Apparently choosing to continue the charade of a free market economy at least until January when President-elect Obama formally takes office, Congress has prematurely rejected a bill that would provide a portion of the already-existing $700b Wall Street bailout to domestic automakers. Surprisingly enough, especially given the widespread public criticism the Bush administration has drawn and the equally overwhelming adoration the Obama camp as received, lawmakers on Capitol Hill cite Bush’s heavy disfavor of the proposed auto bailout as the reason for its failure. “[The auto bailout] doesn’t have enough votes to pass,” explained Sen. Max Baucus, D-MT. “I think there’s too much opposition from the administration.” Despite President-elect Obama’s repeated assurances that any loan provided to the auto industry would come with very stringent “preconditions”, the Bush Administration has been largely unimpressed by the clever use of ambiguous promises and remains adamantly opposed to the measures as they stand.

Although lawmakers and beneficiaries of the bill were hopeful a favorable verdict would be delivered as early as Monday, lack of Congressional support has delayed official voting until at least Thursday. The official terms of the bailout agreement will not be fully disclosed until a final draft is formally legislated, but the bill’s preliminary guidelines have already been released to the public. Accordingly: $25 billion of the $700 billion currently allocated to Wall Street lenders would be exclusively reserved for use by U.S. automakers. While the federal aid will not explicitly be limited to the Detroit 3, only those automakers who have operated at least two production facilities within the U.S. unceasingly for the past 25 years will be eligible to revive a portion of the loan. Assuming they meet the initial criteria, every automaker who receives federal assistant will be required to provide the U.S. Treasury with full documentation indicating how each dollar was spent, and will be strictly forbade from using the government loan to fund “golden parachutes” or satisfy shareholders’ dividends.

Currently, sources indicate that the Senate could conduct a “test vote” as early as Wednesday, but an official ruling on the matter is not expected to surface until Thursday.

Source: Detroit Free Press & Auto News

After months of performing a painfully slow striptease, the 2010 Ford Mustang has finally been officially unveiled. Widely regarded as a mid-cycle update purely intended to maintain the Mustang’s competitive edge over the re-released 2010 Camaro, the changes the 2010 Mustang has undergone are of a significantly subtler variety than originally anticipated. Exterior-wise, the most notable revision is the new pony badge, which went under the knife in honor of its 45th birthday and emerged a stronger, more aggressive steed. According to Ford Mustang Chief Designer Doug Gaffka, the pony badge is the epicenter of the 2010 Mustang’s new style. “Everything we tried to do with this car’s new exterior design is represented in the new pony,” said Gaffka. “It tells the whole story. It’s athletic, aggressive and modern.” Preach it, brother Gaffka.

Hit the jump the check out the official 2010 Mustang image gallery, replete with more photos than you can shake a dipstick at.

The criteria that gains a car entry into the “Crossover” segment is so ambiguous that with a marginally increased ride height, four doors and a hatchbackn nearly any existing car can be made “crossover-ready.”  Take the Infiniti EX35 as an example.  Infiniti has self-titled the EX35 as a “coupe-inspired luxury crossover.”  That is about as meaningful as a 15 year old girl stating that she is a Shaq-inspired combination of Oprah and Beethoven.  It may not be as trendy or marketable, but the EX35 is actually just a small wagon which is just the beginning of the good news.

EX35 Interior

The EX35 was the most car-like nominee for the 2009 Motor Trend Sport/Utility of the Year award.  And although it ultimately lost out to the Subaru Forester, the EX35 delivered the best on-the-road driving experience of the bunch.  To begin with, unlike other Crossovers, the EX35 is not bulked up with extra fender bulges or extraneous trim pieces and ride height is kept relatively low all of which helps to keep the driver in touch with the vehicle’s driving dynamics, especially handling.  Acceleration is further “car-like” with a 0 to 60 mph time of 6.5 seconds.  That performance is achieved by way of a 3.5-liter V6 that produces 297 horsepower and is mated to a five-speed automatic transmission.  Both rear- and all-wheel drive are offered, and as you would have no doubt deduced, the AWD system is meant for only on-road use.  Unfortunately, two of the most important, if not THE most important criteria for Crossovers are lacking with the EX35.  First, while performance is impressive, fuel economy is not with a combined 20 mpg city/highway fuel economy.  Secondly, the shedding of weight and size is at the sacrifice of utility and interior cargo space.  These are two very serious negatives.  After all, the very reason Crossovers even exist is to tap into previous SUV owners looking to upgrade fuel efficiency while maintaining a degree of usable interior space.  Also significant is the price tag which starts at $31,300 for the rear-wheel drive and $32,700 for AWD.  Standard for both is automatic climate control, eight-way power driver seat, four-way power passenger seat, automatic headlights, remote keyless entry and starting, trip computer, six-speaker AM/FM/CD stereo with auxiliary input jack, XM Satellite Radio, and P225/60R17 all-season tires on aluminum wheels.  Available option packages add things like leather upholstery, power-folding second-row seats, sunroof, auto-dimming rearview mirror with a compass, universal garage door opener, front and rear park assist and Adaptive Front-lighting System, which points the headlights into a turn when the steering wheel is turned.  It would perhaps be better to compare the EX35 to other cars and specifically, other wagons and hatchbacks.  Against that segment of vehicles, the EX35 has plenty of room and stacks up more competitively.

