WELCOME! "THE CAR NUT" --- AWARD-WINNING AUTOMOTIVE JOURNALIST STEVE PARKER'S WEBSITE

HUGE INVESTOR TO FORD: SELL MERCURY ... AND VOLVO!

Like politics, American big business has its "great families" and its "great characters". And its "great stories" ... This is one of them. In the auto industry, the names Kerkorian, York, Iacocca, Eaton, Lutz and Perot have all had long and strong connections to every one of the Detroit Three, connections several decades long. This week, all those connections again came to light as Kirk Kerkorian's company started buying-up 20-million more shares of Ford (he already owns 100-million shares, almost 8% of the whole company) and advising Ford's CEO, Alan Mulally (a Detroit newcomer), to sell-off that company's Volvo and Mercury divisions. (Photo --- Above, Ford is estimating they will sell 100,000 of their all-new Flex models the first year it's on-sale, Below, Kirk Kerkorian makes a point to reporters; the 92-year old billionaire, with longtime, huge investments in the Detroit Three, is currently in the process of buying 20-million more shares of Ford Motor stock).

Ford's surprise turn of a profit in the year's first quarter brought all this about.

You may remember when we reported on April 25th, that "Ford Motor Co. surprised Wall Street today with a first quarter earnings report full of black ink -- saying it posted net income of $100 million on total revenue of $43.5 billion. That's compared with a net loss of $282 million on revenue of $43.0 billion during the same period a year ago. Ford stock skyrocketed on the news -- closing the day up 88 cents, or 11.7 percent, to $8.40 a share." (Photo --- Kerkorian's friendship with Lee Iacocca, shown promoting an electric bicycle which a Southern California company is making, using his name, created animosity between Kerkorian and Chrysler after Iacocca left it).

We've been saying "Buy Ford!" and "Buy GM!" for several years (can't say "Buy Chrysler!" anymore, unless you want the whole thing) ... These gigantic American corporations, with so many overseas properties and superior products, Ford and GM (or Opel or Holden, etc)  cars and trucks being the "favorites" in many markets (if not the US), simply can not have their stocks stay in the $10/share range, even if the companies are old-time, unexciting "brick-and-mortar" business, something very unsexy to Wall Street in these days of trying to make enormous sums of money by making as few actual products as possible. If all your company sells is "information," ala E-bay or, the best example, Microsoft, that's been all the better for stock prices since the 1990s. Ford and GM have massive amounts of real estate, buildings, skilled workers, many of them unionized, at that, franchised dealers around the world (highly-protected in this country from the manufacturer by US laws) and made huge sums in the US through the 1990s and early years of this decade by selling massive, heavy, low-mileage trucks and SUVs which don't have to be re-designed every two to three years, like car-buyers demand. Now, "thanks" to $4/gallon gas prices ($5/gallon by the day Bush leaves office; we'll also be at war with Iran), for the first time in about a decade, cars and the new CUVs (Crossover Utility Vehicles), which are built on car-like platforms, are outselling the big trucks and SUVs which Americans managed to get so used to, so easily.

After the announcement, Kirk Kerkorian announced his intention to greatly increase his stock holdings in Ford. This past week, Kerkorian's Tracinda Corp. announced that it plans to make a cash tender offer for as many as 20 million shares of Ford stock at $8.50 a share. Kerkorian, Tracinda and York are no newcomers to Ford; Tracinda already owns 100 million shares, representing 4.7 percent of Ford's outstanding shares.

Last month, after the process to buy those 20-million shares of Ford had begun, York had a private meeting with Ford CEO Alan Mulally, the ex-Boeing chief who took the Ford job about a year ago (but only after Ford deposited more than $20 million in his bank accounts). At this meeting, York apparently told Mulally that he needed to sell the company's Volvo and Mercury divisions to help in Ford's "turn-around". (Photo --- Jerry York is Kerkorian's "bagman" in buying-up 20-million more shares of Ford stock, and last month he "advised" Ford CEO Alan Mulally to get rid of Mercury and Volvo; Mulally was not amused).

While Ford is still not making a single cent in profit in the US, the company's recent positive results show that when a company based in the US, as Ford has always been, in Dearborn, Michigan, and shows profits from markets other than the US, it's still good for the company as a whole, especially as far as Wall Street is concerned.

The big problem in Ford's case, and ultimately, for America, is that a lot of the "profit" expected to come from the US for Ford (and GM and Chrysler) will come in the form of cutbacks, as Ford has upped the numbers and the values of the "early retirement buy-outs" which the company is offering tens of thousands of their US employees. And as someone smarter than I once said, "A large company can't cut its way to success and profitability."

