Cerberus may be positioning itself to sue Daimler for unfair business practices. They could do so– after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection– under a claim of "fraudulent conveyance." Rather than turn this into a boring law seminar– and God knows I'm an expert on that front– let's just say that the provision in question (or not) is part of the U.S. bankruptcy code designed to stop management from hiding capital from creditors. Here's the twist: Cerberus could use fraudulent conveyance to claim that the Germans cooked the books, sneakily selling them a business they knew wasn't "a going concern." While Cerberus wouldn't get a full refund, every little bit helps AND it would be a genuine PR coup, protecting Cerberus' rep (tricky German bastards). There are a couple of caveats. First, that small matter of filing for bankruptcy. Second, Daimler could be protected by a statute of limitations, whose term depends on which country's laws govern the terms of the original sale. I'm still checking, but it appears that it's a U.S. deal, giving Cerberus a year from the transaction's conclusion to file and bite Daimler's ass. Hang on; this could get seriously weird. 

According to Jalopnik, Honda has confirmed that it's "un-delaying" (i.e. building) a replacement for its NSX supercar (1990 – 2005). In theory, it's an exciting development. Aside from the new U.S. Accord, Honda has always followed the Colin Chapman's "add lightness" paradigm. And no vehicle fits that mantra better than a high-performance sports car. That's why the original all-aluminum (body and chassis) NSX remains a totemic vehicle amongst those car nuts who can afford changing high performance tires every 58 miles. Ye Olde NSX offered all the handling of a Ferrari, and then some, on a regular basis (i.e. everyday usability). Like the Chevy Corvette– only with two less cylinders– the Japanese-built supercar was something a working class hero. Unfortunately, Honda is now following Lexus (LF-A) into The Kingdom of Stupid. The next NSX will have a 500-horse V10 in its nose. Pardon me for armchair CEO-ing, but this is five kinds of wrong. The next NSX should be a turbocharged, six-cylinder, mid-engined, Super-Handling AWD terror. When Honda blindly follows in opposition to their principles, not even their engineering expertise makes it worthwhile (see Chuck Norris' Ridgeline). Oh, and the concept car is way ugly.

Following the passage of the Energy Bill today, Chrysler posted the following statement on the media blog, TheFirehouse.biz. It hails from from Robert Nardelli, Chairman and CEO, Chrysler LLC, regarding new, nationwide U.S. fuel economy standards. "We commend the Congress for passing an energy bill today and we fully support it being signed into law. Chrysler is committed to meeting the fuel economy standards of the bill and doing our part to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and our country's reliance on foreign oil. We continue to devote significant resources to develop quality, fuel efficient products that our customers expect. This year alone, we offer six vehicles that get 28 miles per gallon or better, and more are on the way." Wow, SIX whole vehicles? My goodness, that's incredible. Twenty-eight miles per gallon– without the "highway" caveat? Astonishing! And we get to choose from such fantastic products as the Caliber, Patriot, Compass, Sebring, Avenger, or Sebring Convertible! All with the puniest engines Chrysler sells. For fuel economy purposes. Why are they leaving out the amazing E85 Durango that has EPA ratings of 12 highway, 9 city? Just wonderin'…

About nine months ago, a BMW X5 went out drinking with a Scion tC. They had way too much Jose Cuervo and yada yada yada… And since BMW is a traditional Catholic, it didn't have a lot of options. Now after carrying their tequila inspired offspring to term, the X6 has been born. Pictures of this new BMW landed with a dull thud over the weekend as embargoes were broken- yet again- across the web. BMW calls the new arrival a "Sports Activity Coupe," which my Cray supercomputer tells me abbreviates to the unfortunate acronym SAC. Looking at the X6 pictures, it looks like a SAC, what with the SUV body and hideous sloping rear hatchback. There was a time when the term "coupe" meant something. I'm not being idealistic, I'm just confused. Because "coupe" now apparently means jacked-up four-door SUV with a low roofline. The silver lining to this charcoal cloud? The BMW SAC will debut a new engine: a twin turbocharged 4.4 liter V8 with 400 horsepower and 450 ft. lbs. of torque. Considering how heroinific the turbocharged 3.0 liter I6 is, and how fantastic BMW's V8s are, this engine alone will probably make this unfortunate SAC of worthwhile.

