Buick's communication manager, Dave Darovitz, takes exception with TTAC's blog about the Enclave's sucky sales. We received the following message from Mr. D.:

Just so our buddy Frank has the correct information – that is your outlet claims to be about the "truth" – let me give you and Frankie a dose of it. The Enclave IS the hottest selling crossover in the industry. We've sold more Buick Enclaves in half a year of production than Mazda CX-9 sold in one full year. And, 90 percent of our Enclave sales are of the uplevel CXL model – the highest contented, richest model we offer. Nearly half of our Enclave customers are new to GM, and we've had a waiting list of paid customers since we started producing the crossover. Finally, customer and dealer demand for this standout Buick far exceeds what the plant can physically produce. So, if this "sucks", what's Frank's definition of success?

Well Davie, I'd like to know how you define "hottest selling." Even the Enclave's corporate-cousin Acadia far outsells it month after month, as do the Lexus RX and any number of other CUVs. The CX-9 hasn't been on the market for "one full year" — it went on sale in February. And with all the awards the CX-9 has gotten over the Enclave, they're getting a lot of free press which will drive sales up. Incidentally, you only sold about 4K more Enclaves than Mazda sold CX-9s. Can you sustain this, or will Enclave be like other GM models that tank once you satisfy the initial demand?

So what if the CXL model is the best-selling trim level? I don't know anyone who tracks sales by trim level. It's good you can pull some new buyers from outside GM, as Buick's traditional customer base is dying off with alarming regularity. How long do you think your "paid customers" will wait when they see other comparable vehicles readily available?

Finally, if demand is that high, why aren't you diverting production at this overtaxed plant (where they recently shut down the third shift) from the Outlook (which is busy gathering snow on dealer lots) to the Enclave and 1) bolster dealer morale and let them average more than five sales per month, 2) satisfy all these customers who are lined up money in hand, 3) help Saturn deal with their almost 100-day supply of Outlook and 4) drive up Buick's overall sales numbers and bottom line (which is never a bad thing)?

My definition of success? A car that sells well without artificially manipulating supply against demand and keeps on selling well even after the initial demand has been satisfied. So far Enclave has yet to satisfy either of these expectations.

Your serve.

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!

The North American International Auto Show is winding down to it's inevitable conclusion, as journalists and auto execs alike stumble into Detroit's winter gloom, wondering what the New Year will bring, knowing that it won't bring half the weird-ass shit they just saw inside the Cobo convention center. As TTAC celebrates the conclusion of this PR bragfest in the only way we know how (watching Top Gear's Hamster almost kill himself in a jet-powered car on BBC America), we invite you to have a look at the pictures Mr. Montgomery snapped that didn't make it into blog posts. We'll have more show-related news tomorrow. But for now, a big thank you from me to Sajeev Mehta, William C. Montgomery and Frank Williams for keeping it real. You should be proud. Never in the course of the internet have so few done so much for so few. Or something like that.

Literally. Speaking at the unveiling of the new Jeep Renegade, Chrysler design chief Trevor Creed looked straight into the assembled journalists' thousand yard stare-filled eyes (the North American International Auto Show has taken its toll) and told them that you (i.e. him) can create unique exterior style with a "shared technology pool." Creed was setting the stage (literally) for Chrysler's ENVI hybrids. (Yes, ENVI.) So, three concept cars: one platform. The Jeep Renegade (complete with a brand incorrect Porsche speedster windscreen), the Dodge ZEO (muscle sedan with suicide Lambo doors) and the Chrysler EcoVoyager (the Escalade called; it wants its front end back). More interestingly, Chrysler's hot for high-speed WiMax for streaming videos and instant music downloads straight into (one presumes) their satellite TV-enabled minivans and suchlike. We'd like to see them build a competitive small car that didn't look like it was born in the shallow end of the technology pool. 

Click here for more TTAC pictures of the Jeep Renegade

[Reported by Sajeev Mehta] 

Chang Feng Motors one is one of a few Chinese automakers who crossed the Pacific to attend the North American International Auto Show. They did so to unveil their Liebao CS7 cute ute and Kylin mini-minivan today. Chang Feng want to start importing these babies into the U.S. in two to three years time– provided they can form a partnership with an existing distributor or U.S. factory. Chang Feng is already in a joint venture partnership with Mitsubishi, and manufactures a variety of vehicles based on various Mitsu SUVs. So you have to wonder why they don't just latch onto Mitsu here too. After all, anyone who can "manufacture off-road vehicles with world-class technology" using "the top engine of Mitsubishi, six-jar motive force" producing "consummate off-road performance, allocate completely, adorn luxuriously inside, it is comfortable and honourable to enjoy" shouldn't have any problems mastering American culture, right? (Quotes taken from Chang Feng web site.)