Kirk Kerkorian and his investment firm, Tracinda Corporation, has as his "chief aide" a former Chrysler   executive named Jerome B. (Jerry) York. York is Chairman, President and CEO of Harwinton Capital, another Wall Street investment firm. He is also the former CFO of IBM and Chrysler, CEO of Micro Warehouse  and he joined the board of directors of Apple Inc. in 1997. (Photo --- Why Mercury needs to be sold, which is unlikely, or shut-down: Their Mountaineer version of the Ford Explorer. First three months of 2008 saw sales of 4,728 Mountaineers, and 27,638 Explorers. Sure, some can argue that those 4,700 Mountaineers represent pricier Explorers which wouldn't have sold, anyway. But could those few sales, and the total costs which go into making them and then the costs of their after-care, really make Mercury viable?).

Click below to read more about Kerkorian, York, Volvo and Mercury ... if Ford will sell those two divisions ... and when!

VW TELLS BEIJING: "FURTHER OPEN UP (YOUR) SOCIETY"

Volkswagen, the first foreign automaker to enter the Chinese market and a sponsor of the 2008 Beijing games, urged China's government on Thursday, April 24th, to "embrace the spirit of the Olympic Games". (Photo --- VW's Lavida sedan is the first "China-only" car made by Shanghai Volkswagen, and was debuted at the recent 2008 Beijing Auto Show).

Everyone around the world knows what a fantastic "success" the Beijing Olympic Torch Armored Stampede, uh, Run, has been, at least in those countries where a brutal, militaristic central government can offer the Torch Run the kind of, uh, "encouragement" desired by their like-minded buddies in Beijing. (Photos --- It was protesters versus police in San Francisco; a torch-bearer enjoys his moment in the San Francisco sun).

Places like San Francisco, a city which prides itself on offering "the run of the town" to just about anyone, provided the proper permits are paid and security arrangements made. Didn't anyone wonder why San Francisco was the Torch's only US stop? While we understand San Francisco's desire and need to host their Red Chinese guests in a safe and sane manner, the city nonetheless made itself look ridiculous by playing "Hide the Torch" for several hours, toying with the city's own citizens while "kissing up" to Beijing and their crack security teams guarding the Torch.

Surprisingly, but also happily, Volkswagen has become the first Beijing Games' sponsor to stand-up publicly to China's contributions to murderous, violent, cruel repression and political manipulations not only aimed at their own people, but also in Tibet, Nepal, Darfur and other nations. They did it in a way which, while it might seem timid and weak to the average American, nonetheless attempts to "gets the message across" to their Chinese business partners in an Asian, "face-saving" way.  (Photo --- The 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet has long been a flash-point between the nation which he was forced to escape, in disguise, in 1959, as China began to complete their dominance over the country, Tibet, which had been traditionally led politically and religiously by the Dalai Lama for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years).

Volkswagen is no innocent company. Born in the earliest days of what became WWII, Dr. Ferdinand Porsche sought-out and received a personal commission from Hitler to design and build the "People's Car", what was to eventually be called the Volkswagen. Porsche (the engineering firm Ferdinand founded and led) was involved as were other infamous firms of Nazi Germany, including Daimler-Benz and Bayer, in developing munitions, vehicles and many other war-related products. Today, Volkswagen, Porsche and Audi are all strongly inter-related (by both stock ownership and family) and all, including Daimler, have been involved in the payment of billions of dollars in war reparations to the war's victims and the State of Israel; these companies and many of their top executives and labor leaders, and the German government, have tried to make honest and appropriate amends following WWII, sometimes successfully, sometimes not so. (Photo --- Beijing traffic; the city now averages more than 10,000 new-car registrations per week, a number continuously on the rise).

So it is especially appropriate that the first Beijing Games' sponsor to openly criticize Beijing and try to  push the regime towards more openness should be one which had its own first-hand experience as a member of what was possibly the world's single-most deadly "government;" no one will ever be certain if China killed more people during their "Cultural Revolution" than were killed due to Germany's murderous aggression in WWII.

     As reported by Reuters, "The Olympics offer China and its people a unique opportunity not only to continue their economic development, but above all to further open up their society," Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn told shareholders at the VW annual meeting.
     "We hope and firmly believe that our Chinese partners will seize this unique opportunity."
     The CEO said Volkswagen had stressed this in talks with those responsible in China.
     The second-largest carmaker in China behind U.S. rival General Motors, Volkswagen decided in June 2004 to become a partner of the Beijing games and went so far as to dub the restructuring of its two Chinese joint ventures the "Olympic Programme."
     The Games have turned into a public relations disaster for China after violent crackdowns in Tibet provoked protests in the West and forced runners bearing the Olympic torch around the world to be protected by security forces. (End of Reuters story).

This is the interior of the VW Lavida, "Made in China, Only for China." Around the world, VW interiors are used as styling and quality benchmarks for other car-makers

Click below to read more about Volkswagen criticizing China using "soft diplomacy" and possibly cutting the amount of supplies purchased from Chinese companies!

