Well, I just wrote about 1,500 words on this topic which our post editor just obligingly disappeared into the digital void, wiping out over an hour of work. This was, perhaps, an appropriate turn of events, however, as the majority of those 1,500 words were used to describe the frustrating political stalemate that played out over the last two days of hearings on “The Lasting Implications of the GM Bailout.” The dynamics of the government’s exit from GM seem to have changed little since I wrote “Government Motors: The Exit Strategy,” and the hearings focused on the political implications of the bailout. Having determined that the bailout will help the President’s reelection in midwestern states, the White House (as represented by auto task force member Ron Bloom) sought to retrench its “things would have been worse” position, and Republicans attacked on all fronts for the very same reason. The government’s favorable treatment of UAW-represented workers, especially in comparison to Delphi’s non-UAW retirees was a major point of attack, and the committee caused Bloom deny (under oath) having ever said that “I did this all for the unions,” despite the fact that both the Detroit News’s David Shepardson and Bloom’s task force colleague  Steve Rattner have quoted him directly. Emails obtained by The Daily Caller were also presented as (more) evidence that the government intervened in a number of day-to-day decisions at GM, including the Delphi retiree issue.

Ultimately, the Republicans landed some serious body blows on the policy, although nothing radically new was presented. Bloom, meanwhile, defended the bailout by arguing that the alternative would have been much worse. In short, the political stalemate over the auto bailout continues… much to GM’s dismay. And since insiders are indicating that any collusion to boost GM’s stock price in order to improve the taxpayers’ return would be worse than a larger loss, a $10b+ loss is as good as guaranteed. Which means the Republican attacks will continue and the political trench warfare over the issue will only continue.

[Watch the bailout hearings here]

[UPDATE: Automotive News [sub] reports that Linc workers voted “overwhelmingly” to authorize a strike, noting

We’ve been watching the drama at GM’s Lake Orion plant unfold for some time now, as an “innovative labor practices” agreement between the UAW, GM and the government has already drawn UAW protests and NLRB complaints, as well as increased backlash against the union’s two-tier wage structure. Thus far GM had been able to prevent Tier One workers from being forced into the second tier, by shuffling them off to the Flint HD pickup plant. But with GM’s truck inventory soaring to “Old GM” levels, Flint is being idled, and those “Tier One Gypsies” are once again facing the choice between moving to some other plant or accepting a 50% paycut to return to Orion. And now, another labor issue is raising its ugly head, as Crainsdetroit reports that

About 125 workers for a critical supplier [Linc Logistics] inside the General Motors Co. Orion Assembly Plant are taking a strike authorization vote today as a means of accelerating contract talks.

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Tommy Hilfiger… My God, don’t they know? This stuff is simulacra of simulacra. A diluted tincture of Ralph Lauren, who had himself diluted the glory days of Brooks Brothers, who themselves had stepped on the product of Jermyn Street and Savile Row, flavoring their ready-to-wear with liberal lashings of polo knit and regimental stripes. But Tommy surely is the null point, the black hole. There must be some Tommy Hilfiger event horizon, beyond which it is impossible to be more derivative, more removed from the source, more devoid of soul. Or so she hopes, and doesn’t know, but suspects in her heart that this in fact what accounts for his long ubiquity.

— William Gibson, Pattern Recognition

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TK writes:

I have not owned a car for ten years, having lived in cities where I could take public transportation to work. But now I’m being relocated to a large Great Lakes city where I will forced to drive to work about 25 miles each way. Despite my lack of car ownership, I love cars and I love motoring. Heck, I learned to read by subscribing to Car and Driver. However I don’t like spending vast amounts of money and the thought of burning capital on service costs really galls me.

The other wrinkle here is that I’m an up-and-coming young executive in my company, so it is probably a good idea to have a car that doesn’t scream ”schlub”.

