And the hits keep happening. So this is how it’ll work. Eddy and I and other TTAC writers will select our faves and then submit the finalists to you, our Best and Brightest, for a vote. As in Wisconsin’s “change our license plate logo” contest, we reserve the right to over-rule the popular vote. (“Eat Cheese or Die?” I don’t think so.) But we will present the results of the poll– so you can see if we’re elitist scumbag hypocrites. Again, please send jpeg entries to robert.farago@thetruthaboutcars.com. The deadline is midnight Tuesday. [NB: The software tends to squish some images. Please click on it twice to see the proper proportions.]

Back when the CEOs of Chrysler, Ford and GM were “caught” flying corporate jets into Washington to beg for bailout billions, we cautioned our readers that the media scrum had made a great landing at the wrong airport. Yes, these execs were frittering away millions of dollars on their jet fleets. Yes, their Gulfstream travel violated their companies’ supposedly proletarian appeal; Henry Ford’s model T and all that. But blaming jet travel for the CEO’s woes was like blaming Harrison Ford’s limo for the travesty that was the fourth Indiana Jones movie. So yes, but no. Anyway, The Detroit News reports (of course) that Sunflower State senators have lifted the corporate jet ban from the non-automotive recipients of Congress’ recently-refilled, near-as-dammit trillion dollar trough. “Kansas is a center of aircraft manufacturing, and Kansas lawmakers complained that the provision could reduce aircraft orders and cost jobs. This week, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., author of the bill, lifted the jet ban. Could the DetN resist placing another mountainous chip upon the shoulder of their hometown heroes? Are you kidding? “So remember, folks: According to Congress, it’s only a waste of taxpayer money if auto execs are the ones flying private.”

Audi is the official sponsor of President Elect Barack Obama’s inauguration. No really. “ABC, CBS, NBC evening newscasts will be presented with limited commercial breaks exclusively from Audi. An eight-page insert in major newspapers nationwide [USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The Miami Herald, Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, and The Boston Globe] highlight Audi innovations and Audi will be the sole sponsor of the inaugural address on top news sites.” Isn’t Ingolstadt a little leery of playing partisan politics with America’s well-heeled motorists? “Regardless of political preferences, the inauguration represents a unique moment of progress,” Audi NA Prez Johan de Nysschen. “That’s why we wanted to share this experience and begin a conversation about innovation, technology and the path ahead.” Get it? No? Let’s try that again…

(Read More…)

Tuesday’s the deadline for this mission of mercy. [Send your design to robert.farago@thetruthaboutcars.com] Meanwhile, we’re getting the second tranche of bailout money– sorry, I mean, logo action. The logos below are the latest from members of our Best and Brightest, whose affection for the site and dedication to clarity gives me pause. OK, that done, I appreciate all your efforts on our mutual behalf. In these hard economic times, I’m trying like Hell not to cut our editorial budget. If I can get some new income streams going (consultant speak for make some money), it will help sustain my effort to reward our contributors and maintain their interest in submitting material for our mutual entertainment, information and informed debate. Again, please do not flame the artists here. Constructive criticism is most welcome and expected, but your restraint is, as always, integral to the process. Thank you.

TTAC’s Best and Brightest have taken-up the challenge to design a logo for the site. I’m not going to tell you which one or ones have caught my eye, but I will say this: Car Tatts has agreed to pay us a percentage of the $9.99 price for each TTAC tatt they sell. Which isn’t bad considering all we have to do is update the website 24/7 with rants, news and reviews. But the actual amount means that we’re reducing the previous, buck-a-pop offer to the winning artist (deadline next Tuesday) to fiddy cents. Again, none of these artists have agreed to anything by submitting their design, save the chance to let the B&B have a look see. Send you submissions to robert.farago@thetruthaboutcars.com. And please, NO FLAMING. If you don’t like a particular design, hate the sin, not the sinner. And help us identify the winner. [NB: some of the designs get squeeshed in the gallery. Please click on them twice to see the art in its proper aspect ratio. Or something like that.]