FORD'S FIRST QUARTER LOOKING UP WORLDWIDE; USA REMAINS IN THE RED

Good news from Ford! Well, the company is not yet making a single cent in the US, but worldwide the Blue Oval is doing well. Alan Mulally, the former-Boeing executive who is now running Ford and demanded (and got)  $20 million in cash deposited in his bank account before his first day of work, isn't able to yet demonstrate that Ford's American new-vehicle sales arm can recover from the phenomenal bashing they (and GM and Chrysler) have been through the past 37 years. The improving (for Ford and their stockholders) facts below (and haven't we been telling you to BUYBUYBUY Ford stock? It's easy to find ... it's stock ticker symbol is easy to remember: "F"). (Photo Above --- Ford is predicting 100,000 sales annually for their all-new Flex CUV; you might remember it as the "Fairlane" concept car).

While Ford has some great products which they've developed for (and are building in) many other countries around the world, the company's main method of saving money is going to be through worker attrition, voluntarily or otherwise. Fewer workers using fewer platforms to make more models with much-fewer option packages is the secret to Ford's stabilization in this, their long-time home market. And a Ford connection with Nissan/Renault is not out of the question, though Chrysler seems hellbent on partnering with Nissan before the "Ford question" officially arises. (Photo --- Ford's association with Carroll Shelby has served both parties very, very well; Shelby is seen here with their latest collaboration, the Mustang Shelby GT500KR).

FoMoCo US definitely has some sales winners, but even their popular cars and trucks have greatly suffered the past decade --- and more. Mustang has always been a bright spot, and remains so, but a car which sells "only" 50,000-or-so units a year might not be able to keep a place in the factory line-ups of the future. Ford sold 14,737 Mustangs in the first three months of 2007; this year, 2008, January through March sales were way down, to a total of 10,180. In fact, Mustang sales alone for January through March of last year were almost exactly the same as the total number of all Lincoln-Mercury vehicles so far this year.  But there's some nice news, too, when a week after its 44th anniversary on April 17th, Mustang production (not sales, yet) reached nine million units. That Mustang GT Convertible went to a dealership in Iowa, and we predict that car will be seen this coming January on some TV cable network's coverage of auto auctions. As Ford's longest running nameplate, the Mustang sold over 22,000 units on its first day and more than one million sold in the first two years. Those of you of a "certain age" will remember, as we do, that the Mustang was introduced at the 1964 New York World's Fair Ford Pavilion.

Automotive News also reports that Ford Motor Co. will spend more than $100 million to market the revamped 2009 F-150 pickup, the single best-selling vehicle in the US for more over 50 years. A Ford official told AN that the model-year launch budget is in the same ballpark as the spending allocated when the automaker introduced the current F-150 in 2003. When that redesigned 2004 model went on sale, Ford said they planned to spend more than $100 million on what they called the "biggest launch campaign in Ford's history". The same kind of emphasis is being planned for the re-engineered and restyled 2009 F-150, which goes on sale this fall. Ford's Focus is doing better than last year at this time; Fusion's numbers are tied with last year's, as are the Taurus/500's numbers. Ford's critical Edge started-out strong, but sales have either dropped or remain near-steady each month since mid-2007.

Now, that news which may portend further success for Ford in the US (paraphrasing from Automotive News):

Ford Motor Co. surprised Wall Street today with a first quarter earnings report full of black ink -- saying it posted net income of $100 million on total revenue of $43.5 billion. That's compared with a net loss of $282 million on revenue of $43.0 billion during the same period a year ago.

Ford stock skyrocketed on the news -- closing the day up 88 cents, or 11.7 percent, to $8.40 a share.

Click below to read more about Ford's positive overseas sales numbers and their ongoing attempts to close-the-gap in the USA ... and what they can expect!

EV = LAWSUIT; TESLA SUES HENRIK FISKER

Ready for an "Only in California" quote? Try this on for size: “I think it’s ironic that Fisker chose to name his car the Karma, when what he’s done is very bad karma,” said Adam C. Belsky, a lawyer at Gross, Belsky & Alonso who represents Tesla. (End of quote) Now, where else would a lawyer representing a car-maker make a bad joke about the word "karma"? (Photos --- Above, Concept drawing of Fisker's "Karma", Below, Tesla's "Roadster").

So, here we go! Here come the lawsuits! It wasn't enough for Tesla to spend the past two years embarrassing themselves in the world's media ... Nope, now they start with the lawsuits. Promising too much, too soon wasn't in these guys' minds ... With all their Silicon Valley billions, they have little real concern for the "rest of us". No, they need to feel important, need to feel they are doing something for humanity. Well, they're wasting a lot of time and money in doing so ... If that's what they are trying to do.

