Given the state of the market, the Ford Motor Company is on a bit of a roll right now. The Blue Oval posted an 11% decline in volume for June versus the same month in 2008; a far better number than nearly every competitor from Japan or Detroit. Ford also flat-out dominated the market in the Great White North, as the Dearborn, MI-based automaker ranked number one in sales volume for the first time in 50 years.

Ford outpaced perennial market leader General Motors by a substantial (for Canada) 5,000 units. Ford posted 27,408 sales for the month; a 24.6% increase over June 2008. Toyota and Honda also were in the rear view mirror, as the Japanese stalwarts managed sales declines of 17%. Chrysler was a distant fifth place, as bankruptcy and an outdated product lineup conspired to sink sales by 58% verses June 2008. Overall sales in Canada were down 13% on the month.

Ford's increase in sales was due in part to a surprising 41% increase in CUV and SUV sales. The F-150 also posted a healthy 59% increase, with Ford's Edge was up 23%.

[Source: London Free Press]

Winnipeg authorities are all "Lookie! Crashes are down at the intersections equipped with our spiffy new red-light cameras," but Manitoba Public Insurance and the Winnipeg Sun newspaper are all: "Stop lying!" Winnipeg says its 12 intersections equipped with the electronic sentinels have seen a 37% reduction in crashes since 2002. MPI and the WInnipeg Sun beg to differ, however, saying that insurance claims tell a markedly different, more complete story.

Part of the disparity can be attributed to the fact that collisions causing damage under $1,000 don't have to be reported to the police, but claims for those incidents are usually still submitted to insurance. According to the newspaper, the city's use of incomplete statistics to spin data the way it chooses has been going on for a while – it was flagged for the practice in a 2006 finding, and the figures that Manitoba Public Insurance reports figures some 66% higher than the city's figures. To hear the Sun tell it, the government's interest in photo radar appears to continue unabated as long as the money keeps rolling in, and skewed statistics only help make the case for the enforcement technology.

[Source: Winnipeg Sun | Image: Corrections Ontario]

According to the Detroit Free Press, the 14 plants that General Motors is expected to announce for closure on Monday was going to be 16 plants until the UAW got its way on Capitol Hill. The union charged GM with closing factories, but instead of a commensurate reduction in production, GM was moving some of the manufacturing elsewhere, specifically China and Mexico.

GM said it will produce 1.83 million cars in the U.S. 2014 as opposed to 2 million today, and it would get one-third of its production that year from overseas. That one-third would notably be small cars, so much in play lately for every reason. The UAW suggested it would be amenable to "innovative labor agreement provisions" in order to make small car production work for GM domestically.

In that case it isn't Mexico or China that will suffer, but Canada. Our northern neighbor is expected to lose 23% of its GM export production (has anyone told CAW head Ken Lewenza yet?) while Asian importation climbs 98%.

For now, an assembly plant and a stamping plant have been spared from the initial list of U.S. closures. Another four plants have been designated "stand-by locations" that will come on line in case of a steep rebound in auto sales.

[Source: Detroit Free Press]

Not that it should come as a major shock to anyone paying attention over the last few weeks, but in a regulatory filing submitted by General Motors on Tuesday, the beleaguered automaker has admitted that it's unlikely to have acceptable deals negotiated with the either the United Auto Workers or Canadian Auto Workers unions before the previously announced deadline of May 27.

Equally as unsurprising are rumors that GM's plan to begin importing 50,000+ cars from China by 2014 is one of the major stumbling blocks in UAW negotiations. Other sticking points surely include how best to slash the desired $1 billion in annual labor costs that the two parties reportedly targeted and how to fund the Voluntary Employees Beneficiary Association (VEBA) health care trust.

Furthermore, the Detroit Free Press is reporting that CAW union leaders are upset at the way they are being treated in negotiations. A flier passed out to Canadian union workers had this to say:

"Because the Canadian and U.S. governments are planning a joint effort to support GM's restructuring, we now face a dangerous attempt to enforce a 'cookie-cutter' approach on our bargaining. This philosophy is absolutely offensive to us as Canadians."

More than ever before, it seems almost a foregone conclusion that GM will file for bankruptcy on June 1st. Hold on tight, this promises to be a wild ride.

[Source: Detroit Free Press | Image: Bill Pugliano/Getty]

Might the newly-revived Camaro be the bright shining sales star that General Motors so desperately needs? That remains to be seen, but at least initial reports are favorable. According to The Peterborough Examiner (via The Detroit News), demand for the new-gen. muscle car is high enough that GM has asked workers at the assembly plant in Oshawa, Ontario, to work through the week of June 29, which had previously been scheduled as mandatory time off. Furthermore, Camaro orders are expected to be strong enough to keep the Oshawa plant's flex line humming along on Saturdays in June, July and August, and that means overtime for the beleaguered auto workers.



[Source: The Peterborough Examiner via The Detroit News]

The April 30th deadline to reorganize looms larger by the second, and Chrysler is scrambling to make deals that could theoretically help it stave off a bankruptcy filing next week. For that to happen. Chrysler needs to get concessions from labor unions and lenders that make the financial situation palatable enough for Fiat to step in and make the automaker "financially viable" in the eyes of the President's auto industry task force. To that end, it appears that the contentious situation north of the border between the automaker and the Canadian Auto Workers union has ended in an agreement -- not that the CAW brass sounds particularly happy about it. Follow the jump for the rundown of what the proposed deal entails.

