While America Slept. Wednesday, December 3, 2008

It’s official: Saab for sale. Long predicted by TTAC, now confirmed by GM’s Frederick Henderson: Saab will be sold. If no buyer is found, they will be shuttered. Automobilwoche (sub) has the story.

Sweden to bail Saab and Volvo from hell: According to AFP, “Sweden will come to the rescue of its US-owned carmakers crippled by the financial crisis, Saab and Volvo, to secure the future of an automobile industry which accounts for 15 percent of exports.” Details are yet murky. There isn’t much more than a “we want to keep that here and to protect it,” announced by Frank Nilsson, a spokesman for Sweden’s enterprise and energy ministry. Anything akin of a bank rescue package is definitely being ruled out by Nilsson. But he “can guarantee that we will have car manufacturing in Sweden.” Interesting undertones: Volvo is officially up for sale, Saab is, see above, on the block also. According to the report, “no matter who ends up as the owner, the [Swedish] government is committed to supporting the industry.” How? When? For whom? Stay tuned.

Volvo doesn’t want to buy Volvo: Ford bought the Volvo brand from Swedish Volvo Group. Their chairman Finn Johnsson doesn’t want them back. He told Swedish financial daily Dagens Industri via AFP that they are not interested, and that the Swedish government shouldn’t buy Volvo either. Johnsson: “The state knows nothing about the car industry and Volvo needs an owner that can increase sales and cooperate with suppliers on components and development.” He thinks, Renault would be a fine partner. It’s Swedish for “Up urs.”

Revenge of the hedgies: Overlooked in yesterday’s reports of catastrophic US car sales, but noted by Automobilwoche: Porsche sold 46 percent less, their Boxter is nearly unsaleable with a 73 percent reduction. Exactly 161 of the poseur Porsches changed hands in November. BMW is all grins: Their Mini had a boom of 43 percent.

And the greenest of the green is? It’s Toyota. At least in Japan. For the third year in a row, Toyota is the leading manufacturer in Nikkei’s 12th annual environmental management rankings, followed by Toshiba and Hitachi. According to the Nikkei, “environmental awareness increased in 2008 because it was the first year of the five-year period covered in the Kyoto Protocol.” The Nikkei also notes that “the automakers and electronics firms near the top of the standings received high marks for their wares and pollution control measures, thanks to firms’ competition to develop products that consume less fuel and power as well as their response to European regulations restricting the use of chemical substances.” Polite as they are, the Nikkei doesn’t mention that the US signature is missing from under the Kyoto agreement.

Bridgestone tired of Tennessee plant. Japanese Bridgestone is in talks with unions to suspend production of tires for passenger cars and light trucks at its La Vergne, TN, plant. Production is scheduled to stop at the end of June. About 500 of the 1,700 employees will be out of work. Bridgestone already scaled back output at five North American plants. “The La Vergne site was singled out for cutbacks due to its high personnel costs,” the Nikkei (sub) says.

Mitsubishi hatches hatchback. They launched the Galant Fortis Sportback at the Japanese public, their first new hatchback offering in Japan in 12 years. The automaker is targeting monthly sales of 500 units, says the Nikkei (sub.)

Tata on public begging spree: As the Detroit 2.8 go to DC for tax payer’s money, India’s Tata is taking the direct approach: Tata takes it to the people themselves. Tata Motors has taken what the Nikkei (sub) calls an “unusual step of appealing to the Indian public for cash as India’s third largest carmaker struggles to refinance its acquisition of Ford’s luxury Jaguar and Land Rover marques early this year.” Tata offers to pay as much as 11 per cent annual interest to those willing to enter into a fixed deposit scheme with the group. Any guesses how this would work for the D2.8 ?

Germany looks at a bleak 2009: The German Verband der Automobilindustrie (VDA,) the club of Automakers in Deutschland, doesn’t need a crystal ball to predict only 3.2m units sold for 2008. And they see their misfortunes even sinking depper in 2009, to 2.9m unitsif all turns out according to plan, Autombilwoche reports today. Of course, that means fewer jobs, says the VDA in the direction of a do-nothing Berlin.

Get otherworldly drunk: Sapporo Breweries have brewed a small quantity of beer using barley grown from seeds cultivated for five months on the International Space Station, the Nikkei (sub) reports. The 100 liters of space-based beer are served to special guests only. For those who think drinking doesn’t mix with driving: Sapporo uses the space seeds to make barley tea, too. Also for ceremonial purposes only. Don’t even think it to drink it.