The Brooklyn Paper has rightly taken local state Supreme Court judges to task for commandeering the northern part of a Columbus Park public parking lot for their own private use. The paper also did the public a service by revealing that the judges’ contention that they needed the space for “security” was a crock. Turns out that roughly 15 of the 30 drivers using the private lot are secretaries, law clerks, court aides and other non-judges. But the next part of the newspaper’s campaign raises uncomfortable (if not for Phil Ressler) questions about the political climate vis a vis a Detroit Bailout. To wit: “It’s un-American!” the Paper proclaims. “On Tuesday and Wednesday, 15 out of 16 cars parked in the judges’ temporary lot were made by non-American companies. The sole American car on the Cadman Plaza side of 360 Adams St. courthouse was a Ford Mustang convertible. And speaking of Ken Elias’ Death Watch prediction that ChryCo and GM will merge, check out off-hand remark regarding Chrysler’s fate. “Looking out over the lot on Wednesday afternoon, a court officer laughed when he realized that more than 93 percent of the cars were not from the Detroit Big Three (soon to be Big Two). ‘I guess that’s the state of America now — we buy foreign,’ said the guard, who would not give his name.” [thanks to thenewspaper.com for the link]
Posts By: Robert Farago
The techies who bring you TTAC have informed me that they’re working on a back end solution (heyyyy) that will allow us to choose which stock to feature in our Yahoo! stock ticker. As there’s a plethora of patches in the hopper, it may not make it here by– well, it might take a while. But my man Bryan says he’ll spot us one change as an interim measure. So, B&B, what’s it going to be? Which stocks do you think we should list on our widget? I’d like to limit it to fifteen for the mo. Ford, GM and Toyota are a given. The rest are up for grabs. And what about a supplier or two, like Ener1, maker of hybrid batteries. Or sucklike. Whatever your opinion make it snappy, both in that usual way you do but also in terms of time. Bryan’s got a clarinet to play. Honest-to-God.
Absorb? Absurd! Still, The Detroit News is reporting the GM Chrysler merger deal as if it exists. Which, if true, is one scary ass concept. Well, to most rational people. Which, according to the trifecta of scribes assigned to story, doesn’t include everyone. “Analysts say a deal along the lines of Chrysler’s purchase of AMC, which eliminated Detroit’s No. 4 automaker as an entity and all its brands except Jeep, would make sense for GM.” Huh? Ladies and gentlemen, Aaron Bragman, an analyst at Global Insight: “For GM, the only reason to absorb Chrysler would be to eliminate a competitor.” Yes, but does that make any sense? No comment. So, never mind analysts. Let’s talk to someone in the shadows. “The source familiar with the negotiations told The Detroit News that GM could cut costs by eliminating much of Chrysler’s staff and gradually shifting production of Chrysler vehicles to use more GM components.” THE source? We’re down to one now are we? And is that BS or what? But wait! There’s more!
TTAC’s Ken Elias reckons the next step for GMAC is C11. Meanwhile, Automotive News [AN, sub] reports that GM is set to launch its “Finance that Fits” ad campaign, hoping to shovel new loan-seeking customers to, well, anyone, really. “GMAC is still a very important partner,” declaimed Jim Bunnell, executive director of GM’s channel support group, told AN. “Over time, a large chunk of the business went to GMAC. But if you look at the last 60 days — in August and September — well over 80 percent of all the business went to outside banks and credit unions.” Hang on; it’s not as bad as it sounds. “Bunnell said GMAC’s share of GM dealer finance business was typically about 20 percent or slightly higher at that time of year. He could not provide a comparable figure for August and September of 2007.” So, uh, maybe it is. One thing’s for sure: touting easy money in the middle of an economic meltdown is bad juju. Which is why GM’s hedging its bets: “The multimedia campaign promotes GM’s cash-back deals up to $6,000 on every 2008 vehicle left in stock.” Anyway, the U.S. new car market is dead in the water. J.D. Power reckons annual sales will drop below 12m units, as predicted here, which is two million less units than GM had predicted at the start of the crisis.
