In yet another salvo in the UK's ongoing war on speeders, the British government is considering installing motorway cameras which track the average speed of individual vehicles. The move is aimed at those sick, twisted individuals who slow down for cameras only to speed up again after they pass the eyes in the sky. The new cameras would track the speed of a vehicle, and then compute its average velocity between two cameras on a given stretch of road. Although simple in conception, the new approach would be far more effective in convincing Britain's drivers that the smallest violation of speed limits would be instantly caught and penalized. The cameras have already been deployed for testing at road construction sites, and apparently can't be fooled by lane changes and other "evasive techniques." 

Bankrupt GM supplier Delphi announced yesterday that it had contributed $46m to its pension fund. It sounds like good news for a company struggling to emerge from bankruptcy– until you realize that federal law required a $369m contribution. The Detroit News tells us that despite Delphi having $3.3b in unmet pension obligations by the end of 2007– on top of this latest shortfall– the company will not be transferring pension obligations to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. And don't blame Delphi Prez Robert Miller, because he tells us the ship is righted, and now needs only a few billion in funding to cover pension costs and ensure liquidity (couldn't we all say that?). With Appaloosa Capital pulling out of a planned $2.55b bailout deal, Delphi is considering suing them for a $250m "termination fee." Hey, if they stuck it all in the pension fund, they'd only be a few million from compliance with Federal law. Just like that.

The Detroit Free Press reports that workers have launched a strike at the Alliance Interiors plant in Delta Township. The strike comes after months of negotiations on the plant's first labor contract. The strike means that interior components will not be delivered to GM's Lansing Delta Township factory.  Enclave/Acadia/Outlook CUV production will likely be idled there… soon. "I'm assuming right now that they (GM Lansing Delta Township) are being shut down," says UAW Local 652 President Chris (Tiny) Sherwood, noting that workers from other Lansing factories, including Cadillac's Grand River plant, have joined the picket line in solidarity. The Lansing Delta Township plant could face a strike of its own by as early as 10am Thursday, as safety and working condition issues there remain a sticking point in labor negotiations. If Lansing Delta Township goes off-line, other Lansing-area suppliers could see demand dry-up for their components. Ryder Logistics, Android Industries and Plastech are all facing work stoppages if Lansing Delta Township ceases production. With the American Axle strike already wreaking havoc on the General's supply chain, this strike couldn't have come at a worse time for GM.

We reported earlier that next-gen Phaetons would be coming stateside eventually, and now Auto Motor und Sport confirms that the Clarkson-approved uber-Passat's return to the US market in 2009 has been officially announced. The Phaeton was first introduced to the American market in 2002, when Ferdinand Piech decided that Volkswagen to match Mercedes model for model. The car RF called "as marketable as a Rolls Royce bread van" was cut from VeeDub's American lineup in 2006. Since its introduction, Volkswagen has sold just 33k of the stealthy sedans worldwide. News of a U.S. relaunch comes as VW estimates a 1300-unit increase in production of Ferdinand Piech's luxury car for 2008. Will the W12-powered Wolf im Schafspelz Kleidung sell any better than it did the last time around? Nein. But if you discount VW's down market dealerships, the fanatically engineered Phaeton (windshield wipers rest on alternate sides of the blades) could well be the best used luxury car bargain the U.S. has ever seen. 

With U.S. dealers complaining that VW's new Tiguan SUV is too small and too expensive, the Boys from Wolfsburg are planning to launch a new Passat-based ute. Autocar reports that the new seven-seater will slot between the Tiguan and the Touareg, with Volvo's new XC60 as its main competitor. VW opted against doing a Nissan Quashqai +2 style stretch of the Tiguan or an Audi Q5 reskin in favor of adapting a next-generation Passat platform. We're talking shared components (especially with the Golf), transverse engines and the possibility of Skoda and Seat versions. Volkswagen has dispatched a crack team of marketers to scour the globe for the weirdest names the planet has to offer. (They set the bar with "Tiguan.") Any suggestions?

