Aston Martin needs some major investment to develop its next generation of luxury sportscars. When Aston met cute with Daimler a few months back, there was talk of Aston becoming another feather in Dr Z's mustache. Since then, Aston's owners have denied seeking a sale. It appears they prefer to take the company public. The Motor Authority reports that has Aston chairman David Richards says the company's eying an IPO that "would be for the next level of investment to finance the next models and fund engine development work where clearly there'll be a requirement for further investment." Richards said the public offering will likely take place on London's stock exchange sometime in the next three-to-five years. This time frame suggests that Aston may need the capital to pay off the $40m the boutique automaker owes Ford; payment's due by the time their engine supply contract runs out in 2012. Meanwhile, Aston will flog the bejesus out of the British brand, following Porsche, Ferrari and Lamborghini down the primrose path of branded laptops, mobile phones, etc.

Breaking up is hard to do. It's even harder when you aren't even ready to move on. Automotive News [sub] reports that GM is "breaking up" with "Big Oil" in a series of new advertisements set to debut in June. "Dear Oil," begins the McCann-Erickson spot. "We've had this great relationship for many years. We think we will both be a lot happier and healthier if we see less of each other." GM's corporate marketing director Katherine Benoit says the ad "addresses the oil-price issue head-on, albeit with a tongue-in-cheek twist." By which she clearly means not at all. You see, GM has been attempting the hugely popular "green branding" approach for some time. The only problem being GM has basically nothing particularly green to market. GM has tried to conceal this discrepancy by touting its E85 FlexFuel vehicles. But with food prices up and ethanol enduring a much-deserved run of bad press, GM is back to square one. And so GM simply asserts it's "done with oil." Benoit thinks that someone will take the "break-up" seriously, saying "You have to make sure that the story you tell plays out." Sadly for this misguided marketing attempt, the GM-Oil relationship has less of a boyfriend-girlfriend dynamic than a junkie-heroin vibe. The [still] truck=heavy manufacturer doesn't need a break-up; it needs a 12-step program.

Edmunds Inside Line hears from mysterious "supplier sources" that the Blue Oval won't build new Mercurys after 2012. Why on earth would Ford kill a beloved brand with such a rich heritage? Maybe because Mercury sales are set to drop below Lincoln's for the first time since 1938. The Fusion-based Milan should be the last of its current models manning the ramparts, once the Montego and Grand Marquis hit the dust sometime in 2011 or early 2012. Looking down the road, the Mercury cup hardly runneth over, without even a version of Lincoln's Flexible MKT crossover or the 2010 Ford Taurus. Edmunds rests its case with this quote from Ford Presidente del Americas, Mark Fields: "We've laid out a strategy to focus a lot of our efforts going forward on the Lincoln side of the franchise. That's where a majority of our focus is going to be, and Lincoln will become the dominant portion of the Lincoln-Mercury franchise, which is a flip from the history." But if that sounds too grim, note that Fields told Automotive News [sub] that "[Mercury] is an important part of the stable of brands." In fact, FoMoCo would continue to invest in the nameplate. Is this a sign of internal divisions over Mercury's fate? All things being equal, it's probably just a ruse to generate faith in the brand, while it's being taken out back to be shot.

The Detroit Free Press reports that Toyota has finally responded to months-old accusations that its Tacoma pickup suffers from "unintended acceleration." Reading ToMoCo's letter to ToMoCo tells the National Highway Transport Safety Administration (NHTSA), it's clear they're treating them with all the contempt engendered by the Audi 500 debacle. "Toyota believes that it is likely that many of the consumer complaints about the general issue of unwanted acceleration… as well as many of the complaints about this subject that have been received by Toyota, were inspired by publicity… Even taking (the accusations) at face value, it is clear that the majority of the complaints are related to minor drivability issues and are not indicative of a safety-related defect." NHTSA has been investigating some 32 complaints of the deus-ex-machina defect in 2004 – 08 Tacomas. Toyota held its own investigation of 12 pickups that had supposedly suffered from unintended acceleration back in October, concluding that the machines harbored "no mysterious brake-circumventing defects." In fact, having prepared for this possibility, Toyota programmed its drive-by-wire system to report an error in case the accelerator pedal and throttle are mismatched. And no such error codes have not been found on any Tacomas reported to have driven themselves into stationary objects. 