Speaking to Automotive News [sub] at the North American International Auto Show, Honda CEO Takeo Fukui revealed that the company's Acura brand will receive the automaker's first California-compliant diesel engines sometime next year. It's a bit of an odd choice, given Acura's lackluster sales, lackluster brand image and lackluster luxury flagship (which TTAC and others have slated for lacking a lustrous V8). And if that isn't enough of a marketing conundrum, Fukui also said Acura's first oil burners will only sport four cylinders. Honda's V6 clean diesel– which also "generates and stores ammonia within a two-layer catalytic converter to turn nitrogen oxide into harmless nitrogen"– won't appear until 2010. Meanwhile and in any case, Fukui is keeping his eye on the bottom line. "Our diesel cars are going to have an appropriate level of profit from the start," he said, intimating that all that high tech hybrid stuff takes ages to pay off. Which it does. Of course, it helps if you get the branding right…

After failing to sell his gas-guzzling BMW and Mercedes-based "coach building" shtick, former Aston designer Henry Fisker wants good Karma. So he's doing his bit by introducing a hybrid that will keep the cosmos and ecosystem in balance. His Karma "Q-Drive" plug-in hybrid will operate as a gas-electric hybrid ("Sport Drive") or travel 50 miles on lithium-ion batteries ("Stealth Drive"). According to Fisker MD Alan Niedzwiecki, the LiIon battery pack ain't no vaporware. He claims it's been tested for two years on a bench and one year in a car. And Fisker's Q-Drive hybrid system has been tested for four years. (Not surprisingly, Niedzwieck says the Fisker Karma doesn't shares any engineering with the Tesla Roadster.) Fisker plans to sell the Karma (somehow that doesn't sound right) for around $80K come 2009. Whether or not the new car fulfills all the promises, if this beast was any sexier they'd have to call it the Karma Sutra.

You may recall that GM Car Czar Bob Lutz announced that GM would produce an entire family of E-Flex vehicles (the missing ninth GM brand?). Well, here's the prospective papa: the Cadillac Provoq concept. Is that pro-vock as in "provocative" or pro-voke as in "What are YOU looking at?" Our man on the scene was standing at the back amid a pack of chattering ADD journos, so he's not sure. But Mr. Mehta thinks it's pronounced "provoke" and he's sure GM puts the accent on the first syllable, as in PRO-voke. So, when's the Voke coming? I bring you this rant because there not a whole lot to say about this barge, except that someone should look under the hood to see if they even bothered with the hydrogen bits (GM has a history of cobbling together fake alt propulsion prototypes). Oh and GM Car Czar Maximum Bob Lutz reckons the PROvoq "may" be out in June. WITH E-FLEX??? Don't be silly. Anyway, at least the "normal" Provoq– complete with the Saturn Vue's side vents– is wider than the outgoing SRX. 

[Reported by Sajeev Mehta] 

The forthcoming Caddy CTS-V should make a few German uber-tuners sit up and take notice. ("Ja, those crazy Americans!") According to GM powertrain engineers and product guys, the CTS-V will holster a detuned version of the Corvette ZR1's engine. While cast pistons will ensure the new Caddy won't out-horse the new Chevy (Heaven forbid), the V will use the same mondo-supercharger motorvating the ZR1. Both cars will also boast a "competitive driving mode" whereby drivers can tell the electronic nannies to chill. (Good luck with that.) While the CTS-V gets the latest Magnaride suspension system, it won't handle like the ZR1 (duh!). But with launch control activated, Mr. Magnaride will enable weight transfer to the rear, just like an old-school muscle car. To keep the driver behind the wheel during all these gymnastics, the V gets Recaro seats– which aren't heated and cooled like the regular chairs. One more thing: CTS-V production will only be limited by market demand, of which there should be more than a little.

Maserati doesn’t want me and they don’t care if I know it. So says Maserati President of North America, Jim Selwa. Not even the “mass affluent” who have to purchase their cars on credit interest them. The makers of the fanciest of all Fiats is “focusing on the super wealthy, the top half of one percent who control all of the world’s wealth.” Despite recent economic woes that the rest of us are feeling, the super rich are still spending. In fact, it’s been a good year for Maserati. In fact, it’s been a good decade, with worldwide sales up 700% since 1997. Apparently, I have a better chance with one of Maserati’s models than I ever have of stumbling into Maser’s target demographic.  In other words, I have no chance at all.

