Easy answer for me: Porsche 914. Justin and I talked about this (kinda) on today’s Podcast. He still hates it. But not me. I really, really admire the diminutive sports car. That’s right, I said sports car. Before I explain why, let me explain why I used to be a hater. There’s an entire class [...]

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President Richard Nixon's transcripts of the missing 18.5 minutes on the Watergate Tapes admitted that he'd contemplated the possibility of suborning evidence. "We could do that," the words read. "But it would be wrong." Of course, Tricky Dicky said no such thing. As we all know, politicians are sleaze-bags who'd steal $700b of your children's taxes just for one more shot at re-election. But it's a nice thought: a man of power contemplating a quick fix-- who pulls back at the last second because of moral qualms. I'm sure there was an occasion when Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac's guardians faced a similar [real] moment of truth. "We could write billions of sub-prime mortgages to people who can't afford them... but it would be wrong." By the same token, GM didn't have to rely on "Zero Percent Financing for Anyone with a Pulse" to keep factories chugging along. (Ditto Ford and Chrysler.) They chose to do so. If American automakers didn't understand the implications of their actions, we should not protect them from the consequences of their decisions. If they did, we should still stay out of it. Responsibile companies find new ways to make mistakes. Irresponsible ones adhere to Albert Einstein's definition of insanity. More than that, enabling Motown to "have another go" at doling-out easy money will only hasten their destruction, not prevent it.

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With the economic downturn, recession, depression, or whatever you want to call it, we already know that new car sales are taking a long vacation from existence. And cars like the Ferraris and Alfa 8Cs of the world shouldn’t have too much trouble selling, since there are still millions of millionaires. But how about the [...]

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Mitsubishi’s Normal, Il factory is the nation’s most under-utilized auto plant. Facing declining American sales, its operators have cut costs to survive. But unlike other transplants, Mitsubishi employs UAW workers, so it can’t just kill its workforce and feed them to Japanese-made robots, right? Well, Mitsubishi has actually surpassed the realm of mere xenophobic science [...]

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Previously– on “Why the Hell Would Anyone Blog This?”– we pointed-out that there was little newsworthy about Audi’s transcontinental diesel… uh… hang on. I’ve forgotten the name of the [non] event. “Audi Mileage Marathon.” What? The German automaker schleps 200-plus journalists around in oil burners to promote the DOA technology to disinterested Americans, and they [...]

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CAR Magazine has been covering the ongoing collaboration negotiations between BMW and Mercedes for some time. As usual, nothing unites like a common enemy, and the longtime rivals have been brought together by the looming leviathan that is the new Porsche-VW alliance. But partnership does not come easily after decades of fierce competition. CAR speculates [...]

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I was stumbling around the Milan airport after a red-eye flight last January when I came upon a Ferrari store. I have absolutely no idea what kind of sales a store like this might rack up (or really, not rack up). Even the insanely wealthy would no doubt feel strange about wearing a $58 Ferrari [...]

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The financial conflagration which started in the US has spread around the world. Bloomberg tells us that in the UK “despite an easing in prices at the gas pump, sales of new cars in September tumbled, falling 21.2% from the same month a year ago. That was even worse than August, [...]

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According to Motor Trend, none other than Maximum Bob Lutz (or his mouth, which is independently operated) was behind plans to convert the C7 Corvette to a mid-engined layout. And from certain perspectives (albeit not the traditional one) such a move would have made a lot of sense. Besides putting Ferrari on notice, a mid-engined [...]

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Quality, if you believe Bob Lutz, is not only the absence of things gone wrong.”We shoot not only for absence of problems, but we especially shoot for a joyous owner experience,” proclaims the Car Czar in the latest “Case For GM” video at GM’s Fastlane blog. Which is a convenient way of taking attention away [...]

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OK, that’s it. No really. That’s the whole story.  Ford CEO Alan Mulally told reporters at the Paris Auto Show that he doesn’t regret selling-off Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata Motors for $2.3b. But you knew that, ’cause you read the headline. And you’re not brain dead. Pithy quote? Not really. “Our number one [...]

