Those of us old enough to remember the Kennedy/Nixon debate remember Dinah Shore encouraging us to "See the USA in your Chevrolet." Then Chevy invited us to enjoy "baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet" driving "the Heartbeat of America" as we participated in "an American Revolution." So much for flag-waving. In yesterday's press release, Chevy crows that their new Cruze– the Daewoo Optra they're going to build in Lordstown OH—  features a new "global design language" that was "developed by a global design and engineering team." They warn tell us this "new global design language… will continue to be a signature element for future vehicles carrying the gold bowtie." Let's hope they're not talking about the new schnoz they're sticking on the front of the 2009 Aveo5. Where are Bill Mitchell or Harley Earl when you need them? Oh that's right; they're dead. Never mind then.

Last night's banner headline over at the gadget blog Engadget read "2010 Prius revealed, sneakers still a major design influence." But no, it wasn't revealed and no, that's not the Prius. (Props to Engadget for being snarky, at the least.) This was a great case of how misinformation spreads like a gasoline-fueled fire in the ol blogosphere. Here's how it went down: Car and Driver put up a story with some not remarkably new details and a CGI of the next generation Prius just to illustrate. Of course, they didn't actually say it was a photoshop or "artist's rendering." TG Daily picked up the story from Car and Driver, along with the picture. Then Engadget – one of the largest gadget and tech blogs on the 'nets – ran with the story from TG Daily. Eventually a reader alerted Engadget that they were holding onto a not-so-hot photochop. The site added a disclaimer at the bottom of their post "Update: Our bad, looks like the image above is apparently just Car and Driver's illustration of what they think it COULD look like. Thanks, Dave." Dave? Dave's not here. Anyway, that's cool. But why is the headline still saying "revealed?" And for whatever it's worth, Vince Burlapp already posted the same CGI – as well as a back view – on Saturday.

I'm no good at math. If I need to crunch numbers– relative mpgs, the long term cost of interest payment deals, Rick Wagoner's salary increases– I let Frank do it for me. Otherwise TTAC's Best and Brightest "correct" my erroneous calculations in no uncertain terms. As students of our education system's failures will attest, I am not the only checkbook balancing-challenged citizen of these great United States. This knowledge is also shared by various state lottery commissions, who understand that greed, like love, is numerically illiterate. The New York Times reports that Florida has joined Georgia, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Washington in offering tickets that award "gas for life" instead of cold, hard cash. "Not that a winner’s right to free gasoline is unlimited. Rather, each winner will be awarded 26 prepaid gas cards, each worth $100, every year until death. Were the 44-year-old Mr. Acosta to win, and live to be twice his current age, the total payout to him in free gasoline would be $114,400. That is far short of the [$250k] first prize, particularly since virtually all the gas prize would be paid in future dollars." Future dollars? WTH is a future dollar? I want my payout in good old American currency! Anyway, here's the thinking: "Gas has become more precious than cash now,” Bernard Feldman told the Old Gray Lady. Even when it isn't.

OK, Sharon we'll bite. What's the deal with the Ford Escape Hybrid? Is it true that The Blue Oval Boyz purposely restrict supply because they lose money on every one they sell? And the answer is… "There are regional spots of very high demand," FoMoCo spinmeister Alan Hall told The Detroit News. "We are building to our production plans of 24,000 units per year (of Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner hybrids) combined." Sigh. So, surely that's it, yes? I mean we can't very well talk about a shortage of GM's hybrid SUVs, as customers for the two-mode gas – electric behemoths are lined-up none deep. Or can we? "GM's other hybrid trucks, the full-size Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon, are hard to find, in part because about half of the automakers' dealers opted not to sell them. Also, GM has produced the vehicles in limited numbers." Aw c'mon Sharon, the reason GM dealers don't have hybrid SUVs on their lots is that nobody wants them. By your own count, GM sold less than 1500 hybrid SUVs so far this year. Suggesting that GM dealers won't stock them because they don't want to "go through special training" is more than disingenuous. It's lying.