After an abortive 1995 takeover attempt (co-starring "Captain" Kirk Kerkorian), former Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca became persona non grata in Auburn Hills. With the DCX disaster fading into memory and current owners Cerberus thrashing around for something, anything that feels good, Chrysler is rehabilitating the Iaccoca legacy. Who better symbolizes the ballsy leadership needed to get Chrysler through its current, second-darkest hour, than the man who got the government to foot the bailout bill at the undisputed low point? Plus, since Bob Lutz made old feisty guys the official mascots of millennial Detroit, Chrysler had to rustle-up one of their own from somewhere. Accordingly, the Detroit Free Press reports that the Iacocca embrace will culminate at an Auburn Hills "employee rally" in Iaccoca's honor is planned for June 26. "This is a good idea," former Chrysler marketing chief Bud Liebler tells the Freep. "Cerberus is still kind of a question mark here in Detroit. And this says, 'We really care about Chrysler.' It will make employees feel good and dealers feel good." Which begs the question: how bad are things at Chrysler, if dealers and employees are really being cheered-up by 80's bailout nostalgia?  

The G8 economic ministers met this weekend in Tokyo to talk about the price of oil. Normally this meeting of the wealthiest nations ends with a call for the little fish of the world to do their part and pump more oil in support of the cheap oil-powered big boys. According to Reuters, they've changed their tune. There's "a growing acceptance that consumer nations must find ways to temper their own demand by focusing on technology, conservation and diversification rather than hounding OPEC to pump ever more oil." Lone old-school holdout: Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. Rudd urged the G8 to 'apply the blow-torch' to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. U.S. Energy Secretary Sam Bodman ain't buying it: "There are relatively few things we can do short term." Meanwhile, back in my home state of California, we have blown through $4/gallon headed for $5/gallon. Susanne Garfield, spokeswoman for the California Energy Commission blames refinery maintenance work. Hmm, we have been hearing about maintenance supply disruptions as temporary factors for many years now, but the prices keep going up. The $99 question is whether $5/gallon is the high point, or just a stop along the way.

Pickuptrucks.com reports that skyrocketing diesel prices have hit oil burners' resale values harder than their gas-powered counterparts. According to Blackbook, the value of 2005-07, 3/4 to one-ton diesel pickups have dropped nearly $6k since January; gas-engined models lost only $3k. Up until the recent fuel-price unpleasantness, lower diesel prices and higher efficiency justified the higher entry cost to diesel ownership. Today, that higher initial cost– increased by new emissions standards compliance– has taken diesel sales (and resale values) from "suck" to "craptastic." Hundreds of Workers building Cummins, Duramax and Powerstroke diesel engines have been laid off either temporarily or permanently. Pickuptrucks.com tries valiantly to end on a happy note, suggesting that diesel prices could regain sanity if developing countries cut subsidies. There's also talk of a new generation of diesel half-ton pickups that might just rescue the day. Meanwhile, unless you have a fryolater to tank from, diesel is dead. Just ask the latest round of striking truckers…

Sales in the toilet? Market share down? Cash burning? Thank God for Maximum Bob. Post Black Tuesday, GM Car Czar Bob Lutz demonstrated GM's commitment to a better tomorrow by not flying a Harrier jump jet to the recent Volt mule demo. According to ever-faithful Detroit News, "Bob Lutz has upped his personal commitment to battery-powered transportation with the purchase of an electric scooter." If that doesn't make you think longingly about someday maybe having the opportunity to possibly order an actual Chevrolet Volt, then this: "Lutz already has four electric Segways at home, including a pair of X2 off-road models." Four? Segway soccer? Anyway, Autoblog's Sam Abuelsamid trades his Bob props for some scuttlebutt. In terms of potential Volt battery suppliers, GM has "a lower risk with one company than the other." Since the Guardian recently ran a story naming potential supplier LG Chem/Compact Power as the provider of the Volt mule's powerpack, Abuelsamid's colleagues at AutoblogGreen assumed that LG Chem/CP was Lutz's preferred company. Twice. AutoblogGreen must've missed the International Herald Tribune story "Compact Power plans to make Volt batteries at a factory on Seoul's outskirts that will make paperback-sized cells for a coming Hyundai hybrid." In other words the real headline should be "GM Volt To Use Hyundai Batteries."

