The Auto Companies. Editor-in-Chief's Note: I neglected to mention in my column this week that the reason I was able to write about some of the Super Bowl commercials is that the car companies can't seem to help themselves with regard to keeping a lid on their respective commercials before the big game itself. Chalk it up to insecurity because deep down they know that they're likely going to get lost in the ad shuffle, or maybe it's just a most egregious case of Surprise Interruptus, but the fact remains that most of the car commercials on the Super Bowl have already been revealed this week. I guess if these companies are really insecure about the impact of their spots on the game then they might as well get it over with. But if they're going to reveal their spots through multiple media platforms (social and otherwise) and they're going to talk about it incessantly to the press, then why should anyone bother paying attention when they actually run on the broadcast? Guess what? They won't. - PMD

Hyundai. Editor-in-Chief's Note: One spot that has appeared before the Super Bowl is Hyundai's "All For One" spot, which features a hapless worker bee inside Hyundai muttering to himself that "this is impossible, it's never going to work," when he's immediately set upon by his boss who starts bum-bum-bum-bah-ing the theme to "Rocky," which is then picked up by the rest of the people in the office, on the factory floor, etc., etc. The spot finishes with the guy saying that he'll give it another try. It's so lame and so relentlessly bad that it never should have seen the light of day. Ever. It's everything an automotive spot on the Super Bowl should not be and a monumental waste of money. Truly pathetic. Watch it here. - PMD

VW. After last year's charmer with the little Darth Vader kid, VW's ad on the Super Bowl this year isn't nearly as good, proof positive of just how difficult it is to keep hitting it out of the park in the ad biz. Watch it here.

Editor-in-Chief's Note: Our favorite car on Bring a Trailer this week. Go here. - PMD

Editor-in-Chief's Note: Our West Coast correspondent, Tom Pease, has sent along another "Letter from L.A." The subject this time around is driving impressions of the Scion iQ, which might come off as a little underwhelming in this Land of Wanting/Getting More for Less. - PMD

Letter from L.A.

By Tom Pease

Beverly Hills. I had the chance to spend a week in the Scion iQ, Toyota's new city car.  Toyota is banking on the idea that in our increasingly crowded cities with ever-increasing gas prices America is ready for a smaller package at a not necessarily smaller price.  We do it with laptops and cell phones; will we do it with cars?  Here are my impressions of the iQ...

Day 1: Picked up car at Toyota central in Torrance.  It's very small, but wide and the seating position is fairly high so it's not claustrophobic.  The seats are covered (upholstered would be rather over-generous) in a very techno-looking cloth.  The dash has a small binnacle with a speedo and tach and a smaller one to the left with digital readouts and a clock, fuel gauge and a reconfigurable display I set on Eco.  Scion calls this a 3+1; with the front passenger seat forward I have enough room for even me (at 6'2") for a trip across town.  The +1 would be for luggage, a child seat, or someone you had a bitter grudge against.  I head off to the South Bay to rendezvous with a friend.

On the way to Manhattan Beach I stop into a Jack in the Box for a soda.  I ask the 18 year old counterman to come out and tell me what he thought.  I was expecting him to diss it as a chick car; he liked it, but was surprised it wasn't a hybrid and thought it was a bit expensive.  My 30-ish friend who had just bought a Mini liked it a lot, mentioning that it would be great for the South Bay's narrow streets and impacted parking spaces.  A middle-aged guy on a corner we were stopped at gave us a thumbs-up, saying he was ready to trade his xB.

Day 2: 14 cup holders, but no center armrests.  The controls are Toyota-quality which is great, but the plastics are hard and the shiny black plastic hood over the (aftermarket looking) stereo looks like an earlier version of Darth Vader's helmet  The glove box is a pull-out bin under the passenger seat.  Mid-level (optional) radio pairs and plays well with the iPhone, getting playlists and phone contacts pretty easily.  I keep looking through the rear-view mirror and cursing people for tailgating me, until I remember that this car has nothing behind the rear window.  I drove a friend to Malibu for lunch.  The iQ kept up fine.  I was shocked that it needed gas after only two days; and when it took four gallons when I filled it up I knew why.

Day 3: Took it up Loma Vista, which taxes a lot of cars.  Handled it with ease.  Took it on Mulholland.  Here's where the CVT lets you down; it's like asking your aunt Yetta to go for a sprint.  It will manage a short burst, but immediately sits back into the recliner and starts knitting.  Not spirited at all.  But then again, that's not what it's about.  It really makes me wish it came with a sunroof at least.

Took it to UCLA, to what must be its natural habitat, Sorority Row.  Asked a passing passel of co-eds what they thought.  "Looks like a Toyota Yaris and a smart had a baby," was the answer.  Pretty much.  

Spent the rest of the day just cruising around.  It's an enjoyable little car running around town: enough low-end punch to deal with city driving if you don't delude yourself into thinking it's not and I'm constantly surprised at the size of the spaces it can wedge itself into.  

For kicks, I parked it bumper to curb behind a tourist bus.  It's only a hair longer than the bus was wide.  The bus driver was impressed with it; he wanted a test drive.  I told him it was on sale now in California.  Sadly, Hollywood Scion had cars, but no info when I dropped in, and the car on the floor was over 17k with the low-end stereo.  Ooops.

Day 4: Pouring rain, so I decided to try the freeway.  Went over the hill and topped up with three gallons even, then got on the 101 towards Calabasas.  It kept up with traffic fine while getting about 43 mpg according to the dashboard.  It didn't struggle uphill; down the long hill into Camarillo the CVT kept the car in check (I noticed the Mini did the same thing going down Loma Vista).  I drove home via Malibu, taking Mulholland Highway and Topanga.  Handled it all fine, as long as I took the car for what it is: it's not sporty.  It won't surprise you by turning into a ferocious, hairy-chested beast.  It occurred to me that it would be good if it had stop/start.  When you have such a small gas tank every little bit helps.

Day 5:  Errands.  I decided to see what it would fit.  I brought down a shopping bag, folded the backseats up and tried to fit it in.  Nope.  With those seats up the best you could hope for is an iPad with a padded sleeve.  I opt to keep the +1 seat folded for groceries.  I'm constantly surprised at how nimble this little car is and the parking spaces it fits into.  On the narrow, twisting streets of Beachwood Canyon it's right at home.  This is the first car I've ever driven that could handle the switchbacks on Durand, Flagmoor and Belden without backing and filling.

Day 6: Met a friend in West Hollywood to get his opinion.  He liked the space and the gas mileage, noting that his Prius didn't deliver upon its advertised mileage (neither did this: I got about 32 MPG according to the dashboard as opposed to the claimed 36 mpg city).  I also showed it to some older friends from Beverly who liked it.  They thought it was small but were pleased by the 11 airbags, the mileage and the seating position.  They said they would consider it as a second car.

Day 7: I return it to Toyota HQ, this time determined to burn off my $4 per gallon gas.  I drive South to Palos Verdes, around the peninsula to San Pedro, then back up to Torrance.  I still have about 1/4 tank before I just give up and drop it off.

I did really like it but I do have some questions: why is it rated at 60 mpg in Europe when I'm only getting a little over 30 mpg here?  Why in Europe can they get leather, or even beige cloth why we get any color as long as it's black?  Why can't we have stop/start, armrests or a sunroof?  My only other caveat is that this is going to be somewhat of a hard sell to Americans who are used to getting more for less.  My test car was a hair over $17k and if I started adding alloys, XM and nav system I can balloon that to over $20k.  I love this car at $15.5.  I even really like at $17.  $20k is pushing it into territory where there are a lot more choices, including the 500 cabrio.

Is there a market for this?  Sure.  I can see it easily as a second car for a household of empty-nesters, singles like me who want great mileage and don't have to carry a lot, or people sending their kids off to college who want something small, safe and economical that will hold said kid, a BFF and a really good haul from Forever XXI.  I really hope that they'll be able to bring the diesel to the states and really deliver on the mileage promise the hybrid-like styling promises but only half delivers.

Oh, and did I mention a sunroof?

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GM. Longtime AE readers know that we do not blindly say "Buy American." Instead, it's "Drive what you like and like what you drive" - whatever that might be. We do take issue, however, with the recent announcement that GM has awarded its $3 billion with a "B" global media buying and planning account to Aegis Media's Carat, a French company. (Carat's corporate owner, Aegis, is based in the United Kingdom.) Last time we checked, General Motors is still owned by the U.S. taxpayers. And what, a U.S.-based firm couldn't have done the job? We're not buying that in the least, because there are plenty of talented firms in the U.S. that could have done the job quite nicely. In the end it's all about efficiencies of scale, something that CEO Dan Akerson has been hammering away at every corner of GM about, and we get that. But still, it just doesn't sit right with us. At all.

