Autoblog

We are just back from the kickoff keynote speech for the 2008 New York Auto Show and have to wonder where in the Big Apple we can score some of what Bob Nardelli is smoking. While his words sounded somewhat encouraging, they were about three months old for the most part and didn't sound terribly convincing to most ears. He outlined Chrysler's 4-point plan for the future, telling the assembled breakfast-seekers that enhancing the core, extending business, expanding the market, and executing flawlessly are the keys to Chrysler's future. OK, sure. That could apply to just about any enterprise. Using the company's global assets to reduce redundancies is obviously going to help, cutting non-profitable models and reducing the number of options and packages makes a lot of sense, too. His main focus was on product, pointing out that designing and building "aspirational" products was vital to getting people back into the Chrysler fold. We can understand how that leads to something like the Challenger, but the Journey doesn't seem like it meets that criteria as well. Maybe the briefly mentioned Grand Voyager and a Cherokee with a "special" roof will surprise us later today. We shouldn't be too hard on Nardelli and Chrysler, as the company is working on turning itself round. Unfortunately, this company's got a large turning radius.

Click image for a look at the other model debuts by the NYT

The Old Grey Lady has officially kicked off the Detroit Auto Show 24 hours early, and they brought some party favors for all their readers to boot. The New York Times' Automobiles section has a Detroit preview article (dated 1/13, incidentally) in its feature spot. No longer under wraps are the 2009 Dodge Ram, 2009 Ford F-150 Platinum, Mitsubishi Concept-RA, Ford Verve sedan concept, and the Fisker plug-in luxo-hybrid, as all are featured prominently in the piece's accompanying new vehicle gallery.

The biggest fish in the tank are the two full-size trucks. While Chrysler inadvertently gave us a sneak preview of the Ram last month, Ford has kept the new F-150 well under wraps until now. The model pictured is the tip-top-of-the line F-150 Platinum, in case you were wondering. As for the others, the snazzy blue Ram Sport is looking good to these eyes (more on the '09 Ram here), while the Verve concept looks to be a slightly tweaked version of the one shown in China, updated with a coat of red paint and a modified fascia (note the differences in the foglamps). The Mitsubishi Concept-RA has us hankering for a new Eclipse, while the shapely Fisker PHEV looks like a green vehicle we'd be more than happy to pilot daily. You can read the Times' full preview here. Team Autoblog will assemble in Motown starting tomorrow, but it looks like the fun's begun in earnest already.

[Source: The New York Times]

We don't get it. Saturn has done an amazing job transmogrifying itself into a productive division for The General, and people are wistful for the Saturn of yore? In internet parlance, WTF? Three years ago, it would have been apt to predict that Saturn would be nearly done circling the drain by now and well on its way to the same fate as Oldsmobile. What has in fact happened has been an impressive brand renaissance, invigorated by GM's smart utilization of its global operations. Jerry Garrett opined in the September 5th Wheels section of the New York Times that GM's realignment of Saturn amounts to quietly smothering the brand with a pillow and then swiping its identity. Saturn's communications director Kyle Johnson shot back a reply on the GM FastLane blog, and it all makes for fascinating reading.

We'd like to point out that global asset and platform sharing has been going on for decades at GM. It's really no big thing that Saturn is selling Opels. Heck, the Chevette was an Isuzu Gemini, and who can forget the final Pontiac LeMans? Platform sharing has been going on for a very long time at all of the big three, we're not sure why Saturn's excercise of the practice is such news to Jerry Garrett. Kyle Johnson delivers a pretty good dope-slap of a reply, too. It's always entertaining when the fur flies on the interweb.

[Source: GM Fastlane]

The weekly New York Times Automobile section is always a good read, with articles written by people who clearly like cars, and topics that you just don't often find in the buff mags. Take this week's gem, a piece by Peggy Minnis on her daughter's search for a new vehicle. Now, you may be thinking that car shopping isn't exactly the most newsworthy topic, and for the most part, you're right. The Times piece has an angle, though.