Looks like I'm going to have to cash in a savings bond I got for my Bar Mitzvah. I know it's Risky Business, but Mitsubishi has just announced pricing estimates for the new Evo. The basic five-speed manual model will cost American buyers $33k to $34k (including delivery). The Evo MR with the dual clutch transmission (dubbed SST) is the apple of my automotive eye. That bad boy's gonna clock-in at $38k to $39k. Whoa! That's not just a Hell of a lot of money for a transmission and some tuning, it's a Hell of a lot of money for an Evo. The previous generation race rally replicar ran $29k for a stripper (and the car), $34k for the top o' the line are you really that mental, can you afford the dental version. The Evo's new sticker sticker strategy puts the models deep into real car territory, knocking on the door of the stupendous BMW 335i twin-turbo. The new Evo may again have what it takes to run with the big dogs, but there's bound to be blood on the showroom floor.

“GM has never sold a competitive small car in America.” Not true. The imported rear wheel-drive Opel 1900– the sedan version of the Manta– was a superb machine for its day. Unfortunately, a rising dollar and a lack of marketing and development vis-a-vis the Japanese competition (Datsun 510) doomed the 1900 to footnoted obscurity. And now, once again, General Motors NA turns to Opel to get back in the small car game. They've brought over the Eurozone’s best selling passenger car: the Astra. Starting this January, you can buy an Astra in America, only with the logo swapped from Opel’s lightning bolt to Saturn’s rings. Should you?

If you have a brain, pulse, and/or soul, you probably missed "VH1's Fabulous Life Presents: Insane Celebrity Superspenders," which aired last night (12/10). "Celebrities are really loving the Tesla roadster," one of their hip-hack commentators said. A craptacular VH1 original show setting sail onto the sea of exaggerations? No surprise there. But it's a testament to Tesla's marketing that they effectively convinced the world that they've already launched an all-electric sports car. In fact all they've done so far is give a few celebs a ride around the block (as passengers, of course), take deposits, start construction of a showroom in LA, and put out reams of press releases. Nice job, Tesla. Bad job, VH1.

New York regional media are reporting a terrible tragedy from late last night. A car was speeding on the highway when it struck the guard rail and subsequently flipped over (drivers frequently react to hitting the guard rail by jerking the wheel in the opposite direction; creating the flip). Two passengers were killed and the other three are critically injured. And the entire accident was the avoidable result of several very bad decisions. The car was a Dodge Charger SRT8. With 425 horsepower and rear-wheel drive, it's hardly suited for high-speed driving in bad weather. Its owner, the driver, is a 17-year old kid with a junior license (he shouldn't have been driving the car at all under NYC law at that time of night). What's worse, the junior license was suspended. It's unclear whether the Charger SRT8 had popular summer tires. Side airbags are optional on the SRT8, though they'd have done nothing to prevent the roof from collapsing. The wrong car for the wrong person in the wrong weather. Should anything be done?

This is my first General Motors pre-obituary. I’ve never penned one because I never liked having to face the reality that GM’s killing itself one bone-headed decision at a time. But in carmaking as in any type of proto-warfare, turning a blind eye to stupid mistakes doesn’t make things any better. In the past few weeks, GM has made three product announcements that are so head-shakingly absurd they’ve earned themselves the starring role in a GM Deathwatch. Strike one…

Hyundai is slowing releasing details about its upcoming luxury sedan , called the Genesis. What we already knew is that it's rear-wheel drive, and that Hyundai benchmarked the BMW 5-Series. Let's hope they leave out the too-small back seat and spine-jarring ride quality. An iDrive knock off is already confirmed. Although the base engine will be a 300 hp V6, Hyundai has previously stated that they were developing a V8 engine as well. Now we've got the goods, and Hyundai is reporting that the "Tau" V8 engine will have 375 equines. That puts it in good company of V8 engines from Mercedes (380), BMW (360), Lexus (340-380) and Acura (just kidding, they don't have a V8). If the eight-cylinder Genesis comes in at the $35k price point many are speculating, it'll probably be such a smash hit that it'll recall the original Lexus LS400. TTAC blogmeisters will be on hand to cover its debut at the Detroit Auto Show in January.