The Chevrolet Volt. Editor-in-Chief's Note: I've gone on record repeatedly saying that the Chevy Volt is a magnificent technological achievement of the first order, and that what the True Believers at GM pulled-off under extreme duress - the car was developed and brought to market under the specter of bankruptcy - was truly remarkable. I also think that for a lot of people, whether they want to make a green statement or maybe because they're intrigued with the vehicle itself, the extended range technology of the Volt is the best choice, much more so than a pure electric vehicle. That said, there's a lot of hand-wringing going on right now within GM because the Volt has taken an image hit that has damn near crippled sales in some parts of the country. As I said when it happened, when you mention the words "catch fire" and a vehicle name in the same sentence, or tweet, or facebook post in this 24/7 instant communication universe we live in right now, the who-what-when-where-why of the story not only gets lost, it gets completely ignored. In short, the Volt image is in tatters, thought it's relentlessly unfair and unwarranted. Can the Volt image be saved? Yes, eventually. But it's going to take a lot to save it. And with Chevrolet and GM buried in advertising issues that grow more complex by the day, it's going to be very difficult to devote resources to the Volt. But the company has no choice. They chose to make the Volt the tip of their technological spear, and to walk away from it now would be the wrong move completely. So in order to restore the Volt to consumer shopping lists, GM is going to have to come out swinging on behalf of it, and sooner rather than later. - PMD

GM, Chevrolet. Adding to GM's Volt woes, some dealers are turning down Volts that GM wants to ship to them, according to Automotive News. In the New York City market, dealers took just 31 of the 104 Volts allocated them last month - the lowest take rate for any Chevy model. A GM spokesman confirmed that dealer ordering is down and says that many dealers have been waiting for NHTSA's resolution of the fire investigation. Many are also saying that they no longer have customers waiting for the Volt. And as if to echo this, GM executives last week said they wouldn't chase a previous production target of 60,000 Volts for 2012. GM sold 7,671 Volts in the U.S. in 2011, short of its 10,000-unit target. Having an image problem with consumers is one thing - having an image problem with your very own dealers is something else entirely. GM needs to do a better job of getting the real message of the Volt out there. And they can start by scrapping the current TV advertising, which does nothing to explain what the Volt is really all about.

Dan Akerson. Word is that the GM CEO is prepared to fire back at Congressional critics of the Chevrolet Volt during his appearance before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Wednesday. The committee is conducting a hearing on the handling of an investigation of a potential fire risk involving the Volt's lithium-ion battery. Yes, Dan, now is the time to get feisty and to bring it. Give 'em hell, if deserved. Please.

Henrik Fisker. Editor-in-Chief's Note: In Mark Rechtin's excellent piece in Automotive News this week, along with taking us on a path of discovery of what Fisker the company is and where it's at in terms of actual viability, he delves deep into the Henrik Fisker mindset, resulting in this gem from Fisker: "Building a few thousand Karmas in Finland is one thing, but manufacturing in Delaware at 80,000 to 100,000 units a year is mass manufacturing." That's not only our AE Duh of the Week, it says more about Fisker's maniacal ego and delusional thinking than anything we could have ever come up with on our own. After basically absconding with a $529 million Department of Energy loan, which was basically gifted under false pretenses so that Fisker could resurrect a shuttered ex-GM plant in Wilmington, Delaware (hey, isn't that Joe Biden country?) so he could then indulge his John DeLorean fantasies to his heart's content - which means building a luxury car for the discerning few, or at least the few who are hell-bent on making the hippest-of-the-moment green statement they can possibly muster, anyway - while promising a "mass produced" vehicle to come, Fisker is basically dead in the water. Read Rechtin's story carefully and you see a man in full, or rather so full himself that he can't possibly be thinking clearly. He has a seamless response and explanation to every question posed to him by Rechtin, but the underlying missing link in all of it is the fact that no one is actually going to buy anything he makes at any sort of a volume level to justify the investment in the whole damn enterprise whatsoever. Not even close in fact. It's just notgonnahappen. I don't care who he hires, either (this week it was ex-GM and Chrysler manufacturing specialist Tom LaSorda and veteran Jaguar sales honcho Richard Beattie) because the fundamental conceit that Fisker is operating under is that people "out there" actually see the world as he does, which has always been the fatal flaw of every single person who has attempted to launch a car company throughout history. The ones who have succeeded have always brought more to the table than that. And what does Henrik Fisker bring exactly? 1. An out-of-control designer ego that has been assuaged and massaged at every turn and 2. A firm belief that his design vision must be indulged because it's so damn good that if "the people" just saw it and understood it he would be the King of the World and an Official Legend of the Car Business. I'm sorry, but this whole Fisker think stinks to high heaven. All of this, and let me be crystal clear here, all of this is because Fisker wants to play in his own sandbox and build the kinds of cool cars (at least in his estimation) that he deems appropriate for public consumption. And he wants everyone else  - including the U.S. government and the U.S. taxpayer - to pay for it while he's at it. My bullshit detector pegged itself long ago with this Fisker thing, and I just wish more people would open their eyes and see exactly what this guy is up to. Not Good doesn't even begin to cover it. - PMD

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Smart. Mercedes-Benz has just instituted a $99/month lease for its Smart brand. How long before you get a Smart car thrown in for free when you lease a new E Class? The Oblivion Express has just left the station, folks. Smart will go belly-up in this market within eighteen months if not sooner.

Fiat Dealers. The rumored 5-door hatchback version of the Fiat 500 - sort of an Italian-flavored Mini Countryman - will be shown at the Geneva Auto Show in the spring. That's the good news for U.S. Fiat dealers. The bad news? It won't see the light of day here until the summer of 2013, at the earliest.

Porsche. Matthias Müller, Porsche's CEO, told WirtschaftsWoche, a German publication, that the company would put plans for a small mid-engine sports car entry that would come to market below the Boxster on hold. “Possibly we need to wait until the next generation of customers before the idea of a small roadster will work for Porsche,” he told the magazine. The entry level Porsche would have been jointly developed with Audi and Volkswagen. Good move. We get Porsche's more models = more money formula, but it's nice to see a modicum of restraint being displayed for a change. Besides, we view the words "jointly developed with Audi and Volkswagen" as being potentially ominous. Memo to Porsche: Just because you can doesn't mean you should.

Editor's Note: Our East Coast correspondent, A. J. Morning, sent along his photos from the Detroit Auto Show media days. Click here to see them. - WG

Editor-in-Chief's Note: This week our "quick take" involves a tale of two Buicks. On the one hand we drove the new Buick Regal GS Turbo, which represents the "new" Buick, or at least the Buick that certain people down at the RenCen want it to be. On the other we drove the Buick LaCrosse with E-assist, a Buick more in line with what most people perceive Buick to be. First the Opel-infused high-performance Regal Turbo. Yes, I liked it a lot and the engine is indeed impressive. And the steering, braking and overall handling make it feel like a German car in just about every respect. But the obvious, multi-million-dollar question is will the Regal GS attract enthusiast buyers looking at entry-level BMWs? With those with an open mind, it's possible, maybe. But for most it won't, which is a shame. The Regal GS Turbo is an impressive package with real presence on the road, but unless Buick accomplishes a transformation that instantly erases decades of image build-up, I'm afraid this excellent machine will get lost in translation. As for the Lacrosse with E-assist, this car is everything a contemporary Buick should be, or at least it's the Buick that most consumers will accept. The LaCrosse design has worn well and it still looks very fresh, and the machine's impressive silence at cruising speeds is almost eerie. The LaCrosse comes with a full boatload of luxury features, of course, as well it should be, and it goes about its business with a serenity that belies its price tag. And the E-assist function works seamlessly. Which is the Buick that I prefer? It doesn't really matter, at least according to Buick operatives, because they're insistent that the "new" Buick will be more like the Regal GS Turbo and less like the LaCrosse. But frankly the real Buick is every bit the LaCrosse and more vehicles like it, hopefully. Though the Regal GS Turbo is a delightfully surprising high-performance package, it seems to exist on its own little island called Disconnect. An island that won't see Buick executives through to the Promised Land and the kind of sales numbers they're aching for. - PMD

2012 Buick Regal GS - $38,650 ($34,450 Base Price; White Diamond Tricoat, $495; Ebony with Piano Black accented interior; ECOTEC DOHC 2.0-liter HO turbocharged engine with 270HP and 6-speed manual gearbox; AM/FM stereo with CD, MP3 playback and NAV with 7" color touch screen display, $1,145; Power sunroof, $1,000; 20" polished alloy wheels, $700; Destination charge, $860.00)

2012 Buick LaCrosse Premium I Group - $36,685 ($32,440 Base Price; Quicksilver Metallic with Ebony interior; Entertainment Package - AM/FM/XM Stereo, CD, Harmon/Kardon 384-watt 11-speaker system, 120 volt power outlet - $600; Driver Convenience Package - High intensity discharge headlamps with adaptive forward lighting, Side blind zone alert, Head up display - $1,440; Audio system with NAV and backup camera, $1,345; Destination charge, $860.00)

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Audi. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Audi has it knocked. Four years ago, Audi transformed its auto show stands at shows around the world with its all-white look. Guess what? At Cobo Hall the "white" look was everywhere.

Lincoln. Speaking of impressive show stands, the all-new Lincoln exhibit is everything a luxury brand should be about, and more. Visually arresting, it fits with where Lincoln wants to go and needs to go as a brand. And most important, it's distinctive from the competing existing luxury brands as well.

