Automotive News [sub] reports that Chinese-owned Korean automaker Ssangyong has announced plans to offer the first production diesel-hybrid powertrain on the market come 2010. The hybrid technology was developed in Korea, and will be mated to a Mercedes-sourced 2.7 liter diesel engine and offered in the Merc ML-based Rexton SUV. We reported earlier that European manufacturers were the first to show near-production diesel-hybrids, but the Asian upstart looks set to beat them to the market. Of course these plans don't preclude a Citroen-like reversal, but then Ssangyong isn't dependent on government development funds. Don't expect the powertrain to appear stateside though, as Ssangyong tells Reuters that it has no plans to bring any of its vehicles to the United States. The firm is focusing on the European, Korean and Chinese markets, blaming "market conditions" (read: sagging demand and a weakening dollar) for preventing it from becoming the first firm to offer Chinese-built cars in the states.

Forbes reports that the latest showdown pits Porsche against the German state of Lower Saxony, which holds just over 20 percent of VW stock and is determined to maintain VW jobs in Germany. Porsche wants Volkswagen bylaws amended to remove remaining provisions from the "VW Law" which had protected the firm from takeover, but was struck down by a European High Court last year. The move is aimed at breaking Lower Saxony's de facto veto power, by abolishing the 80 percent threshold for important decisions and a 20 percent cap on voting rights. Meanwhile, Lower Saxony argues that the court decision only proscribes the combination of these two measures, and supports a new draft law which would maintain its veto power. Meanwhile, VW CEO Martin Winterkorn has accused Porsche of bringing labor (and by extension, Lower Saxony's) opposition upon itself, telling the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (via Reuters) that "Porsche scared employees unnecessarily at the beginning. To speak of 'sacred cows' — perhaps that wasn't very clever." How much more collegial can things get?

Land Rover has announced that its LRX concept "cute ute" will be available in showrooms sometime in 2010. Auto Express tells us (over the sounds of retching from the Berkowitz household) that the name "Freelander Sport" is likely to grace the road-oriented, strangely-styled ute. Why would a firm which built its rep for utter capability off-road bring out such a compromised interpretation of its brand vision? It's the ecology, stupid. We're told that both the 2.2-liter diesel and the 3.2-liter V6 will be equipped with stop-start technology as the brand struggles to prepare itself for new EU CO2 average emissions standards which go into effect in 2012. There's even talk of a hybrid powertrain down the road. So, think of this as Landie's answer to Ken Livingstone's crusade against "Chelsea Tractors." It's more of a "Chelsea Riding Mower," really

Ford CEO Alan Mulally told Bloomberg that the Blue Oval is prepared to cut more jobs if their employee buyout package fails to meet its goals. Coming the day after the close of the buyout package, Mulally's comments indicate that the effort was not a stunning success. "We don't have all the data yet," Mulally said of the buyouts. "This is just one step in the process. We have a lot of different mechanisms to right-size the place.'" Mullaly declined to provide further details, preferring that industry watchers simply savor the delicious irony of that classic euphemism "right-sizing." If the buyout package has indeed failed to reach its 8,500 minimum-taker mark, it wasn't for lack of Ford's efforts to convince its employees to run while they can. "The old ways of doing business are gone," wrote manufacturing chief Joe Hinrichs and VP for labor affairs Marty Mulloy in a cheerful op-ed which was distributed to newspapers in Ford factory towns. "We must continue to downsize and simply will not have enough jobs for all of our current hourly workers."

Hyundai sales executive Young-Key Koo revealed to China Daily (via MotorAuthority) that the Korean carmaker will be spinning off a new luxury brand. The new nameplate caps Hyundai's steady upmarket climb, and could well compete with Acura, Infiniti and Lexus in the not-too-distant but not-anytime-soon future. The brand will be officially launched in 2010. New luxury models will hit China first. A sportscar and V8-powered "flagship sedan" are set to arrive in the Middle Kingdom next year, with a CUV to follow. News of a new name and logo has our hopes high for something hilariously generic, yet totally inappropriate. "The all new Smegma V8" sounds good to me, as does "The European-Inspired Ennui Roadster." So we put it to you, TTAC's Best and Brightest. What should Hyundai call its new luxury brand?