That was then, this is now. Oh wait; that's now too– at least according to our friends over at Autoblog. Scribe Dan Roth offers the testimonial upon hearing the news that Volvo's COO is spinning faster than a supersonic dradle. ""We want to continue to compete with Mercedes, BMW and Audi," Steven Armstrong, Volvo's COO tells Automotive News [sub]. "We're working to improve the premium-ness of the brand and our products." Shouldn't that be premiumnessosity? And who considers Volvo an alternative to a Merc, Bimmer or Audi? You know; other than Autoblog? Not U.S. consumers apparently. "Volvo sold 458,323 units worldwide last year, of which 106,213 were sold in the United States. Volvo's U.S. sales peaked at 139,067 units in 2004, but they are expected to fall to around 95,000 this year." While we await the Swedish brand's long-denied sale, we're left wondering about Roth's comprehension and sentence construction skills. "The possibility of building its cars in the United States might bring prices down [Ed: the possibility will bring prices down?] and allow better developed performance versions, versus the outclassed R models of the past," Roth contends. "The issue is not quite as high on the agenda as it was in January," Armstrong said. 

Since its introduction in 2005, the Bugatti Veyron hasn't made a dime for corporate parent Volkswagen. The original development costs were so high that even with a million dollar price tag, the Veyron sales weren't enough to put the project into the black. According to an interview with Bugatti CEO Dr. Franz-Josef Paefgen in the Netherlands' AutoTelegraaf, Bug will turn a profit in those most magical of years, 2010. That's when they'll finally sell enough of the quad-turbo meisterwerk to pay for the program. As for another model, who needs another model? But seriously, a replacement for the Veyron will supposedly arrive in 2011 or 2012– soon enough that collectors may take the claim seriously, but far enough away that VW can change their plans completely if needs be. But since Bugatti can only sell so many Veyrons, and there are only so many Fifth Avenue designers to stamp their logo on a "version" of the car, it seems reasonable that they'd have to do something else. But what? A targa– sorry, removable panel roof? A four-door sedan? A 2000 horsepower coupe? When your modus operandi is "ridiculous," it's hard to follow that up as being "even more ridiculous." And don't forget, Volkswagen also has Bentley and Lamborghini in the wheelhouse. Decisions, decisions. I know! What about killing the brand?

I'm shopping for a car for Mrs. Berkowitz (my mother; my wife, Scarlett Johansson-Berkowitz drives my GTI). I dared to "request a quote" on manufacturers' websites from specific dealers. I was fully expecting them to, as you might say in French, "give me a f'ing quote." To that end, in the online form, I listed the precise cars from their inventory that I wanted, plus the lease terms. Alas, this kind of optimism will get me nothing but an inbox full of nonsense. The approach they take, of course, is to give as little information as possible and tell me to come to the dealership. Regarding a Cadillac CTS: "This vehicle can be leased from $349.00 to $700.00 approximately; depending on packaging and structure of lease. Purchase prices range roughly from $33,330 to $50,000." Uh yeah, I know that, in part because I requested lease estimates for specific cars (which I identified with VIN numbers). Another dealership suggested "We ask that you visit our showroom where you always receive the "BEST PRICE." I encourage you to call me directly so I can set up an appointment with one of our Sales Managers." Your sales managers don't shower and give me the creeps; that's why I'm requesting a quote online. We talk about how product drives the automotive sales industry, and to a large extent it does. But so does the ability to purchase that product. If I was a dealer and someone wanted to buy a car via telegraph, I'd be brushing up on my Morse code.  

I'm beginning to lose track of manufacturers' excuses for slumping car sales: Japanese currency manipulation, the "perception gap," diminished fleet sales, poor housing market, the credit crisis, gas prices, etc. Here's the latest, courtesy of USA Today. "June sales were constrained because few automakers had enough cars that shoppers really want: well-appointed but with gas-sipping engines. 'I'm sure we're missing some business because we don't have exactly the configuration the consumer is looking for and adequate stock to satisfy' the demand, says Jim Lentz, president of Toyota Motor Sales." While the explanation makes some sense for ToMoCo, who couldn't build the Prius fast enough for demand, are we seriously meant to believe that Ford would have sold lots more Fusions if the base model had more features? Yup. "'A lot of it had to do with price points,' says Eric Peterson, communications manager for Ford Motor's crossovers. Buyers who spent more wanted more power. 'Now, there's more of a shift in consumer mind-set that we're reacting to… Consumers are saying, 'I want fuel efficiency, and I want all these options as well.'" So where's the statistical evidence for this theory? You know; some data showing that highly-optioned four-cylinder models are gaining popularity? *crickets chirping* Facts. Who needs 'em?

