Trading Markets reports that Kia shares dropped five percent yesterday after news emerged that its CEO would be stepping down. Unnamed analysts assure us that Chung Eui-sun left his position due to "poor earnings." But it's more likely a PR move for the Chung family. Ei-sun's father Chung Mong-koo narrowly held onto his position as Chairman of Hyundai-Kia after an embezzlement conviction and stockholder revolt. The Kia presidency is likely seen as an acceptable loss in exchange for some public goodwill, as Chung Ei-sun was widely expected to succeed his father at the top of the Hyundai-Kia food chain. Regardless of the weird Korean nepotism angles, Kia is in some financial trouble at the moment. Just before the announcement of Chung's resignation, Goldman Sachs released warnings about Kia's productivity and profitability. Is it me or would this make a terrific TV series?

In a desperate effort to sharpen the dulling edges of Scions "edgy, youth-oriented brand," Toyota is offering fans a website (scionspeak.com) where they can channel their youthful enthusiasm towards designing individual logos for their sweet rides. The New York Times reports that Scion owners can build a logo from hundreds of symbols designed by a professional graffiti artist, download them and have them made into window decals or airbrush templates. Whether the middle-aged-and-up folks who occupy most of the Scions I see on the street even know that there is such thing as a "professional graffiti artist" or will use this website remains very much to be seen. The real point of this exercise is to keep the myth of Scion-as-youth-brand alive… among those who already own one. The campaign is not aimed at actually reversing Scion's sagging sales, but "reducing Scion's investment on conquering new customers and increasing the passion for the brand among its core fan base," according to the company running the campaign. We bet they'd do better by offering a special ramp so your youthful Rascal Mobility Scooter can drive out of the back of your xB.

Saturn is planning on launching a new web-based purchasing scheme which will place even more of the buying process online. The plan is aimed at moving functions like checking dealer inventories, applying for credit and scheduling a test drive to a unified Saturn online platform. Down the road, the website could also be used to handle the evaluation of customers' trade-in vehicles and to negotiate price using online chat and e-mail. Although this last goal is particularly strange given Saturn's "No Haggle" pricing. Of course, this program is not being pitched as "the end of the Saturn dealership," although Edmunds AutoObserver notes that it came out of efforts aimed at "developing the Internet as a tool that might someday enable them to eliminate the middleman entirely." Since these efforts were thwarted by legal concerns, Saturn will just be centralizing a few online capabilities which most dealers already offer. At enormous expense.

We Americans like to think that much of our industrial and economic success is a result of a free market and private ownership. Russia's experience with unbridled capitalism has engendered more mixed feelings, and with them a Kremlin-centric approach to economic development. The Wall Street Journal documents the decline of Russian automaker AvtoVAZ into corruption, kleptomania and crime under free-market conditions in the 1990's, and the government intervention which attracted Renault's recent purchase of 25 percent of the company. These government takeovers not only tend to make Russian companies more efficient and less crime-ridden (although this assertion may be suspect), they also serve the political ends of eliminating wealthy oligarchs who could pose a challenge to President Putin's growing authoritarianism. With "plans to float stakes in a raft of companies it has taken over," the Kremlin may just be headed toward yet another radical economic experiment for the country that has witnessed more than its fair share of experimental economics. But will western companies and authoritarian state-run companies mesh over the long-term?

In a desperate effort to sharpen the dulling edges of Scions "edgy, youth-oriented brand" ToMoCo is offering a website (scionspeak.com) where fans can channel their youthful enthusiasm towards designing individual logos for their sweet rides. The New York Times reports that Scion owners can build a logo from hundreds of symbols designed by a professional graffiti artist, download them and have them made into window decals or airbrush templates. Whether the middle-aged and up folks who occupy most of the Scions I see on the street even know that there is such thing as a "professional graffiti artist" or will use this website remains very much to be seen. The real point of this exercise is to keep the myth of Scion-as-youth-brand alive… among those who already own one. The campaign is not aimed at actually reversing Scion's sagging sales, but "reducing Scion's investment on conquering new customers and increasing the passion for the brand among its core fan base," according to the company running the campaign. We bet they'd do better by offering a special ramp so your youthful Rascal Mobility Scooter can drive out of the back of your xB.