In case you weren’t aware, TTAC’s publisher (that’s me) and Autoblog’s Editor-in-Chief (sounds painful) John Neff have been having an epic pissing match in the comments section of our blog on their HUMMER vs. Toyota comparo. I took them to task for not disclosing the sponsorship for their off-road safari. Neff signed-on to say there was no sponsorship– except for the vehicles themselves and insurance (which was activated by their blogger’s driving). And besides, WHY DON’T YOU LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE! Anyway, we’re still waiting for that little piece of fair disclosure text under their blog. And needless to say, we will continue to put AOL’s automotive extremity in a Fujiwara armbar as and when we see fit. And this time we don’t see fit. Once again, AB’s Alex Nunez friggin’ well NAILS his live blog of Knight Rider, this time chronicling Season 1, Episode 4. Forbes centogenarian scribe Jerry Flint may feel the need to quote Percy Bysshe Shelley’s poem Ozymandias, but I’m bookmarking Nunez’ Knight Rider screed for my personal posterity patrol. Behold! “8:45: KITT ID’s the guy who poisoned Mike. ATTACK MODE! They plot to intercept. Mike talks to Sarah. He loves her. His heart stops. KITT: “He is dead.” Suddenly, I feel more alive.” And “8:57: Cut to: dreamy sequence. Sadly, this is not heaven, Mike is not dead, and we’re going to probably do this again next week.” In fact, The Hollywood Reporter reports that NBC has ordered-up four more episodes of Knight Rider for Mr. Nunez’ haiku-like evisceration. Can’t wait. No really. I’m a big fan.
Why would anyone want to move from head of Cadillac to being the guy in charge of the dead brand walking known as HUMMER? Answer: they wouldn’t. But there it is: Jim Taylor is now the GM of HUMMER. Meanwhile, back at Stately Wayne Manor, Automotive News [sub] reports that “Mark McNabb, 47, remains GM North America vice president in charge of Cadillac and GM’s premium sales channel. The three general manager positions reporting to him — for the Cadillac, Hummer and Saab brands — are being eliminated.” In other words, three for one and one for three! So what happened to HUMMER’s existing GM? “Martin Walsh, 56, general manager of Hummer, will work with Taylor guiding the Hummer transition, [GM spokesfolk Joanne] Krell said. She said GM plans to appoint Walsh to a new job.” Oh, and the Saab guy? “Steve Shannon, 50, Saab’s general manager, will become executive director of product and marketing for the premium channel, reporting to McNabb.” What are we to make of all this? “By creating a new and more comprehensive leadership position for HUMMER with Jim Taylor as the top executive, we are bolstering the strategic review process and the brand.” said Mark LaNeve, GMNA vice president of Vehicle Sales, Service and Marketing. “At the same time, we’re sharpening our focus on Cadillac as GM’s flagship brand in the global luxury marketplace under Mark McNabb’s leadership.” Me. I’m thinking deck chairs. Titanic. Feng-Shui.
First we had Forbes’ columnist Jerry Flint bellowing (meekly) “Remember the Maine!” Now we’ve got Automotive News‘ [AN, sub] engineering beat reporter Richard Truett defending Detroit in that scary ass demented stalker fan club president sort of way. “Here’s what I find especially disturbing: Whenever there’s a story about one of the Detroit automakers on a Web site that allows readers to comment at the end of the article, you can count on loads of vile bile from respondents who can’t wait for GM, Ford and Chrysler to go out of business. For the most part, these are angry people. But… I wonder: How long does GM have to be punished for making Chevrolet Vegas and Oldsmobile diesels or relying too long on the fat profits of trucks and SUVs? When does Ford get forgiven for the Pinto and other crimes against auto mobility? When will Chrysler be let off the hook for making everything out of the K car and for the rotten minivan transmissions in the early 1990s. When will people — environmentalists, especially — chastise Toyota for making its share of gas-guzzling behemoths? WHY CAN’T YOU JUST LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE?” I added that last bit, obviously. Anyway, there’s more after you click on that “more” button below
Ever since TTAC launched its campaign re: fair disclosure for automotive press junkets and cars, the autoblogosphere’s been pretty good about revealing car manufacturers’ contributions to their cause. Of course, we’d like the sites to be more forthcoming about the exact goodies disbursed. Edmunds attended a manufacturer-sponsored event, to which selected members of the press were invited, to facilitate this report” is both condescending and vague (hotels? meals? flights? accommodations?). But hey, at least our colleagues have stepped-up, uh, towards the plate. Unfortunately, today’s Autoblog Toyota Landcruiser vs. Hummer H2 comparo leaves that particular ethical space blank. We tried reading between the lines… “In this blogger’s version of the debrief after a Moons Over My Hammy [ED: by who?], the finding was that the H2 and the Landcruiser will go anywhere you point them. Period. Anyone who says otherwise is, quite simply, incorrect. The only difference is in how they do it.” I’m thinking HUMMER paid the freight, with Autoblog being nice to Toyota ’cause it’s the better rock climber and Autoblog can’t say that. But I could be wrong. So c’mon Autoblog. You did the mucho macho rock climbing thing. Now man-up to who paid the bills, and what they covered.
