In just one short month or two, we’ll know whether Eddie Alterman will be subsumed by the don’t bite the hand that feeds borg at Car and Driver, or not. Motor Trend’s editorial boosterism is trending it towards a straight path from letterbox to circular file. Road and Track still can’t make up its mind (between simple and complex boredom). Etc. In the race to the bottom, both in terms of editorial dependence and circulation, no one wins. Of course, I have a dog in this race: us. I’m hoping that TTAC will emerge as the new Car and Driver when this adverpocalypse ends. And in just one short year or two, we’ll know. Meanwhile, we’ve got a free car mag subscription of your choice to give away, which is almost what they’re doing anyway. Anyway, FYI, it’s courtesy of subscription.com. All you have to do: in 800 words or a LOT LESS, tell us which car magazine sucks least and why. I will choose the winning comment by 9am tomorrow, based on the usual criteria: sarcasm, cynicism and general snarkiness. Oh, and again, TTAC’s overlords have put the subscription idea on ice. Thanks to you. Grazie.
And with the Phaeton rumored to be coming back like déjà vu, why would Audi mess with the A8’s lean, mean luxo-niche? Motorauthority reports that the new A8’s curb weight will top out at 4,180 lb, down from the current 4.2 Quattro’s 4,409 lb. Even crazier? There’s serious consideration being given to a front-wheel drive, turbocharged-four base model with 230 hp pulling a meager 3,630 lb. But this brand blemish is being built to satisfy European emissions standards, not the MKS “crowd” in the US market. A three-liter V6 with 290 hp could make it to the US, complimenting the 372 hp 4.2 V8, with the W12 a solid “maybe”. Crazies and one-uppers will have to wait for a 620 hp 5-liter V10 exclusive to the S8. The new Quattro system features a “torque vectoring SportDifferential,” and styling will be . . . different. “The first generation was very dogmatic and product-design-like. With the second generation, the theme was ‘elegance’—softer, flowing lines. The upcoming third generation will be stronger, sharper, and more precise,” says Audi design boss Stefan Sielaff.
Folks, TTAC has serious competition. GM just issued a press statement, headlined “GM and Opel Launch Website to Support Fact-Based Discussion.” (As opposed to what? Faith-based?) The lead-in of the statement isn’t really conducive to getting to the main part, but in the interest of fact-based reporting, here it is: “The current need for bridge-financing for GM’s European operations is rooted in a catastrophic economic crisis, the worst of its kind in more than 70 years. Given the significance of the situation politically and for society, it’s only natural that rumor, speculation and urban myths should begin to circulate at this time. In addition to informed reporting based on fact there is also misinformation and repetition of statements that are clearly not based on fact.” Still with us? Read More >
The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) has released their February numbers, Reuters reports. European new car registrations fell 18.3 percent in February, says the ACEA. That’s much better than the 41.3 percent decline the USA suffered in the same month. But it could have been worse had it not been for Germany. Here, registrations soared 21.5 percent in February. The only other market in Western Europe to show growth was tiny Luxembourg—up a tiny 0.3 percent
The German market boosted Western Europe’s tally, with “strong demand in certain market segments following the recent motor vehicle tax reform and scrapping bonus introduced by the German government.” France, which also gives cash for clunkers, but only €1K (as opposed to €2.5K in Deutschland) saw a rather benign drop of 13 percent. Read More >
Fiat shares opened up 7 percent at 4.64 Euros, following a newspaper report on a plan to merge with PSA, Reuters reports. The Il Sole 24 Ore newspaper said Italian investment bank Mediobanca has drawn up a report together with a strategic consultant on merging the two companies, and that Fiat Chief Executive, Sergio Marchionne, had yet to decide if or when to present the plan to the board.
A few hours later, Reuters came out with the story that Fiat’s board is not considering a plan to merge with another car maker. How could they, if Sergio is still sitting on it? Fiat then put out a statement saying that they are still interested in collaborating with other car makers to cut costs and enter new markets: “No proposal for a merger with another automotive group is currently under consideration. It is a known fact that Fiat frequently examines opportunities for agreements of various types which would offer it operational synergies and access to new markets.” And what’s Paris saying to the advances? Read More >
When I read in Auto, Motor und Sport about a concept car that looks great, claims 110 mpg (city) and a top speed of 210 mph, I was intrigued. But skeptical too, of course. Since the boffins at the UK’s Frazer-Nash Research (and not just some garage geniuses) are behind the “Namir” Rotary-engine hybrid dream car, I thought it would be worth a call. So, I spoke with company Director, Gordon Dickson. Why Wankel? “A rotary engine is extremely compact and is also extremely energy-efficient at its RPM sweet spot. The Namir is a serial hybrid, meaning there is no mechanical connection between the combustion engine and the four electric motors, so it’s easy to keep the 814cc Wankel engine within its sweet spot. We have already employed this technology in our Metrail system.”
