BusinessWeek reports that Ford will offer a high tech “Work Solutions” package for its forthcoming F-150 pickups and commercial vans. Deep breath. The package includes a Bluetooth-enabled 6.5” in-dash touch-screen computer running Microsoft’s Windows CE and Windows Autos connected to the ‘net via Sprint cellular. Owners can radio-tag their tools using a “Tool Link” function. When the truck starts up, a pair of antennas scan the owner’s brain waves for thoughts of theft– I mean scan the vehicle looking for tools missing from a preprogrammed inventory list. "Think of Tool Link as no tool left behind," jests Mark Fields, Ford’s president of the Americas and a living, breathing example of the theory. The “Work Solutions” package also includes fleet tracking and a lockable storage system for pickup beds. The electronic features will be available together or separately.

Ford will build the Verve (or whatever they end up calling their subcompact) in Mexico. And we know this because…? The Detroit Free Press reports "two people with knowledge of Ford's production plans" told them so. Although Ford refuses to identify the location of their new subcompact's fabricator, it appears the concessions given by the UAW still don't make a U.S.-built economy car a profitable proposition. Global Insight's NA light-vehicle production manager doesn't see "Made in America" making a comeback anytime soon. "In general we see capacity in the U.S. dropping," Haig Stoddard advised. "And continuing to gradually rise in Mexico." That's at least until the automakers replace most of their older UAW work force with cheaper new hires. But even at the lower $14.20 per hour rate, American workers still make a lot more than their Mexican counterparts. Between that and the Mexican government's willingness to contribute incentives, well, it's a slam dunk. No matter where it's made, Ford needs the Verve ahora. ¡Ándale!

The unidentified GM spokesmouth quoted above is supposedly spinning the news that GM has decided to kill its rear wheel-drive (RWD) plans for Canada's Camaro factory. The move spikes the never-really-approved (but endlessly discussed) RWD Impala and Buick LaCrosse models, and the new V8 engine slated to power both models. As The Car Connection rightly points out, the platform change also raises serious questions about the Camaro's pricing and profitability. Those of you who've been following this saga will appreciate the fact that this is the fourth time GM's extra-Camaro RWD plans have been resurrected– and then terminated. That we know of. Once again, GM says the decision reflects the prospect of new, higher federal fuel economy standards. Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) President Buzz Hargrove was quick to point out that it had nothing to do with the fact that the Camaro factory is a high-cost union shop. “We anticipated that would be followed by other rear-wheel-drive vehicles, but the money they spent on the plant makes it a flex plant, so you can build both front-drive and rear-wheel-drive in the facility." Yes, well, there's been no announcement on that front. Nor is any expected– at least until after the CAW's contract negotiations are complete. Is this any way to run a railroad?

You may recall that GM sold its stake in Subaru to… Toyota. Last spring's union between the two Japanese automakers is about to bear fruit. Motor Trend reveals that one of the first toys out of the Tubaru toy box will be a latter day reincarnation of the Toyota Celica. The new sports coupe will arrive both as a lower-priced rear-wheel-drive base model and a full-bore AWD model, complete with the Impreza STi's 300hp engine. The new Toybaru will be offered in two flavors: two-door coupe or three-door hatch. To keep the price duo-brand-compliant, the Subota will be a high-volume model; you can expect to see it in a number of markets including the U.S. GM may rue the day it threw Subie's shares into its cash conflagration. 

Reuters reports that a former Daimler finance manager was sentenced to serve five and a half years in jail for embezzling more than 22 million euros ($32.5m) from the German automaker over a five-year period. A Stuttgart court ruled the 42-year-old man had submitted fake invoices for computer services and forged supervisors' signatures to obtain up to 2 million euros ($2.95m) at a time. Across the border in France, a court has fined Volvo 200k euros (nearly $300k) after the driver of a Volvo 850 TDI lost control of her car, killing two children and injuring another. The driver claims the brake became very rigid and she could not stop in time. Volvo is expected to appeal the decision. Meanwhile in Israel, a venture group known as C.En, says it’s developed a safe, lightweight hydrogen tank for automobiles. "The tanks will be like a battery that can be replaced and you can carry a reserve in the car," says Moshe Stern, who leads the project’s investor group. Unlike other systems, this one uses hydrogen gas rather than liquid. “We are looking now for one of the giants to adopt our technology and support it," Stern says. Uh sorry, the Giants have more pressing plans at the moment.

