The new Delorean Motor Company is apparently exploring the possibility of buying GM’s Wilmington Kappa plant and building a Pontiac Solstice GXP-based sportscar there. The firm released the rendering above, and the following post via Facebook:

What if John DeLorean were still alive? Some of his greatest automotive accomplishments were at Pontiac, and now the Solstice is a new car without a brand, and DeLorean is brand without a new car…

Buick dealers are telling us supplies of the ballyhooed mid-launch 2010 LaCrosse have slowed to a trickle. In fact, several dealers report they’re out of stock. Needless to say, waiting on the first hypeworthy Buick in ages isn’t putting them in a good mood. Nor are the problems rumored to be causing the delays; it seems initial reports of electrical problems may be true despite GM’s denial. We are hearing dark mutterings of weird malfunctions. Specifically, opening a door while the hood is popped causes the dashboard to light up like a Christmas tree. You’d think that with “only” four brands, GM could get a potentially brand-rescuing product launch right. Or at the very least get the story straight. We done a ‘ring ’round’ to check on supplies, and we can smell the napalm in the morning on this one . . .

AutoExtremist Peter DeLorenzo is an asshole. Just kidding. Somehow, the carmudgeon got it into his head that TTAC (a.k.a. TIC-TAC) called him an asshole. Did we call him an asshole? Of course we didn’t call him an asshole. We don’t call anyone an asshole. Delusional, sure. Misguided? Oh yeah, we’ve called people misguided. Pietro too. But calling someone an asshole is a perfect example of what the Brits call “using a sledgehammer to open a walnut.” It shows no style, no finesse, no class. Two out of three ain’t bad, as we Yanks are wont to say. I mention all this because Sweet Pete is launching the rumor (picked up by Autoblog) that Chrysler will launch a fourth US brand called Ram. Obviously, that makes no sense whatsoever—which is why the AutoExtremist offers no explanatory justification and Autoblog sucks away the oxygen of publicity even as it wheels-in Peter’s tank (couldn’t resist).

I’ve just received this email from a reputable member of our Best and Brightest. I will attempt to contact Fisker today for the official take.

Is XXXX [name of my company] looking for any program manager or engineering help? The Fisker Hybrid project is in deep financial trouble and I was let go last week. I’ve had enough of automotive and would really like to break into another industry. If you know of anything please pass it along or I can forward a resume.

Regards,
[name withheld]

On Friday evening, a wild rumor whirred via the wires. It started at Germany’s usually well informed Manager Magazin, then spread to Reuters and Bloomberg: Daimler may be taking a stake in its Stuttgart neighbor, Porsche. Through Porsche, Daimler would own a part of Volkswagen.

I recently received an email from former Saab blog owner, current Saab blogger and past TTAC contributor, Steven Wade. Mr. Wade wants to know who TTAC’s Best and Brightest would like to see taking over Saab in the future. He also asked me to ask you who you think WILL take over Saab in the future. [Answers below please.] As part of our exchange, I teased Mr. Wade into admitting he was wrong to disparage me for disparaging GM’s pre-C11 turnaround plans. But don’t get to thinking Wade is ready for his Cassandra Watch. Oh no, far from it. In his most recent entry on Saabs United, Wade put his imprimatur on a wild ass rumor of Olympian proportions. Swedish newspaper Expressen suggests that GM CEO Fritz Henderson is reluctant to sell Saab to, uh, anyone because the new 9-5 is so good he’s afraid it will compete with post-C11 GM’s offerings. Apparently.