The Toyota Camry is one of four vehicles (including the Corolla) that now sells more prolifically than Ford's dethroned F150 full-sized pickup. At the same time, the new Toyota Tundra pickup is a drug on the market; sales fell 34 percent vs. May 2007. Do the math. ToMoCo have. The transplant's looking at using its famed production flexibility to replace excess Tundra capacity with Camry assembly. Automotive News [sub] reports that Toyota is switching its Princeton, Indiana plant from cranking-out slow-selling Tundra/Sequoia trucks and Sienna minivans to producing the Camry, which sold 51,291 units last month. Though Toyota has not officially responded to the reports of production shuffling, though the company does say it's "looking at a lot of things to balance production." With Tundra production already slowed at Toyota's second truck plant in San Antonio, there's no doubt that Toyota (like many automakers) is over invested in a product that dropped sales to the tune of 31 percent last month. Camry spent much of the 1990's at the top of sedan sales records, and with the battle for the best selling vehicle in America wide open, boosting Camry production could help Toyota's champion snag top-spot bragging rights.

There's an interesting juxtaposition in today's news about the forthcoming VW Golf. Motor Authority reports that Volkswagens sixth-generation Golf will offer standard stop-start technology in its efficiency-oriented Bluemotion versions. VW director of powertrain research Wolfgang Steiger reveals that the the Bluemotion is shooting for a 30 percent gain in efficiency, begging the question of whether Bluemotion trim will bring a hybrid drivetrain to the table. VW has reportedly ditched diesel-hybrid plans for a cheaper gas-electric unit. But Steiger only mentions a new range of 1.0 and 1.2-liter compact gas engines, with a possible forced-induction three-cylinder in the works. Either way, it's all a bit academic. Future US-market Rabbits will be developed separately, on cheaper platforms. Which is funny, because Auto Motor und Sport reports that the new "too-pricy-for-the-states" Golf costs nearly $2k less to produce than the outgoing model. Even with rising steel prices and a strong Euro, VW has managed to realize savings by reducing material costs, increasing volume and producing on a four-day work week. So, despite reducing the cost of building the new Golf, VW will be challenging Toyota in the US market with an even cheaper replacement for the Rabbit? With the diesel Jetta already behind the Prius curve, VW should bite the bullet and bring the Euro-Golf stateside, and proliferate stop-start across its US model line. Or give up its goal of taking on Toyota NA for volume sales.

They say hope dies last, and GM's damned-to-strategic-review HUMMER brand certainly doesn't have much else to run on. Accordingly, HUMMER GM Martin Walsh has posted a reality-efficient, truth-sipping take on his brand's beleaguered fortunes to GM's Fastlane blog, utterly confirming that website as the place bad spin goes to die. Anticipating "speculation" about HUMMER's future, Walsh wants us to know that in his opinion, "the HUMMER name, and it's line-up of iconic vehicles, will still be purchased and enjoyed by customers around the world." In fact, Walsh seems to think the overseas market will rescue HUMMER. "Outside the US, where the world has been living with high fuel prices for the past decade, 2008 sales through April were up 34.8% compared to 2007." Yes, well, as Bloomberg reports, these sales spikes are the result of recent introductions of the brand to countries like Japan, complimenting a steady trickle of sales from gas-subsidizing countries like China and Russia where HUMMERS are still nouveau-riche icons. Walsh trots out every possible reason to think HUMMER isn't completely effed– truck mags love HUMMERS, there's a HUMMER biofuel concept, etc. He finally concludes that he "wholeheartedly believes that HUMMER can have a bright future." So is Walsh trying to stimulate pity-purchases of H2 and H3s, or is this just brand inflation leading up to a sale to Mahindra or Tata? Or is this just empty reassurance to HUMMER dealers that their recent million-plus dollar GM-mandated dealership upgrades were not complete wastes of money? Hand the guy some jam. HUMMER is toast.

