Let's say you manage a fleet of vehicles, and your bosses want it updated. "Make it cleaner," they say, "more efficient." There any number of hucksters (and their hard-won tax breaks) out there who will try to convince you that ethanol is cheaper and sends the right PR message. What they won't tell you (until it's too late) is that converting to E85 costs money and reduces efficiency. Converting to hybrids will come with a sphincter-clenching price tag, if you can even find enough Priora for sale. So what's a fleet manager to do? Invest in education. A Ford-sponsored study at Green Car Congress shows that lessons in eco-driving techniques can bring down fleet fuel economy by as much as 26 percent. That's right folks, an automaker-sponsored study shows that you can save gas without necessarily buying some gimmicky product they're hocking! That 26 percent average reduction came after four days of testing by 48 drivers. Individually, efficiency improved between 6 to 50 percent with instruction. Screw the overhyped technical innovations; this is the real game-changer. Too bad Detroit can't put it in a bottle and sell it. But since they don't have any Priora to sell, this may just have to do.

There is no greater condemnation of an industry's lack of competitive spirit than seeing its executives hanging around political conventions. Their sudden interest in the future direction of America sends a single resounding message: we have failed on our merits and our misery demands company. And while Detroit snuggles up to Obama, courtesy of McCain's semi-stand against a D2.8 bailout, the E85 lobby gets to represent the failures of America's auto and energy businesses at the Republican convention in Minneapolis. Of course, it helps that Minnesota is a standard-bearer for ethanol, bringing countless millions in pork to the land of a thousand lakes. But the mere presence of E85-backers at the RNC convention isn't enough to hammer home the ugly, thoughtless greed of the corn-juice movement. Domesticfuel.com reports that the American Lung Association of the Upper Midwest has purchased a number of pro-ethanol TV spots and billboards aimed specifically at the Donkey do. "Addicted to Oil?" asks a sign on the St. Paul skyway. The query that really begs an answer here is "what the hell is a respiratory health advocacy group doing schilling for agribusiness?" Meanwhile, yesterday's E85BOTD poster child POET has given the University of South Dakota a $3.9m grant to study cellulosic ethanol. First, why not just build another plant, considering POET's first cellulosic ethanol plant in Scotland cost $4m? Second, will this research grant simply provide academic fodder for the corn farming lobby's campaigns? And third, why didn't POET ask the government to fund this grant? Is ethanol finally learning to stand on its own? Don't count on it.

Say what you want about Detroit, it still has some class. The media may already be counting the bailout billions, but the once-big three will be waiting until after Labor Day to visit Washington, hat in hand. Per Emily Post's corporate welfare etiquette, natch. The Wall Street Journal also reports that the Detroit three will speak with a single voice during upcoming meetings with federal loan officers. As in no screwing over Chrysler for a better deal. Of course that means the projected $50b will have to be split three ways. And then there's that damn CAFE ramp-up to worry about. In fact, Detroit insiders are already saying that 2011 compliance alone could take up the whole $50b. Why, it's almost as if Detroit might need even more money! But with political season in full swing and the economy emerging as a major issue, Detroit knows it has only to ask. Posturing representatives will hand out loans for the electoral feel-good, and before you know it there'll be a Volt in every pot. And billions of dollars in taxpayer liability for three spectacularly failing enterprises.

The auto industry's $50b bailout plan should, by all  accounts, be a fairly controversial issue. Detroit wants a re-do after chasing SUV profits off a cliff, but can't even guarantee that $50b will be enough. So why are industry pundits so unified in their support for the industry plan? To be fair, there is some opposition to the bailout plan among the chattering classes. Curiously it seems to be limited to John McCain, SUV-haters and everyone on Wall Street. Oh yeah, and TTAC. Meanwhile  every buff-book columnist and "car-guy" commentator worth his junket airfare is parroting the same two basic arguments. First: it's not a bailout. Second: America, Fuck Yeah.

