GM’s embattled finance department is getting new blood today, as The General has poached Microsoft’s Chris Liddell to take over as Chief Financial Officer. GM’s CFO position is being vacated by Ray Young, who was rumored to be on his way out as far back as last summer. Young will become a VP for international operations. The 51 year old Liddell has been Microsoft’s CFO since 2005, and is (irony of ironies) best known for reducing the software giant’s legendary cash position through buybacks and dividends. The Wall Street Journal estimates Liddell oversaw the return of $14b to Microsoft stockholders last fiscal year alone.
Chrysler have seen the Detroit Auto Show as a venue for excessively extroverted stunts. Previous years saw a Jeep dropping from the ceiling, leaping minivans and cowboys herding cattle outside the exhibit hall. Top Chrysler executives even traditionally poured drinks for visitors at its Firehouse bar. But with the economy coming of recession and Chrysler coming out a Chapter 11 reorganisation, CEO Sergio Marchionne feels that the extravagance needs to be severely curtailed, and according to Asiaone.com, he has put an embargo on press events. “We wanted to be respectful of everyone’s time. Mr. Marchionne is a very practical guy,” Chrysler spokesman Rick Deneau told AFP. “We didn’t have anything to show.” Well, besides a Lancia rebadged as a Chrysler, but who wants to draw a lot of attention to that?
In a delightfully surreal bit of news out of India, a man sued GM for claiming one of its SUVs had mountain goat-like capabilities when it couldn’t in fact navigate one foot-deep water. What, you might ask, is the SUV in question? The answer is just another amusing twist to this hilarious tale of marketing claims meeting cold, wet reality. Here’s a hint: it’s sold in the US, but not as a Chevrolet…
Thanks for taking on the synthetic vs. standard oil change question on my 2005 Dodge Durango a few months ago. Now for a new challenge: the same Durango, 78,000 miles, 5.7 Hemi with 5 speed automatic (trailer tow package and transmission cooler). It’s a highway cruiser, bought it to tow a boat with trailer. Except I have a boat slip now so there’s very little towing needed.
The dilemma: the manual says nothing about changing the transmission fluid if the vehicle is not used in severe service. Since I am skeptical of lifetime fluids, I think the fluid needs to be changed but don’t have any idea when to do so (FWIW: it is still a nice shade of red on the dipstick).
Shares in the Dutch boutique automaker Spyker soared 23 percent today, reports Reuters, as the firm’s last-ditch bid for Saab goes down to the wire. Spyker, which sold only 43 cars last year and had a market capitalization of only €26.6m as of last Friday, will hear back from GM on its Saab bid by 5pm today. According to Reuters, Spyker has restructured its ownership structure in order to alleviate GM’s concerns about its backing from allegedly mobbed-up Russian financier Alexander Antonov. GM had previously canceled its Opel sale in part because of concerns about its latest technology landing in the hands of Russian investors. Furthermore, Spyker says it that its new offer eliminates the need for a European Investment Bank (EIB) loan approval prior to year end. “We’re very confident we have put forward a proposal that can convince GM in time,” says Spyker CEO Victor Muller. From a more sober vantage point, Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt warns “we should be careful about fueling new hopes in a situation where the people in Trollhattan, and at Saab and their subcontractors are thrown between hope and despair.”
Ford’s pointy-headed crew of sales forecasters have been compared to the original “Whiz Kids” and credited with a major role in Ford’s (relative) success in the last year. But you can’t calculate everything through statistical analysis, and it seems the models coming out of Ford’s Global Lifecycle Analytics Department failed to take irrational enthusiasm into account. Which is frankly, fairly understandable. The $37,000+ Taurus SHO starts at a full $12k more than a base model, making it a 365 hp halo more than a legitimate sales threat, and yet Ford’s forecasters seem to have underestimated demand for the turbocharged model, with at least one dealer reporting an 80 day wait on a sold order. “It’s a problem for our dealers,” Ford’s Jim Farley admits to Automotive News [sub], “we’re definitely catching up on the demand.” Mid-range SEL trim levels have also been underproduced, says Farley, along with F-150 double cabs. “If you don’t call it, you miss that opportunity and customers don’t see what they want to buy.”
