ON THE TABLE

December 2, 2009

 "Big Ed" Whitacre and the GM Board. Expecting, make that demanding, that Fritz Henderson achieve meaningful and measurable results and basically "fixing" GM in 100 days was absurd. And everyone in this business knew it, apparently, except for "Big Ed" and the GM Board, that is. One question: How do you guys expect to bring in the right person to run the swirling maelstrom of shit that now defines GM with a salary cap and the stark realization that y'all might be a large part of the problem too? Oh, and one more thing? Please stay far, far away from the product decisions, because that's the one area at least where your people clearly do have a clue.

 Fritz Henderson. A good man and a talented executive, Henderson was put in the untenable position of bringing cultural change to an industrial institution that needed to be "blowed-up" real good. Short of marching the company's 200 top executives down the gangplank and saying Voila! to "Big Ed" and the Board, it was just not in the cards for Fritz to survive, or succeed.

 (Photos courtesy of Ford)

The all-new Ford Fiesta, formally introduced at the L.A. Auto Show, will be Ford's new entry to the U.S. market aimed squarely at the Honda Fit. The strikingly contemporary Fiesta is projected by Ford to deliver best-in-class highway fuel economy of 40 mpg with its 1.6-liter DOHC I-4 engine that delivers an estimated 119 horsepower and 109 ft.-lbs. of torque. An available, all-new North American industry-exclusive is the PowerShift six-speed automatic transmission that combines the responsive performance and fuel economy of a manual transmission with the convenience of a traditional automatic in one advanced, dual dry-clutch package. Electric Power Assist Steering (EPAS), which reduces complexity while saving weight and fuel, is standard on the new Fiesta. This advanced system is speed-sensitive – providing optimized assist based on speed, cornering forces and acceleration or deceleration. Fiesta is projected by Ford to deliver best-in-class safety, convenience and connectivity, including its segment-exclusive SYNC® voice-activated communications system. The Fiesta will arrive at Ford dealers in the spring.

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.)

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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, at 7:00PM EDT at www.autolinedetroit.tv.

 

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