This one is driving me nuts. I’ve heard this from three sources now. Good sources. Independent sources. Sources that will never talk to me again if I name them. Even discounting their tips, the story makes perfect sense. It’s common knowledge that ex-Home Depot Chairman Bob Nardelli actively campaigned for Chrysler’s top job. Up until the weekend of August 2, 2007, there wasn’t a single journalist who didn’t think Wolfgang Bernhard was going to get the job, with Chrysler veteran (and author of the Daimler-commissioned turnaround plan) Tom LaSorda as his underling. And then… Bob Nardelli. Who? Nardelli was a complete industry outsider (he owned a Plymouth Prowler for God’s sake). Why the sudden change of plan? Could it be that Nardelli put his own money on the line? Motive: resurrection of his tarnished rep. Means: the exec drifted out of Home Depot on a $210m golden parachute. Opportunity: Cerberus considered industry players inherently suspicious. And what do we make of Nardelli’s testimony to Congress that he doesn’t draw a penny in salary? OK, so I called Chrysler for confirmation. Within ten minutes Nardelli’s personal PR person returned my ping and categorically denied this report. So are you saying that Mr. Nardelli didn’t put ANY money into Chrysler when Cerberus bought it from Daimler? Correct. So now you know. Or don’t.  

• We expect the annualized light vehicle selling rate (SAAR) to run in a range of 10.0 – 10.3 million units in January, the midpoint of which would be about 34% below the year-ago pace of 15.4 million, and a little softer than last month’s pace of 10.3 million.

• Unit volume (selling day adjusted) should be down in a range of 35% – 37% versus January 2008, compared to a decline of about 35% in 4Q08. The seasonal factors are favorable this month, which explains how unit volume could be down more than the annualized selling rate.

• The industry faces significant sequential and year-over-year sales headwinds from lower daily rental deliveries in January. Demand from rental car companies is weak; but the decline in deliveries will be exacerbated by severe production declines in January as daily rent vehicles typically turn quickly from production to delivery.

• By maker, we see GM sales down in a range of 40% – 42% year-to-year, with market share dipping to around 22% or less, compared to share of 24.4% in December, and versus 23.9% in the year-ago month. We see the sequential decline in share as partly driven by fewer daily rent deliveries.

(Read More…)

I got an email yesterday from a mob called LandLine TV. They sent me a link to the above video asking if I wanted to post it for your amusement. Of course I said no. It’s so not funny. OK, the pitchmen have natural comedic talent, in that gormless, Pineapple Express kinda way. But the ad itself could’ve been made by a 12-year-old with his mom’s video camera. I suppose that’s the point, but, again, it’s just not funny. So I wrote back explaining why the faux ad didn’t work and offered my services as a script writer. That fish is wiggling on the hook. They sent me back an email saying that they were open to suggestion (the seminal work on hypnosis by the way). They’re thinking about spoofing this Caddy ad. Not only is the Caddy slingshot ad older than John McCain (in Internet time), but who cares? Why not spoof the Caddy Escalade Hybrid ad. Or the Dodge Boys’ “man step” dissing ad? Or… well, there are lots of possibilities. And so I throw it open to you, our Best and Brightest, to share some ideas for spoof car ads. And remember: these guys are hiring.

When Daniel Howes was a European correspondent, I had nothing but respect for his work. Since relocating to Detroit, my former main man has lost the fearless objectivity he displayed in his e-missive from across the pond. Lately, Howes’ column has blended piercing glimpses into the obvious, recaps of well-known events and a newfound ability to not say anything much. Today, like yesterday’s AutoExtremism, Danny finds his inner TTAC. Only one problem: “Jobs bank end won’t halt D.C. bias” channels Howes’ anger at Washington’s hypocritical bailout minders. Sigh. Moral relativism—those evil bankers got their money without a public humiliation and strings made of piano wire—may give hope to the hometown crowd, but it’s an old, moldy, shoddy shibboleth. Danny should know better. How many times does one have to say that two wrongs don’t make a right? I mean, he’s WAY off target. Again.

(Read More…)

Tick tick tick. “Ford finished the year with cash reserves of $13.4 billion as it tries to avoid borrowing money from the U.S. government,” Automotive News [sub] reports. So, if the cash burn continues at the pace of the last three quarters—and why wouldn’t it?—Ford has fewer than six months (June ’09) before it’s running on fumes. Fewer, if you consider that the ailing American automaker needs a $10b pad to keep the lights on. More, after they tap their remaining credit reserve. Which they’re doing as I type. OK, let’s drill down. 

(Read More…)

I’ve got a bet with TTAC’s Ken Elias. I reckon the feds will examine GM and Chrysler’s term papers (i.e., viability reports) and slam ’em. The automakers will take a real drubbing in the press. And rightly so. And then their Congressional watchdogs will sign the next round of checks. Ken figures that come March, Uncle Sam will cry basta! GM and Chrysler will be forced into both a shotgun marriage and bankruptcy. We shall see. Meanwhile there’s news out of Sweden that at least one government statsråd knows a con game when he sees one. I speak here of Jöran Hägglund, Sweden’s State Secretary to the Minister for Enterprise and Energy. “We have asked for… a more credible business plan that outlines the development over the next few years based on a scenario where sales continue to decrease and the measures needed to combat that,” Hägglund told Swedish public radio [as reported by AFP]. In play: a 28b kronor ($3.5b) auto industry bailout package. Hägglund gave GM two weeks to get its shit together.

