ON THE TABLE #453

July 9, 2008

GM. From the "Grasping at Straws" File comes word that GM will show the final production version of the Chevrolet Volt in September for their centennial celebration. And that's fine, man, as The Dude would say, but who cares if it won't be available in any quantities until the first quarter of 2010? GM needs to generate a lot less talk and a lot more action at this point.

Tesla Motors. In a desperate attempt to shore-up its waning credibility - and ability to deliver on its myriad promises - The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that Tesla Motors has hired former Chrysler executive Mike Donoughe as its executive vice president of vehicle engineering and manufacturing. Good luck, Mike. You'll need it.

Chrysler. According to an insider in the printing business, Chrysler is outsourcing its U.S. dealer brochures to China - to be printed on Chinese paper - rather than source them with American printing and paper companies. Nice.

The CAW. Buzz Hargrove officially announces his retirement to large sighs of relief on both sides of the border, except that his successor is union local president Ken Lewenza, which means more of exactly the same. Not good.

The Wall Street Journal. The newspaper overstated its case against GM Monday by suggesting that GM might kill off more brands. Wrong. They might ignore them, starve them for product and marketing money, eliminate some models, or just let them twist slowly in the wind, but they won't kill them off because they can't afford it.

John Warner. The Republican Senator from Virginia took advantage of the slow news summer doldrums by coming out in favor of restoring a reduced national speed limit, first tried in the 70s. Great, we're all miserable, and now you want to prolong the misery by making us go s-l-o-w too? You can go back to sleep now, John.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm. Since Jenny Granholm's tenure as Michigan governor has been an abject failure by every measure, the fact that she can't get anything done is probably behind her thinking out loud last week about the possibility of a lower speed limit too. Just think, we have two more years of this walking and talking monumental disappointment to put up with. Arrrrgh.

Seeking Alpha. This stock market-oriented website with ex-Wall Street money behind it - enough to burn, apparently - has waded into the unsolicited "Let's impart our accumulated wisdom to the Detroit Three" game with dismal results. Wavering between being "Masters of the Obvious" and flat-out clueless at every turn, this site manages to embarrass itself every time it deigns to comment on the auto industry. Out of their league and hell-bent on showing everyone why each and every week, these guys need to go sit down in the corner for a while and shut the f--- up.

Nissan. While Toyota, GM and Honda delve into any number of alternative propulsion options, Nissan has quietly bet big on its electric car program. With 2010 shaping up to be the year for the electric car wars, don't underestimate Nissan's ability to be a huge factor when the time comes for this burgeoning market.

BMW. The new 7 Series is a complete yawner even with the reduced Bangle design influence, and it doesn't hold a candle to the current S Class. Who would have thought that Mercedes-Benz would ever set the tone for design in the big luxury segment again?

GM PR. General Motors is calling its new compact car for Chevrolet the Cruze, the automaker confirmed late Wednesday. GM will unveil the production version of the Cruze at the Paris auto show this fall. "The name is a derivative of the word cruise," says Nancy Libby, GM spokeswoman. No, really, you're kidding, Nancy - we thought it was EZURC spelled backwards.

 

(Ford)
The new Ford Focus RS will be previewed on July 22 at the 2008 London International Motor Show. The new Focus RS will go on sale in early 2009 and is being created by a small team of dedicated engineers, under the direction of Jost Capito, Ford of Europe’s Vehicle Line Director for Performance Vehicles. Capito said: “We want the new Focus RS to be a serious high performance car – as much a car for driving enthusiasts as the one before it and classic Ford RS models of the past. We’re staying true to the core RS principles of an exciting, yet affordable performance road car you can live with every day.” The Focus RS will have 300PS, a Quaife Automatic Torque Biasing limited-slip differential, and a bunch of go-fast stuff as part of the package.