It's true: TTAC panders to PR-meisters who use surveys to hook hacks into stories with only a peripheral link to the companies that sponsor them. And more than a few of these polls are about as scientific as astrology. Still, sometimes we can't help but share the bizarre-o info that nine out of ten spin doctors prescribe for their clients who chew gum. In this case, leasetrader.com— the e-Yenta of the leasing biz– claims they surveyed 2000 female customers/potential customers to discover that fold down rear seats are their most fave feature, car-wise. Then it's Bluetooth capability, MP3/iPod connectivity, automatic open/close hatchback and GPS technology. In an interview with TTAC (below), leasetrader.com's Vice President of Marketing Communications insists that women are crying out for somewhere to put their damn handbag (paraphrasing) and can't see the point of a sunroof (so to speak). In case you're wondering what this all means, John Sternal kinda promises he might poll men on the same topic eventually, although he reckons men's magazines auto coverage proves we're performance-minded oafs pistonheads. Ya think?

Car buffs around the world have wasted countless hours debating whether the automotive stunt work in Bullitt or The French Connection qualifies as The Mother of All Car Chases. Obviously, Bullitt is the correct answer. Bud Ekins was the man behind the man behind the wheel. But first, Ekins performed the over-the-fence motorbike jump in "The Great Escape;" the most famous motorcycle stunt ever performed in a movie. After that immortal movie moment, motor mad actor Steve McQueen tapped Ekins to create the superhuman driving in "Bullitt." The movie earned Ekins his place in Hollywood legend– even though the studio insisted on crediting McQueen with the driving. (Ekins didn't mind; he valued his friendship with McQueen more than industry accolades.) Ekins went on to work on other super-stunt films such as "Blues Brothers" ("They got everything in this mall") and "Diamonds are Forever" (two wheel driving through an alley). When his pal and fellow race car driver McQueen died in 1980, Ekins retired from stunt driving, heartbroken. He spent his remaining days restoring and collecting Triumph motorbikes. His only regret in life? "Opening a Triumph dealership, instead of working for Honda."

It's about "lifting the dome" and letting people do their jobs. This insight into the Chrysler's freshly-minted Co-President's "take plenty of prisoners" management style arrives via The Detroit Free Press. The Freep joined a respect of journos at a Las Vegas round table to grill simmer Press on the changes needed to return Chrysler to profitability. They got bupkis. Nothing on the strike. Zilch on product executions. But they did get more of Press' party line: Chrysler makes cars with "visceral" appeal (I guess reliability and build quality are emotional issues) and Chrysler's employees are great people. "There's a real willingness to listen and do better," Press said. "The main thing I can do is get out of the way." Perhaps Cerberus should have paid Press to not work for them. 

The Detroit News' Daniel Howes reports that FoMoCo is following Chrysler's lead, hoping top Toyota talent can right their sinking ship. James D. Farley, group vice president of Toyota Motor Co.'s Lexus Division, is set to join The Blue Oval Boyz as their first head of global marketing and communications. Howes sings hosannas to Farley's new boss Alan Mulally, sees no downside to the deal and singularly fails to mention the astronomical pay packet involved. "That a rising Toyota star, the head of Lexus and a founder of its Scion youth brand would bolt the Japanese juggernaut for the struggling Blue Oval is a testament to Mulally's leadership, the strength of Ford's current lineup, the promise of its future products and the upside in it all." And once again we feel compelled to point out that Farley, like Chrysler's Jim Press, is the product of a consensus management system, rather than its originator. In other words, one wonders how he fares in the ass-kicking department. Watch this space, and all of Ford's advertising.

Automotive News [AN, sub] reports that the chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) has got religion. Dale Willey believes that the key to Detroit's future lies in building fuel efficient vehicles. Speaking to his not-so-ruthless, toothless pals at the Automotive Press Association, Willey cited a 37 percent annual increase in U.S. sales of hybrid vehicles as proof that The Big 2.8's survival depends on its ability to jump on the gas-miser bandwagon. Which is why his organization supports the proposed bill raising combined corporate average fuel economy standards for cars and light trucks to 32 to 35 mpg by 2022 (as opposed to the dreaded 35 by 2020 bill). At the same time, Willey called for more domestic product innovation, which has already led to "successful sales of such crossovers as the Buick Enclave and Ford Edge." FYI: When he's not the mouthpiece for 20k new-vehicle dealers operating 43k franchises, Willey runs a Buick, Pontiac, GMC and Cadillac dealership in Lawrence, Kansas.

Smells like… victory. Newsweek magazine had a chin wag with Chrysler's new Vice Chairman, eschewing genuine analysis for the lazy journalist's best friend (edited Q&A). Anyway, in case you were wondering why the former Toyota exec jumped ship, Press says "I like the smell of the sheet metal on the showroom floor." So a HUGE pile of cash had nothing to do with it, then. Other revelations: Chrysler products don't suck as much as people think, Press' new job is to get the company to "see the world through the customer’s eyes," Chrysler will eliminate some models AND add models that "extend our footprint," and Jimbo's up for any old alt powerplant ("You’ll have diesel hybrids. You’ve got fuel-cell hybrids. You’ve got all-electric cars that use a hybrid system. Plug-in hybrid."). Press finishes with a folksy flourish. "You know, it’s a simple business. There are dealers and there are products. We’ve got to build the right products and give the dealers good stuff to sell." Huh. I guess Press' heirs should be glad nobody told that to Daimler.