Even before President Obama becomes President Obama, the democrats have put a light on that Hill (go Jumbos!). In other words, the bailout bucks are flowing freely, with House Democrats unveiling an $825b stimulus bill. Here’s a challenge: define “stimulus” without using the words “pork” or “special interest.” And one of those special interest groups that’s especially interested in sticking their snouts in the federal trough: the U.S. auto industry. Surprised? “The money for advanced battery support includes $2 billion — half in loans and half in grants — and $200 million to encourage electric vehicle technologies,” The Detroit News, no stranger to industry encouragement, reports. “The bill also calls for $300 million to retrofit older diesel engines and replace some diesel vehicles, such as school buses, and use $400 million to help state and local governments buy more efficient alternative-fuel vehicles. Additionally, the measure includes $600 million for the federal government to replace older vehicles with alternative-fuel automobiles.” And get this: Motown’s hometown heroes are feeling shortchanged.

(Read More…)

Automotive News [sub] reports that VW is bringing the Polo econobox stateside. “Oil prices will rise again,” VW development chief Ulrich Hackenberg said, unaware of the expression’s meaning to Lynyrd Skinner fans. “and that will drive small car sales up further.” Further than…? Hackenberg said VW’s assembly plant in Puebla, Mexico could spit out the Polo for U.S. consumers. He did not say why this hadn’t been done before, when it might start now, whether or not it would be the next gen Polo or what color we should paint his trial balloon. I know! Green!

An ironic number for this post, of course, as A123 Batteries just lost their chance to supply batteries for the Hail Mary-shaped plug-in electric – gas hybrid Chevy. But one has to wonder: will GM last long enough for Volts to hit the showroom? Speaking to NPR, GM CEO Rick Wagoner put the onus on you, the taxpayer, to make it so. “”My own view is that the opportunity for these [electric cars] to develop into high-volume vehicles is good,” Wagoner told the taxpayer-funded news org. “But to be honest, it’s going to depend on our ability to work on things like getting the cost down and it’s going to be very much dependant on government policies which support the growth of electricity in vehicles.” Whoah, Dude! Does that mean that GM is acknowledging that the Volt is a non-starter? “Wagoner says electric cars are very expensive to make. Even if the Volt rolls out in 2011 or 2012, as a new technology its cost will be ‘significantly more than the consumer will be willing to pay for.’ That means GM will have to take losses on the vehicle in order to advance the technology, Wagoner says.” And who, pray tell, is going to cover those losses? You! The non-Volt-buying, tax paying consumer.

If we’re going to start looking at the discrepancy between what our politicians say and actually do, we could be here a while. Still, props to Autobloggreen (ABG) for pointing out that the diesel-powered Cadillac-shaped tank from which our lastest President will view the rabble is probably not California-compliant. In particular, particulates. “It’s been reported that the limo uses a 6.5L diesel V8 which got me thinking about whether it might be a Tier 2 Bin 5 compliant clean diesel. I contacted Cadillac spokesman David Caldwell who gave me the following response, “We’re just not permitted to discuss that at all — and in fact I don’t even know the engine aspects of the car. So it’s not the case that I’m just choosing not to tell you — I don’t know and would not be permitted to know.”  In fact, if they told him, they’d have to kill him. And if we told you, well, didn’t Robert Redford star in a movie about that? ABG has to go that one step further, pointing out that the limo probably runs on military-grade diesel. This from Mr. Ethanol. Who’d a thunk it?

GM Provides Global Business Update at Auto Analyst Event
Mark LaNeve, Vice President, GM North American Vehicle Sales, Service and Marketing
01/15/2009

To All General Motors Dealers:

General Motors provided an update to financial analysts today on the company’s restructuring efforts included in the viability plan that was submitted to the federal government last month. Rick Wagoner and Fritz Henderson told the group that GM is on track and making progress toward meeting its goals. Given the ongoing weakness in the automotive markets, they also explained that GM has adopted a more conservative U.S. industry volume assumption of 10.5 million units for 2009. The original baseline projections for 2009 were for a 12 million unit U.S. market.  Rick and Fritz also said that we would continue to refine the plan in response to changing market conditions.

