We've been pointing out for some time that lighter cars are more fun to drive and more eco-friendly than, uh, heavier cars. Enter the Lotus Eco Elise show car. The Lotus boys have still managed to shave another 70 lbs. from the donor Elise S' 1896 lbs. frame (ouch). And really, that's the sales pitch. Sure, the body panels are made of hemp-based composites (smoke 'em if you got 'em), there are photovoltaic panels on the roof (to power what?), the paint is water-based (woo-hoo!) and its production has more environmental credentials than Greenpeace. But the buzzword-laden materials and production techniques wouldn't mean a thing if this Lotus couldn't take wing. While other manufacturers struggle to reinvent the internal combustion engine, Lotus is simply following founder Colin Chapman's dictate and adding lightness. But not luggage. Nope. Not a bit.

Auto Motor und Sport has some stunning news out of Europe, where the Chevrolet brand is *gasp* kicking ass. That's right folks, GM has sold 318k fewer vehicles on the year in America, but in Europe the General's sales are actually up by 375k units on the year. And no, those numbers are not coming from the newly "upmarket" Opel (-1.7 percent), or established SAAB (-13 percent) brands either. Rebadged Daewoos sold as Chevrolets are what's been (sort of) saving GM's bacon on the continent that invented the car, up a staggering 23.7 percent on the year. Most of those sales come from Eastern Europe and Russia, where people realize that the American brand's connotations of obesity, pollution and warmongering were properly earned in the Cold War. And speaking of brand connotations, Chevrolet isn't even the fastest-growing GM brand in Europe. Sales of the real "America's Brand" HUMMER are up a staggering 29 percent on the year so far. Of course, that's a not-so staggering total of 1,325 HUMMERs sold. But still, who'd have thunk it? In summary, the former Evil Empire is crazy for Chevrolets, Europe still loves it some HUMMER and we're tracking a cold front moving through Hell this weekend. Details at Eleven.

It turns out that Fiat and BMW's axis of platform-sharing may help facilitate Alfa's stateside arrival. Automotive News [sub] reports that the Fiat version of the automakers' joint agreement states that "as part of possible cooperation, BMW Group will provide Fiat Group Automobiles with support in launching the Alfa Romeo brand in the North American market." And really, it's perfect. BMW already has a chain of boutique dealers in the more "sophisticated" American markets: MINI. And sure enough, Fiat spokesfolk tell AN "Mini U.S. dealers would have the possibility to also sell Alfa Romeo cars." Official details of the agreement have not been publicized, nor has BMW officially commented on MINI becoming a multi-brand retailer. Still, it's hard to think of too many downsides. MINI stores are already located in the markets that will be interested in Alfas, and the idea of an 8C Competizione gracing a MINI showroom is hardly the stuff of MINI salesman nightmares. Though the two brand's FWD offerings may not be as coordinated as they'd like, the platform-sharing plans mean that the two brands could grow around each other. Besides, a MINI-Alfa dealer would hearken back to the good old days of "import specialty dealers." Only without the horrendous products and service support. We hope. 

Automotive News China [sub] managing editor Yang Jian has a column warning Chinese firms not attempt to buy Volvo anytime soon. Yang considers the Shanghai Automotive Industry Works (SAIC) and First Auto Works (FAW) as the most likely suitors for Ford's Swedish division. They alone have access to the state-controlled bank financing needed to make the deal happen. Never mind that, Yang says, there are a wealth of lessons that China is still not ready to buy-up western car brands. The first-ever Chinese purchase of a western brand, Nanjing Auto Group's takeover of MG, led to an overleveraged NAG being bought up by SAIC. When SAIC bought Korean firm Ssangyong, it had to endure labor walkouts over plans to shift production from Korea to China, followed by a slide into unprofitability. As a friend of Yang's at SAIC puts it "SAIC certainly won't consider buying (Volvo) since we know how much hassle an overseas acquisition could create." So it turns out that a booming market isn't enough for Chinese firms to overcome their unfree-market disadvantages. 

Toyota has been the matinée idol of mainstream automakers for some time now. Car buyers want to be with it, and car makers want to be it. But how does the Toyota stack up against other well-known (non-car) brands? The Global Pulse survey (pdf) by research firm The Reputation Institute shows that even compared against 1,000 of the worlds top brands, Toyota is the Worlds Most Respected Company. Setting aside the pure hyperbole of the title, and the fact that it comes from a firm that should have been voted "Most Pretentiously Named Company," this is a huge achievement. Indeed no other automaker cracked the list, save for Volvo Bilar and Tata Motors' parent company, Tata Group. And whence cometh these godlike achievements by ToMoCo? Very, very committed employees is one possible answer. Motor Authority reports that a Toyota engineer involved in developing the Camry Hybrid died as a result of overwork. Although overtime work is common in Japan, the late engineer was working 80 hours of overtime per month prior to kicking the bucket from ischemic heart disease. The last time we heard about a Toyota employee being worked to death was back in 2002, when a 30-year-old worker died after carrying 70 hours of overtime per month. Apparently, that's the kind of improvement that it takes to stay at the top.

