Steve Parker Motoring / The Car Nut

BULLETIN - CLUNKER PROGRAM MAY ALREADY BE OVER!

This 1970 Dodge Dart "Swinger" would have made a nice clunker trade-in ... but at 39 years old it's 14 years too late! The program accepts cars 25 years old or less ... at least it did, yesterday ...

Authoritative industry weekly Automotive News reports Thursday night:

The federal "cash for guzzlers" program reached its $1 billion funding limit unexpectedly after an avalanche of business exhausted its funds, an Obama administration official said late Thursday.

The White House was working with Congress to try to extend funding as lawmakers prepared to leave town for the month of August, according to the official, who was not authorized to speak for attribution.

Initially, congressional and industry officials signaled that the program was going to be suspended as soon as today as funding ran out. Those reports, widely reported by national news outlets including Automotive News, triggered confusion throughout the industry.

National Automobile Dealers Association spokesman Bailey Wood said earlier Thursday the organization was briefed by Department of Transportation officials on plans to suspend the program at midnight.

But later, Chuck Cyrill, another NADA spokesman, said the association had no official DOT confirmation suspending the program.

Backlog

The plan appeared to be prompted by a NADA survey showing a huge backlog of unplaced dealer orders that would burden the government's computers and exhaust the budgeted funds, he said.

NADA plans to issue advice to members at 8 a.m. EDT today( Friday). Wood said.

Republican Fred Upton said he was told by Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood earlier Thursday that the agency is accepting dealer refund applications only until midnight.

They've exhausted the money," Upton said in an interview.

But Upton, quoting LaHood, added, "He did not say any orders placed after midnight would not be honored."

Upton said the Michigan congressional delegation spoke by telephone Thursday evening and will be meeting this morning to try to find new funding for the program.

"The consensus is that this program has worked and we damn well ought to figure out how to continue it," he said.

Transportation spokesman Rae Tyson declined comment.

CLUNKER LAW --- WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW NOW!

This 1911 Oldsmobile ... remember Oldsmobile? ... is not elegibile for the clunker program ... it's more than 25 years old!

We found out today that the EPA, over the weekend, changed the MPG ratings of many cars and trucks sold in the years which would make them eligible for the so-called "clunker program" (vehicles not more than 25 years old).

The result is a hodge-podge of new ratings, but, most importantly, some cars and trucks you thought were on the list are now off --- and some of you might have checked last week and saw that your cars were ineligible, but as of this week they are eligible ... Washington giveth and taketh away, but much more quickly than in biblical days.

Check the (current) status of your car at www.cars.gov ... and if you're interested in the program and your vehicle is now eligible, get down to a new car dealer fast, before DC steps in again to "help" or "clarify." If your car or truck was eligible and now is not, write your congressperson ... and see if you get a reply before the program ends.

This is very important --- Every new car dealer, import or domestic, is participating in the clunker program. There are no "official" or "sanctioned" dealers ... ALL new-car dealers can help you with your trade-in and voucher. Some car companies can just afford more advertising than others ... hence the confusion, where some car-makers infer their dealers are "clunker specialists," as if they have more experience or training in dealing with this brand-new program, explained by a 136-page law. The truth is, it's new to everyone involved, and dealers are handling it as best they can.

The program is funded with only $1 billion and is slated to be in-effect for just four months. That's not a lot of time, and, especially, not a lot of money. I don't think there's much doubt the program will run out of money before it runs out of time. Again --- if your car or truck is eligible and you want to participate in the program, don't wait any longer than you must to get to a new car store and make a deal.

WILL CONGRESS RE-OPEN CLOSED CAR DEALERS?

Were dealers screwed by their own factories? Many in Congress apparently think so ... and they have a powerful lobbying presence in DC ...

The recent forced closing of thousands of new-car dealerships across America, most of them General Motors and Chrysler stores, has prompted strong protest from Washington. Congress claims that some 170,000 people will eventually be unemployed by the closings.

