One of the signs that a new technology has matured is when whole industries are worried about getting wiped off the earth as a result of that new technology. If that happens, change has finally arrived.
Industries are getting worried about electric vehicles. The machine-tool sector is very troubled, writes the Nikkei [sub], and it is worried for two reasons: “Plummeting demand from recession-hit clients is threatening the industry’s very existence, as the increasing focus on electric vehicles by ailing carmakers could eventually eliminate the need to machine parts for engines.” And why would that be? Read More >
Channel Web says a quite simple adaptation of lithium-ion battery technology could make electric cars a hell of a lot more convenient. As reported in today’s issue of Nature Magazine, MIT researchers Byoungwoo Kang and Gerbrand Ceder have found that coating batteries with a thin layer of lithium phosphate allows small batteries to be loaded in twenty seconds, while car batteries could be good to go in just five minutes. That sure beats the six to eight hours plug-in vehicles currently need—provided you have access to an electricity outlet with a lot more than 110 or 220V. Anyway, MIT engineers have taken existing battery material and changed it to create what it calls a “beltway” that allows for the rapid transit of electrical energy.
You may recall the story wherein two swanky Lamborghini dealerships—Lamborghini of Orange County and Lamborghini of Calabasas—suddenly closed their doors. Needless to say, the collapse involved a little “creative accounting.” It can now be revealed [by the LA Times] that dealer principle, Viken Keuylian, 45, of Laguna Hills, borrowed $12M from Volkswagen Finance to personally purchase 54 examples of VW’s Italian supercars. Keuylian then spent the money, put the cars on his lot, sold them for $8,163,275 and spent that money too. Vineyard. Lotus dealership (talk about a sinkhole). Gas for HIS Lambo. The girls above. That sort of thing. Simple math reveals that the grifter liberated $20,723,589 from VW and Lambo customers. Obviously, Keuylian will soon be contemplating his crimes from a jail cell. But the big question: will VW go after his customers, demanding they pay the “real” price for their car or cars? It’s highly unlikely. But even so, VW Financial’s credibility and profitability have taken a major ding.
Things are either rapidly falling apart for Chrysler in China. Or someone is tidying up for the rumored asset transfer to Beijing Auto. Place your bets.
Anyway, China’s Great Wall Motor has terminated its small-car joint venture project with Chrysler, Gasgoo reports. Why? “Due to changed situations,” said Great Wall’s president Wang Fengying.
Chrysler had signed a memorandum of understanding with Great Wall Motor in July 2008 to explore the viability of a long-term strategic relationship. The two companies have since developed an A-class car model that was scheduled to be produced by Great Wall and sold around the world as a rebadged Chrysler. What now? Read More >
Followers of the Motown meltdown may have detected a strong whiff of mafioso about the whole enterprise. Did I say enterprise? That sounds a bit too industrious, even though the automakers have been working hard to turn $7 million worth of your hard-earned taxes into about $35 billion in additional bailout bucks. On the other hand, we have the term “criminal enterprise.” As in you pay me my money or I’m gonna hurt you. If you still don’t pay, I’m gonna NSFWing kill you. (Organized crime may be organized but it’s not terribly clever.) To wit [via Automotive News]:
Chrysler LLC said today it may close its plants in Canada unless it gets sufficient labor concessions as well as government aid and resolution of a tax dispute.
In case you were thinking the recent CAW agreement with GM shows the way out of that particular part of ChyrCo’s Mexican standoff (also a NAFTA member!), Co-Prez “Tommy Gun” LaSorda’s got news for you, after the jump.
Volvo is a step closer to salvation, while Saab is a step closer to damnation.
According to Germany’s Handelsblatt, the European Investment Bank (EIB) has approved a €445M loan to Volvo, after the Swedish government gave a guarantee for 90 percent of the loan. This cash injection should buy Volvo some time to restructure and to pretty-up for a sale. According to Financial Times, Ford has begun seeking indicative bids for Volvo. The sale process is expected to last until late in the year. Three people involved in—or briefed on—the sale say Volvo has drawn tentative interest from at least three Chinese carmakers. Talks have also been held about forming a Swedish-led investor consortium amid concerns among some in Sweden’s motor industry about the possible leakage of intellectual property to China.
Totally different (downright ugly) picture at Saab.
TOKYO (MarketWatch) — Toyota Motor Corp. (7203.TO) plans to release a cheaper version of its Prius hybrid car later this year in a bid to compete with Honda Motor Co.’s (7267.TO) more reasonably priced Insight hybrid, the Asahi Shimbun reported Thursday. The paper said that the new Prius will be priced around Y2.05 million, whereas Toyota’s cheapest model of the fuel-efficient vehicle now sells for between Y2.3 million and Y3.4 million.
On business in Vegas last week I came across a smokin deal on an ’06 M Roadster and in a moment of spontaneity I signed the dotted line. I was then confronted with a 1200 mile drive in an unfamiliar car. Since I arrived in Vegas by plane, I was without my usual road trip conglomeration of hose clamps, duct tape, and other essential tools. With the return airline ticket canceled, armed with a Diet Pepsi and a $50 Radio Shack radar detector, I set off to the Midwest. The S54 engine chewed up 1200 miles of asphalt and returned 25.6mpg. Not bad for over 100hp per normally aspirated liter. Would I have tried that in the 23 year old BMW M636CSI I bought last fall from FL? Nope. That car arrived on a truck. What an incredible bonding experience to bring your new car home on a long trip. Now it was my intent to bring this car back to a less saturated market and sell it for a small profit. But now I’ve kinda got a thing for her. Have you had a memorable new car bonding experience?