Click here for another TTAC picture of Maserati's curb appeal

God knows TTAC has upbraided GM for downsizing the Cadillac brand and taking it downmarket. Adding oil burning insult to mid-sized injury, "the standard of the world" has unveiled a diesel-engined CTS Coupe. Speaking to our man Mehta, GM Powertrain's Executive Director of Diesel Engineering defended the oil burner sitting in the snout of Caddy's overdue two-door. Charles Freese says new 2.9-liter V6 diesel's "closed loop feedback system" means the new engine runs lower compression ratios (16.5:1) so the system is "less volatile for more controllable emissions." This maximizes the operating properities of a diesel engine when it runs in the cleanest times, when it spits out less soot, CO, NOx. (Think of it as the diesel-loving tree-hugger's sweet spot.) Meanwhile, GM design chief Ed Wellburn marked the CTS Coupe's launch by pronouncing that his employer's empowering its designers to make "wild cars like this." What's more, GM has the "conviction" to turn them into reality. Well, a concept car anyway– with a rear that looks a little too much like a 1970s Buick Century Aeroback (Google is your friend) and a little too little like a G37.

[Reported by Sajeev Mehta] 

The autoblogosphere's going apeshit over the Corvette ZR1's price and performance. So here's some technical goss unearthed by TTAC's Sajeev Mehta in conversation with the powertrain guys… The Magnaride suspension wasn't available on the 2007 Z06 because Chevy's uber tuners didn't deem the system track worthy. Ferrari got it last year– AFTER Magnaride upgraded to new shock pistons and fluid, and a much smarter computer. Since Ferrari has it, the ZR1 gets it (the road course-killing Z06 is SOL). The ZR1 also has the larger of the two blowers available from Eaton Corp: a 2.3 monster that's bigger than many engines. Which means the ZR1 is SERIOUSLY undertuned from the factory. And just so you'll know how much trouble you're about to get into, the Uber-Vette's head-up display will show boost pressure on the rocket's windshield. Hopefully, it also comes with OnStar to call the paramedics, fire department and sanitation department if worst comes to drive the thing.

Our men on the scene have been duly chastened for not bringing us immediate news of yet another award given at the NAIAS by the over-capitalized ROAD & TRAVEL magazine: the equally over-capitalized HEART STRING award. This award attempts "to recognize how well automakers connect cars and consumers based on lifestyle and the emotional experience during ownership." "Rooms," a spot for the Dodge Caravan, scored this year's nod for being "the most emotionally compelling car commercial to appear on national television in 2007." I couldn't find the 30-second clip ROAD & TRAVEL judged worthy of such an honor (a 15-second excerpt on Youtube was as good as it got). As soon as I find the video, I'll post a link to it so we all can warm the cockles of our hearts. Or throw up.

Obviously, it's Em Kay Tee, which sounds more like a rapper than a Lincoln. Or, for that matter, a car name. Speaking to TTAC reporter Sajeev Mehta, Ford designer Peter Horbury dismissed any doubts about Lincoln's alphanumeric nomenclature: "They are all different cars." Different from what? Their Ford counterparts? Different how? More bling? Anyway, the Lincoln MKT concept is yet another vehicle built on Ford's increasingly ubiquitous D3 platform. According to el grande queso Mark Fields, the Eco-Boost V6 underhood gives the MKT 20 percent better fuel economy (relative to what he didn't say). It's a four passenger concept car with quad buckets! Or… a seven seat passenger vehicle! But one thing's for sure: the rear styling goes back to 1930s classicism. Or 1980s confusion a la Cadillac Seville and Lincoln Continental. As for the front, Horbury says the Paul Weller-esque grill "adorning" the MKX and Navigator is dead. And the MKT's sides are made of recycled plastic. How green is that?

[Reported by Sajeev Mehta] 

Those of you who were hoping (and hoping and hoping) that Chrysler would lead America into a Euro-style clean diesel high mileage BIG torque paradise, fuhgeddaboutit. TTAC reporter Bill Montgomery caught-up with ex-Toyota exec and current Chrysler Prez Jim Press and asked him wither oil burners? Yup. "In the face of the new federal fuel economy standards, being a responsible corporate citizen means very soon everything will be hybrid." When pressed, Press went further, hinting that there's been a massive strategy shift within the Crisis Corporation. "As a privately owned company, we're quicker than the competition at reallocating resources." Does this new focus explain the hard stop to Getrag's $530m Chrysler transmission factory? Press' PR handler whisked the exec away before Bill could get the inside dope. So to speak. 

Click here for more TTAC pictures of Jim Press' meet the press

[Reported by William C. Montgomery]