$8.2m it turns out (yes, sins of omission count). Which is almost as much as the wages of investing in a fraudulent cellulosic ethanol firm. But what about Fritz, Lutz, LaNeve and the rest of the gang that couldn’t shoot straight? If Wagoner gets nearly $10m for overseeing consistent declines in sales and market share, and after being canned for the good of the nation, where’s the motivation for the old, new crowd? Ditto for the cellulosic ethanol industry, if Cello’s fraud leads to increased subsidies to get the Renewable Fuel Mandate back on track. Forget peak oil, it seems we’ve reached peak common sense. A while ago. Now, back to the cars.

Edmunds Inside Line reports that Alabama-based Cello Energy, which was supposed to produce 70 percent of the EPA’s 100m gallon/year cellulosic ethanol goal, has been convicted of fraud. A jury has awarded over $10m in damages to investors after witnesses testified that Cello’s supposedly biomass-derived fuel was actually petroleum based. Furthermore, it turns out that Cello only has the capability to produce 20m gallons of its putative biofuel per year. The EPA’s Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2) had banked on Cello to produce 70m gallons per annum. The downside? If (when) America’s cellulosic ethanol producers fail to meet the 100m gal/year mark inn 2010, the EPA could sell credits which would increase the biofuel’s price to $3/gallon. Current futures place the fuel’s value at $1.77/gallon. Alternatively, the EPA could postpone the ramp-up to 100m gal/year… but who’s expecting that to happen? Meanwhile, so-called “second-generation” biofuels continue to act as a subsidy magnet for an industry that is wholly addicted to feedstock-based fuels and government assistance.

Petitions to place the fate of red light cameras and speed cameras in the hands of voters are circulating across the country. This November, photo enforcement bans are likely to be considered in three Ohio and two Texas cities. Every Arizona jurisdiction may have a chance to vote on a statewide ballot initiative in November 2010. So far, the efforts in Ohio are the most advanced. In April, the group Citizens Against Photo Enforcement succeeded in having an automated ticketing ban certified for the ballot in Chillicothe. We Demand a Vote this week secured more than the required number of signatures to qualify for the ballot in Heath. The group will continue to collect additional signatures before making a formal submission to election officials. A third petition in Toledo has secured half of the required number of signatures.

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Hashim writes,

Dear Sajeev, I have a 2003 Model Honda Civic LX1. It has about 94000 Km (not Miles). I am very disturbed about the continuous chirp chirp sound I hear from my car when I start it. It goes like chrrp chrrp chrrp in continuous motion. Some guy told me to change the belts in my car, all done, even changed the timing belt; still the problem is there. I have no loose or cracked belts. But the problem is still there.

I have noticed that when I gently press my clutch, the sound immediately goes away, when I remove my foot, the chirping sound is back. I don’t like this, is there any easier way to get it fixed? Is the fix worth its price or should I just eat dust and be quiet?

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Volkswagen’s proving grounds in Ehra-Lessien, north of Wolfsburg, is not just deadly for ducks. The secretive site turned into the scene of a bizarre accident. A driver crashes, survives, only to be killed by a colleague. The second driver is fighting for his life, Flensburg Online reports.
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For the first time in fourteen months, European car buyers registered more cars than in the same month the previous year, the European Auto Manufacturer Association ACEA reports. For the month of June, Europe (as defined by the ACEA) records a modest growth of 2.4 percent, mostly “carried by the effects of fleet renewal schemes in more than 10 EU Member States.”

“Fleet renewal schemes” is a EUphemism for cash for clunkers.

What is interesting is that June ’08 was still strong. Any growth recorded against a strong month of the previous year is a good sign. As this graph shows, the car-nage in Europe begun in September ’08, and it was downhill from there. Expect more “growth” news from Europe for the following months, as a cautiously recovering market compares with a disastrous fall and winter of 2008. (Ignore August. All of Europe is on vacation in August, and next to nobody buys any cars while on vacation.) Country by country, it’s still a mixed bag.
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Back when TTAC was a voice in the wilderness on GM’s C11, I asked Bob Lutz if his pension was bankruptcy-proof. Maximum Bob scoffed and joked that he’d check with his accountant. Well, I guess he didn’t; the Car Czar recently revealed that hard times had forced him to sell one of his personal jets. After losing his shirt on GM stock options. The fact that MB’s working for New GM also indicates that he forgot to get while the getting was good. He should have had a word with his boss, Rick Wagoner. The ex-GM CEO, the man who wiped billions from the company’s worth and faceplanted the American automaker, made sure his financial future didn’t depend on anything as trivial as success.

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The Telegraph reports:

“The recession has hit our industry hard,” said Thomas Goetz, owner of [Germany’s] Maison d’envie brothel.

“Obviously we hope that the discount will attract more people,” he added. “It’s good for business, it’s good for the environment – and it’s good for the girls.”