Dubbed “The American Icon” the MINI Cooper pictured above was created by the well-meaning hands of Ken and Annie Burkitt of Ontario, Canada as a representation of all things American. Covered with 1 million meticulously placed Swarovski crystals, The American Icon features the jeweled likeness of 10 different American symbols, including Mount Rushmore, the Statue of Liberty, the White House, and the American flag. Currently on display at the Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum at Piccadilly Circus in London, anonymous tipsters have informed us that U.S. Ambassadors in London have promised a £700 reward to anyone who successfully wrestles the Burkitt’s away from their Bedazzler.

Full gallery after the jump

Source: Autoblog.nl via AutoUnleashed

Recently Ford unveiled its newest small car, the 2010 Ford Fiesta sedan, at the Guangzhou Auto Show in China. Based on Ford’s Verve Concept car introduced last year as one of the flagship sedan’s in Ford’s new “Global Ford” product line-up, the Ford Fiesta sedan unveiled yesterday will begin production in Beijing in early 2009. Although Ford has yet to confirm or deny whether the new 2010 Fiesta sedan is U.S.-bound, industry experts expect both a three-door and five-door sedan/hatchback combinations to make their way stateside.

More pics of the 2010 Ford Fiesta after the jump

PRESS RELEASE

Ford Stages Global Reveal of All-New Fiesta Sedan in China

“Launching the all-new Fiesta sedan to the world in China signals the importance of China and the Asian region in Ford’s global strategy, ” said John Parker, executive vice president, Asia Pacific and Africa, Ford Motor Company. “This is a sophisticated small car. Design combines with advanced technology to deliver very high levels of refinement, safety and class-leading fuel efficiency. This new Fiesta proves Ford’s leadership in small car design and development. ”

Source: Ford Motors, Photo Cred: Ford Motors/Jalopnik

If you’ve taken note of any Scion xD print or television ads, you no doubt notice that the ads highlight mostly anime-esque, bass thumping, club hopping hipsters with spiky hair zipping about a variety of mostly non-specific urban settings.  Absent are these Gen-Y’ers (or is Z now?) loading in a pile of groceries or a coupld of kids, saving money at the pump or generally enjoying a higher level of comfort and amenities than would be expected by the cheap price tag.  However, putting aside the youthful style, the Scion xD is a much more mature vehicle than it looks.

xD Interior

Sure, the design inside and out of the xD is a bit overboard.  The ad people call it the “Little Deviant” for crying out loud.  But is it any less appealing aesthetically than any other econoboxes?  Even with an $800 price increase for the 2009 model, the $15,320 base price manual transmission xD stacks up well against the entry priced Honda Fit, Mazda3 or Volkswagen Rabbit.  It should be noted, that despite the high-tech image the bottom-priced xD comes with just a few amenities beyond standard iPod connectivity that includes 16-inch steel wheels, air-conditioning, cruise control, full power accessories, a tilt steering wheel and a six-speaker Pioneer stereo with single-CD/MP3 player and an optional navigation system.  Instead Scion offers an extensive list of options and add-ons to further appeal to the tuner crowd who want to personalize the xD to their own personal taste.  Mechanically, the xD uses a 1.8-liter four cylinder engine that produces 128 horsepower and 125 pound-feet of torque taking the car from 0 to 60 mph in 8.4 seconds.  Most importantly, fuel economy is 27 mpg city/33 mpg highway and 29 mpg combined with the five-speed manual and 26/32/28 mpg with the four-speed automatic.

To purge the image of the previous xA model that the xD replaces and further distance it from the budget-level Yaris, the xD’s exterior styling has a boxy style and aggressive features that are in line with the other Scion models and give the xD an easily recognizable look. The 2009 Scion xD comes loaded with an assortment of standard safety features including antilock brakes with brake assist, stability control, traction control, front seat side airbags, full-length side curtain airbags and front active head restraints.  Though many are critical of the interior’s minor quirks, such as the speedometer and tachometer rotating towards each other rather than in the same direction, the xD mostly benefits from Toyota’s reputation for functional and well-built interior designs.  The upside to the boxy appearance is the car’s interior space which offers even 6 plus foot-sized passengers enough headroom up front and an adequate amount of room in the back seats.  Although not quite as large as other compact hatches, the xD provides enough cargo room (35.7 cubic feet with the rear seats folded) for the customers Scion is targeting.

In 2002, police in the city of Detroit gave out a total of 126,007 traffic tickets. Last year, the number of tickets grew to over 245,000 - a 94% jump. The increase was even larger in small towns like Plymouth which saw the number of tickets go up from 440 to 2,500 — up 480 percent — over the same amount of time. According to Detroit area police the reason for the increase is dwindling property tax revenue. That lack of property tax revenue has forced local governments in Michigan to use average citizen drivers to fill the coffers. You might call it a new, “random driving tax.”