And who are they suing? Henrik Fisker, he with the (some say) solid-gold Aston-Martin/BMW-design pedigree, and whom Tesla apparently hired, and quietly so, sometime last year. Now Tesla is saying that Fisker's Karma show car, seen at auto shows over the past year, and which has gotten tons of media attention, rips-off hybrid technologies which he, Fisker, only learned about from his paid association with Tesla. And that his Karma sedan is nothing more than the (code-named) "White Star" which Tesla told the media they were planning on building in an all-new facility somewhere in ... New Mexico. Tesla says their made-by-Lotus "Roadster" all-electric sporty car is now in production, even with a pasted-together transmission which is able to make use of about 50% of the power developed by the car's electric motors, and with that car out of the way, they now want to get-to-work on their White Star all-EV sedan, somewhere (we guess) in New Mexico. Now, everyone knows that New Mexico is a hotbed of All-American born-and-bred automotive technology, with numerous parts suppliers just off I-10, I-40 and I-25. And don't forget about the state's universities, full of professors with voluminous industry experience and packed with students of all sorts desperate to learn the latest of American car technology. Not. And Tesla says Fisker sold-out for under $1 million. Here's some of the NEW YORK TIMES story about the latest Tesla happenings (and now aren't you really glad you didn't lay-down $100,000, the "100% deposit" required of the Roadster's buyers?):

Tesla Motors, the Silicon Valley maker of electric sports cars, filed suit in San Mateo Superior Court on Monday against a competing company and two of its employees, saying they stole some of Tesla’s design ideas and trade secrets. (Photos --- Below, Fisker's Karma at the Detroit Auto Show, Bottom, California Governor Schwarzenegger met with Tesla officials and rode in the car almost two years ago, garnering the company free, positive media throughout the world).

Tesla, which has generated much interest among fans of cars and technology, recently started shipping a  two-seat electric sports car in limited quantities. Last year it hired Henrik Fisker, a Danish-born designer who is known for his work on high-end exotic sports cars, to do the body design for a four-seat sedan, code-named White Star.

The Tesla lawsuit contends that Fisker and his chief operating officer, Bernhard Koehler, doing business under the name Fisker Coachbuild, fraudulently agreed to take on Tesla’s $875,000 design contract to gain access to confidential design information and trade secrets, then announced a competing vehicle. Last fall Mr. Fisker founded Fisker Automotive, which is backed by the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

The quarrel sheds a light on the insular world of the Valley’s investors in environmentally friendly technologies.Sergei Brin and Larry Page, whose Google search engine was originally backed by Kleiner Perkins, were both early Tesla investors.

Both the planned Tesla sedan and Fisker’s recently announced Karma are meant to be hybrid cars using a small gas engine to power a generator that charges a battery, which in turn powers an electric motor. The design, known as a serial hybrid, is thought to greatly extend the range and efficiency of hybrid vehicles.

The Tesla lawsuit states that before doing the design work for Tesla, Mr. Fisker had no experience with hybrid technology. It says that he did substandard work for Tesla, essentially sabotaging it, and then used the revenue from the design contract to develop his company’s car.

“I think it’s ironic that Fisker chose to name his car the Karma, when what he’s done is very bad karma,” said Adam C. Belsky, a lawyer at Gross, Belsky & Alonso who represents Tesla.

Calls to Fisker Automotive were not returned. A person answering the phone at Finck & Dadras, the San Francisco law firm representing Fisker Coachbuild, said it was the firm’s policy not to comment on litigation.

Click below to continue reading and for more photos.

NISSAN MOVES TITAN BUILD TO CHRYSLER MEXICAN PLANT; CHRYSLER TO SELL NISSAN-MADE SMALL CAR

It's both a rare admission by a Japanese "captive import" and a powerful indication of the poor state of the American economy and the American dollar: Nissan announced today that it no longer makes financial sense to single-handedly build a full-size pickup in the current US marketplace, and starting in 2011, they will end production in Canton, Mississippi, of their Titan pickup, and partner with Chrysler, which will build the next-generation Titan at their plant in Saltillo, Mexico. (Photos --- Above, 2007 Nissan Titan, Below, Tata's Nano, being driven by Mr. Tata himself at the car's introduction at the recent Delhi Auto Show in India).

In turn, Nissan will manufacture an all-new, fuel-efficient small car based on a Chrysler concept and design. This model will be sold in North America, Europe and other global markets in 2010 and manufactured at Nissan's Oppama Plant in Japan. Analysts, including this one, think the new small car may be, in part, an answer to the Nano, which just debuted in India, built by that nation's Tata Corporation, which just purchased Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford. Tata is selling the Nano to dealers for about $2,500, so all the website chatter and noise these past few weeks about a "$2,500 car from India" was incorrect; $2,500 is the approximate wholesale cost to dealers, the customers will pay about $3,000 or more, depending on how large the demand is for the cars (and it's expected to be massive) and how much Tata dealers are allowed to add to the "factory sticker price". One thing we know for sure: The new car, designed by Chrysler and built in Japan by Nissan, will not be selling for anywhere near $3,000 in the US.