With The Land of The Free deep in auto-market hell, our cheese-eating  surrender-monkey pals look set to follow suit. PSA (Peugeot-Citroen) has enjoyed relatively brisk metal moving thus far this year. But the automaker expects sales in its Euro-market bastion to start dropping through the rest of the year. Sales in Western Europe (where PSA gets its fattest profits) are down two percent year-to-date, and headed south– despite French-market tax incentives (where 22 percent of PSA sales originate). The Wall Street Journal reports that price increases set to go into effect this summer may help PSA's bottom line, but only at the expense of sales. At Renault, CEO Carlos Ghosn's ambitious ten percent sales growth target has been halved. "Realistically we are dealing in an environment which is very uncertain and we have to be very transparent in the fact that it can get better or worse," says Ghosn. Analysts say profitability goals are also likely to be abandoned. C'est la vie.

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) hasn't revised their crash test rating system since Tonya Harding's ex-hubby ordered a hit on Nancy Kerrigan's right leg (1994). As a result, "starflation;" some 96 percent of all cars sold in America get a four to five star rating. The NHTSA will roll-out new tests and standards in the fabled year 2010. The International Herald Tribune reports that the agency's looking to unify front and side impact results into a single one to five star rating. This should provide a more apples-to-apples comparison of overall vehicle safety, and bring the U.S. in line with European and Japanese testing standards. The NHTSA will add new front-impact tests and a side-impact pole test (sure to provide the Youtube crowd with hours of hilarity). They'll also begin tormenting smaller female dummies, in hopes of improving safety for smaller passengers, and more closely monitor leg crushage. Finally, los federales will note standard safety equipment such as electronic stability control, lane departure and forward collision warning systems in safety rating summaries. Welcome changes all. 

Forbes reports that China's Chery Automobile is looking into a purchase of Ford's struggling Volvo division. According to Chinese media reports, Chery is shopping for some $4.4b in financing to make the purchase, although observers are skeptical that the purchase could actually take place. Chery (which is owned by the city of Wuhan) can not simply buy Volvo outright, as it has not yet been able to raise funds on Chinese capital markets. Having failed to meet the Hong Kong stock index's capital structure requirements, and with the Shanghai stock exchange taking a beating, Chery must rely on outside financing to make a play for Volvo. And as Zhang Xin, an auto analyst with Guotai Jun'an Securities points out, Chery's entire asset value is less than the rumored price tag for Volvo. Furthermore, Ford has already set up a joint venture with Changan Motors to build the Volvo S40 in China, while Chery has entered an alliance with Chrysler. And Ford is letting the considerable barriers to the deal do all the talking, as the International Herald Tribune reports that Ford once again refuses to comment on the possible deal. Still, with a new suitor for Volvo being hinted at each of the last few weeks, Ford's insistence that it is "committed" to Volvo seems just a tad disingenuous.

London's new Mayor Boris Johnson has scrapped his predecessors plans to hike congestion charges to nearly $50 per day, reports the Times. Not only has BoJo repealed Ken Livingstone's proposed fee bump, but he's even paid Porsche's six-figure legal bill after the German automaker lead the charge against the increase. "I am delighted that we have been able to scrap the £25 charge, which would have hit families and small businesses hardest," said Johnson. "I believe the proposal would actually have made congestion worse by allowing thousands of small cars in for free." And what makes "Red" Ken Livingstone most angry about the reversal of his controversial legacy? Environmental damage? Long commute times? No, it's the lost revenue for the city government. "The claim that £10m has been 'saved' by scrapping the CO2 charge is entirely false – in reality London will lose £30 million – £60million expected annual revenue from the scheme," said Livingstone. With that admission, any pretext that the beefed-up congestion charge is actually an environmental or traffic-calming measure is well and truly put to bed. Along with Mr Livingstone's political career. And good riddance too.

We all know that GM is burning through cash faster than a well-oiled cash burning machine, but nobody seems to know where the next GM greenback fix is going to come from. Automotive News (sub) reports that a JP Morgan analyst thinks it could come from GM's VEBA contributions. The General has set aside some $14.5b for the UAW fund which was envisioned as a way for GM to get out from under its crippling benefit liability. But with cash tight and credit increasingly unavailable, the UAW may just have to loan that money back to GM to keep the lights on for another few years. Analyst Himanshu Patel reckons GM needs $10b to prevent a major cash crunch by 2009, and that GM could squeeze up to $6b from the UAW fund. "Why would the UAW agree to this? My short answer is they have to," Patel said, adding "the UAW now is extremely motivated to keep GM, Ford and Chrysler out of bankruptcy." Oh yeah, and GM would have to pay the UAW up to 12 percent interest on the friendly loan. It's a risky move though, given that nothing indicates that GM will ever be able to pay the money back. But then GM and the UAW are up the same creek with the same lack of equipment, so the partners in failure may have little choice to double down for another round. Unless of course there's some other white knight waiting to throw $10b into the giant sucking sound that is General Motors. Which there isn't.

