Aporkalypse Now: End Game
By Edward NiedermeyerOctober 5, 2008 - 3,234 views
Hear that sound? It's the fat lady singing a dirge for $7.5b of taxpayer money ($25b at risk in total). It's now as good as spent on a few undeserving automakers. Industry executives and union bosses alike are celebrating their lobbying victory, ignoring their still-dire position for the glorious moment. Congress may have made with the cash in short order, but they aren't rid of the freeloaders just yet. In fact, no sooner had the ink dried on President Bush's signature on HR2638 than industry backers were telling the media what TTAC has surmised all along: $25b is only the first step. In its first story on the new law, the Detroit News reports that “Michigan lawmakers plan to return next year to seek another $25 billion in loans for 2009 and 2010, and more flexibility in how the funds can be used.” And why wouldn't they?
Aporkalypse Now: End Game editorial continued »
Posted in Editorials | Industry | 45 comments 
General Motors Death Watch 202: Carmegeddon Pt. 2
By Ken EliasOctober 3, 2008 - 3,715 views
Consumers will not buy a new vehicle from a bankrupt carmaker. That’s the over-arching fear preventing GM from filing for a court-managed rescue: a total collapse of consumer confidence in the company’s products. History suggests that a GM C11 would indeed trigger carmegeddon. Ask an automotive historian to name an American automaker that filed for bankruptcy, survived, emerged and thrived and you get a doughnut-hole shaped answer. But I submit that GM will reorganize successfully. C11 will be a new beginning for GM, its suppliers, dealers, workers and, yes, customers-- not the end of everything. But let’s start from the corporate perspective…
General Motors Death Watch 202: Carmegeddon Pt. 2 editorial continued »
Posted in Editorials | GM Death Watch | 34 comments
Consumer Reports Test Day: “The Future of the Car”
By David HolzmanOctober 2, 2008 - 3,230 views
The biggest surprise at last Friday’s Consumer Reports’ press shindig: no plug-in electric - gas hybrid Chevy Volt. Not a mock-up. Not a mention. Oh, GM was there-- with two hydrogen fuel cell Chevy Equinoxes. So never mind all that talk of "reinventing the automobile." At “The Future of the Car,” the car of the future’s just like your current ride, only cleaner and, mostly, a lot less practical.
Consumer Reports Test Day: “The Future of the Car” editorial continued »
Posted in Editorials | Green | 42 comments
General Motors Death Watch 201: Carmegeddon Pt. 1
By Ken EliasSeptember 30, 2008 - 6,106 views
When a company doesn’t have enough money to pay creditors what they’re owed, it’s considered insolvent. By this definition, GM is insolvent. The American automaker’s working capital stands at negative $20b. Cash outflow for the half year through June 30 remains negative, at over seven billion dollars. And it’s getting worse, as cash calls arrive on a regular-- and irregular-- basis. There’s no more credit to tap, and GM has few assets of meaningful value left to sell. Oh yeah, GM’s gonna file for bankruptcy. Then what?
General Motors Death Watch 201: Carmegeddon Pt. 1 editorial continued »
Posted in Editorials | GM Death Watch | 77 comments
In Defense of: The Mazda RX-8
By Michael KareshSeptember 29, 2008 - 3,609 views
A fine-handling car carries on a conversation with the tips of your fingers and the seat of your pants, and not just near the limit of adhesion. Whether the engine's up front, in the middle or out back; whether the powerplant propels the front, rear or both wheels, a true "driver's car" is a master of communication and balance. While many cars have been successfully marketed based on their "ultimate driving," very few are capable of delivering such erudition. Many are downright pigs, offering nothing more than understeer followed by more understeer. As Jonny Lieberman's review indicates, the Mazda RX-8 is not amongst them. It is an under-appreciated gem.
In Defense of: The Mazda RX-8 editorial continued »
Posted in Editorials | In Defense Of | 48 comments
Bailout Watch 72: No Excuses
By Robert FaragoSeptember 28, 2008 - 2,447 views
Back when The Big 2.8 were fighting the United Auto Workers (remember them?) for contract concessions, the automotive press considered it the battle to end all battles. Once the New Deal was ratified-- courtesy gi-normous union bribes and epic deferred costs-- the pundits proclaimed themselves satisfied. It was time for Detroit to roll-up its sleeves and compete. No more excuses! Well, it's been exactly a year since the UAW OK’ed the GM deal and we’re [still] hearing nothing but excuses. Oh, and the sound of your tax money lighting CEOs' cigars.
Bailout Watch 72: No Excuses editorial continued »
Posted in Chrysler Suicide Watch | Editorials | Ford Death Watch | GM Death Watch | 48 comments
Muscle Car Writing Contest #3: Jarad Petroske Says Rocky You Met Your Match
By Robert FaragoSeptember 27, 2008 - 1,223 views
The first time I met an American muscle car, my friend Ben was encouraging me to carve the donut in the Sears parking lot just a little tighter and give it just a little more gas. He wanted to hear the 1977 Chevy Malibu's big block snarl like he knew it could when you pressed the pedal all the way to the floor boards.
Muscle Car Writing Contest #3: Jarad Petroske Says Rocky You Met Your Match editorial continued »
Posted in Editorials | Housekeeping | 13 comments
Muscle Car Writing Contest Finalist #2: Don Gammil Wants You to Color Him Gone
By Robert FaragoSeptember 27, 2008 - 1,113 views
Sounding every bit as superficial as the redneck poseur he portrayed, the expression on actor Warren Oates’ face as he uttered those words in the 1971 cult classic “Two-Lane Blacktop” spoke volumes about what a muscle car was and what it was built for.
Muscle Car Writing Contest Finalist #2: Don Gammil Wants You to Color Him Gone editorial continued »
Posted in Editorials | Housekeeping | 6 comments
Muscle Car Writing Contest Finalist 1: Frank Rodgers Calls You a Nimrod
By Robert FaragoSeptember 27, 2008 - 1,174 views
Yes, you little nimrods! The American muscle car does have a future! Detroit simply needs to stick to a few basic principles. The first thing it mustn’t forget is that any muscle car worth building will have a V-8, expensive fuel or no. To any camel admirers ready to start preaching the gospel of turbonium and other unnatural elements, I’ll just say that no other amount of cylinders or configuration can match the distinctive presence of a V-8 - especially a good ol’ American one. Sound MATTERS. Nothing brings out the hairy chested, knuckle dragging Neanderthal in me faster than a carnivorous sounding V-8. If it's cammed up, it's all over. I'd be ready to run the Mille Miglia after a vasectomy.
Muscle Car Writing Contest Finalist 1: Frank Rodgers Calls You a Nimrod editorial continued »
Posted in Editorials | Housekeeping | 19 comments
Does Better Place Have A Better Plan?
By David HolzmanSeptember 26, 2008 - 2,038 views
If cross-country road trips are the quintessential American journey of the 20th century, I'm a quintessential American. I'd ridden thrice between Seattle and Boston by the time I was eight. At 17, I drove from Boston to Palo Alto, then back a year later, in a beat up ‘62 Falcon. I crossed the US another eight times– including once respectively by train and bicycle– while a student at Berkeley. Three decades later, I'm longing to do it again. Unfortunately, the 20th century is over. Since it began, the US and world populations have quadrupled. We're straining world oil production capacity, and the specter of global heating and acidified seas from CO2 emissions is causing cognitive dissonance in my car-loving head. Driving's future seems uncertain. But a new company, Better Place of Palo Alto, has a plan.
Does Better Place Have A Better Plan? editorial continued »
Posted in Editorials | Electric vehicles | 36 comments
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