Business Wire reports that the law firm of Sheldon J. Schlesinger, P.A. in Fort Lauderdale, Florida has hit Lexus and corporate parent Toyota with a class action lawsuit relating to the ES350's airbag sensors. According to Lexusdefect.com, "many owners have found that these sensors are intermittingly turning off thereby creating a situation where… the air bag would not deploy." The lawyers also maintain that "company spokespersons have stated that there is a problem, but they do not know how to fix it." Without citing any statistical evidence to support the allegation, they "believe that there is strong evidence this problem effects every single ES 350" and warn "if you have not experienced this defect, that does not mean it is not present." They aren't asking much– just for Lexus to recall and re-purchase the cars at their full cost, give full refunds to lessors and "compensatory damages for all costs and damages." 

While GM is showing an overall profit on its worldwide operations, Saab continues to be a huge money pit. The Local reports that last year Saab Automobile lost 2.9b kronor ($428m) while GM poured 3.8b kronor ($560m) into the company. "We didn't make a profit in 2006 and won't make one in 2007 either," said Saab CEO Jan-Åke Jonsson, adding he believed the company would turn a profit by 2010. While that kind of honesty is unheard of refreshing coming from someone within GM, you have to wonder how much longer GM will pour money into the operation before they finally admit they have a Swedish Jaguar on their hands and hold a Ford-style fire sale, or merge it with Opel.  

Spy shots of the upcoming Porsche's Panamera sedan have produced an almost unanimous reaction from motorheads: it's fugly. Autoweek published photos of [what the optimistic among us can only hope is] a somewhat disguised Panamera. Their readers are not shy about expressing their sense of aesthetic affrontery: "this 'design' is just hideous," "more brand dilution," "it looks like an eggplant," and "Franken-car." Perhaps sensitive to the near universal condemnation of their lardy 911-on-stilts Cayenne SUV's design, Porsche has unleashed some preemptive damage control. "In reality," Stuttgart's spinmeisters say, "the Panamera is a lot more attractive than anything to be seen so far." Does that include the Maserati Quattroporte? Anyway, Cayenne notwithstanding, I have a hard time believing The Sultans of Stuttgart would let anything this gawky out of their styling studios. And yet, how could they make it better?

The next time you're fumbling around for coins to feed the meter so you can run into Starbucks for a venti half-caff triple mocha soy latte with a shot, thank Carl Magee. In 1932, he invented the parking meter as a solution to parking problems in downtown Oklahoma City. As recounted in the Wall Street Journal, his invention was met with ridicule, indignation and lawsuits. For a while, it looked like the courts would side with the public. But greed civic responsibility eventually prevailed, and the "combination of an alarm clock and a slot machine which is being used for further socking the motorist" became commonplace. But it wasn't just motorist swho had to pay. In 1936, San Antonio city officials forced farmers to park their horse-drawn wagons at what became a coin-op hitching post.

GuideOne Insurance, a leading insurer to American churches, is now offering special coverage to supplicants. According to Insurance Journal, their FaithGuard insurance policy has specific benefits if you're involved in an accident while going directly to or from a worship service or scheduled religious activity. In that case, they waive the deductible, double medical coverage for non-family members, and cover your loan payments up to $3K. To give churches some incentive to promote the policy, it also covers tithing or church donations up to $750 should the wayward motorist lose income due to a covered accident. GuideOne also offers fire insurance, but we won't get into the theological implications of that policy.

Four states ban drivers from making cell phone calls whilst underway (California, Connecticut, New Jersey and New York). Sixteen states ban beginning drivers from phoning from cars. In May 1999, the Oklahoma legislature rejected a bill mandating a blanket ban. The Journal Record reports state Rep. Paul Wesselhoft is shifting focus, proposing a mandatory fine of $1,000 and 20 days in jail for using a cell phone if it's determined to be a factor in an accident. Previously, Wesselhoft tried (and failed) to get OK to restrict drivers to hands-free devices. "I would much rather be on the preventative side of the issue. Unfortunately, we [now] have to punish them." Wesselhoft cited a NHTSA study revealing that drivers looked at the road less than 40 percent of the time while dialing a cell phone. He also pointed to statistics from the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office citing cell phones as a contributing factor in 802 accidents in 2006. Why can't we all just hang up and drive?

Sixty years ago this week, a Dutch Volkswagen importer saw a strange vehicle built by workers to move heavy body panels around the VW factory. From these humble beginnings sprang the VW Kombi, AKA the VW Van, Bulli, Camper, and Minibus. Arguably the first true minivan, the Kombi sired a line of work trucks (including crew cab pickup variations), passenger vans, campers and became the official vehicle of the Deadhead.  VW is planning a three-day celebration this October 5-7 in Hanover to mark the 60th Anniversary. Gizmag quotes Stephan Schaller, spokesman for Brand Management, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles: "Scarcely any other vehicle evokes as many emotions as the VW Bulli. Back then it stood for new departures, economic success, independence as well as fun and travel. It is pleasant, reliable and a real cult vehicle. We want to establish the unrivalled legacy of our brand with the international VW Camper event and hope to revive the Bulli brand in the future." No word yet on whether Paul Neidermeyer will make the pilgrimage.

