Clearly, nothing about the United Auto Workers (UAW) proposed contract with GM is clear. Until we see the precise details, the agreement's ramifications are unknown and unknowable. Meanwhile, you'd expect the media to hang fire. Yeah right. "For GM, deal is a game changer" proclaims the Globe and Mail. "GM Labor Deal Ushers In New Era for Auto Industry" the Wall Street Journal advises. "Deal gives GM cash to build better cars" predicts The Detroit Free Press. Scanning these Pollyanna prognostications, the Freep provides the greatest insight. Not because I believe a word of Mark Phelan's thesis. Because I don't.

The International Trade Commission has ruled that Toyota did not pilfer key technology from Solomon Technologies to create the Synergy Drive system used in ToMoCo's hybrids. Solomon CEO Gary G. Brandt is undaunted. "We believe the ITC made serious errors in interpreting the pertinent patent law and precedents in this case and as we have reviewed the case transcripts more fully we are even more convinced that we will eventually prevail." Speaking to TTAC [below] Brandt says his company had "numerous documented meetings" with Toyota prior to the release of the Japanese automaker's hybrid system. What's more, since the Prius was released, Toyota has licensed [what Brandt claims to be] Solomon technology to Ford. The legal action continues. Meanwhile, Solomon has posted an animation on their website highlighting the similarities between the two systems.

J.D. Power and Associates has just released their 2007 Escaped Shopper Study (an APB has been issued). After surveying 31,355 new-vehicle buyers between May and July 2007, J.D.'s mob says that 80 percent of US new car buyers won't cross-shop an import (if they're domestically inclined) or a domestic (if they're a import inclined). That's bad news for The Big 2.8. But it gets worse. The 20 percent of buyers up for grabs "frequently decide against import brands for financial reasons, most often citing that the import didn't offer aggressive rebates or other incentives." In other words, Detroit's fire sales have caught up with them but good; they're high cost producers appealing to a price-focused audience. At the same time, the study says import buyers who reject a domestic model cite "perceived vehicle attribute deficiencies:" concerns for reliability, gas mileage or poor resale value. J.D.'s automotive retail research manager connects the dots. "To win back market share, domestics are faced with two alternatives," Kara Steslicki opines. "Either continue outspending imports on incentives, or find vehicle specific opportunities, such as styling or promoting a positive dealer experience, that can have an immediate impact on consumer perceptions of the brand." Not bloody likely then.

Auto Motor und Sport (via Just-auto [sub]) reports that Toyota is withdrawing the Land Cruiser from their Eurozone dealerships after this model year. The move comes as ToMoCo seeks to trim its entire fleet's CO2 averages to 140g per kilometer, as per voluntary European Union (EU) regulations. As the heavyweight SUV wasn't exactly a stellar seller and a new, more environmentally friendly Land Crusher Cruiser is about to debut, it's no biggie. More interestingly, Toyota plans to increase the price of their hot-selling, recently redesigned RAV4 in order to curtail demand– and meet the CO2 target. The changes to Toyota's lineup illustrate the difficulty faced by smaller manufacturers like Porsche, who don't sell low CO2 machines that "average out" their gas guzzlers' emissions. Hence German manufacturers' campaign to get the EU to set CO2 limits based on vehicle size, rather than fleet averages. Just-auto figures that idea's a non-starter. Next question: can a brand under a corporate umbrella (i.e. Volkswagen's Bugatti) rely on the meta-group's high mileage cars to meet the regs? And even if they can, will the detrimental effect on the larger brand encourage the corporate mothership to jettison the CO2-spewing boutique brands?

Again, for the record, TTAC has never accused Chris Bangle of being a racist. We accused the BMW designer of racial insensitivity. He singularly failed to realize the potential impact of his "axis of white power" remark on a minority audience. Invidious distinction? Well, the fact that Bangle's apology-free reply dealt entirely with the inadvertent origins of his faux pas— rather than its possible effects on sensitive listeners– does nothing to allay our misgivings. The subtext of his defense: it's all about me. Of course, it isn't about Bangle. It's about his desire (or lack thereof) to respect the dignity of those people who may be offended by an unfortunate turn of phrase. And BMW's responsibility to this same audience. TTAC is no stranger to these issues; we've stepped over these same boundaries. When commentators have pointed out our racial, sexual or political insensitivity, we have immediately withdrawn the offensive text and apologized– despite the fact that we meant no offense. That's the right thing to do. It also seems strange that Bangle felt obliged to deal with criticism of his work BEFORE dealing with the "axis of white power" remark. Clearly, that was really got his goat. Which is just as well. There are those of us who believe the aesthetic indignities that Bangle inflicted on otherwise superb automobiles is a longer-lasting and more egregious error. Your thoughts below.   

