That’s the annual Peach State tax on cars. So eliminating it’s a good thing, right? As someone who can’t find their way around a calculator, I depend on The Atlanta Journal Constitution to tell me if the proposed elimination of a yearly property tax on autos works is a good thing or a bad thing. Only I’ve read the article and I’m still not sure.

Backers of a state House plan to ax the annual birthday tax on cars are confident most Georgians support what they’re doing.

But the bill they passed Thursday, which replaces the current taxes on cars with a big one-time title fee, is getting mixed reviews. Gov. Sonny Perdue, who would have to sign any birthday tax legislation lawmakers approve, said Friday that parts of the plan appeared “convoluted.”

“I’m still trying to digest the purposes of that, of how it all would work,” the governor said.

Not to coin a phrase, no shit.

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As you’d probably guess (if it was in the least bit important), I’ve set up a a fair few email alerts to keep my finger on the pulse of the autoblogosphere. “Nissan” usually renders unto me four or five stories on some electric vehicle they’ll never make and a review or two of a Z car. This is the first time I’ve seen a link called “more news from your region.” While Levittown isn’t exactly my region (off by 252 miles), I was happy to see that no item is too small for Google’s news spiders. And that, for once during these dark days for the auto biz, I linked to a story with a happy ending. Of course, one wonders who in their right mind would bother reporting that they were almost the victim of a crime. And whether or not the police asked the citizen involved whether or not they take Ambien CR.

Attempted theft from vehicle

500 block Old Street Rd., Trevose, 10:30 p.m. Mon-9 a.m. Tue, entered unlocked Nissan Altima in driveway, items thrown on floor, nothing of value removed.

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

The Right Honorary Lord Mandelson, her Majesty’s Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform, is preparing to give £2K (€2160) to UK citizens who scrap their old car and buy a new one, London’s Times reports.

“Under the proposed stimulus package, drivers would be able to turn in their car, which must be at least nine years old, and get a £2,000 discount on the purchase of any new or one-year-old car bought at a dealership in Britain. The motorists would have to deliver their old vehicles to one of a number of car recycling plants and receive a confirmation certificate. They would present this to a car dealer and get the government-funded £2,000 discount. Motorists would be able to purchase any brand of car.”

The British “scrappage scheme” sounds very much like the German Abwrackprämie, except that it pays a few hundred Euro less, and also has a little less red tape attached to it. The two could be twins . . .

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Ford Motor Co.’s compensation committee has granted CEO Alan Mulally the option to buy five million shares. Of Ford. “It’s part of our long-term incentive plan to tie compensation to the performance of the company and the performance of the shares for investors,” Ford spokesman Mark Truby told Reuters. Or wrote in a press release. Or something. Big Al’s “strike price”: $1.96. The Blue Oval’s current share price at close of play Friday (as seen on TTAC stock tracker): $2.19. “Mulally may exercise one-third of the options a year from now, two-thirds after two years and all of them by March 2012. The options expire in March 2019.” And become worthless the moment Ford files for bankruptcy. So don’t expect Alan to see C11 as a viable option—even if GM and Chrysler go through that door first. Meanwhile, Big Al scored 136,005 shares of restricted stock and took a 30 percent haircut for 2008 and 2009. Reuters forgot to mention the bottom line on that: $1.4M p.a.. But don’t worry. In ’07, Mulally’s total take home—and we’re just talking about salary for one year—was a cool $21,670,674.

Friday the 13^th was a bad day for GM Europe, and by extension Opel, Vauxhall, and Saab. Ministers of eleven European countries where GM has a presence met in Brussels to decide what to do about the ailing American automaker’s foreign empire. First, they listened to reports by Frederick “Fritz” Henderson, COO of GM, and Carl-Peter Forster, CEO of GM Europe. Then, they decided to do nothing. Even more disconcerting for GM, the ministers decided that no country should do anything to bailout GM unilaterally. “There will be no rescue measures on a national level without prior European coordination,” reports Automobilwoche [sub]. And as if this wasn’t bad enough . . .
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Robert, I am a musician living in New York City since 1997. I have owned a car here since day one, and need one to move my drums around. Since I was a boy I’ve been pretty well obsessed with all kinds of cars, starting with my older brother’s ’68 Mustang, and it seems to just be getting worse with time. Of course I visit TTAC every day, as well as other blogs and forums, and have stacks of car magazines and books at home. My private shame is that the car I own is the beige ’99 Camry LE I bought from, ahem, my mom six years ago. In fact every car I have owned in NYC the last twelve years has been some kind of boring, base model 4-door sedan that blends into the NYC scenery like a dirty paper coffee cup on the sidewalk. With the exception of a too-short ownership of a ’71 Dodge Dart a couple years ago, my own Truth About Cars has been about as fun as getting a parking ticket. At this point, time is passing too quickly and I need to get a car to drive that doesn’t feel like putting on a wet pair of socks every day. I am asking for some advice for what you think (and maybe your colleagues) I should look for that would meet the following criteria:

