The Detroit Free Press (and everyone else) reports that the new DeLorean Motor Company (yes, they can legally use that name) in Humble, Texas will begin limited production of a brand new batch of Back to the Future-mobiles. The DeLorean redux will be re-made using about 80 percent original parts, squirreled away and placed in a time capsule for just such an eventuality (strange that). Thankfully, the new manufacturer's planning a few improvements (not shown here): structural upgrade (those bendy gullwing doors were just sad), electronic upgrades (replacing the car's notorious Lucas-aid) and more power (it was supposed to be a sports car). DeLorean redux hopes to sell the cars for around $57.5k– about the same as an '81 model adjusted for inflation or two ounces of cocaine (street price).

Chrysler's former CEO and current president Tommy Lasorda says his turnaround plan is on target and on course– ish. "The plan is robust, but we'll have to wait and see what happens in the economy." Other than creating some career-protecting wiggle room, Lasorda would like us to know that he won't be booted after the UAW contract negotiations are finished. The Detroit News says Tommy says he signed a contract with Cerberus– but declined to discuss its terms or duration. Hmm. Given Cerberus' "take no prisoners" modus operandi, Boot'em Bob Nardelli's pledge to press fast forward ("if we can do it faster, more efficiently, that's what we're going to do") and LaSorda's ascension to Vice Chairman of Cerberus Operating and Advisory Company (a.k.a. "the bullpen"), expect LaSorda's turnaround plan to mutate even as his golden parachute unfurls. 

General Motors is offering interest-free financing on new Buicks. But don't bundle up grandma and grandpa and trundle down to your local Enclave emporium. You'll have to go to China to take advantage of this deal. Bloomberg reports GM has the dubious honor of being the first automaker in China to cave to competition and offer interest-free loans to try to bolster sales. The only stipulation is that the buyer has to make a 40 percent down payment. While that seems excessive on this side of the Pacific, banks there usually require 60 percent down for financing so it's a pretty good deal. Whether this will lead GM into an [all-too-familiar] incentive spiral is yet to be seen. But they may have taken the first step on that slippery slope.

Aside from select Jeeps, Chrysler's sales suck. Given this inescapable fact, you'd think that the hard-pressed born-again domestic automaker would do everything in its power to keep the folks on the American front lines happy. After the sales bank debacle, after brazen "channel stuffing" (forcing dealers to take cars), after barring "under performing" Chrysler dealers from the company's life-sustaining used car auctions, after sending these dealers letters threatening to shut them down, you'd think Chrysler's corporate clowns would have run out of ways to alienate the troops. Wait! Here's a new one: exclude some dealers from the corporate Internet sales funnel. Way.

Would someone at Chryslerberus please tell their new jeffe that the ungainly four-door Jeep Commander is almost as much of a goner as his precious Prowler? Boot'em Bob Nardelli doesn't seem to realize it was a dud right out of the chute, and sales are even worse this year– down 15.5 percent. Oblivious to the facts, Nardelli said "the Jeep Commander is doing a great job" while talking to reporters at the Prowler 10th anniversary PR-orgy celebration last week. Detroit News Autos Insider suggests maybe he read the monthly sales chart upside down. It's more likely an indicator of just how little he really knows about the auto industry. Don't say we didn't tell you.

As Robbie Burns might have put it, "The best-laid plans o' mice an' politicians gang aft a-gley." A study conducted by DesRosiers Automotive Consultants and reported in Financial Post reveals that Canada's eco-Auto program has backfired. The legislation was designed to lure Canadians out of their SUVs into hybrids and other more fuel efficient vehicles. Instead of increasing sales of the fuel sippers, buyers are turning to large pickups. The program places an excise tax of up to $4k on SUVs and other gas guzzlers like sports cars. However, because a pickup is a "need" for work rather than a "transportation choice," they're exempt. Sales of small pickups are up 18 percent so far this year, while large truck sales have increased 14 percent. It's only a matter of time– and not much of it– before the loophole cinches shut.

The trend toward class-action law suits against auto companies isn't just an American phenomenon. The Straits Times reports that major Japanese automakers and the Tokyo city government have settled a lawsuit filed by asthma patients 11 years ago over the city's air pollution. More than 520 Tokyo residents claimed that diesel fumes caused their asthma (before authorities imposed strict standards in 2003). The settlement specifies $29m to set up a five-year health plan and a one-time $10.9m payment to the plaintiffs (and their lawyers). Plaintiff Hiroko Ozawa was not satisfied with the pay-out. "The benefits will only be given to asthma patients, not to those suffering chronic bronchitis and other lung problems."

PRNewsWire wants us to know that the U.S. Army has unveiled a hybrid-electric propulsion system for their latest Manned Ground Vehicles (MGV). The hybrid design is a bit like a Chevy Volt on steroids: a traditional engine (de-coupled from the drivetrain) powers a generator that drives the motors, juices the vehicular sub-systems and recharges the batteries. Before you start thinking that our military forces are becoming tree-huggers, the hybrid MGV nothing to do with increased efficiency. "The Army is using hybrid-electric power because the more modern [combat vehicles] have much greater electrical power requirements than [the ones currently in use]. Hybrid-electric vehicles provide the requisite electrical power because they employ a rechargeable energy storage system."

