By Robert Farago
September 10, 2009
First of all, I don't have the embed code for this ad. For some reason, GM hasn't sent it to TTAC and it's not on YouTube. To see the ad, click over to
Autoblog. Second, New GM Chairman of the Board Ed Whitacre should never have done this ad. GM's single biggest problem, the one that trumps everything: their insular culture. By fronting this spot, Whitacre has become part of the problem. He's crossed the line from gamekeeper to poacher. He's lost his independent observer/taxpayers' guardian status; he can no longer distance himself from the Lutzes and yutzes who animate the GM zombie. Whitacre's now "one of the boys." Third, the actual text of this ad [parsed after the jump] misses the boat.
Editorial: Between the Lines: GM BOD Chairman Ed Whitacre’s “Satisfaction Guaranteed” Ad
editorial continued »
Posted in Between the Lines | Editorials | 56 comments 
By Robert Farago
August 16, 2009
I've been harping on about the media's "Ford didn't take bailout bucks" meme for some time. Commentators have slated me for slating the Blue Oval Boyz for claiming they avoided the taxpayer trough. In fact, Ford raided the public purse to the tune of $5.9 billion dollars. Yes, it's a no-to-low-interest Department of Energy "retooling loan." I repeat: the $5.9 billion loan from the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) program allows Mulally's minions to spend $5.9 billion dollars on something else. It's a bailout. Question: if you're an industry writer, how do you push Ford's mega-suckle to one side to keep the "pure as driven snow" show alive? You draw a distinction between "emergency tax dollars" and ATVM loans, while, at the same time, not mentioning the loans. Sarah Webster's "
Ford, Toyota in a close race to No. 1" does that and more, taking Motown's hometown cheerleading to the next level.
Editorial: Between the Lines: Detroit News: Ford Gets Its Sexy Back
editorial continued »
Posted in Between the Lines | Editorials | 33 comments
By Robert Farago
July 10, 2009
I once asked a priest about confession. What was the point? I knew Catholics who'd sin, confess, sin, confess, wash, rinse, repeat. "It's not a 'get out of hell free' card," he insisted. "Confession means you fully acknowledge your sin, pledge to atone for the harm you've caused, promise God that you've learned from your mistakes and change your behavior." Let's say you do all that and commit the same sin. What good's an unrealized promise? "None," he said. "I have refused absolution to repeat sinners because I didn't believe that they were ready, willing or able to abandon their sins." And there you have it: New GM's recipe for disaster. Let us turn to the first sentence of
New GM's first press release.
Editorial: Between The Lines: New GM’s First Press Release
editorial continued »
Posted in Between the Lines | Editorials | 57 comments
By Edward Niedermeyer
May 14, 2009
Well, the worm has turned properly on government intervention in the auto industry, as General Motors now seems to fear a government takeover more than bankruptcy. Too bad the choice isn't either-or. Recent
10-Q filings with the SEC indicate that GM accepts the inevitability of a Chapter 11 filing, but describes the ramifications of a possible government ownership stake with fear and horror. "In the future we may also become subject to new and additional government regulations regarding various aspects of our business as a result of the U.S. government’s ownership in (and financing of) our business. These regulations could make it more difficult for us to compete with other companies that are not subject to similar regulations," figure GM's professional worrywarts. These still waters of paranoia run deep.
Editorial: Between the Lines: GM Does Not Welcome Its New Governmental Overlords
editorial continued »
Posted in Between the Lines | Editorials | 58 comments
By Michael Karesh
May 3, 2009
Even the most even-handed comparison tests reflect a specific set of specifically weighted criteria. Then there are those that aren’t even-handed. Car comparison tests don’t come much more tilted than the “Camaro vs. Genesis” comparison test in the June 2009 Car and Driver.
