ON THE TABLE

October 19, 2011

Ernst Lieb. Daimler AG unexpectedly removed its top U.S. Mercedes-Benz executive Monday for no apparent reason except for alluding to "a personal matter." And after allowing him to talk to some key members of his staff, Lieb was walked out of the building. We know that this is the super hot way to handle executive departures of late by HR minions across corporate America but still, there's inevitably some Big Deal reason behind it. Speculation is rampant as to why. We'll throw this on the fire: When it was announced that Mercedes-Benz U.S. entered into a 10-year agreement to be the presenting sponsor of the Louisiana Superdome for between $50-$60 million, that might be your first clue. We assume someone back at headquarters might have said, "WTF?" But the real reason, according to a report by The Financial Times today, is that Daimler terminated Lieb for violations of human resources and ethics policies relating to household expenses that were charged to the automaker. The Financial Times cited sources close to the company, and an internal whistleblower apparently stepped forward to bring the matter to light. Oops.

Russia. The country is going to end palladium sales from its government stockpile accumulated during the Soviet era, and that spells trouble for the global auto industry. Used specifically in exhaust systems, a spike in cost in this precious metal due to a reduced supply would be a giant borscht bowl of Not Good.

The U.S. Manufacturing Sector. There as many as 600,000 jobs at U.S. manufacturing companies that can't be filled because they can’t find workers with the proper skills, according to a survey by Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute. The results of the survey found that 5 percent of manufacturing jobs are unfilled due to lack of qualified candidates, and that 67 percent of manufacturers have a moderate to severe shortage of qualified workers. The survey also found that 56 percent of manufacturers expect the shortage to increase during the next three to five years. Ugh.

Elon Musk. As reported by Mark Rechtin in Automotive News, the CEO of Tesla Motors regaled an adoring audience at Tesla's converted Toyota (NUMMI) plant in Fremont, California by saying that, "The Model S is not the best electric car, it's the best car of any kind. It's about the same external dimensions as a 5-series BMW, yet has twice the cargo capacity. It's got the biggest sunroof of any car. The fit and finish are superior to any premium sedan. We have the most advanced paint shop in the industry." And he added: "If you drive another premium sedan after driving the Model S, it's going to feel like a jalopy." It's now official: Musk is The Most Tedious Man on the Planet, hands down.


Editor-in-Chief's Note: Our friend Tom Pease has sent along another "Letter from L.A." This week's subject? A Lincoln drive event that he attended in Beverly Hills. - PMD

Lincoln Throws Down in Beverly Hills.

By Tom Pease

Beverly Hills. Twice a year in Beverly Hills there is an event called "The Affaire in the Gardens" that showcases artists along a five-block stretch of Beverly Gardens Park.  It's been going on for as long as I can remember and this year Lincoln (I don't know whether it was corporate or the local Galpin dealership who were the providers of the actual cars) showed up with a bunch of cars to drive.

Like the recent AltCarExpo event this needed a producer.  Maybe this should be my new career; I mean how hard is it?  You have a bunch of cars, a booth with Eames chairs and cold water, tons of people who I assume have disposable income and a prime corner on Canon Drive.  I had to actively stalk a person to get the info on a car.

Really?

There was a booth with the set-up of the interface of all the stuff that the car can do, which was nice but (hitching up my old man pants) since I was paying attention to the center console and the center display rather than the road it didn't make me happy.  Because I want people to drive when they're driving.

They should have concentrated on the hybrid MKZ.  Like the Fusion I drove at the AltCarExpo, the Lincoln hybrid version gives nothing up that I can see to the gas version.  It's handsome, luxurious, and quick.  The only downside I can see is that you aren't advertising your ECO-cred with those small badges.  The nice young man who asked me what I thought countered my idea that since it's the same price that it would be foolish not to choose this model (42 MPG city!!!), that there's more power in the V6 version.

Okay, power that you would use where in L.A.?  It can take an hour to get from Moreno to Doheny...

In short, and all issues about recycling the batteries aside, it's really these sort of rides that offer great fuel economy with no downside that make me sit up and take notice.