A TTAC source has pinged us: “‘I’ve just heard 2nd hand that the Delphi OnStar team has had all their GM contracts canceled. It seems that GM may be getting rid of OnStar completely, but it isn’t clear when that would happen. This sounds like a pretty good business decision to me since cell phones have become so widely adopted, and navigation systems are getting cheaper.” This tip flies in the face of a recent Reuters report, in which the head of said OnStar claimed the service was wildly profitable. OK, “highly.” Which is the same as “wildly,” given GM’s current slide into C11. Anyway, “GM does not break out its revenue or profits from OnStar, but had said the division had turned profitable in 2003 and has been steadily and more profitable since. The division receives part of its revenues from consumer subscription fees.” One possible explanation (just in): GM is simply “de-sourcing” Delphi as OnStar supplier, as it prepares to deep-six the bankrupt parts-maker’s contracts. Or something. But wait! More tipster action from an ex-OnStar employee after the jump.

“Insane like a fox,” you’re thinking. And yes, the Fiat CEO is set to receive “good Chrysler” with a taxpayer-funded bow on top. He also has his eyes on Opel, which the German government is desperate to find a good home for. But lightning still hasn’t actually struck once yet, and may we remind you once again that Fiat is in not-great shape financially. And yet Marchionne, mad with power, turns his eyes towards China. And South America. And Russia. In fact, according to the industry analysts Bloomberg talks to, Fiat is like communism in the 50s: everywhere, especially right behind you. You see, Marchionne “craves” 5 million annual global sales even though Fiat sold only 2.15 million cars last year. Reportedly the Chrysler deal will bring the Fiat empire to 4m sales (lets wait for those chickens to hatch, shall we?) and adding any one of GM’s global divisions (Opel, Latin America, Asia/Pacific) would take it over the 5 million mark. For Marchionne the only challenge is figuring out which ones he can pick up for free.

We’ve already heard the President call out the “hedge fund holdouts,” and we’ve heard reports of “death threats,” but rumors that the PTFOA’s Steve Rattner threatened to “destroy the reputations” of holdout bondholders is the juiciest rumor we’ve heard over the last several wild-ass days. On Friday, bondholder lawyer Tom Lauria told Detroit talk show host Frank Beckman that the White House was taking off the gloves.

Or so says Automotive News [sub] Executive Editor, Edward Lapham, in a brief aside. According to Lapham, Chrysler is ramping up a major ad campaign (a fact that remains unconfirmed by Chrysler) that steals from the $5 billion supplier bailout fund. “Through its ad agencies,” writes Lapham, “Chrysler is lining up major media that are willing to accept a price cut of 2 percent in exchange for assured payment under the federally funded critical-supplier payment plan.” Because Chrysler wanted to see if its post-bailout supplier relations could possibly be worse. Although to be fair, those two percent savings do add up . . . to about 30 pieces of silver.

The following email just came over the TTAC transom. Negotiations between Chrysler and the Canadian Auto Workers have broken down three days ahead of Canada’s bailout deadline and Uncle Sam’s defunct deadline for union concessions. Chrysler has already threatened to pull out of Canada. Given this stalemate, and the Presidential Task Force on Automobile’s determination to keep the zombie automaker in business, they just might.

Chrysler LLC Statement Regarding CAW Talks Attributed to Al Iacobelli, Chief Bargainer:

“We all recognize that we are in unprecedented times as it relates to the global economy and current financial crisis, which has a direct impact on the automotive industry. After several days of bargaining in good faith, Chrysler and the CAW have not reached an agreement that closes the competitive gap with other automobile manufacturers in Canada, to ensure Chrysler’s immediate viability.

Well, not so wild ass, obviously. Other than getting sued by disenfranchised Saab
dealers—which isn’t so much of an issue now that Uncle Sam is paying for everything—why wouldn’t GM shutter Saab? When it comes to buying car brands, no one is. Or will be. For a very, very long time. If ever. And GM needs to show its Congressional overlords that it’s doing something about something™. So we’re passing along a tipster’s assertion that yesterday’s resignation of Percy Barnevik from GM’s Board of Directors signals that the axe is about to fall on the Born From Jets brand. The divine Mr. B. was born just (pronounced youst) outside Trollhättan. If he ever wants to show his face in Sweden again, he has to distance himself from the author of Saab’s neglect, abuse and final destruction. You know, GM and its Board of Directors . . . which he joined six years after GM scarfed the Swedish brand, during which time it produced the America-only 9-7x (a TTAC Ten Worst winner). For that alone, I’d be worried.

