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In 50 to 100 years. But don’t let that un-alarm you. The New York Times parrots—I mean reports—on a new study by the Obama Administration’s U.S. Global Change Research Program. The report predicts a list of bad, bad things that are going to happen thanks to “unequivocal” global warming. Hang on, are they implying that there’s another kind? Anyway, the Gray Lady points out that “Earlier cuts [in greenhouse has emissions] will be more effective than comparable later cuts, the document adds. Without efforts to limit emissions, the United States could warm 7 to 11 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the century. Cutting emissions could hold that increase to just 4 to 6.5 degrees Fahrenheit.” Balmy, barmy or Barney?
We just received this e-mail from a TTAC commentator’s friend in the SJPD.
Just finished working 6 shifts in San Jose. I can say from the front lines, stolen cars, burglaries, vandalism and theft are significantly up from where they were a few years ago. The bad times are back. I recommend you exercise higher than normal precautions regarding the security of your property and person. This story is just one example. It probably won’t make the papers but on one shift we had four trucks where the catalytic converters were stolen. Go figure. I also took more than the usual rate of stolen car reports. And if you think they’re stealing luxury cars, think again. The cars stolen were all worth between $300 and $4000. They were all parked on public streets in front of residences. Robberies are up. People are hungry and mean again. Take care and be safe out there.
[Update: Oops, time for a reading comprehension lesson. Sorry for the confusion.]
FYI, from the attendant press release:
Sir Peter Blake sold limited edition prints from his VXR8 Bathurst S to a queue that stretched all the way round the bootfair.
Artist ‘Swifty’ paid homage to his favourite car by selling a limited edition run of Vauxhall Viva prints out of the boot of a Vauxhall heritage vehicle; Nick Reynolds hit the credit crunch theme with recession piggy banks, and Pure Evil donned a five door Astra to sell his distinctive prints.
Rising star of the fashion world William Tempest adorned his Agila with boot fair bunting and created heat-sensitive mugs for £10 a go whilst Pam Hogg was radiant in her glitter ball Vauxhall Tigra covered with over 2,500 mirrored mosaics. Meanwhile, Rubbish magazine patrolled the area with Karl Lagerfeld inspired fashion police and doling out fashion advice from their designer handbag styled Vauxhall Corsa.
I’ve been very lucky as of late. Last week I found a 1976 Cadillac Eldorado with only 33,000 original miles sulking in a friend’s garage. New battery. An oil change and the beauty flew like a wing of God. I still have goosebumps over that ride and for $4,000. Definitely worth the thought. Then I found a more contemporary 1988 Lincoln Town Car on the side of the road. Perhaps this would be the first opportunity to plan for the government’s impending debt-icide for this country? What do you say John Q government subsidizer? As a dealer, should I now plan to start accumulating these insatiable steel coffins of eternal debtnation?
The usually quite reliable Chinacartimes has it from the not always reliable auto.sohu.com that Ford and Geely have reached a deal for Volvo. According to Sohu, the Chinese-owned Volvo will put a production line into Dongguan City in Guangdong Province, one of China’s rustbelts. Supposedly, the first Geely owned Volvo is a XC90 SUV.
As BS lacks the necessary puthongua, Ms. Zhang, my trusted Chinese adjutant, translated the Sohu report as follows:
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Red light cameras have returned to Northern Virginia. The city of Alexandria announced for the first time yesterday that a private company has re-installed cameras at three intersections with citations going out on July 15. Until now, the city has been quiet about the revived program, hoping to avoid a public discussion of the controversy over accidents that persuaded the legislature to shut down the program in 2005. According to a report by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), the total number of accidents increased 43 percent at the Alexandria intersections where red light cameras were used. Across the five main cities in the state using cameras, the report found an overall increase in injury accidents of 18 percent. This time, Alexandria did not consider bringing back cameras for safety purposes.
Michael writes:
Hello Sajeev, I’d like to ping your automotive wisdom with the following question. Soon I’ll be looking for a new car to replace my leased Corolla. I love power moonroofs (which my Corolla also has). My next car will be a long-term keeper, and even though I’d love to equip it with a roof orifice, I’m not sure about the longer-term reliability of power moonroofs. Are they known to start leaking, to require expensive repairs? Or is it better to buy a car without a moonroof and then have a manual sunroof installed; and would it void the car’s warranty?
