The Senior Counselor to the U.S. President for Manufacturing Policy; and Leader on the U.S. Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry, Ron Bloom, was utterly clueless.  He told Reuters that the Obama administration supposedly was just as flabbergasted by GM’s sudden reversal on the Opel deal as Angela Merkel and the rest of Germany was. That they supposedly were not consulted. And that this is just divvy, because it “underscores the independence of a new board put in place to safeguard the U.S. government’s investment in GM.” Isn’t Teflon wonderful?

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Reuters reports that Aabar Investments is considering increasing their stake in Daimler AG from 9.1% to 15%. Aabar is already Daimler largest shareholder and this move, should it happen, will further cement this position. The Abu Dhabi investment fund paid $2.7 billion for the 9.1% stake when the share price €20.77. Since then, the share price of Daimler has rocketed 77% and on the news of Aabar mulling a bigger stake, the share price rose by 4.4% to €35.81 per share. Daniel Schwarz, an analyst with Commerzbank AG said “It’s a positive signal that a large shareholder is showing a long term commitment”. But the strength of the fund’s love for Daimler doesn’t just extend to this increased stake.

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This week’s chronicle of the Opel saga starts with good news and bad news.

The good news:  GM’s European headquarters will move from Zurich, Switzerland, to Opel’s home in Rüsselsheim near Frankfurt, Germany, reports Die Zeit. The paper: “With the move, the company probably wants to collect points to calm down the German government.” Let’s put it this way: Putting the European GM headquarters into a country that is not even part of the EU, that is more known for its tax haven status than for its flourishing auto industry, did not amuse the Germans. Returning to Deutschland, GM can pat itself on the back: The move created 150 jobs in Rüsselsheim, which are lost in Zurich.

The bad news: It’s too late to collect points.
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When Magna was buying Opel (along with German help and alleged Russian mobsters) Volkswagen made noises about dumping them as a supplier. Vergeben und vergessen.

“If Magna doesn’t act like a competitor, we will continue to do business as usual,” a Veedub spokesman told German tabloid BILD (via Reuters.)

Now is not the time for VW to switch suppliers anyway.
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An uncouth interview, given by GM Chairman Ed Whitacre to the German newspaper Muenchner Merkur at the sidelines of an event at the Texas Lutheran University, has shut the doors on any donations Berlin may make to Opel’s cause. Aus. Vorbei.
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The Opel/GM saga has more twists than New York’s Peppermint Lounge. Yesterday, we reported that GM’s Smith & Reilly went to Berlin to beg money from German Economy Minister Rainer Bruederle. They received the cold shoulder.

Like good salesmen, they didn’t take no for an answer.
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Think the new Z4 is a bloated boulevard cruiser unworthy of the roadster-implying Z badge? We’d tend to agree. Which is why we were chuffed to see renderings of a possible BMW 1 Series-based Z2 roadster in the most recent Auto Motor und Sport (print edition). Several Einser engines will be available say AM und S, up to and including the 306 hp 135i engine. BMW M division boss Kay Segler even hints that an M car based on the 1 series is in the works. This roadster seems like as good a variant as any for the treatment.

The single trim level is what tipped us off, and if we’d looked closer at its spec sheet, we’d have seen that its manufacturing location is listed as “Rüsselsheim, Germany.” Automotive News [sub] reports that Regal will be built in Germany for 15 months before production shifts to Oshawa. Which makes the Regal even more of an odd duck. In addition to being stuck into GM’s bursting lineup of Epsi-II midsize sedans, it’s also losing whatever profit it might have made on the dismal foreign exchange rate and the boat ride over from Europe. Or it will be just plain overpriced. Think of it as the love child between a Saturn Astra and a Pontiac G8. And another sign that some things never change.

GM’s John Smith, and a freshly minted GME CEO Nick Reilly went to Berlin to see German Economy Minister Rainer Bruederle, hat in hand, hoping for some Opel funds. They left empty handed.

“I expressed my expectation that General Motors should basically carry out the financing itself,” Bruederle said after the meeting.
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The catalyst for all this was the EU saying you only made the money available to one investor. The board did what they should have done and revisited the issue… It’s been a confusing decision, but I don’t think it was handled badly. The circumstances changed from the time this started. The financial part of the business got better. Conditions have changed.

GM Chairman Ed Whitacre on the decision to keep Opel. Financial? Better? Because EU regulators said so? How anyone can see the Opel situation as a “sign of change” is beyond me. GM never wanted to get rid of Opel, they just didn’t want to pay the $8 bil, er, $3 billion to keep it. Too bad German Economics Minister Rainer Bruederle says it’s actually going to cost a cool $5b to restructure Opel. Which GM will just be cannibalizing with Chevwoos anyway. Is any of this not sounding like Old GM?