for it,” explains the man of maximum. And the way Lutz tells it, the Cruze’s new 1.4 turbocharged four-banger will be worth the wait. “The 1.4-liter is going to be more high torque than high horsepower,” explains the Car Czar. “High torque at the low end for power takeoffs and quick acceleration while still getting high mileage… We expect to get more than 40 mpg highway, better than with some hybrids.” Well, that sounds worth the wait, right? Well, in yet another Lutzie-worthy performance, Maximum Bob shoots his argument in the foot by revealing that “The 1.4 liter goes on sale in Europe in a couple weeks.” So then why is the Cruze not available until the mythical land of “late 2010?” Instead of waiting for the engine, is it possible GM’s waiting for, say, low-interest government loans for retooling factories to build more fuel-effiecient cars? Bet on it.

Most hybrid/EV companies run on deposits. With most “game-changing” products still deep in development, firms often squeeze deposits out of prospective customers to keep cashflow coming before their cars come to market. Not so with Toyota. The LA Times blog notes that Toyota has asked its Palo Alto, CA dealer to stop taking $500 deposits on plug-in Prius models that are still several years from launch. “We asked the folks at Magnussen (Toyota of Palo Alto) to back off a little bit,” Toyota spokesman Irv Miller said. “Let us get our product to market and figure out where we’re going with it before we start putting the cart in front of the horse.” Magnussen has refunded all 25 cash deposits it received, and has created a free waiting list that has already grown to 44. But Toyota’s warning to Magnussen isn’t stopping other Toyota dealers from collecting cash deposits. “I’ve got a few people in town who wanted to come in and leave deposits” on a plug-in hybrid, says Matt Meyer, Sales director of Toyota San Louis Obispo. “I’m not going to tell them ‘No,’ because I don’t tell my customers ‘No.'” Both dealerships say the deposits are fully refundable, but Toyota could still go after San Louis Obispo with a cease-and-desist. That Toyota is trying to reign in hype rather than spur it on is telling. Not only does it show that its future products will face astronomical demand, it also proves that short-term cash is not worth even a few possibly disastisfied customers. Contrast this approach with Chrysler’s un-product EV hype for a quick lesson in how white-hot demand for next-gen powertrains should and should not be exploited.

No, Chrysler doesn’t have any plans to show its three reported EV prototypes to the public. After all, that might imply that these mythical vehicles have some chance of making it into production. Instead, the Auburn Hills mob will be displaying the unnamed, unhinted-at prototypes to dealers only. Because what dealers doesn’t love cars that they can’t sell? Anyway, mission accomplished for Chrysler co-president Jim Press, who leveraged the announcement to make the dubious claim that “we are making substantial progress on electrification of our vehicles.” No, seriously; Chrysler is focusing on developing hybrid electric plug-in vehicles with a range of 300 miles. Not only that, but Press claims ChryCo can “move forward with advanced products for electrification with or without partners.” With the current crop of Chrysler products making a compelling case for suicide, it seems that they’ve learned [from GM] that It doesn’t matter how bad your products are right now. If you swear you have a world-beater just around the corner, the government will bail you out. Press is right on message: “The biggest issue for the auto market today is getting adequate credit, not $4.00 a gallon gas.” Just so.

Auto Motor und Sport reports that former VW Chairman and legendary ego Ferdinand Piech claims to want to replace Wendelin Wiedeking as the top dog at Porsche Holdings SE, which controls Porsche and VW. But this isn’t about Piech, claims Piech, it’s about Wiedeking. Though Wiedeking transformed Porsche into a profit-monster and is currently considered the highest-paid executive in Europe, he’s done nothing but make enemies since the Porsche/VW anschluss. He’s alienated powerful union bosses as well as VW managers by demanding higher profitability, and calling the futures of the Phaeton and the SEAT brand into question. Not to mention helping bring an end to the company-funded bordello visits and shopping sprees for union leaders. But politics matter at VW, and reports have surface that Wiedeking’s ascent to the VW oversight board planned for this month has been called into question. The Braunschweiger Zeitung even reports that GM-Europe boss Carl-Peter Forster could replace Wiedeking, in order to keep Piech and his ally VW CEO Martin Winterkorn at bay. But for the present, the paterfamilias Wolfgang Porsche has announced he’s sticking by his boy Wendelin. This will keep the Porsche/Piech family in line, but it won’t mollify the powerful VW lifers who feel threatened by their new private owners and calls for higher profits. This could get nasty.