Apart from these huge numbers of people -- real people -- added to the unemployment rolls throughout the country, car dealers are often the largest single source of tax revenue for local, county and even state governments.

In California, for instance, which only today came up with a budget, some seven months late, to address a $27 billion deficit by taking money from local coffers, the loss of dealerships will be devastating for local governments.

Above, a typical modern dealership; below, the image in many minds of what will greet them during a trip to the local car store

In Santa Monica, CA, the closure of a single Infiniti store, certainly not the city's largest car dealer, reportedly had city employees talking quietly in City Hall corridors ... shocked and frightened by the possible repercussions for the beautiful by-the-sea city.

THIS WEEKEND'S RADIO SHOW LINE-UPS!

Join us LIVE Saturday and Sunday at 5pm Pacific time on www.TalkRadioOne.com for our exclusive LIVE motoring and motorsports talk shows!

Steve Parker's The Car Nut Show
Saturday starting at 5pm Pacific

Some of the topics we'll cover ...

- Road test week! Steve gives quick reviews of many of the cars and trucks he's been testing these past few weeks including, from one extreme to the other, the 2009 Toyota Camry hybrid and the 2009 Dodge Dakota V8-equipped mid-size pickup

- Big shake-ups in GM's executive suites --- and at Porsche, too

- And YOUR opinions and offerings - Be sure to call-in and join the action at 213-341-4353
Seen at last Sunday's Venice Car Show by the beach in Southern California

Steve Parker's World Racing Roundup
Sunday starting at 5pm

- TV's "Jesse James" claims to have a Land Speed Record but many in the racing community beg to differ; we have the story from the award-winning journalist who first broke it

- Every major racing series is in action this weekend and we'll have the latest news and results

- Major announcement: Honda is getting into "grassroots" racing in a big way

- How are the teams, big and small worldwide, handling the recession?
- Be sure to call- in and join-in and let us know what you think!

The call-in number is: 213-341-4353. Podcasts of the shows are available one hour after the live shows' conclusions. That's this Saturday and Sunday at 5pm USA Pacific time on www.TalkRadioOne.com!

Follow Steve Parker on Twitter: www.twitter.com/autojourno

 

VENICE, (CA) CAR SHOW --- CARS, BIKES AND CULTURE!

Summer is car show season, no doubt about it. From the 100-point classics of exclusive Concours d'Elegance to local shows raising money for the Kiwanis or YWCA, Americans love to trot-out their "babies" and have the fun of watching others enjoy the results of untold hours in the garage, uncounted late-night six-packs and often decades of learning automotive engineering through trial and error.

Last Sunday, the eclecticism of Venice, CA and the Kar Kulture around that area were combined for the annual Venice Car Show, and we were there, shooting photos and naturally have put-together a photo album for your enjoyment. Go to it by clicking anywhere on this line.

But it wasn't just cars on the runways ... custom bicycles and motorcycles are a huge part of the wheeled-beauties surrounding Southern California Beach Culture, and of course the people of Venice were there en masse' --- always a treat in itself!

Many visitors to Southern California often wonder why Chevrolets are clearly the favorite collectible car of Hispanics. The reason goes back to WWII, when many of So Cal's Hispanics got their first middle-class jobs --- in the car factories which then dotted the southern part of the Golden State.

Over the years, GM plants dominated, from Van Nuys in the south to Oakland in the north, and it was natural that cars from Chevy, GM's biggest division (then as now), became the car of choice for the families of many of those factory workers, and the tradition continues until now. The low rider culture is pure Hispanic culture, driving "low and slow" the preferred style.

Even though the factories where these workers were producing not cars but war matériel, beginning in 1942, at war's end, the jobs remained, and cars started rolling off the lines as fast as they could build them.