Think Australian cars and you're likely come up with three words: large, RWD, sedan. Well, Ford CEO Allan Mullaly has turned the land down under upside down by suggesting that the next Falcon might be a front-drive model. The Motor Report gasps at the announcement, but with the new Falcon FG selling slowly, it seems large rear-drive sedans are going the way of the SUV in this country. Mullaly's pronouncement that the decision would "be driven by what the customer wants and values" has Aussie hoons hoping they still have a chance to stop the cruel march of progress. In the real world, rumors that the new Falcon could be a global platform suggest that it will almost certainly be FWD. Mullaly also gently broke the news that in the long term, V8s would be less prominent in the lineup thanks to Eco-boost. Of course the quantifiable benefits of an FWD platform are numerous. Besides the greater global flexibility, an FWD model would offer more interior space and efficiency for less money. GM's Holden brand has probably saturated what few niche markets exist abroad for the Aussie formula of cheap-and-cheerful, drift-happy muscle sedans. In decisions which reflect their general strategies, GM has gone for the marginally-profitable gusto by bringing its Aussie RWD V8 sedan stateside as the G8, while Ford plays it safe by (probably) globalizing its Aussie throwbacks. From a business perspective, it's hard not to prefer Ford's approach. As an RWD nut, well… change can suck.

MG first introduced its mid-engine F (later TF) roadster way back in 1995, but new owners Nanjing (SAIC) are still trying to sell the damn thing. Production of 500 TFs for the British market began this month at the Longbridge plant, in a run-up to restarting regular production. And until recently the Chinese firm was planning on opening an R&D facility and factory in Ardmore, OK with an eye towards selling the outdated runabout in the US. But no longer, reports Automotive News (sub). "The U.S.A. isn't on the short-term radar as an anticipated market for us, but with the right product, it would be good to return there," says Nanjing flack Gary Hagen. Considering the TF hasn't been a competitive product for nearly a decade, yeah, it's safe to assume it might help to jump into the US market with a better best foot forward. After all, the TF's British comeback is gamble enough, despite a number of sales upsides. First, it's still nominally a British sports car, and Nanjing can rely on patriotism to move at least a few models in Old Blighty. Besides, Brits go for underpowered and out-of-date sports cars as long as they're sufficiently charming, as witnessed by the eternal availability of Fiat's Barchetta. The US offers far fewer sympathy-buy opportunities and much higher dealer and advertising costs. Whether Nanjing ever decides to build an all-new MG to make good on its North American ambitions is very much up in the air. At least they haven't already re-killed the brand stateside before even trying.

Last time we checked in on McLaren's P11 supercar development, the British firm was descending into epic drama with engine partner and co-owner Mercedes. We're not sure of the current status of legal wrangling, but Autocar tells us a new designer has been brought in to completely restyle the mid-engine screamer. Former BMW, Mini, Fiat and Ferrari designer Frank Stephenson will begin designing the new McLaren after his customary "gardening leave" is complete later this year. Production has been delayed by at least a year, pushing the release to 2010, with ragtop and GTR racing versions arriving subsequently. Technical specs are said to be unchanged, which means Mercedes has yet to pull permission to use its 6.2 liter AMG V8 mated to a DSG box. The rumored 600 hp GTR version will get a mysterious German-built V10 which is still undergoing testing. Wrapped in a skin designed by the man who brought you the Maserati Quattroporte, Ferrari 612 Scaglietti, and 2001 MINI, this should be some serious kit. Unless the drama comes back with a vengeance.

It's always fun to see analysts justify their way to a predetermined conclusion, especially when the facts do not come close supporting it. At the usually on-point SeekingAlpha blog, Tim Plaehn tries his hand at another round of corn juice justification, this time with a new twist: cobs, baby. Claiming that high food prices create incentives for "efficiency and innovation" rather than say, cutting the cord, Plaehn lays out the roadmap for the ethanol industry's next big thing. Since everyone and their senile grandparents know that cellulosic, not feedstock-based, ethanol is the future, Plaehn appropriates what little future the biomass-based fuel has into the ethanol farm subsidy racket. He points to a company (POET) that uses cellulosic ethanol extraction to squeeze some extra juice from corn cobs, rather than non-feedstock biomass crops, arguing that the expensive technology will extract 27 percent more ethanol per acre of corn. If we're talking about investing in cellulosic extraction, it makes far more sense to base it off of such low-impact, high-efficiency crops as switchgrass. Except that this far more logical approach would mean the end of government ethanol subsidies to corn producers. So what other miracles does Plaehn forecast to allow ethanol to reduce dependence on foreign oil? More expensive technology of course, only this time we're talking blending pumps which could dial in the exact amount of ethanol consumers want in their gas. Choosing between E20, E30, E40, etc sounds great, but at what cost an all-new infrastructure? That's precisely beside the point for the ethanol lobby, who know that infrastructure-building is just another great way to get the government to subsidize their marginally-viable product. But this is exactly what you should expect from a heavily criticized, multi-billion-dollar pork project that claims to be chasing "efficiency and innovation" without ever truly exposing itself to market influences.