Reviving once-proud brand names as a way to sell more high-priced cars has been a favorite technique for low-volume production. Mercedes’ Maybach experiment may not have been a runaway success, but it’s not stopping Jaguar from talking about reviving the Daimler nameplate. And now Aston Martin CEO Ulrich Bez has announced [via The Autochannel] that his employer’s disinterring Aston’s old chum. “Revival of the Lagonda brand would allow us to develop cars which can have a different character than a sportscar, and therefore offer a perfect synergy.” And there you were thinking that Aston’s forthcoming Rapide four-door had all that hearkening stuff covered. Why not slap the Lagonda name on that bad boy? “Lagonda will use a unique design language as Aston Martin does,” Bez blustered. “We will take elements of DNA from the past but will be very future orientated as we are with Aston Martin.” AM plans a Langonda concept for the brand’s centennial anniversary in 2009, which could be a production model by 2012.

For a company with so much history and so many brands, you'd think GM's problem would be having too many valuable nameplates. Not so, according to GM President for the Americas. Troy Clarke tells Edmunds Inside Line "At an awareness level, the Volt obviously has consideration intent (based on 80,000 leads submitted on GM's Web site)." Clarke seems to have conveniently forgotten that the car business involves actually building and selling cars. And overhyping a car that hasn't been built actually has some downsides, even if it is GM's "MVB." "Everybody who's heard of the Volt can give you a description of what they think it is," explains Clarke. "Part of the role of our market research is to understand that, so that we make sure that as we execute the vehicle on something other than just its technical basis, we can build on the brand that the concept has already created." Translation: we still need to figure out which elements of our all-encompassing Volt hype we'll actually have to deliver. Meanwhile, Clarke confirms how much GM is actually relying on the Volt by admitting how badly GM has flubbed its post-SUV strategy. Crossovers like GM's Lambda triplets were supposed to provide a more-efficient alternative to downgrading SUV owners. Clarke says market research shows SUV owners are actually "falling into cars," while CUV buyers are upgrading from cars. In short, one-time SUV buyers can survive in a "regular car." Who'd have thunk it?

Discuss Detroit's bailout plans with one of its well-informed backers, and they will inevitably bring up the Chrysler bailout of 1979. Chrysler's near immediate return to profitability after receiving low-interest government loans is considered proof that U.S. government intervention in the American auto industry can work. After all, Chrysler paid back all its federal loans seven years early. But this comparison doesn't hold water. If anything, the bailout of '79 points out the many reasons for opposing the next big Detroit giveaway.

GM spinoff Delphi has been struggling to exit bankruptcy for over three years. The Wall Street Journal reports the supplier is in danger of being liquidated completely. At the heart of Delphi's problems: $14.5b in pension liability, underfunded by $3.3b. Under the terms of its spinoff, General Motors retained responsibility to fund those pensions– an agreement that has cost GM $11b in cash and writedowns. A tsunami of red ink prompted the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp to press GM to take over $1.5b of the liability next month. GM CFO Ray Young says basta! "[Delphi has] to understand there is only so much that we can do. They're going to have to do their own form of self help here." Self-help or self-destruction? If Delphi's pension fund fails, the PGBC has an $8b lien against Delphi's [profitable] foreign business, which wouldn't prevent cuts to retiree benefits. Meanwhile, the supplier's struggling U.S. plants would likely be "spun back" into GM. Delphi is, as always, committed to crafting a new reorganization plan. But if they can't pull it off, this could be the straw that breaks GM's back. To say nothing of Delphi's 159k employees. 