Is there an ICLU (as opposed to the ACLU)? If so, they may want to have a word with the Indian government re: their plans to require automotive manufacturers to equip all new cars with radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags. The Economic Times reports the Ministry of Heavy Industries' rationale: "violations by motorists could be tracked and all violations identified." But it's RFID-enabled tolls that's really got the Powers That Be all excited. Clearly, India is not unaware of the potential revenue possibilities environmental benefits of an RFID-based congestion charges. The article cites Connaught Place in Delhi, MG Road in Bangalore and Colaba and Andheri in Mumbai as the most toll-deserving of traffic hot spots. In fact, "the Delhi government is planning to substantially increase the parking fee and entrance charge in such core areas to convert them into traffic-free zones." Traffic-free? Wow, that's harsh.  

The Register reports that the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is set to test the StarChase Pursuit Management System. Officers involved in a chase will use a compressed-air laser-sighted launcher mounted at the front of a patrol car to fire a miniature GPS receiver, battery and radio transmitter embedded in an epoxy compound. The tracking device will stick to the absconding villains' car. Police can then back off during high speed pursuits, knowing that the GPS tracker and the cellular radio data will provide the fleeing felons exact 10-20. The Register is not impressed: "You'd probably hear the trackers splatting into the back of your car – they'd need to be flying fast. If not, you'd notice the targeting lasers glaring from the pursuing police cruiser.." They theorize that GPS tagged criminals will switch on a GPS/cellular jammer or stop and "scrape off the sticky bug with a knife." We reckon the average criminal will do no such thing, and that the system could save thousands of lives lost during high speed police pursuits.

Prius/hybrid bashers have a new angle of attack, thanks to Cardiff University and UK automotive consultancy Clifford Thames (who currently features Toyota's logo on its website). The Financial Times reports that the dynamic duo studied a range of vehicles and concluded that many conventional petrol or diesel engined machines (e.g. the Mini Cooper D diesel hatchback and Fiat Panda) are "greener" than the gas – electric Prius. How's that then? "The Cardiff/Clifford Thames ranking gave CO2, nitrogen oxide and other emissions a 50 per cent weighting in assessing cars’ overall environmental friendliness. For the other 50 per cent, it ranked vehicles on their construction, energy and end-of-life costs, based on their length, width and weight." We'd like to see a  bit more detail on that formula. Meanwhile the study's author was aware that their results were a bit, um, skewed. “We’re not saying that any car that is the same size as the Prius is better," Clifford Thames’ Richard Barber admitted. "but the gap is closing very rapidly, and conventional technologies will pass the Prius." In fact, “Conventional technology will overtake the Prius over the next 12 to 18 months, and consumers won’t have to pay a premium for it,” said David Riemenschneider, Clifford Thames’ chief executive. Let the eco-games begin! Oh wait; they already have.

Now that Tesla's delayed the delivery of their $100k lithium-ion-powered Roadster for the third time, and lowered production expectations again, you'd think that the automotive media would begin to share TTAC's skepticism about this Silicon Valley venture. Not so. Perhaps that's because A) The media really want it to happen and B) Tesla's wrapped the delay in [increasingly familiar] hyperbole. In a letter to Tesla Club Members ($50k and you're in!), Tesla's freshly-minted CEO apologizes for the delay and resets customers' expectations. "While we expect to produce a limited number of production cars in the fourth quarter," Michael E. Marks writes. "I have set a production goal of shipping fifty cars in the first quarter of 2008, with an additional 600 cars in the 2008 model year." (In case you're not a lawyer, "expect" and "goal" are not legally binding terms.) And then the really good news: "Range: 245 miles on the EPA combined cycle, confirmed!" Confirmed by… Tesla! Although the company feels free to use the term "EPA" in their claims, nothing about the Roadster is government certfied. And there is still no independent confirmation of the Roadster’s safety, range or recharge time. Yet the press continue to repeat Tesla's claims as if they were gospel. Rest assured, the Devil's Advocate will keep you posted.

BMW has responded to the furor surrounding Chris Bangle's inadvertently inappropriate "axis of white power" remark by yanking the original video (which is now on YouTube) and allowing the designer to answer charges of racial insensitivity on BMW-web-tv. Bangle warms-up by telling us how much he loves car design: "I believe design is about the human contribution to our culture" (as opposed to?). Next, Bangle has a message for those of us who share a distaste for his over-wrought designs: wake up! "When anyone… moves the whole design language forward and puts a cutting edge to what had maybe been a little bit of an industry asleep, then certainly there's going to be some controversy. Some people are not going to wake up maybe as gently as they would have liked to." Zzzzz. Huh? What? I LOVE IT! Anyway, the main event. Without repeating the remark (as if), the interviewer asks Bangle about the allegation that "your statement was very racial [sic]." "I was shocked," Bangle says, looking shocked. "Seriously shocked and extremely… disturbed by what was really a statement about some great cars at a car show… I made a statement about those cars [M-Power cars] with that color [white] and now I've seen that this has been taken into a complete political context. I would never support any type of political activism on that level and on that subversive bent." So, no idea of what the Hell he was talking about and no apology for his slip of the tongue or BMW's inability to foresee the offense his remark could cause, or has caused. Again, BMW clings to the belief that they never make mistakes (iDrive?), even when they do. 