“When I first started in this job thirty years ago, police work was never about revenue enhancement,” Utica Police Chief Michael Reaves told the Detroit News. “But if you’re a chief now, you have to look at whether your department produces revenues. That’s just the reality nowadays.”

The National Motorists Association pointed to Detroit suburbs as home to some of the worst speed traps in the entire country. Upwards of 18 jurisdictions in the area reported an increase in ticketing of more than fifty percent.

“When elected officials say, ‘We need more money,’ they can’t look to the department of public works to raise revenues, so where do they find it? Police departments,” Police Officers Association of Michigan President James Tagnanelli told the News.

“I’ve spent eight years in traffic services, and I was a crash reconstructionist for five years before that,” Michigan State Police Lieutenant Gary Megge told the News. “So I’ve seen my share of fatal wrecks, and I can tell you: Deaths are not caused by speeding. They’re caused by drinking, drugs and inattentiveness. The old adage that speed kills just isn’t realistic. The safest speed is the speed that is correct for that roadway at a given time. A lot of speed limits are set artificially low.”

The Michigan State Police promotes setting limits according to the 85th percentile rule. This widely used principle is used to determine a practical speed limit by measuring how fast the vast majority of traffic, 85 percent, travel in safety.

“It just doesn’t seem right to me that we would enforce a law where 90-98 percent of the people are in violation of it,” Lieutenant Megge told the News. “It’s not the way we should do business in this country.”

While General Motors North America is in the midst of conducting an aggressive campaign to secure emergency funding from the U.S. government, General Motors Europe and GM’s European subsidiary, Adam Opel GmbH, are preparing for the worst case scenario. Possessing a foresight their American counterparts noticeably lacked, although GM Europe is not in any immediate danger of depleting their cash reserves, they are concerned with the possible repercussions if GM North America is not able receive federal assistance.

Seeking to secure a safety net of sorts in the event that the cash flow from their parent company is shut off, representatives from Opel paid a visit to the German Chancellery today to discuss the possibility of a government “guarantee.” Meeting with both Economics Minister Michael Glos (CSU) and Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück (SPD), GM Europe President and Opel Supervisory Board President Carl Forester explained, “Opel does not have a short-term liquidity problem…We are not talking about subsidies, rather a protective umbrella of available liquidity in the worst case.”

Press Release

Statement from Adam Opel GmbH regarding talks with the German Chancellery

Participants in the talks for Opel were Carl Peter Forster, Supervisory Board President of Adam Opel GmbH and President of General Motors Europe; Hans Demant, Opel Managing Director and Klaus Franz, head of Opel Works Council.

Source: General Motors Corp.

Today, General Motors Corps announced that it will be selling 16,413,000 shares Suzuki common stock, which will eliminate their 3 percent controlling stake in Suzuki completely. Valued at approximately $230 million, today’s sale is obviously intended to raise some instant cash for the ailing automaker as Congress deliberates over the passage of a bailout bill for Detroit. Significant if only for its desperation, today’s move pales in comparison to the loss GM sustained in 2006 when they reduced their 20+ percent holdings in Suzuki by a whopping 17.4 percent.

Wishing to clarify that today’s sale is merely a budget tightening maneuver and in no way a negative reflection of the professional relationship between the two automakers, an official statement declared that both GM and Suzuki intend to continue their collaboration on emerging technology and future products. “We highly value our strategic relationship with Suzuki,” explained GM chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner. “Despite the sale of our remaining Suzuki shares, this action will have no impact on our existing bilateral business relationships. We look forward to continue building on our success to date with our long-term partner.”

Official Press Release

GM Sells Equity Stake in Suzuki Motor Corp.
Detroit – General Motors Corp. announced today it would sell its remaining equity stake in Suzuki Motor Corp. but based on a mutual agreement would continue the implementation and expansion of its business relationships with the company.

General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), the world’s largest automaker, has been the annual global industry sales leader for 77 years. Founded in 1908, GM today employs about 252,000 people around the world. With global headquarters in Detroit, GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 34 countries. In 2007, nearly 9.37 million GM cars and trucks were sold globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, Hummer, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn, Vauxhall and Wuling. GM’s OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services. More information on GM can be found at www.gm.com.

Source: General Motors Corp.

Last week, Ford ended an agonizingly long striptease by releasing the 14th and final image of the new 2010 Mustang. Now that Ford has laid all their cards on the table, we no longer suspect the 2010 Mustang will be nearly indistinguishable from the current gen, we’re sure of it. As a matter of fact, we’d be hard pressed to find anything that’s noticeably different, aside from the redesigned pony badge, of course.

Since the Mustang has always found favor in our court, rather than label this Emperor’s-New-Clothes-type reveal as a shameless, disappointing publicity stunt, we choose to interpret the maneuver as Ford’s subtle way of reminding the 2010 Camaro that endless hype and drastic body changes do not a muscle car make.

Full 2010 Mustang gallery after the jump

Real OG’s don’t need a comeback - they never retire from the game.

Source: MustangBlog via AutoBlog