Senator Corker must be so proud of himself. He held Ford’s feet to the fire . . . oh, no, wait, Ford didn’t bother with that meeting. Anyway, today Ford is crowing [via AP] that its revised UAW contract gets close enough to wage parity with the transplants to call it a done deal. Which is kind of strange, because Ford’s accounting puts the all-in costs under the newest deal at $55/hour compared to the $48-$49 number people toss around for the transplants. Hmmm, maybe I’ll try that kind of “close enough” math when I pay my bills. Ford’s spin-meisters could have pointed out that nobody outside the transplants really knows what they are paying, but they didn’t. Absent a published union contract, all we can do is guess.
The boss men at Legacy Ford Lincoln Mercury Toyota of Scottsbluff, Nebraska, have arranged a personal economic stimulus program; by running off with 81 cars and trucks valued at over $2.5 million (before or after rebates?). Lacking a “Tales from the Dark Side” section, the AP put the story out as auto industry news. The missing Fords were trucked away on Saturday but the Toyotas had to wait their turn until Monday. By Wednesday, some of the missing vehicles already started popping up at auctions in Utah and Arizona. Floorplan banker Toyota Financial said: “If the dealer and the cars go missing there’s an issue.” Ya think? “Arrest warrants had been issued for owner Allen Patch, controller Rachel Fait and general manager Rick Covello, who are wanted on suspicion of theft.” Up until now, none of these clowns had an arrest record. Oddly enough, Legacy so far remains open for business. Personally I wouldn’t leave my ride there for service unless I wanted it to disappear. Meanwhile, rumors of a movie deal starring Robin Williams, Chevy Chase and Al Pacino run rampant.
Talk about ROI… The Washington Post reports that General Motors and Chrysler are using $7M of their $17.4B federal “loan” to lobby for their next snootful of bailout bucks.
In the last three months of 2008, just as slumping auto sales pushed the two Detroit carmakers closer to bankruptcy, GM spent about $3.9 million on lobbying, according to a review of its most recent disclosure forms. Chrysler and its parent company, Cerberus Capital Management, reported spending about $3.4 million.
The Post forgets to account for the lobbying parity between the artist formerly known as the world’s largest automaker and the Crisis Corporation. Lest we forget, Cerberus has another huge mouth to feed at your expense: GMAC. Which received a $6B bailout and a last minute waiver of the Fed’s rules for bank incorporation. And how, pray tell, do the automakers’ owners justify using your money to get more of your money?
The German government doesn’t seem to be in an awful hurry to bail out Opel. First, Berlin bitched about the quality of GM Europe’s rescue plan which was submitted last month. According to that plan, the German unit, along with its UK-based Vauxhall unit, would be partly spun off. Along with that, state aid to the tune of €3.3B ($4.2B) was requested. Berlin said the plan was interesting but mostly fluff. They demanded another one; it hasn’t arrived. No plan, no money.
And just in case a better plan would be forthcoming, Chancellor Angela Merkel set the bar a bit higher. “Before we decide (on aid), we must know important decisions in the United States; for example, how things proceed with Opel’s parent company General Motors, what independence General Motors can give Opel, what happens with Opel patents,” Merkel said, according to Reuters. That’s a whole bunch of important decisions to be taken before any money is being given. Read More >
The Freep reports that the newest UAW deal is similar to the recently-approved Ford deal in terms of economics, but is “drastically different” in other areas. How drastically? There are”no mandatory physical examinations in the UAW GM agreement,” according to the Freep’s union source. Also, “with regard to employee placement, other parts of the agreement are different to better fit the UAW GM culture.” Which doesn’t exactly sound encouraging. The Freep wanted to know more (don’t we all), but when asked, “A GM spokeswoman declined to comment. A UAW spokesman didn’t respond to questions.” Great. But it’s probably not worth losing sleep trying to discover the details (not that we wouldn’t love to have someone send us a copy). Locals won’t have the opportunity to approve the contract modifications until GM completes its debt restructuring anyway. Which has been dragging on for months now with no end in sight. If the locals even approve the deal which, based on Ford’s 58 percent approval showing, is hardly a foregone conclusion.
Do we want to place bets on how soon Chrysler will shift its sales strategy back towards fleet sales? Unfortunately for Americas struggling automakers, $565M in low-profit sales probably isn’t enough to make much of a difference to anyone’s bottom line. Especially considering that the expenditure is set to take place over the next ten years. On the other hand, AT&T is only replacing about 15,000 vehicles, meaning the average price per vehicle is budgeted at about $37K, which is pretty decent for fleet costs. So who will benefit? Ford, hybrids and natural gas, says Automotive News [sub]. The Telecom giant plans on buying about 8,000 compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles from Ford, and will fill out its portfolio with hybrid and “other advanced technology power system” vehicles. Sorry, ChryCo!
Straightline tries its hand at funny with predictably lame results. They must have missed this. And this. And this. In fact, they must have missed the fact that sportscars are the only halfway viable EVs out there. Yeesh.
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