You see, Peggy Minnis' daughter Margaret Jane plays the harp, and the cars she had on her shopping list had to be able to accommodate a full concert harp with all its accoutrements. Her current machine, a '92 Camry wagon, has seen better days (you can catch a glimpse of it in the photo above). To make that list of candidates, the vehicle couldn't be a minivan (too frumpy) and it had to have a low deck, which instantly eliminated most SUVs from contention. As such, the shopping list included a roster of modern wagons and a couple of crossovers. It's surprising to read the drawbacks some of the cars presented, and it becomes clear right away that all wagons are not equal.

Think the big Dodge Magnum was up to the task? Think again. Subaru Legacy? Uh-uh. Bimmer 5-series? Nope.

At least not if hauling a harp (or something similarly long and bulky) is going to be part of your daily routine. What's the winning ride? I won't spoil it for you here. Go read the article for yourself and enjoy. I certainly did.

[Source: NYT]

When McDonalds announced that it had teamed up with GM on a new HUMMER-themed Happy Meal, it seemed like a no-brainer. Kids like Happy Meals, kids like trucks, and everybody knows HUMMER. You don't need a degree in marketing to figure out that putting these elements together would be a hit for all involved.

Reading the New York Times' account of it, however, could lead one to believe that the HUMMER Happy Meal represents the end of western civilization.

In last week's article titled "Would You Like A Gas Guzzler With That?" writer Melanie Warner offers up a plodding critique of the promotion, McDonalds, and of course, GM / HUMMER. The reactions collected are so over-the-top, the article practically reads like satire.

Click through for some of the hyperbole-laden "highlights" of the article.

Thomas Friedman recently disqualified himself for any future runs at heading up the General Motors fan club, but now he's going to host a new Discovery Times documentary called "Addicted to Oil". The topics that will be discussed during this documentary, such as the "true" price of gasoline (Friedman doesn't feel that the cost of securing oil or cleaning up the environment is reflected in what we pay at the pump) and the role of petrodollars in the War on Terror, are likely old hat for anyone who's been keeping up on the debate over the last few years. However, we suspect that there might be a few eyes opened among the general TV-watching audience, at least to the extent that this audience watches the Discovery Channel.

Friedman boasts that green energy technology will be the growth industry of the 21st century, and he says the real question is whether America will lead the way, or if a new economic leader will be born elsewhere in the world.

Interestingly enough, Friedman states that he has nothing against SUVs, and he seems to agree with GM's claim that the automaker makes a lot of large SUVs (such as the Hummer H2) because they sell well. That free-market explanation is a somewhat different take than what has been presented on the pages of the New York Times recently.

[Source: The Discovery Times]

GM's war of words [1] [2] with Thomas Friedman of the New York Times continues, but this time it's Friedman's turn to talk. We were recently tipped off to the contents of a Friedman editorial dated for June 14th (today) that's locked inside the gated online community of NYtimes.com. We're hesitant to republish it in its entirety for fear the Times will go medieval on us, so we'll do our best to sum up.

In response to General Motors' denouncement of Friedman's original op-ed that appears on the company's FastLane Blog, the reporter reminds us that in addition to making more cars that achieve above 30 mpg on the highway than any other automaker, it also sells more cars that get 9 to 11 mpg than any other automaker. Friedman is referring specifically to the HUMMER brand and presumably the H2 in particular, although Friedman doesn't specify and GM doesn't make the H2's mileage numbers readily available on its consumer website.

Friedman also learned that in addition to GM's controversial fuel subsidizing promotion that began this battle, at least some dealers in California have also been authorized to offer $5,000 discounts on 2006 Tahoe and Suburban SUVs. We're willing to cut GM some slack on this one, as its needs to get these 2006 models off the lot post haste to make room for the more popular and newly redesigned 2007 models. No conspiracy there, just a logical business decision to move last year's model.