Fiat. The residue of the brand launch that Sergio "The Exalted One" Marchionne personally screwed-up was glaringly evident in Detroit. Oh, the Fiat 500 had a display alright, but nobody cared. It was just a couple of notches above Coda on the interest scale. And interest in Coda was less than zero. Not good.

GM. The RenCen crew is in desperate need of an auto show re-think. Their attempt at creating visual distinctions between its four divisions doesn't really work, and the overall feeling was one of not ready for prime time. GM has plenty of excellent products to talk about and display properly. They better figure out how to showcase their stuff. And in a hurry.

Bentley. When we go to an auto show we have to immerse ourselves in the industry minutiae of it all. That's expected. But we also enjoy soaking it all in and enjoying the good stuff just for the hell of it. And the Silvery Blue Metallic Bentley Mulsanne with the Cream leather and Dark Blue interior accents - with blonde wood no less - was definitely part of the good stuff.

Maserati. The Kubang is an abomination. And they'll probably sell the shit out of 'em somewhere in the world. But not here.

The AE Babeometer. Our unofficial barometer of how good the mood is at an auto show and how good things are for the auto companies is our Babeometer, which evaluates the number and quality of the young ladies adding color to the various show stands. If this year's Detroit Auto Show is any indication, the future of the auto industry is looking up, especially for Lincoln, whose collection of product "representatives" was so stunning as a group that they stopped people in their tracks. As in smokin' h-o-t. No, it wasn't the Paris Auto Show by any means but it was pretty damn impressive nonetheless.

(GM)
Chevrolet has announced the 2013 Corvette 427 Convertible Collector Edition, calling it "the fastest, most capable convertible in Corvette’s history" and has confirmed that the 2013 model will be the final edition of the sixth-generation Corvette. The Corvette 427 Convertible blends elements of the Z06 and ZR1 models, according to Chevrolet. It is powered by the famed 427-cubic-inch (7.0L) LS7 engine from the Corvette Z06. With 505 horsepower (377 kW) and 470 lb.-ft. of torque (637 Nm), it is the most powerful engine ever installed in a production Corvette convertible. It will – thank goodness - only be available with a six-speed manual gearbox. Other good stuff? It comes with the driveline and rear axle system from the Corvette Z06, a rear-mounted battery and standard Magnetic Selective Ride Control. The standard 19-inch front and 20-inch rear wheels are wrapped in ZR1-style Michelin PS2 tires. Lightweight machine-face Cup wheels – introduced on the 2012 Corvette Z06 with Z07 and Corvette ZR1 with PDE performance packages – come standard and include unique gray-painted pockets. Black Cup wheels or chrome ZR1-style wheels are also available. And there's more, much more. All 2013 Corvette models, including the 427 Convertible, will be available with a 60th Anniversary Package, featuring an Arctic White exterior with a Blue Diamond leather-wrapped interior with suede accents. Convertible models will have a blue top. The 60th Anniversary Package and 427 Convertible will make their public debut at the Barrett Jackson collector car auction in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Jan 21, and will arrive at U.S. Chevrolet dealers in early summer.

(Audi)      
Audi introduced a themed vehicle on Monday - the Audi Q3 Vail. Named after the famous winter sports venue, the Q3 Vail is a compact SUV that boasts a 314-hp 2.5-liter five-cylinder turbocharged engine. It is painted in Energy Red - a color developed exclusively for it, while the interior is done in black, gray and red. Among the many features for winter sports fans are a charging station in the side wall of the trunk, a Thermos bottle in the front cupholder that can chill or warm drinks, and a trunk mat with integrated heated seat cushions, which can be laid over the loading lip and offers a warm area to sit on when putting on or taking off your ski boots.

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HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Enjoy our year-end issue, and we'll see you back here on January 11, 2012!

BEST OF “ON THE TABLE” 2011

As a panic, knee-jerk move this was remarkably stupid. The city of Beijing - in a panic, knee-jerk move to reduce vehicular traffic and pollution – said it would only allow 240,000 new cars to be registered in the city in 2011, shockingly, about one third the number of vehicles registered in 2010. Not surprisingly, dealers were instantly deserted. One Chery dealer reported he had not sold a car since Christmas Eve and didn’t expect to make any money this year. Estimates predicted that up to 50 percent of dealers could be forced out of business. And U.S. auto dealers think they have problems? Memo to the stumblebums in Beijing's - and China's - government: The Freedom of Mobility Genie is out of the bottle and now that your population has a taste of it, there's no turning back. So, get your anti-pollution measures in order - how about those coal-fired power plants by the way? - and figure out a way to make money off of it, like every other government in the world does. (1/5/11)

The cost of her private Jet, round trip to Detroit: $12,500. A new outfit: $1800. Hair and nails: $600. Her newfound irrelevance: Priceless. Nancy Pelosi, the former Speaker of the House came to the Detroit Auto Show Media Day because... actually, we don't have a clue why, other than it was an opportunity for her to waste everyone's time and contribute unnecessary chaos to the already chaotic press day. Thanks. (1/5)

As a matter of fact, you are the Evil Empire. And we look forward to going all medieval on your ass shortly. Editor-in-Chief's Note: Bob King, the UAW firebrand, speaking at the Automotive News World Congress, threatened to "expose" companies that don't agree to fair bargaining as "human rights violators," but didn't go as far as calling for a boycott - yet. Dave Shephardson, reporting for the Detroit News, compiled the following quotes from King's speech: "I would not want to be a company that was branded as a human rights violator," King said. "That would be a bad business decision." As Shepardson reported, the UAW has a war chest of $60 million set aside from its strike fund to work to organize U.S. auto plants owned by foreign automakers, and King has vowed to conduct global protests if they don't agree to fair union elections. "They spend millions of dollars trying to keep the UAW out of their facilities," King said, suggesting that it would be cheaper for these companies to acquiesce to the UAW's wishes. "These are all really good companies. We just have to convince them that we're not the Evil Empire that they think that we were at one point," King said. "The UAW has learned from the past." Oh really? Then King suggested that foreign automakers could be forced to spend hundreds of millions of dollars if they had to combat global protests by the UAW. "Wouldn't it be a lot more cost effective to work with the UAW, give workers their democratic right to decide if they want to be in a union." Just off the top of our heads, this is the union that has learned from the past? Not. This was the same old rhetoric, the same old threats, the same old delusional Bush League Bullshit that has always emanated from the UAW. I would say the UAW's "Evil Empire" status is alive and well and as abhorrent - and disgusting - as ever. – PMD (1/12)

Maybe you guys and gals should hang out once in a while, have a few pops, and GET A FRICKIN' CLUE AS TO WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON OUT THERE. From the “Bumbling Idiots R Us” File came word that Dan Akerson told the WSJ that the GM board of directors was "stunned" when "Big Ed" Whitacre resigned at a critical point before the IPO. Really? We knew the board was made up of a patchwork quilt of executives and former executives with intermittent and varying degrees of competence, but not having an inkling that "Big Ed" might have an alternate plan for his future? Nothing? (1/12)

From the “Hell freezes Over" File. Editor-in-Chief's Note: Ferrari had finally and officially lost it, apparently. The Italian car company with the impeccable heritage that's so famously and heroically intertwined with one of the greatest historical legacies in this business succumbed to the siren song of profit over integrity. The result? The disaster you see below. The new Ferrari FF (for Ferrari Four: four seats and four-wheel-drive) - which the company refers to it as being the most powerful and versatile four-seater ever - will replace the 612 Scaglietti in their lineup. Ferrari also insists it will be the most usable Ferrari and that it will be a formidable competitor for GT machines from Aston Martin, Audi, Bentley, BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, etc. Huh? "Versatile?" "Usable?" Are you kidding me? As if those words have any business being associated with the Ferrari name, mission and purpose. Using its much-lauded Formula 1 team as its beacon of technological might, Ferrari has stayed on message for a solid ten years now delivering one breathtaking street machine after another and it appeared that this company would never dumb-down its mission for anyone, adhering to it unfailingly and religiously. If you wanted a Ferrari, and were privileged enough to own one, then you became part of that single-minded mission to build the fastest, sexiest cars on the planet. Now? With this atrocity called the Ferrari FF, Ferrari has signaled that it wants to become more "approachable" and more "versatile" - two words that should never be associated with Ferrari under any circumstances or scenario. I don't care how fast the FF is - and no doubt it will be plenty fast with its 660HP V12 - mark my words, this car is the first crack in Ferrari's heretofore impenetrable focus and overriding mission. Next up? I don't doubt for a minute that Ferrari will build a four-door, four seater with generous amounts of "versatility" and "usable" cargo space. And the stop after that? Ferrari becomes just another car company in the swirling maelstrom of car companies jockeying for attention in the luxury-performance market. I have two more words for Ferrari to contemplate: Disgusting. And pathetic. - PMD (1/19)

(Ferrari)