Each year, the „Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache“ (association for the German language) selects its word of the year. This year, the German WOTY is, you guessed it … Read More >
When I did my first work for Audi in the 70s, competing with BMW or (gasp) Mercedes-Benz was considered a cruel joke. The brand was thought ideal for high school teachers or tax collectors, who kept their hats on while driving. What a difference a few decades make. Not to forget the money a rich sugar daddy called Volkswagen can sink into the brand.
Audi CFO Axel Strotbek told the German Handelsblatt that VW will pour €7.3b into Audi, from now to 2012. “80 percent is earmarked for developing new product,” Strotbek said. The money will go to a noble cause: Read More >
Since this approval is lengthy (takes about a year) and costly (even when administered by the VCA, which is known for bargain basement pricing,) the announcement was taken as an intention of Great Wall to enter the European market. Here they come: Read More >
The Nissan Leaf Tour passed through our friendly local museum of science this weekend, and we were on hand to see the new EV. For the price of admission, we were also treated to Nissan’s bold vision of a future in which convenience stores have handy wind turbines and electric vehicles are consistently able to achieve their stated range.
The AFP reports that Chrysler is “currently reconsidering how it uses major auto shows for revealing new vehicles and concepts,” by way of explaining why Chrysler has “nothing new” for the Detroit Auto Show. Spokesman Rick Denau explains “we’d like to do things closer to the on-sale date of the vehicles and most of our new stuff isn’t coming until the second half of the year.” In reality, Chrysler is pushing the limits of the possible with its attempt to re-work the Chrysler and Dodge lineups in record time. Except for the new 300 and Grand Cherokee which made ill-fated debuts in Chrysler’s “viability plan” Chrysler’s refreshed products won’t be ready for public consumption until shortly before they go on sale, and it’s still likely that some of those release dates could be pushed back. In the meantime, Fiat will rebadge a Lancia as a Chrysler for the Detroit show. Because that’s almost as good as showing a new model, and it’s certainly as good as it gets for Chrysler right now.
The RR “radiator” just won’t die. Now Eugene may be a great place to find Datsun 710 wagons and steam injected Bobcats, but its not so hot for garish Caddys. We’re just about as far from south Florida as you can get, in almost every way, and still call ourselves Americans (Alaska and Hawaii excepted, of course). Of course, that’s the overwhelming genius of America: everyone can find just the right place for them. Old Datsuns congregate here, garish Caddys there. Well there are a few exceptions, and the best place to find them is in the Medical Center parking lot. I know this is far from earth-shatteringly gauche, but its pretty rare stuff hereabouts. Although I do have a killer Eldo Biarritz that I’m saving for a CC. These are just outtakes after all. The other obligatory padded-top Caddy in the same lot after the jump: Read More >
Fiatsler is bringing Fiat back to the US as a one-model-brand (500) with a dedicated sales and support staff just to meet one of these government benchmarks… will they be crazy enough to build an engine in Michigan and ship them to Mexico to meet another?
The short answer: of course. Fiat gets five percent of Chrysler’s equity for building the engine in the states, but unless there are unrevealed US-market applications for an engine with 92 lb-ft of torque, they’ll all be shipped to Mexico and installed in Fiat 500s. According to Marchionne, half of the Toluca, Mexico Fiat 500 production will be sold in the US with the other half going to Brazil. For a guy who regularly bemoans the poor strategic positioning of Fiat’s factory sites, Marchionne is surprisingly willing to bend a few principles for five percent of Chrysler’s equity. Will it work? Sergio is still asking for time, telling reporters “by the end of 2011 and in early 2012, you should be able to tell how our plan is working.”
We’ve had our Saab wake, so its time to move on to the Requiem. And what could be more fitting than Saab’s own “Saab Suite”. This 1987 video launched the Saab Performance Team demonstrations, but the original, like most things in life, remains the best.
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