Analyst Todd Sullivan over at seekingalpha reckons it's a good time to invest in the auto sector. Operating under the principle that Americans need cars for their economic survival, Sullivan says motorists will still be in the market– just shopping at a different stores. Sullivan points to Warren Buffet's recently acquired 13.98m share stake in CarMax and Sears Holding's big investment in AutoNation and AutoZone as proof that there's gold in them thar' pre-owned autos and car parts. Sullivan also tempts investors with the fact that all of these companies are "hovering around 52-week lows." Meanwhile, Sullivan counsels investors to avoid Detroit's domestic manufacturers' shares like the proverbial plague. "It should be noted that this is NOT an endorsement of the US auto industry via Ford or GM as these are just terrible businesses due to legacy union costs," Sullivan opines. "They are stuck in a cost structure that dooms them. It is probably the only business the airlines can look at and say "at least we are not them."

Have you heard a Ford marketing slogan… lately? After "No Boundaries" and "Bold Moves," FoMoCo is pulling the wraps off their latest rhetorical gambit: "Ford. Drive One." The new tagline– which thankfully doesn't include the words "We're Begging You"– is aimed at stemming Blue Oval defections (I'm leaving that joke alone). According to The Wall Street Journal, this latest effort differs from previous head office marketing initiatives; Ford's actually coordinating their efforts with their dealers. "In the past, when it came to the corporate or Ford primary brand campaign, it was their campaign, they developed it on their own and let the dealers know what it was going to be," says Mark Smith, chairman of Ford's dealer council marketing committee. "I'd say there's been a little bit of frustration among the dealer body." Hold the hosannas. The "Ford. Drive One" is targeted at "consideration:" a marketing term for getting consumers to consider the brand. Sales are something else entirely. Obviously. 

Japanese leaders have been making noises about the Yen's slide against the dollar recently, prompting Detroit to whine about "Japanese interference in the currency market." According to Dow Jones (via CNN Money), the Big 2.8 were spooked by Japanese finance minister Fukushiro Nukaga's statement that his government will "keep watching movements in foreign exchange rates from now on." Japanese currency manipulation has long been one of Motown's pet peeves. The issue is a red herring; the majority of import-branded vehicles sold in the U.S. are made right here in the good old USA. Still, the accusations of sinister foreign forces manipulating international finances in their favor provides politicians with a welcome opportunity to look like they're fighting the good fight for American jobs and businesses. "Please stand up for American companies and workers by warning Japan that the United States will not sit idly by while it interferes in currency markets," wrote Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) in a not-so-private letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. Hey, election campaigns don't fund themselves.

Angus MacKenzie did everything but call TTAC by name in his essay GM Shares Tumble. So What? Yes, the Motor Trend scribe can “almost hear the Detroit death-watchers rubbing their hands with glee” at the news of GM's stock hitting two-year lows. It's true. Every time GM's share price dips, we light giant cigars, twirl our collective mustache and laugh maniacally. That Mr. MacKenzie sees critical coverage of the auto industry as journalistic schadenfreude goes some ways towards explaining Motor Trend’s increasingly toothless car reviews. But how can MacKenzie, an experienced car hack, justify pinning Detroit’s woes on anyone other than, well, Detroit? Hey, a man’s gotta eat.

Der Spiegel reports that Aston Martin Boss Ulrich Bez met with Daimler's Dr Z last week, and both came away talking relationship. The two met to discuss the possibility of Aston purchasing engines and platforms from the German giant. Bez is just looking for a new technology partner, after the legendary British brand was bought by private investors. But Dr Z thinks love might be in the air, telling Der Spiegel that Aston "fits perfectly with Mercedes-Benz." But a German takeover of yet another British marque looks unlikely, as Aston investors are not ready to take the relationship to that level. After a few intoxicating product cycles with hot-shit AMG engines draped in sensual Aston metal, the attraction may just be too strong for either side to deny. Needless to say, we'll be watching creepily from our little corner of the internet.

