"Agriculture Secretary Edward T. Schafer is preparing to walk into a buzzsaw of criticism over American biofuels policy when he meets with world leaders to discuss the global food crisis next week." Ouch! Clearly, The New York Times is through pulling is punches on America's corn-fed bio-fuel bonanza. The majority of their article "Food Report Criticizes Biofuel Policies" is dedicated to a report criticizing biofuel policies (strangely enough), But before the knife is twisted ("The Agriculture Department’s own longtime chief economist, Keith Collins, who retired in January, said that ethanol was the 'foot on the accelerator' of corn demand), Secretary Schafer wants his constituents (corn growers) to know he's got their back. By his department's reckoning, biofuel production accounts for "only" two to three percent of the increase in global food prices, while reducing crude oil consumption by a million (a million!) barrels a day."We think that policy-wise in the United States of America — and certainly in the rest of the world — as we see the price of oil and petroleum escalate dramatically beyond anyone’s imagination, that one of the ways to deal with that is to produce biofuels which are renewables, better for the environment and help lower that cost." So E85 reduces gas use (although it increases gas use) and helps the environment (although it hurts the environment). Let the price supports begin! Oh wait…

GM has been trying to realize savings from its two-tier wage agreement with the UAW by offering veteran hourly workers (who are locked in at old wages) cash buyouts to walk from their jobs. Well, the offer has expired and the Detroit News reports that some 19k UAW workers, or nearly a quarter of the General's North American work force, has taken the money and run. Although GM hadn't set a public goal for the buyouts, the 19k number was at the high end of UAW President Ron Gettelfinger's 5k to 20k estimate, and far exceeded Ford and Chrysler's most recent buyout takes. About 4,200 workers took Ford's latest buyout offer, about half of what the blue oval wanted. Chrysler's recently bought out about 7k workers, bringing it to nearly 80 percent of its hourly headcount reduction goal. But GM had to work hard to convince so many of its 46k workers who are eligible for retirement to walk away. The General offered $62,500 to each retirement-eligible worker, who then had the choice of receiving cash upfront or rolling payments into an IRA account, on top of full pension and retirement benefits. And while the carrots for leaving GM were good, the sticks are still looming for those left behind. Ominous reports from Automotive News (sub) tell of GM's "top managers working on additional restructuring measures to deal with a declining U.S. auto market." An anonymous source tells AN that GM plans to cut shifts at truck and SUV plants, cut about 2k salaried jobs through involuntary firings (sound familiar?), and is considering "other actions." Gee, retirement is starting to sound pretty nice, eh?

AM-online reports the European Commission has unveiled new safety rules that– it says– could save 5k lives a year. Oh, and help cut fuel consumption. If the rules are approved by the European Parliament, all new cars sold in the Eurozone from 2012 will be equipped with tire pressure monitors, electronic stability control (ESC) systems and low-resistance tires. The Commission expects the measures to add €100 – €300 to the price of a new car. But hey, the extra cost would be more than offset over the car's lifetime by savings on fuel. As we Germans say, the Teufel is in the details. Tire pressure monitors are sensible; so many people waste fuel and (through longer braking distances) endanger others when they drive with flabby rubber. But, at the same time, tests have shown that low resistance tires can result in significantly longer braking distances. The Commission contends that, in normal driving conditions, ESC can reduce the number of accidents by around 20 percent. The science on compensatory behavior is not yet clear enough to make that claim; some studies show people drive more dangerously when they have ESC. What was that about die Straße to Hölle?

Even though Ford Motor Credit avoided the mortgage madness haunting GMAC, the credit crisis is taking its toll. Today's Wall Street Journal reports that FMC's delinquencies are up. Upside-down car and truck owners are giving up and giving back. With resale values falling through the floor, the bankers are stuck with monster truck-sized losses on repossessed vehicles. Even clean lease returns are a problem. Contemplating their ailing credit ops and DOA truck market, The Blue Oval Boyz have pushed out it's profitability date from 2009 to… someday. "Ford started the year expecting its credit arm to match the $1.2 billion in pretax profit it earned last year, but now has a much dimmer outlook. In the first quarter, Ford Credit earned just $36 million, $257 million less than in the year-earlier period." Unlike GM's sell-off of GMAC, Ford continues to say it "has reviewed the option of selling the unit many times over the years but has always come to the conclusion that Ford Credit is a strategic asset for the auto maker." Which is lucky; who'd buy it? Never one to miss the obvious, Ford share stalker Kirk Kerkorian's go-to guy Jerome York fingers Ford Credit as "an area of weakness." Ya think?

For the last 40 years, Maserati has delighted us with one or two generations of their unique grand touring sedan. Several famous designers have worked during the years to dress the finest Italian sedan in the finest Italian clothing. Successively, Giorgetto Giugiaro, Alejandro de Tomaso and Marcello Gandini shaped-up the image we have in the back of our heads when we think "Quattroporte." In 2003, Pinifarina sculptured (in my opinion) the best Quattroporte ever. I sure hope the the sixth installment of Maserati's largest will get to be penned by the same Italian studio. I've rendered the gen six Quattroporte under the influence of the Grantourismo, and tried to add some nerve to that front fascia (it looks a little droopy on the current model). Pretending to be one of the guys at Pininfarina sure was fun, especially because this is a special rendering for me — number 100 since I got in the business. Andiamo!

