TTAC has a rule of thumb: if the Detroit Free Press is laying into GM, the trouble must be staggeringly unavoidable. And sure enough, the latest Freepian blast is the result of a predictably bad decision: cranking up production in the face of slack sales and a tough post-clunker market. GM’s decision to bump production by 45 percent next year has a host of analysts lined up to prognosticate profit-sapping incentives when The General finds that it’s building cars faster than people are buying them. “I don’t see what they’re thinking,” says a JD Power senior forecasting manager. “I’m seeing a little bit of shades of the old GM,” adds Edmunds’ Michelle Krebs. GM’s defense?
It’s clearly not the old GM because we don’t have overcapacity, which is what caused the problem before. If you look at the analysts’ own reports, we’re probably being conservative to middle of the road as to where the industry is going to be.
Unlike a lot of car blogs, we failed to post a “that’s all folks” wrap-up on the Hummer to China deal last week. Mostly because GM’s insistence [by press release] that it had “entered into a definitive agreement that will allow Tengzhong to acquire GM’s premium all-terrain HUMMER brand,” didn’t answer the real question about the deal. Namely, whether it would fly past the Chinese officials who shot it down on the last go-round. And sure enough, Automotive News [sub] reports that Chinese officials didn’t even know there was a deal to approve.
The Ministry of Commerce has yet to receive an application concerning Tengzhong’s purchase of Hummer. Currently, the Sichuan province commerce office is preparing to report the situation to the Ministry of Commerce, and because nothing is known about the specific content of the purchase agreement, for now (the ministry) will not say any more
Sounds “definitive” alright. So, who didn’t get greased? Or was the application just lost in the mail?
Normally, Car and Driver gets slated for gaming their comparos in BMW’s favor. In its November issue (har-har), the buff book pits the Audi S4 Quattro against the BMW 335i. The S4 pips the Bimmer at the post, taking first place, racking-up 229 vs. 223 points. The Audi wins even if you discount two “extra” points in the mag’s justly maligned “gotta have it” and “fun to drive” categories. But here’s the thing: the Audi S4 Quattro would have trounced the 335i if Car and Driver had matched the cars’ drivetrains (S4 has all wheel-drive vs. the Bimmer’s rear wheel-drive). It’s such a glaring inconsistency that K.C. Colwell pens a three ‘graph mea culpa sidebar. “Before you start cranking out toxic verbiage about our selection process, listen to our side of it. Audi’s competitive target for this S4 is BMW’s 335i xDrive (the all-wheel-drive variant). Don’t we, by the natural laws of the universe, have to compare the AWD S4 with BMW’s AWD version of the 335i, the so-called xDrive?” Minus the reader-dissing sarcasm, it’s a good question. The answer in two words: “We don’t.” The money shot (so to speak): “We think the 335i in rear-wheel-drive mode is the more compelling package. So why penalize the BMW just because the S4 only comes in all-wheel-drive?” Yeah, that wouldn’t be fair! Would it?
My wife has a 2000 neon [not shown] that I bought used 4-5 years ago with 125k. It is just passing 172k and is slowly falling apart:
* The AC no longer blows cold (just an AC flush?)
* Trunk lock broke (We get into the trunk via the back seat now and only store limited/small items there)
* Is burning oil — at 2800 miles since the last oil change I had to add 1.1-1.2 qt to get it to the correct area on the dip stick.
* We have never changed the tranny fluid that I know of, as the mechanic said it does not need it. Checking it, it is still a reddish color.
* The car is starting to rust on the lower left rear door.
Outside of normal wear items & the above, we have had no major problems with the car. The interior still looks great and doesn’t have a single tear or stain. We are trying to decide if we should do some/all of the above fixes or simply get a Mazda 5, the “minivan-which-is-not-a-minivan” that my wife likes.
The Tennesseean (and I raise you a Kentucky) reports that Nissan’s all-EV Leaf looks set to steal a march on GM’s electric – gas hybrid Hail Mary Chevy Volt. “With the rollout of Nissan’s first electric vehicles just over a year away in Tennessee, the race is on to figure out how to set up a network of charging stations swiftly enough to get ready. It won’t be easy. Thousands of chargers will be needed to satisfy Nissan’s ambitious plans to sell thousands of the clean-running cars in the first year as it strives to be the first automaker in the world to successfully mass market an all-electric vehicle.” In other words, the Leaf is going all-in with a close-to-base roll-out strategy. “Phoenix-based ECOtality Inc. has partnered with Nissan to set up the charging systems in consumers’ homes, as well as to create public networks in Nashville, Chattanooga and Knoxville and on the interstate highways between those cities.” And who, pray tell, is paying for all this? Well duh.
My name is Robert Farago, and I used to modify my ride. Back in the day, I couldn’t afford what I really wanted to drive: a Dino. (A Pinto station wagon is about as far as you can get from a Dino whilst remaining in the same solar system that’s home to planet Earth.) So I spent my hard-earned money on Pirelli P3s. And sway bars. And God knows what. OK, a Nachamichi tape deck. Then, when I saved-up enough for a Mazda RX4, I swapped out the gearbox for the RX3’s more aggressive unit. And again. And again. RX7? Rear ribbed metal thingie over the hatch and numerous performance mods to the suspension, tires, wheels, engine and so on. Somewhere along the line I realized that no matter what I did to my car, it screwed-up something else. The manufacture spent millions achieving the perfect balance of ride comfort handling, reliability, cost, etc. Why did I think I could do better? I couldn’t. So I stopped. Whilst Mehta recovers from his coronary to pen a suitable rip-post, I’ll say this to enhance his experience: the only thing worse than a ridiculously modified car is its owner.
