Automotive News [sub] reports that even as GM seeks to spin Opel off to anyone who has the cash to save it, it’s raiding its German subsidiary for competitive product. Specifically, Opel’s much-vaunted Insignia sedan is set to become the 2010 Buick Regal, rather than the 2010 Saturn Aura as previously planned according to anonymous sources. Which is not completely surprising considering that Saturn as we know it has shuffled off the mortal coil, and the Insignia is, by many reports, a great car. But it’s still a horrible idea. Buick has already debuted another 2010 Epsilon II-based model, the LaCrosse, making for some instant cannibal action. “We’re looking at a bunch of stuff from a sedan standpoint,” says BPG VP Susan Docherty. “We’re going to add some more sedans, so stay tuned.” Docherty declined to comment specifically on the Buick Insignia fandango, but tells AN that “as GM works to cut Pontiac’s product offerings, the company can offer new Buick vehicles to keep the Buick-Pontiac-GMC channel well-rounded.” Well-rounded? Seriously? Besides revealing that GM is light-years away from whipping its perennial cannibalism problems, this story also suggests that Opel will continue to share architecture and platforms with the corporate mothership. Whether they need them or not.

German newspaper Die Welt had reported on Saturday that GM and Opel seems to be preparing for insolvency at Opel, having hired three law firms with renowned insolvency experts. GM denies the report, writes Reuters. “This scenario is currently not on the agenda,” a GM Europe spokesman told Reuters on Sunday. Note the careful usage of “currently” and “agenda.”

Die Welt says GM Europe would be advised by Baker & McKenzie as well as Clifford Chance, while the management of Adam Opel GmbH had hired Heidelberg-based firm Wellensiek. GM doesn’t deny that they have hired counsel: A GM Europe spokesman said the company had hired the firms to assess the effect of potential restructuring measures. Meanwhile, there is growing outrage in Germany about the fact that Opel never paid tax in Germany because it transferred profits to its U.S. parent.
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The BBC reports that GM’s European division Opel has learned a valuable lesson from the German government. Insolvency law was “not set up for the destruction but for the preservation of economic assets,” German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said after meeting with Opel leaders. “The public perception is that insolvency is associated with going bust or bankruptcy, but that is wrong. We must grasp that to survive such a crisis, modern insolvency rules are a better solution than the state taking a stake.” Hint, freaking, hint. And just why is the German government so jazzed about seeing Opel restructure on its own? Accoding to the Beeb, “media reports suggest that the German government was angry that the bail-out proposal—which asked for 3.3B euros ($4.16B)—was simply a glossy 217-page brochure which read like an advertisement, rather than presenting any viable business plan.” Sound familiar? Apparently German members of parliament were also shocked to learn that Opel doesn’t own its factories (GM does) or intellectual property. As in GM has hocked all of its Opel IP to the US government as security for its own bailout. Classy. Now, as the worm turns, even the Canadians are saying they don’t want to go through with the bailout if it’s a “waste of taxpayers’ money.”

Any larger German company that was in business during and/or did business with the Hitler regime must face history—at some point. Some companies, such as Volkswagen, owned-up early on that they had used slave labor. Some, such as BMW’s owners Quandt, denied it. American companies, such as Ford and Opel, are amongst those guilty by association. Finally, a fund was set up, which probably benefited the lawyers more than the 25k survivors.

Now, history is catching up with German car parts supplier Schaeffler. According to the Independent, “the giant but debt-crippled Schaeffler car parts supplier was accused of using hair shorn from at least 40,000 Auschwitz death camp prisoners to make textiles at its factories in Nazi-occupied Poland during the Second World War. The highly disturbing allegations were contained in new evidence unearthed by Polish historians at the Auschwitz museum, who said they had found rolls of fabric made from camp inmates’ hair at a former Schaeffler factory in Poland’s southern region of Silesia.” The company’s historian has dismissed the allegations.

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Today, management of Opel presented a rescue plan to the Supervisory Board of the Opel GmbH. The bottom line of the plan: A decoupling from GM. According to Automobilwoche [sub,]  the plan and the decoupling has been approved by the Supervisory Board. The head of the Supervisory Board is Carl-Peter Forster, who’s main job description is Head of General Motors Europe. It looks like GM will let Opel go. Well, not quite yet.

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Anybody who knows how the auto industry ticks (as long as its clock hasn’t run out) sees the next two items as a given:

1.)    Cars will be more and more crammed with electronics. Already, some modern cars have more computers and networks than a small business.

2.)    Keeping track of the software and its bugs turns more and more into a nightmare.

So far, most large automakers have used their own proprietary solutions, which makes the nightmare even bigger. Many common parts cannot be fitted unless their internal software is “flashed” to be (hopefully) compatible with the car being repaired. Something’s gotta be done. And, finally, it is.

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When developing new car gadgetry, automakers are faced with making a very basic assumption about their potential customers. Are we the consumers willing to trade our fundamental, if somewhat-anarchistic, assumptions of freedom for some wimpy, gas saving benefit? From accident black boxes to driver-behavior monitors, most red-blooded pistonheads say, hell no! Apparently BMW reckons that more people want toys than want (perceived) freedom. And they’re developing an intelligent navigation system that will learn your driving habits to prove it.

With BMW’s newest Z4 hiking the roadster’s size and weight, Auto Motor und Sport says the Bangle-less Bavarians are planning a downsized Z2 Roadster for 2011 (planned European release). And they waste no time making Mazda Miata comparisons. The Z2 will be built on a downsized Z4 platform, but don’t expect a trademark straight six. It seems that nothing larger than a two liter four-banger will make it into this lightweight roadster. This translates into about 150 hp from a 1.8 liter four cylinder engine at the entry level, and up to 300 hp from a possible turbocharged M version of the two liter four. There’s even talk of a hybrid version. Active steering and suspension and dual-clutch transmissions will be standard, but despite all the techno-frippery the top will be fabric. Interestingly, Auto Motor und Sport lists the price in dollars rather than euros. And they say fewer than 30k of them will make a Z2 yours. Look for an auto show debut sometime in late 2010.