WNWO (Win-Wo?) reports that Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama made a surprise (for the workers) appearance during the shift change for Chrysler’s Machining Plant in Perrysburg Township, Ohio. Although Obama didn’t make a single speech, Chrysler worker Kevin Brancheau knew what Obama’s visit meant in the great scheme of things. “It shows that he’s really behind us and behind what the UAW and America’s all about, building cars, keeping stuff here and not going overseas.” Hang on; didn’t Barack do the jelly donut thing in Berlin?
Another scribe joins the elite squad of automotive analysts who’ve had their Road to Damascus moment re: GM’s inexorable slide into bankruptcy. Alex Taylor Three Sticks’ misFortunate conversion was inspired by the epic tomfoolery commonly known as the GM – Chrysler merger. Taylor warms-up by pre-spinning the General’s forthcoming pitch for a federal bailout. “A government loan wouldn’t be about protecting well-compensated union jobs or keeping afloat inefficient suppliers in Michigan and Ohio. It could be directed toward advancing Detroit’s and the country’s strategic interests by speeding development of alternative fuel technologies that reduce our dependence on foreign oil as well as help limit the generation of greenhouse gases.” Hang on; isn’t the rationale behind the current Department of Energy bailout loan program? Anyway, “GM may have a decent shot at that in a Democratic administration. If not, there is bankruptcy.” Da-da-DAAAAAA. OK, make the jump for Alex’ conclusion, his very own version of “Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love a Cadillac CTS for 25 Grand.” [thanks to Polishdon for the link]
Winding Road’s (WR) reader interface just keeps getting slicker and slicker. While the articles and photography are no better or worse than a buff book’s (sorry Chris) and you can’t read WR whilst on the toilet, I’m totally into the e-magazine look and feel. I especially enjoy the jump-around navigation. [Quick digression: Why WR chose to integrate with nextautos.com is beyond me. It’s an entirely different gig, confuses the brand and the interface between the sites is a maze mess. Two words guys: Stendhal Syndrome.] I reckon it’s only a matter of time– say a couple of decades– before the “real” buff books follow suit. Meanwhile, it looks like one of TTAC’s favorite car mags, the UK’s Octane, may be headed for e-bookitude. I make the inference via a collaboration (i.e. a pimpatorial) between Octane and RM Auctions. RM’s interactive catalogue for their October 29th sale sets new standards for the e-paper genre. I especially like the animated page turning. But then, I’m a geek. Anyway, if anyone wants to bankroll a TTAC digital mag, let me know.
