U.S. Presidential Candidate Barack Obama recently called the Ford Granada "the worst car Detroit ever built," providing us with his answer to a question that every American pistonhead asks himself at least once in a while. The Free Republic has its own list of "worst American cars" including such luminaries as the Chrysler TC by Maserati and the Chevette. MSNBC's poll of automotive excreta lists the Vega as the worst ever. But Obama's busy with campaigning, and it's been a long time since the Illinois Senator learned to drive in his grandfather's Granada. So, the question goes over to you, the Best and Brightest. Has a nastier hunk of metal than the "tin foil" Granada rolled off Detroit's production lines? I'd say the Caddy Cimarron should be up there, but then the Volare/Aspen twins have to be in the running too. Worst ever? I'll say the X-body Chevy Citation. What say you?

Barack Obama is something of a car guy. According to The Detroit News, one of Obama's (likely numerous) regrets about running for President: the Secret Service won't let him drive. "It's a drag because I actually enjoy driving." But it wasn't always so. "The car I learned to drive on was my grandfather's Ford Granada," Barack told Indianapolis radio station WFBQ. "It may be the worst car that Detroit ever built… This thing was a tin can. [Detroit was] trying to compete with the Japanese. They wanted to keep the cars big, so they made them out of tin foil… You basically couldn't go over 80 (miles per hour) without the thing getting out of control." Their perfidy didn't end there, though. "Detroit ended up making investments in SUVs and large trucks because that's where they perceived a competitive advantage," Obama told Meet the Press. "And that's where they felt they could make the most profit… I think it was a mistake for them not to plan earlier, and now we're seeing a huge growth in fuel-efficient cars that is benefiting the Japanese automakers and Detroit is getting pounded." For all of Obama's Motown-mauling, the Senator from Illinois' one with the the industry's belief that the gas tax is probably a good thing. Still, Hillary's desperate offer of an industry bailout probably makes her the top Dem choice for industry types. We're waiting to hear her take on malaise-era metal. 

Autoblog reports that some gas pumps refuse to display the latest price per gallon because their manufacturers never thought the price would get so high. In the gas-price equivalent of a Y2K problem, Washington state has at least 12 pumps which cannot display more than $3.99 per gallon. These pumps have gear-driven, mechanical processors and readouts. The mechanical marvels require a factory retrofit to handle gas prices over $4/gal, whereas modern, computerized pumps are more than happy to charge you whatever keeps the tax revenues rolling in the market demands. The retrofit can cost station owners up to $8500. In many cases, the parts are unavailable at any price. The state's weight and measures authority is allowing station owners facing this problem to simply multiply gallons pumped by the price of gas, provided that price is clearly posted. TTAC's resident "people who were alive in the 70's" inform us that this was also a problem in the bad old days, when gas prices also rose higher than pumps could count (whaddaya mean it's $1.09 a gallon??). Their old-timey-yet-effective solution? Set the machines to half-price and then just multiply by two. Brilliant!

Motor Authority has a preview of the 2009 Mk VI Golf, which was set to debut at the Geneva Auto Show earlier this year. The new Golf will debut at Paris this fall, after VW CEO Martin Winterkorn ordered a strategic review of the Golf/Scirocco/Tiguan. The next generation of Golfs will boast a new range of engines, including a 1.6-liter TSI making 200hp (for the GT version) and a 2.0-liter four making 260hp (for the GTI). Given the lag between European and American introductions, and the already-delayed release, the neue Golf's stateside debut could now be several years away. Whether the raw, inefficient 2.5-liter mill currently offered in the base North American-market Rabbit will make an unwanted return is likewise a matter of speculation. In any case, the new Golf exhibits the evolutionary design changes one expects from this model. (Zen masters reveal that VW isn't done developing a Golf until it "looks like a Golf.") Mk VI shares much of the heft and proportion of the Mk V, with only mild updates to the headlights, grille and rear quarter. Perhaps if VW had gone just a bit further, the new hatch could have enjoyed the slightly fresher yet still-evolutionary looks of the Mk VI GTI photochopped by our own Andrei Avarvarii. 

Automotive News (sub) reports that ToMoCo is increasing prices on 11 Toyota and Lexus models by the end of the month. The hot-selling Yaris will see a $200 jump in base price, The sedan ascends to $13,085 while the hatchback's sticker rises to $12,210. The Prius' price will reverse its downward trend, adding $400 to the Moroni, for a new base MSRP of $22,160. The FJ Cruiser will see the biggest increase, adding $500, for a new base price of $23,730. All Toyota-branded vehicles will increase by comparable amounts– with a few notable exceptions (Sequoia, Tacoma, 2009 Corolla and Matrix). Lexus models will increase even more (expect to pay an extra $900 for an LS460) except for the new IS-F, which will remain unchanged. Why the price bumps during a period of weak sales? "Price changes were made to keep up with current economic conditions and the rising cost of major components," A ToMoCo spokesman demurred. "Materials in global markets have gone up. We have made an effort to absorb some to the cost while still protecting our price position." Hmm, weak sales and rising costs? Get the band back together, 'cause it's looking like good ol' stagflation all over again. 