With mature markets under-performing spectacularly, Toyota continues to invest in supplying China's endless thirst for cars. Shanghai Daily reports that ToMoCo is about to drop some $529m on increased production capacity in the Middle Kingdom. With volume leaders GM and VW in its sights, Toyota hopes to snag ten percent market share (1m vehicles). Sales are already headed for 700k this year. Toyota is scrambling to meet demand with a production capacity of only 640k units annually. And so its joint-venture plants are getting more money for more cars; Guangzhou Auto Group will double production to 400k units, while Sichuan FAW Toyota will hit 30k and Changchun FAW Toyota will build up to 10k Priora and Land Cruisers. Of course tooling-up takes time; ToMoCo won't be finished until 2010. By which time steel and fuel prices may have taken some of the zest from the Chinese market. Still, in its pursuit/maintenance of world domination, Toyota can't afford not to build more cars in China. 

While we wait for automaker bankruptcy filings, we have a little schadenfreude from a different (but equally deserving) sector to keep you going. Reuters reports that spiraling foodstock costs are tearing a giant hole in profit margins for domestic ethanol suppliers, causing a spate of bankruptcy filings. Corn (the main ingredient for domestically-produced ethanol) was already hitting record prices before the recent deluge in the Midwest. Post-flooding price spikes have wrought havoc on the whole ethanol business plan. Alex Moglia of Moglia Advisors, a biofuel consultancy group, tells Reuters that 12 biodiesel and ethanol plants have declared bankruptcy in recent months, with more to follow. The plants that are still open are typically producing at about half capacity, says Moglia. Ironically, a major problem for domestic ethanol producers is the transportation of their fuel. The majority of ethanol refineries are in the Midwest, which has a massive oversupply of corn juice. High fuel costs are preventing America's alternative fuel from reaching larger markets on either coast at competitive prices. Ultimately, the big boys of ethanol– your ADMs, and VersaSuns– will survive the hard times for ethanol producers, thanks to agribusiness diversification. It's the little guys that are being forced out of business, as reality begins to hit home for America's "magic fuel." Even so, their elected officials are probably lobbying for bailouts as we speak. 

Programs to buy back beaters have been implemented in California and Texas, pulling thousands of polluting vehicles of the road each year. Canada's program to buy back old, polluting cars is set to roll out in January of next year. The Detroit News reports that the three-year Canadian program is targeting 50k buybacks, or about one percent of all cars on the road. While provincial governments have implemented similar programs, this will be North America's first nationwide buyback program. The $92m program will offer drivers $300 per running beater, or discounts on bicycle purchases or a public transit pass. Busting-out the old calculator, it becomes obvious that buying 50k cars at $300 a pop would set back the Canucks $15m. Some $77m of the program will be going… somewhere else. But don't expect opposition to the program. The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers spokesman Charles Territo says "we strongly support efforts to get older, less-efficient vehicles off the roads and help consumers." Because they'd rather you buy new than drive your clunker till it breaks, of course. Which means the only people who won't be thrilled by this program are people who care how their government spends money… and know how to use a calculator. 

Autobloggreen (ABG) is all over Mercedes' EV plans. The tree-hugging bloggers report that Stuttgart's first EV will be an A Class. Digging deeper, it seems that Mercedes will be using a battery pack from Tesla Motors, confirming Elon Musk's hint of a "small deal" with Daimler. The rumor hasn't been confirmed by Mercedes, and ABG points out that Daimler claims to already have li-ion battery thermal issues licked. Furthermore, Continental has been named as the official battery supplier of Mercedes' forthcoming S 400 Hybrid. So we'll wait to hear from official Daimler sources before we credit Tesla with its first supplier contract. And don't even ask when the EV A Class will hit the market. Automobile Woche is prognosticating an industry-standard 2010 release. Battery supply notwithstanding, the A-Class was designed with a "sandwich floor" that can accommodate either fuel-cell or EV conversion. Which means that they're good to go. Or not. 

The LA Times reports that nobody tells Bob Lutz how to sell electric cars. In response to a NY Times article on GM's woes, an unnamed EV activist wrote a letter to the editor suggesting GM bring back the EV1 using Panasonic lead-acid batteries. This might have flown under the radar, except that the plucky rabble-rouser copied Maximum Bob on the email. Besides proving that he knows how to use email, Bob's reply proved that his world famous piss-and-vinegar approach hasn't been blunted by GM's recent bad news. "The EV will not meet any current safety laws," writes Lutz. "Putting a version into production that meets regulations would put us out to '11 or '12. They cost us well over $80,000 to produce, and, being a two-seater, we could only sell 800 in four years. We lost over one billion dollars on that experiment." And to the assertion that the Volt "depends on Lithium batteries which don't yet exist," Maximum Bob says "I don't know why you insist that lithium-ion doesn't exist… trust me, the battery will not delay the car." Though the last point might have a little more nuance to it than Bob lets on, it's good to see him put dreams of an EV1 comeback tour to bed.