A Chrysler advisor has confirmed it: we’ll never see Chrysler’s government-provided $3.34 billion debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing again. Nor will Canada recoup any of the $1.16 billion they spent helping keep the zombie automaker alive through bankruptcy. Oh, and you can forget the $4 billion worth of US “loans” already bestowed upon Auburn Hills. As The Detroit News reports, all of it’s disappeared down the ChryCo-shaped rathole. “Ron Manzo, a senior financial advisor to Chrysler, said it is ‘highly likely’ the governments will recover nothing. He also noted that Chrysler isn’t required to pay interest on the $4.5 billion in debtor-in-possession financing . . . After Chrysler filed for bankruptcy Thursday, Obama administration officials refused to say how much the government might recover of the $4 billion that the Bush Administration loaned the company in January. A government official confirmed on Monday that the Treasury is unlikely to get any of the first $4 billion but declined to comment on whether the Treasury or Chrysler will be repaid all or part of the debtor in possession financing.” And you do know the feds have promised the new new Chrysler $6 billion in exit financing, right? And [an unspecified amount of] money for GMAC.

Earth2Tech, Earth2Tech. Come in, Tech. You may be wondering if green websites like Earth2Tech are anxious about the possibility that GM (and/or its new masters) will kill the electric/gas hybrid Chevrolet Volt. You may recall that the Presidential Task Force on Autos (PTFOA) tore the Volt a new exhaust pipe in its original GM viability slam down. And it seems like there’s a bit of a C11 thing happening over at RenCen. Anyway, to their credit, Earth2Tech’s Volt-related concerns are global. So they emailed GM for reassurance on the European Volt program. And, by jove, they got it! “The Ampera is being developed in the U.S., and GM remains firm on its plans to bring the Ampera to the EU,” blogger Josie Garthwaite reports. And now, from the horses mouth: “‘We don’t expect any disruptions to our plans,’ GM spokeswoman Natalie Johnson told us in an email today. Neither does the Opel team. Communications director Rene Kreis reiterated that Ampera production is on schedule to begin in late 2011.” Good to go is one thing. But no disruptions? Props for maximum chillaxitude. Alternatively, brickbats for the usual spinmeisterly BS. Your call.

I drove a Toyota Camry for 12 years and 239k miles. My two brothers also drove Camrys. My mother drove a Camry. Even my father drove a Lexus that was just a gussied-up Camry. All these Camrys were bought because there was a time when Toyota offered a car that truly few others could match. Quality, longevity, durability. They seemed to always be two clicks above the competition in virtually all respects. But now, it’s a very different story.

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A longtime member of our Best and Brightest is shopping for a new/used car. Yes, I know: shocking. But there you go. But ccd1 doesn’t know which way to jump. His query:

I am beginning to shop around for a car and have gotten the search down to two cars: RX-8 and a used Cayman.  The top of the line RX-8 (Grand Touring or R3) is about the same money as a two-year-old Cayman. The upside of the RX-8 is that it has a back seat big enough for at least one normal sized adult. First year depreciation, however, is ugly ($7-8k).  Depreciation would be better for the Cayman, but it lacks a back seat and maintenance on the Cayman would be far more costly than the Mazda. So the question is which one should I choose?

Toxicroach says he’s not a C11 guy by training; C7’s more his style. Still, it’s obvious that he shares our OCD. Which is not so good for him. But very good for the greater good. Thanks, bug man.

“Nuts & Bolts: The first day emergency motions were granted for the most part. Chrysler can continue on and doesn’t have to file a complete list of creditors or a complete petition until June. Some minor creditor action that I’m going to mostly ignore. We already covered the main objections, but Uzzi (counsel for Chrysler’s non-TARP engorged creditors) filed another objection to the use of DIP financing (download pdf here). This sums up their argument quite nicely:

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Saw that my local Chevy dealer had a nice, bright, Victory Red Camaro up on its terrace display today. I couldn’t resist the urge to have a look at it, even though I had just filled my car with cold dairy products and it was close to 100° out. Anyhoo, the car was nice enough. It was a V6 RS with no sunroof and auto. Not what I’d want, but it was nice. List was $27K+. Get this: the dealer added a $5000 “market adjustment.” But wait, there’s more! How about a $695 “Desert Protection Pkg.”? They also added . . . you’d better sit down . . . $999 for Nitro Tires. It was explained on another car’s sticker that it’s a lifetime supply of nitrogen for the tires. Wow, just wow. This at a dealer that’s got one foot in the grave, too. When the salesman came up to me, all excited and shit (I drove up in my BMW), he was all “Heeeeyyy, how can I get you in this baby today?” I calmly said, “I’ll write you a check now for dealer invoice + $500. Minus $1998 for having the nerve to charge $999 for that Nitrogen scheme.” His jaw dropped and he looked rather upset. He finally said, “Well, I’ll have to talk to my manager about that.” I said “Don’t bother, I wasn’t going to buy the car anyway. I am however going to report this scam to every local TV channel and the AG. Take care.”