Word has leaked out that the next-generation Toyota Prius will offer optional solar cells on the roof manufactured by Kyocera. Yahoo! News reckons the new system, rated at least 2kW, should be capable of powering the air conditioner unit. The current Prius and other Toyota hybrids already have an electric AC unit. "Adding solar panels to a model targeting mass consumers would mark a first for a major automaker", The Nikkei said. Ahem. Let's flashback to fall 1991, courtesy of the New York Times archive. The last generation Mazda 929 had 500W solar panels on the sunroof. The cells ran exhaust fans in conjunction with the AC unit (the Mazda's chiller wasn't electrically powered). The rooftop solar system could trickle-charge the battery from dead to full steam ahead in one week– assuming the 929 was parked in Arizona during the dry season. The old system was perfect for the airport long-term parking lot. It'll be a lot harder for the Prius to make this work on a daily basis, but the PR benefit for both the ToMoCo hybrid– and solar technology in general– is literally priceless. Even before it turns a wheel, the next gen Prius has trumped Chevy's plug-in electric – gas hybrid Volt. 

Last things first. The Detroit Free Press article on the prospects [eventually] greeting Ford's delayed next generation F-150 ends with a sobering analysis. It arrives courtesy of CNW Marketing Research in Bandon, Ore. "The appearance buyer is totally out of the market," Art Spinella asserts. "He's gone." According to Spinella's template, that leaves farmers and ranchers; towers or people who pull recreational vehicles or boats and fleet customers. Uh-oh, what happened to building contractors? They may not be on Art's radar– given the housing slump, why would they be?– but Ford's still got them in its sights. "Instead of launching the all-new 2009 F-150 with luxurious four-door models, Ford instead will spotlight the two-door models that always have been more popular among contractors, farmers and fleet customers." With full-size pickup sales off 21.1 percent so far this year, Ford F-150 sales down 40.5 percent in June, gas prices staying high and the fact that F-Series accounts for one-fourth of FoMoCo's total sales, the new F-150 is fighting some big ass headwinds. But hey, at least it will do so with a six-speed gearbox and 1.5mpg better fuel economy than its predecessor.  

Far be it from me to overuse a metaphor, but you know things are bad for the home team when the head cheerleader starts following the other team's plays. Right in the heart of UAW-land, Detroit News' Auto Editor Manny Lopez [reads TTAC] and mulls over the question of what constitutes an "American" car. His answer will probably piss off the Level Field Institute: as long as it's built in America with American parts, it doesn't really matter where the parent company resides. Waxing philosophical, he asks "what's more American: a Dodge Caravan built in Canada with fewer American parts or a Toyota Sienna chock full of Red, White and Blue components and built in Indiana [Ed. By non-union labor]?" Continuing along the same lines, Manny also wants to know if it's "more important to have the dollars flow back to Detroit, Dearborn or Auburn Hills or to employ American workers?" He'd better be careful or the home team fans may demand he turn in his pom-poms.

Jalopnik poses a pertinent question– at least for semantically-minded pistonheads. How can GM "extend" a 72-hour sale into a 14-day event? Andrew Stoy takes us down the spinmeisters' rabbit hole. "But how do 72 sort-of hours in seven days end up being 72 no-we-really- mean-it-this-time hours spanning a whopping 14 days (Tuesday the 24 through Monday the 7th)? By using the eight-hour workday! First, subtract the weekends; that's minus four days for a total of ten. But ten times eight is 80, you cry! A-ha. Don't forget the Fourth of July, friends. Subtract eight more hours, and you end up with a perfect 72-hour-long 72-Hour Sale. Which is exactly how GM intended it from the start, we're sure." As for the financial implications, it's important to remember that the fire sale prices came at the expense of GM's margins. And while the moved metal bolstered GM's sagging sales– from unthinkable to just plain horrible– there will be a reckoning.Quoted by U.S. News & World Report, Credit Suisse analyst Chris Ceraso predicts the 72-hour sale will generate "some pretty severe payback over the coming month or two."

