Higher corn prices could soon be passed on to those filling their cars up with ethanol, says CNNMoney. The increasing cost of growing corn, along with favorable prices for other crops such as soybeans could fuel a decrease in corn production. Even though ethanol is heavily subsidized, it has contributed to the rise in corn prices, which has hurt poultry, beef and pork companies who use corn to feed their animals. But a decrease in corn production would also be bad news for the corn-juice industry. According to the Renewable Fuels Association, the number of ethanol plants has increased from 50 in 1999, to 134 today, with more plants on the drawing board. Given that, on average, a 100m gallon-per-year ethanol plant consumes about 33 million bushels of corn, more ethanol plants and less corn could spell trouble ahead. The decreased supply could drive corn prices even higher, which would offset any possible "advantages" corn-based ethanol was supposed to offer.

VW, arguably the inventor of the hot hatch (with the 1977 Golf GTI), recently released their coolest representative of the segment: the new Scirocco. I know they're marketing it as a coupe, but really, does it feel like one? Does it seem connected to the original Scirocco by anything more than name? Is it as sleek as the Corrado? I think this new car could be considered the very definition of a hot hatch, but nothing more. This makes me wonder if there's still room for the next Golf GTI (the Mk VI) in the Veedub range? Cannibalism was never seemed like something VAG worried about. Their model line-up development principle seems to be "more fishing rods into the pond equal more fish." But, they can't just rebadge a Scirocco and make it the next 3-door Golf/Rabbit GTI, can they? The spy photographs made available so far show a boxier design, with large windows and an obvious improvement of the interior space. Considering all the things mentioned above I've rendered what could be the next GTI: an uglified Scirocco with better visibility, better head room and more trunk space. If you were a fish in the hot hatch consumer pond, which lure would you find more attractive?

[For more Avarvarii photochopistry, click here]

An interesting "help wanted" ad appeared in several cities' papers yesterday: "Employment offered to applicants responding to this advertisement will be to fill anticipated attrition replacement openings after negotiations or in place of employees involved in this strike." [Emphasis added.] You guessed it– the ads were placed by American Axle. CBC News reports the company ran the ad in cities where they have a plants which have been shut down by the UAW strike. Of course, the official AA party line, as espoused by spokeswoman Renee Rogers is: "We expect that once an agreement is reached with the UAW a significant number of associates will participate in buyouts and early retirements. We are currently preparing a pool of potential new associates." The auto supplier also sent letters to workers who were laid off before the strike began, asking them to come back to work. The UAW responded by calling for a mass picket today outside AA's headquarters. There's no apparent break in the impasse between labor and management; their full negotiating teams haven't met since March 10.

As the latest GM Death Watch predicted, the GM apologists are getting warmed-up. Note to The Big 2.8's PR departments: hire the Detroit News' headline writer. Better yet, don't. Why risk losing such a public champion? After all, there is no evidence that GM, Ford and Chrysler ARE successfully clinging to their U.S. market share. Or WILL cling. And while you're wondering who to thank for cutting the words "try to" from the headline, it's best to keep scribe Sharon Terlep happy. Ms. T starts, helpfully enough, by moving the goal posts: "But preventing foreign-based rivals from stealing more buyers will be crucial to putting Detroit's automakers in a good position once sales eventually rebound." And then she trots out Michael Robinet, vice president of global vehicle forecasts for CSM Worldwide. "Robinet said GM is likely in the best position to hang on to market share with a string of popular new products such as the Chevrolet Malibu, Cadillac CTS sports sedan and the Buick Enclave crossover." None of which are conquesting transplant buyers or setting the sale charts on fire; all of which are the GM turnaround poster girls. And just because GM may be in the best position relative to Ford and Chrysler doesn't make it a good position relative to say, Toyota. Or Honda. Or Nissan. Or Hyundai. Or Lexus. Or… 

General Motors is about to report a massive sales decline for the month of March. GM’s management will acknowledge the loss, blame it on the general downturn in the U.S. new car market, point to a few successful models and move on. Later, the American automaker will report it’s burned over a billion dollars in the last financial quarter. GM’s management will blame the market downturn (again) and the strike at American Axle. The top brass will admit that GM’s turnaround is… delayed. But at no point will they accept responsibility for their plight. Well, why would they?