The EV game is getting nasty. We've heard about Tesla suing Fisker, now Earth2Tech reports that Tesla is being sued by Canadian supplier Magna for breach of contract. The suit alleges that Tesla failed to pay Magna for development work on its troubled transmission system. Transmission woes have long been the Achilles heel of the Tesla Roadster's development. Initial plans called for a two-speed transmission to be supplied by X-Trac, That unit was quickly proven incapable of reliably handling the EV's zero-RPM grunt. Tesla then went to Magna for a replacement two-speed– which proved equally unsuccessful. After attempting an in-house development, Tesla has given-up on the whole multiple gears thing in favor of the golf-cart elegance of a single-speed box. But wait, says Magna, we told you to try a single-speed solution in the first place. Not only did Tesla not listen, but according to the suit filed California, they didn't pay some $5.6m in development fees that Magna claims it was owed under the development contract. Oops. Better collect quickly guys, before you have to squabble for it in, dare I say it, bankruptcy court.

A report by the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor MI concludes that Detroit will begin hiring again as soon as September, and should add some 46k jobs by 2016. According to Detroit News, the report is based on "interviews with Big Three officials and others in the auto industry," so, y'know… have that salt ready. The average age of UAW workers in Michigan is 50, and the majority of new hires between now and 2016 will be replacements for retiring and bought out workers. In fact, Michigan's 129k industry employees will dwindle to about 108k by 2016, says the report. Replacements for longtime UAW workers will fall under the new two-tier wage structure, meaning Detroit's hirings will not only be under replacement levels, but they will also contribute greatly to declining wages in the industry. Factor in projected labor shortages for skilled workers in Michigan, and the Detroit News' headline seems more than a little overoptimistic. But hey, this is what passes for good news in Detroit these days.

CAFE standards could rise as far as 75mpg by 2030. So sayeth the director of the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Transportation and Air Quality, speaking to (at?) the Society of Automotive Engineers. The Detroit News reports that Marge Oge told the assembled throngs that making a 50 percent (from 2000 levels) cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050– a widely-held goal amongst the green movement's chattering classes– would require steady improvements in vehicle efficiency. Ya think? She think. "The political, economic and regulatory landscape in the United States and globally has changed dramatically over the past year," said Oge. "The reality is the pace of change will not be letting up anytime soon." With one billion cars projected to be on the road globally by 2030, and oil demand by China and India set to double in the same period, Oge says the industry "needs to be thinking of those investments for the long term basis." Oge also revealed an internal EPA study which concludes that automakers will be able to meet the 2020 35mpg CAFE standard by 2018 with cost-effective measures, despite industry grousing. How's that then?

Ford is boosting production of its Focus compact by nearly 30 percent. Dow Jones (via CNN Money) reports that FoMoCo will use overtime and Saturday shifts to raise Focus output at their Wayne, MI plant from 191k to 245k units per year. Ford sold 49,070 Focii in the first quarter of this year, up 23 percent from the year previous. Even better, retail (non-fleet) sales bounced by 35 percent. Ford claims the Focus' SYNC voice-activated media system ("play Fatman in the Bathtub") has given it an edge over its competition. Unfortunately, Ford's exclusive rights to the Microsoft technology powering SYNC expires in November– leaving the Focus with little more than low price and way-better-than-an-SUV mileage. This might explain Ford's decision not to add a third shift at the Wayne plant. Whatever the future holds for Fords slice of fugly, the Focus is the Blue Oval's Mr Right Now, gaining ground on the imports in the brutal compact market. Just imagine how well it would be doing doing if it looked even a little more like its handsome European cousin. 

The National Motorists Association has posted a compilation of stories from six US cities where yellow lights were shortened to increase municipal revenues. In intersections with and without cameras to bust red light-runners, in towns from California to Tennessee, local authorities have been quietly violating various state's laws regarding minimum yellow-light duration. These underhanded schemes have been uncovered by private citizens, local TV stations, newspapers and even judges, and as the NMA's conclusion to the roundup states, these six cases could be simply the tip of the iceberg: "These are only the cities that have been caught; it's likely that this happens much more than the general public has been led to believe. Many cities avoid the bad publicity involved with shortening yellow lights by installing the cameras at intersections with inadequate yellow light times from the beginning. If you or a family member receive an unjustified red-light violation ticket, it may be worth your time to check the yellow light duration at the intersection where the ticket was given out."