I don't really have a lot of sympathy for people who say "If only I'd held on to my Barracuda" or suchlike. Maintaining a car– keeping it taxed, insured and running for decades– is a time-consuming and expensive business. Besides, for every car we once owned that's now worth a fortune, we owned many more than are still worth bupkis. "If only I'd held onto my Ford Pinto station wagon." I don't think so. Anyway, Hagerty Insurance wants to brand that whole "collector car of the future" deal. They've released their "Hagerty Hot List," selected by none other than McKeel Hagerty, CEO of, well, you know. Frank reckons the Crown Vic fits the bill. My money's on the Chrysler 300C SRT8 (not literally of course). What motor do you think you should stash for cash? Here's Hagerty's take.

1. Cadillac XLR-V Roadster
2. Lotus Exige S
3. Audi S5
4. Mustang Shelby GT 500 KR
5. Chevrolet Corvette Z06
6. Smart
7. Subaru Impreza WRX STi
8. Honda S2000 CR
9. Pontiac Solstice/Saturn Sky
10. Dodge Charger Super Bee

As we mentioned last September, Herpa secured the rights to the Trabant name. Rumor had it that the toy manufacturer was considering reviving what we termed the "plastic-bodied, smoke-spewing, two-stroke, two-cylinder rolling testimonial to everything that was wrong with communist East Germany." Well, it looks like Herpa's actually going to do it. Worldcarfans reports that Herpa is partnering with specialty car manufacturer IndiKar to form an initiative called "newTrabi." The plan's originator, Klaus Schindler, hopes to incorporate "the wishes and expectations of the cult car's many enthusiastic fans… in the development." They'll debut a 1/87 scale model of the newTrabi in February, shooting for a full-scale prototype for the IAA in 2009. Again we have to ask, WTH are they thinking? Perhaps our European readers would like to comment on the possible market for a machine with a well-earned reputation for being the worst car ever produced by hand of man. 

The 1.6-liter four-pot in the Chevrolet Aveo (né Daewoo Kalos) is the smallest engine GM offers in the U.S. Automotive News [sub] reports that's about to change, as The General goes smaller in a big way. The world's second largest automaker will introduce a 1.4-liter gas engine (that's just 250cc's more than half the displacement of the supercharger in the Corvette ZR1). What's that you say? GM will probably blow this one? Well, you're at least partially right. GM's boffins are going to take the 1.4-liter engine from the European Opel Astra, slap on a turbocharger and drop it into the Cobalt, U.S. Saturn Astra and God knows how many other small cars in GM's vast product portfolio. They're also looking at using it in some mid-sized vehicles. The question is, will a market that was built on "there's no replacement for displacement" take a hankerin' to the smallest engine GM's offered since the 1.0-liter three-banger in the Geo/Chevy Metro?

I'm sure plenty of auto bloggers and erstwhile reporters will hail GM's decision to form a new engineering group to "focus on hybrid vehicles, extended-range electric vehicles and battery technology." It's easy enough to see the development (reported by CNNMoney) as proof that GM has, finally, put its chips on the alternative propulsion (alt prop) table. But I'd like to raise the red flag here. GM already has a 500-member team working on the electric – gas hybrid Chevrolet Volt. GM already has another team working on the plug-in Saturn Vue. GM already has vehicle development teams for all its eight U.S. brands, spanning some 49 models. GM already has boffins in Germany working on their products. GM already has a hybrid development team in China. In theory, consolidating all these efforts under one Alt Prop Czar–  Robert Kruse, executive director of vehicle engineering for hybrids, electric vehicles and batteries– makes sense. But the fact that GM says it will be "based" in North America, Europe and Asia tells me that this new GM fiefdom will struggle within The General's Byzantine bureaucracy and competition fiefdoms, floundering within a culture known for product paralysis and financial profligacy. Just sayin'…

Credit where credit's due: the executive director of GM Powertrain's fuel cell activities realizes that this may not be the best time to clamor for a suck on the taxpayers' collective tit. As Automotive News [AN, sub] reports, J. Byron McCormick was careful to cloak his call for federal funding in vague and patriotic terms. "Without more investment, there is a real threat that alternative vehicle technologies and development of the hydrogen automobile will leave the United States… Other countries are investing heavily in this sector and could surpass the United States." Oh no! A hydrogen gap! Let's throw some tax money at it, 'cause if we don't "There is a real chance that [a hydrogen gap] could happen. If that happens, what happens to the jobs, to the learning and the skills that go with it?" Oh, hang on. "But for now, McCormick said the United States has technology momentum in the field. 'We have a wonderful opportunity to put the United States in a leadership position,' he added." Still, "There are a number of regions getting their act together. I would hate as a U.S. citizen and taxpayer to have the United States become complacent." And I would hate as a U.S. citizen and taxpayer to have to pay for any more of GM's R&D bill. 