With HillRod and McNasty calling for a summer vacation from reality gas taxes, populist posturing on the price at the pumps is hitting an all time high. It's one thing for presidential candidates to propose sweet, feel-good nothings. It's another when the sitting Secretary for Transportation disses the dollars that help fuel her agency's good works (and the rest). Although Mary Peters held short of weighing-in on the tax holiday proposal, the SecTrans did tell The Detroit News that "as family budgets strain under the burden of record gasoline prices, it is increasingly clear that fuel taxes are not only ineffective but also wildly unpopular. Increasing dependence on gas taxes to fund infrastructure makes zero sense when Detroit and other automakers are working so hard to make more efficient cars every year." Oh, so Detroit is going to solve the energy crisis, is it? Why didn't we see that one coming? Peters made no mention of what would be taxed so as to pay for such trivialities as roads and bridges. After all, if gas is cheap enough for us to all buy SUV's again, who needs the infrastructure?

Green Car Congress reports that GM is road testing a Saturn Aura equipped with a homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engine. HCCI technology compresses a lean air-fuel mixture in the cylinder, which ignites without spark plugs, creating low-temperature, flameless combustion. GM says HCCI combustion reduces NOX and particulate emissions and offers 15 percent better fuel efficiency. The 2.2-liter modified ECOTEC engine is set up to use traditional spark ignition when starting, driving over 55mph and other low-temperature or high-load circumstances. It switches to HCCI mode for most driving. The modified mill makes 180hp and 170 lb/ft of torque, with additional help from direct injection, variable valve lift, dual electric camshaft phasers and individual cylinder pressure transducers to "control the combustion as well as deliver a smooth transition between combustion modes." Props to GM for developing technology which doesn't require them to reinvent the wheel battery, but it'll be a while before HCCI is ready for prime time. That said, direct injection– as seen on the new Porsche Cayenne and other, more prosaic VeeDubs– had a rocky start.

Automotive News [sub] reports that Chrysler has switched the status of the Walter P. Chrysler Museum to non-profit– to keep expenses from impacting the company's bottom line. And that's not all. Chrysler is asking its beleaguered dealers for $5k apiece to fund the museum. To that end, the museum will now be known as the "Walter P. Chrysler Founding Dealers Society" (as opposed to something catchy like The Chrysler Museum). Luckily for ChryCo dealers trying to make their nut on sales of $20k Rams, the program is voluntary. Dealerships who pony-up the five Gs get their name on a donor wall in the museum. With 70 vehicles and six full-time employees, the WPCFDS is hardly a major drain on Chrysler resources. Who knows, maybe this is a test balloon for taking all of Chrysler to 501c3 status, establishing the country's first non-profit (as opposed to profit-free) automaker.

London has voted out Mayor Ken Livingstone. While the BBC frame the election of Conservative Boris Johnson as London's new mayor in the context of a widespread shift of support from Labour to Tory, "Red Ken's" call for increased congestion charges (to $50/day) and 20mph speed limits in residential areas helped turn the tide in Johnson's favour. Johnson has pledged to review the congestion charge scheme, particularly in London's West End. Note: review and adjust. Not eliminate. Yes, there's little doubt that the UK motorists will continue to be targeted by revenue-building environmental measures, including Ye Olde CG. How long before New York City or Seattle of Portland or San Francisco revive this idea?

News of Toyota and Subaru's joint $20k-$25k RWD coupe has Nissan scrambling to develop it own pocket rocket. 7tune.com reports that Nissan is testing a compact rear wheel-drive (RWD) coupe based on the new Z-car platform. The spiritual successor to Nissan's JDM Silvia is likely to be motivated by either the 2.0-liter NA engine, or a 1.6-liter or 1.8-liter turbo four (possibly equipped with Variable Compression Ration technology) making between 150 and 225 hp. The coupe should be about the same size as the last (S15) Silvia, offering the Z's wheelbase with shorter overhangs for "enjoyable handling." No word on whether the $23k-ish coupe will be offered stateside, but it will be available in Japan in the latter half of 2010. As far as we're concerned, the more light, zippy RWD coupes the better… no matter where they're sold.