As a condition of its government-funded restructuring, GM was supposed to wrangle concessions from its unions and bondholders. So far, the General has struck out with the major bondholder committee and the UAW, and has only had its agreement with the Canadian Auto Workers to crow about. But now that agreement appears to be in peril, as Reuters reports that Chrysler and Ford are rejecting the terms of the GM CAW restructuring. “The current agreement with GM is unacceptable and we have to break the pattern,” Chrysler’s Robert Nardelli told Canada’s House of Commons. “We believe the recently negotiated agreement between General Motors Canada and the Canadian Auto Workers will not keep Ford’s Canadian operations competitive in today’s global economy,” concurs Ford Manufacturing Maven Joe Hinrichs. While GM claims that its CAW deal brings labor costs in Canada in line with US transplants, Nardelli claims “the union agreement with GM, if applied to Chrysler, would not eliminate even half the labor cost gap Chrysler Canada has with its Asian competitors in Canada.”
One of the first things you learn in the auto industry is that if you run your plant at less than 80 percent of capacity, your plant and your career are in deep trouble. If that adage holds true, then the world is in for a world of hurt.
At the moment, most automakers are believed to be running their plants at less than half capacity in an effort to reduce inventories, which have been piling up since last fall, says the Nikkei [sub]. They either get used to it; or close a lot of plants. Read More >
Given GM’s well-proven love for inflating the importance of even the tiniest achievements, you’d think they would muster up something a little more, uh, celebratory than this. After all, they could be slurping up $2B of treasury money (but aren’t). For now. And all they’ve got to celebrate the moment is Ray Young joylessly repeating coporate pablum while looking like he recently took a sip from the wrong grail. Get some sleep guys!
A decision issued last month by the Appellate Division of the Superior Court in Sacramento County, California would invalidate at least eighty percent of red light camera tickets in Sacramento—if drivers were to bring their case to court and contest their citations. A three judge panel found the photo system did not generate evidence sufficient to convict local motorist David Graham, 38, of running a red light. “Sometimes you can fight city hall,” said Graham. “Now those bozos will have to give me back every penny of the $371 they bilked me for the ticket.”
GM intends on increasing vehicle production in the second financial quarter, from 380k to 550k. I know: it’s a major WTF moment. There is no evidence whatsoever that the U.S. new car market is headed for recovery. If anything, the opposite is true, what with home foreclosures and unemployment rising like steam from a New York City manhole. Not to mention the headline of The Detroit News story wherein this information resides: “GM Dealers Balk at Ordering New Vehicles.” The article reports that GM’s orphaned HUMMER, Saturn and Saab dealers aren’t ordering any more vehicles (duh), and current inventory levels at the other stores are, to use the old Bentley power output description, “adequate.” No wonder GM spokesman Chris Lee said “that [production] number could be adjusted.” Still, you’d kind of hope GM PR could do better than that, what with more than a decade of spinning bad news into gold (for the executives anyway). And so they do . . .
Yesterday, we mentioned that GM Europe Chief, Carl-Peter Forster, must have missed his daily dose of Prozac. He had sounded a bit depressed when he said that there were “interested parties but no formal talks” in regards to a partial sale of Opel. Today it turns out that this was the understatement of the week. Opel is the wallflower of the industry. One by one, those alleged “interested parties” hold their nose and say a muffled “no thanks.” The German Autohaus chronicles the list of rebuffs:
I was perusing MSNBC a short while ago, and noticed something that I thought TTAC might like to post. Ford now has a market cap four times that of GM’s. (Ford’s is 4.9 billion, GM’s is down to just over 1 billion). Ford’s stock is also now worth more than GM’s, which isn’t surprising, but hasn’t really happened before.
As Ken Elias pointed out a while back, the beginning of the end will come when GM is de-listed from the Dow and then the stock exchange. As far as life-sustaining bailouts are concerned, March 31st is the drop-dead date. A pre-pack would take longer, so . . . I bet Ken a steak dinner GM will get their/your/our money. I don’t think I’ll be picking up the tab. For the dinner.
So what if you’re a sub? Not a TTAC sub, of course, because guess what? The corporate mothership has heard your pleas and seen sense. The “sub or die” mandate has been withdrawn for the time being. More info on that tomorrow. Meanwhile, the Brits love affair with hating the cars they love continues.
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