In The Wall Street Journal [sub], Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche and GM Car Czar Bob Lutz discuss their respective companies' approach to environmentally-friendly vehicles. Dr Z wants to sell more diesels. (And there you have it.) Maximum Bob eschews oil burners to hang his proverbial hat on E85. Of course, Lutz' preference for corn juice will cost consumers plenty through government spending on ethanol infrastructure and corn price supports. But the winner of TTAC's first annual Bob Lutz Award reckons developments in corn breeding will blunt E85's inflationary impact on food prices. "So I think that people who say, well, the ethanol industry is taking food from the mouths of babies and it's driving tortilla prices up– I think these are highly suspect conclusions." Meanwhile, both executives say Daimler's success selling the smart in the U.S. heralds the end of the efficiency vs safety debate. "There are no statistics that would support [the idea] that you are less safe in the smart than you are in any kind of vehicle," says Dr Z. Lutz appears equally oblivious the laws of physics, stating "If a vehicle is registered for sale in any developed market of the world, it is going to be an extremely safe vehicle."

"Leading with innovation" (based on a Time Magazine article it read sometime in 2004), Chrysler is following GM in offering a new online "community" at Chryslerlistens.com. "Through our online Customer Advisory Board, we have a new platform to engage our customers in two-way dialogue," Chrysler VP and Chief Marketing Officer Deborah Myers explains. "So we can harness their insights and vehicle dreams as we move quickly to develop and refine technologies and products." Yes, this means you can cash in your buzzword bingo cards at Chryslerlistens.com. But there's more: Social Networking! Community Building! Collaboration Technologies! In short, the perfect opportunity to turn over your information to Chrysler direct-marketing and work your little Cerberus-loving tail off doing focus-group work for which people were once paid. Of course, Chrysler doesn't want to listen-dot-com to just anyone. The site is a "closed community." If you stick out the "three- to four-week period when Chrysler will introduce members to the process and the company," then you can have your "insights harnessed" (kinky!) and help Chrysler innovate and bloviate. Let usknow how you get on (literally).

The Financial Post reports that car prices in Canada have plummeted 6.8 percent last month, the biggest drop since 1956. The number comes from Statistics Canada's February inflation report, which reportedly shocked even the economists who collect the data. Vic Singh, chief economist at the Canadian Auto Dealers Association explains the phenomenon as an "accumulation of several months of falling prices, as the soaring Canadian dollar forces auto dealers to cut sticker prices in an effort to keep consumers from heading south of the border to get a better deal." A strong Canadian dollar, aggressive manufacturer incentives and increased demand for compact cars are also cited as reasons for the sharp downturn in prices. Of course, good old Econ 101 analysis indicates that this is what the textbooks call market self-correction, as Canucks have been paying high premiums on their vehicles for years compared to their American neighbors despite the strong loonie. Check out a slideshow comparing prices in  Canada vs. US in November, 2007 here to see what we're talking about.

As we reported earlier, the X-Prize (of "paying people to shoot themselves into space in home-built rockets" fame) is bringing its "Revolution Through Competition" approach to the lofty goal of the 100mpg car. Well, they finally got the money together, thanks to title sponsor Progressive Insurance. And they even have a Senate resolution praising them for their bold, visionary whatever. So let the games begin! Oh, but first your garage-built go-kart must pass safety, cost, features and business plan inspections to ensure that only production-capable, consumer-friendly cars compete. Yup, they said business plans. Sorry Tesla!

We reported earlier that ToMoCo is considering adding a pickup to the Scion line in hopes of boosting sagging sales of its "youth brand." The Detroit News reports that a hybrid drivetrain might be the sales medicine Scion needs. "Does it make sense to have a hybrid powertrain?" asks Scion VP Jack Hollis, answering his own rhetorical flourish with "We don't know the answers but we're very open-minded." Although the gas – electrification of the current lineup makes a lot more sense than a Scion truck or SUV, it raises a few questions about Toyota's burgeoning brand portfolio. If Lexus gets a hybrid and Toyota launches a new Prius brand, where does a hybrid Scion fit in the mix? GM-style brand proliferation issues aside, Toyota has committed to equipping all of its offerings with hybrid drivetrains by 2020; the sooner it can exploit economies of scale, the quicker it can lower its costs for the still-expensive system. Note to Volt: the car in front is still a Toyota. 