Daimler's Man in the Iron Mustache, Dr. Dieter Zetsche, told The Car Connection that Maybach may go the way of the Oldsmobile within the next two years. Zetsche said Maybach would either release an all-new model or go defunct. Dr Z openly admitted that "It's likely we'll not have a [positive] return on investment" for the brand. Luckily, "this does not matter." Last year, Daimler sold a whopping 146 Maybachs; roughly ten percent of the sales estimates bandied-about back when DaimlerChrylser revived the brand in 2002. As Zetsche doesn't expect the recently announced Landaulet to increase sales and Merc's launching AMG as a sub (uber?) brand, the odds are hight that Daimler will decide there's only room for one overpriced S-Class in their lineup and kiss Wilhelm Maybach's goodbye.

The forthcoming introduction of GM's Pontiac G8 GXP and ST (Sport Truck to those of us who would prefer they just call it the El Camino) at the New York Auto Show has the Australian GM division Holden crowing its success. "The truth is that under the shadow of the Mitsubishi closure announcements, across the other side of the city, the GM Holden plant has been quietly exporting its head off and making great inroads with the development of new model cars to new markets around the world," says Holden Honcho Kevin Foley. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Australian Industry Minister Kim Carr joined the Aussie cheerleading, saying "GM Asia-Pacific actually out-performed the parent company in 2007, thanks in part to a strong showing from Holden." GM's plan to ship more Pontiac-branded Holdens stateside may actually exacerbate this imbalance. GM's purchasing chief told a recent suppliers conference that higher fuel costs have already increased GM's transport costs by $84 million this year alone. As excited as some enthusiasts are to witness the return of the El Camino, shipping more cars from the opposite end of the planet are not going to do wonders for GM's bottom line.

After realizing that his announcement that Chrysler would be shutting down for two weeks this July "knocked Eliot Spitzer off CNN," CEO Bob Nardelli thought the news needed some clarification… and a joke. The Free Press reports that some 25 percent of the labor force will be staying at their posts for the first two weeks of July, specifically those with time-sensitive jobs developing new vehicles or working with the company's dealers and customers. Which means that the throngs of customers who will be lining-up around the block for a new Dodge Journey at about the same time gas is expected to hit $4/gal need not be disappointed. Er, at least until they start drowning in the standard-feature inland sea. The branding boffins headed by Peter Arnett should stay busy too, although it's unlikely that even Nardelli knows exactly what he's actually doing. Oh, and Nardelli's moment of levity? "Really, it's taking a bold leap into the 1980s," chortled the Chrysler CEO. So Chrysler really is going bankrupt?

GM's "ground breaking" deal with the United Auto Workers (UAW) was a national negotiation; implementation occurs on a plant-by-plant basis. The main issue facing local leaders: determining which jobs are "core" to auto assembly and must be paid the old $28/hr rate, and which are "second tier" and can be filled with cheaper labor. According to The Detroit News, at least three local UAW leaders have accused GM of trying to bring in hundreds more "second tier" workers than the agreement allows. Well they would, wouldn't they? The wage reductions constitute the contract's main financial benefit to GM (for which the automaker agreed to establish a $32b health care superfund). And the clock is ticking. "The lack of agreement on wages likely wouldn't cause major problems until later this summer, when GM will need to bring in new employees to fill spots vacated by workers who took retirement incentives or buyout offers."

The Financial Times reports that VW CEO Martin Winterkorn is dissing the darling of Dearborn and the apple of GM's eye: the "world car." "The days of a 'world car' are dead and buried," Herr Winterkorn pronounced. "Our customers in China or India expect us, as a global player, to offer entirely different solutions than we do in the US or western Europe." To that end, VW will be rolling out no fewer than 20 new models in the next three years– as it tries to oust Toyota from the top global sales spot. But Wolfsburg's ambitious sales goals may not have unequivocal support from its new owners, Porsche SE. According to the FT, there's division on the Porsche board about Vee-Dub's global strategy. Wolfgang Porsche, recently voted onto the VW board, is said to head a faction which wants an emphasis on profits, rather than record sales. This might explain the recent unpleasantness between the two grandsons of Ferry Porsche.