For several years, Chrysler has been making efforts to produce a "third-world car" similar to the Nano, based on using just a few large plastic pieces which could be bonded together to provide both the car's platform and chassis. However much input Chrysler will have into this all-new Nissan-built vehicle remains to be seen. Nissan recently committed to building a small car for Chrysler based on the Nissan Versa sedan platform, but only, at this time, for "limited distribution" in South American beginning in 2009. (Photos --- 2004 Nissan Titan loaded for bear; Nissan Armada, full-size SUV variant of the Titan).

Nissan also said the production of their massive Armada SUV, which is based on the Titan, will not be affected by this decision to move Titan production, though that is difficult to accept. Nissan also builds their big-selling Altima in Canton, called by industry observers a "radical new assembly plant" ... And it was expensive, costing the #2 Japanese car-maker over $1 billion. The company also said recently that it would discontinue building their seemingly ill-fated Quest minivan and super-deluxe Infiniti QX56 (Infiniti's version of the Armada) in Canton, and begin building light commercial trucks there instead.

Nissan was the first Japanese company to attempt building a full-size pickup in and for America, but  its being available only with a 5.6 Liter V8 and only in King Cab or Crew Cab configurations sealed its fate early on. Nissan had hoped to sell 100,000 Titans annually when they started selling the truck in 2003, and reviews of the truck were generally quite favorable. We know we liked it, and its Armada variant, too. But that big V8 was a massive guzzler, and smacked more of the 1980s than the 21st century. The company struggled, though, to sell just 60,000 a year, and new Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) ratings for trucks, in a market which was 2.5-million trucks in 2003 but has shrunk to 2.1-million forced Nissan's hand with their big, powerful --- and pricey --- Titan.

GM, FORD EXECS MAKING MORE MILLIONS THAN EVER; FIRST SIGNS OF BOB LUTZ OVER-STAYING HIS WELCOME

Here are a couple of interesting tidbits from two of the Detroit Three. First, while we reported a few days ago that GM CEO Rick Wagoner (photo) has apparently, in the eyes of the company's board of directors, the only eyes that count, done his job so well over the past few years that his original salary of $2.2 million, which had been cut to a paltry $1.28 million after 2005, when GM lost $10 billion, has been reinstated. Well, good for Rick ... Like we always say, "Who can argue with success?"

Wagoner also can enjoy an extra bonus of $2.43 million if GM hits its performance targets. GM lost a record $39 billion last year, most of it from a one-time accounting change. Anyone know what GM's "performance targets" are? Didn't think so.

Next, Alan Mulally, the still-relatively-new man-in-charge at Ford, has been awarded restricted stock worth $4.1 million and 3.56 million stock options after a year in which the No. 2 U.S. automaker lost $2.7 billion. You get all that? The company stock is hovering around seven dollars --- $7.00! --- FoMoCo is bleeding red ink ... and the new guy, the CEO, gets a nice little bonus from his buds at the board (he undoubtedly plays golf with a few of them every week or so).

Not that Ford didn't try to hide this news. Oh, they did. The compensation was detailed in a filing with securities regulators, and the news came just two days after Mulally (photo)announced that all Ford employees in the United States and Canada would be paid bonuses for 2007. Just, not, you know ... as much as he got. Actually, all UAW Ford workers will receive a $1,000 bonus.

Says industry newspaper AUTOMOTIVE NEWS, "The issue of executive compensation in the struggling U.S. auto industry has become something of a hot-button issue because of the UAW." Well, I don't see why the union would be upset at all; do you?

You may remember that Mulally joined Ford from Boeing Co. in late 2006, and was paid $37.5 million during his first 14 months in the top job at the automaker and had the potential to earn a bonus of an additional $3.1 million. You may also remember that Mulally wouldn't even take the Ford job before that $37.5 million was deposited in his bank account. Sounds more like a kidnapping to us (or a blackmailing).

One more note of import, and maybe a sign of sanity, if a small one, with GM: The corporation's North American "car czar", the well-over-70 Bob Lutz, was quoted by reporters at an event in Texas a few weeks ago as saying that, "global warming is a crock of shit". Again, this from the man who is supposed to be planning future product for GM in North America for at least the next 5 to 7 years out from now.