Regarding General Motors’ brands and dealers, the plans have not changed from the original submission. Hummer and Saab are under external review, while Saturn is being reviewed internally by a team that includes dealer representatives via the Franchise Operating Team. Product discussion in the plan focuses primarily on GM’s core brands: Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC, with Pontiac as a specialty, focused brand. Also unchanged from the original submission is the projection that GM will have 4,700 dealers in the year 2012. As we have in the past, we will continue to work together with you personally as we move through this difficult, yet necessary dealer network re-sizing. Today’s update also provided the analysts information on the progress being made by GMAC and its ability to return to sub-vented financing.

(Read More…)

Toyota is declining to provide details on its next round of U.S. production cuts. Automotive News [sub] illustrates the automaker’s newfound inscrutability. “This is a tough environment, and it may continue for a while,” said Jim Wiseman, Toyota’s vice president of English understatement. Just kidding: Jim’s ToMoCo’s Veep of external affairs. “In addition to slowing production, we are redoubling efforts to cut costs at each of our facilities,” Wiseman added, ominously. Although we don’t know the who, what and when of the cutbacks, Toyota’s why is quickly becoming an industry rallying cry; call it the ET or “even Toyota” defense. “The industry downturn has caused inventories to build up even for Toyota, which is known for running lean and cost-efficient production where parts are delivered in a ‘just in time’ system to be installed in vehicles on the assembly line. It had already reduced North American production of its best-selling cars, including the Camry and Corolla sedans, and suspended work on a new plant in Mississippi that was due to start producing the popular Prius gasoline-electric hybrid car from 2010.” Not so popular now, eh Mr. Bond-san?

Here’s an Insight: Honda has publicly declared its intention to rebrand itself as the environmentally-friendly/responsible car company. I guess the power of dreams is the power to save the world. For some reason, despite its participation in the now-theoretical gas-guzzling segment of the market, good old reliable Toyota also has designs on that mindspace. As part of the Japanese automaker’s ongoing campaign to cloak itself in the mantle of not so mean mean green, Toyota’s relaunched it’s Why Not? website. It’s a virtual world without a single man-made sound (except the digital bird noises), where clickable bits of paper provide ideas for improving your carbon footprint, eliminating waste and generally protecting the world’s resources for our children (it’s always about the children). Although the idea’s authors names are withheld, you too can submit your planet-saving ideas to the site. So no public recognition, BUT your entry could win you a week-long trip for a VIP tour of Toyota’s plant in Kentucky and a chin wag with unspecified “top innovators” in New York City. No disrespect to the KY’s ToMoCo workers (who may or may not be working at the time of the trip), but a week seems a bit… much. Me, I’m thinking Hoover Dam and the straight to Vegas baby. Anyway, why not submit your Why Not? ideas here as well?

As an unwilling investor in Chrysler Corporation, a zombie automaker owned by a bullet-dodging private equity company, I’d like to ask a simple question: can we let the ailing American automaker die already? I know there are tens of thousands of workers whose livelihoods are threatened by a ChryCo C7, but their jobs were already sacrificed on the altar of corporate malfeasance, back when Daimler was calling the shots. Watching this end game is as excruciating as clocking the twenty-ninth move of the first game of the 1972 Fischer Spassky tournament. Anyway, here’s the carmaker’s latest attempt to escape/prolong the inevitable. “Chrysler LLC will extend shutdowns at five factories one week beyond the scheduled reopening date of Monday, Jan. 19,” Automotive News [sub] reports. “Plants in Belvidere, Ill.; Sterling Heights, Mich.; and Toluca, Mexico, will reopen Jan. 26, the company said today. Chrysler’s Global Engine Manufacturing Alliance engine joint venture and its Trenton, Mich., engine plant also will take an extra week and reopen Jan. 26.” You could say this is a cynical move to blackmail Uncle Sugar to cough-up the second installment of Chrysler’s $7b teat suckle, but it’s most likely a simply cash flow problem. You know: no income, lots of expenditure, no cash. Oh and get this: to cheer everyone up, Chrysler also announced it will reopen its Windsor, Ontario (minivan) and Conner Avenue, Detroit (Viper) plants as scheduled on Feb. 2. Of all the vehicles to start building again…