I’d like to keep my next car until it falls apart — 10 years or longer. Thanks muchly for your time.
When GM CEO Fritz Henderson logged-in for a live media-only chat on GM’s FastLane blog, the headline takeaway was “I am not a fan of rebadging.” Ha! Since returning to the scene of the crime, I’ve discovered that there’s plenty of other grist for a zombie watcher’s mill—such as the fact that Henderson appeared eleven minutes late. The first words off his keyboard: “I am here.” I would have gone for “Je pense, donc je suis,” only I don’t think GM’s main man knows the difference between badonk and donc. Henderson starts with a defense of the Hail Mary-ette Chevrolet Cruze that sounds a lot like a PR spiel from 1976 (Chevy Vega). It goes downhill from there.
What is a clunker? Various dictionaries I consulted used terms like “a decrepit machine, especially an old car” or “an old or badly working piece of machinery” or “a noisy, dilapidated automobile.” Apparently there’s a new definition, courtesy of Congress: “any vehicle rated at 18 mpg or less.” The Detroit News has a link to a database to let you find out if your car would qualify for the “Cash for Clunkers” program that has passed the House and is headed for the Senate. The first thing you notice: the database has nothing to do with the condition of the vehicle in question.
China’s auto industry has more than 100 companies. The Chinese government has been strongly suggesting that this number gets more manageable through mergers and acquisitions. One of these mergers seems to be on its way.
If China’s 21st Century Business Herald (translation via Gasgoo) is not mistaken (and the Herald is far from infallible) FAW and Brilliance are talking about a wedding.
Robert — If dealers do not sign the wind-down agreements, their sales and service agreement will not be renewed in 2010, and they will not be eligible for GM assistance. However, to date, we have 99% completion of these agreements.
–John McDonald
GM Spokesman
Detroit
However?
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As you’ve no doubt guessed, the above quote comes courtesy of an Obama administration official. Showing infinite reserves of credulity and restraint, the Detroit News straight-up reports that “Larry Summers, the White House’s chief economic adviser, said in an interview that Congress shouldn’t interfere in the running GM and Chrysler . . . ‘We’ve been very clear that companies needed to be run commercially, rather than politically.'” Although I was recently, correctly admonished by several of our Best and Brightest for profanity, I’m going to use my last expletive here: that’s fucking awesome.
GM dealer Jack Fitzgerald is not happy about losing some of his franchises. Unlike GM CEO Fritz Henderson, Fitzgerald has set forth a graphic-laden argument (PDF viewable online here) defending his position on the dealer cull. Here’s why Jack reckons we need H.R. 2743, mandating car dealer-protection:
As Congress and the Administration consider various proposals to restore the rights of affected auto dealers, I want to share with you the context for making such decisions. We believe that there was a fundamentally flawed analysis of the domestic auto industry that led to a misguided decision to close numerous dealerships and which will add to the nation’s unemployment misery.
Right now, Congress has before it a legislative proposal that would restore dealers’ economic rights and permit a case-by-case assessment of our dealerships. It is the best way to correct what has occurred and to put our industry on a path to growth and employment opportunities instead of the path of cannibalism, economic dislocation, and a downward spiral for the U.S. auto industry as a whole as consumers react to being abused.
Automotive News [sub] reports that a 1,400 employee auto assembly operation is moving into the former Guide Corp. plant in Monroe, LA. No word on the identity of the new tenant. Until tomorrow, anyway. So how’s about a little game of “tomorrow’s headlines today?” Here’s some grist for the mill. Financing for the deal comes courtesy of Silicon Valley venture capitalists Ray Lane and John Doerr of Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers. According to thedeal.com, Kleiner Perkins has over $65 million invested in Fisker. Too bad, then, that Fisker has a contract with Finnland’s Valmet. KPC&B has also invested in Th!nk—leading Autoblog‘s Sam Abuelsamid to the conclusion that the Louisiana plant will build Norwegian city EVs. Want a real dark horse? How about the mythical $35 million bid for Chrysler’s Viper business in which investors were reportedly meeting with Louisiana officials? We shall see . . . .
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