ON THE TABLE

February 22, 2012

 GM, Peugeot. French online newspaper LaTribune.fr reported on Tuesday that PSA Peugeot Citroen, Europe's No. 2 car maker, is in advanced alliance talks with General Motors (as related by a report on Reuters). The talks - which would envisage an alliance, rather than cooperation deals between the two companies - began a few months ago and appear to have reached an advanced stage, although no agreement has been reached, according to the LaTribune.fr source. Rumors have been rampant of late that Peugeot could be headed for bankruptcy as early as eighteen months from now. The deal would have to be approved by the Peugeot family, who own 30.9 percent of the French auto maker's share capital and 48.3 percent of its voting rights, the French online newspaper said. So, GM is going to try to shore-up its European outlook by joining with Peugeot? Not. So. Much. Peugeot is in deep, deep financial trouble and no matter how good the idea sounds to GM, well... We'll see.

Selim Bingol. GM's PR Chief goes after Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich for his idiotic statement that "you can't put a gun rack in a Volt." The implication being, of course, that it's an "Obama car." Bingol responded to Gingrich on GM's new blog (as first reported by David Shepardson of The Detroit News) with this: "Newt Gingrich has taken up saying that 'You can't put a gun rack on a Volt.' That's like saying 'You can't put training wheels on a Harley.' Actually, you can. But the real question is 'Why would you?' In both examples: It looks weird. It doesn't work very well, and, there are better places for gun racks and training wheels — pickup trucks and little Schwinns, respectively. Seriously, when is the last time you saw a gun rack in ANY sedan?" And that's our AE Quote of the Week.

Dan Akerson. The GM CEO and his wife are donating $1 million to jump-start a Habitat for Humanity initiative called Leaders to ReBuild Detroit, aimed at stabilizing the desolate MorningSide on the city's east side. Well done, Dan.

(Audi)
Audi Tradition will be embracing the 2012 auto season again this year. Car enthusiasts can see some of Audi's most historic vehicles at more than 25 events throughout Europe during the year. The high point? Legendary driver Jacky Ickx will be at the controls of a Auto Union Type D Silver Arrow dating from 1938 through the streets of Monaco during the F1 weekend. Audi will also have a presence at the Mille Miglia. And this year’s Audi Tradition display at the “Techno Classica” in Essen, the world’s largest historic car show, is twice the size of last year’s: valuable vehicles from the company’s history will be seen on more than 700 square meters of floor space.

(Mercedes-Benz)
This Academy Awards season, Mercedes-Benz is commemorating the SL anniversary by supporting film restoration through a contribution to The Film Foundation (www.film-foundation.org), in addition to creating an SL vehicle retrospective and an exclusive reveal of the 2013 SL to be seen by those attending Mercedes-Benz annual invite-only Oscar viewing party at the Soho House in West Hollywood. The iconic Mercedes-Benz SL has played a role in over 150 movies and television programs during its lifespan, and it continues to be one of the most desired cars in Hollywood.

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