Wondering why politicians are considering bailing out the D2.8 to the tune of billions in subsidies and tax breaks? Wonder no more. The Center for Responsive Politics [via The Detroit News] reports that the auto industry spent a record $70m bribing lobbying congress last year. The General lavished $14.3m on its legislative campaigns, with Ford's Capitol (capital?) efforts racking-up $7.2m. Toyota dedicated $5.9m to its lobbying team. Much of the money was spent [unsuccessfully] fighting recently-increased CAFE standards. A GM spokesman justified this a noble battle as "proportional to the potential competitive and economic impact that proposed legislation could have on our business." It's not like their $14m could have been better spent heading off other competitive challenges or paying an executive's salary and bonuses. Anyway, don't expect CAFE hikes to diminish GM's enthusiasm for politics. They've already spent $4.1m on lobbying this year, not including $25k spent on The Governator's re-election campaign (in unfulfilled hopes that he'd "hasta la vista, baby" to California's new emission standards). Ain't democracy grand?

While GM bleeds cash at home, its overseas business continues to fare pretty well. Auto Motor und Sport reports that GM's European Opel division posted a record 572k sales in the first quarter of this year, earning a pre-tax profit of $198m. Although profit is its own reward (and apparently an actual priority for GM), GM is rewarding its German branch with a $9b investment over the next five years. $2.5b of the cash will go towards renovating Opel factories in Rüsselsheim, Kaiserslautern, Bochum und Eisenach. The remaining $6.5b will help Opel bring 17 new passenger cars (and three new commercial vehicles) to market by 2012. And now the bad news: Opel's European market share declined from 9.7 to 9.6 percent. Opel GM-Europe boss Carl-Peter Forster says never mind, pointing to hbis employer's 11.6 percent Russian market, where car sales jumped by 78 percent in the first quarter. "Russia will be Europe's largest car market by next year at the latest," says Forster. With Opel providing several of GM's most popular U.S. products (Saturn Astra and Vue), GM's investment could well keep the sinking ship afloat for an extra quarter or so. Just kidding. On both counts.

Volvo's set itself a lofty, laudable goal: banishing all deaths and injuries from Volvo vehicles by 2020. That's right, the company that invented three-point seat belts, crumple zones and side-impact airbags is looking to recapture it's lost Grim Reaper-aversive mojo. Reuters reports the main development upon which Volvo is banking: a radar/sonar system which provides early-warning information (to the car) so that it (the car) brake and/or steer out of trouble, reducing impact speed to about 10mph. Volvo's long-term goal: building an "uncrashable car." As Volvo safety team leader Jan Ivarsson says, "We as a community will not accept that we have injuries."At least not in Volvos. PC pollyanna utopianism aside, why would Ford dump a ton of money into Volvo's safety rep if it's trying to sell the Swedish safety swamis? Unless, of course, this is just a "buy us please" PR exercise. Perish the– I mean, as if.

Toyota's iQ city car is coming to Europe next year, competing in the "small but premium" category. (Translation: Toyota's pricing the not-so-mighty midget be priced between Fiat's 500 and BMW's MINI.) But the folks at Autocar UK thought that Toyota was too smart to develop a unique platform for just one car, so they asked "senior sources" if there was more iQ to come. Too right, mate. ToMoCo will also use the iQ platform on a (somewhat) larger car, which will compete with VW's forthcoming up! city car. Meanwhile the iQ will not be offered in hybrid trim; Toyota's boffins reckon a hybrid drivetrain would be too heavy. Thus the Yamaha-sourced one-liter, two-cylinder motorcycle engine (what, no R1 mill?) equipped with start-stop technology, and a diesel. Sometimes the highest IQs favor the simplest solutions. And the worst jokes.

It's been a while since we reported on Plastech's bankruptcy. But things are starting to get interesting once again. The Chrysler interior supplier and its creditors recently agreed on three options for bringing the troubled (as in that's MY tooling) partsmaker out of bankruptcy. Plan A: sell the whole kit and caboodle to one of its biggest customers, Johnson Controls (JCI).  Plan B: liquidation. Plan C: restructure and emerge as an independent company (never gonna happen). Meanwhile, Plastech's bankruptcy judge is set to rule on an $87m short-term finance plan (bankrolled by JCI and the Detroit automakers) to keep the lights on. Even though Plastech lawyers say the firm "won't make it past today" without the cash, there are (as ever) issues. For one thing, it doesn't cover up to $10m in administrative costs. For another, the UAW (them again!) says the plan doesn't include "funding for severance payments and other labor expenses related to the closing of any plants." Which reminds us that Plastech is, in fact, closing its Shreveport, LA plant and "one or two others." Bad juju.