More news from Sweden:

“On thursday, supplier P-E Plast stopped their delivieries of parts to Saab in Trollhättan.

The owner, Patrik Ekwall, who runs the company since some months back, is afraid he won’t get paid for his deliveries, reports Swedish Radio (SR).

At Saab, no one answered when he phoned them. “We are wating for a reply” he says.

The last month, P-E Plast has delivered parts for 400 000 kronor (around 80 000 dollars) to Trollhättan. The company makes plastic details for the car industry, and a third of its sales goes to Saab.

In spite of the current circumstances, Patrik Ekwall hopes to keep the eleven employees.”

[thanks to Ingvar for the link and translation]

In a rare turn of truth-embracing, the Freep is printing the total cost of a fully-funded auto industry bailout: a cool $97.4b. That’s “up to $39 billion in survival loans for General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC, a $25.5-billion rescue sought by auto suppliers and $25.4 billion in requests to retool auto plants to build more efficient models” plus $6b for GMAC and $1.5b for Chrysler Financial. “And,” admits the Freep, “it’s likely not the end.” They even mention the minor detail that “the aid sought by Detroit’s automakers is many multiples of their current market values,” but not before forcing the reader to sit through some choice relativism from Clinton Labor Secretary, Robert Reich. And they wonder where the love is?

Alternative headline: “Extortionists Are People Too”

“It’s worth wondering why Detroit’s automakers are still having such a tough time winning public support. Do Americans still not grasp the consequences of a GM bankruptcy? Have the companies so soured confidence in their products that Americans think them unworthy corporations? Are their CEOs so uninspiring that Americans just don’t trust that they’ll turn things around?

Hard to figure how these companies, which employ millions, and whose spinoff industries reach into every nook of the manufacturing sector nationwide, can’t get more support than they are. They’ve got detailed plans. They’ve been forthcoming about their circumstances.

Do people really believe the nation would be better off if they didn’t survive?”

The Daily Mail reports on a warning by the UK’s Unite union to Chancellor Alastair Darling. The union told Darling that 100k jobs are at risk by the “imminent” closure of a car factory. “We made it absolutely clear that the prospect of a plant closure will have a devastating effect on UK manufacturing,” Unite’s Derek Simpson told the paper. “Immediate and effective intervention is required from the Government.” That would be a £13b bailout. Yes, yes. Who’s in danger of going belly-up, then? As, the Brits would say, that would be telling. Keep in mind, that the union boys are throwing around the 100k number in the same way that the infamous CAR study claimed 3m U.S. jobs would be lost if Detroit didn’t receive a federal bailout. You know, counting anyone even remotely affiliated with the car biz, like gas station attendants. Anyway, according to the Mirror, “All the major car manufacturers denied they are considering shutting down factories in Britain.” So I’m thinking . . . Vauxhall told its UK CEO to “send the boys ’round.”

With BMW’s newest Z4 hiking the roadster’s size and weight, Auto Motor und Sport says the Bangle-less Bavarians are planning a downsized Z2 Roadster for 2011 (planned European release). And they waste no time making Mazda Miata comparisons. The Z2 will be built on a downsized Z4 platform, but don’t expect a trademark straight six. It seems that nothing larger than a two liter four-banger will make it into this lightweight roadster. This translates into about 150 hp from a 1.8 liter four cylinder engine at the entry level, and up to 300 hp from a possible turbocharged M version of the two liter four. There’s even talk of a hybrid version. Active steering and suspension and dual-clutch transmissions will be standard, but despite all the techno-frippery the top will be fabric. Interestingly, Auto Motor und Sport lists the price in dollars rather than euros. And they say fewer than 30k of them will make a Z2 yours. Look for an auto show debut sometime in late 2010.

The Washington Post reports that “many analysts say the [TARP] pot isn’t big enough to address current plans to fix the financial system, let alone prop up the auto industry.” Since the first round of auto industry bailouts came from TARP, many considered the Toxic Asset Recovery Program the logical source for tranche deux. But if that money is needed for banks, as analysts indicate, the Obama Administration may have to return to congress for more funds. “From where I sit, it’s an executive decision,” says Republican Senator and bailout critic Bob Corker. “[The Treasury] fully understands we’re coming in with additional requirements,” said GM’s Ray Young after GM’s viability plan was released on Tuesday. “It will come as no surprise.” Who looks surprised?