Today's low riders have all the bells and whistles of modern cars, with sophisticated hydraulic suspensions, huge sound systems (many car shows award a "loudest car" prize car among those exhibited), small wheels and tires and the owners are as strict about authenticity as those who own $1 million Bugattis.

But it ain't about Bugatti --- check the photo album and you'll get the idea --- it's all about Chevrolet.

A beautiful 73 degree day on the middle of July, with temps over 100 just 20 miles to the east, well over 100 cars, trucks, bikes and motorcycles and the nostalgic feel of Venice, the only part of the City of Los Angeles which actually touches the Pacific Ocean, added-up to a great day of vehicle- and people-watching. Once again, click on this line to go to the photo album of the 2009 Venice (CA) Car Show ... and enjoy!

Follow Steve Parker on Twitter: www.twitter.com/autojourno

OUR WEEKEND AUTOMOTIVE TALK SHOWS ...

This weekend's WebRadio shows, Saturday and Sunday live at 5pm Pacific time, on www.TalkRadioOne.com:

Saturday, July 18, 2009
THE CAR NUT SHOW
General-interest automotive talk and opinion

Top GM exec Bob Lutz has been UNretired and is back at General Motors as vice-chairman in charge of marketing, advertising, promotion and will have a heavy hand in styling and design. Does this make ANY sense at all? We'll go over what YOU think Lutz can do to save GM ... now that the company is out of bankruptcy and truly on its own. Meanwhile, GM is firing some 400 white collar executives. Fired-by-the-White-House GM ex-prez Rick Wagoner gets a $8.2 million severance package plus $74,000 a year with health and life insurance ... for life, down from an originally-proposed $20.2 million + package! Call-in LIVE and join us on-the-air at 213-0341-4353.
Fired-by-Obama GM ex-prez Wagoner, with 2010 Camaro concept, doesn't have to worry about HIS future

Sunday, July 19, 2009
WORLD RACING ROUNDUP
The name says it all ...

Plenty of racing action around the world this weekend, as Formula 1 greets new winners, the sport's Braun/Mercedes Grand Prix team is finally being challenged in the second half of the season and whether F1 will exist as we know it as soon as next year is still up in the air. NASCAR is battling empty seats, lower TV ratings and the big-time loss of Detroit and other major sponsor money; but 50-year old multi-race winner Mark Martin is the old-guy hero of the season. IndyCar remains a flawed parade/spec series with one of the same three or four winners every weekend, especially on oval courses. What's it all mean? Call-in LIVE and tell us what you think on-the-air at 213-341-4353.
When will a Penske or Ganassi car NOT win an IndyCar race this year? Shown is Helio Castroneves --- as if you didn't know ...

Free podcasts of our shows are posted on www.TalkRadioOne.com usually less than one hour after the live shows conclude.

Follow Steve Parker on Twitter: www.twitter.com/autojourno

YOU TELL BOB LUTZ - WHAT MUST GM DO NOW?

Bob Lutz approved the Dodge Viper while co-CEO, along with Robert Eaton, at Chrysler; does GM have a similar car which can capture the public's attention?

With the Core Four divisions of Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick and GMC, and with Bob Lutz back on-board, General Motors is now very much on its own.

They don't have the kind of partnership and help which Chrysler will be getting from Fiat and Washington is on-hand only to protect the public's huge investment in the company.

The new smaller, leaner GM corporation, with much less debt than before, now 60%-owned by the American people and newly-emerged from bankruptcy while cutting-back on white collar employees by the scores, begs the question: What now?
Bob Lutz as he most likes to be ... the center of attention

Industry newspaper Automotive News ran a multiple-choice poll in Wednesday's edition, asking readers: How can Bob Lutz best help GM improve its marketing?

The answers supplied included these four:

- He should mimic Lee Iacocca and pitch GM cars in ads (16% answered yes to this choice as of 6pm Eastern time Wednesday);

- He should make sure that GM's marketing of its vehicles is consistent with their design (40%);

- He should be the public face of GM at auto shows (5%);

- He should carry out his new role in the background and yield the spotlight to younger executives (39%).

