Want to attract buyers to your dealership? Diversify. No, we're not talking about offering several car brands. We're looking at dealerships with a restaurant, boutique, gym and/or spa attached. The New York Times reports on the trend, including a Bentley dealership that's building a V.I.P lounge for their top 250 customers, replete with private wine lockers and humidors. (They also rent out their showroom for weddings and social events.) The pomp and pampering don't carry much weight with some customers. As one BMW customer put it, "It's more for show. If you don't get good service, it doesn't matter what amenities you have." Yes, well, think of the possibilities should this trend filter down to the mainstream brands: McDonalds in Chevy dealerships, Victoria's Secret lingerie shows in Ford stores (might as well), and assisted living condos attached to Buick stores.

Chris Bangle isn't the only one in the auto industry who could use some sensitivity training. Adweek's Marketing y Medios reports that a Georgetown, Texas Ford Lincoln-Mercury dealership stepped in it big time. Mac Haik Ford Lincoln-Mercury emailed an ad to 1200 customers with the headline "Tired of Wet Backs?" The ad was a promotion for vehicles with air-conditioned seats. Geddit? Suffice it to say, the pun didn't go over too well with the area's Hispanic population. The dealership issued an apology for the incident and fired the general sales manager who produced the ad. Their general manager promises that no ads will go out until they've been reviewed by several managers, including himself. I guess he took the old Spanish saying "A palabras necias, oidos sordos" a bit too literally. 

Under the new UAW-GM contract, workers' health care will be funded by large-scale investments in Japanese automakers and their suppliers. Just kidding (I think). But the union's rank and file may find changes in their health care coverage equally palatable. The Detroit Free Press reports that the UAW's leadership has agreed to cutback on the number of health care plans offered and the number of providers the plans will covers. But wait, there's less! They'll also raise copays (a bone of contention in '05) and eliminate all dental HMOs. Under the only PPO on offer, union member's family get five "free" doctor visits a year with a $25 copay for each visit. Surprisingly, the UAW leadership is downplaying the changes; they aren't mentioned during the 30-minute "information" meetings before the contract vote. Meanwhile, the Freep speculates that contract ratification could trigger an exodus of medical talent from the Detroit. But that's OK. GM's going to spend $15m to create a National Institute for Health Care Reform to "study solutions to national health care woes." That should make UAW members feel better… eventually.

Gaywheels.com has entered the first openly gay cross-country rally team in this week's Fireball Run Transcontinental Rally. Driving a Saab 9-3 convertible, Team G.L.A.M (Gay & Lesbian Automotive Maniacs) is one of 55 teams running the 3,500-mile scavenger hunt/race from Orlando, Florida to Los Angeles. The entries in the race include an all-woman Bentley team, the ambulance used in the movie "Cannonball Run," and a 1960's Batmobile (POW! WHAM!). Team G.L.A.M. is currently in second place in the "luxury class" and ninth overall.  According to their blow-by-blow description, they've had to deal with state troopers in Alabama and Texas, a blown tire in Louisiana, panic brought on when they forgot key items at a check-in point in Oklahoma City and truckers clogging the CB airways talking about the "faggots in the Saab" as they drove through Nevada. 

Soldiers of Solidarity isn't the only organization opposed to the new UAW/GM contract. A writer for the World Socialist Web Site (WSWS) was "assaulted and physically threatened" by UAW officials while distributing anti-contract leaflets outside union halls hosting ratification meetings. Socialist Equality Party (SEP) member Larry Porter was confronted by a man who identified himself as a chairman of the union who tried to stomp stop him. Later, "a man wearing a shirt bearing the UAW International emblem… told him if he did not leave immediately there would be 'trouble'." At a second meeting the same official threatened "to kick this guy's ass." The SEP sent a letter to Ron Gettelfinger, reminding him "were corporations to threaten members of the UAW engaged in organizing drives, your organization would certainly take legal action against those who sought to deprive the union of its democratic right to distribute leaflets on public property." The WSWS is warning GM workers to beware of "physical violence against workers opposed to… passage of a contract that gives [the UAW] control over $60 billion-$70 billion in retiree health funds." Meanwhile, the Washington Post reports that while some locals have ratified the contract, there's still quite a bit of dissent in the ranks. If the contract doesn't pass, all Hell will break lose.