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The Wall Street Journal is calling attention to the massive cash piles sitting around the offices of big oil re: falling stock prices. The solution to this problem? “Mr. Flannery argues that Big Oil will need to put cash into acquisitions to restore the battered share prices.” [...]

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I don’t normally link to videos if they can’t be embedded, but this cracked carafe of not good is required viewing for anyone who thinks the U.S. car industry isn’t dead in the water. The interviewee, President of NY’s Major World Auto, offers such a litany of bad news that you half expect Harold Bendell [...]

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The 2006 Jetta came with everything but a willing buyer. This time, it wasn’t the VW’s fault. Like the 12 Kias that came before it, the Jetta was a repo, complete with its own customized owner-inspired design. A few tears in the floor where stereo wiring used to be. Gashes on each [...]

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Texas is one of fewer than a dozen states that prohibits warrantless searches of motorists.  Random roadblocks have been unlawful since a 1994 state appeals court decision ruled that they must be pre-approved by a “politically accountable governing body at the state level.” Thanks in part to pressure from Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), Texas [...]

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• GM filed after the close on Wednesday a brief, but in our view important, 8K regarding the status of the Settlement Agreement regarding UAW retiree healthcare coverage. • Recall that this was the deal hammered out as part of the 2007 contract negotiation with the Union, that effectively will take GM out of the business [...]

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A senior Edmonton Canada police officer was back in court yesterday, as trial court proceedings began to determine whether his authorship of a fraudulent memo on behalf of a photo radar firm constituted a crime. Detective Thomas Bell, 50, is one of several Edmonton Police Service officers who accepted lavish gifts and other benefits between [...]

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There was a time when $10m seemed like a lot of money.  It still does to me personally, but on the scales of corporate and government finance it is, well, almost nothing. Lest we forget, Ford’s lining-up for its share of $25b in low-interest loans provided by you [via The Department of Energy] [...]

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Financially-challenged Pennsylvania motorists can breathe a sigh of relief, as The Newspaper reports that “Abertis announced the Spanish-led Pennsylvania Turnpike Partners (PTP) consortium had dropped plans to lease the Pennsylvania Turnpike until the year 2083.” In a statement, Fat Albert said “Hey, hey, hey! We don’t have the cash to play!” OK, they actually said [...]

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With a conflagration raging through GM’s cash hoard, with enough debt and ongoing obligations to bury Bolivia, with its credit rating in the proverbial toilet (CCC), with the North America market fire hosing the company’s books with red ink, GM’s access to operating finance is, shall we say, “limited.” To feed the flames, GM’s already [...]

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Edward Niedermeyer and I had a chin wag this evening. I was performing my “atta boy” management duties, complimenting our correspondent for his literary evolution, from calling people assholes to explaining why they’re assholes (a distinction without any diffidence.) A thought occurred to me: now that Niedermeyer The Younger has learned to curtail his automotive [...]

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OK, the credit analyst presenting the timeline works for gimmecredit.com. Take that as you will. But Shelly Lombard has done the math (for BusinessWeek): “GM had $21 billion in cash at the end of June. The company has a further $5 billion in available credit and cash and plans to save $10 billion from cost [...]

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As Edward Niedermeyer reported earlier today, the re-organization plan for Delphi pegs the bankrupt parts maker and former GM division’s worth at $7.2b (down from $12.8b). Delphi’s “valuation” is ridiculous; the company is still highly dependent on GM’s biz. Banking on GM is like entrusting a quasi-governmental lender to Rep. Barney Frank. To wit: today’s [...]

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The Detroit Free Press’ Mark Phelan is one of Motown’s most reliable cheerleaders. So it was no surprise when Phelan gushed all over the new Ford Flex back in August. “The 300,000-plus people who used to buy Ford Explorer SUVs every year are the group who will decide whether the Flex experiment pays off. If [...]