To show The New York Times (and others) that he really is a "car guy," freshly-minted Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli brought his silver and black '01 Chrysler (nee Plymouth) Prowler to his very first post-ascension public appearance. At shareholder's expense, Chrysler trucked Boot'em Bob's faux rat rod from his home in Atlanta so BEB could hang with fellow Prowler owners at the company's museum parking lot. Unfortunately, BEB was plagued with feelings of inadequacy. Nardelli told the Detroit Free Press "I am a little embarrassed with my stock Prowler here compared to all of the work these folks have done." If driving a cramped, underpowered, poor-handling, overwrought automotive codpiece isn't enough to convince us that Nardelli's a "car guy," last week he asked Chrysler VP of product development Frank Kelgon when Chrysler would be ready to sell an 800hp vehicle. Oh dear.

The Detroit News carries news of a "made-for-TV" rally of Ford and Chrysler autoworkers in Chicago yesterday. The event, "put together by a public relations firm," protested proposed Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) legislation. The rent-a-mob consisted primarily of 200 workers bussed in from nearby assembly plants. They put on a good show, too. At one point, a Ford Expedition rolled up and disgorged a scoutmaster. three Boy Scouts and a Girl Scout "to demonstrate ways Americans need larger vehicles" (The mind boggles).  One Chrysler worker described her [ostensible] reason for attending the rally: "People should be able to drive what they want." A lot of Americans agree with her, which is why the Camry outsells the Sebring by a very wide margin. 

General Motors has rejected a request by the Canadian Autoworkers Union (CAW) to force employees who don't drive a GM-manufactured vehicle to pay a $100 per year parking fee and park at the back of the lot at GM plants. Newsdurhamregion.com reports plant chairman Keith Osborne told GM president Arturo Elias "people need to understand there are economic consequences that accompany their choice of vehicle." Osborne says he wants to "send a message to our membership that it is important to support the industry." Opposing: Spokesman Stew Low. "It is our desire that consumers will choose GM vehicles because they are high quality, offer the safety features and value… they are looking for. While we appreciate the idea to promote GM cars and trucks, we have decided not to move forward with the idea the union presented as some of those non-GM vehicles may belong to visitors (or) suppliers." The CAW already restricts access to their own parking lots; vehicles not built by General Motors, Chrysler and Ford are banished  to Siberia the farthest corner of the parking lot.

When the going gets tough, the unions file lawsuits. Yesterday, seven unions including the UAW asked the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to order employers to bargain with them, even if they don't represent the majority of employees. The union claims the National Labor Relations Act requires this. Daniel Halem, a lawyer who represents many employers, disagrees. He told the New York Times that "Unions must have the support of a majority of employees. This concept is totally at odds with [the petition]." The unions know they won't have much of a chance of getting the Bush-appointed NLRB to side with them. However, they're banking "that there will be a Democratic president someday who will appoint a board that will look favorably upon their argument." Hope springs eternal, or are they setting themselves up for a fall?

Germany's AutoZeitung (via MotorAuthority) reports that Porsche is planning to create a hatchback about the size of a VW Golf. The brand defilement new model is designed to help the luxury sports car maker meet Europe's proposed, tighter CO2 emission standards. Projected for introduction after the 2009 launch of the four-door Panamera, Porsche's relatively down market parts-bin special would have a front-mounted 295hp boxer engine (from the Boxster) driving all four wheels. Porsche hasn't released any official sketches yet, but we can only pray it won't look like a 5/8 scale Cayenne. Still, with the new model's engine mass in front of the wheels, handling could be interesting– kind of like driving a 911 in reverse.

As [active] union membership at The Big 2.8 continues to dwindle, the UAW is making a full-court press on the transplants. They've already launched an attack on Toyota and now they're targeting Honda, according to The Birmingham News. After an unsuccessful attempt to organize Honda's Marysville, Ohio plant, the UAW's now focusing on the Lincoln, Alabama facility. Union representatives have been meeting with small groups of employees at the plant, which turns out 300k Odyssey minivans, Honda Pilot sport utility vehicles and V-6 engines annually. They've warned workers they can expect the company "to step up a campaign of 'fear and intimidation' against pro-union workers." UAW organizer Frank White told employees, "The company will try to divide you by gender and along racial lines. They will try to divide you on shifts, saying day shift didn't reach quota so you'll have to work harder tonight." Sounds like the union knows a few "fear and intimidation" tactics of their own.

Tesla Motors is set to send its lithium-ion battery-powered prototype Roadster on a 200-mile road trip. According to Green Wombat , it's a publicity stunt "designed to demolish the perception that electric cars are short-range put-put mobiles more suited to suburban cul-de-sacs than the open road." Tesla PR wonk David Vespremi claims it's no biggie; Tesla has already "put the car through its paces during long-distance testing." The trip is sponsored by the Hyatt hotel chain and will include several stops at Hyatts along the route. Even though Tesla claims a 200-mile range for the Roadster and they're taking it on a 200-mile road trip, AutoBlogGreen reports they'll be stopping at a Hyatt in Sacramento "to show off the charging capability (and charge the batteries)." According to Vespremi, this was "the plan all along." Funny that this plan doesn't show up in any of the news stories about the jaunt before now. TTAC has been questioning their range claims from the start; too bad the company can't won't use this opportunity to prove us wrong.