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Robert Hefner, the author of The GET: The Grand Energy Transition, believes we should use LPG as a bridge to an EV future. He points out there are eight million vehicles in the world that operate on natural gas—though only 150,000 those are in the USA. Americans have invested nearly four trillion dollars in large cars, SUVs and trucks. Hefner asks whether we seriously intend to throw them away? Of course not, he says, and then he suggests that they should be converted to running on LPG. How difficult is that, you ask? Not much; a day’s work. (I know, my 1998 Jeep Cherokee is now a hybrid, running on gasoline or LPG at the press of a button.) Hefner says we should “retrofit all those vehicles that are now running on gas.”

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Well, he would, wouldn’t he? I mean, if Detroit was going to build a car for Scott Burgess, the 300C SRT8 would be it. Massive horsepower and . . . massive horsepower. Did I mention massive horsepower? What about massive horsepower? “The 425 horsepower instills confidence that few other engines can. Zero to 60 mph in five seconds; less than 12 seconds later and you’re cruising at 100 mph. It blasts off at lights and makes passing anything on the road as easy as stepping on the accelerator.” So, anything else then? “More importantly, for the 2009 model, engineers changed out some of the suspension to give it a smoother ride and recalibrated the antilock brakes and electronic stability program to make it even sportier. Even in the normal stability control setting, which would be the most restricting, the 300C SRT8 keeps it fun. Slam through a corner and the back end twists just enough to remind you how much fun driving can be.” Ah, power slides in a lumbering Yank tank. I’m so there! No really. Of course, no Burgess review of a car he likes would be complete without a chip on the shoulder FU to eco-weenies and Detroit haters . . .

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Up to now, Chinese companies taking over Western brands was a Beijing opera of well-placed rumors, followed by ambiguous statements or outright denials. The Chinese government did their part in the play encouraging their automakers to acquire foreign assets, then warning them that it might not be a good idea, and then saying that they would back them if they do. Welcome to China. Now, for the first time, a Chinese company went on record that they are willing to make international acquisitions. They’ve even said why.
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A reader writes:

“Would you have any idea on the auction value of a low mileage 2007-2009 Toyota Tundra CrewMax Limited 4×4 5.7? I have been looking to upgrade from my current 2005 Tundra to one of the new ones but hate all of the new car dealer shenanigans. Thanks so much for your time and response. I really appreciate it.”

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John writes:

How often should coolant hoses be replaced on older vehicles? And not just when they start to leak! Should it be based upon age, mileage, climate of operation, or what? For that matter, what about the other hoses conducting pressurized fluids, vapors and the like? We have guidelines for belts and serpentines, but hoses?

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Japanese carmakers were amongst the first to place their design studios into their foreign target markets. Saves a lot of time convincing headquarters of the correct size of the cup holder. Now, they are calling it quits.

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Fox News reports that the Presidential Task Force on Autos has hired bankruptcy lawyer Matthew Feldman of New York law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP. The Mattster will help Obama’s quango “evaluate options” for GM, Chrysler and (one assumes) Ford. According to Matty’s soon-to-be-ex-firm’s website, Feldman “recently represented investors that bid for assets in the chapter 11 cases of Dana Corporation and Performance Transportation Systems.” So, auto industry ambulance chaser it is, then. Feldman isn’t the only C11 specialist hovering overhead—I mean, waiting in the wings. I mean, advising the PTFOA et al. how best to piss away—I mean, “invest” taxpayer money in the self-inflicted Motown Meltdown. I mean . . . no. That’s exactly what I mean. Reuters [via Bertel Schmitt] reminds us that “The U.S. government has also been working with bankruptcy and restructuring lawyers at law firms Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP and Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal, as well as turnaround specialists at investment bank Rothschild.”

Never a dull moment with Opel. At least their PR machine is working. As for their brains… Anyway, yesterday, we mentioned that GM Europe Chief, Carl-Peter Forster, had sounded a bit depressed when he said there were “interested parties but no formal talks” in regards to a partial sale of Opel. Today, we mentioned that Opel is getting rebuffs by the number, get losts by the score. Now, as Friday the thirteenth has ended, GM acts like nothing ever happened. Im Gegenteil! The party is just beginning! Are you, or have you ever been an interested investor? Does GM have a deal for you!

To a perplexed public, General Motors announced today that it is– again– planning to seek third-party investors for Opel/Vauxhall, the Financial Times reports. For that surprising purpose, GM is preparing a sales prospectus, and plans to approach “possible interested parties” in buying Opel/Vauxhall. Excuse me?
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