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If you like cars, it’s happened to you. There you are, minding your own business when suddenly a car rolls up and you start gasping. You’re suddenly 8-years-old and screaming, “DADDY! FERRARI!” Now, living in Los Angeles like I do, this happens to me fairly frequently. I mean, make an errant left hand turn and [...]

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Duh. Have your volume up for the vid.

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Originally posted (without my snarky italicized comments) at Jalopnik. 10. Mazda MX-5 Retractable Hardtop Starts off well. If you pack very light. 9. Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Oh, this’ll be just great on the highway. I thought they said weekend trip, not off-roading camping expedition. 8. Maserati Gran Turismo S Might as well add a Bentley while we’re at it. 7. Volkswagen Tiguan Nope. 6. [...]

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Delphi has been lingering in Chapter 11 for nearly three years now, with little relief appearing on the horizon. Automotive News (sub) reports that the GM spinoff has filed a new reorganization plan, which appears to more realistically reflect its predicament. In the new filing, Delphi’s worth is estimated at $7.2b, down significantly from the [...]

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A study by Experion Automotive reported in Automotive News (sub) shows that nearly $25b in US auto loans are currently delinquent. In the second quarter of 2008, some 2.48 percent of all auto loans were 30 days past due according to the study, and .75 percent are 60 days past due. Both number are up [...]

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State Department “undesirable” and reportedly mobbed-up Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska has given up his 20 percent share in contract manufacturer and supplier Magna International. Marketwatch reports that Deripaska had bought into Magna in order to reap expertise in developing his own Russian-based automotive empire, but the credit crunch has him backing out. In fact, Deripaska [...]

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The Times of London has a test of the new Vauhall/Opel Insignia, possibly destined for the US as the 2010 Saturn Aura, and the Mondeo-fighter apparently isn’t living up to the hype. What is the Times’ biggest beef? The beef, apparently, as the Insignia weighs a hefty 3,300 pounds, some ten percent more than the [...]

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Car Magazine (UK) reports that Porsche is developing a mid-engined “budget” sportscar to compete with the Mazda MX-5, and sharing platforms with forthcoming Audi and VW versions. With Audi’s R4 having been canceled for competing too closely with Porsche’s Boxster and Cayman models, the new mid-engined platform is being developed to fight in the $35k-$45k [...]

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As recently as a few months ago, GMAC was the largest auto lender in the United States. Automotive leases constituted over ten percent of their business. One credit crunch later, the Cerberus-owned financing company has almost completely stopped writing car leases, which now account for only two percent of GM’s new car sales. And though [...]

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Ford’s popular European Ka car might be coming to America after all. The Associated Press reports (via Yahoo) that Ford decided to “give the Ka another look due to high fuel prices pushing up demand for small cars and the response to introduction of the Fiesta subcompact.” Perhaps the sudden availability [...]

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In uncharacteristic style for anything French, Renault wants to expand into new territory. Still. They are “itching to get back into the U.S.,” according to a Wall Street Journal report. Despite a 55 percent drop in stock value this year and rumblings about Carlos Ghosn possibly stepping down from his dual-CEO post, someone at Renault [...]

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Assuming there’s still is an auto industry in the upcoming year of magical beings, 2010, Ford plans to roll out the Nanny Key. Ford’s press release sums it up thus: “Ford’s MyKey feature — which debuts next year as standard equipment on the 2010 Ford Focus and will quickly become standard on [...]

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We’ve got this Green.MSN.com website. So let’s do something with it! I hear this hypermiling thing is big. It sure is. What is it? No idea. Some crap about getting great mileage without having a hybrid. “When you first start hypermiling, I find, you really wish you had someone to ride along with you to show you the ropes. [...]

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Silicon Valley vs. Detroit for THE CAR OF THE FUTURE. Nice story. Geeky David vs. Creaky Goliath. Only building a car is one thing. Building a hundred thousand is quite another. And not only did Tesla fail to build the first customer car anywhere near its oft-delayed deadline, but its production is still a lot [...]

