The autoblogosphere is abuzz re: a recently released Congressional Oversight Panel for the Troubled Asset Relief Program report stating the obvious: US taxpayers can kiss their $60.5 billion-plus Chrysler and GM Debtor-in-Possession funding goodbye.

Although taxpayers may recover some portion of their investment in Chrysler and GM, it is unlikely they will recover the entire amount. The estimates of loss vary. Treasury estimates that approximately $23 billion of the initial loans made will be subject to “much lower recoveries.” Approximately $5.4 billion of the loans extended to the old Chrysler company are highly unlikely to be recovered. The Congressional Budget Office earlier calculated a subsidy rate of 73 percent for all automotive industry support under TARP and recently raised its estimate of the cost of that assistance by approximately $40 billion over the previous estimate. Because Treasury has not clearly articulated its objectives, it is impossible to know if this prospect, indeed, represents a failure of Treasury‟s strategy.

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In a desperate attempt to save lucrative photo enforcement programs in the face of widespread scandal, the Italy’s Ministry of Interior on Friday announced significant reforms to the way speed cameras and red light cameras are operated in the country. The move followed explosive allegations of corruption involving over one hundred public officials and a number of executives from the photo enforcement industry. The investigation is ongoing with police forces having conducted raids and arrests earlier this month, in June and in January. Interior Minister Roberto Maroni set out the new regulations in a directive issued to local authorities. “The primary objective is… to plan (speed) control activities so that they represent a real tool of prevention and not merely a means to raise cash,” Maroni said in a statement. “Speed control is a police service that cannot be delegated to companies that rent equipment.”

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Motorists have been hard hit by the increase in the cost of parking in in Chicago, Illinois that began with a deal struck in February. In the central business district, for example, the cost to park for an hour doubled from $1 an hour to $2 and will quadruple to $4 an hour by 2013. Meters must also now be fed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The hikes came after Mayor Richard J. Daley (D) leased the city’s 36,000 parking meters to Morgan Stanley for 75 years in return for an up-front payment of $1.15 billion. The Independent Voters of Illinois-Independent Precinct Organization (IVI-IPO), a liberal government reform group, fought back last Wednesday by filing a lawsuit hoping a judge would find the parking meter contract unlawful.

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The Arlington County Board on Wednesday [above] filed suit against the Commonwealth of Virginia and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) over the High Occupancy Toll (HOT) Lanes project proposed for Interstates 95 and 395. The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has been determined to sell the existing High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) ride-sharing lanes to an Australian company in return for an up-front payment. Arlington officials claimed that in the rush to ram the project through the system, state and federal officials bypassed environmental laws. “I wish it did not have to come to this, but the County was left with no alternative,” Board Chairman Barbara A. Favola said in a statement. “We are encouraged that VDOT has elected to delay the project.”

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Just got off the blower with Rae Tyson, stalwart spokesman for the Department of Transportation’s Cash for Clunkers (a.k.a. C.A.R.S.) program. Although Tyson doesn’t have the exact stats, he revealed that the agency has rejected “significantly more” than 25 percent of dealer submissions for government reimbursement. “The bottleneck is regrettable,” Rae said. “But the number represents safeguards against fraud.” The clock is ticking. As of this morning, US car dealers have submitted paperwork to the C4C program for 390,283 vehicles. That represents $1.63 billion from the $3 billion total. Minus the $50 million processing fee. So there’s $1.34 billion and change left in the kitty. [Top ten reasons for C.A.R.S. rejection after the jump.] Meanwhile, NADA spokesman Chuck Cyrill says, “a lot of dealers are pulling out of the program.” Cyrill contends that cash flow problems caused by paperwork issues are causing dealers to “limit their exposure.” The remedy is the experience. “To address dealer concerns with a backlog of reimbursement claims, DOT has informed NADA that it will commit to deploy an additional 1,000 employees to speed up its processing efforts.”

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Special interest groups devoted to undermining the rights of motorists have received millions in grants from the UK government. These organizations promote raising taxes on drivers, increasing the number of speed cameras and boosting subsidies for inefficient modes of transportation. A report issued earlier this month by The Taxpayers’ Alliance (TPA) used freedom of information requests and government reports to calculate the amount of public money that lobbying groups receive.

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It takes £2,239,300,000 (US $3,749,250,000) in subsidies to operate mass transit programs in the UK’s capital city, according to the Transport for London Annual Report and Statement of Accounts released this week. These subsidies come from a number of taxes imposed on motorists who in many cases do not use public transportation. London’s most burdensome levy on drivers, the congestion charge, is so inefficient that for every £10 taken from drivers, £6 is spent on the bureaucracy required to administer the charge.