It’s nice to know someone reads TTAC. I started this website with zero readers. As in none. On Monday, our new site design was vindicated by a huge jump in traffic: 39,791 unique visitors and 164,285 page views. Of course, we’re still small fry in the Autoblog scheme of things. But we’re on our way. Meanwhile, I like to soothe myself to sleep by dwelling on the entirely subjective idea that this website’s more about quality than quantity. And I’m proud to include Sam Abuelsamid amongst our Best and Brightest. I mean, how else could you explain Sam’s last entry in his high-mileage Audi Q7 TDI junket chronicle, which dwells on, and concludes with, a “don’t try this at home” mea culpa? Regular readers will know that TTAC took him to task on his boastful hypermiling. Specifically, drafting eighteen wheelers. It looks like Audi had a word with our boy. “Audi officials specifically warned us at the start that this event was not about hyper-miling, but when you put several dozen journalists in cars and ask them to see who can get the best mileage … well let’s just say they are a competitive bunch.” Testosterone, eh? And then the backpedaling really begins…
Let’s review. GMAC was GM’s “captive lender,” a wholly-owned subsidiary of the artist once known as the world’s largest automaker. You want a loan or a lease at a GM store? GMAC did the deal. It was a cash cow– until it started writing a lot of sub-prime/bad paper in both its automotive division (to keep GM’s cash flowing) and its ResCap mortgage unit (just ’cause it could). When GM CEO Rick Wagoner was looking for a way to keep his job (i.e. dress-up GM’s books with asset sales), he sold 51 percent of GMAC to Cerberus, a private equity group. [NB: Wagoner claimed that he did so to help GMAC’s credit rating. Yeah, that turned-out well.] Cerberus had recently purchased Chrysler, and Chrysler Financial Services. TTAC (and others) reckoned Cerberus would jettison Chrysler’s car-making ops (one way or another), combine GMAC with Chrysler financial and proceed with the business they know and love: finance. When the shit hit the fan for Chrysler– about ten minutes after Cerberus bought the company– Cerberus tried to swap Chrysler for GM’s remaining share of GMAC. Uncharacteristically, GM said no to a stupid idea. When the things got REALLY bad, Cerberus tried to sell ITS share of GMAC BACK to GM. Again, GM passed. And then things got worse…
Note to Silicon Valley automotive start-ups: include a “shut the Hell up for the rest of your life” clause in your employment contracts and hire a couple of razor-toothed lawyers to enforce it. To wit: diss-missed Tesla Motors’ founder Martin Eberhard has been blabbing on his “Founder’s Blog” recently, and you couldn’t ask for a worse “champion” for the company’s 100 grand-plus Roadster. “Soon after I got my car, I noticed a funny thing: the ESS coolant pump seems to run all the time. Even when the car is off. Even if it has been off for a long time. Even when the car is plenty cool. You can hear it run, and many people have commented about the noise of the pump and the noise of coolant gurgling into the overflow reservoir. The Tesla people tell me that when the battery is half-way discharged, and the car is off, and the ESS is cool, then the pump will shut off. Fine. But my average daily drive is less than 60 miles, and I have only driven far enough to drain half the battery 4 times since I got my car three months ago. So, except a few hours on these four occasions, this poor pump has been running 24 hours per day, 7 days a week for three months solid… Here is the kicker: 22 percent of the energy consumed by my car happens while my car is parked! Twenty two percent. Imagine that.” Easy enough. And I get the implications for battery and pump life. We’ve long maintained that Tesla is long on hype, short on engineering. What I don’t understand is why anyone would put Gulf racing colors on an EV. Post-modern irony?
As much as I’d like to join the rest of the autoblogosphere and simply repeat the news that Tesla’s about to terminate 100 employees and maybe their CEO (named after an Isaac Asimov character) and then say “I told you so,” I can’t. As far as I can tell, it’s nothing but a rumor. I’ve managed to trace back the report to Jalopnik, that links to a tiny item on the affiliated Valleywag website. “In our inbox, rumor of a staggering blow to one of Silicon Valley’s new growth industries: Tesla Motors, a tipster tells us, is laying off 100 people, about half of its staff. CEO Ze’ev Drori is also leaving, he claims.” The fact that Tesla hasn’t moved to squash this report, which has already circled the globe, shows that either it’s true or untrue (and someone at Tesla really needs to set a Google alert). I’ll go out on a limb and call bullshit. As long as Tesla has such a high media profile, this PR scam conmpany has a lot more mileage left in it. For which the Lord has made us truly grateful.
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