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The eight gen Honda Civic– at least in its European form– surprised everybody with its aggressive-outlandish style. Considering the Japanese manufacturerʼs intention to re-target their compact towards a younger audience, the design was a complete success. But all revolutions are followed by a period of calm. The next Civic should be less [...]

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Yes, British funnyman Jeremy Clarkson’s knee-jerk anti-Americanism jerks my chain. (If it’s supposed to be funny, how come I’m not laughing?) But, anti-elistist that I am, Ride Lust’s contribution to the top ten genre– “Top 10 Everyday Things People Do To Ruin Their Cars“– is worse. Vito Rispo’s dietribe [sic] begins by dissing the geography [...]

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Now that the deed is done, now that your elected representatives have funded the Department of Energy’s low-interest auto industry loan program, The New York Times is closing the barn door behind $25b worth of bolted horse. “There are other, perhaps more pressing demands on the public purse than merely helping out General Motors, [...]

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I don’t suppose I have to devote much time to blogging the fact that U.S. luxury car dealers are taking it on the chin. Our Inside Baseball readers will already know that Lexus, BMW, Mercedes, Cadillac, Acura and Infiniti are all busy losing sales (although they may want to look at the numbers in this [...]

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The National Automobile Dealership Association (NADA) predicts that some 700 of 21,461 U.S. car dealers are going tits up this year. And you know what? It’s still not enough carnage for domestic automakers, whose bloated dealer networks are a major millstone around their neck. (Ford, Chevrolet and Chrysler started the year with around 4k stores [...]

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Many film buffs consider Richard Sarafian’s Vanishing Point an existentialist masterpiece. Kowalski had no real reason for going balls-out to San Francisco-- other than the drive itself. Pistonheads argue that Kowalski’s ride, an arctic white 1970 Dodge Challenger, was reason enough. Yes, well, Mopar’s E-body entry to the late sixties ponycar parade was short-lived. Dodge only moved 165k units before 'The End" flashed-up on the factory floor. With today's Pentastar losing market share faster than a celebutante shedding clothes at a pool party, the recreated Challenger is carrying a lot more weight these days. So, is there any there there?

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Be still my beating heart. Autoblog’s Sam Abuelsamid is about to live blog (nearasdammit) Audi’s Mileage Marathon. Yes, he’ll be in one of 23 diesel-powered Audis that will “roll out from Manhattan’s Tavern on the Green on a trans-continental trek to demonstrate diesel efficiency.” While I respect anyone with the patience and anal retentivity needed [...]

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Jeremy Clarkson’s review for the Sunday Times reverses his usual formula. Normally, Jezza’s prose travels from the general to the specific, often reaching its rhetorical destination so late in the process that the car bit seems like afterbirth. I mean, an afterthought. The curmudgeon’s criticism of the Chrysler Sebring is, of course, pith-compliant. And entirely [...]

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Obviously, TTAC has no problem with car manufacturers targeting gays, lesbians, bi-sexuals, transsexuals or herbisexuals for any given brand or model. But we do expect carmakers to do so with a modicum of common sense. Pitching the new Chevy Traverse at gay men is like suggesting that Barack Obama should show up at his rallies [...]

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I remember wheeling into a parking lot and slotting next to a Porsche Carrera 4 in my Porsche Carrera 4. “What do you think of the car?” I asked. “It makes me a hero,” the owner replied. True dat. A driver of no particular skill can corner a C4 (or Turbo) at speeds normally reserved [...]

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Fiat and the European Auto Makers Association want an American-style multi-billion handout, STAT! Marketwatch reports that FIAT is leading the charge, demanding $55.22b in European Commission loans to “help Europe’s car makers make better environment-friendly vehicles.” Did I say demanding? Yes, I did. “All European car makers agree on the [€40 billion] demand,” [...]

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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?

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The Wall Street Journal says FoMoCo burned through $2.1b dollars of cash in the second quarter, which ended way back in June of this year. Results for the July-August-September period haven’t been released yet. But given what we know about unit sales and sales mix, the cash burn almost certainly has gotten worse. Unlike mere [...]

