In a NY Times Op-Ed a few weeks back, I laid into the Obama administration for allowing GM to pretend that its $6.7b planned payback is even in the ballpark of what it owes the taxpayers. “If tens of billions in lost tax dollars is simply the inescapable price of preventing a systemic economic collapse, the White House should tell us so,” I wrote. Well, it appears that the White House agrees. Sort of. In an interview with the Detroit News, Gene Sperling, the senior counsel to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner admitted
The real news is the projected loss [from the $82b+ auto sector bailout] came down to $30 billion from $44 billion
Well, halle-frickin-lujah. Now show us how we’re really going to get $50b out of GM and Chrysler.
( Ferdinand Porsche’s 1899 Lohner-Porsche “Mixte” gas-electric hybrid with in-wheel hub motors)
Did I save the best news for last? Hybrids bucked the trend in November, posting a healthy 21% increase over the month last year. Hybrids represented 2.7% of the new vehicle market, up from their 2.2% share in November 2008. For the first 11 months of 2009, hybrids have held a 2.8% new light-duty vehicle market share. Details and charts: Read More >
Everyone loves winners, and here’s a quick overview of the year’s top ten cars and trucks so far. Keep in mind that trucks is a big tent as defined by the industry: anything not officially classified as a passenger car. Any surprises? Read More >
Why does TTAC roll its eyes at every proclamation of change, rebirth and renewal from automakers, particularly of the Detroit-based variety? To put it in a single French phrase, dèjá vu. In an industry as cyclical as the automaking game, the latest downturn always takes place within recent memory of the last downturn. As a result, the promises of reinvention and renewed focus are still ringing in our ears by the time each new PR offensive rolls out. One can only hear so many pleas and promises before they all start running together, creating the permanent, inescapable sense that we’ve been here before and it didn’t work out. No better evidence for this phenomenon exists than this series of videos from the 1988 edition of GM’s perennial campaign of renewal (especially in part two). The music may have changed, but the beat goes on.
Between trying to pull of one of the greatest attempted miracles in the history of the auto industry, and keeping things together at Fiat, you can bet Sergio Marchionne does. He tells the Freep:
This cannot go on forever. Certainly within the next 24 months, we’ll find a more permanent solution, either there or here. I’m not threatening the Italian side with a departure from Italy, but we need to find a solution.
Thank you all for your input on my question. I took the truck to my mechanic and he gave it a good go over and could not find anything wrong. He was said it might be the heat shield on the exhaust system vibrating at that RPM however he could not find anything loose. I did get the transmission fluid changed and everything looked good there. Thanks to you and the readers of Piston Slap for all the good advice.
Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne isn’t bothered by his firm’s sliding market share, which have declined to the point where Honda will certainly surpass them to become the number four automaker in America. At least that’s what he keeps saying, and Automotive News [sub] went ahead and made it a headline. If dealers are “expecting us to call them up and give them a $6,000 check for every new vehicle, they won’t get the call,” Marchionne joked recently in the Detroit Free Press.
This first segment is my creation, and I admit it’s a bit wacky. Industry norms have these cars all over the various categories. Anyway, the not-so-tall-or-boxy HHR takes the pole. The Soul is handily outselling the Cube, which is outselling the xB. The PT Cruiser says adios. The Element doesn’t really fit in very well with this bunch, but it’s always been an outsider. And the Camaro is whippin’ the ‘Stang’s butt. The Challenger isn’t challenging very much. Details: Read More >
Did you know Mercedes still sells the G-Wagen here? I’d kind of forgotten about it. But sixty-eight buyers hadn’t in November. But then I’ve never forgiven Mercedes for how they positioned it here as a gangsta’ mobile. It was/is the ultimate off-roader. Oh well. GM continues to dominate this market with their big boyz. Range Rover looks surprisingly healthy. Did Tata buy low? Details: Read More >
Impala. That one word pretty well sums up this category, in terms of the heavy players. It’s the only one to break into six figures (YTD). That’s a long way from 1965, when over a million Impalas were sold. And that’s not counting Bel Airs and Biscaynes. Details: Read More >
It’s officially unanimous: literally everyone thinks the new Jeep, Dodge and Chrysler ads from Sergio Marchionne’s brain trust are crap. Sure, you knew that TTAC doesn’t think much of the spots, but were you aware that Chrysler’s dealer council has requested that Chrysler stop showing the ads? Sadly, Bloomberg only quotes one dealer on the plea, who explains that
it is a little difficult for us to understand because it is far different from what we were used to seeing. The message to us is that it is branding, branding, branding, and maybe that will work.
As the world recedes, South Korea grows. First Hyundai registers double digit growth in the United States and now other automakers want a piece of the South Korean action. The Korean Times reports that Renault-Nissan announced that they will increase the amount of their South Korean parts suppliers from 28 to 100 by 2013. 108 major subcontractors took part in a conference along with officials from Renault-Nissan’s purchasing organisation.
When Rolls Royce’s PR folks told Autobild that the Phantom Coupe was the sportier model in the lineup, they probably didn’t expect the German magazine to treat it like a GTI or Type R. But they did. The result? Er quietscht, er qualmt, er quält sich (or, as Google Translate hilariously puts it, “he squeaks, he smokes, he torments himself”), say the Germans, before concluding that “there is a little bit of BMW in this Rolls-Royce after all.” And in the proud tradition of German car reviewing, comparing any car to a German car is as high as the praise gets.
The whole truck category continues to stumble through this terrible year. Year to date, the Tundra (-45%) is the big loser among the big trucks. Ford can claim the big PU title, but as usual, the Chevy/GMC duo combined outsells the F-Series. So who takes the crown? The Dakota is still in free-fall, while the ancient Ranger has the smallest YTD drop. The Transit Connect has connected quite well, and is the third best seller currently among the vans. Details follow: Read More >
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