Autoblog

Word out of Frankfurt from the Financial Times Deutschland is that BMW is in talks to sell engines and transmissions to both General Motors and Fiat. All three companies have declined to officially comment.

The news is interesting, but not surprising. You may recall that GM has been selling transmissions to BMW for well over a decade for use in various 3 Series and 5 Series models (the current BMW 328i automatic uses a 6-speed GM 6L45 unit). So far, however, all have been automatic transmissions.

Speculating about the details, our tipster suggests that BMW may be helping GM with their SMG-style transmission program. As for the engines? It is possible that BMW could be selling its 4.4L V8 for the Cadillac line or lending GM a twin-turbo to compete with Ford's twin-turbo direct-injected V6? Thanks for the tip Brad!

[Source: Automotive News Europe, subs. req'd]

Ferrari is apparently running out of F1 teams to supply with engines, so it's looking to other racing series altogether for new customers. For the current season, the Maranello-based team had to have the rules bent so that they could supply their engines to not one but two additional teams on the grid (Spyker and Toro Rosso). No wonder then that half of the cars that finished in the points at this past weekend's penultimate Chinese Grand Prix were powered by Ferrari.

Like other single-seater racing series, A1GP, the self-described "world cup of motorsport", uses the same chassis and engines for all the teams. Lola and Zytek have been supplying the cars and power respectively, but with contracts up for renewal, rumors started to fly when Ferrari's sporting director Stefano Domenicali was seen at Silverstone during an A1GP test session. Ferrari has now confirmed that they're in negotiations with the series' organizers.

Rumor has it that the engine deal isn't the only thing A1GP chief Tony Teixeira is discussing with Ferrari, as insiders tip the South African businessman as a potential partner in Scuderia Toro Rosso, which would effectively become Ferrari's B-squad in the developing "super team" saga.

[Sources: F1i.com and autosport]

UPDATE: Link to source finally added. Our bad.


A tip sent us to the blog of Dr. Mark J. Perry, professor of economics and finance at the University of Michigan, who points out that hourly union workers at the Big 3 make on average 57.6% more in a year than a university professor with a Ph.D. Using figures from the automakers themselves, Dr. Perry tells us that a union worker at Ford makes $141,020/year including wages and benefits. A worker at General Motors makes $146,520/year and one at Chrysler earns $151,720/year. According to another report he cites, the average annual salary for a college professor in 2006 was $92,973, which happens to be close to the $96,000/year a Honda, Nissan or Toyota worker makes in the U.S.

Why trot out all these numbers? It's clear that upcoming negotiations between the Big 3 and UAW will likely yield concessions in both wages and healthcare costs. They have to if the U.S. auto industry is to survive. Dr. Perry references those who say the concessions must be "transformational", and to illustrate what that means, he suggests that Union workers would have to accept a wage equal to that of a college professor with a Ph.D.

We get that union auto workers are overpaid, we really do. Dr. Perry, however, seems to imply that there's something inherently wrong with a Ph.D professor making less than a high-school educated auto worker. The wage of a union auto worker, however, should come down because it's artificially high, not because the social order of education dictates that those with Ph.Ds should earn more than those who only finished high school. But hey, maybe we're being too sensitive.

[Source: Carpe Diem]

With just days to go before its investors meeting later this week, it's back to the drawing board for Bertone. According to emerging reports, a proposed deal that would have seen Fiat come to the rescue for the struggling coachbuilder and design house with a manufacturing contract has fallen through.

The plan was for Bertone to build up to 15,000 units of a Lancia-badged hard-top convertible based on the Fiat Grande Punto, previewed by such Bertone concepts as the Suagna (unveiled in Paris) and the 95th anniversary barchetta (pictured, shown in Geneva). After extensive negotiations, Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne announced the deal was simply "not a financially viable business case". The deal reportedly fell apart after the two parties came to a deadlock over the number of staff members required to execute the contract, with Fiat insisting that half of Bertone's 1500 person workforce be cut. A contract for Bertone to build camper vans based on the Iveco Daily commercial van will reportedly still go through, but that will only require 200 people to execute.

The convertible, it was decided, will instead be build in-house along the same assembly line as its Grande Punto sibling. Like its rivals, Bertone has been struggling to remain a viable enterprise. Watching such a stoic name like Bertone fold would be a shame, but if its continued operations are to be secured, the Italian design house is going to have to face staggering cutbacks.

[Source: Automotive News via Motor Authority]

While much ink has been devoted to Delphi's bankruptcy court request to terminate its labor contracts with the UAW and other unions, that event was only one step along the path to possible confrontation with the unions (albeit a very big one).

Over at TheCarConnection.com, Joseph Szczesny has outlined the timeline of upcoming events for Delphi and its unions. The next major milestone is a May 9-10 bankruptcy court hearing on Delphi's request. The judge will likely take between 30 and 45 days to issue a ruling. If the ruling grants Delphi permission to go ahead, the company will have 10 days to terminate its labor agreements.

On the union side, the current contract (which is still in effect) has a no-strike clause. But if Delphi cancels the contract, the union is free to strike.

The bottom line appears to be that Delphi, the unions and General Motors have until early summer to come to an agreement on the future of Delphi's workers.

[Source: TheCarConnection.com]