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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The U.S. recession will be “significantly deeper” than they previously thought, Goldman Sachs economists predicted Friday in a research note. The economy will probably show no growth at all between the middle of 2008 and the middle of 2009, with gross domestic product falling 2% this quarter and [...]

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An eagle-eyed TTAC commentator unearthed this little gem from AutoWeek of April ‘07. Like Mr. Chen, I think it’s sufficiently germane (House Bunny!) to last month’s Flex sales that it deserves resurrection. “The pivotal moment in the Flex’s development came, Ford design chief J Mays said, when he and his North American lieutenant, Peter Horbury, [...]

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The logic of fixing the effects of over-liberal lending with a $700b “loan” from U.S. taxpayers– which includes enough boondogglage to keep the snack food industry in pork rinds for a thousand years– escapes me. But one thing is for sure: Motown’s magnates viewed the bailout bill important enough to mount a massive muscle flexing [...]

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I am not a paranoid survivalist libertarian who constantly checks the horizon for black helicopters. (I only scan the skies for a few days after posting a General Motors Death Watch.) But, as a former U.K. resident alien, I’ve been following the erosion of civil rights and the concomitant rise of police power in Britain [...]

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Stephan Wilkinson reckons I should leave Washington Post car critic Warren Brown alone. While I respect the former Car and Driver editor and occasional TTAC contributor’s opinions on what constitutes a suitable target for our editorial ire, Brown’s ode to the Jetta TDI deserves special attention. Not because it’s another example of the nominal critic’s [...]

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So there I was, browsing a Bloomberg (three terms or bust!) story about automakers fessing-up to the fact that electric vehicles must take a back seat to “normal” fuel-efficient small cars– which is a pretty good piece of Parisian bloggage in and of itself– when BANG! I run smack dab into a quote from the [...]

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Those of you keeping up on your podcasts know that Justin and I are not fans of hard top convertibles. We feel they are too much of a compromise. And they make the donor car look funny (Mercedes SL being the exception). To me, hard top convertibles can best be summed up by the Simpsons [...]

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Hours, days, weeks. I can’t even begin to tally the time I’ve wasted - flushed away, evaporated, murdered - because of eBay Motors and Craigslist and even Hemmings. I know that half the listings are frauds, and the other half are overpriced. I know that “excellent condition!!1″ means well beaten and abused. And that “shows [...]

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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…

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Ferrari Prez Luca De Montezomolo stood up to sportscar peer pressure at the Paris Auto Show, promising never to foist a four-door on the faithful Ferraristi. Automobile reports that when asked about the Rapide/Panamera/Estoque four-door coupe fad tearing through the premium sportscar segment, the Scuderia boss simply wished his competitors “good luck.” Of course if [...]

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Though we can’t do anything now to prevent the passage of the $25b industry loan package, there’s still plenty of scope for measuring results and demanding accountability. After all, as Danny Howes of the Detroit News puts it “Implicit in the federal loan package, it seems to me, is a message from Congress and their [...]

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Detroit’s Big Three are in serious trouble. That’s not news to anyone. Toyota and Honda, while suffering sales decreases last month, are still in the black. But the big question is where the future of the American automotive industry is - if there is one. Even if the Big Three don’t completely vanish, their continued [...]

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Up to September, Toyota was weathering the new sales storm with relative grace. Sales volume has been dropping, but market share never declined the way it did last month. To stop the bleeding, ToMoCo is announcing a zero-percent interest promotion, hoping to lure in showroom traffic in a tight credit market. Of course luring in [...]

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Flash Of Genius, which opens at theaters today, is such a TTAC movie. It’s a story of automotive invention and one man’s struggles against the corrupt practices of an industry that stole his patented intermittent wiper design. Hell, it’s already got Ford’s PR flacks in a frenzy. Automotive News [sub] [...]

