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Posts By: Robert Farago
Thanks to Daniel J. Stern for the link.
Iotheworldaliving writes:
Robert
I have the day off today, so I was watching The Price is Right.
This Impala LS appeared at the end of a NASCAR-themed showcase presentation. Preceding the Impala were a Nintendo Wii racing game, a Craftsman tool chest and set, and a trip to the Brickyard 400 in Indianapolis.
Not that I wouldn’t have minded winning all of that. But an SS would have made more sense, IHMO.
Michael (Read More…)
God forbid TTAC should criticize someone for making an outrageous suggestion to get people to think (rethink?) their opinion about an auto-related issue. But you gotta wonder if the book “$20 per Gallon” is at least ten bucks too high in the hyperbole department. Still, credit where credit’s due. By setting sail on a ship fantasii, author, civil engineer (of all things) and Forbes reporter Chris Steiner has outed the environmental hairshirt wearers amongst us. Needless to say, The New York Times is chief amongst them. They’ve published a Q&A with Steiner that somehow manages not to lump-him-in with alien abduction deprogrammers—although the piece is filed under the Freakeconomics banner. Instead of demanding Steiner’s list of prescription drugs, the Gray Lady’s Annika Mengisen “asked him to give us his predictions for what our lives might look like with gas at $8 and $18 per gallon, respectively.” Fun!
When it comes to federal teat suckling, Mark Tapscott’s got the inside line. I don’t mean Edmunds and I don’t mean he does it personally; Mark knows a lot about how the beltway boys reach into the taxpayer’s trousers to play pocket pool. So, while Tapscott joins the MSM (and TTAC) in announcing the bogus Cash for Clunkers program’s pre-mature hiatus, he’s out in front re: the C.A.R.S. program’s long term fate. Mark says the bill was secretly written with permanent marker. In other words, the billion dollar (for starters) Cash for Clunker boondoggle’s a keeper. The writer gives five—count ’em five!— reasons for car dealers to be perpetually cheerful about automotive euthanasia . . .
Her neighbors to the south may not recognize the fact (even parenthetically), but Canada kicked-in as-yet-uncounted billions in federal funds to keep the Chrysler and GM zombies in a vertical position. Whatever the final tally, the Motown subsidy was the largest bailout in Canadian history. In exchange, they received a seat on both automakers’ Board of Directors. Ottawa and Toronto chose Carol Stephenson, dean of the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario, to bop on down to RenCen to see what’s shaking. Auburn Hills hosts George Gosbee of Tristone Capital. OK, so how much are they getting paid for their time? They ain’t saying, exactly. And Canadians are not happy. Specifically, the Edmonton Journal:
The federal government has put the Cash for Clunkers (a.k.a. C.A.R.S. program) on hold. Supposedly, they’ve run out of money. The MSM is all abuzz with talk of extending the program, allocating more funds and the bummer of a congressional recess (no action ’til after Labor Day). But there’s talk that the number of clunkers hitting car dealers’ lots or the logjam on getting paid isn’t the real reason for putting Cash for Clunkers on hold. Do the math. The program is good for about 200k to 250k rigs, depending on the average rebate qualification. No way there were that many clunkers traded in over the six days since the program went live (official D.O.T. stats after the jump). The real story is that C.A.R.S. over-stimulated the market for new cars (even without a clunker trade); dealers are running out of new vehicles to sell. Or, more to the point, cars that consumers want to buy.
Speaking of barnyards, someone forgot to tell Ford watchers not to count their chickens until they hatch. The MSM is ready, willing and able to pronounce the Blue Oval Boyz’ turnaround plan for the ailing American automaker as good as done, and skip the “it worked!” part of CEO Big Al Mulally’s canonization. The Detroit News is down with this fait accompli meme. “As one fund manager who controls a sizable chunk of Ford’s stock and bonds put it: ‘The biggest threat to Ford’s future is that Mulally steps off the curb tomorrow and gets hit by a bus.’ Such sentiments, blunt as they may be, are a testament to the progress Ford has made since Mulally took over as CEO in September of 2006. He predicts the company should settle into profitability by late 2011.” So that’s it, then, save “Mulally is no stranger to success” and “He’s been an agent of change” and “For many Ford employees, he has rock-star status” and I think they ought to think it out again.