He’s an egomaniacal corporate opportunist with an overwrought sense of himself, but other than that he’s a swell guy. Editor-in-Chief's Note: The battle for the Hearts and Minds of the media - automotive and otherwise, as well as consumers who bother to pay attention - well and truly began last winter. On the one side you had GM's PR troops, who were primed, ready and already going full-bore spinning the story that it was Morning Again at General Motors, and that Dan Akerson was the visionary who will lead the company back to the promised land through a laser-like focus on the customer. On the other side you had me – who was soon to be joined by others (as soon as they got their heads out of their asses and started burrowing through the fog of war laid down by GM's PR troops) - who saw a different Dan Akerson, one who was an egomaniacal corporate opportunist with an overwrought sense of himself who had been handed the keys to an American icon simply because he was the best alternative that the board of directors had at the moment. And who would now put his newfound - and instantly accrued - "wisdom" about the car business to work in remaking the company, even though that wisdom was more knee-jerk reactionary pronouncements than earned understanding of what's really going on. It was going to be delicious to see how all of this played out but one thing was certain, traditional PR tactics were not going to work this time. This is a different time and a different era and there isn't enough "spin" at the disposal of GM PR's troops to present "Lt. Dan" as the next auto industry messiah. He was woefully miscast in that role, and there isn't enough "there" there. – PMD (1/26)

Just take us all out back and shoot us and get it over with. Bad roads in the state of Michigan might double by 2015 due to the drop in gas tax revenue, according to the Detroit Free Press. And that was just on the state-maintained main roads and freeways. City and country roads would get even worse due to the lack of funding. Ugh. (1/26)

Yeah, and even though it has been 50 years since we whipped your ass the last time, don’t think for a minute we won’t do it again. From the "Ford vs. Ferrari Wars, Round II" File came word that the Dearborn-based automaker had sued Ferrari in Detroit federal court, saying the sports car maker has violated its trademark over the pickup truck name F-150 According to the Associated Press, the suit stemmed from the fact that Ferrari had named its new Formula 1 racer the "F150," and created the website http://www.ferrarif150.com. Ford asked a judge to block Ferrari from using the trademark in the U.S. saying that its trademark was being harmed. Ford also sought unspecified damages from Ferrari. The Ferrari website insisted that the "F150" marked the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy. Not long after, Ferrari caved and said that it would use the full name -- "Ferrari F150th Italia" -- for its 2011 Formula One car in order to avoid any conflict with Ford. (2/9)

Who are all the "experts" who were so sure that there was something wrong with the black boxes in Toyotas gonna call, now, Ghostbusters? After an extensive 10-month investigation involving NASA engineers, the Feds found no electronic flaws in Toyota vehicles to explain sudden, unintentional acceleration, according to a report released by NHTSA. "We enlisted the best and the brightest engineers to study Toyota’s electronic systems, and the verdict is in. There is no electronic-based cause for unintended high-speed acceleration in Toyotas,” Ray LaHood said in a statement. Gee, thanks. (2/9)

The Bottom Line? If Penske & Co. couldn't make a go of Smart in this market, Mercedes didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of doing anything with the brand either. Editor-in-Chief's Note: Mercedes-Benz took over the distribution of Smart vehicles from Penske Automotive Group here in the U.S. for a few solid reasons. This market was the only market around the world where Mercedes and Smart had separate distribution networks, and Mercedes needed more small car volume leading up to the ramp-up of 2016 fuel economy standards. Roger Penske -- with ex-GM marketing executive Jill Lajdziak at the helm -- did everything in his power to make Smart a viable entity in this market, but the realities of the product overcame any of its positives. When $4.00 per gallon gas took hold of the country the launch of Smart looked pretty uh, smart. But when gas prices tumbled back down the glaring limitations of the Smart car became even more noticeable. In context the Smart car's mileage was never that great, and with each arrival of a new small car entry into the market its mileage looked merely average. But the recalcitrant transmission was the car's Achilles Heel, and it just never got better and it never got fixed. And in typically classically arrogant German car executive fashion, the powers that be at Mercedes-Benz had no idea that the Smart car wasn't going to contribute anything of significance to their fuel economy bottom line by 2016, because there was no compelling reason - not one - as to why people should buy the car. – PMD (2/16)

But then again with rational thought in such short supply in those touchy-feely enclaves, should we really have expected anything else? Editor-in-Chief's Note: The Obama Administration proposed that this country go "all-in" for electric and extended-range electric vehicles in the new budget, basically cutting clean diesel and other technologies off at the knees. Memo to the Obama administration and the other political boneheads in Washington and Northern California: The Electrification of America is a pipe dream that won't resolve itself anytime soon. To not embrace clean diesels is a monumental, shortsighted mistake. Ridiculous. – PMD (2/16)

Now, if Porsche stops making cars for the True Believers, then all bets are off and I'll fire up the long guns once again. But in the meantime, I'll take my 2012 911 Carrera S Coupe in Black, please. Editor-in-Chief's Note: My rants against Porsche for their forays into SUV Hell and other transgressions against the brand -- four door sedans, anyone? -- are now familiar to longtime readers of this publication. My rationale was that every time one of these "non" Porsches was unleashed into the market, a little bit more of the authentic Porsche brand essence and character was chipped away with it. I still believe that and it still pisses me off greatly, but there's no denying that the profits generated by buyers who don't give a shit about brand essence has paid off handsomely for Porsche. And with the emerging Chinese market now dominating basically every decision made at car companies around the world, the operating principles pushed forth by Porsche that go something like this -- "we will put our crest on anything that moves if it will make us enough money" -- can't be argued with. A stretched, longer wheelbase Panamera for the Chinese market? Why not? A version of the Audi Q5 called the Cajun? It doesn't matter, it will make a fortune. As long as Porsche keeps making cars for the True Believers that still reek of the Porsche essence and look, feel and most important drive like "real" Porsches -- at least for the dwindling few of us left that remember what that was really like, anyway -- then it's not "all good" by any means, but it is the reality of the Chinese-driven automotive market we're living in today. I fought the good fight, but ultimately I was wrong. – PMD (2/16)

And oh by the way, all it did was remind us of just how bad we missed Pontiac. Desperate to skew younger, the GM's Buick division signed a three-year marketing deal with the NCAA, so that we’d be seeing lots of Buick ads during March Madness. Buick was basically filling the marketing space that Pontiac used to occupy with the NCAA before it was taken out back and shot. We wished Buick the best because, after all, aligning with the NCAA means they have to deal with that smarmy, slimy, mercenary bunch of duplicitous scumbags on a weekly basis, which qualifies as being above and beyond the call as far as we were concerned. Sigh. (3/16)

Editor-in-Chief’s Note: By March we had grown tired of all the hype being generated by interlopers and outsiders telling us what Detroit was and could be. It was often inaccurate and disingenuous, and just plain tedious to boot. WordGirl came out with guns blazing and summed-up our feelings perfectly with her on-target mini-rant (below). - PMD

Editor's Note: Now that Detroit is front and center in the news once again - this time because of its dramatic population decline in the 2010 census - we just love the barrage of instant experts weighing in on how to 'fix' the city. (The stuff in AdAge of late in particular has been excruciatingly lame.) The Motor City has become the cause du jour for the so-called creative class, and its members are all too happy to heap praise on what a rich opportunity this town presents - it's a blank canvas, ripe for innovation and entrepreneurs, blah, blah, blah.... Talk about late to the party - like 40 years late. Detroit has been in decline for decades but all of a sudden it's on the radar screen as a great 'creative project' - a fixer-upper, if you will. Isn't that special? Most conspicuous in this discussion are the out-of-town Shiny Happy Ad People who have landed in Detroit to work on the auto accounts. And guess what? They think Detroit is great - just brimming with potential. Why, one ad principal is even considering buying a big house in Detroit so his staff can make extended visits to town! Wow, that's HUGE! Isn't a tax write-off always better than a bunch of silly hotel expense account reports? It is tedious beyond belief to have to endure this drivel, not to mention just a bit disingenuous - especially in the case of the late-arriving ad types (yeah, you know who you are). They are here because there's money to be made from the auto companies, pure and simple. Would they come here voluntarily? Not on your life. And please stop making a big deal about setting up shop in downtown Detroit rather than in the suburbs - it's dirt cheap, people, not some grand gesture in urban renewal. And of course these Detroit 'saviors' are rooting for Detroit's comeback - it means they'll all get to keep their jobs. Bottom line: It's all too easy to talk about potential and innovation and 'BIG IDEAS' for Detroit when you spend all of your non-working hours at the bar of the Book Cadillac Hotel. Oh, and one more thing - that Idea: Detroit Conference yesterday where everyone was lauding the idea of sleeping bag coats for the homeless? How about fucking homes for the homeless????? – WG (3/23)

From the "Can It Really Get Any More Grim Here?" File came word that Detroit's population had plunged 25 percent -- to 713,777 people -- according to the 2010 U.S. Census, the lowest count for the city since 1910. That was down 237,493 residents from 2000. Detroit was once the fourth-largest city in the U.S. Now, it was 18th, below Austin and Fort Worth, Texas; Charlotte, Jacksonville and Columbus, Ohio. Detroit's precipitous drop in population rivaled the 29 percent drop by New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, although Detroit lost more people than New Orleans, which lost 139,834. With its founding automobile industry decimated by global economic pressures and the massive contraction and layoffs that ensued, and a city that's been the poster child for the term Bureaucratic Quagmire for going on 30 years, the Motor City was running on about three of its eight cylinders. Needless to say, it was a Cobo Hall-sized bowl of Not Good. (3/23)