Stefanie Wolter’s wrecking yard is one of the largest in the northern part of Hesse, Germany. On an average day, they used to receive one or two cars to be euthanized. Now, suddenly, it’s ten. Clunkers are lining up, and the yard can’t kill them as fast as they come in. It’s a common sight in Germany. Wrecking yards are getting crushed under the load of cars to be crushed, Automobilwoche [sub] reports.

The attack of the aging automobiles is caused by the Abwrackprämie (cash for clunkers program) paid for by the German government. Since January 14^th, 2009, owners of cars nine years or older can collect €2.5K if they put the pile of rust out of its misery, and buy a new one.

In the beginning, the program was ridiculed. It’s not going to work, said many, owners of clunkers won’t buy new. The Green Party said it’s “a joke.” Quickly, the mood changed.
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Renault’s low cost, made-in-Romania Dacia brand can’t believe its luck. In Germany, orders are upsixfold says the Financial Times Deutschland. Due to demand stoked by the Euro 2,500.00 clunker car program, sales have taken off for low-cost cars. The newish, normal-looking Dacia Sandero usually sells around 80 units per week. Suddenly, they’re moving 1k. Unfortunately, Dacia lowered production at its Romanian plant weeks ago, in expectation of collapsing Russian and Eastern-European markets. The cars are so sold out—to the point where Dacia is buying cars off the Russian market to satisfy German demand. Dealers are rubbing hands and hiring helpers: a German dealer has students serving coffee to customers waiting in line to order cars.

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Wolfgang Bernhard is coming home to Daimler. Not in an exalted position. He will take over Mercedes vans, Automobilwoche [sub] reports. The former McKinsey consultant who became project manager at Mercedes Benz (always a bad sign when McKinsey dumps one of their own on a client) went to Detroit with Dieter Zetsche. As COO, Bernhard was Zetsche’s hatchet man at Chrysler. Back in Germany, he was groomed as boss of Mercedes, but lost in a fight with Jürgen Schrempp. Off he went to Volkswagen, where he ran the Volkswagen brand, along with Skoda, Bentley and Bugatti. Again, he was thought to be groomed as successor of Pischetsrieder. But actually, he was axed shortly after Pischetsrieder was sent packing and the Porsche-Piech putsch unfolded. Eyebrows rose when Bernhard showed up at Cerberus. Some saw him as the new Chrysler head. But no, again. He left a few months after he arrived. A stint at ill-fated Austrian Airlines also didn’t last long. And now he’s back where he began. At Mercedes. In charge of delivery vans.

For most in the German auto business, the Cash-for-Clunkers scheme (€2.5K if you scrap your old and buy a new one) is the savior that rescues Deutschland from eternal CO2-related damnation. Not to mention the fact that dealers are reporting long lines in showrooms. The hottest topic: the money to fund the Abwrackprämie (“wrecking award”) will be gone soon. Germany’s elected representatives only allocated €1.5b for the program—enough for 600K cars or one fifth or Germany’s yearly run rate. If that money gets exhausted anytime soon, turning water into wine will be relegated to cheap stunt status. The media ignores this eventuality, and beats the public into a frenzy. Act fast! Im Windhundverfahren (“greyhound method” a.k.a. first-come-first-serve principle)!

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The German clunker culling initiative appears to work. Dealers report increased traffic. According to two independent surveys, one by BKP Consulting and one by Ernst & Young, 30 percent of the surveyed said they would buy a new car due to the clunker culling money, Das Autohaus reports. There are no exact sales data yet. However, both dealers and wrecking yards report increased traffic. The German car interest group VDA revised its prior prognosis of 2.9m units sold in 2009 up to slightly over 3m.  Germans will receive €2.5K if they buy a new car, or a car no older than one year that was registered to a dealer or auto manufacturer – German lawmakers are sensitive to the shenanigans of automakers who increase their sales statistics by registering the car in their name or the name of the dealer. The clunker must be at least nine years old and must be scrapped.

The idea is not new. It was first launched in France, where people get €1K if they scrap a car that is at least 10 years old and buy a new one. Austria already announced a similar one. Austria pays €1.5K for scrapped cars older than 13 years. It is to be expected that most of Europe will jump on the clunker culling bandwagon, each with different conditions. The German program is not without its critics.

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America is not the only country whose government is Hell bent on supporting an auto industry past its prime. Take Germany. Bitte. Last autumn, the German government announced it would suspend registration taxes on cars to support new-car sales. The moved shaved between $200 (for small cars) and $2000 (for more prolific carbon belchers) from the price of admission. Net result, sales-wise? Nichts. Never mind. Yesterday, Germany’s government felt inspired by the French example to introduce incentives for motorists to scrap their older cars. Now, any owner of a nine-year-old or older German ow-tow-mobile car can collect around $3,000 (€2,500) if he or she junks his or her car and buys a new, hopefully more fuel efficient model. Hmmm. Corporations account for over 50 percent of Germany’s new cars sales. Looking at the other half, few motorists who drive a genuine clunker can afford a new car, with or without incentives. And those who can usually purchase a cheap, non-German car. In light of these inconvenient Aufrichtigkeits, PricewaterhouseCooper’s estimates that the scrapping incentive will add 300k sales to the moribund annual total sounds like a load of baloney. If so, all that remains is greenwashery (“at least we got some of those clunkers off the road”) and expensive government activism. Look for an American version in the next Congressional bailout budget.