Would you believe it that the good folks at Americas buff books make mistakes every once in a while? Well, Car And Driver has decided to air the American motor press’s ten biggest bloopers in a blog post entitled Dishonorable Mention. “We’re not the only publication to recognize a few stinkers with its highest honor. The history of automotive journalism has seen flaming piles of poo named ‘Car of the Year’ even as they attract product liability lawsuits by the acre-foot and hunks of crud honored as “All-Stars” at the very moment buyers are seeking reimbursement under lemon laws,” write C&D’s editors. “It’s always a risk making judgments based on the initial exposure to a car, and sometimes a vehicle’s ultimate crappiness only reveals itself with the fullness of time. We’re all subject to hype for something that seems new, different, and maybe even better, and in this business, we all feel the crushing pressure to be timely, amusing, and authoritative. Being wrong is always a risk. Still, here are ten award winners for which somebody needs to apologize.”
Category: News Blog
Even before the debate over federal loans to the domestic automakers, a number of TTAC editorials pointed out that a bankruptcy by one of the The Big Three would lead to a C11 by the remaining two. Bankruptcy allows the abrogation of labor contracts; an automaker in Ch. 11 proceedings would be able to lower labor costs significantly, putting the other car makers at a competitive disadvantage. [ED: one of Ford’s SEC filing made that very point.] Parts provider Checker (no cabs since 1982) tried to negotiate wage concessions from its employees’ labor union. But even with bankruptcy hanging over their heads, the union wouldn’t make the needed concessions. And so Checker has become the eighth major US auto supplier that’s filed for bankruptcy in the past year.
President Barack Obama’s inaugural address promised that his administration will “harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories.” I’ve heard of solar-powered cars, but wind? Dreams for sail? But seriously folks, “the soil” can only mean one thing: bio-fuels. And although environmentalists would like to switchgrass (or sell you lows), that’s E85 to you and me, bub. The news comes too late for VeraSun. The ethanol producer, Obama supporter and alleged check kiter filed for Chapter 11 last Haloween. But, according to The New York Times, ADM’s still good to go. “Not long after arriving in the Senate, Mr. Obama himself briefly provoked a controversy by flying at subsidized rates on corporate airplanes, including twice on jets owned by Archer Daniels Midland, which is the nation’s largest ethanol producer and is based in his home state.” Anyway, as they say in the DC’s corridors of power, in for a penny, in for a few billion. Meanwhile, corn prices continue to climb…
On this day of change, Toyota is returning to its roots, announcing the appointment of Akio Toyoda as its new President. Toyoda will inherit his grandfather’s firm from Katsuaki Watanabe, just as Toyota is facing its greatest challenges in years. Even Watanabe recognizes the need for change, telling the Wall Street Journal “times have changed completely and … it really requires very bold reform and something that is outside of the box.” And Toyoda hopes to reach back to the foundational principles his grandfather endowed to his firm, while injecting a relatively youthful perspective (Toyoda is 52 years old). “I will go back to the basics of the foundation of the company,” says Toyoda. “But at the same time I am not bound by past history. I intend to exercise as much boldness as possible in pushing ahead with the reforms.” Though a Toyoda hasn’t led the firm since 1995, Toyota also hasn’t lost money since it was founded. To fight the tide of bad news, Reuters reports that Toyota has announced further production cuts. Domestic Japanese production between February and April will be cut in half compared to last year, with plans for only 9k units of production. This will include an 11 day furlough at 11 of its 12 Japanese plants.
Lotus has been developing the Kia Soul’s suspension for UK road conditions since 2008, lending even more appeal to Kia’s new hot box. “The result of our partnership with Lotus is a more composed ride which we think is much more suitable to what our roads can throw at Soul, and additionally, it is also a more exciting car to drive,” Paul Philpott of Kia UK tells Carscoop. This is the first time Kia has tuned a car specifically for the UK market. It is, however, not the first time the US market been left out in the cold while others get the Lotus-fettled hotness. Perhaps our new president could do something about this?
One of the myriad unintended consequences of America’s bailout bonanza is the prospect of an international trade war. Though the WTO moves slowly, the European Union often takes a firm line on American subsidy regimes. And a report in Automotive News Europe [sub] indicates that the EU is prepared to take a firm line on automotive subsidies, as it has in the past with steel and agricultural protective measures. “Europe cannot just look on if someone offers subsidies and market forces are dispensed with,” declares German Chancellor Angela Merkel. “We have to watch carefully what the new president of the United States … will do with the American automotive industry,” growls EU Industry Commissioner Guenter Verheugen. But what’s this? Auto Motor und Sport reports the details of France’s latest 300m Euro effort to rescue the Renault and PSA Peugeot Citroen’s supply chains.
There are three types of beater: cheap, cheaper and push start. A cautious consumer can’t let brand snobbery blind him to the truth about a car. Case in point. A low mileage leathered-up Olds Silhouette minivan. In Gold. Sure it’s the epitome of GM mediocrity, equipped with more parts bin pieces than a Junkyard Wars jalopy. But, in this case, the owner stabled the Silhouette in the great indoors. A ream of paperwork highlighted the undeserving loving care the machine received. So I bought the old Olds for $2200. I’ll be financing it for a little over four grand. Hey, it’s a living.