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Boston.com reports that Massive Taxes’ Governor is pledging to freeze toll charges throughout The Bay State. Before you get out your huzzahs, see: above. “Governor Deval Patrick said today he is looking at a Hummer tax—adding higher registration fees for gas-guzzling cars [ED: presumably SUVs will be rounded-up and shot] and offering discounts for those that do less harm to the environment.” The battle lines are drawn across entirely predictable boundaries, with common sense going out for a cup of Clover (at the taxpayer’s expense).

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Now that Chrysler and GM have submitted their “viability plans,” the Congressional corridors of power have been eerily silent on the subject. Oh sure, the White House Press secretary said something patriotic about preserving this, that and the other thing. And the presidential clusterfuck committee charged with sorting this shit out is meeting even as I obscene. But I was expecteding a lot more public political positioning on Motown’s second round of trough snuffling. Never mind. I reckon Chrysler and GM will get their/our money and soldier on. I also predict the feds will direct Cerberus to toss the keys to Chrysler to GM. Political expediency—the need not to “throw in the towel” on any aspect of the U.S. economy—makes ChryCo inviolate. So why not lump all of Detroit’s “troubled assets” together and create a federally controlled—sorry, “supervised” American Leyland? It’s such a horrendous idea on so many levels it just has to happen. Or not. What say you?

GM’s Jill Lajdziak has written a letter (PDF) to Saturn dealers and customers warning that the General is actively pursuing a spin-off for its “different kind of car company.” Explaining that Saturn Distribution Corporation is “already an independent subsidiary,” Lajdziak says that Saturn dealers would be able to source GM products until 2011, and “if successful, SDC at that point would source products from other manufacturers.” Meanwhile, sit tight and enjoy the ride. “GM will support the continued availability of Saturn parts and service as needed,” says Lajdziak. So while Saturn struggles along under the toxic stench of rejection by GM, let the speculation begin! Will a German government-backed Opel take on the distribution net? Will an upstart Chinese firm see this as a cheap entry to the American market? Or is 2011 the end of the road for Roger Smith’s experiment?

A New Zealand resident who wants a red light running warning citation sent to a stranger or an enemy only needs to call a toll-free phone number. On Tuesday, the Manukau City Council unveiled its program that allows anyone to contact the police and accuse someone of an intersection traffic violation. “We’re asking the community to join the council in sending a message to these drivers that it’s not on,” Manukau City Council member David Collings said. “If people see drivers running red lights they should dial 0800 STOP 4 RED.”

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Reuters reports that Chrysler Canada has been charged with a $500m CD ($400m USD) tax lien as a result of a tax liability reassesment. According to the document filed in Canadian federal court, the Canada Revenue Agency notified Chrysler Canada in 2002 that it owed “substantial increases” in taxes “targeting the pricing of automobiles and parts that crossed the border between Chrysler Canada and its Detroit parent” for three years starting in 1996. The document does not reveal the amount that Chrysler owes the Canadian government, but the $500m CD lien was filed against Chrysler’s Brampton, Ontario, operations. The lien is though to be the largest ever filed by the Canadian government, and likely represents an even larger tax liability than the lien amount. Chrysler is seeking shelter from the assesment in the Canada-US Tax Treaty, and according to reports, the court dispute has been shelved while the various governments negotiate a bailout for the auto sector. Needless to say, another half-billion in liabilities doesn’t exactly do wonders for Chrysler’s viability.

Accounting firm Grant Thornton LLP caught our eye with a press release (via PRNewswire) warning the auto industry of possible “going concern opinions” as auditors complete fiscal year-end reporting. “Going concern opinions” are an auditor’s statement in SEC Form 10-K annual reports that there is substantial doubt about the entity’s ability to continue as a going concern. “It’s important for the public, the supply base and all of the parties involved in restructuring the auto industry not to overreact if they start seeing ‘going concern’ opinions,” says Kimberly Rodriguez, co-leader of Grant Thornton’s global automotive team and a principal in the firm’s restructuring practice. “We’re in uncharted waters and auditors face extremely difficult decisions.” Translation?

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Yet again, a manufacturer is releasing an image which shows a bit of a car to generate excitement at the prospect of seeing . . . the rest of the car. Wasn’t there a board game like this, where you had to guess the whole image as little pieces were revealed? Well, I find the hide-and-seek, slow-reveal automotive press release shtick an inherently infantile practice. Resisting the urge to blame Autoblog for this outbreak of electronic peek-a-boo, thrilled as they must have been with the 235 “teaser” shots provided by FoMoCo in the run up to the entirely predictable 2010 Mustang, I will not resist the urge to call this technique the autoblogospherical equivalent of dickless porn. Do I really care what a new fender vent looks like?

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