“Insane like a fox,” you’re thinking. And yes, the Fiat CEO is set to receive “good Chrysler” with a taxpayer-funded bow on top. He also has his eyes on Opel, which the German government is desperate to find a good home for. But lightning still hasn’t actually struck once yet, and may we remind you once again that Fiat is in not-great shape financially. And yet Marchionne, mad with power, turns his eyes towards China. And South America. And Russia. In fact, according to the industry analysts Bloomberg talks to, Fiat is like communism in the 50s: everywhere, especially right behind you. You see, Marchionne “craves” 5 million annual global sales even though Fiat sold only 2.15 million cars last year. Reportedly the Chrysler deal will bring the Fiat empire to 4m sales (lets wait for those chickens to hatch, shall we?) and adding any one of GM’s global divisions (Opel, Latin America, Asia/Pacific) would take it over the 5 million mark. For Marchionne the only challenge is figuring out which ones he can pick up for free.

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After crying that bankrupt automakers can’t sell cars (as in, “there but for the grace of the taxpayers go we”), Chrysler is requesting $753 million to do what it said was impossible. And who minds profit-draining record incentives when taxpayers are picking up the tab? Automotive News [sub] breaks down Chrysler’s request for $4.6 billion of DIP financing, and reveals that incentives are no longer just about moving metal.

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We’ve already heard the President call out the “hedge fund holdouts,” and we’ve heard reports of “death threats,” but rumors that the PTFOA’s Steve Rattner threatened to “destroy the reputations” of holdout bondholders is the juiciest rumor we’ve heard over the last several wild-ass days. On Friday, bondholder lawyer Tom Lauria told Detroit talk show host Frank Beckman that the White House was taking off the gloves.

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Car and Driver recently got a test drive in a Cruze-bodied Chevy Volt mule, and wrote up the experience with the fawning credulousness of a buff book that desperately wants to be first in line for an equally subservient “exclusive first road test.” If such an event ever comes to pass, of course. But even amidst the regurgitated GM talking points, C&D manages to (gasp) raise a troubling question: if this vehicle is going to be road-ready in just over a year, why is The General limiting test drives to electric mode?

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Our C11 guy Toxicroach checks in:

Kathy writes:

Hi, Sajeev. A coworker recently bought a new commuter car. Not some fancy $25K+ sports car (under $20K “sporty” commuter car). He talked about breaking in the new engine hard for the first 120 miles: putting the auto into gears 1 and 2 and redlining it. Driving 0 to 120 to 0 to 120 mph.

Supposedly it makes the engine better. Where does the TTAC community stand on this: easy or hard break in for a new car?

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With up to 1,200 dealers and 16 factories set to be uninvited from “the reinvented GM,” union locals and dealerships with their livelihoods on the line are preparing to fight the future. With the UAW leadership on board for an equity position in the new GM, locals are scrambling to show their willingness to give up once-cherished perks to keep their plants open. Bloomberg reports that workers at GM’s Spring Hill plant have ratified a local agreement that “allows GM to schedule its hourly workers for weekend shifts without paying special premiums, ends the policy of paying overtime based on a daily shift instead of a 40-hour workweek and loosens the work rules so that workers may be used for a broader variety of tasks.” Sadly, since Spring Hill’s Chevy Traverse production is likely to be moved to Lansing Delta to take over Saturn Outlook production capacity, this sudden rash of reality probably won’t save the plant.

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Section 2.15 Viper. (a) Subject to Section 2.15(b) below, notwithstanding any provision of this Agreement to the contrary, (i) Seller may, at its option, sell Intellectual Property and Purchased Inventories that relate solely to Vehicle Production (as defined in the Transition Services Agreement) and are not necessary or useful in any other line of business (the “Viper Assets”) prior to the Closing Date in an arm’s-length transaction to a party other than Purchaser on terms and conditions reasonably acceptable to the Purchaser, provided that the right of the Seller to sell the Viper Assets shall terminate on June 8, 2009 if no binding written agreement to purchase the Viper Assets has been executed and delivered by a bona fide purchaser at such time, and (ii) in connection with any such sale, Seller and Purchaser, as applicable, shall grant to the purchaser of the Viper Assets on terms and conditions reasonably acceptable to the Purchaser a non-exclusive license of other Intellectual Property of the Seller necessary for Vehicle Production as currently conducted.

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