There's some good news from Chrysler for all those pisotnheads who prefer old-fashioned horsepower to silly things like low CO2 emissions. In the past, the Hemi's V8 alternative was really only hanging around to provide genuine torque for a lot less dough: 290 ft-lbs. of twist to be specific. Unfortunately, the 4.7-liter mill's horsepower clocked in at a relatively puny 235. The combo was best suited to Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Dakota owners pottering over hill and dale, towing lifestyle gear and little else. And so Chrysler, post-35 by 2020 Energy Bill, have upgraded the 4.7 liter V8 from ground chuck meat to New York strip steak. For the 2008 model year, the 4.7’s horsepower has been raised by 70 fillies, rising to 300hp. Torque takes a nice little jump as well, ascending to 330 ft.-lbs. Since the improvements come from mechanical features borrowed from the 5.7 liter Hemi, Mopar fans are taking to calling the new 4.7 the "Semi-Hemi." Since neither of them has hemispherical combustion chambers, no harm, no blasphemy. No word on the effect on mpgs, but Chrysler's revamped MDS (multi-displacement system) should make it seem frugal enough. Bottom line: Chrysler's got a nice V8 to to slot into the majority of its vehicles as a genuine alternative to Hemi power. Now all they need is a midsize car, a compact car, an interior makeover for the Charger and 300, and some profits.

Jaguar is a dead brand walking. Analysts blame stagnant styling for its sales somnambulism. To rectify the aesthetic deficit, the man behind the universally beloved Aston Martin range penned the universally beliked Jaguar XK (that looks like an Aston Martin) and the upcoming XF (that looks like a Volvo). While Jag fans hope the recently released XF will revive the brand’s fortunes, the model it replaces soldiers on for another year. I got cozy with the doomed 2008 4.2 liter V8 S-Type to see what no one– or everyone– seems to be missing.

There are times when you think the people running GM's Saab division are hampered by the corporate handcuffs. And there are times when you say "someone's been hitting the Glögg a bit too hard." This is one of those occasions. At the New England Auto Show, Saab has just debuted the Turbo X, with its fancy new AWD system and 280 horses (that's an extra 30). Great! If any car has been screaming for all wheel-drive, it's the Saab 9-3. And why not Boston? Saab’s remaining 11 new car customers are all Ivy League college professors seducing students deep in the snowy Northeast, and they need the AWD for their weekend ski trips. So far, so good. Now the bad news: it's $42,510. That's more money than an Audi A4 3.2 Quattro, Infiniti G35x, or BMW 335xi. At an insanely high price like that, it's no wonder they are only importing 600 of them. If you're one of the few, you can get it in any color you want, so long as it's black.

North Dakota has a population of 640,000. It also has the largest state-owned sheep research center in the United States. What it doesn't have, however, is easy access to a number of car brands. North Dakota, you see, is the only state in which Kia doesn't have a single dealership. North Dakota is also missing Lexus, Infiniti, Acura, BMW, Isuzu (no love lost over that, either), Volvo, Saab, Jaguar, or Hummer. We often call dealerships out on the carpet for tactics that interfere with sales, but not being there altogether is a step beyond. Naturally there is a reason why a number of luxury import brands don't have a presence in an agricultural state with a relatively tiny population. For those who are in the market for such vehicles, they're in some luck: the largest city in the Peace Garden State is Fargo, which sits right on the Minnesota border (where you can get your hands on *anything*). But hey, it means there are plenty of opportunities for you to get rich by owning your own car dealership. Where else could a BMW dealership claim an entire state as its sales territory?