I reckon it’s a little early to name the worst stock of ’09—given how many choices are bound to surface as the U.S. economy tanks. But, well, there it is: The Motley Fool names Ford (F) the worst stock you can buy. “The trouble with Ford’s stock is that it may be very tempting to some investors who look at the $1.94 price tag and think that it’s a nice, cheap price for a great American car maker. The trap door with Ford is the company’s debt—all $157 billion of it. Looking at Ford on the basis of its total enterprise value (equity value plus net debt), the company is still valued near or above the better-positioned automakers… The dealio at Ford comes down to the fact that debt holders are really the ones who own the company at this point. At the end of the third quarter, the company had a shareholder deficit of nearly $2 billion, which basically means that there are more non-equity claims against assets than there are assets. That’s bad news for shareholders because debt holders have rights and protections that will let them flick away equity holders like a paper football, if push comes to shove.” As our Ken Elias pointed out this morning, as MarketWatch points out tonight, the shove is here.

Watch Dodge Ram AMCI Test Series in Car Videos  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

“Express post or lightning-fast courier? If you are really in a hurry and have something to hide then there is only one mode of transport for you: the professional driver Frank Martin (Jason Statham). In his latest film, Transporter 3, he sets off action-packed fireworks, which set a standard even higher than he is used to. The sports pedals of ABT Sportsline and the forged alloys wheel set Forge A from AEZ can be seen in supporting roles in this exciting hunt for environmental terrorists.”

Bailout fatigue? Not me. Every day I wake up wondering what new absurdity I’ll encounter in my quest to tell the truth about cars and those who make them. And just when I think it can’t get any more ridiculous—a Chrysler Fiat tie up, “strategic reviews” of dead brands, a back room bailout for an ex-Treasury Secretary’s new boss, viability plans spun out of thin air, product plans cut from the same cloth—it does. Here’s today’s hit of alternate reality: Chrysler wants—no, demands—that its suppliers cut their prices. WTF? Remind me again. Chrysler’s suppliers are making how much profit these days? I’m thinking… none. And how many cars can Chrysler build if its suppliers—make that one key supplier—can’t deliver parts? I’m thinking… none. Not that anyone’s buying Chrysler products, but blood from a stone? Aintgonnahappen.org. 

(Read More…)

Chris Paukert got his start here at The Truth About Cars. He was, in fact, our first freelance contributor. Since then, it’s been a winding road for Chris. When I heard he was joining Autoblog, I didn’t know to be happy for Autoblog or sad for Chris. Since joining AB, Paukert’s posts have been press release compliant. But, while you can take the boy out of TTAC… Today, Paukert (or one of his eagle-eyed spies) spied the fact that Saturn pulled the “Build Your ’09 Astra” function from their website. Yup, one of GM’s endless stream of Hail Marys has shuffled off this mortal coil. Chris did the right thing and called Saturn for confirmation. “We spoke with Steve Janisse, group manager for Saturn communications, this morning, and he confirmed that while there will be no 2009 model, a 2010 is scheduled and on track for a spring roll-out. Given this unfortunate economic environment and GM’s rude health, of course, we’ll wait to ‘call the ball’ until 2010s are on dealer forecourts.” Aside from the fact that rude health means good health and the glaring lack of the word “bullshit,” it looks like AB might finally have a writer with a pair of stones. We look forward to the competition.

[Read Justin Berkowitz’ review of the Saturn Astra here] 

In a comment under our most recent United Auto Workers post, Taurus GT500 posted the below. I thought it worthy of lifting into pride of place in our blog roll.

“Bob Cratchit asked us to drop you a line. We’re the Ghosts of Main Streets Past, Present, and Future.

The what?

You know us by our nickname. We’re the (former) steel towns of the Mon River – the Steel Valley. You know, Steelers, Steel City. Get it? That’s us.

We’ve been where you’re going. …But, it wasn’t always like this.

Once, we made rails that connected shining sea to shining sea; girders that put the sky in skyscraper; and when Henry and those Dodge boys and that Durant fellow put America on wheels, where you think all that steel came from?

You and Rosie the Riveter was the Arsenal of Democracy. Maybe with better PR we’d a been the Blast Furnace of Freedom.

Our furnaces’d light the sky for miles. Endless parades of coal barges. And freight train whistles at all hours. Man, like the song said, we were something to see.

But that was then …and this is now.

(Read More…)

The Aston Martin factory in Gaydon is moving to a three-day work week, as demand for the eternally troubled supercar maker’s mechanically-plagued products craters. The BBC reports that the marque’s masters are putting the best possible spin on the move, which is fooling nobody. “The company, based in Gaydon, Warwickshire, said the new Monday to Wednesday shift pattern was temporary and affected just under 600 staff. The employees’ hours will be ‘banked’ and claimed back by the firm later. The firm, which announced 600 redundancies in December, said it had consulted unions over the move. Three hundred staff have already left and it is in the final stages of consultation over the remaining 300. It will employ 1,250 staff at Gaydon following the planned redundancies.” But wait! Here comes the cavalry!

(Read More…)