DETROIT THREE DESPERATE; GIGANTIC FORD F-SERIES RECALL, CHRYSLER CUTS CALIFORNIA DESIGN STUDIO, BUT GM GIVES CEO WAGONER A BIG RAISE

Let's take a look at this weekend's news from the Detroit Three: First, 

Ford

is recalling about 100,000 2008 F-Series trucks because the front driver's seat does not conform with federal standards. What? On their bread-and-butter F-series truck, the #1-selling vehicle in America for the past fifty years, they didn't check the seat and its ancillary systems (shoulder harness, etc.) to make certain that the federal standards were met? Hard to believe ... Someone's head (or heads) should definitely be rolling out of Ford's Dearborn headquarters come Monday morning.

Now, second: Chrysler (now owned by the Wall Street private investment firm called Cerberus, and not stockholders worldwide) is going through an absolute hemorrhaging of whatever money in Highland Park they still have and whatever models are still in dealer's showrooms. Remember, Chrysler is now a private company and that means we the public hear only rumors or incomplete stories of what's really going on with the automaker. There's more than a few reasons to believe that Chrysler might be out of business a year or two from now.

The following is from a press release Chrysler released just today: "Increasingly, we are leveraging resources worldwide, forming new joint ventures and alliances and consolidating operations in order to better achieve global balance and manage fixed costs. As such, we are closing the Pacifica Advance Product Design Center, consolidating the Advance Design function in Auburn Hills. Advance Design remains an integral part of our future design efforts, led by Trevor Creed, Senior Vice President -- Design." Yes, there's a good idea. The company is bleeding red ink over everything it touches, so closing the one place in the corporation which might have been on the cutting-edge when it comes to design for future Chrysler vehicles seemed a grand idea ... to somebody. Someone mention "bean counters"?

Finally, General Motors. These words are from a GM press release posted Friday, March 7th: "General Motors announced today that it will be adding 900 new jobs to its factory in Brazil."

OK, great ... for Brazil. But given that news, and with some five (or more) GM plants in the USA closed-down due to a strike at one of the corporation's major suppliers, what motor journos used to call "Generous Motors" is giving CEO and President Rick Wagoner a raise ... That's right, a raise.

GM lost over $10 billion in 2005, and cut Wagoner's pay from $2.2 million to a measly $1.28 million. But apparently, GM's board of directors feel that GM has recovered so strongly (in Brazil, China and other far-flung locations) from their 2005 predicament that they are restoring Wagoner's take home pay to the $2.2 million he was making before 2005. Yep, things are tough all over.

JAGUAR, LAND ROVER SALE TO INDIA'S TATA ANNOUNCEMENT NEXT WEEK

Jaguar and Land Rover will soon be owned by Tata, the gigantic Indian car- and truck-maker,  thrust into world view when they introduced their 'Nano' $2,500 (wholesale) four-door, five-passenger sedan at the recent auto show in Delhi. Ford announced several weeks ago that Tata was the preferred buyer for their two UK-based luxury vehicle manufacturers. In the past few days, a flurry of newswire stories detailing the history and success of Tata, led many to believe, correctly, that an announcement from Ford and Tata about the Jag-Land Rover deal was imminent. Today, February 25th, industry weekly Automotive News reported that "Tata Motors will announce its purchase of Jaguar Land Rover on March 5th or 6th."

Ford Motor Company (FoMoCo), like General Motors and the recently privatized Chrysler Corporation is suffering from huge losses and slow sales. The US economy, close to recession, is slamming car and truck sales as many potential car-buyers are having trouble making their house payments, and rents are rising as many people who have lost their homes are suddenly finding themselves back in the rental market. Rental property owners are taking advantage of the situation by raising rents across the board throughout the country. (Photos - Above, The 2000 Jaguar XKR 100, a classic supercharged British drophead coupe, and below, the 2004 Jaguar F1 car driven by Mark Webber; the new 'Force India' F1 team may benefit by bringing some Jaguar engineers and much telemetric and testing information to India).

AMERICA'S DOMESTIC CAR-MAKERS MUST CHANGE AT A MUCH-FASTER PACE

Let's get one thing straight: We want GM, Ford and Chrysler to succeed, and prosper. We want to see all three companies make record profits, produce forward-looking, high-tech, fun and fast cars and trucks which do well on a new and highly-restricted diet of oil products of all kinds. We want big trucks to go back to where they belong --- In the service of individuals and companies which need them to get their work done, and not in the driveways and garages of American homes. I don't care how many kids you have to take to soccer practice; no one really needs a Chevrolet Suburban, Ford Expedition, Jeep Commander and of course, the Hummer, to run errands and go grocery shopping. If foreign-owned companies want to make vehicles that large for the American marketplace, let them go ahead and keep on doing it; at some point, the price of gasoline is going to stop cold all of those privateer-owned trucks dead in their tracks. Analysts are saying that the coming Spring, '08 season will bring the highest gas prices we have ever seen in the US. Something else to consider: Whoever owns one of these behemoths will see the value of their vehicle decline so fast their heads will spin.