Move over, Christine– you're so last century.  Stephen King's furious Fury is being replaced by a hybrid. Variety reports Voltage Pictures is beginning production of "Hybrid," a horror flick "about a female mechanic in a Chicago police garage who spends a night of terror with a hybrid car." (No, I'm not making that up.) They don't give much more information about the movie except it's budgeted at $10m and is shooting around Regina, Saskatchewan. Nor do they say which hybrid is the objet terrible or how it goes about its evil business. Anyone want to make any suggestions on how a predatory Prius or internecine Insight would go about terrorizing its hapless (and oh so very cliché) female victim?

Last week, the Americans sold Jaguar to the Indians. After losing billions on the English marque, Ford finally unloaded their perennial loss maker on Tata Motors. Amidst varying reports on the Indian conglomerate’s plans for the brand, the new XF sedan continues to roll down the assembly line. We’ve already driven the base model of the car that is (for now) Tata’s greatest hope for immediate profit. Now we turn to the Supercharged model. Stateside, acquiring the XF Supercharged requires an extra ten grand (and the rest) above than the base car’s base price. Is it worth it?

Canadian-Austrian venture Magna Steyr had a mini hit on its hands at the Geneva Auto show with its Mila Alpin. With no trucks on the market light enough for hybrid or EV conversions, the folks who developed Mercedes 4-Matic and built everything from the X3 to the G-Wagen wanted to give it a shot. Not only does the Mila Alpin climb 45 degree inclines, it's super light, designed to work with CNG, hybrid, or electric powertrains. More importantly, it's not aimed at fanboys. "Der Magna Mila Alpin ist so konstruiert," says Auto Motor Und Sport, "dass sich fremde Karosserieformen leicht auf der Plattform aufbauen lassen." It's built for others to build on. And just like that, Mercedes and BMW are talking joint project, in hopes of backing-up eco-friendly PR chatter on the (relative) cheap. BMW Development chief Klaus Draeger says talks with Magna Steyr are not about technical ability; they are about strategy and marketing. Mercedes confirms that they're schmoozing with Frank Stronach's boyz, but say their A and B Class cars were designed with "sandwich" floors to ease the adoption of alternative drivetrains. My gut says BMW will go for it. Their motorcycles prove they can go anywhere with their brand. A crazy Isetta electric off-roader would freaking rule.

TTAC is often accused of torturing prose in the name of… showing-off in a smarmy-ass, we're trying too hard to be funny kinda way. We prefer to think of it as cutting edge infotainment, part of the "TTAC School of Automotive Criticism." Of course, that's about as pretentious as it gets. Unless you happen over to The Old Gray Lady for Ezra Dyer's psychographic breakdown of Scion's recent model moves. "The old xB was like a newly arrived Japanese exchange student who dresses like Max Headroom and pulls live sea urchins out of his lunch bag, blissfully naïve about his lack of assimilation. The new xB is like the same kid six months later, still unquestionably the product of a different culture, but now self-conscious of that fact and beginning to temper his perceived eccentricities with trips to the Hollister store and the occasional McRib sandwich for lunch." Translation: the xB's been assimilated– and not in a good way (a fact that's been well and truly documented hereabouts). I do like Dyer's xD vs. Matrix comparo leading-up to this mondo-metaphor. "Driving an xD versus a Matrix doesn’t mark you as antiestablishment any more than wearing an Old Navy sweater instead of one from the Gap." Now that's funny! 

“You’re free to go.” With those hackneyed words, the Goldendale police officer returned my license. They were the very same words I’d heard in my head just a few hours earlier. At one-thirty last Sunday, my older son Ted called: “If you can drop Will [(his brother) here by three, we can take him back with us to Portland for a few days.” Cabin fever was at 103. The ninety minute deadline to pick a destination and pack the xB was just the tonic I needed. Time to head for… (flings open the atlas)… Wenatchee!