UK magazine Which? Car reports that automakers in the Land of Hope and Glory have hiked prices, effectively killing the advantages of the country’s cash-for-clunkers (a.k.a. scrappage) scheme. The mag cites three examples: “The price of a mid-range Ford Fiesta has jumped from £11,570 in October 2008 when the car was launched to £13,195 in July 2009—a massive 14% increase.” And “Vauxhall’s new Insignia looked affordable in January 2009, priced at £17,981 but it has now broken the £20K barrier with a list price of £20,430 in July 2009, also a 14% jump.” And “Another chart-topping supermini, the Nissan Micra, was priced 11% higher in July 2009 (£12,395) than in September 2008 (£11,200), although its equipment has been improved.” Said the actress to the Bishop. Yes, well, the conclusion is inescapable. Ish.
The Chicago Sun-Times reports that the Windy City’s police chief has issued new guidelines for the use of deadly force (shooting people, in layman’s terms). “Chicago cops will now be permitted to shoot at drivers or passengers in cases of felons fleeing in motor vehicles.” And there you have it, minus the shit storm that’s brewing on this bad boy. Of course, all TV cops already have that right, so why not the Chi Town Po-Po? “The liability to the City of Chicago could be astronomical.” Ah. Previously, on America’s Most Amazing Parting Shots, “Officers were allowed to use deadly force to prevent death or great bodily harm to themselves or another person, but it didn’t allow them to use force to apprehend a fleeing forcible felon,” said the paper’s police source. “If confronted by an oncoming vehicle, officers were simply told to get out of the way, unless they were put in great danger.” Good thing the policy told them to get out of the way, I suppose. Anyway, the cops have already gone into damage control mode.
The Ad Hoc Committee of Consumer Victims of Chrysler is a group of litigants left claimless by a federal bankruptcy judge’s fiat, when Chrysler jettisoned “old Chrysler’s” product liability. Quietly into that long good night they will not go. Earlier this week, the group attempted to hand-deliver a protest letter to Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne prior to the new company’s first-ever Board of Directors’ meeting. The company’s head of security intercepted the missive, promising to give it to Sergio [video here]. While they await an official response *crickets chirping* the group has released this none-too-subtle silent movie, attempting to shame the car company into honoring its legal obligations.
AutoExtremist Peter DeLorenzo is an asshole. Just kidding. Somehow, the carmudgeon got it into his head that TTAC (a.k.a. TIC-TAC) called him an asshole. Did we call him an asshole? Of course we didn’t call him an asshole. We don’t call anyone an asshole. Delusional, sure. Misguided? Oh yeah, we’ve called people misguided. Pietro too. But calling someone an asshole is a perfect example of what the Brits call “using a sledgehammer to open a walnut.” It shows no style, no finesse, no class. Two out of three ain’t bad, as we Yanks are wont to say. I mention all this because Sweet Pete is launching the rumor (picked up by Autoblog) that Chrysler will launch a fourth US brand called Ram. Obviously, that makes no sense whatsoever—which is why the AutoExtremist offers no explanatory justification and Autoblog sucks away the oxygen of publicity even as it wheels-in Peter’s tank (couldn’t resist).
Words are cheap. Detroit bailouts are expensive; the feds have spent more than $100 billion on the Motown meltdown. But don’t worry. Be happy. According to Reuters, “President Barack Obama said on Wednesday that General Motors and Chrysler Group were companies worth saving, but he expects both to repay their government loans.” But? The Prez made his prediction to celebrate the latest stats from the car buyers’ bailout (a.k.a. Cash-for-Clunkers or C.A.R.S. program). Even Reuters isn’t buying that one—much. Apparently, it’s all about the mix. “The impact on GM, Chrysler and Ford Motor was not immediately clear with passenger car sales outpacing those of pickups and sport utilities.” Translation: the Big Three need pickup and SUV sales to survive. Fair dinkum, albeit on a very, very small scale in this case. It gets better/worse . . .
You may recall that GM’s Marketing Maven spent forty-minutes or so “crapping” on GM’s current ads before jetting off to Montserrat. After sipping a Piña Colada and walking in the rain, Lutz returned to assure GM’s nervous ad agencies that the status remains quo. (Quel surprise!) Automotive News [sub] reports that the former Car Czar “has no immediate plans to review or fire the automaker’s advertising agencies even though he publicly criticized a recent Buick ad campaign.” Apparently, Maximum Bob declined to specify a deadline for the mad men to get their shit together. But he “acknowledged GM needs to move fast — within the next three to six months — to improve the public’s perception after it spent 39 days in federal bankruptcy protection.” Now why they’d have to go and mention that? Jeez. Anyway, three to six months is a pretty big window from which Leo Burnett and friends will not get defenestrated. And boy, do we have some primo Lutzisms after the jump.
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