At first there was one. Now there are many. This week, BMW was proud to herald its new status as "the world's first car maker now offering a seven-speed Double Clutch Gearbox [DSG] especially conceived and designed for a high-speed power unit." The German cog-swapper's high hp capability is an important distinction; VW trumped Bimmer with its low-horsepower seven-speed DSG gearbox late last year. Other new dual clutch transmissions in the news: Mitsubishi is giving long lead buff books and the internet megaliths a taste of their new six-gear dual clutch "SST" box (Edmunds reports that it's not ready for prime time yet). Volvo has just announced details on its dual wet clutch Powershift transmission (also six gears). Although the box is currently reserved for Volvo's European diesel cars, you can bet some version of this transmission will make it into Ford's U.S. passenger cars. At which point dual clutch-loving pistonheads (ipso facto) might implode from all the choice. But where oh where is Porsche's DSG? I mean, c'mon.

OK, not literally "lost." More like "totaled." No matter how you parse it, Automotive News [sub] reports that King Triton wasn't happy with the ship carrying the very first batch of 1-Series and M3s headed stateside from the Fatherland. On January 11, a storm knocked the heavy metal loose to play a driverless game of German bumper cars and salvage parts. "Of the 470 vehicles on board, 120 were damaged beyond repair and will have to be scrapped. The others will be repaired, said a BMW spokesman." While one wonders if the customers for those repaired Bimmers will be told of the damage, the automaker is busy trying to figure out if the accident will affect the models' March launch date. 6Speedonline has the gruesome gallery for those of you who can't get enough wrecked exotics, or wait for Autoblog.  

Chinese automaker Geely introduced a new technology today they call BMBS. The system uses tire pressure sensors to tell the brakes when and how much pressure to apply to stop the car safely when a tire blows out. So why introduce it at an auto show where they're one of the smallest fish in the pond? To prove wrong the naysayers who "don't believe that China can innovate" according to Geely chairman Li Shufu. I tried to find out just how innovative the system is. When I asked Dr Frank Zhao, Geely's VP and chief tech officer, how BMBS compares to the active suspension from other companies, he said it didn't because it's unique. When I asked about its merits over active suspension, he didn't want to discuss it and tried his best to dismiss any questions I asked. I did manage to find out he's right about one thing: it's in no way comparable to active suspension. It turns out it has no yaw sensors and can't control a skid unless a tire's circumference is changing. You have to admit that's unique!

I know: you want to know what these options are. Well so do we. 'Cause Ford's jeffe de las Américas Mark Fields faced down the journalistic corps at the Detroit Auto Show and provided our man with no details whatsoever on his employer's plans for the once prolific Special Vehicles Team. In fact, one of those options could be to abandon SVT altogether; it would only be a short hop from the Ford tuning division's current limbo dance. This is especially true now that Ford has re-labeled their twin-turbo "Turbo Force" V6 engine as an "Eco-Boost," and decided to shoehorn the new powerplant into everything they make. So, could those "options" include an Eco-Boost– er, Twin Force V8? Given Ford's current North American market share spiral, and the need to allocate money to building some better mainstream products, I reckon SVT will restrict itself to lucrative suspensions and style mods. As well it might.

[reported by Sajeev Mehta] 

A $25,000 Aveo? Not quite, but BusinessWeek (BW) says GM is considering building what they're calling the "micro-premium car," aimed at the MINI, BMW 1-series and Audi A3 market. They have two problems to overcome before they enter that brave new world. First, they have to find a suitable platform, something a bit more upscale than the Daewoo-engineered hardware now used for their smallest cars. Second, they have to figure out where it fits in their muddled marketing model. Cadillac is out. "Sources" told BW they want to "preserve the brand's image for big, high-powered cars." So where do the BLS and the even smaller Alpha-platform model planned for 2011 fit into that image? Anyway, Chevy's not a contender because no one would pay that much for a small Chevy. They're reportedly considering Buick, Saab or Saturn. And what do they think the chances are of anyone buying such a vehicle from a GM dealer? BW states, "GM has discovered that Gen Y's buyers don't hold a grudge against domestic brands the way Generation X and some baby boomers do… if it can make a small car that is both fuel-efficient and has real cachet, they could make inroads with a generation that is fast growing into its car-buying years." That's a pretty lofty goal; now let's see if they can overcome a long and ignoble history of botched small-car projects.