The Toledo Blade reports that Hillary Clinton has gone on the record saying that "if confronted with the prospect of a bankruptcy by General Motors or Ford, she would extend the resources of the federal government to help keep them afloat." The quote comes from a meeting between Clinton and the editorial board of Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, in which manufacturing policy was widely discussed. When asked about her views on a Chrysler-style bailout of major American automakers, the Senator from New York said that "for both economic and national security reasons, the next president should be aggressive in taking steps to protect and nurture the nation's manufacturing base." Of course, politicians say lots of things on the campaign trail, and the worse-off the campaign, the more aggressive the sound bites. Had the Michigan primary been rescheduled, this blank check could have gone over well for Clinton, who is seen by auto execs as "anti-car." As things stand, however, this quote will accomplish little more than pointing out the desperation of the Clinton campaign, and the obviousness of Detroit's woe.

Thus far, the New Chrysler's (domestic) turnaround strategy has been very emo: lots of cutting and complaining, and not much else. A press release indicates they hope to turn that image around.  Trumpeting a "barrage" of technologies and innovations, they purport to offer customers improved fuel economy, performance, flexibility and convenience. Increased internet connectivity is promised on "future model-year vehicles" via combined WiFi and 4G technologies which will "transform the vehicle into a 'hot spot' to deliver Internet and e-mail access, and movie and music download capability." Rear-cross and blind-spot monitoring systems will be offered on the company's minivans, an "in-class" exclusive says the release, piggy-backing on last weeks Ford announcement. Chrysler continues its game of catch up with Ford by offering improved voice-activated systems ala SYNC, throwing in iPod integration and a swivel-screen for the backseat in minivans. The only major bone tossed to enthusiasts is a new active transfer case for 2009 AWD 300 and Charger models. The new transfer case improves traction and fuel economy, while also allowing front-axle shutoff, creating a seamless transition between RWD and AWD modes. Hey, something is better than nothing.

India's auto industry currently accounts for five percent of the country's rapidly-expanding Gross Domestic Product (GDP). According to the Economic Times of India, the government has set the sector a new goal: quintupling its size by 2016 (the red-hot Indian economy is set to merely double in the same period). By then, the auto industry should be a $150b+ segment, making up ten percent of India's GDP. The Times says economic liberalization– allowing unrestricted Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and removing foreign currency neutralization and export obligations– has been the key to India's automotive boom. India currently builds 11m vehicles per year. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sees the car biz as ambassadors for "Brand India;" he's courting a further $35b – $40b in FDI for the industry. That's 16m Tata Nanos, in case you're wondering.

MotorAuthority has it on good, um, authority that Fiat will be offering gas and diesel-electric hybrid drivetrains by 2011. Research on the powerplants is still in the early stages, says Fiat Powertrain Technologies honcho Alfredo Altavilla, and the 2011 timetable could still be delayed if the development team runs into problems. The engines are said to be a 0.9 liter two-cylinder gas-hybrid with a dual-clutch transmission, and a larger 2.3 liter diesel-hybrid four-banger. European emissions standards are clearly the motivating factor here, and the tiny gas burner is expected to weigh in at 90g of CO2 per km driven, well below 2012 European Commission standards. With Fiat jumping on the greentech bandwagon, there's only one other major industry trend that the Italian giant has yet to announce its approach to: the demand boom from the developing world. And just like that, Paul Tan reports that Fiat is planning a new entry-level world car to be released by 2010. There's speculation that it may not be branded as a Fiat (no word on whether the boffins think an entry-level car would hurt the brand, or visa-versa) but the Torino firm could pull out the old Uno or Palio badges too. With its close ties to India's Tata Motors, Fiat could be placed to compete in the nosebleed market. We'll be watching.

The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) kicks off its annual conference today in Detroit. To raise awareness among those of us who know that "Spring Break" has nothing to do with metal fatigue, the readers and editors of SAE's Automotive Engineering International have dubbed GM's Tahoe/Yukon Hybrid the "Best Engineered Vehicle of 2008." "General Motors has significantly re-engineered its class-leading full-size sport utility vehicles – the Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon – with the first application of groundbreaking hybrid technology," fawns AEI editor Kevin Jost. Actually, Jost could have gone one step further: other than Chrysler's Aspen, the General's hybrid utes are the only current application of the overcomplicated, expensive two-mode system developed jointly with BMW and DaimlerChrysler. While car folks (like us) blame the two-mode Tahoe variously for GM's downfall and early-onset buyers remorse, engineers apparently only care that it's… overcomplicated. On the other hand, at least the tens of millions that GM dumped on dead-end two-mode technology has finally impressed somebody.