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Taxpayers will foot the bill for efforts to promote the tolling of roads throughout Texas after Governor Rick Perry (R) vetoed legislation that would have reined in public relations efforts at the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). Only one member of the entire legislature voted against the proposed bill that would have amended existing law to clarify that pro-tolling advertising campaigns could no longer be bankrolled with state funds. “This section does not authorize the department to engage in marketing, advertising, or other activities for the purpose of influencing public opinion about the use of toll roads or the use of tolls as a financial mechanism,” House Bill 2142 stated.

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The Department of Transportation (DOT) has fired-up its Cash4Clunkers website. I would have thought the bill’s nickname would have been ideal for the job, but then I’m not a public servant. And so the feds present its brand new website with a new name: CARS (Car Allowance Rebate System). Definitely a case of not leaving well enough alone. To wit: a button on cars.gov asking “How will CARS work”. Apropos of nothing, the site also has a strange FAQ: “I don’t drive an American car but I would like to trade in my old car for a newer, more fuel efficient one. Is this program only for American cars?” Now why would anyone think that? More CARS after the jump.

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On Thursday the bipartisan leadership of the US House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee introduced its $500 billion blueprint for federal transportation programs over the next six years. In addition to creating new rail and transit subsidies, the proposal introduces new roadblocks for state looking to convert existing free roads into toll roads. Committee Chairman James L. Oberstar (D-Minnesota) and Ranking Member John L. Mica (R-Florida) agreed that legislative consideration of the proposal should move forward this Wednesday. Oberstar’s proposal represents a 53 percent increase in spending over the previous authorization level and will require significant increases in revenue generated. Oberstar lashed out at a suggestion from Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood that Congress should hold off on action so that the expected vote on raising gas taxes would be delayed until after the midterm congressional elections.

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The Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) will kick off a week of “open house” meetings today to promote a proposal that would add tolls along the 400 miles of Interstate 80 that pass through the state. Unlike interstate tolling plans introduced in other parts of the country as “congestion reduction” measures, this one would not add new lane capacity. In a state with a population of just over a half-million, congestion is not even an issue after projecting population and traffic growth for another thirty years. WYDOT’s real target is out-of-state truck drivers.

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Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement on the Obama Administration’s order of 17,205 “fuel-efficient” vehicles using funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act:

We know that we can create jobs and save taxpayer dollars while protecting our planet, and with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, we are. The news that General Services Administration is one step closer to buying new, fuel efficient vehicles is good for our economy, good for our workers, and good for our environment. Because this will increase the fuel efficiency of the federal fleet, it’s also good for the American taxpayer.

Ah, but how fuel efficient are they? And what percentage of the new vehicles are American-made (a.k.a. UAW-assembled) cars? As you know, TTAC is determined to pry this information from the federal government. Our surprise ally: Speaker Pelosi’s office. They’ve promised to identify the models for us on Monday. We shall see . . .

A major credit rating agency yesterday released a report reinforcing a negative outlook on the financial stability of the toll road industry. Fitch Ratings analyzed the performance of forty US toll road facilities during 2007 and 2008. It predicted that the roads would not see a recovery from the recession until 2011 at the earliest and that motorists would be paying more money in tolls as a result.

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We’ve given you the heads-up on the federal government’s plans to favor domestic automakers with “stimulus sales.” And so it has come to pass. The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) reports—eight days after the fact—that they’ve ordered 17,205 “fuel efficient vehicles” at a cost of $287 million. Breaking it down: Uncle Sam bought 2,933 Chryslers ($53 million); 7,924 Fords for ($129 million); and 6,348 General Motors vehicles ($105 million). Does it strike anyone as odd that FoMoCo gets the largest contract? Not-so-secret hat tip for NOT taking bailout bucks, while competing against those who have? Or just a reflection of the fact that the Crown Vic rules! Which reminds me: by NOT revealing the exact models ordered, one has to wonder about the depth of the GSA’s commitment to greening-up the fed’s fleet. On this point, the press release is suitably vague, and yet completely revealing . . .

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Jim Fouts, the mayor of Warren, Michigan, has made GM an offer he hopes it can’t refuse. According to the DetN, Fouts hand-delivered a proposal to GM’s Renaissance Center that offered the automaker a 30-year tax abatement on personal property taxes if it moved headquarters to its Warren Technical Center. The offer, which Fouts calls “unprecedented,” would give GM 100 percent off taxes on all machinery and equipment and 50 percent off the taxes associated with any new construction for a period of 12 years.

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