Caterpillar's retired United Auto Workers (UAW) members are suing the company for cuts in health coverage their union approved. In return, Caterpillar is suing the UAW to make them pay– should their members win their lawsuit. As quoted in Forbes, Caterpillar spokesman Rusty Dunn asks, "How can the union sponsor lawsuits that fight the very terms that the union proposed, negotiated and ratified during collective bargaining?" Caterpillar also alleges the UAW encouraged their retirees to file the suits. The UAW has declined to comment on Caterpillar's actions. You can bet the automakers will be keeping an eye on how this progresses as they attempt to make similar changes in the health care coverage they provide for their thousands of retirees.

How does 0 – 60 in less than a second, and 156 mph in the quarter mile sound? Like… a loud whir. MSNBC reports Scott Dube's lithium-ion powered KillaCycle is breaking local records at drag strips and hopes to challenge the world record for bikes powered by nitromethane. That's not too bad for "a giant cordless drill with wheels." In the four-wheeled world, Dick Brown's White Zombie started life as a 1972 Datsun 1200. The undead automobile is now the world's quickest-accelerating street-legal electric car, covering the quarter mile in 11.46 seconds (the Corvette Z06 needs 11.8 seconds to cover the same distance). In terms of consumer aplications, the Zombie's quarter-mile driving range could be something of an issue.

We repeat: the Toyota Prius is the official car of the intellectually superior. According to InsideBayArea.com, after trailing Camry, Corolla, Accord, and Civic in Santa Clara County in California's Silicon Valley last year, Prius has outsold all four through May of this year. Ron Diridon, executive director of the Mineta Transportation Institute at San Jose State University and himself a Prius militant owner, shows no lack of hubris in his assessment of the situation: "The intellectual capacity within Silicon Valley is amazing. That higher level of education reflects a higher level of understanding of the terrible consequences of global warming." Intellectual superiority aside, the free pass to the carpool lane that was available for Prius drivers, the outrageous price of gas in California and the fact you can now buy a Prius for less than sticker had a bit to do with it as well.

The Chinese auto market is booming. Thirty-four new models entered the PRC fray in the first half of this year. Unfortunately, "booming market" doesn't necessarily equate to high sales. Gasgoo.com makes the point with their list of the ten worst-selling cars in China. There are a few familiar names on there: Acura TL, Mitsubishi Galant, Kia Rio, Hyundai Sonata and Toyota Prius. The list also includes the car that Buick fanboys have lusted after, the Holden-based Park Avenue. It'll be interesting to see how long they keep these models on the market in China, or if they'll try to export them to maintain production in the face of low sales.

Ford's soy foam seat cushions are so not enough. Reliable Plant magazine reports that students at the University of Warwick in Coventry, UK, have built a car using botanical materials for almost everything save the frame and engine. The open-wheel single-passenger car features a body made from hemp, tires that started life on a potato farm and brake pads that once grew on a cashew tree. Suitably-named project manager Ben Wood claims he can get the car up to 150 mph "given a long straight and a tailwind." Wood hopes to design a race car that is "95 percent biodegradable or recyclable." If these products carry over into passenger car design, will the manufactures offer a 100K mile warranty against termite damage?

California cops have been seizing automobiles driven by [alleged] drug buyers or johns and forcing them to pay $200 to $2k impound fees to get them back. Now, they have to stop (the cities involved that is). FOX40 News reports that the California State Supreme Court has ruled that the municipalities were overstepping their legal bounds. By impounding the cars, the cities were exceeding the penalties imposed by state and federal laws; only the state can dole out penalties for drug or prostitution-related offenses. The ruling doesn't affect similar laws that allow police to seize cars participating in street racing or "sideshows." Chicago, Miami and other U.S. cities may have to follow suit– or face being subject to one.

As US automakers get cozier with their Chinese counterparts, the quality of PRC-produced cars has become a topic of debate/concern. And for good reason. According to Daily Report, a recent customer satisfaction survey in China shows that 77 percent of new car owners reported problems. The report, which would make JD Power's mob weep (or salivate), revealed 338 problems for every 100 vehicles across the industry. China has no equivalent to our Consumer Product Safety Commission, so the only way consumers there have to learn about hazardous products is word-of-mouth. This is not the kind of culture you'd naturally associate with building safe, reliable vehicles for the U.S. market, Just sayin'.

Nestle, McDonalds, Bic, VW, and Daimler Benz all suffer from the same problem: marketing people with too much time on their hands. As Forbes' Jack Trout points out, there's nothing more dangerous to a brand than a marketing staff that can't leave well enough alone. It can take a company years to recover from a branding blunder. Mr. Trout sums it up in two sentences  "A brand can only stand for one thing in the mind; the more things you try to make it stand for, the more the mind loses focus on what you are. Endless variations give marketing people something to do while they do long-term damage to a brand or a company."  Are you listening, Rick, Tom, Alan, Dieter, Wendelin and friends?