Hey, people! We are fighting a WAR over oil right now ... It's on the news every night. You must have heard about it. Has anyone noticed? Besides imploring us to go shopping, how else does the President ask we on the home front help the war effort? If he even suggested the public buy smaller cars and trucks which get better mileage, that would at least get us all thinking about the loss/benefit of small vs. large vehicles.

For GM, Ford and Chrysler to succeed, at least in this country (they are all doing much better in overseas markets, especially China), they must build products which are desired by Americans ... But that can only happen after we Americans go through an agonizing reappraisal of what a car and truck should be. The domestic companies say Americans want big gas-guzzlers, and that's why they build them. Bullsh*t. The car companies created the demand on their own through marketing and advertising; they knew if they could sell huge numbers of huge vehicles, the more money they'd pocket.

CHI-TOWN INTROS, POOR PERSON'S FERRARI, GMC's DUAL MODE HYBRID DENALI CONCEPT AND MORE!

With the Chicago Auto Show, traditionally America's best-attended car show, has its run this week and with the New York Auto Show in Manhattan's Jacob Javits Center opening soon, time to take a quick look at a few vehicles, some shown at Chicago, some not, which knowing about will you a much more sophisticated person ... You hope. With the Los Angeles, New York and Detroit shows held in larger markets than Chicago, what's the secret of that show's high attendance? Well, it's mostly because in the dead of winter there's nothing much to do in Illinois and its nine surrounding states, and that's where the customers come from to view the great spectacle in McCormick Place (and how many of you knew that McCormick Place is owned by the Kennedy family?)

Sit back, scroll down, and enjoy ...

Well, everyone that I know has been waiting for this product, especially now that gasoline costs over $3 a gallon everywhere in the US (thanks to George W. Bush and, especially, Dick Cheney). Yes, my world and yours have certainly been waiting for the "2008 Rolls-Royce Phantom RR01 1100mm Limousine by Mutec". Mutec being a company located in Oberstenfeld, Germany ... But you already knew that!

The press release from the manufacturer consists of a bunch of photos of this monstrosi, uh, I mean, elegant motor carriage, and says just the following: "

Mutec now offers a stretch limousine version of the Rolls-Royce Phantom, adding an additional 44 inches of room as well as rear facing seats." Somewhat amazing that with all the "extras" Mutec put into this car, the front end with those boxy headlights and massive grille is still the single-ugliest part of any automobile in the past 25 years. Make that 50. Talk about "making a statement", the most we can say about it is, "So shut up, already!"

2008 Ferrari FXX Pedal-Car - An Affordable Supercar

On a slightly smaller scale ... Don't worry, it's still possible to buy that "best gift" for the Car Nut in your life. Especially if he or she is under 10. Thanks to the good folks at toy-maker Berg, we proudly present the 2008 Ferrari FXX pedal car.

If the real Ferrari FXX is out of your price range, maybe this FXX inspired pedal car by Berg will be of interest to you, says the firm's PR release.

The standard model costs €499, shown below, which works out to USD$723.75. But, the release goes on, why not splurge for the €1499 FXX Exclusive (USD$2,174.15, shown at left) which has a bucket seat, four-point harness,leather-wrapped steering wheel, wider tires, and an aero kit that gives the pedal-car an even more authentic FXX look. Disc brake detail shown in photo.

OK, maybe we went a little too far including the Ferrari pedal car, but this next new product should catch and hold your interest.

Two wheels not enough? Four too many? A lot of people are settling for three wheels, with a high-tech engine and sophisticated suspensions to make for a powerful and well-controlled ride. (Photo - One of Piaggio's all-new and more powerful three-wheelers)

Now, here's a little history lesson: We used to call these vehicles "trikes" back in the day, and they usually consisted of a rear axle pulled from an auto junkyard, shortened by half or more with a wheel on either end, and naturally, absolutely no rear suspension (ie, in the manner of a Harley "Hardtail"), a front wheel and front fork suspension (if any) taken from a wrecked motorcycle, and possibly extended to some unholy length, an oil-burning Chevy small block V8 moving the lightweight conveyance via the rear wheels, and a straight-from-Central Casting burly biker-type, hanging onto his monkey bars, and let's not forget the wide, comfortable rear seat, where the incumbent babe would relax during the ride, leaning back on the provided sissy bars. Let's not make the mistake of thinking trike-riders are rich urban bikers (the derisively named "Rubbies"), now it's usually a real old time motorcycle gang member driving/riding these Frankensteins of motorcycles. (Photos - Some classic trikes, as described above; the orange bike is using a rear-mounted and air-cooled VW engine and extended front forks, the second bike seems more professionally modified and gives a good view of the all-important comfortable rear seating)

These three-wheelers from Piaggio (and many other makers around the world) are not the fabled "trikes" of yore. Let's allow Piaggio to tell their story ...