The Detroit Free Press reports that GM retirees could face pension interruptions thanks to the General's dumping of obligations to bankrupt supplier Delphi. Salaried employees who never worked for Delphi had their pensions handed over to the troubled GM spinoff in 1999, and had wondered what was happening when checks began arriving with Delphi's name on them. But puzzlement is giving way to concern, as the federal Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp has warned that Delphi is some $3.5b in the hole on its pension obligations. And no wonder, considering GM saddled it with pension obligations from several closed and sold factories as a spin-off goodbye present in 1999, a move pension experts call "legal." As in there ought to be a law against it. Meanwhile, hundreds of the non-Delphi retirees have received letters from the supplier saying their pensions are at risk, thanks to Delphi's bankruptcy. Delphi is supposed to transfer $1.5b in (hourly retiree) obligations back to moneybags GM, but mysteriously that hasn't happened yet, prompting the PBGC's concern with the situation. Though Delphi's bosses swear up and down that they're committed to honoring pension obligations, if the transfer doesn't happen by September 30 when new PBGC rules go into effect, Delphi will likely find itself in pension default. Which means hundreds of workers who never even worked for Delphi would be at the mercy of the PBGC. And those same new rules mean the PBGC will likely not honor most planned payment step-ups and early retirement benefits. "I don't want a handout," says one retiree. "I want General Motors to pay my pensions like they told me they were going to do."

As Detroit gears up for the beggar-bowl bailout-fest, the Volt is taking center stage as, well, the only reason to invest in Detroit's future. We already know that GM is pushing hard for consumer tax breaks to bring high-flying MSRP estimates down to earth, but it seems production incentives will be the first Volt-related handouts out of the gate. MLive.com reports that Flint's city council has approved three tax incentives worth tens of millions of dollars to bring Volt engine production to the rustiest town in the rust belt. GM's Volt engine plant is expected to cost the company $359m before incentives, and will "preserve" some 300 jobs. The exact cost to Flint taxpayers is as yet unknown, but the city is clearly bending over backwards to reinvent itself as the home of Detroit's energy-efficient renaissance. Flint has agreed to cutting 50 percent of the Volt factory's real property taxes, saving GM $6m, but also bringing in $6m in new property taxes… so far, so tax-neutral. But the city council has also agreed to abate 100 percent of the new factory's personal property taxes, meaning all factory equipment would be tax-free until 2033. Savings to GM from this measure are as yet unknown, but are expected to eclipse the $6m in real property tax savings. The city also agreed to designate the site of the factory a brownfield redevelopment site, making it eligible for state incentives which GM is still pursuing. Flint also approved a fourth undefined tax break to extend the renaissance zone through 2023 for the existing Flint Tool and Die plant. Complaints from a former local NAACP leader that such incentive mean that the Volt engine will be "built on the backs of the working poor" went ignored, as the eco-friendly backslapping from industry and government carried the day. This, ladies and gentlemen, is what we call a preview of coming attractions.

Pistonheads reports that Britain's War on Speed is reaching levels of expense and complication to rival our own War on Drugs. Signs have been appearing around Essex to "warn" drivers that something Orwellian this way hovers, as the county has turned to helicopters to fight the evil of speeding. And true to form, the copper chopper is stocked with goodies that would make Big Brother nod his head approvingly. The automated onboard camera system can recognize number plates from 700 ft, and and a "Skyshout" public address system allows officers to bark orders at offending motorists or blast "Flight of the Valkyries" to get all pumped. And with the Orwellian kit comes the kind of tortured justification that brings to mind ol' George's maxim that "the object of power is power." You see, speeders are a tricky lot, and since cars are too easy to ticket, they've switched to motorcycles. Says the chairman of the Essex Casualty Reduction Board, "There is a perception it is sometimes easier for motorcyclists to evade detection of offences because of the speed they travel at. We feel signs warning of the likelihood of detection by air will be an extra incentive for motorcyclists in particular, and all motorists, to drive safely." Which makes the initiative well worth the $1,800/hour expense, right?