WFAA-TV reports that a North Texas Church has found a new way to save souls for Jesus: free car repairs.
The Cross Timbers church in Argyle was turned into mechanic’s alley on Saturday, powered by volunteers and a strong faith in helping people in need. “I love them with all my heart. Jesus Christ sent me a sweet bunch of guys,” said driver, Judy Phillips. With her 15-year-old truck barely running, Phillips came to the church for help, knowing her truck needed pricey repairs to pass an upcoming inspection. “If it wasn’t for these people here, I couldn’t do it,” she said. The church offered free car repairs to people down on their luck. “I would just have to ride it out until God knows what would have happened,” said Cindy Garcia, another driver.
And there I was, thinking Canadians represented the sensible third of the North American continent. And then they go and blow it all by saying something stupid like “You’re nicked, mate!” Do Canadians say that? Do they call their cops “the plod?” Anyway, The Globe and Mail reports “an Ontario Provincial Police officer noticed the driver of a tractor trailer [not shown] was smoking a cigarette as he pulled up alongside the vehicle on Highway 401 outside Windsor . . . The policeman charged the 48-year-old trucker, who is from London, under the Smoke-Free Ontario Act, which prohibits smoking in enclosed workplaces and public places.” As we like to say here in The Land of the Free, that’s some fucked-up shit. No, really. “Constable Shawna Coulter, a spokeswoman for Essex County OPP, said it is the job of police to enforce the law, no matter how unpopular. She also noted that smoking while driving is unsafe.” The trucking company’s defense is even less credible—and more convoluted.
I just came to a realization while sitting at my desk at work (slow Friday before a 3-day weekend). It’s now 2009 and everyone (except me it seems) has a GPS stuck to their windshield. I still have my Rand McNally Road Atlas from 1998 in the map pocket of my 2006 Fusion. My question is, if no one buys maps anymore and everyone seems to have a GPS, why does almost every car made today still have map pockets on the backs of the seats? And if they are there for a reason, why do we still call them map pockets?
Ya think? Still, it’s nice to hear the beneficiaries of over $50 billion in taxpayer assistance acknowledge the simple fact that Chevrolet must carry the can for the New GM. “Chevrolet is going to take on a larger role as we go from eight brands to four,” Brent Dewar asserted in a statement that demonstrated his command of English understatement—or represented a worrying obvious insight into what he’s supposed to do for a living. “Here in North America we are going to be responsible for 70 percent of volumes.” Automotive News [sub] runs the numbers. “Chevrolet has represented more than 60 percent of GM’s sales so far in 2009, compared with 54 percent in 2002.” Yes, well, as GM’s U.S. market share has been on a downward trajectory since 1982—dropping 29 points in 27 years—one wonders if Chevy’s entirely theoretical 10 percent growth would be enough to save the sinking ship. Anyone want to know how Mr. Dewar plans on raising the Titanic?
A member of the Florida House of Representatives wants to make driving with a loud stereo a crime on the same level as driving with an open container of alcohol. State Representative D. Alan Hays (R-Umatilla) last month introduced House Bill 137 which modifies an existing loud stereo statute to double the cost of fines and make the offense a moving violation. Current Florida law makes it unlawful to drive with a stereo “plainly audible” from twenty-five feet away or that is “louder than necessary for the convenient hearing by persons inside the vehicle” when driving past a church, school or hospital. Law enforcement officers are exempt as are politicians who use loud soundmaking devices for “political purposes.” The typical fine is $78 with no points.
Retirement. We all dream of that day when we can take our cell phones and chuck them in the ocean… forever. Some folks dream of painting Tahitian nudes after that beautiful moment. Others simply want to live in a planned community with everything but kids and ‘stuff’. As for me? I just want solitude. A good axe for chopping wood. A nearby library. A garden… and the seasons. Oh, and a car.
Ron: Is the new Chevy Cruze a rebranded Daewoo, or a genuinely novel GM product? I understand it will be assembled in the US.
Fritz Henderson: cruze is an all new vehicle developed as a true chevrolet. we will build the vehicle in our plant in lordstown, ohio.
Ron, that’s a great question, but you shouldn’t expect real answers from a GM livechat with Fritz Henderson. Yes, the Cruze was engineered in South Korea by Daewoo, but it’s not a developing-market-mobile with a bowtie like the first Cruze. And the Aveo. And the forthcoming Spark. It’s a global product, sold in different markets as the Daewoo Lacetti, the Holden Cruze and the Chevrolet Cruze. It’s even a pace car! But to answer your question, the major difference between the Daewoo pictured above and the US-market Cruze is engine options. Other than that… Dude, you’re getting a Daewoo!
Keep in mind, Chrysler’s incentives were averaging $4,908 per vehicle in September. Marchionne’s going to be singing the “ask me again in the medium-to-long-term” song for a while.
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