Finally Friedman pulls out a rather sharp argument that none of the domestic automakers has yet confronted: the story behind E85. As many of you know, the domestics have been selling flex-fuel vehicles back in the mid-Nineties, though have hardly marketed the technology at all until now. Many if not most consumers were completely unaware their cars were flex-fuel capable since they first went on sale. The reason it wasn't promoted, according to Friedman, is because the automakers produced flex-fuel capable vehicles in order to take advantage of a federal loophole that increased the overall mileage of each company's fleet to within federally mandated limits. Friedmans cites the 2006 GMC Yukon 2WD that actually gets 15 mpg city and 20 mpg highway, though is rated at 33 mpg in order to meet the government's CAFÉ standards. Only by producing these vehicles as flex-fuel capable were the automakers able to take advantage of this loophole.

That's it for now until Steve Harris, GM's VP for Global Communication and author of GM's first response, gathers the General's troops and formulates another response to Friedman's response.

Thanks Dave G. for the tip!

[Source: NYTimes.com]

General Motors and Thomas "The Mustache of Wisdom" Friedman already went one round last week when the New York Time writer's strongly worded column triggered a rebuttal on GM's Fastlane Blog, but this particular maelstrom is too good to end there. The story now picks up at the General's FYI Blog, where we get to read about the automaker's trials and tribulations at getting a "letter to the editor" published in the Old Grey Lady.

GM originally submitted a 500-word response to Friedman's 800-word column, but the Times requested that it be limited to 175 words. Further negotiations resulted in a 200-word limit, but then the Times objected to GM's use of the word "rubbish" when describing Friedman's rant, stating that "it's not the tone we use in Letters". GM finally requested that its letter not be run in an excessively edited state, obviously feeling a bit miffed at the lack of an opportunity to address someone who equated the company to "a crack dealer" for offering incentives on its SUVs while ignoring the same actions by other automakers.

GM does commit a bit of a 'net faux pas by publishing its e-mail communications with the Times, but at least it's an amusing read [PDF warning].

[Source: GM FYI Blog; HT: Kaus Files]

New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman wrote an op-ed piece on Wednesday that absolutely blasted General Motors for its "Fuel Price Protection Program" in which California and Florida customers are being reimbursed for the cost of gas above $1.99/gallon for one year. Some more colorful quotes from Friedman's article include, "Is there a company more dangerous to America's future than General Motors?", as well as comparing the company to "a crack dealer looking to keep his addicts on a tight leash."

GM's product czar and media wrangler Bob Lutz takes Friedman's harshly worded editorial to task on GM's FastLane Blog pointing out that Toyota offers a larger $2,000 cash rebate on the Sequoia, which actually gets worse mileage than the Tahoe. He also points out the General's recent push into E85 territory, its industry-leading lineup of 30 mpg or better vehicles, and its commitment to hydrogen fuel cell R&D.

Lutz is at the top of his game, however, when he points out that for all the credit Toyota receives for its Prius hybrid, the Japanese company's growth over the past ten years has been fueled mainly by its expansion into truck and SUV segments. But he gets back on Toyota's good side by saying, "Don't get me wrong. Toyota's a fine company. But like GM, Toyota offers a full range of cars and trucks to satisfy all their customers across this nation."

A full range of vehicles will always include ones that get worse mileage than others, and usually the less efficient of the bunch will be trucks and SUVs. It appears to us that GM is putting the most effort into making its full-size trucks and SUVs as efficient as possible without sacrificing their purpose. For all the GM bashing we're accused of here on Autoblog, we stand with Bob on this one.

[Source: The Detroit News and GM FastLane Blog]

CORRECTION: Umm... yeah, so the editorial on GM's FastLane Blog wasn't written by Mr. Lutz but by by Steven J. Harris,
Vice President of Global Communications GM. Don't know how we missed that one, except the tone of the commentary matches some past fumings from Bob so much we just assumed, and that made an ass out of us, not  you.