Thenewspaper.com reports that Aussie photo enforcement firm Redflex has announced record profits after camera-issued tickets jumped by 50 percent in the U.S. this year. In fact, $71m of Redflex's $88m annual revenue comes from the states where camera enforcement is taking off. In 2003, Redflex operated fewer than 200 cameras, a number that now stands at 1305 and will hit 1745 by the end of next year. Redflex is on top of the world, bragging there's no end in sight for growth in its business. Except that there is. Some five percent of Redflex cameras have been shut down by court rulings, and cameras are banned from several states. Furthermore, Redflex sold radar units to the state of Arizona which were not approved for use by the FCC, and faces civil penalties as a result. In the course of that investigation, Arizona's Secretary of State found that a Louisiana notary employed by Redflex had falsified certifications for her employers speed cameras. This comes on top of revelations that municipalities are manipulating yellow light times to increase camera revenue. Once again, government and business take whatever measures they deem necessary to extract maximum revenue for minimum effort. Your tax (and fine) dollars at work.

Government fleet purchases are a major factor in keeping the ethanol crazy-train rolling. Not to mention damning evidence of ethanol's inviability on the free market. But even local governments who hoped that cheap ethanol would reduce costs and support energy independence are beginning to realize that switching to corn juice just brings lower mileage and higher food prices. In fact, the Times Herald-Record reports that Orange County, NY actually did the math and found that the 25 percent reduction in efficiency with ethanol outweighed any benefits. And that's not even including the costs of installing a new pump and fuel tank. And keep in mind we're not talking about some business that is continuously hacking away at its bottom line. Governments are usually more than happy to spend a little extra on something like ethanol that will provide a "we're doing the right thing" PR buzz. Indeed, E85 has come as far as it has based largely on government fleet purchases made as political favors to the ethanol alliance. Now that local governments can no longer justify ethanol's shocking inefficiency, the party seems to be winding up. And not a moment too soon.

It's official: Chrysler's in talks with everybody and nobody. As if finally realizing that the North American market is lost to it, Chrysler has been going after the much-touted growth markets of India and Russia. Not that there's much to talk about yet. "When we look at alliances in different regions, we have had discussions with multiple companies in Russia," says Chrysler's Tom LaSorda. "In India we have had discussions with many companies." Mr Lasorda also confirmed that the sky is indeed blue. When the talk turns to Fiat, LaSorda gets all bashful, like an eligible bachelor accused of lowering his standards. "Have they approached us? Yes," LaSorda tells Reuters . "At this stage there is no formal discussion going on, but there was an inquiry." And he's quick to point out that Fiat will get with anyone, asserting that "we are not the only ones." In India, Chrysler wants to sell Wranglers through Tata Motors, and it's expecting to announce a new Russian hookup by the end of the year. Between Nissan, Fiat and Tata, the Chrysler plan is beginning to look like rebadging foreign cars while building trucks for others to sell around the world. Then leasing cheap American manufacturing as the dollar continues to slide. Or being sold for scrap when they run out of time to sort it all out. We shall see.

Automotive News (sub) reports that Indian tractor firm Mahindra and Mahindra has delayed the US launch of its Appalachian pickup, built in Chennai, India. M&M's American distributor Global Vehicles was ready to start chasing its goal of 50k annual sales of the diesel four-banger light truck, when its CEO got a call from Mr Anand Mahindra himself. The message was simple: "My family's name is going onto this vehicle, and it's not going to fail." Mahindra is using the delay to log some 3.2m American miles on 25 trucks in hopes of fine-tuning it for the US market, with a particular eye on reliability. 324 dealers across the company have signed up to sell the Appalachian, but most have not yet built stores, so the delay could only help there as well. Oh, and there's one more thing… the diesel hasn't passed the EPA's new 50-state diesel standards. Global Vehicles and M&M swear on a stack of bibles that it will pass with flying colors, but with the price of diesel staying high, efficiency ratings will be crucial to the Appalachian's success. And since they've got the extra time, maybe they'll find some clever way to explain why an Indian truck has been named after a region of America. Maybe.