Now that The Big 2.8 have paid the mother of all bribes (a.k.a. a $29.9b health care VEBA) to the United Auto Workers, now that the automakers can pay their workers lower rates, they're supposedly going to start "insourcing" parts production. The Freep takes one example– Ford's decision to produce instrument panels for the Taurus and Lincoln MKS in-house in Chicago– and calls it a trend. Yes, well, Sarah Webster says the move to take back parts production will hurt suppliers; The Big 2.8 use it as [another] stick to beat them up on price. And even if Webster's wrong about insourcing, outsourcing will continue– to Mexico, China, India, Ant frickin' Arctica. This. Is. Madness. The relationship between a manufacturer and its suppliers must be one of friendship, good will and mutual profit. To hammer down your suppliers on price to the point of bankruptcy and then move your business elsewhere is to cut off your nose to spite your shareholders. Wait, here's the key bit… eventually. At 4pm today, a federal judge will rule whether Chrysler can remove mission critical tooling from its supplier. No matter which way this goes, the chickens are coming home to roost. 

Infiniti is, for all intents and accounting purposes, a U.S. brand. Last year, Nissan's luxury division shifted American customers' expectations– I mean sold brand fans 127,038 new vehicles (93,717 cars and 33,321 SUVs). And now Infiniti's heading across the pond to convince European buyers that, uh, what's their tagline again? It's not on the press release. Or the Euro-press website. Uh-oh. Despite a deeply worrying lack of branding, Infiniti is set to open some 80 stores throughout the Eurozone. The world's snobbiest car market. Where logical competitor Lexus has gained about as much traction as a Prius attempting a hill climb in a blizzard. To gauge Infiniti's chances of carving out a niche in the home of the luxury car, I rang-up Infiniti Euro Comms. Director Wayne "No Comma" Bruce for the inside dope on the dealers and the marque's plans for luxury conquest sales. [Podcast below] Bruce reckons sporty value-priced products, exclusivity and bespoke customer service will carry the day. Yes, well, the longest journey starts with a single FX: the new model's ready for its Geneva debut. It'll be the first new Infiniti revealed outside the U.S. Infiniti's going to need that kind of commitment– and then some– to make this venture work. Meanwhile, the brand is being "nurtured" in the Middle East.

Yes, I know: that's a bit like asking if Hillary Clinton believes in social Darwinism. But given the amount of grief TTAC receives for its purported "anti-GM' and "anti-Detroit" bias, I want to point out that we avoid editorial decisions that unfairly portray Motown's playas as incompetent. For example, we don't report every Big 2.8 recall (fairness would demand coverage of all recalls). And we take exception to the Detroit News column "Teacher is plagued by theft of 15 Chryslers." Neal Rubin's piece blithely calls Chrysler products "easy pickings." "Historically, says director Terri Miller of Help Eliminate Auto Thefts [HEAT], Chrysler 'has not been as proactive as other automakers at putting standard anti-theft devices in their vehicles.'" That's it? HEAT is a tip line that doesn't break down of thefts by manufacturer. Rubin also unfairly disses Chrysler's customer service. "Among Jenny's suggestions [emailed from Chrysler] was to park in 'lighted areas, garages or neighborhoods without a history of stolen vehicles activity, whenever possible.' 'Great," Fulton fired back. 'Are you going to drive me to work?'" (Nice 'tude.) In his conclusion, the writer casts aspersions on Chrysler's current security systems. "Most of all, she wonders about this new Sentry Key, an ignition immobilizer offered on every Chrysler product except the Dodge Viper since last year. The company says it's foolproof. Says Fulton, 'We'll see.'" I call hatchet job– which is what you won't see here. 

[You are free to discuss TTAC's bias or lackthereof in this thread] 

Ferdinand Piech is the Porsche family patriarch [still] pulling the strings at Volkswagen. Wendelin Wiedeking is the Porsche executive who would be king of VW– once Porsche takes control of the mass market motor maker. And Der Spiegel [via Just-auto, sub] is the magazine that says that Piech wants to kick Wiedeking out of the corporate jet, golden parachute and all. Motive: Piech believes that Wiedeking has become too powerful and autonomous. He wants to replace Wendy with Wolfgang Reitzle, the high-living executive who ran BMW well enough– and convinced Ford to lose billions creating its ill-fated Premier Automotive Group (Jaguar, Land Rover, Volvo, Aston Martin and, latterly, Lincoln). Means: Piech's family still controls VW. Opportunity: VW's unions are unhappy at the prospect of surrendering board seats to the numerically inferior Porsche workers. All that said, VW moved to quash the rumor. "The report about a supposed contact between Piech and Reitzle with regard to the replacement of Wiedeking is nonsense and lacks any foundation," a Volkswagen spokesman told Reuters. "Piech has had no contact with Reitzle for years, and has none currently." Ah, but what of intermediaries…?