Lutz is no stranger to automotive marketing. In his many years in the industry, during executive stints at Ford, BMW, Chrysler and GM, he's often had a hand in marketing, promotion, advertising and sales.

He was there and had a voice when Ford's Explorer SUV and Merkur imports were first suggested, when the successful Chrysler "cab-forward" LH cars, Dodge Viper and Plymouth Prowler were put in-production and at GM he brought the "new" Pontiac GTO and Pontiac G8 from Australia to the US market, for better or worse, along with the Buick Lacrosse crossover and the sporty Saturn Sky and Pontiac Solstice coupes and Chevy Malibu sedan.
1993 Plymouth Prowler concept

While at BMW, where he worked on the original 3-Series, he dealt with the ad agency which developed the fabulous slogan, "The ultimate driving machine," a winner which Bimmer uses worldwide to this day.

WHAT!?!? BOB LUTZ BACK IN THE SADDLE AT GM!

Bob Lutz was vice-chairman at Chrysler when the PT Cruiser was ok'd for production ... but don't hate him for it; maybe it's just the type of vehicle GM needs

General Motors has come out of bankruptcy after a somewhat-biblical 40 days and nights of massive reorganization, as a new, smaller company more than 60% owned by the US government (that's US, as in "us").

Yet GM is stubbornly holding onto Buick and GMC, when the other two of the General's remaining "Core Four," Chevrolet and Cadillac, are all they really need and all that make sense.

It appears, though, that the vestiges of cars and trucks past aren't the only things GM is clinging to: Bob Lutz, 77, has "unretired" and will continue as GM's vice-chairman.

He will head the company's marketing, advertising and communications and have significant input on product design. In February, Lutz had said he would retire by year-end after eight years as GM's product development chief.

In an interview heard on All Things Considered on NPR Friday, Lutz told host Robert Siegel that, "We took our eyes off the ball in the '70s, '80s and early '90s," when it came to product quality.
GM Vice-Chairman Bob Lutz

Siegel naturally asked Lutz how the company might overcome more than 20 years of admittedly poor product and with a reputation and market share dropping almost by the minute, and all Lutz could offer was, "Well, none of us were here when that happened."

During the interview, he also managed to work in the usual litany of thinly-veiled anti-union rhetoric; "legacy costs" and the like.

The always-quotable and sometimes-acerbic Swiss-born Lutz, a favorite of reporters, has also been at Ford, BMW and Chrysler --- where he served as one of the top two executives along with Bob Eaton --- is an ex-Marine fighter pilot who collects cars ... and fighter jets.

THIS WEEKEND'S AUTOMOTIVE TALK SHOWS

Join us LIVE Saturday and Sunday at 5pm Pacific time on www.TalkRadioOne.com for our exclusive LIVE motoring and motorsports talk shows!

Steve Parker's The Car Nut Show
Saturday starting at 5pm Pacific

The dreaded Clunker Law! If you're an enthusiast, what does it mean to you? Peter MacGillivray, vice president of SEMA, the world's largest auto aftermarket trade group, joins Steve and explains what the law means and how SEMA fine-tuned it in the halls of Congress to make the law fit the world of the car collector! And he'll take your calls, too. Plus, GM exits bankruptcy, if your GM and Chrysler warranties will be in effect when you need them, and a look at one of the many cars Steve's driven recently. Be sure to call-in and join the action!

Steve Parker's World Racing Roundup
Sunday starting at 5pm

The economy is hitting racing worldwide, and hitting it hard. Jim Peltz, motorsports writer for the LOS ANGELES TIMES, joins Steve live and on-the-air to go over the crucial happenings - and cutbacks -- in IndyCar, NASCAR, Formula 1 and other major series. NASCAR's Jeremy Mayfield, suspended indefinitely for an alleged drug test violation, beat NASCAR in court but they still won't let him race --- what's up with that? Plus all the results from this weekend's world of racing. Be sure to call- in and let us know what you think!