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Although red light camera supporters insist the programs enjoy broad support among the public, traffic camera companies are taking extraordinary measures to block ballot measures that would gauge public sentiment on the issue. Anti-photo enforcement initiatives are meeting corporate opposition in five cities in Washington state while American Traffic Solutions (ATS) is moving to reinstate red light camera use rejected by a majority of Houston, Texas residents. Albuquerque, New Mexico appears to be the only city with an unopposed referendum vote in play.
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We (well, some of us) await the autonomous auto that leaves the driving to a robot, such as not to distract us from twittering and uploading pictures of our cats to our facebookies. That technology is not quite there yet. Volkswagen however thinks  “an important milestone on the path towards fully automatic and accident-free driving” has been set. So said Volkswagen’s Prof. Dr. Jürgen Leohold at the final presentation of the EU research project HAVEit (Highly Automated Vehicles for Intelligent Transport – who comes up with that stuff?) Read More >

Carlos Ghosn had reason to be beaming and relaxed last night in Tokyo. Last night, he said “Well, we are going to show you the numbers tomorrow, and they will be significantly higher than in 2010.” Today, Ghosn did not disappoint. Read More >

And this is how it usually ends. Saab spokesperson Gunilla Gustavs said “it is regrettable to have to notify staff of the day before midsummer,” that Saab is unable to pay this months wages to its employees. What’s more, Saab has no idea if and when it will send out paychecks again. “It is impossible to make any sort of forecast, except to repeat that the company is trying to solve this as quickly as possible,” said Gustavs to the wire-service TT [via TheLocal].

Saab employees were told via email this Thursday morning that no money will hit their accounts by month’s end. Read More >

Japanese automakers are gearing up in earnest to make up for production lost after the March 11 tsunami. Across the island nation, there are new signs of resurgence. They read “we hire” (or Japanese words to that effect.) Automakers are hiring thousands of contract workers that had been let go after the financial crisis. Read More >

Uh-oh: The UAW has reached out to unions representing workers of Chrysler and Fiat in other countries. They want to form a “global network.” The group will not collectively bargain with the companies, King told reporters from Reuters. The group will be just an innocuous clearing-house for information. Read More >

Car production is for the REALLY big boys only. It takes boatloads of patience and money. Ignore it at your peril. Or rather at the peril of your creditors – if you can find any. Latest road kill: The Norwegian EV maker Think Global filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday, as Automotive News [sub] reports. Nothing new for Think. According to AN, “it is the fourth time Think has collapsed financially in its 20-year history.” Read More >

The Chinese quest to own a large Chinese automaker with global reach fell on sympathetic ears with someone who should be scared of the yellow peril: Carlos Ghosn. After all,Ghosn is in charge of two automakers. Nissan is the largest Japanese brand in China. Renault is trying to get traction in China. At the Thomson Reuters Newsmaker event in Tokyo today, Ghosn said he does not only expect one or two large Chinese automakers to emerge on the global market, he also understands why.

First, Ghosn had interesting news for those who think there is no money to be made in China: Read More >

The Japanese auto industry might come back to much normal faster that thought. But then there is shippiing. It takes a while to float a few thousand cars across the Pacific. Now add high gas prices and a high demand for fuel efficient cars and you have the reason why Edmunds reports that the U.S. national inventory of the Toyota Prius is down to four-day supply. Ed Larocque, Toyota’s national marketing manager for advanced technology vehicles, told Edmunds that “production in Japan likely will return to full capacity by the end of June.” Which means that that wave of Prii won’t was ashore before end of July. Read More >

Nearly two months ago, American senators complained that China is continuing its “long history of breaking international trade rules” and that there is a “trade barrier that is designed to prevent U.S. automakers from accessing the Chinese market” for electric vehicles.

As Ed Niedermeyer said it back when, there were no new rules. There still aren’t any. If there is one man who should be up to date on rules on electric vehicles around the world and especially in China, then it’s Carlos Ghosn. After all, he did bet the future of two companies, Renault and Nissan on the future of the EV. Also, Nissan is the largest Japanese brand in China, and Nissan’s joint venture partner is Dongfeng, a company owned by China’s central government. So he should know what the rules are.

The trouble is: Carlos Ghosn has no idea. Read More >

A beaming and relaxed Carlos Ghosn dispensed a little insider knowledge tonight in Tokyo and let (surely not involuntarily) slip that there will be “significantly higher numbers tomorrow” when Nissan announces its predictions for the current fiscal year. Read More >