Honda's Insight was America's first hybrid (1999). While the Deco-skirted skinflint's choice was a far more distinctive-looking and fuel efficient machine than the Prius, Toyota's gas – electric model had the edge on practicality (four seats vs. two). When Prius sales caught fire, Honda dumped the Insight in favor of a hybrid Civic, and then Accord. Sensing the new models invisibility (zero green creds), Honda's marketing department wanted to promote them as earth-friendly rocket ships (the Accord Hybrid was the fastest variant). Unfortunately, political correctness ruled (ruined?) the day. After going nowhere fast (saleswise), Honda axed  the gas – electric Accord. And now Honda's ready for another go. The Motor Authority says Honda's opting for a three-pronged hybrid sales strategy. First up: a "global hybrid" that's both smaller and cheaper than the current Civic hybrid, based on the Fit platform. (Barring foreseen internet leakage, it will debut in Paris.) Next, the Civic Hybrid (why not? they already make it). And then a range-topping somethingorother, based on the CR-Z hybrid concept pictured here, unveiled in Tokyo last October. We know Honda's got the engineering chops to give Europe's micro-car owners a decent run for their money. But can Honda hit the design/practicality sweet spot currently occupied by the Prius? As always, you'll be the judge, ASAP.

Although TTAC hasn't posted on the new Knight Rider TV series– why would we?– I still felt obliged to watch the premier on your behalf; just in case the show did something so stupid it deserved mention here. Other than the fact that a Ford Mustang GT500KR couldn't outrun a Ford Edge, and KITT lived in a world populated entirely by Ford products, and the "shape shifting" KITT always transformed into a lower-priced, different colored Mustang (now there's a disguise), and a Ford commercial featuring both the lead actor and the lead car confused me as to which was the commercial and which was, uh, the longer commercial and… where was I? Oh yes, I missed gay KITT. KITT's new voice sounded like a "nice" HAL 9000 (i.e. monotone without the menace). Can I have a plausible plot line KITT? I'm sorry —- , I'm afraid I can't do that. (What WAS that character's name?) If the producers of this snoozefest had taken their cue from the original show (or, better yet, Woody Allen's Sleeper) and camped-up KITT, they would have had a major HITT on their hands. There were hints; the chief baddie's makeup-accented cheekbones and over-plucked eyebrows identified him as a closeted cross-dresser (which isn't necessarily a gay predilection, but you know what I mean). I will say this: the babe had nice eyes.  

Two weeks ago to the day, Frank Williams provided a heads-up on the impact of the coming credit crunch on new car sales. Automotive News [AN, sub] now reports that some small regional banks have stopped making loans through auto dealerships. Even the big boy's auto loan departments– Chase Auto Finance, AmeriCredit Corp., Wells Fargo Auto Finance, Mechanics Bank and Sovereign Bank– are reining-in their metaphorical horns. And that's led "many would-be consumers to buy cheaper models, or purchase a used vehicle instead. If customers with shaky credit can get loans at all, often they must make a bigger down payment, pay higher interest rates and accept loans of shorter duration." And here's the kicker: "Consumers with subprime credit ratings buy nearly 30 percent of all new vehicles." Oh wait, that's not the kicker. This is: "Dealers are more dependent than ever on automakers' captive lenders. The captives appear more willing than independent lenders to make subprime loans in what is shaping up as the worst year in a decade for new-vehicle sales." Which will be true (the loan part) right until it isn't. And if GMAC goes down, look for all Hell to break loose.  

To paraphrase the Bard, "there's many a slip between the cup and the transfer of over a billion dollars into a bank account." TTAC has been studiously avoiding all those "Tata Motors about to complete Jag and Landie sale" stories filling our competitors' columns. Just as a week is a long time in politics, "soon" is a meaningless term in corporate buy-outs. And now comes word from the Times of India that Ford's U.K. unions are part of FoMoCo's problem, not its solution. Apparently, the unions are unhappy about "issues of job security and retaining production capacity in England." Although Ford has steadfastly refused to retain a stake in Jaguar and Land Rover (JLR), union leaders are pressing Ford to extract long-term commitments for their services re: production of engines, axles and other major components. The Times reports that Ford is "independently negotiating" continued support to Tata Motors post purchase. "When contacted, a senior Ford official insisted that the sale process of JLR was independent of the talks with the Unions." In other words, this one's still set to run and run… 

Of all Ford's fiascos to flail-on about, FoMoCo's "F" fanaticism seems the most fantastic. And yet Detroit News columnist Dannny Howes figures "Ford's 'F' fixation fouls its future." Howes focuses on the fact that Ford's new "Fiesta" joins a farrago of F-named product, and fustigates Ford for its Fabian fustiness. The fastuous scribe's also freaked about the Flex. "Are they really gonna call it the Flex, a person familiar with the situation tells me the new guy asked. Yes, Chairman Bill Ford replied, echoing [VP of Marketing Jim] Farley's skepticism. Then the über-boss added that Mulally wasn't too keen on the name, either. Which ought to tell you something, and it's this: 17 months of the Mulally era — a $23 billion recap plan, a landmark contract with the United Auto Workers, a global effort to coalesce Ford's fiefdoms into a single unit — have failed to relegate the past to the past and instead focus intensely on the future." It tells me that Mulally's minions have made their mentor meable to Manichean mansuetude. Or something like that.