Yes, a WAR so absurd it gets its very own question mark. And yet there it is, lingering on the spanish language pages of peru.com. Stingray has kindly offered a computerized translation (with all the humor that implies) of this astonishing, you might even say scarcely credible revelation. “As a result of the global economic crisis, the major U.S. automotive companies: General Motors, Ford and Cryssler also entered into financial trouble. Ford and General Motors are several years owners of the Swedish ías Comp + “Volvo” and “Sabb” respectively. In the package of lifeguards big American companies such as settlement is the sale of the Swedish automotive factories in question. This decision by the two American giants had total chaos in these two automobile companies in Sweden. Such companies are already on sale and what’s curious is that nobody is presented as a possible buyer, no producers, investors in the industrialized world want to invest in cars because they too are in crisis.

An anonymous source sent us this heads-up. We’ll chase it up tomorrow (Monday). Meanwhile, back in October ’07, Newsweek pegged the number of GM retirees at 340k. So, if true, this works out to a $238m hit to GM’s bottom line. At least. UPDATE: GM spokesman Tony Sapienza tells us that GM paid up to $700 in “year-end inflation adjustments” to 284k hourly retirees on Monday. Some 73k surviving spouses received up to $455 each. The total cost to GM: $200m+.

These are indeed turbulent times in the automotive industry. With every new day comes a flood of bad news, and a fresh sense of ominous momentum. As we continue to serve up hefty sides of bailout beef, we thought we’d offer up a quick, palate-cleansing taste of the non-bailout, non-industry-implosion gossip going ’round the net. And you’ll never believe what insiders have to say about the Toyobaru coupe pregnancy scare!

Autocar slips this little nugget in an alarming alarmist story that Ford will run out of cash by May: “Ford has already pulled all of its UK advertising across all mediums until the end of the year.” I’m Googling like mad, but can’t find any corroboration. If true, this is some SERIOUS SHIT. Meanwhile, TTAC’s Ken Elias debunks Autocar’s assertion that FoMoCo will be out of dough by the spring. “AutoCar’s analysis on Ford’s cash flow is incorrect. For the year to date, Ford has used $15.7 billion in cash, although only $2.9 billion relates to pre-tax losses. The bulk of the cash used to date reflects mostly restructuring efforts due to constriction in working capital ($6.7 billion) and funding the required VEBA to the amount of $4.6 billion. Since these are mostly one-time items, the cash burn situation at Ford does not appear as dire as that of GM. Any stabilization of Ford’s North American business will stem its cash outflows.” Thanks for the heads-up Ken.

In a world of wild ass rumors, the four door everyman’s supercar is King. Maybe. No matter how you look at it, you gotta wonder what these Nissan/Infiniti guys are thinking. Pistonheads says “Unconfirmed reports from Japan say Nissan engineers are actively evaluating a four door built on a stretched version of the GT-R platform, with a view to introducing a new flagship to the luxury Infiniti brand in 2011.” New flagship? So Infiniti GT-R sedan replaces the previous, now extinct Q-ship, slots above the M-people, pals around with the G-men and lives happily ever after? And if that’s not enough to make Infiniti a success in Europe, PH reckons the new GT-R car will be horsepower-deficient. “Sources suggest an output of around 420bp is on the cards, significantly down on the output of European super-saloon rivals. However, with the GT-R’s intelligent ATTESA-ETS AWD system and six-speed dual-clutch transaxle carried over, it will be interesting to see how the lack of outright muscle translates into track times – although Nissan insiders have apparently conceded that any Infiniti flagship will be tuned for luxury before ultimate performance.” Right, ’cause GT-R means luxury. Go figure.

New gtr r35 vs tuned nissan skylines gtr's