We reported earlier that Indian automaker Tata had entered an agreement to license compressed-air technology from French firm MDI. But we hadn't seen a prototype… until now. The MDI Air Car was discovered by Autoblog Green at the New York Auto Shows X-Prize display, confirming the goofiness of the concept. Think Manx dune buggy meets golf cart meets tree frog. No word yet as to how the vehicle (one hesitates to use the term "car" so loosely) will conform the 100mpg performance required for participation in the X-Prize. Although we typically embrace the use of revolutionary technologies, this one just seems way too far removed from reality… unless you want a carbon-neutral trip to the 19th hole.

The Mazda2 (Demio) has won the 2008 World Car Of The Year prize. How was the diminutive Demio chosen for this honor? According to the WCOTY press release "Rather than being just a popularity contest, the objective was to ensure that the World Car of the Year would be the product of a fair and thorough assessment process that considered the needs and wants of consumers the world over.  The process began with individual jurors evaluating and rating the candidates using a variety of standardized parameters – everything from styling and quality, to performance and safety." Hmm, somehow we have a hard time believing that "standardized parameters" can objectively measure things like "styling," but whatever. The Mazda, which beat out the Ford Mondeo and Mercedes C Class for the award, had previously won national Car Of The Year awards in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Greece, New Zealand, and Japan. You should be able to buy one in this country sometime in 2009 as the Ford Fiesta, but as Frank Williams pointed out, nobody should buys cars just because they win ridiculous awards.

MarketWatch reports that GM is going to business with Uzbekistan's state-owned automaker Uzavtosanoat (pronunciation anyone?). GM VP Eric Stevens said the new joint venture, General Motors Uzbekistan, would boost economic growth in the former Soviet state and provide GM with "a real opportunity" to grow in Central and Eastern Europe. The venture will utilize an existing Uzbek factory and will produce up to 250,000 Chevy Epicas, Captivas and Tacumas. Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch (no relation) reports that all kinds of awful things happen in Uzbekistan. Look for GM to trumpet this fact in forthcoming "corporate responsibility" press releases. !

Another day, another hybrid prognostication from Maximum Bob Lutz. We reported yesterday that Lutz said that one-third of GM's sales would have to be hybrids by 2015 to meet CAFE standards. Overnight Lutz has maximized his vision to 80 percent hybrid sales by 2020. The Freep reports Lutz spouting such cheery bromides as "Ultimately by 2020 we figure that 80% of vehicles will require some sort of hybridization. We cannot get to 35 miles per gallon with anything resembling the current product portfolio with anything resembling current technology." Gee Bob, ya think? To be fair, we know that all this CAFE standards talk isn't really the Car Czar's forte. In fact, it seems like just talking about it is making the poor guy depressed. "Around 2015 we're going to have to sell a ton of hybrids whether people want them or not," Lutz told the Detroit News. "It's basically going to result in the quasi-disappearance of V-8 engines." Now that doesn't sound like the Maximum Bob we know and love.

The Detroit Free Press  "reports" that some 300 people traveled to the New York Auto Show specifically to gush about GM's Hail Mary PHEV, the Volt. Basic reporting standards are out the window as the Freep climbs aboard the Volt love train, boldly giving a forum to bloggers to voice their fearless and unimpeded admiration for a vehicle which is still little more than a concept. An event titled "Volt Nation," organized by Neurologist Lyle Dennis, was the focal point for throngs of (presumably) unpaid Volt cheerleaders. Let the Freep take you there on the wings of its elegant prose: With the Volt Nation event, Dennis said earlier in the day, (his) Web site (gm-volt.com), which is independent of the automaker, has achieved a milestone."For the first time in history, a major U.S. automaker will hold a conference not for the press, not for the government … but for the consumer," said Dennis, who has become something of a cult hero among those who frequent his Web site. That's right folks, if you become a legendary shill for a failing automaker's last gasp at relevance, you too might just get your own personal conference with Bob Lutz. Sure, he'll probably just slap you on the back and commend you for working harder and cheaper than any marketing hack he's met, but that's just just the price of "cult hero-dom," isn't it?