Day two of the UAW strike and media consensus has been reached: chill. Amongst The Detroit News’ (DTN) hopeful headlines: “Gettelfinger: Strike may prod bargainers to end stalemate.” Uh, isn’t that the point of a strike? Anyway, in a piece entitled “GM Can Handle A Short Strike,” the DTN rounds-up the usual suspects to allay fears that the automaker and its union are headed straight to Hell. In sum, “Analysts view GM's tough bargaining as a calculated gamble that is likely to pay off.” That’s a bit like saying Russian roulette offers its players terrific odds.

The Kansas City Star reports that sluggish sales of Ford's former cash cow, the F-150 pickup truck, have led to a dramatic production slow-down. For two weeks in October, FoMoCo will idle half their operations at the pickup-producing Claycomo plant. Some 2100 (of 4400) hourly employees will be paid for doing nought. And thanks to "competitive operating agreements" negotiated with the United Auto Workers, returning employees will work 10-hour shifts for four weekdays with Fridays off. Current, Ford dealers are holding 185,400 F-series trucks in their lots, which represents a 72-day inventory. (This after Ford's Norfolk F-150 plant was permanently shuttered last year.) Hot on the heels of GM's pickup truck pull-back (now a full stop, obviously), the F-150 slowdown is more proof that the entire pickup segment is undergoing a radical contraction. The trend will hit The Big 2.8's bottom lines but good.   

On the same day that the United Auto Workers (UAW) decided to strike GM, the automaker has announced it's ramping-up its US to China exports by $800m. The Economic Times reports that Shanghai GM (GM's joint venture with China's SAIC Group) will import the Buick Enclave CUV for China's 400 Buick dealers. As concerns about Chinese outsourcing form no small part of the UAW's beef with The General, the timing of the announcement can be seen as a carrot or a palliative for union reps and members who consider job security Job One. Of course, the strike obviates Enclave export for the foreseeable future, and the union is keenly aware that GM imports billions of dollars worth of Chinese parts for their North American products, with the threat of fully-assembled cars from The Peoples Republic replacing NorAm products. Still, nice try.

Over the last two days, there's been a definite upswell in UK government policies and plans that seem specifically designed to make UK motorists as miserable as possible. Yesterday, Pistonheads (birthplace of TTAC) reported that Nottingham City Council is planning a £350 annual tax on workplace parking spaces to force commuters to abandon their cars for public transportation. Subtext: Nottingham doesn't have the political or financial capital (or money) to create a London-style Congestion Charge; a parking spot tax is the next best thing. Eight other UK councils are considering the same idea. Also yesterday, Pistonheads revealed that the UK's Director of Public Prosecutions Ken McDonald said all UK drivers caught violating the ban on using a cell phone while driving should be charged with dangerous driving, which inflicts a driving ban and a maximum two year jail sentence upon convicted license holders. And today, Pistonheads says the Department for Transport and the satnav company Trafficmaster are secretly testing a system to monitor drivers' movements, as a possible prelude to a national, pay-as-you-go road pricing scheme and/or a method for speed enforcement. Can it get any worse for the UK's beleaguered motorists? Yes it will.

Samuel Slater started the industrial revolution in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Slater's 1793 textile mill set-off a manufacturing boom in The Ocean State, which soon spread throughout New England. Nearby Fall River Massachusetts became one of the world's foremost textile manufacturing centers, generating untold riches for its masters. The human cost at the bottom of the social scale was immense. Immigrant labor– including thousands of children– worked in horrific conditions for minimal compensation, with little hope of a better life. No one who's ever fully contemplated the human misery inflicted on these workers would begrudge their right to form a labor union, to protect themselves from heinous exploitation. It's a story that played out across America, in a range of labor-intensive industries; including mining, construction and automaking. And yet, at some point, the balance of power shifted too far the other way. Unions controlled the cost, pace, scale and scope of labor, tying the hands of those who would organize it for commercial survival. As the local labor force became too expensive and unwieldy, the Fall River mill owners abandoned the town. All that's left are dozens of huge, empty mills, now occupied by laser tag, indoor golf and… nothing. It's the same right across America's northern states, the country's former industrial heartland. Could the exodus have been prevented? It's hard to know. Will it now happen to Detroit's once all-conquering automotive industry? It already has.