[For more Avarvarii photochopistry, click here]

CNNMoney reports that the price of crude oil may finally have spiked– you know, if you look at it that way. "Crude oil prices retreated into the $126-a-barrel range Wednesday after dropping almost $5 a barrel from intraday highs to settle at $128.85 on Tuesday." While CNN is almost happy to make the link between dropping crude prices and "relief at the pump," it's worth noting, uh, what they note. "Gas prices have been pushed to record levels in the past year on the back of record oil prices. As the price of crude oil has more than doubled, gas prices have increased by almost a quarter." Anyone see an ominous disconnect there? Anyway and meanwhile, gas prices hit record highs for the 21st day in a row. "The nationwide average for a gallon of regular unleaded rose to $3.944, up 0.7 cent from $3.937 Tuesday." Detroit shouldn't pop the cork on those SUV-shaped champagne bottles just yet. Most analysts reckon that increased demand worldwide will prevent the price of crude from returning to last year's levels. Ever.

Ford is bringing the Fiesta back to the US of A (AP via Yahoo!). Lke the Fusion, this American car will be Hecho en Mexico. Looks like UAW President Big Ron Gettlefinger didn't get far with his argument that Ford's U.S. plants are "competitive enough that the automaker could make money building its smallest cars in the U.S." Somehow I don't think the recent "independent" strike actions at multiple UAW factories bolstered his argument much. The last time Ford sold Fiestas in the homeland they were made in Germany, imported from 1978 through 1980. Almost nobody bought them, in part because Ford dealers didn't have a clue about selling the silly little things. Although a flop at home, worldwide the Fiesta has been a perennial best selling sub-compact. This latest version will go on sale in Europe, China and other markets before making it's way back home. Assuming gas prices stay high, the new Fiesta should find a strong welcome at your local Blue Oval dealer. The question is, what is taking so long? Why is China in on the initial roll out while the world's largest car market (yes that's still us) has to wait another two years?

I love European "people's" cars. The Renault R4, the Fiat Uno and Punto, Peugeots 205 to 207, the early Golfs– they were all affordable and fun to drive with more character than Marcello Mastroianni. By the same token, I hate what Lee Iacocca called PODS. Lido was referring to Chryslers, but plenty of manufacturers have built cars for Poor Old Dumb Shits. PODS-mobiles are often Russian; Lada leading the pack. More recently, they hail from Korea or Malaysia. They're cheap to buy, miserable to operate and not at all economical to own (as CityRover owners found out). When considering Europe's cheapest car– the Romanian-built Dacia Logan– you have to wonder if the penalty box tradition continues.

When fans of bio-diesel first claimed they were running their [former] oil burners on "free" fuel– restaurants' abandoned cooking oil and grease– we predicted the fat bubble would burst. And so it has. The New York Times reports that "yellow grease" has risen from 7.6 cents per pound (2000) to 33 cents a pound, or almost $2.50 a gallon. And so we delve into the murky– or is that cloudy?– world of grease theft. The Old Gray Lady weaves a strange tale of late night Burger King raids, private dicks working for grease collection and rendering companies, shady environmentalists, and (as always) befuddled cops. Oh, and a lawyer who specializes in defending the "grease rustlers." "Once you put something in the trash, it’s abandoned property,” said Jon A. Jaworski, a lawyer in Houston who represents accused grease thieves. “A lot of times, it’s not theft.” And a lot of times it is. The unsolved 2,500-gallon Burger King heist chronicled at the outset was worth more than $6,000 on the black (yellow) market. There's only two elements missing from this tale of low life and high fat: the drivers who buy the stuff that "fell off the back of a dumpster" and government intervention. How long before the liquid gold is regulated and taxed? Take our word for it: not long at all. 

Ford's new-in-Europe Kuga compact crossover has achieved the best combination of crash test star ratings, placing the car at the top of the Euro NCAP small SUV group. The Euro-Focus-based Kuga scored the maximum five stars for adult occupant protection, four stars for child occupant protection and three stars for pedestrian protection. (Only a few other SUVs have been deemed relatively pedestrian-friendly. The BMW X3 for instance scored only one star). And no other SUV, large or small, has achieved a total of so many stars in the various categories. How did they do it? Technical gobbledygook alert… The credit goes to Ford's intelligent protection system (IPS) which "combin(es) a body structure optimised for strength and crashworthiness with restraint equipment," and high strength steels "for a very rigid, yet lightweight passenger safety cell." The high pedestrian protection score was achieved through the use of soft bumper material, a special energy absorber between the bumper and the front panel and radiator, breakaway headlights, front wings manufactured from recycled plastic and a carefully shaped hood. Best of all: the Kuga is reported to be a pretty good drive. Review to follow.