When Ford unloaded Land Rover on India’s Tata Motors, commentators didn’t see a whole lot of future for the brand. Sure, Landies are known worldwide for bearing the white man’s burden in places where he was eventually kicked-out and replaced by ruthless, genocidal despots. But the western world’s new-found fascination with automotive CO2 levels (of all things) didn’t bode well for Britain’s stilt-borne barges. Even before the transfer, Land Rover has been busy appeasing [both] 4X4-loving tree huggers by hanging-out the greenwashing– paying for carbon credits, stocking the cafeteria with organic cauliflower cheese, that sort of thing. Under its new masters, the planet-friendly spin continues. A press release this morning reveals that Landie’s Gaydon training facility has been converted to Eden Project II.
It’s the last day of our redesign our non-existent logo competition, and the submissions have been anything but non-existent. TTAC’s Best and Brightest have answered the call in force, demonstrating a depth of design talent that would shame, well, me. Given the volume of submissions, I’ve created a new category: Logo Contest (no points for creativity there). If you want to see all the designs, simply click on “News,” then select “Logo Contest” from the drop-down menu. As promised, TTAC’s crack [smoking] staff will wade through all the work to find the ten or so that best encapsulate The Truth About Cars’ editorial stance and style. Then we’ll put them to a popular vote. Meanwhile, thanks to all those who invested their time, effort and passion into this contest on our behalf. (Excluding the selfish gene theory.) It’s reassuring to know that the TTAC brand resonates so well with its owners.
Yesterday, we learned that court-appointed bailiffs are knocking on the doors of UK motorists who’ve failed to pay their fines, and driving them to the cashpoint machine. Now we read that Her Majesty’s government plans to seize and crush uninsured motorists’ vehicle, even if they’re parked. “The Driver Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) would work with insurance companies to identify uninsured cars [using mobile number plate recognition cameras], Reuters reports. “Letters will be sent to owners found without insurance, threatening them a 100 pound penalty notice, rising to as much as 1,000 pounds if they are taken to court. They would also face the seizure of their car, which would be sold, or destroyed if of low value. ‘These tough new measures will leave uninsured drivers with nowhere to hide,’ said Road Safety Minister Jim Fitzpatrick.” The Powers That Be justify the crackdown smackdown with sobering stats. “The government says uninsured and untraced drivers kill 160 people every year and injure 23,000 others. As well as the human cost, uninsured driving adds an extra 30 pounds a year to every motorist’s insurance, adding up to 400 million pounds of additional premiums.” So really, it’s all about saving lives and reducing the burden on innocent motorists. Who knew?
So, this is how it’s gonna go, eh? Chrysler’s going to dress-up the cratered car company long enough to use federal funds to stay alive long enough to strip and flip the company’s assets. Sweet. For some. More specifically, if Fiat’s grabbing 35 percent of Chrysler, can we, the taxpayers, have our $4b back now please? Nope. “The alliance does not contemplate that Fiat would make a cash investment in Chrysler or commit to funding Chrysler in the future.” Jeez. Couldn’t they at least contemplate it? Anyway, a joint statement (don’t bogart that BS, my friend) explains the thinking “The alliance, to be a key element of Chrysler’s viability plan, would provide Chrysler with access to competitive, fuel-efficient vehicle platforms, powertrain, and components to be produced at Chrysler manufacturing sites. Fiat would also provide distribution capabilities in key growth markets, as well as substantial cost savings opportunities. In addition, Fiat would provide management services supporting Chrysler’s submission of a viability plan to the U.S. Treasury as required.” That last one’s kinda weird. What “management services” are required to write a viability plan? Emptying the waste baskets?
Well, he should know. I mean, when the head of the United Auto Workers (UAW) says GM can’t satisfy Congress’ conditions for a second major suckle on Uncle Sam’s teat, you gotta listen. Big Ron Gettelfinger is the guy who has to agree to an equity-for-health-care-payment swap as one of the two major conditions for the cash. “Honestly,” Ron Gettelfinger says, signaling the spinmongery to come. “Most people that have looked at this from a realistic standpoint would say this timeline is almost unattainable. I said myself that I hope this wasn’t set up to intentionally fail… People have no idea of the magnitude of what they were asking these companies to do.” Or to paraphrase John F. Kennedy, ask not what the UAW can do for GM, ask what Congress can do for the UAW. Or to not paraphrase John F. Kennedy, “We’ve done everything we said we were going to do up to this point,” Gettelfinger maintained, assuming that no one will attempt to substantiate a single union “give back.” “We have ongoing discussions with the companies — but nothing formalized in any way shape or form.” No surprise, then, that Gettelfinger said there’d been “no real progress” on a new agreement. The charade continues– until the congressional deadline of February 17. And beyond!
Automotive News [sub] reports that GM is preparing to spin off its Saab brand, since its “strategic review” has failed to turn up any interested buyers. “Saab has been negotiating with GM and the Swedish government about becoming a more independent company, initially as part of GM,” explains a mysterious GM source. According to Saab’s union president Paul Akerlund, “under this [plan], the Saab board will be more like a normal board, and less dependent on what happens on GM’s European strategy board. They will make their own decisions.” Still confused? GM will still be the owner, but Saab will have its own budget, says Akerlund. Presumably only long enough to attract an interested buyer, though. “You have to make sure there is a company that GM can sell,” says Stefan Lofven, president of Sweden’s IF Metall union. “That means a company that is a separate entity where people can look at the balance sheets and you know what you are buying.” As in not GM, where top executives are “losing patience” with Saab. So instead of “GM life support” as Lutz so uniquely puts it, Saab gets production of the new 9-5 and an undetermined amount of cash (ha!) to retreat to the motherland and court buyers in peace.
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