The call-in number is: 213-341-4353. Podcasts of the shows are available one hour after the live shows' conclusions. That's this Saturday and Sunday at 5pm USA Pacific time on www.TalkRadioOne.com!

Follow Steve Parker on Twitter: www.twitter.com/autojourno

BREAKING! HITLER PRAISED BY F1 CHIEF!

Brawn-Mercedes, a team which didn't exist a year ago, is currently dominating the F1 series

"In a lot of ways, terrible to say this I suppose, but apart from the fact that Hitler got taken away and persuaded to do things that I have no idea whether he wanted to do or not, he was in the way that he could command a lot of people, able to get things done. In the end he got lost, so he wasn't a very good dictator.""

Who said this last week? Some White Power or KKK leader? A Kremlin apparatchik? Mel Gibson?

All wrong --- It was none other than Bernie Ecclestone, commercial rights-holder to the Formula 1 series, the world's most-watched and most-expensive motor racing series; he's essentially the boss of Formula 1. Throughout Europe, he's known simply as "El Supremo" and is one of the top ten wealthiest people in the UK.

The scandal might have passed quickly, but this isn't the first time Ecclestone (and his minion, Max Mosley) have have been seen as cheerleaders of a sort for the Third Reich.
Bernie Ecclestone (l) confers with his sidekick, Max Mosley

As a result of Ecclestone's comments, the governor of Germany's Baden-Wuerttemberg state, Guenther Oettinger, canceled a planned meeting concerning the German Grand Prix.

Other indications of Ecclestone's brain activity were his comments about women, to paraphrase, after being asked if a woman could become a F1 driver, that they "should dress in all white and stay in the kitchen like the other appliances."

Also, when asked about the racist banners, taunts and threats aimed at the current F1 champion, Lewis Hamilton, the first black driver in F1 history, rather than condemn them, Ecclestone dismissed it as, again to paraphrase, fans "just expressing their opinion."
Current F1 champion Lewis Hamilton

WARRANTIES --- AVOID THE RIP-OFFS!

Hope you all had a wonderful and safe holiday! Please excuse my recent absence, but starting today we're getting back to business.

Now, let's try and save everyone some money and hassle when it comes to auto warranties.

First of all, in spite of the sometimes-confusing terminology you might hear when someone's trying to sell you a warranty, keep this in mind: "warranty" in this case is just a fancy word for "insurance policy." When it comes down to it, that's all a new- or used-car warranty is --- an insurance policy for car repairs. You pay the premium, usually in one lump sum after you buy the car; when it needs repair, the company backing the policy pays for them, depending on what's covered in the policy.

And they are very profitable for dealers, which explains the "hard sell" which usually surrounds them.

Normally, in a blog post like this, we'd talk mostly about the potential dangers of "third-party" warranties, those backed by companies not affiliated with the car-maker. There have been instances (one I remember happened with the #2 Japanese car-maker some 20-or-more years ago) when the third-party company backing the warranty goes out of business, leaving the warranty holders high and dry. It's very rare, but it's happened.

But buyers never thought they'd have to worry about a warranty purchased at a dealership from the car-maker. Today, though, both Chrysler and General Motors are putting out confusing messages about their own factory-backed warranties. That has a lot of people worried, and rightly so.

Both companies are making noises about refusing to honor warranties on older cars and trucks, claiming those sales have become part of their "old" selves, "bad Chrysler" and "bad GM," the parts of the companies which are now being closed or sold-off as part of their respective bankruptcy and reorganization plans.

We came across the following information from the Service Contract Industry Council (www.go-scic.com), which describes itself as "a national trade association whose member companies collectively offer approximately 80 percent of the service contracts sold in the U.S. for home, auto, and consumer goods."