There's a very fine line between suggesting that Porsches aren't too special to be enjoyed every day in their ads and various communication platforms, and getting to the point that consumers actually start believing it. Editor-in-Chief's Note: The ugly manifestation of Porsche's drive to increase volume in order to contribute to the VW Empire (even though the deal still wasn't done yet) was starting to rear its ugly head in its latest round of marketing in the U.S. market. Ads suggesting that Porsches can function as daily drivers, even on Mondays, Shiny Happy Porsches giddily driving in the snow, Porsches thriving while doing errands, etc., etc., etc. The message being: Don't think of Porsche as just being a "special" car for special occasions, rather, think of it as car you can enjoy every day. On the one hand, yes, Porsches are perfectly capable of being enjoyed every day. I've done it myself with various 911s many times in the past. But with this new marketing campaign Porsche is playing with fire, because there's a very fine line between suggesting that Porsches aren't too special to be enjoyed every day in their ads and various communication platforms, and getting to the point that consumers actually start believing and taking for granted that Porsches indeed are not all that special anymore. That they're too prevalent and just well, too common. Mercedes-Benz tried the whole "more approachable" tack a while ago and they were still trying to overcome it. And even though M-B points to sales records, the Mercedes brand image just doesn't convey the specialness that it once enjoyed. As for Porsche, you can't tell them anything, especially when German marketers are involved. They know everything about the U.S. market until they don't. Then the excuses will flow like water. Can Porsche marketing honchos keep a lid on the Porsche brand image while pumping up the volume? We shall see, but I for one am not counting on it. – PMD (3/30)

Editor-in-Chief's Note: Our occasional Left Coast correspondent, Tom Pease, weighed-in on the current state of Porsche marketing in another “Letter from L.A.” - PMD

It's possible, I suppose.

By Tom Pease

Beverly Hills. The other day I was walking down Rexford Drive and saw something that would no doubt warm the cockles of Porsche management's stony little hearts: an all-Porsche family.  Dad was unloading the Panamera on the street, Mom was setting up the kiddie seats in the back of the Cayenne in the driveway, and sitting looking rather dusty and forlorn in the carport was the family Boxster.

So now Porsche has the brilliant idea to tell them that they can use the Boxster to hit Costco?  It's possible, I suppose.  It's possible to hit Costco in a rickshaw, a Harrier Jet or on a pogo stick.  Whether it makes much sense to do so is a different matter.  I'm sure this family will be eagerly be awaiting the Porsche Paprika pick-up for those Costco or Home Depot runs while the poor, sad little Boxster gathers more dust.  I wish I could liberate it for a fast run to the Starbucks 3 blocks away on Beverly, preferably via Mulholland... (3/30)

Perfection. P.J. O’Rourke's hilarious diatribe against the burgeoning movement of adding bicycle lanes throughout cities across the world (including New York) in the Wall Street Journal was priceless. Opening with "A fibrosis of bicycle lanes is spreading through the cities of the world. The well-being of innocent motorists is threatened as traffic passageways are choked by the spread of dull whirs, sharp whistles and sanctimonious pedal-pushing..." P.J.'s screed gets better from there, with so many great bits throughout the piece that you owed it to yourself to check it out. But we left our readers with this one: "This promotion of childishness in the electorate means that bike lanes are just the beginning. Soon we'll be making room on our city streets for scooter and skateboard lanes, Soapbox Derby lanes, pogo-stick lanes, lanes for Radio Flyer wagons (actually more practical than bicycles since you can carry a case of beer - if we're still allowed to drink beer), stilt lanes, three-legged race lanes, lanes for skipping while playing the comb and wax paper, hopscotch lanes and Mother-May-I lanes with Mayor Bloomberg at the top of Lenox Hill shouting to the people on Park Avenue, 'Take three baby steps!'" (4/6)

Please pull over to the "Curl Up In The Fetal Position" Lane and get the fuck out of our way. The Texas state House passed a bill that would allow some highways in the state to have an 85 mph speed limit. The state Senate is also considering a similar bill. We'd seen all of the hand-wringing over this one, but the fact of the matter was that if you'd never driven in West Texas you’d have no idea what it was really like out there, and an 85 mph speed limit made perfect sense. You can go for miles without seeing anyone, and you have to put your foot in it just to keep awake. So we applauded the Texas legislature, and we hoped the idea would catch on in other states where the great wide open should mean more than just the clear blue skies. (4/13)

Oh, wait a minute, we forgot. Irrational thinking and plausible deniability is your raison d'etre, isn't it? When you look at it that way this boneheaded "Act" was a thing of beauty. Reps. Judy Biggert, R-Ill.; Ed Markey, D-Mass.; Jerry McNerney, D-Calif.; and Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., introduced the Electric Drive Vehicle Deployment Act in the U.S. House to provide grants of up to $300 million to help regional communities establish themselves as models for the successful development, installation, and deployment of advanced electric vehicle infrastructure, including public charging stations. As first reported by David Shepardson in the Detroit News, the measure would also provide up to 500,000 people with additional $2,000 tax credits to buy EVs - on top of the existing $7,500 federal tax credit. The bill was nothing new, as it was similar to legislation in 2010 and mimiced most of what President Barack Obama proposed earlier this year. "If we're ever to break our addiction to expensive foreign oil, we're going to have to give a jump-start to sound alternatives. Consumers want to enjoy a cheaper, gas-free commute, but they need to have confidence in their access to things like charging stations," Biggert said. Really? All consumers want a gas free commute? Where? In the handful of cities across America where that's even possible? No, Biggert, if we're ever going to reduce our dependence on foreign oil consumers will have to make more informed choices while shopping the high-mileage gasoline powered cars available in the market right now, because there are plenty of them. Throwing our tax money at people so that they'll adhere to some warped vision of a Shiny Happy transportation nirvana of the future as envisioned by politicians in Washington and Northern California was a non-starter and a giant waste of our time and money. (5/4)

The AE "Duh" of the Week. Headline in that week's Automotive News - "Facebook: Fun - but sells few cars." The dealers were just figuring this out? Yikes. (5/4)

Could that pinpoint of fiber-optic light at the end of the tunnel actually be a looming train wreck? GM was getting quite vocal about moving GMC further upscale, away from Chevrolet. There was only one problem with that. The farther GM pushes GMC into the upper echelons of the market the more it bumps up against the Cadillac lineup of premium SUVs and trucks. Wasn't this what got GM in trouble in the first place when it couldn't sort out the clashes of its divisions in the market? Yes. Could it be possible that GM, even after culling down its brands, could end up right where they left off before the bankruptcy? GM says an emphatic "no" but we've seen this movie before. (5/11)

That's what happens when you spend too much time talking about "Joy" and patting each other on the back instead of focusing on the core values that once made BMW great. Executives from the German automaker were deeply puzzled as to why the 5-series GT had been a total failure in the U.S. market, which was yet another reminder of just how out of touch most marketing executives are at these German automakers. Hmm, why didn't the 5-series GT sell over here? Let's review, shall we? 1. It's butt ugly. 2. It's overpriced. 3. Did we mention how singularly unattractive it is? 4. Giant hatchbacks never sell here. Period. And 5. Owners got tired of pulling up to the country club and being asked, "What is that?" And BMW execs actually thought that when they discontinued the 5-series wagon here last year that the 5-series GT would be just the ticket for BMW wagon buyers looking to trade-in? How about no? Oh well, BMW will quietly fade the 5-series GT out hoping that people will just forget about it. But give these guys some time because they'll figure out something else to screw up again, we have no doubt. (5/25)

No Shit. An advisory board commissioned by Toyota after its spate of safety recall trouble suggested that after finally becoming No. 1 in the world the company got caught-up in arrogance followed by complacency. And that was our AE "Duh of the Week." (5/25)

What happens when all of the Corvette Enthusiasts die off? Automotive News reported that the next-generation Corvette would be a 2014 model available in the fall of 2013. Uh, that means the C8 will probably be a 2020 model available in the fall of 2019, from what we're hearing. Yikes. (6/1)

From the “Carpetbagging Enablers” File. Editor-in-Chief’s Note: I drafted a memo to all the board members who would be in attendance at GM’s annual shareholder’s meeting last June in Detroit: While you’re beholding your Esteemed Leader (Dan Akerson) and shouting the obligatory "huzzahs!" welcome to the cold, hard, High-Octane Truth. You’re a bunch of carpet-bagging enablers who have no business being associated with what was once one of America’s glittering corporate icons. Instead of Doing the Right Thing when you had the chance your abject refusal to seek out and find the proper, credentialed executive leader to run this company all but ensures that “three or four years from now” (according to Akerson’s timetable) you’re going to find yourselves right back in the thick of it trying to figure out how best to get this company jump-started again. Congratulations, because there has never been a time in American business history when so few have done so much damage to so many in the guise of corporate governance. Unforgivable. And flat-out inexcusable. – PMD (6/8)