Editorial: Between the Lines: Car and Driver Camaro vs. Genesis Comparo
editorial continued »
Posted in Between the Lines | Editorials | 82 comments
By Robert Farago
April 20, 2009
Props to automotive consultant Maryann Keller for calling for GM to get its shit together, I mean "create a sense of urgency" since 1875, or thereabouts. Kudos for Keller's willingness to predict a GM C11 early and often. And praise be for loaning TTAC the writing talents of Mr. Ken Elias. OK, so. . . Keller's column in
Automotive News [sub] is suffused with Annie-like optimism for a post-C11 GM. With one a catch. Chevillac's success depends on the "
smaller, leaner and cost-competitive company's" ability to secure a champion who can administer strong medicine to GM's poisonous corporate culture. Before we deal with Ms. Keller's "if you build it, he will come" theory, here's a taste of her sunwillcomeouttomorrowism:
Editorial: Between the Lines: MaryAnn Keller: Post C11 GM Needs A Road Warrior
editorial continued »
Posted in Between the Lines | Editorials | 45 comments
By Robert Farago
April 13, 2009
Motown's top suits are [still] insulated from "the ownership experience." They drive carefully selected and prepped examples of their own products, lovingly serviced by the company's top wenches. I mean wrenches. The company replaces these perkmobiles before they can prove the old adage that getting older is not for sissies. The execs don't experience the slings and arrows of outrageous service departments nor, for that matter, their competitors' products. They are the bubble boys, accompanied by buff book writers. In this month's Motor Trend, the chronically undercapitalized arthur st antoine offers this: "Full disclosure: At the moment, I don't own an automobile. There are too many test cars, too little time." So the st receives a new, carefully selected, meticulously prepped and thoroughly maintained press car EVERY WEEK. A full tank of gas, no insurance, no trips to the dealer (ever). None of the hassles of car ownership AND the unexpressed danger that writing something that takes him off the press car gravy train would costs him thousands of dollars per year. Now, about this month's column. . .
Editorial: Between the Lines: Motor Trend’s arthur st. antoine Doesn’t Own a Car
editorial continued »
Posted in Between the Lines | Editorials | 68 comments
By Edward Niedermeyer
March 17, 2009
As rumors filter in about GM's Volt battery program, the faithful must be experiencing a certain amount of restless discomfort. After all, it's not like this couldn't be seen coming. Let's just say that when I asked the guys from A123 systems (then bidding on the project) about the Volt battery development program at SEMA last October, they took full advantage of the fact that SEC silent periods don't forbid eye-rolling. Though non-verbal communication can (and in this case, did) speak volumes, we like to get our facts in writing. Which, thanks to the truth-proof wall surrounding the Volt's development, usually means going through GM's PR-exercise interviews with reliable Volt boosters and mining them for some kind of meaning. And hey, there's an interview at Volt cheerleader HQ gm-volt.com which suggests that the Volt's battery development is being rushed. And engineers are complaining to blogs? Fancy that!
-
Editorial: Between The Lines: GM’s Volt Development Spin Cycle
editorial continued »
Posted in Between the Lines | Editorials | Electric vehicles | 33 comments
By Robert Farago
March 9, 2009
Automotive News [AN, sub] does an excellent job covering the industry. Most of the time, AN is an unbiased if largely toothless conduit of autoblogospherical fodder. In other words, they report, we decide. But today's column by Editor David Sedgwick is, well, appalling. No really. I am shocked at the depths of disinformation, dissembling and, yes, dishonor to which AN and Sedgwick have sunk. "GMAC's chief has a chance to earn his millions" begins by asking "Is Al de Molina worth $11.6 million?" The obvious answer has Will Smith written all over it:
oh HELL
no. Unless, of course, you're one of the Cerberus insiders who benefitted from the Fed's last minute rule change. You know, the one allowing GMAC to become a bank when it didn't qualify for bank status. Oh and then there's Uncle Sam's
$6b GMAC bailout. So yes, I guess Al de Molina
is worth the big bucks to someone. Sedgwick's column, on the other hand, isn't worth the paper it's printed on.
Editorial: Between The Lines: AN Pimps for GMAC’s CEO
editorial continued »
Posted in Between the Lines | Editorials | 3 comments
By Robert Farago
February 20, 2009
USA Today's car coverage is normally a fairly sensible part of a fairly sensible newspaper. But the Motown meltdown has created major distortions in the force. USA Today's piece "Readers tell us why they stand by their American cars" is odd, from any angle. Clicking on the "enlarge" button of a homo-erotic picture of a guy in combat pants posing in front of a Buick Riviera is only the beginning. Right from the start of the article, it's clear that scribe Chris Woodyard is so far out of the news loop he might as well check if Elvis is on the moon with him. Either that or he's having a bad flashback, man. How else can you explain his bell bottom jeans-era take on American cars?
Between the Lines: USA Today’s Flag-Waving Homo-Erotic Automotive Flashback
editorial continued »
Posted in Between the Lines | Editorials | 26 comments
POWERED