The Detroit Free Press reports that early August sales estimates show a 14.4 percent drop in new metal moved. But don't turn off your pacemaker yet; the biggest shocker is that Detroit is bearing the overwhelming brunt of the downturn. Estimates from Edmunds show that Chrysler sales dropped 34 percent, GM slid by 27.5 percent and Ford endured a 16.3 percent drop compared to August a year ago. Toyota continues to shed sales but grow market share, slipping by half the industry average at 7.2 percent. The winners in August were Honda, which posted a 0.9 percent increase, and Nissan which defied the market to bump sales by 2.3 percent. On the whole, the market appears to be picking up slightly, with a 13.1m seasonally adjusted annual sales rate (SAAR) up from 12.6m in July. With consumer confidence rising in August, the overall economy appears to be taking its Prozac, but don't expect an auto sales turnaround this year. GM's sharp losses show that even with once-popular "employee pricing" incentives, consumer demand for cars isn't what it once was.

The Detroit Free Press reports that GM has finally chosen a Volt battery supplier from its dueling development partners LG Chem and Conti. But in the interest of squeezing as many "Volt On The Way" headlines into future news cycles, it isn't saying which has been chosen. Both the battery partner and the final look of the production Volt will be previewed by the end of the year, probably whenever some bad news emerges that GM wants the public to ignore. In the meantime, this news means one thing, according to GM auto authoritarian Bob Lutz: "the Volt is real … and test work is progressing nicely." Perhaps not as nicely as Toyota's plug-in Prius though, which just had its delivery date bumped from 2010 to 2009. And with the 'yota PHEV set to arrive a year before the Volt's "late 2010" target, Lutz makes the case for waiting for the Volt to the AP. Toyota hasn't released an all-electric range for the Prius, but Lutz is assuming that because it's a parallel hybrid it won't match the Volt's 40 mile EV range. "After eight or 11 miles (Toyota's PHEV) reverts to being a completely normal gasoline-electric hybrid, which means you get about a 25-30 percent fuel savings, but the point is they do burn fuel." Lutz goes on: "A plug-in hybrid with a limited range is a very nice thing to have. It's wonderful that Toyota is working on this. If they have some test fleets out next year that's great. But it's not the same thing as a Chevy Volt, which is not a plug-in hybrid." Translation: it will cost more than the Prius, but you'll get more green cred. But don't take Bob's word for it. A full (theoretical) comparison test of the Volt and Plug-in Prius can be found here.

I've never understood why Britain became the most virulently anti-speed nation in the world. After all, we're talking about the island of TVRs, Mad Caterhams and Stirling Moss. Maybe Old Blighty's regrettable love for the security camera metastasized into speed cameras. In any case, Britons have long taken to venting their surveillance-repressed ids on the French autoroutes. Not that France doesn't have cameras, they just haven't applied cross-border enforcement. Yet. And once on French soil, even the 80mph speed limit isn't enough to satisfy what the Times calls "British speed freaks." In response to a French request for help with the menace, the UK now sends bobbies to help bust speeders around northern French ports. To some effect. "In a four-hour period last weekend, on the A26 motorway near Saint-Omer , a Franco-British patrol stopped 30 cars for breaking the 130km/h (80mph) limit. All but two were from Britain." According to at least one gendarme, Brits just tend to go wild whenever they escape their island home. "The mentality of letting go across the Channel seems to be the same one that makes les Anglais get drunk as soon as they leave their country."

Our buddies at Autoblog have strapped on their brave pants, speculating that Toyota's LF-A supercar is DO-A. And there's plenty of evidence to back up their suspicion. There's no production date (not even 2010!), and a $225k price point that won't even pay off development costs. After an uncharacteristically unreliable 24 Hours of Nurburgring race, ToMoCo has opted for a soon-to-be-canceled SC430 silhouette on to its Super GT racer. Plus, Nurburgring testing crews and rival test drivers tell Autoblog that the LF-A is doomed to eternal test-bed status. All of which confirms that Toyota is no longer capable of producing quality performance cars. And reflects Lexus's shift in focus from performance to hybrid luxury. Meanwhile, Car Magazine reports that Honda's hybrid Open Study Model (OSM) will replace the elderly S2000 as Honda's mainline roadster. And they're not talking just styling cues either: the next S2000 will be a hybrid. Unfortunately, details are being held for Car's forthcoming print issue, so we still don't yet know exactly what flavor the hybrid will come in. If Honda's too-good-for-this-life Accord Hybrid is anything to go on, it could be something special.