From the “Oh Please Just Shut Up” File. Editor-in-Chief's Note: GM’s CEO told The Detroit News in a now infamous interview that he wanted to boost sales of luxury cars, and revealed GM's plan to launch two new Cadillac models next summer as 2013 models: the XTS large sedan (which replaces the DTS and STS) and the ATS compact sedan. "They're not going to blow the doors off," he said, "but they will be very competitive." On the one hand I applaud Akerson's honesty, but on the other hand "good enough" hasn't been good enough in this business for oh, at least a decade. And particularly for American car companies emerging from bankruptcy, good enough will never be "good enough." – PMD (6/8)

Who do you think's gonna win this argument? On the one hand, the Chinese investment into Volvo by Li Shufu's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group would save the brand from extinction. On the other, according to The Wall Street Journal, there was a whole raft of new issues that had cropped up in the process. Li Shufu wanted Volvo to go upscale and embrace the luxury class in the Chinese market. Volvo's chief in Europe, Stefan Jacoby, wanted Volvo to concentrate on more mainstream car sales before they can attack the luxury market. (6/8)

This "learning the hard way" thing is well... hard, ain't it? The Japanese automaker formerly known as "The Juggernaut" – Toyota - was now saying it had no interest in being No. 1 anymore. That they were focusing on quality and customer satisfaction, according to Automotive News. (6/15)

Corvette Rules. Corvette Racing won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in its class for the seventh time and the 2012 Corvette ZR1 lapped the famed 12.9-mile, 154-turn Nurburgring Nordschleife course in 7 minutes 19.63 seconds, beating its previous time set in 2008 by more than six seconds. Corvette engineer and talented driver Jim Mero was again behind the wheel for the hot lap, and the new Michelin Pilot Sport Cup tires had a lot to do with it too. Watch it here. (6/15)

But then again, Sergio's a genius and never makes mistakes, right? Right. Speaking of Dodge, Sergio Marchionne won't admit it so we'll do it for him. The splitting of Dodge into two divisions - Dodge and Ram Truck - is quickly approaching AE's "Bonehead Marketing Move of the Year" status. It made no sense then, it makes even less sense now. They're Dodge trucks. Period. (6/15)

They don’t call him "Captain Clueless" for nothin’. Bob King kept insisting he was going to organize a foreign automaker's plant here in the U.S. this year. But as long as people like Rocky Long were in the majority, King and his union minions didn't stand a chance. Long, who had worked at Hyundai's Montgomery, Alabama, assembly plant for five years told Tim Higgins and Keith Naughton reporting for Bloomberg News, “I don’t see any problems here. I don’t see how they could help me out.” Of the union representatives who came to his home this year, Long added, “I really didn’t give them the time of the day.” (6/22)

Please refer to one of our other websites, whogivesashit.com. AE's "Most Instantly Deletable Story of the Week" went to TheStreet.com as it discussed the "5 Most Overpriced Used Cars of 2011." Really? (6/22)

Proving yet again what single men have known for a long time: Chicks dig hot cars. A study by University of Texas at San Antonio researchers suggested that men who wear expensive clothes and drive flashy cars are more successful at having flings and staying single than their financially conservative counterparts, as reported by Reuters. And that was our AE “Duh of the Week.” (6/22)

He’s the Man. Alan Mulally was named "2011 Chief Executive of the Year," an honor bestowed upon an outstanding corporate leader, nominated and selected by a group of his or her peers. Nominations for CEO of the Year were garnered from among the 147,000 readers of Chief Executive magazine. The 10 most frequently cited nominations were evaluated and a winner voted upon at a meeting of a peer Selection Committee, which took place earlier this year in New York City. Prior CEO of the Year winners include such luminaries as Bill Gates, Jack Welch, Michael Dell, Andy Grove and Herb Kelleher. "The success he showed in the face of incredible difficulty was just extraordinary," said James Turley, chairman and CEO, Ernst & Young and member of the 2011 Selection Committee. "The foresight he showed throughout the process, the courage he showed in making some tough decisions on popular brands, the global mindset he showed, and above all, the statesmanship he showed when two major competitors were on the public dole shows he was thinking for the good of the country as well as his company and industry." "The turnaround and triumph of Ford is an amazing success story, due largely to his talents, leadership and courage," said Monsanto CEO Hugh Grant and 2010 CEO of the Year. "It's a turnaround not only of an American icon but more importantly, a global icon, as well." Amen. (6/29)

A very depressing AE Quote of the Week. The anti-car movement was gaining steam all over Europe, and it was more than a little disconcerting to European automobile manufacturers to say the least. In a story that ran in the New York Times, with the headline "Europe Stifles Drivers in Favor of Alternatives" the picture for the automobile was looking grim. In Zurich, the anti-car message was everywhere you went. Circling around Löwenplatz, one of Zurich’s busiest squares, "cars are now banned on many blocks. Where permitted, their speed is limited to a snail’s pace so that crosswalks and crossing signs can be removed entirely, giving people on foot the right to cross anywhere they like at any time." reported the Times. "As he stood watching a few cars inch through a mass of bicycles and pedestrians, the city’s chief traffic planner, Andy Fellmann, smiled. 'Driving is a stop-and-go experience,' he said. 'That’s what we like! Our goal is to re-conquer public space for pedestrians, not to make it easy for drivers.' " (6/29)

Nicely done. GM donated $2.5 million through its General Motors Foundation to the College for Creative Studies in Detroit. The college will rename an auditorium after the automaker. (6/29)

This is going nowhere good, fast, folks. Count on it. With the Obama Administration hell bent on pushing a new fleet wide mileage standard with an average of 56.2 mpg for cars and light trucks by the 2025 model year, battle lines were being drawn and predictably the political agendas threatened to overwhelm any practical realities involved, especially in terms of the costs of these standards. When you had politicos trying to tell an industry how much this stuff is going to cost per car - when their numbers were based on a fantasy land cocktail of enviro-think and "formulas" generated by sympathetic denizens of academia – they were bound to get it horribly wrong. (6/29)

More AE Quotes of the Week. Holman W. Jenkins, Jr., writing in the Wall Street Journal, thrashed the Obama administration over their serial incompetence in the handling of the fuel economy mandates being discussed at the moment. In a piece entitled "Overcaffeinated Cafe" Jenkins unloaded a series of pointed blasts at the brainiacs in Washington toiling under the guise of "helping" America and Americans. Here's just a sampling: "Asking consumers, meanwhile, to bear the cost of fuel-economy improvements they don't value will cause them to keep their old cars on the road longer. And in pursuit of what benefits? If we junked every gasoline-powered car in America, it would have no appreciable impact on global carbon dioxide. If, as Mr. Obama intends, we switch to electric cars, those cars would be powered by coal, so the alleged atmospheric dividend will be doubly elusive." It was well worth the read. (7/6)

The clock is ticking on your fifteen minutes, pal. When recently asked by Automotive News what his biggest challenge ahead would be, Chrysler’s marketing guru, Olivier Francois responded with the following: "Continue to work to improve the 'coolness' of our brands. We have to increase our awareness and recognition to get closer to people. This is part 1. Then part 2 is to deliver the brand-specific messages: luxury for Chrysler, sporty for Dodge and capability for Jeep." Hmmm, let's review shall we? As for Part 1, the "Coolness" of your brands? To be kind, that's a work in progress that will likely never be completed. And as long as you keep insisting that the 200 is - in any way, shape, or form - "cool" then you're deluding yourself and not doing much for your professional integrity. But since you're a genius maybe that's not a concern. As for all the work you've been doing on this "cool" factor, all of the various re-flashes of the Eminem Super Bowl spot? They really aren't making a dent. The SB spot was a one-time, lightning-in-a-bottle event. And you've beaten that to death many times over. The stuff that's selling? Trucks. So you're not exactly above the prevailing winds of the market even though you think you operate in rarefied air. As for the brand specific messages, again, Chrysler will never be equated with luxury as long as you trot out the 200 as your entry-level luxury car, because there's no there, there. Sporty for Dodge? Yes and no. Monster V8s and bad-ass cars only can take you so far. You best be careful that Dodge doesn't become the company for nostalgia rods and police cars, because you're only a couple of ticks away from being just that. Jeep? You'd have to be crazy to screw that up. But then again, I've seen some crazy things in this business over the years. The Bottom Line? With every public pronouncement, every inside company event, and every piece of communication you've put out about these brands, it all seems to be wrapped in an air of invincibility and a palpable "we're smarter than thou" smarmy arrogance that is off-putting and flat-out offensive to the people in this business who know better. And what do those people know best? Those not-as-smart-as-you denizens of this business who have done it before and who will likely do it again many times over, long after you're back in France ensconced and awash in your "genius" reputation? They know that the automobile business as is defined in this chaotic 22nd century is a frickin' roller-coaster of wild up and down swings, punctuated by fleeting moments of euphoria and gut-wrenching, lingering mistakes. Not to mention that the history of this business is littered with people who were just as smart if not smarter than you who royally screwed-up. Big-time. And this just in, Francois - you're not above any of it, either. Just remember that when you're boring yet another audience by showing a spot that first ran six months ago. – PMD (7/6)