Toyota's iQ is shaping out to be some of the toughest competition in the sure-to-grow city-car class. Winding Road has spy shots of the SMART-fighter road testing in Japan. Photos reveal the model's radical wheel-at-each-corner stance, facilitated by Toyota's newly developed differential, flat underfloor gas tank and angled rear suspension. By maximizing interior space, the Toyota will offer back row seating: room for three adults and one child or bag of groceries. The iQ is nearly two feet longer than the SMART, making it both more commodious AND better-proportioned. The small-but premium Toyota was caught in camouflage, but it's not hard to imagine the Geneva showcar's production-ready sheetmetal on this car. Toyota expects to sell 100k iQs per year, after launching the model into the teeth of the European city car market later this year. If it succeeds there, if gas prices continue their precipitous climb, don't be too surprised if the iQ shows up stateside, possibly in micro-ute Urban Cruiser form. We'll let you know.

The Detroit News is running a guest commentary today by UAW President Ron Gettelfinger that's as humble as it is helpful. Which is to say not at all. It turns out Mr. Gettelfinger (along with his union) has been intrigued by the whole "building more fuel-efficient cars" idea for some time now. He wishes Detroit had been as far-sighted and sage as he. Gettelfinger doesn't exactly gloat at the Black Tuesday slashing, since it ain't exactly great news for the UAW, but he does blame "industry, government and concerned citizens" for failing to plan for current conditions. Gettelfinger's implication is that if Detroit and DC had listened to the UAW's "Marshall Plan for the U.S. auto industry"– which was proposed "back when you could buy gas for $1.50 a gallon,"– the current orgy of shutdowns and layoffs wouldn't be happening. So, besides offering economic aid and free-trade measures to form a European bulwark against postwar communism, what did this "Marshall Plan" entail? Predictably, the major parallel is that Gettelfinger's plan involves the Government giving away huge amounts of money, preferably in areas where the UAW can easily sponge it up. Rather than giving consumers a tax credit to buy any fuel-efficient car they want, Gettelfinger would rather see government incentives pay for the production of UAW-made eco-whips. He also trots out the weary canard that increased CAFE standards "unfairly" cost the D3 more than their Japanese competition, and that this should be mitigated by… more government "incentives." 

The congressional crazy train just keeps on rolling, as haggling over changes to roof-crush standards have taken [another] turn for the surreal. Needless to say, lawmakers never stopped posturing long enough to question the safety value of making vehicles more top-heavy. In fact, they launched a whole new round of stupid. In response to the administration's attempts to write limits on future rollover lawsuits into the new rules, Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark) told Bush to drop the lawsuit-limiting language or "you'll get a reaction from Congress that you won't like." Pryor and his equally hysterical colleagues failed to realize (or admit) that limits on lawsuits are actually the responsible choice– once you accept that increasing roof crush standards requires automakers to build top-heavy vehicles more likely to roll over. This rush to righteous anger over Bush's perceived pandering only further marginalizes the much-needed debate over the actual benefits of reinforced roofs. With the NHTSA facing a July 1 deadline for new rules, don't hold your breath for that action. 

It's easy to understand why folks are getting excited about the forthcoming Toyota-Subaru rear wheel-drive (RWD) coupe. But it seems that waiting is driving the autoblogosphere crazy. Take the recent revelation at Autoexpress that Subaru is working on an Impreza Coupe alongside a future Toyota Celica. Autoexpress insists that this Subaru-engineered Imprezica will sport either 180hp and RWD or an STI engine making 300hp and all wheel-drive (AWD). So they must be describing the long-rumored Toyobaru RWD sports coupe, right? The answer seems to be a resounding "maybe." Motor Authority asserts that the Impreza Coupe is "not basis of the new RWD sports car to be sold by both companies." That RWD sports car will have a 220hp base model with RWD and a 300hp AWD flagship model. So are these the same car or what? For what it's worth, Motor Authority also has spy photos of what they say is a prototype of the (non-Impreza) "RWD sports car." Take a gander for yourself, but it looks pretty Impreza-like to this blogger. Can Subaru really sell a RWD version of the eternally AWD Impreza? Will the RWD base version and AWD flagship carry different names? Can the internet be whipped into any more of a fanboy frenzy over this car? So many questions…