Cars! Cars! Cars!

Doubt

GM has doubt about the future.

GM: Pack It Up, We're Shutting Down

Ha! Everyone go home. Just go read it!

Referenced articles
CNNMoney: GM offers buyouts to all hourly workers Ha! All of 'em. Isn't it cool to offer up a car, too? Ha!

Thanks to Eschatonblog for the link.

Why The Bailout Is A Bad Idea

Because nothing will change. Check out the nuts... We mean Lutz:

Let me just get one thing straight here: There’s a lot of talk about well, General Motors doesn’t make the right kind of cars or General Motors built trucks too long. At $1.50 per gallon, the American public wants sport utilities and large pickup trucks.

Has no one decided that we don't want to be held hostage by those with all the oil? Has no one decided that the environment matters? Has no one decided that we want change?

If the bailout goes through and there is no significant change in management of the auto companies then there will be no change at all. A better solution is to offer moolah to new auto start ups and have real competition in the auto space.

Referenced articles
Think Progress: Lutz Off Message: 'The American Public Wants Sport Utilites And Large Pickup Trucks'

No Bailout

There should be no bailout for automakers. Before we get too far into this, our love affair is with cars*, not the makers. Their short-sighted motives for high-profit (and low fuel economy) vehicles have created a mess that they themselves are responsible for and we see no reason to foot the bill.

For years Detroit shrugged off suggestions that fuel economy rules were unfair and so they put no serious money into research and development of newer technologies that would help with fuel economy. This sounds so familiar... Oh, safety!

And understand this: It will not turn out to be a loan.

What should happen:

• The government should say no and tell them to get their loans elsewhere.

What will probably happen:

• Congress will pony up the loans
  
• CEOs will not be canned (they should be)
  
• Unions will take a larger portion of the blame than they should
  
• China will come in with big investments to one of the Detroit Three

It's funny that once this depression (it will be labeled a depression before long) subsides, unions will have been fully busted (as a relic of the past and as part of the problem) but folks will need them more than ever before.

No one could have predicted these horrible sales were going to happen.

Referenced articles
NY Times: Frank Sees ‘Disaster’ if Auto Industry Fails

McClatchy DC: No commitment on auto bailout despite union concessions

Huffington Post: Big Three Promise Green Future But Spent Almost $50 Million Since 2007 Lobbying Against It

*And Claire, Alison and Summer. Oh, Summer, have mercy our on catalytic converter!

When Uncle Says No

Boy, what do you do when you find yourself in a heap of trouble and your uncle won't help?

We don't know, either, but the U.S. government has denied GM's request for ten thousand million dollars in order to "merge" with Chrysler. We haven't commented on this before now because we figured it was all made up. There is no reason GM should buy Chrysler. Well, no good reason. We bet if this does happen, GM will just end up shutting down Chrysler's production.

Anyway, the issue here is no loan from Uncle Sam to merge two dying companies. What happens next?

Referenced article

NY Times: U.S. Rejects G.M.’s Call for Help in a Merger

Bigger

Toyota got some mo bigga!

Toyota Motor sold nearly 300,000 more vehicles than General Motors in the first half of 2008 and appears to be on its way to ending G.M.'s 77-year reign as the world's largest automaker.

Our guess is the rest of the year will play out the same way, regardless of how many incentives GM (and all of Detroit) offers up.

Referenced article

NY Times: Toyota Moves Ahead of G.M. in Auto Sales

Electricity, E-lec-tric-ity

Man, it's all plug in, all the time! Lately, anyway. This totally makes sense as every current hybrid sold is really a regular car first and a hybrid second (meaning it really relies on the old-style engine we all know and use the battery system -the hybridy part- as supplemental power). But we we're starting to see the opposite happen... and even cars that are fully electric.

In the GM article below, we wonder... are all the manufacturers talking and working together to make the connector bits universal? Will the Volt have the same plug bits as the Tesla Roadster? Or as the Electric Lightning? Would be a big drag to have to go to different charging stations based on the car you are driving.

Referenced articles

arstechnica: GM, utilities to develop plug-in stations for electric cars

engadget: Blighty's electro-supercar 2.0 uncloaked today

autobloggreen: Electric MINI will be in US customer hands in summer 2009! (Thanks to engadget for this link, too.)

More To Come?

We all know GM is about to (ed note: pick one before publication*):

1. Throw HUMMER on fire
2. Flush the toilet on HUMMER
3. Force HUMMER to walk the Purple Valley
4. Shitcan HUMMER because, after all, jaysus!

But in recent news could it be that GM is also considering axing another brand? Or brands?

We got an exclusively made-up interview with GM spokesman Tony Cervone who replied, "We are absolutely not considering canning Pontiac and Buick. Or, man, Saab. Did you see those Saab numbers? Kkkkkeeerist! And just because I dropped a bucket of pink slips a minute ago means nothing." A follow-up question yielded no movement on getting us Alison Krauss's phone number. GM's PR department is so letting us down.

Referenced articles

Automotive News (you need a subscription despite information wanting to be free): GM denies any more brands under review.
autoblog: By the numbers (June 2008 edition)

*"Publication" Ha!

SSDD

Man, talk about talking it across the face! The economy is going down the toilet (free market, ha!), salaries are falling (or, at the very least, not keeping up with inflation) and now management is back at the bargaining table.

GM has managed to convince UAW to work for less -- a whoppin' $14 an hour. The only folks who are going to complain that these "unskilled workers" are still over paid are old, white dudes, so don't pay them any mind.

Meanwhile, in the other camp, we see that some management is doing exceedingly well. It's so fucking nice to the king.

Referenced articles:

autoblog: That was easy: UAW and GM agree on lower wages after six months of bargaining.

autoblog: Mullaly and other Ford execs made many millions in 2007.

Yes, we're well aware that one company is GM and the other is Ford, but it's not like compensation at GM is anything to sniff at. And Ford is going to use GM's deal as a reason to push hard against workers who are building Fords. Anyway, we found the contrast to be interesting.

April First Comes Early

That's right, folks. The El Camino is back and, no, it's not a joke. It's real!

We gotta seriously wonder what's in the water at GM. The CTS is dead on! The Malibu is finally a serious choice against Toyota. But the El Camino?

GM has to be aware of the storm that's brewing in the U.S.: recession and big-time inflation headed our way. Think this V-8 dealie is going to go lightly on gas? Think GM is going to sell more than 12? If you buy one of these, better save that stimulus check to put into the gas tank.

Referenced articles:
Jalopnik: 2010 Pontiac G8 Sport Truck: The El Camino Is Back!
WSJ: Rebate Checks: Straight to the Gas Tank?