You'd figure that Mercedes would promote their new California-compliant BlueTec diesel-powered vehicles based on their fuel efficiency. Times two, considering that opting for the oil-burning engine requires a $1k premium. And the fact that diesel is roughly 25 percent more expensive than gas. We knew there was an "issue" when WardsAuto's strapline revealed that "The ability of the diesel cross/utility vehicles to achieve a cruising range of up to 600 miles is a significant selling point, the auto maker says." To which we say uh-oh. Still, you'd think that Ward's would crunch the numbers. Nope. "Cleaning the exhaust doesn’t bite into fuel economy because the diesel generates 20%-33% better mileage than a comparable gasoline engine. The 6-cyl. Bluetec provides 4-cyl. fuel economy and V-8 power and torque, the auto maker claims." In the interests of veracity and transparency, Frank did the math for you below. Oh, and the BlueTec's NOx-scrubbing urea supply lasts just 10k miles. If the tank gets too low, you get 20 starts to refill. After that, the car won’t start. Where do I sign?

[First mpg = EPA combined mileage; second mpg = BT mpg rounded to the nearest whole number]

G-class – GL450 4matic (4.6L V8), 15mpg > 18 – 20mpg; GL550 4matic (5.5L V8), 14mpg > 17 – 19mpg M-Class – ML350 4matic (3.5L V6), 17mpg > 20 – 23mpg; ML550 4matic (5.5L V8), 15mpg > 18 – 20mpg R-Class – R350 4matic (3.5L V6), 16mpg > 19 – 21mpg

This website has railed against automobile manufacturers' insidious influence on editorial content: casual pro-GM remarks made by Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, publications and websites that don't fully reveal sponsored junkets, buff book car reviews that pull their punches to appease advertisers and TV programs built around automotive product placement. [In the latter case, the new Knight Rider is the most egregious example– a program so laced with Ford product placement it was hard to tell where the show started and the commercials began.] Advertising Age reports that the Federal Communications Commission's chairman is sending a torpedo towards the entire product placement business. "There is growing concern that our sponsorship identification rules may fall short of their ultimate goal: to ensure that the public is able to identify both the commercial nature of programming as well as its source," FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin said. Kev's contemplating new requirements for longer and bigger disclosure of product placement– up to four seconds. Does the ad industry like this? Uh, no. ""I really don't think product placement is sinister or fooling anybody. It's just part of life," insists Dan Jaffe, an exec VP at the Association of National Advertisers. "A crawl or bubble would be totally disruptive of what is going on in the program itself." So much for engaging content, then. 

Is anyone surprised? Automotive News [sub] reports that GM is extending the 0% financing for everyone deal through July 7. The conditions are the same: 0 percent financing on most vehicles if you're able to make it through a dealership's door under your own power. Dealers who have increased floor traffic are happy because they're even selling SUVs and full-sized pickups. GM spokesman Pete Ternes said they'll "heavily advertise and promote the sale, especially over the July 4th weekend." With the problems GMAC is already having, giving away money for the next six years can't help their situation. And practically giving away the inventory can't be making GM much money, either. Hole. Digging. Stop. Meanwhile, GMAC is launching a "rate incentive program" on select GM Certified Used Vehicles, including the Chevrolet Impala and Malibu, but especially SUVs. "Well-qualified customers also can receive GMAC 4.9% APR financing for terms up to 60 months on 2003-2008 models of Chevrolet Trailblazer, Tahoe and Suburban; GMC Envoy, Yukon and Yukon XL; Pontiac G6; and Buick Lacrosse vehicles at participating GM Certified Used Vehicles dealers." Yeah, that'll work.