The top dogs at Chrysler sent a letter to the Canadian Auto Workers union that essentially said that the automaker needed wage concessions of $19 per hour, or else it was Game Over. As a further way to apply pressure, Chrysler's letter frequently referenced the U.S. and Canadian governments as heavies, all of them now waiting for the CAW to provide the necessary "support."

In response, CAW members burned the letter, but not before making notes so it could pen a response of its own. In an official response, CAW President Ken Lewenza calls Chrysler's missive "the most offensive attempt yet" to undermine the CAW, then decries statements made by the Canadian government about the situation. He follows that with a point-by-point defense of the CAW's cost and efficiency, and accuses Chrysler of not only playing with the numbers, but of changing the rules every time a game is agreed upon.

He finishes by stating that instead of looking at the CAW, Chrysler should be speaking to its bondholders who, so far, appear to have been left out of game of sacrifice. You can read those and the rest of his thoughts in the full letter after the jump. Hat tip to Bob!

[Source: CAW]

It boils down to this: In 12 days, Chrysler's fate is likely to be sealed, one way or another. Both the United States and Canadian federal governments have told the automaker that in order to get continued funding, it must restructure dramatically. After consulting with his task force on the auto industry, President Obama made it abundantly clear at the end of March that this meant a Fiat deal needed to be in place within 30 days, otherwise it's basically curtains for Chrysler as we all know it. Without the inter-continental partnership, bankruptcy is a lock. It's just a matter of which number follows the letter C.

Complicating matters further for Auburn Hills is the fact that the Fiat deal is by no means guaranteed, either. This week, Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne said that taking a stake in Chrysler is only a 50-50 proposition right now, and that for a deal to happen, Chrysler's labor costs would need to be cut down to a point where they're in line with the Asian and European transplant automakers, who happen to run non-union shops. With the April 30th deadline hanging over Bob Nardelli and co. like the Sword of Damocles, the Chrysler execs made a plea for concessions from the Canadian Auto Workers via a letter delivered yesterday. These include cost-saving reductions in health and prescription coverage, the elimination of life insurance, and the elimination of other "non-traditional" benefits such as tuition reimbursement, among other things. (A copy of the letter is pasted after the jump.) The letter also includes dire language that essentially states the concessions are required for the company's survival.

The Windsor Star reports that the letter was not well received by some CAW workers at the Windsor, Ontario assembly plant, who responded to it by gathering outside at lunch hour on Friday, whereupon they proceeded to burn the letters during an impromptu rally. And so the stage is set for what are sure to be contentious negotiations between Chrysler and union brass, which are set to begin on Monday. As Bob Nardelli and Tom LaSorda said in their letter to the CAW rank-and-file: "The clock is running."

[Source: The Windsor Star]

As the story goes, Esso Oil asked custom car guru George Barris (he of Batmobile, Munster Koach and Drag-u-la fame) to create four custom Oldsmobile Toronado coupes for the 1967 Canadian Expo. The car you see above is dubbed Toronado 67X, and according to the seller on eBay, it is one of the only two cars remaining. The big coupe was originally gold, but time and poor treatment have turned it a lovely shade of something other than gold (well, several lovely shades, actually).

Although the auction has just ended, we thought you'd still enjoy a glimpse of what the seller calls the "Project car find of a lifetime" (which might be how long it would take to get it back together). Structurally, the Olds appears to be sound enough, but you can forget about the floorboards and the interior (which includes a wraparound rear couch!). Despite its obvious shortcomings, the car's provenance has helped it gain an appraisal value of $21,500 (which is about $15,000 more than a brand new Toronado listed for in 1966). On the auction itself, there's even a video of the engine running but you hear a lot more wind than engine.

The car was bid to $7,701 but ultimately failed to meet reserve, so we expect to see it back up on the ol' eBay block sooner rather than later. In the meantime, click the link below to learn more about this unique piece of Barris history, and check out the gallery of photos below. Hat tip to Jay!



[Source: eBay]

This year's New York Auto Show promises a few surprises

April might be best known for its rain and resultant flora, but we hope sunshine prevails. After all, April marks the beginning of the IndyCar season with an undercard of ALMS in St. Petersburg, as well as a follow-up race for each series in the shadow of the Queen Mary from Long Beach, CA. NASCAR powers through Texas, Arizona and Alabama, Grand-Am makes stops at VIR and Thunderbolt, and Formula 1 visits Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai and Bahrain. We also get the New York Auto Show as well as other motor shows in Vancouver, California's Ontario, Albany, the Inland Empire, Denver and elsewhere.

There will be auctions in Palm Beach, Toronto, and Carlisle, vintage drags in Fontana, a GoodGuys stop in Del Mar, the Copperstate 1000, Top Marques Monaco, and the Street Rod Nationals up in Bakersfield, as well. If none of those events appeals to you, check the Google Calendar after the jump for even more listings, all with detailed info and links. We've tried to list the highlights as well as a few smaller events that we hope will be of interest to you. Feel free to use the comments section to add or modify listings.