Gaywheels.com has entered the first openly gay cross-country rally team in this week's Fireball Run Transcontinental Rally. Driving a Saab 9-3 convertible, Team G.L.A.M (Gay & Lesbian Automotive Maniacs) is one of 55 teams running the 3,500-mile scavenger hunt/race from Orlando, Florida to Los Angeles. The entries in the race include an all-woman Bentley team, the ambulance used in the movie "Cannonball Run," and a 1960's Batmobile (POW! WHAM!). Team G.L.A.M. is currently in second place in the "luxury class" and ninth overall.  According to their blow-by-blow description, they've had to deal with state troopers in Alabama and Texas, a blown tire in Louisiana, panic brought on when they forgot key items at a check-in point in Oklahoma City and truckers clogging the CB airways talking about the "faggots in the Saab" as they drove through Nevada. 

I've got a couple of bones to pick with BMW designer Chris Bangle. First, I reckon the "flame surfacing" design style that he's inflicted on the brand since the 2002 7-Series has trashed the sina qua non of German automotive elegance. Second, the Ohio-born Bimmer big-wig's insistence on pronouncing perfectly good English words with a German accent (e.g. "owtowmobile" and "schport") strikes me as the worst sort of pistonhead-goes-to- art-school pretentiousness. And now Bangle's really bungled it. On BMW-web-tv, Bangle waxes lyrical about his employer's Geneva auto stand. Ten seconds in, Bangles says "It's kind of an axis of white power here; there are really strong white cars." Now we're not suggesting that Bangle's racist, or that BMW's lack of minorities in their upper executive echelons reflects any kind of ethnic or cultural insensitivity. But that's certainly not the kind of comment you'd expect a car executive to make off the cuff– or fail to realize he had made and order it struck from the record. And the fact that Bangle's axis of white power comment made it onto BMW's website tells us they lack English-speakers, political sensitivity or both. Just sayin'. 

[TTAC scribe Martin Schwoerer has kindly uploaded the clip onto YouTube.]

The European Court has announced judgment day for its ruling on the so-called "VW law" thwarting Porsche's takeover plans: 9:30am, October 23. Meanwhile, union bosses at the two automakers are duking it out in the court of public opinion. Just-auto [sub] reports that the head of the Porsche works council, Uwe Hück, has called his opposite number at VW, Bernd Osterloh, an "out of control boxer" [pugilist, not engine]. Hück was responding to Osterloh's assertion that Porsche management had refused to meet with him to discuss future VW worker representation on the Porsche Holding SE's supervisory board. Osterloh's beef: when if Porsche assumes control of VW, both unions get three seats on the new company's board. As far as Osterloh's concerned, this would give "Porsche employees" veto power over Volkswagen employees. As far as Hück is concerned, "Saying that a workforce of 324,000 carries more weight than one of 12,000 is capitalist talk. In a democratic social state, everyone has equal rights, whether they are big, small, fat or thin." What was that about divide and conquer?

The European Union may soon force automakers to include health/global warming warnings on their car advertisements, similar to the list of possible side effects required on US drug ads. MotorTrader (MT) reports that English MEP (Member European Parliament) Chris Davies has submitted a report on the proposal to EU chiefs, who will debate the idea in October. Davies' report also calls for a Euro-wide ban on any car ad that promotes a vehicle's high speed performance (as is currently in place in the UK) and ban the sale of cars that can drive faster than 101mph. According to MT, Davies "noted that the power of new cars increased by 28 per cent between 1994 and 2004, making them heavier and thus increasing the amount of CO2 output. This increase is completely unnecessary, the MEP said, as no country has raised its speed limit to allow cars to use this additional power."  

The UK's Hello magazine reports that Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond crashed a BMW 330 Dti Sport during an endurance race at Silverstone. Even though the "Hamster" is famous for crashing a jet car at 288mph, sustaining brain injuries and returning to full health, this incident doesn't really have what it takes to make it to the top of the media pile (i.e. death or more serious injury). Hence Hello, a magazine predicated on the simple belief that millions of people want to see what kind of wallpaper celebrities prefer. But you really have to read Hecklerspray's blog on the story. Regarding the information that fellow Top Gear's top Jeremy Clarkson consoled the The Hamster after his latest fender bender, Stuart Heritage writes "Dear lord, hasn't the poor man suffered enough? But, yeah, thanks a lot for that last sentence, Hello – we're going to hold you personally responsible for all the screaming night terrors we're bound to be saddled with for the rest of our lives after summoning up that grotesque mental image."