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I’m in the minority. While I think the Ferrari California is not only ugly, but unfaithful to the priceless Ferrari brand, others do not. Some of us shower regularly. Others like this Ferrari California. Where I see a competition with the Mercedes SL for buyers, others see some kind of gorgeous and practical roadster. How [...]

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Now that Ford CEO Alan Mulally has written-off the chances of an auto industry sales receovery for 2009, his Detroit brethren have decided to join the Greek chorus bemoaning their fate. Bloomberg caught up with former Toyota and current Chrysler Prez Jim Press in Paris to hear the bad news. “I don’t see any `whys’ [...]

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Oh man, this is getting ugly. After Porsche’s Turbo and GT2 lost their fastest ’round the ‘Ring record to the Nissan GT-R, the German automaker was… skeptical. So they bought a GT-R in the U.S. and ran the Nürburgring to verify their Japanese rival’s claim. And so they didn’t, failing to get within 25 seconds [...]

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Well, what do you expect from a website called “Ford Muscle?” Still, it’s an interesting take on why it’s a good idea to turn your garden variety Ford into a fire-breathing, gas-guzzling, tail-happy monster. “Our hobby is comprised mostly of motivated individuals that choose productivity and participation over fantasy football, the sofa, and ESPN,” [...]

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Take that, GM. Formerly-sick car company Mitsubishi Motors has a working electric car; they’re already testing a fleet of a few hundred units in Japan. The Mitsubishi innovative Vehicle promises a 75mph top speed and a 100 mile range. It’ll take seven hours to recharge the battery using a normal socket (220V). If you’ve got [...]

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First it was “the HUMMER H2 is better for the environment than the Prius.” Now it’s big cars in general are better for the planet– and your wallet– than small ones. “Small cars don’t last,” automotive analyst Dennis DesRosiers tells wordsmith Barbara Righton of Macleans. “They fail to retain value, utility or desirability.” Babs connects [...]

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Toyota has been showing concepts, prototypes and mock-ups of its 3+1 city car for the last four or so European motor shows, but here in Paris, it's the real thing. The theory of the design language is silly - Toyota calls it "vibrant clarity," but that's a state of mind I'd associate with inebriation. But the design itself is strong, clean and forward-looking. I stood in line to check out the interior of this microcar and found it conspicuously well-designed and made of high-quality materials. It didn't quite pass the international test of anal-retentiveness ("do all surfaces refuse to give way when pressed, and sound similarly solid to a rapped knuckle?") but not to forget, this is a tiny, lightweight car. And a wonder of packaging. My claustrophobiac 184 cm body (that's 6 feet to you Yanks) found the driver's and two passengers' seats snug yet uncramped. For Toyota, the big question is, how the hell to sell the iQ at a profitable price -- meaning, more expensive than its larger models? This is where new technology needs first-class marketing. If they can pull it off, then a Smart death watch may be in order.

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The current Chrysler 300 was a seminal work, promising a new direction in American automotive design. The car’s funky fresh armored car style was an immediate hit with both urban gangstas and Florida retirees. The 300’s weak, thirsty V6, a crappy interior and waning marketing support doomed the once-groundbreaking vehicle to a stylistic dead-end. Now [...]

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While no one doubts GM’s constant assertion that their new cars are better than their old cars, they company tends to downplay their relative excellence or lack thereof. In that sense, the Chevy Traverse has a couple of mountains to climb. First: GM’s three other Lambda-based (i.e. badge engineered) crossovers: Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia, Saturn [...]

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With the full-size SUV market all but dead, General Motors and Ford are counting on large crossovers (and a few pennies from Washington) to keep them afloat. Sure, small cars are all the rage, but some people need space for six-plus people and their luggage— and will not buy anything with uncool sliding doors. Also, while large crossovers aren’t as profitable as large SUVs were in the 1990s, they are far more profitable than a Cobalt or Focus. The Chevrolet Traverse and Ford Flex recently arrived at dealers. Which is more likely to save its maker’s bacon?

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