While we've taken Detroit to task for its lousy supplier relations (nose, face, spite, rhinoplasty, etc.), we finally get a look at the Plastech showdown from Chrysler's perspective. It's buried at the bottom of a Crain's Business Detroit article on their "Crain's Newsmaker of the Year" award to United Auto Workers' boss Ron Gettelfinger. After Big Ron wishes [unionized] Plastech well, we learn that "During court testimony last week, Douglas Doran, director of interior procurement, said Chrysler had been monitoring Plastech's financial condition for more than a year through Southfield-based BBK Ltd. BBK told Chrysler that Plastech was having trouble paying suppliers and had violated agreements with its lenders." And so "Chrysler twice participated in bailout agreements with other customers [GM? Ford?] over the past year, including in January when it contributed $10.7 million to help bail out Plastech. Chrysler attached conditions to each bailout agreement granting Chrysler the right to relocate its tools at any time." Yes, well, Chrysler acknowledged that Plastech has an additional $13.4 million of equipment for which the automaker didn't pay. Meanwhile, we hear that "Plastech's production quality was falling. In 2007, Chrysler issued 449 'quality tickets' to Plastech for 'non-conforming material.'" That's a lot of deeply worrying info, especially the bit about "other" supplier bailouts. Could this thing snowball? We shall see. [NB: Federal Judge Phillip Shefferly is set to rule on ownership of the disputed tools tomorrow, at 4pm.] 

"Managing expectations." It's a term near and dear to the hearts of the people who pull our politicians' strings. Increasingly, it's the rhetorical weapon of choice for executives seeking to maintain their grip on America's large corporations. While there's nothing wrong with casting your company's efforts in a positive light, the danger is both simple and lethal. When a company's culture becomes based on hype, it loses its ability to react to reality– both good and bad. It becomes lost in the fog of war. One such company is GM.

As I was cruising YouTube for a video to accompany Glenn's Honest Bob blog, I typed in "Red Integra" and stumbled upon this love letter to a… red Integra. Which got me thinking: what car do you wish you'd never left behind? For me, it's a Jaguar XK120 restored/created from the ground-up by Guy Broad in the UK, at enormous expense. Of course, Coleen was a stupid car. It looked like a Victoria's Secret angel, went like shit off a shovel (a full-on 4.2-liter six shoved under bonnet) and handled like a truck. I lost her twice. First, whilst driving her on a snowy road (I took out half a village) and then again in the divorce. I can still smell the leather, gas, oil and fear. Sigh. 

Yup, there it was, buried in an Automotive News [AN, sub] story announcing that Pontiac dealers aren't going to get a Trans Am version of the new Chevrolet Camaro. You know, the Canadian-built rear wheel-drive muscle car that's due out this spring. Sorry, I mean fall. Winter. OK, February '09. Anyway, GM told a meeting of B-P-G (Buick, Pontiac, GMC) dealers that "new legislation requiring vehicles to reach a fleet average of 35 mpg by 2020" has plucked the screaming chicken. In fact, Pontiac "might not end up as GM's performance division." [NB: I think that means that none of GM's eight U.S. brands gets a performance remit.] "The plan is being tweaked because of the gas situation," revealed Lynn Thompson, owner of Thompson Motor Sales in Springfield, Mo. "I hope they don't give up on performance because they don't have to. You can use four-cylinder engines to achieve incredible power." To placate any B-P-G dealer deluded enough to expect something roughly akin to coherent branding from GM, the American automaker also announced that they're unleashing 12 new or special-edition vehicles over the next 20 months. (Sneak peak! Get ready for a special-edition GMC Sierra pickup called "Pro Grade.") In case you're wondering what separates a Pontiac from a Chevy, Buick or Saturn (or anything else) now that the former "We Build Excitement" division isn't building excitement, I have no idea. Does anyone?

As Detroit heads for its inevitable meltdown, The End of Days keeps throwing-up a whole bunch of weird shit. For example, I was watching one of those creepy Chevy ads where an African American spokesmodel tries to convince a bunch of severely underage car buyers that Chevy is gas-friendly (which cracks me up, 'cause Chevy SUVs just LOVE gas) to gas-free (which also cracks me up, 'cause even the theoretical plug-in Volt will use gas). In this one, the actor asks the kids if they like riddles (which cracks me up, 'cause it reminds me of Peter Grave's immortal line "Do you like Gladiator movies Johnny?). So… "when is a car not a car?" "When you can't sell it for love nor money?" a pixie-faced child replies. (Just kidding.) "When it's an SUV!" the unsupervised adult informs. "What the fuck are you talking about?" a child chosen for reasons of ethic diversity demands. (Just kidding.) The spokesmodel tells his charges that the conundrum involves a GM hybrid SUV chosen as "Green Car of the Year." "But it's an SUV!" an indignant rug rat bleats. (For real.) The spokesmodel provides the logical explanation: "I guess it's smart." Why would GM draw its customers' attention to the fact that it doesn't deserve an award? I guess they're dumb.