ON THE TABLE

October 7, 2009

 Chrysler. Needless to say, we're not buying it for a minute that Sergio Marchionne's wild swings at the plate are all part of his grandiose plan to get the best people working on the Chrysler-Fiat mission. A lack of due diligence going in, no product plan to speak of (or none that will mean anything for 24 months), flailing wildly between current vehicle "freshenings" and brand portfolio re-engineering, the chaos out at Auburn Hills continues. A shopping mall of Not Good, but remember the Chrysler HQ building was originally designed to be a shopping mall if things didn't work out, so maybe that's a poor analogy. How about a container ship of Not Good? Then again, as Police Chief Martin Brody said, "You're gonna need a bigger boat."

 Toyota. The latest bad news for the car company formerly known as "The Juggernaut" is that the NHTSA has opened a preliminary investigation into corrosion problems on 218,000 2000-2001 Toyota Tundra pickups, according to David Shephardson reporting for The Detroit News. "Severe" frame corrosion is said to have caused problems to the brake lines and spare tires on the trucks. Less than two years ago this car company was a breath away from being the most dominant car company on earth. Now? It's a cautionary tale about hubris and a company taking its eye off of the proverbial ball. Oh, the horror, the horror...

 GM Co. The company desperately wants to consolidate most of its employees at its Warren Technical Center campus (from its downtown RenCen headquarters) to save money and improve its decision-making speed, but it is hamstrung by a woefully dilapidated city of Detroit literally on its knees, begging for mercy. A no-win situation.

 The Detroit Tigers. We were hoping against hope that our boys would pull it out, but they faded at the end of the season in excruciating fashion and couldn't close the deal. This city really, really needed it, but it was not to be. They're still our Tigers though, and there's always next year.

(GM)

The Pontiac G8 lives! Well, it will for law enforcement agencies at any rate. An all-new Chevrolet Caprice Police Patrol Vehicle (PPV) - based on the dearly departed G8 - will be GM's full-size, rear-drive sedan entry into the police market. The Chevrolet Caprice PPV will offer both V-8 and V-6 engines, as well as a long list of specialized equipment and features. Chevrolet made the announcement at the annual International Association of Chiefs of Police convention, in Denver, Colorado. The Caprice PPV will be available for ordering next year and will hit the streets in early 2011.

(BMW)
This is what a "safe, environment-friendly and highly practical single track vehicle for city traffic" might look like in the future, according to BMW. Based on the the BMW C1, BMW Motorrad developed the C1-E study as a contribution to the European safety project eSUM. Driven by an electric motor, the BMW C1-E provides a very high level of active and passive safety and exemplary protection for its rider. Like the C1, the C1-E features a safety cell and conspicuous rollover bar, which spans the rider seat, but adds an energy-absorbing impact element at the nose end. The C1-E rider wears a seatbelt, with belts and belt buckles highlighted in bright red. The electric motor employed in the C1-E has been designed for city use and is based on components by the company Vectrix. The motor obtains its power from a lithium-ion battery and delivers sufficient power for most inner-city traffic riding situations. Alternatively the vehicle could also be equipped with an efficient, low-emissions internal combustion engine. BMW's avant-garde two-wheeler is regarded as a milestone in safety on two wheels. It is the only motorized single-track vehicle to be exempt from mandatory helmet wearing in almost all European countries. There are currently no plans for production for the C1-E.

WE'RE OPENING THE VAULT!

The AE wearables are back - and only in extremely limited quantities and sizes, we might add - and once they're gone, they're gone! We're starting with our most popular items, the classic AE Sweatshirt and AE Hat. Click on a PayPal button below to order yours now! (If you prefer to pay by check, please send us an email with AE STORE in the subject line, and we'll reserve your item.)

AE Sweatshirt - Crewneck, sturdy 80/20 cotton/poly, in black with throwback lettering - the original AE logo in our Chiller typeface shown above. Size XL only. 40 bucks, including shipping. US orders only.

AE Hat - Black with throwback lettering - the original AE logo in our Chiller typeface shown above. 25 bucks, including shipping. US orders only.

Publisher's Note: Check-out John McElroy's daily news show covering everything about the auto biz by clicking on the graphic below. Good stuff guaranteed. - PMD

See another live episode of "Autoline After Hours" hosted by Autoline Detroit's John McElroy, with Peter De Lorenzo and friends this Thursday evening, October 8, at 7:00PM EDT at www.autolinedetroit.tv.

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