According to Bloomberg, the new UAW agreement could shift one fourth of GM's union workers into lower-paying jobs over the next four years. Under the new contract, more than 16k jobs will be classified as "non-core" positions– which don't qualify for a full UAW pension or retiree health care. Workers currently in these jobs won't have pay and benefit cuts, but there will be a "special attrition program" encouraging them to leave. Kristin Dziczek, an analyst at the Center for Automotive Research, points out that "non core" refers to any job that doesn't involve bolting bits together. To earn the full $51 an hour in pay and benefits, "you have to run an air gun on the line, and that's not easy work." So workers who used their seniority to get a relatively cushy job (e.g. driving a forklift) will suddenly find themselves SOL. Expect retiree numbers to swell as retirement-eligible workers choose between a pay-off and a significant downgrade in pay and bennies.

Is Toyota trying to piss off the NRDC or prevent Michael Karesh at TrueDelta from expanding his exhaustively excellent vehicle spec data set to pickups? Anyway, Bloomberg reports ToMoCo's hoping to pick up even more pickup sales by offering the '08 Tundra in 44 different flavors. (Triskaidekaphobics note: that's 13 more versions than the '07 model offered.) Their main push: the work truck market. The Japanese automaker (by way of Texas) hopes that offering "Tundra Grade" (decontented) versions of the DoubleCab and CrewMax will help it carve a slice of the $23 – 28K full-size pickup pie, which accounts for 25 percent of the overall market. But you have to wonder if the lower-priced Tundra will eat into Tacoma territory. Meanwhile, Tundra sales are up 58 percent so far in 2007, getting them within striking range of their goal of a 60 percent increase this year.

Hot on the heels of a New York Times Op Ed piece taking Toyota to task for its stance on new federal fuel economy regs, The Detroit Free Press reports that the National Resource Defense Council (NRDC) has bombarded Toyota with 8100 emails, accusing them of fraternizing with the enemy. The environmental pressure group is plenty pissed that the Japanese automaker has joined The Big 2.8's opposition to the Senate's proposed 35 mile-per-gallon corporate average fuel economy standard. Although ToMoCo's cars already average over 32 mpg under the federal rules, the automaker wants to move them V8 Tundras. They share Detroit's fear that lawmakers will lump cars and trucks together for future averages. The NRDC doesn't give a you-know-what. "They're out there with their green halo justifiably touting their technology with the Prius," the NRDC statement says, throwing Toyota a bone. "The question is why the inconsistency in terms of their issues on policy." Toyota's Open Road blog attemps to answer that question: "You can't bankrupt the industry if you want it to invest in our environmental future." Hang on; did Toyota just use the "B" word?

The trickle-down effect from auto makers cutting fleet sales is hitting rental car customers. With fewer cars available and prices going up, rental companies are keeping cars longer and adding fees to cut costs. The Wall Street Journal reports that some customers are starting to notice an increase in the mileage on the cars they rent with a corresponding decrease in their condition. Companies are also cutting back on the perks given regular customers and adding additional charges for services such as after-hours returns; some even dictate where you can refill the car before you return it. They justify their actions by pointing out their profit margin on a $50 rental is only about $5; they'll do what they can to keep from losing money. Thrifty renters wanting to Payless on the National scene need to take Advantage of deals and show some Enterprise by looking at their Budget and squeezing every Dollar till it Hertz.  

If the UAW ratifies the new GM contract and agrees to the VEBA, they could end up as GM's biggest shareholder. Based on information about the VEBA provided by the UAW, Financial Times estimates GM's contribution will include a $4.4b note that can be converted into GM stock. At current rates, that would buy a 17 percent equity stake in GM. What would happen then is anyone's guess, but it sounds like a huge conflict of interest in the making. Would the UAW be as willing to take actions against GM in support of their membership if they knew it could cause the value of the stock to drop and hurt their members? Will the UAW try to exert influence via shareholder meetings in lieu of contract negotiations? Fun!