Customers who arrive on bicycle or who can prove they took public transportation get a 5-euro ($7) discount from the usual 70-euro ($100) fee for 45 minute sessions, Mr Goetz said. He said the environmentally friendly offer was working a charm.

“We have around 3-5 new customers coming in daily to take advantage of the discount,” he said, adding the green rebate has helped alleviate traffic and parking congestion in the neighbourhood. [hat tip to Justin Berkowitz]

As our previous story on New GM’s dealer oath indicated, New Chrysler and Government Motors are fighting a desperate battle to head-off H.R. 2743. The bill—which has cleared committee and continues to gather steam amongst the axed dealers’ political allies— would require the former bankrupts to take back thousands of terminated franchisees. “We’re open to a non-legislative solution,” Chrysler spinmeister John Bozzella told Automotive News [sub]. “We’re interested in a non-legislative solution,” GM spokesman Greg Martin echoed in an e-mail. Although the automakers’ media mates are happy to parrot the euphemism, let’s call this for what it is: a pay-off. Price tag? The two automakers sliced 2,789 dealerships. Even if you figure a paltry $1 million each, that’s a $2.789 billion fate-thee-well. Compared to the $70 billion to $100 billion-plus that Uncle Sam’s plowed into the zombie automakers, it’s a pittance. But the actual retail price of the showcase is likely to be . . . much more. Watch this space.

Ok, today’s QOTD was actually typed yesterday, as Alpha jet-deprived New GM Car Czar Bob Lutz faced the slings and arrows of outrageous internetocracy on Fastlane. Stan:

In my group it is just uncool to drive a GM car -even if they are as good as the imports. Is your marketing studies researching why this is. I could give you an ear full and fit the urban professional demographic. I want to see GM get that desirable one day!

Lutz’s reply (and our quote of the day) after the jump.

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Automotive Traveler cites confidential sources inside GM as saying that GM’s Caprice (neé Pontiac G8) will be built in Oshawa, Canada. According to AT’s sources, the Impala’s age is hurting it in police fleet sales. The Caprice would presumably fix that and potentially squeeze a few more sales out of the Zeta platform. But it also flies in the face of recent revelations that Fritz Henderson is “not a fan of rebadging” (in regard to the G8, no less), and that the Impala is moving to the Epsilon II platform. Are we seeing the beginnings of a Lutz-Henderson rift?

GM Bankruptcy lawyer Harvey Miller confirms what Steve Rattner’s departure from the Presidential Task Force On Autos suggested, telling Bloomberg “I really believe that by the end of August, the task force will be gone.” Miller explains that “the winding down of Old GM and Old Chrysler will take a significant period of time, but it will not involve anything like the task force. It will be an ordinary liquidating bankruptcy.” Rather than the bankruptcy code-shredding process that recently wrapped up. The credit market is going to take it from here. “I’ve been around a long time in this business and I’ve heard financial institutions say, ‘We will never lend another penny to this industry’ on the basis of this decision in bankruptcy court or elsewhere,” says Miller. “Three or four months later, they’ve totally forgotten. There is no institutional memory in this world.” At least the last part of that is dead on. The rest? Perhaps a tad optimistic. Most likely, some form of government guarantees will be necessary to convince banks that GM is creditworthy. Otherwise, its $50b debt load to the taxpayers and internal turmoil make it a poor target for private investment. But, hey, why not give it a whirl?

Because, why not? Thanks to the American taxpayer, Fiat didn’t have to pay for Chrysler. But China’s First Auto Works (FAW) and others are bidding for Bertone Carozzeria, so Fiat stump up real, actual money, says Automotive News [sub]. For a coach builder (last project: the Opel Astra convertible of 2000-2005) which was just bailed out by the Italian government in 2007. And is only going to auction because of a family feud (via AN [sub]). Now that is what you call adding insult to bailout.

With the Malibu mild-hybrid out of the picture and the Volt project still in integration testing, GM-Volt.com reports that the General is developing a “dedicated hybrid” model alá Prius and Insight. According to GM’s Ed Peper, the 4-banger manual Malibu’s 33 highway mpg makes the extra cost of a mild hybrid a tough sell. Besides, a hybrid has to look like a hybrid to earn its eco-premium, right? But isn’t that what the Volt does? Unless, of course, GM wants an eco-halo that it can (possibly) make money on. In which case… duh? Either way, if GM plumps for a dedicated hybrid alongside the Volt, it will mean more development cost, more cannibalism, and more signs of death-thrashing. Time to pop those focus pills, GM. Again. Still.

“People don’t want cars named after hungry old Greek broads! They want names like ‘Mustang’ and ‘Cheetah’ — vicious animal names,” according to Homer Simpson’s automaker brother Herb. Yesterday I learned another good rule of thumb for car naming: if it doesn’t sound hilarious with the word “anal” in front of it, it’s probably not a great car name. Think about it… Commander, Wrangler and Legacy good; CTS, MKT and Optima bad. It may not be safe-for-work, but dammit it’s the truth.