The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers’ Senior Director of Communications has informed TTAC via email that the CARS (AKA “Cash for Clunkers”) program has NOT been suspended. ”All deals concluded before a suspension is announced (if that happens) will be honored,” promises Charles Territo. We’ve also heard that the President is urging Americans NOT to not buy a new car (i.e., go ahead and buy a car) under the program over the weekend.

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As time goes on, Opel’s chances to be rescued by an outside investor are dwindling. A member of the German government’s Opel Task Force told Reuters on Thursday that negotiations between GM and the two competing bidders (RHJ and Magna) for Opel could drag on longer than expected. The way it looks, the deal may never close – because GM doesn’t want to. There could be another rich sugar daddy: It’s you.

Her neighbors to the south may not recognize the fact (even parenthetically), but Canada kicked-in as-yet-uncounted billions in federal funds to keep the Chrysler and GM zombies in a vertical position. Whatever the final tally, the Motown subsidy was the largest bailout in Canadian history. In exchange, they received a seat on both automakers’ Board of Directors. Ottawa and Toronto chose Carol Stephenson, dean of the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario, to bop on down to RenCen to see what’s shaking. Auburn Hills hosts George Gosbee of Tristone Capital. OK, so how much are they getting paid for their time? They ain’t saying, exactly. And Canadians are not happy. Specifically, the Edmonton Journal:

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TTAC Commentator stingray writes:

My friend has a 2002-2003 Opel Corsa. In fact it’s “Made in Brazil.” I think it has GM’s family 1.6L 4 cyl engine. And here in Venezuela, this Opel is sold as the Chevrolet Corsa.

It’s throwing code 43: O2 sensor, lean mixture. Has a popping in the exhaust. I got the code using the MIL lamp and recommended that he change the air filter, fuel filter and clean the injectors. He did clean the injectors, also changed spark plugs, wires, coil and O2 sensor. Doesn’t know much about car fixing so got a bit PWNED on that. And the popping still continues . . . and the code too.

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Red light camera and speed camera manufacturers fear that last month’s US Supreme Court ruling in the case Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts could create legal turmoil for the industry. The National Campaign to Stop Red Light Running issued a statement yesterday warning that the ruling has armed motorists with a greater ability to challenge the basis of automated traffic citations. Speed cameras, for example, depend heavily on legal faith in a certificate that claims to confirm the total reliability of a machine’s speed reading. In the Melendez-Diaz case, the high court ruled that merely producing such a certificate in court is insufficient. Defendants have the right to cross-examine any individual who claims to have certified evidence.

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Sajeev is lookin’ for a steenkin’ Lincoln. Well his dad is at least. They want a late model Town Car in black that hopefully, preferably, has less than 50k miles on it and a very certain trim level. It’s not an easy request for me to fulfill. Despite the fleet focus for this model, Ford has well over a dozen different trim combinations for TC’s (e.g., Signature, Limited, Cartier). Visits to the auction for this type of inventory are surprisingly rare. A few keystrokes. A secret password. And I get to see everything within a 100 mile radius. I find . . .

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The federal government has put the Cash for Clunkers (a.k.a. C.A.R.S. program) on hold. Supposedly, they’ve run out of money. The MSM is all abuzz with talk of extending the program, allocating more funds and the bummer of a congressional recess (no action ’til after Labor Day). But there’s talk that the number of clunkers hitting car dealers’ lots or the logjam on getting paid isn’t the real reason for putting Cash for Clunkers on hold. Do the math. The program is good for about 200k to 250k rigs, depending on the average rebate qualification. No way there were that many clunkers traded in over the six days since the program went live (official D.O.T. stats after the jump). The real story is that C.A.R.S. over-stimulated the market for new cars (even without a clunker trade); dealers are running out of new vehicles to sell. Or, more to the point, cars that consumers want to buy.

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Well that was quick. The Freep is reporting that CARS will be suspended after only 4 days due to over-subscription. NADA is warning the Wall Street Journal that demand is quickly exceeding the $1 billion available. An unofficial NADA survey shows 25k qualifying deals that the NHTSA still has yet to process. And dealers sound pissed. “Their capacity to accept the applications is not adequate,” one dealer tells the Freep. “Dealers are spending all day trying to submit the applications . . . I have not spoken to one dealer that has received approval, and or has been funded, for even a single transaction.”

Do you have a vehicle that was eligible for the government’s CARS program until the EPA revised old mileage averages? If so, your vehicle is no longer eligible for the $3,500-$4,500 incentive. If you had set up a deal before the final rule came out, however, the government will hook you up regardless. “We’ve tried to come up with the fairest possible solution under the circumstances,” CARS’ long-suffering spokesman, Rae Tyson, explains to Automotive News [sub]. But it’s hard to see what exactly is fair about that. Didn’t NHTSA specifically warn that “if a dealer chooses to structure a transaction before the final rule is issued, they will bear the risks associated with later demonstrating that the transaction meets all of the specifications of the final rule”? Why are the folks who ignored the warning being rewarded, while those who waited for the rules get the shaft? More importantly, if anyone got away with engine-melting a 1987 Alfa GTV (recently reprieved by the EPA mileage mulligan), there are going to be phones ringing in at least one congresscritter’s office. Hit the jump for a complete list of clunkers which saw their eligibility change due to the EPA revision.

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Speaking of barnyards, someone forgot to tell Ford watchers not to count their chickens until they hatch. The MSM is ready, willing and able to pronounce the Blue Oval Boyz’ turnaround plan for the ailing American automaker as good as done, and skip the “it worked!” part of CEO Big Al Mulally’s canonization. The Detroit News is down with this fait accompli meme. “As one fund manager who controls a sizable chunk of Ford’s stock and bonds put it: ‘The biggest threat to Ford’s future is that Mulally steps off the curb tomorrow and gets hit by a bus.’ Such sentiments, blunt as they may be, are a testament to the progress Ford has made since Mulally took over as CEO in September of 2006. He predicts the company should settle into profitability by late 2011.” So that’s it, then, save “Mulally is no stranger to success” and “He’s been an agent of change” and “For many Ford employees, he has rock-star status” and I think they ought to think it out again.