Not having a clue is one thing, but to flaunt that fact with malicious, abject stupidity while actually thinking you have got it goin' on is criminal. Editor-in-Chief's Note: Every time I gave Wieden+Kennedy - Dodge's ad agency - the benefit of the doubt and assume that they seem to finally get it, they pulled their now familiar Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde routine and came up with such a blatantly nonsensical spot that it had me questioning their sanity at best, and wondering if anyone out in Auburn Hills - and that means you Olivier "I'm a frickin' ad genius just ask me" Francois - had a clue whatsoever as to what they're doing. The latest evidence? The new Dodge Durango spot entitled "Long Lost Performance" is so filled with gibberish and utter bullshit that I don't know where to begin. First of all, while showing dilapidated and abandoned old race tracks, the premise of the spot revolves around the fact that we're living in a downtrodden era that is deprived of automotive performance and that people have even forgotten what real performance is all about. Really? In an era of 550hp Cadillacs, 400hp+ Mustangs and Camaros, 400, 500 and even 600hp Corvettes, 600hp Mercedes, 400 and 500hp Audis and BMWs and 300 and 400hp trucks, we're living in an era deprived of performance? What planet are you guys living on? Oh, that's right, you live in the Free Republic of Portland, Oregon - like San Francisco, a solar system unto itself - where reality rarely creeps into the equation and where everyone has a huggable day. And then, to make matters worse, the punch line of the spot suggests that the new Dodge Durango is the answer to all of our performance ills and that it puts the "sport" back into SUV. Huh? This spot smacks of everything I absolutely loathe about modern car advertising, clueless ad agencies and the marketing people responsible for such dismal trash. And in case you're wondering, even if they had used the Challenger or Charger the premise would still be fatally flawed. We're currently living in what will be considered to be the Golden Era of high-performance in the not-too-distant future, an era likely never to be repeated again (and even if we do it will be exponentially much more costly), so, when I see such blatant disregard for the facts, a stunning lack of awareness and such utter cluelessness such as this, it just makes me cringe. Flat-out inexcusable. – PMD (7/20)

It might try to wrap its products in the flag every chance it gets, but make no mistake, there are only two domestic automakers left in the U.S. Chrysler’s Supreme Leader Sergio Marchionne told reporters and analysts that despite the infusion of Italian culture and management teams he's going to pick the best executives for the jobs at hand and that he won't screw-up the "American-ness" of Chrysler, ever. Hmmm. We think he's confusing the "one-hit wonder" Super Bowl commercial and the snow job that his marketing guru - Olivier "I'm a frickin' genius, just ask me" Francois - has pulled on him with the reality of the situation. The new Chrysler is no longer an American car company, period. It's an Italian-owned entity that does business here. (7/27)

We give up. From the "Hell Is Freezing Over" File came word that VW - Bentley 's parent company - was investigating developing an SUV for the traditional luxury automobile brand. Well, with Porsche deriving all of its profits from the Cayenne SUVs and with Ferrari building honest-to-goodness sport wagons, what's the difference? Those clinging to the good ol' days of brand purity at this point better get used to the fact that those days are long gone. (7/27)

People used to believe in the brand with an unwavering devotion. Now? There are too many choices out there equal to or better than Honda, and besides, what does Honda stand for again? Exactly. Editor-in-Chief's Note: Just how treacherous is this image wrangling stuff? Consumer Reports blasted the 2012 Honda Civic, dropping it 17 points on its rating scale and calling it "too low to be recommended." Ouch, Baby. This is after the Civic has been the darling of the magazine for years. To its credit, Honda fired back saying, "In virtually every way, the completely redesigned 2012 Civic is a step forward. The new Civic excels in areas that matter to small-car customers, including fuel efficiency, safety, and reliability," in a released statement. So what is going on here, exactly? First of all, did Honda all of a sudden "unlearn" how to build cars? Of course not. Is the new Civic the "wow machine" everyone was expecting? No, but it's not 17 points worse than the old one, which means to us that the Honda image has taken such a beating of late that even the hand-wringers at Consumer Reports have to find fault with it. It's as if they were let down and wanted to spank Honda for it. We don't think much of CR around here, never have. But we know a lot of people take their word as the be-all and end-all, which is too bad. Could Honda have done better? Absolutely. But the reality is their short-term thinking and hyper conservatism is starting to bite them in the ass. The Civic is a decent car, although the cheapened interior bits are inexcusable. (The Civic Si is an excellent car, btw.) But the Bottom Line here is that Honda has lost its mojo, both internally and with much of the car-buying public. Even with CR. Like I've said many, many times before in this publication, developing, establishing, honing and maintaining an image is the most delicate task in this business. Get it right and it pays dividends for years to come. Get it wrong, and well, it takes years and years to recover. Mercedes-Benz had it right for a long time with "Engineered Like No Other Car in the World" and BMW did as well with its "The Ultimate Driving Machine" tag lines. And yet you can blow-it up real good in just a couple of quarters, like Mercedes did with "Unlike Any Other" and BMW almost did with its "Joy" misstep. Honda needs to get real about its current lot in automotive life. – PMD (8/3)

Don't believe it? Oh, just watch... Why didn't the automakers put up more of a fight over the new CAFE standards? That's easy: 1. It would have been a PR nightmare if they even raised a hand in question against the standards because every card-carrying member of the green "intelligentsia" would crucify them in the media. And 2. The likelihood of those standards being in effect by then? Uh, 50-50 at best. (8/3)

And here we were hoping he'd micromanage his way to oblivion. The good news? Sergio tells reporters at the Traverse City Management Conference that he will leave, eventually. The bad news? It won't be until 2015 or 2016. The really bad news? His micromanagement "style" will leave an organization dependent on his "vision" - and totally dysfunctional to boot. Good times. (8/3)

Turning Opel around? Good luck with that. GM wants to take Opel upmarket in Europe to compete more head-on with VW, presenting the Opel brand as a competent alternative. Then they want to establish Chevrolet as GM's entry-level brand. It's a good plan in theory, but Opel's legacy and reputation have been so tarnished of late that GM's once strong German brand is reeling because of it. It will take time and a ton of money just to move the needle a little bit for Opel in the German market. Just remember it took Audi twelve long years to turn its image around in its homeland. (8/10)

This business is fun when things come together, right? The Dearborn-based automaker bet big on V6 engines for its F-150 pickups several years ago in the development phase - when the skeptics said it wouldn't work - and now they're reaping the benefits of that decision. Ford's 3.7-liter normally-aspirated V6 and its 3.5-liter direct-injected turbocharged EcoBoost V6 now account for more than 55 percent of F-150 truck sales, combined. (8/17)

It ain't pretty. And it ain't fun. The city of Livonia, Michigan was named the worst speed trap in the entire country by the National Motorists Association. Guess what? The entire SE Michigan Tri-County region (Oakland, Macomb & Wayne counties) is a speed trap. With a state crushed by a recession-bordering-on-depression for going on four years now, the "radar cowboys" have been doing their revenue-generating level best to keep the various town budgets somewhat solvent. Standard operating procedure now is that no matter how fast you're going the cops write your ticket up at 5 mph over, giving you a "break" so it doesn't register points with the state and the insurance companies. But that ticket will cost you anywhere from $75 -$200 depending on where you're nabbed. Not Good. (8/31)

Where’s Nurse Ratched when we really need her? Osamu Suzuki, the 81-year-old chairman of Suzuki made a deal with VW in December of 2009 allowing the German firm to acquire 19.9 percent of his company. Then the insular "not invented here" culture that permeates Suzuki reared its ugly head and prevented any progress from being made, as Suzuki's ponderous - some say paralyzed - internal decision-making process left VW executives shaking their heads. Then, bristling at the suggestion that it was only a matter of time before VW swallowed Suzuki whole, the reactionary Japanese automaker decided to go out and sign a purchase agreement with Fiat last June to purchase diesel engines from Fiat, despite the fact that VW is considered to be the most experienced builder of advanced diesel engines in the world. Then the Suzuki chairman posted a blog item in July saying that the company hadn't found anything that they wanted from VW, at least not right away. Needless to say the agreement is stalled, if not blown-up altogether, and VW has been privy to an up close and personal view as to why Suzuki will always be Suzuki. And nothing more. (9/14)

In the immortal words of the Wicked Witch of the West, "Oh, what a world! What a world!" Editor-in-Chief's Note: Chrysler's Chief Marketing officer, Olivier "I'm a genius, just ask me" Francois's latest gift to us lesser citizens is the signing of Jennifer Lopez to hawk the Fiat 500, part of a marketing onslaught that includes: A New Music Video! And New TV campaigns! "Like the Fiat consumer, Jennifer Lopez sees the world as her canvas and is not afraid to express herself; she is continuously drawn to projects that are authentic and real," Francois positively gushed in a statement. "Jennifer fits perfectly with the brand not because of who she is but because of what she is -- authentic, passionate, modern and a fighter determined to stand out from the rest. As you look at her career path, she embodies the Fiat philosophy, 'Life is Best When Driven.' " Really? We're supposed to get all that and put it together with Fiat? Wow, that's some spicy meatballs. Auto companies have been star-fucking for decades with little or nothing to show for it. I could count on one hand the number of times it has worked, but let's just say this latest go-around smacks of the second coming of Celine Dion hawking Chryslers, which was an unmitigated disaster from the get-go. Wait a minute, maybe Francois is channeling the ghost of Peter Arnell with this lame-brained move and if that's the case, I couldn't imagine a bigger steaming pile of Not Good. – PMD (9/14)

