“The Hummer H3 ReEV is the first range-extended electric vehicle based on a full-sized SUV,” powertrain developers FEV claim ahead of an unveil at the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) hoe-down. Yes, on April 20, the world will be shocked—shocked!, I tell you— as FEV’s Hummer H3 Range-Extended Electric Vehicle (ReEV) proves that a “Raser scalable plug-in series hybrid design provides 40+ miles all-electric range and 100+ mpg fuel economy.” FEV says it performed the full vehicle integration (i.e., built the thing)  and developed all software for the hybrid control unit and in-vehicle graphical display. Sweet! But I’m not sure what differentiates the FEV mule from a Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid, or an Dodge Aspen Hybrid—other than the possibility that the gas – electric HUMMER H3 may be slower than continental drift with a top end that just about beats walking while stuffed to the rooftop with batteries. But apparently not . . .

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TTAC doesn’t “do” press embargoes. While some of our writers have put me in the awkward position of respecting their desire to respect a manufacturer’s prohibition on publishing a review until the appointed second (I kid you not), if someone sends me anything other than private correspondence, I feel free to publish it. This evening (Monday), the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) e-mailed TTAC a couple of pdfs (click here or here), They were embargoed until one minute after midnight, Tuesday. So I immediately decided to publish them. Besides, big whoop; Pentagon papers these ain’t. It’s an anecdotal study of three—count ’em, three—crashes. The match ups: Toyota Yaris/Toyota Camry, Honda Fit/Honda Accord, Smart Fortwo/Mercedes C-class. What’s up with the lack of inter-brand rivalry? Apparently, “the smallest cars do a comparatively poor job of protecting people in crashes.” Huh. And just in case that’s a bit tame (despite the usual photos), the IIHS did some number crunching on fuel economy. They’d like you to know that “even though fuel economy is their biggest selling point, many cars just a little bit bigger get close to, or the same mpg as the mini and micro cars tested.”

[UPDATE: Embargo time and second link now fixed.]

OK, so here’s the latest chapter in GM’s decades old inability to face reality. GM CEO Fritz Henderson told Automotive News [sub] that there’s nothing wrong with GM’s viability plan (or the company’s management leading up to its $22.8 illionb federal “loans”). GM simply failed to, uh, perform. “The viability plan, when you look at the finding, they basically said they appreciated what had been done—actually quite a bit of what had been done is correct. What they really said was they wanted things to go deeper and faster.” Uh, not as I recall it: “The plans submitted by GM and Chrysler on February 17, 2009, did not establish a credible path to viability,” pronounceth The Presidential Task Force on Automobiles (PTFOA). “In their current form, they are not sufficient to justify a substantial new investment of taxpayer resources.” Of course, the PTFOA  gave GM $4.4 billion to tide them over to C11 anyway. And if you think I’m just milking this “deeper faster” thing for cheap laughs, well, here it is again . . . and again . . .

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OK, it’s pretty clear how this is going down . . .  On June 1, GM will file for Chapter 11. The Presidential Task Force on Automobiles will help the company split into “good” GM and “bad” GM. The “good” GM will probably consist of Chevrolet and Cadillac, including the factories and management that produce some (all?) of the brands’ models. It will raise money from a public equity sale ($15 billion?) and investment banks ($10 billion?). It will use the money to buy the cherry-picked assets from the diseased company. The “good” GM will get up and running in a relatively short time; TTAC’s Ken Elias makes it 90 days or so. The owners of the “bad” GM—abandoned dealers, the United Auto Workers, suppliers, etc.—will squabble over their payouts into perpetuity. So, Ken and I have a bet. I say the PTFOA will direct that US taxpayers get a share of the new, good GM, as compensation for “our” $22.8 billion worth of worthless loans. Ken says Uncle Sam will write if off. Legally, Ken’s right: the feds can’t jump to the head of the creditors’ queue. But I say they will. What say you?

In general, TTAC does not cover motorsports. But we’re on the ball when it comes to the business of automotive sponsorships for sports of all sorts. We recently reported that Ford—Detroit’s last man standing—is a major sponsor of curling. The wisdom of that choice has become clear, as the the Men’s Curling Final was one of the most exciting ever played. As The Canadian Press reports, “It was a game for the ages. The final game of the Ford World Men’s Curling Championships came down to the last rock in the 10th end to break a 6-6 tie between Canada’s Kevin Martin and David Murdoch of Scotland.” Nail-biting stuff and perhaps symbolic of Ford’s last ditch struggle to stay out of bankruptcy court.

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Someone. Make. This. Stop. Now that the MSM has woken up to GM’s impending government-sponsored, C11, they’re beginning to understand that this is the only the end of the beginning, not the beginning of the end. The New York Times headline (and Autoblog) may proclaim a “surgical” bankruptcy for The General, but the bottom line is buried with in the text. “Treasury officials are examining one potential outcome in which the “good G.M.” enters and exits bankruptcy protection in as little as two weeks, using $5 billion to $7 billion in federal financing, a person who had been briefed on the prospect said last week.” Using the top figure, that brings our total “investment” to $25.8 billion, of which $18.8 billion is a total write-off. And, as I’ve pointed out here many times, then there’s the next bit. “The rest of G.M. may require as much as $70 billion in government financing, and possibly more to resolve the health care obligations and the liquidation of the factories, according to legal experts and federal officials.” So call it $100 billion just to get going. Government Motors (a.k.a. American Leyland) is born.