The oil industry is Southern California's top industrial polluter. The entertainment industry is number two. That's right– saukvalley.com reports that a two-year study conducted by UCLA shows that all those ecologically-conscious, hybrid-driving stars who criticize the government and diss the auto industry for ruining the environment are ruining the environment. The studios are trying to assuage their guilt by buying carbon credits, but some critics are not satisfied. Ed Begley Jr., probably the greenest person in Hollywood this side of Kermit the Frog, states "If you're going to drive around in a big ol' Hummer and then buy carbon offsets to mitigate that, that's like getting drunk on the weekends and throwing some money through the window of an AA meeting and thinking you're doing something." Some studios are going further by using biodiesel in their generators and converting a few sets to solar energy, but they still have a long way to go to clean up their act. Meanwhile, look for Hollywood's power elite to abandon their private jets and start car pooling. 

Thinking about buying that midlife crisis Boxster? Better get on with it. Citing the dollar's weakness against the euro, the Wall Street Journal predicts that the price of cars imported from the Eurozone will rise over the next year. So far, European automakers have been able to hold the line on price using currency hedging, which "lock in" exchange rates. Unfortunately for German car lovers, the contracts are due to expire. BMW and Mercedes will probably continue to rely on their US-built products to fill the profit gap, and hope the situation reverses itself. VW says they're fully hedged for 2007 and "more or less fully hedged for 2008." After that, it's anyone's guess what they'll do: build factories in the US, turn to China for production and/or raise prices. Porsche? Audi? Price hikes. Jaguar? The sooner it's someone else's problem, the better Ford's gonna feel. 

Members of the Canadian Auto Workers union (CAW) may be caught between the proverbial rock and hard place when their contract comes up for renewal next year. On one hand, tough-talking union prez Buzz Hargrove says "we're not going down [the] road" of UAW-style concessions." He's also assured his 37.5k CAW members that a two-tier wage system and concessions are "non-starters." On the other hand, if the CAW hangs tough, they could create a significant Canada – US "wage gap." Analyst Dennis DesRosiers says if the status remains quo, there'll be a $25 dollar per hour differential. The Big 2.8 would then be tempted to send production back south or to overseas locations. With the pressures of the much larger UAW agreeing to a two-tier wage system and the threat of lost jobs, Buzz may have to tone down his rhetoric and behave in a diplomatic manner– as unaccustomed to that 'tude as he may be.

Up until now, The People's Republic of China taxed vehicles based on weight and through tolls. (You didn't think Chinese motorists were tax-free did you?) Now they're eliminating tolls and other road taxes in favor of a fuel tax. Apparently this radical idea will mean that people who drive more will pay more and those who drive less will pay less. The China Car Times isn't over the moon about the cutting edge concept. While they repeat Beijing's claim that the new system will push car companies into developing "other alternative fuel cars," they also believe "the driver gets pinched in the pocket and has to take public transport… Clearly the Mandarins in Beijing have not taken public transport in China in the last decade and the last place I'd like to be on a Monday morning is on a packed diesel fume spewing bus with my nose pushed firmly in someones arm pit." The tax takes effect next March.

From the land of sleeping policemen and speed cameras, gizmag brings news that will touch the inner hoon in all of us. Londoner Tim Brady is now the new British national automobile speeding ticket record holder. Brady broke the old record by 16mph, by doing 172mph (277kph) in a 3.6 liter Porsche 911 Turbo "borrowed" from his employer, a luxury car rental company. After the police clocked him, it took Brady almost 2300 ft (700 meters) to stop. Brady is now serving a 10-week jail sentence and lost his license for his actions. By the way, he still didn't beat the record for the top speed ever recorded on a British roadway. That belongs to motorcyclist Daniel Nicks who registered 175mph (282kph) on a Honda Fireblade. But the Brits still have a way to go to beat the Yanks– American Samuel Armstrong still holds the world speeding ticket record by doing 205mph (330kph) on a Honda RC51 superbike.