Today, my phone rang repeatedly, and my email inbox quickly filled with questions. They all said: “Did you see this? Do you know these people?”

I knew the guy in the picture. I used to be married into a family that was in the Washington Green book. I lived in Virginia two driveways from Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello.  I was surrounded by gentleman farmers and politicos. Jeez, the late Ambassador Fritz Nolting drove into my pool on a riding mower with a cocktail in one hand and a cigar in the other. Talk about distracted driving.

The right man in the picture wanted to be Governor of Virginia. He still does. The left man wants to be a tycoon.

The man who leans over that sign somewhere in the godforsaken desert of Inner Mongolia, China, is Terence “Terry” McAuliffe. Yes, the very same Terry McAuliffe who was a Democratic National Committee head and a close Bill Clinton adviser who, according to a United States Senate document organized the famous coffees and sleepovers that saved Bill Clinton from electoral annihilation.

According to one source, “McAuliffe’s soft money strategy was responsible for President Clinton’s 1996 scandal concerning the Lincoln Bedroom sleepovers and the White House coffees, two tactics employed to solicit huge donations from wealthy friends and patrons of the Clintons.”

Putting the Lincoln Bedroom up for sale for $100,000 a night (on average) was only a minor scandal compared to what was called “Chinagate.”

Al Gore, friend and beneficiary of Buddhist monks, praised McAuliffe as ”the greatest fund-raiser in the history of the universe.” Coming from Gore, that’s the best endorsement one can get.

Yes, you are looking at THAT Terry McAuliffe.

Yes, it’s the same and he is back in China, and back in the fundraising business. This time, he promises to bring 300,000 cars to China. Made in America by Americans. Assembled in China. In that new factory which is going up behind the two gentlemen.

Wait, there is more. A lot more. (Read More…)

Someone is fanning the flames between Volkswagen and Suzuki, and we aren’t talking flames of love. Today, the German Platow Brief reported a bit belatedly that the German-Nipponese alliance is on the ropes. Something that the attentive reader of TTAC has known for quite a while and as always free of charge. The expensive subscription to the German financial newsletter is not in our editorial budget. A friend of TTAC sent us today’s Platow missive, which can’t be found on-line. After going through the usual blah-blah, the letter drops a high explosive bomb: (Read More…)

Within the next ten years, the car industry will change more than in the past fifty years. At least at Volkswagen, says Audi Chief Rupert Stadler. Platforms are a thing of the last century. The future of the car industry is kit cars. Or make that cars designed and built using elements of a common kit architecture. Currently, there are two families of erector kits which can be assembled into all kinds of cars at Volkswagen. They have Teutonic names like “Modularer Querbaukasten” (MQB)  and “Modularer Längsbaukasten” (MLB). Porsche is developing a “MMB” (Modularer Mittelbaukasten) for Mittelmotor (mid-engined) cars. Or possibly a MSB (Modularer Standardbaukasten), which could be the Mutter of all Baukasten.

Audi is already working with the MLB architecture. This coming year, Volkswagen will start using the MQB. Says Automobilwoche [sub]: (Read More…)

Saab is living off charitable donations and newly issued stock to allow its workers to live from paycheck to paycheck while doing nothing. Over at the Blog of Good Hope every little donation to the cause is praised as the Final Deliverance. According of a Blog of Good Hope post, representatives of the Chinese savior Pangda  are in Trollhättan this weekend. One of the questions undoubtedly will be “how long, how much?” Or in the language of venture capitalists “how long until we run out of runway?” (Read More…)

Following strong rhetoric of Japan’s automakers against the strong yen, Nissan appears to take action. According to Reuters, Nissan will “reduce exports by as much as a third and reduce the impact of the yen’s crippling strength.” The move is couched into socially acceptable terms. (Read More…)

Japan’s automakers face a problem not seen for a long time: Unfilled job openings. “Automakers and other manufacturers are struggling to fill positions at their domestic factories as they ramp up output to make up for production lost since the March 11 disaster,” says The Nikkei [sub]. (Read More…)

In June, we made a projection of who will be where on the podium of the world’s largest automakers by the end of 2011. Now that half year results of most majors are in, we can have another look. Suddenly, the race gets tighter, and it could remain interesting till the end.
First, let’s see where we stand at halftime. (Read More…)

GM China and its joint ventures sold 173,398 vehicles in China during the month of July, “as Shanghai GM and GM’s Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac brands all set sales records for the month,” GM’s press release says. Nonetheless, GM’s China sales in July were down 1.8 percent from the same month last year. Now how did that happen? Why should you care? Why should anybody care? (Read More…)

Here comes a possible explanation for yesterday’s Wild-Ass Rumor Of The Day: Toyota says that “a jointly-developed RAV4 electric vehicle will be built at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada, Inc. (TMMC) in Woodstock, Ontario beginning in 2012.”  Now what about that billion dollar deal? (Read More…)

Saab’s white collar employees were getting blue in their faces from waiting for last month’s paycheck. Saab had to sell off slices of the company to pay workers who sit at home twiddling their thumbs. According to the always well informed Saabsunited (when it comes to good news), salaries were transferred today at 5pm. On to the next payday.

Meanwhile, things don’t look so good in China. In June, Saab signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Chinese distributor Pangda Automobile and car manufacturer Zhejiang Youngman Lotus. This had been feted as the second coming of Christ over in Flagwavingland. Put your ear on the ground. Hear that sound? It’s the Chinese, dragging their feet. (Read More…)

Toyota’s Prius defended its title as best selling car in Japan, which it had re-gained from Honda’s Fit in June. Production at Toyota is getting back in gear, and pre-ordered Prius Alpha wagons are finding their way to their owners. Table provided by the Japan Automobile Dealer Association JADA after the jump … (Read More…)

Toshihiro Suzuki, executive vice president of Suzuki said Volkswagen conducting a review of their troubled marriage is “a step forward.” He quickly added  that Suzuki had not heard any details, says Dow Jones via The Nikkei [sub].

“Our cooperation is based on the premise of being equal partners,” said Suzuki. “We’ll wait to hear from Volkswagen to confirm that the review under way is being carried out with this idea in mind.”

This doesn’t sound like the remarks of a partner who is ready to kiss and make up & out. (Read More…)

Swedish Automobile NV, the artist formerly known as Spyker, and owner of struggling Swedish car maker Saab, said today it plans to issue new shares to raise cash in order to meet overdue payroll. Response of the union: “Show me the money.” (Read More…)

Despite solid gains at most brands, losses at tsunami-afflicted Honda and Toyota were sever enough to reduced the July bottom line of U.S. auto sales to a tepid 1 percent gain. The seasonally adjusted annual sales rate (SAAR) for July stands at 12.24 million units. The pent-up demand is still in hiding, but automaker have not given up the hope for its return:

“There are people who put off vehicle purchases because of uncertainty about fuel prices, vehicle availability and the economy,” said Don Johnson, head of U.S. sales for GM, told Automotive News [sub].  “As these conditions improve in the latter half of this year, many of these buyers will return to the market.”

Others take a more cautious stance. (Read More…)

Chinese construction workers settled an argument about a parking spot with dynamite. The altercation left four people dead and 16 injured. (Read More…)