Motown’s top suits are [still] insulated from “the ownership experience.” They drive carefully selected and prepped examples of their own products, lovingly serviced by the company’s top wenches. I mean wrenches. The company replaces these perkmobiles before they can prove the old adage that getting older is not for sissies. The execs don’t experience the slings and arrows of outrageous service departments nor, for that matter, their competitors’ products. They are the bubble boys, accompanied by buff book writers. In this month’s Motor Trend, the chronically undercapitalized arthur st antoine offers this: “Full disclosure: At the moment, I don’t own an automobile. There are too many test cars, too little time.” So the st receives a new, carefully selected, meticulously prepped and thoroughly maintained press car EVERY WEEK. A full tank of gas, no insurance, no trips to the dealer (ever). None of the hassles of car ownership AND the unexpressed danger that writing something that takes him off the press car gravy train would costs him thousands of dollars per year. Now, about this month’s column. . .

Did I say laugh? I meant to say “analyze.” As in pore over spreadsheets, crunch numbers, make projections, hold meetings, exchange emails, examine market trends and fill out endless time sheets and expense reports. I imagine that TTAC’s Best and Brightest could save the Presidential Task Force on Automobiles (PTFOA) some money; how much does it cost to make up a rubber stamp that says “FUHGEDDABOUTIT”? So, anyway, Bloomberg winkled-out the payment from the PTFOA to The Boston Consulting Group. “‘A very significant portion’ of work will be to analyze GM’s restructuring plan and Chrysler’s proposed alliance with Fiat SpA, according to the notice posted on FedBizOpps.gov. Boston Consulting must work with the Treasury Department and GM to craft a ‘financial plan acceptable to the government.'” Meanwhile, LinkedIn profiles PTFOA chief Steve Rattner’s former employer, Quadrangle Group. And wouldn’t you know it: “Quadrangle Group employees are most connected to:” Lazard (hired by the United Auto Workers to investigate GM’s finances in 2005; and by Chrysler last August to sell the Viper model as a business), JPMorgan (big time Chrysler debt holders and bailout recipients) and The Boston Consulting Group. Click on BCG, and “The Boston Consulting Group employees are most connected to:” McKinsey and Company. Whose clients include GM and Ford. Small word. Big bill. Yours.

The mainstream media’s (MSM) reporting on GM’s “troubles” has evolved. Initially, the press told its audience that The General’s terminal glide path was all part of the wider economic meltdown. As the company augers in for its June 1 federally mandated Chapter 11, the reality of the situation is filtering down the info-food chain. The story has moved from financial reports to the general news to the sharp end: car reviews. For example: today’s Washington Post carries a review of the Pontiac G8 GXP that lauds the Australian V8 four door as “part old-fashioned American muscle car, part sophisticated European performance ride.” And then . . . “That’s good news. But here’s hoping it doesn’t come too late in the news cycle for GM.” Right: stupid news cycle. I blame the news cycle for GM’s upcoming bankruptcy.

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Hello Robert,

I’m forwarding to you a photo of a special Trabant that I received from one of my family members in the Czech Republic (the photo, not the Trabant). Unfortunately, I don’t know the tech details. Where is this world heading when a Trabant approaches the size of a sperm whale?

Cheers,
Micheal

Fair enough. At the congressional bailout hearings, Tennessee Senator Robert Corker gave Chrysler and GM CEOs major NSFW for running their business with all the efficiency of a federal agency. (And Corker should know.) We haven’t seen such public humiliation of powerful people since the Kefauver Committee raked the mob over the coals in 1950/51. Yes, well, who’s crying now? GM’s Spring Hill plant is on Corker’s patch; as we reported earlier it’s running at 24 percent of capacity (building the fourth Lambda platform Chevy Traverse). Corker knows the Presidential Task Force on Automobiles has the ex-Saturn plant in its sights; he’s claiming it makes rational business sense to keep Spring Hill open. Yeah, right. And good on the Detroit Free Press for not gloating. “This week, Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee continued his campaign to keep Spring Hill open, saying if politics is left out of the equation by the Obama administration, as he hopes, the plant and its 3,000 workers should survive. The evidence to the contrary is significant . . .”

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It’s always interesting to see how multiple media outlets interpret stories carried communally. In this case, here’s the beef: Standard & Poor’s ratings agency cut Chrysler’s senior secured first-lien term loan (due 2013) to CC from CCC; and lowered its issue-level ratings on GM’s $4.5B senior secured revolving credit facility to CCC-. (That’s nine grades below investment quality.) Automotive News [sub] waits all the way to the second paragraph before offering Motown apologists a heart to hang on to. “The rating downgrades put extra pressure on the two iconic U.S. carmakers, whose already declining fortunes have worsened during the ongoing global economic downturn.” The Wall Street Journal [almost] gets to the meat of the matter straight off . . .

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