2008 Piaggio MP3 - The Three Wheel Revolution Continues

Piaggio Introduces Maxi Scooter Power Couple to MP3 Family:

New 2008 MP3 500 and MP3 400 Three-Wheel Scooters Continue the Personal Transportation Revolution

NEW YORK, January 31, 2008 – Italian manufacturer Piaggio launched a revolution in the personal transportation category when it rewrote the rules with the three-wheel MP3 250 scooter. For 2008, the company again raises the bar with the introduction of two all-new MP3 models, the MP3 500 and MP3 400 maxi scooters. Based on the trademark technical innovations that transformed the MP3 250 into an immediate best-seller, the higher-displacement MP3 500 and 400 offer riders the added benefit of high-performance four-stroke engines, aggressive styling and a new level of premium safety, comfort and convenience equipment. Designed to go the distance, the newest MP3 models are uniquely suited to enjoying the diverse terrain of America's highways and byways.


All MP3 models feature Piaggio's innovative three-wheel configuration. Unique in the category, each MP3 delivers unparalleled stability, road grip and parking ease thanks to two independent tilting, articulated front wheels and an electro-hydraulic suspension locking system that allows the scooter to remain locked upright while at a standstill. At the same time, the MP3 sacrifices nothing when it comes to riding thrills – with a 40-degree lean angle, every MP3 delivers all the maneuverability, agility and entertainment of a motorcycle. Dry or wet conditions, smooth asphalt highway or pot-hole studded city streets, the MP3 models are resilient travel companions. (end of release)

To see the entire press release, which includes specifications and all the important details on these two all-new 400cc and 500cc three-wheelers, and to discover one of the websites where many, many blogs get their supposedly "inside info", simply click anywhere on this line!

2008 GMC Denali XT Hybrid Concept - Chicago Debut

Let's get off our scooters and climb into our big, bad GMC Denali XT Concept dual mode hybrid ... And this concept is  not just some paint-and-tape job, either. This Denali SUT was introduced at the Chicago Auto Show this week, and is the GMC version of the Chevrolet Tahoe SUV which had its world debut at the recent 2007 Los Angeles Auto Show; the Tahoe, with the same dual mode hybrid technology as this GMC Denali, was named, somewhat surprisingly, the "Green Car of the Year" by my old friend, Ron Cogan, editor of industry mag "Green Car Journal".

Again, let's allow the manufacturer to have their say:

GMC DENALI XT HYBRID CONCEPT TRUCK DELIVERS 50-PERCENT FUEL ECONOMY IMPROVEMENT

• New, robust design form serves as a test well for GMC's future design direction
• First combination of GM's two-mode hybrid system with E85 ethanol-capable engine
• Height-adjustable suspension and cargo space-enhancing Midgate®

CHICAGO – GMC unveiled the Denali XT concept at the 2008 Chicago Auto Show. It offers a 50-percent increase in combined fuel economy over comparable small pickup trucks when running on gasoline, and it incorporates a new, muscular form in a performance-styled, hybrid sport-utility truck (SUT). The dual mode hybrid system consists of GM's Active Fuel Management controlling the engine, which can switch between 8 or 4 cylinders, as demand warrants, along with two 60-kilowatt electric motors packaged inside the tranny itself, rather than depending on one large motor to “assist” the engine. GM, BMW and (what was then) DaimlerChrysler took an existing GM bus/truck transmission and re-worked it, working mostly in Europe, for the past three years. The latest version of it can fit in the full-size pickup and SUV GM line-up and can improve fuel mileage, GM says, by up to 50% under certain circumstances. This GMC Denali XT concept SUT can run on electric-only, V8-only, or a combination of the two.

The Denali XT has a anybody architecture and rear-wheel drive, enabling its distinctive design and efficient performance. It builds on the equity of the Denali line and its reputation for advanced engineering and refinement, including the first combination of GM's two-mode hybrid system with an E85 ethanol-capable engine. Denali XT's new, more efficient 4.9L version of GM's small-block V-8 features fuel-saving technologies such as direct-injection technology and Active Fuel Management. (Photo - Artist rendering of possible interior theme for the dual mode hybrid Denali if and when it becomes a production vehicle)

The engine is matched with GM's unique two-mode hybrid propulsion system, giving the powerful SUT  exceptional fuel economy and uncompromising capability – including all-electric drive at low speeds. It is a powertrain combination that makes the Denali XT perfectly suited to a variety of active lifestyle activities, such as hauling skis and snowboards to the mountain or towing a sport jet boat to the lake. (end of release)

To read a comprehensive version of this PR material, just click anywhere on this line!