Go back to telling us why Porsche is still Porsche, and still special, please. Andre Oosthuizen was named the new head of Porsche marketing here in North America. Formerly the director for Porsche marketing in Africa and the Middle East, Oosthuizen, 39, would definitely have his hands full. First order of business? Dump the "Engineered for magic. Every day." advertising campaign. We get why Porsche is venturing into heretofore unheard of segments for the brand (SUVs, 4-door sedans) in order to generates boatloads of ca$h, but stop going out of your way to demean the "specialness" of the Porsche brand. People will figure out how they can use their Porsche vehicles every day on their own. (9/21)

The minimum necessary was accomplished. Nothing more, and nothing less. Cheers for the UAW-GM agreement? Unlike the local media in this town you won't find that here. They came to an agreement because there was no other alternative. Is this a signal of a "enlightened" new era in labor relations between the UAW and the auto companies? Oh hell no. It's still about the hoary rhetoric, the dimwitted saber-rattling and the same tired old bullshit as before. Progress? No. Just another day in the Motor City. (9/21)

From the "Oh Please Just Shut Up" File, Part II came word that Sergio's marketing "genius" Olivier Francois, when asked about the nonsensical placement of the infamous JLo spot - a spot clearly aimed at women - on Monday Night Football responded to AdAge with the following gem: "America is aware that there is a car. We needed this kind of spark." Huh? (9/28)

Why? Honda, that once cool Japanese car company insisted that its Ridgeline pickup truck would stay despite piss-poor sales. (10/5)

From the “How Green Is Your Valley” File. Pure electric vehicles were falling short of consumer expectations in recent studies. Consumers wanted something that technology can't provide, like charging in two hours, long range, etc., etc. Pure electrics will remain exactly where they were meant to be all along, as limited-use, niche vehicles. (10/5)

This just in: It well and truly sucked. Editor-in-Chief's Note: So now there's a "real" JLO spot for the Fiat 500 as opposed to the rip from the music video. Guess what? It may even be worse than the rip from the music video. Ponderous, overwrought and a not-so-subtle lift in tone and pace with the Eminem Super Bowl spot for the Chrysler 200 - only translated to daylight, in New York - the question becomes, how on earth did anyone arrive at the thought that JLO has any connection to the Fiat 500 whatsoever? Or that her driving around New York saying how she's connected to "my world" somehow makes sense when that couldn't be further from the truth? It's all just flat-out laughable. Watch the huge miss here. Not to beat a dead horse, but if I'm a Fiat dealer, I am not a happy camper today. – PMD (10/12)

We actually have become a Starbucks Nation of Consumer Zombies. There were as many as 600,000 jobs at U.S. manufacturing companies that can't be filled because they can’t find workers with the proper skills, according to a survey by Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute. The results of the survey found that 5 percent of manufacturing jobs are unfilled due to lack of qualified candidates, and that 67 percent of manufacturers have a moderate to severe shortage of qualified workers. The survey also found that 56 percent of manufacturers expect the shortage to increase during the next three to five years. Ugh (10/19)

It's now official: Elon Musk is The Most Tedious Man on the Planet, hands down. As reported by Mark Rechtin in Automotive News, the CEO of Tesla Motors regaled an adoring audience at Tesla's converted Toyota (NUMMI) plant in Fremont, California by saying that, "The Model S is not the best electric car, it's the best car of any kind. It's about the same external dimensions as a 5-series BMW, yet has twice the cargo capacity. It's got the biggest sunroof of any car. The fit and finish are superior to any premium sedan. We have the most advanced paint shop in the industry." And he added: "If you drive another premium sedan after driving the Model S, it's going to feel like a jalopy." (10/19)

That's one way to make people want to get off the couch and get out of the house and go for a drive. Reuters reported that beginning next year China will limit the number of entertainment programs allowed to air on television, pushing to replace them with morality-building programming. China's State Administration of Radio, Film and Television will restrict shows that "record the dark and gloomy side of society," the Southern Metropolis Daily said. The official Xinhua news agency said the directive aimed to guard against "excessive entertainment" by restricting game shows, talk shows, talent shows, and reality shows, among other types of programming. At least two hours of news would have to be broadcast during the last six hours of the day on 34 stations, Xinhua said. (10/26)

Rising sun? Uh, Not. So. Much. Has the sun set on the once-glittering Japanese auto empire? If they don't figure out what to do about the high level of the yen we may be seeing the beginnings of a downward spiral that will lapse into a permanent decline. (11/2)

This is about mojo and image buzz, two things that Honda has lost and that will be very, very difficult to regain. The once can't miss Japanese automaker scrambled to re-do its lackluster Civic by 2013 instead of sometime in 2014, according to Mark Rechtin in Automotive News. Even the display of tarted-up Civics at the SEMA show fell flat. And a refreshed Civic won't be enough, however. (11/2)

Wait, aren't you a businessman, Dan? And what's wrong with the look of Dunkin' Donuts? It works fine for them. Asked by Automotive News about the NADA getting all agitated about the manufacturers forcing dealers to make big dollar investments to upgrade their facilities, GM's CEO Dan Akerson said: "Would you rather go into a competitor store that looks bright and open and [has] easy access? Or something that looks kind of like a Dunkin' Donuts from the 1980s? I think if I were a businessman, I would be hard-pressed not to accept the assistance we're willing to provide." (11/2)

It’s about time. GM, the automaker whose headquarters are hard by the Detroit River played hardball by pulling the plug on its involvement with Saab over the fact that the new Chinese owners would have been handed instant access to the GM technology that's in the Saab 9-4X. "Although General Motors is open to the continued supply of powertrains and other components to Saab under appropriate terms and conditions, GM will not agree to the continuation of the existing technology licenses or the continued supply of 9-4X vehicles to Saab following the proposed change in ownership as it would not be in the best interests of GM shareholders," GM said in a prepared statement. Good for them and it's about time. Other manufacturers could learn a thing or two by following GM's lead. (11/9)

And oh by the way, with your latest quarterly profits plunging due to severe supply problems, it's hard to think about building "shiny happy" cars, isn't it? According to a Reuters special report, Toyota’s CEO Akio Toyoda wanted to rejuvenate the "culture" at Toyota by going "back to the basics" of building cars that make people happy, like his grandfather once did. Uh, that's noble and all, Akio, but do you really think you can snap your fingers and make people giddy about driving Toyotas again? Really? There are too many excellent choices now from Korea, Germany and the U.S. for that to happen overnight. Now do you understand the real cost of Toyota being asleep at the wheel for 30 months? (11/9)

Delusional thinking is delusional thinking in any language. Editor-in-Chief's Note: Automotive News reported that the Chrysler Group had suspended production of its 1.4-liter FIRE engine that powers the Fiat 500 in North America due to slow U.S. sales of the subcompact, according to "a top UAW local official." Internal Chrysler documents obtained by AN dated Nov. 1 showed that the Italian-owned automaker had a 184-day supply of Fiat 500 coupes and cabrios available to dealers. Uh, hello? Remember all of the glowing pronouncements by Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne about how the Fiat 500 would "transform the U.S. market" and that the automaker would easily sell 50,000 units in the first year? Even though he downgraded that prediction somewhat when the rollout of the car turned out to be a complete and utter disaster, the bottom line is that just 15,826 Fiat 500s have been sold in this country to date. Let me repeat that, just 15,826. And that number includes fleet sales. The problem wasn't with Marchionne's delusional thinking about Fiat and what it could and would do in this market, because even though he fancies himself a genius and his minions think he is so very, very, special, the bottom line is that delusional thinking is delusional thinking in any language. And Marchionne is no different from any of the other auto industry executives of the last, say 50 years, who were convinced they were special and who were equally convinced that they couldn't possibly be wrong. The problem with all of this, of course, is that Marchionne's vision for the future health and well being of the Fiat-owned Chrysler hinges upon Fiat making it here in the U.S. so that the table can then be set for the launch of Alfa Romeo. (And while we're at it let's not forget that Marchionne has also promised that Alfa will be another "can't miss" success and will propel the new Fiat-owned Chrysler to new heights around the world.) This is a giant pasta bowl of Not Good, any way you look at it. Marchionne has sold everyone a big fat bill of goods with the return of Fiat in this market and the big losers - besides the media mavens who kiss Marchionne's ass on a regular basis, of course - are the dealers who bought Marchionne's Bush League Bullshit from the beginning (see below). Will Fiat ever be more than a small-time niche player in the U.S. market, at best? No. Frickin'. Way. - PMD (11/16)

That dog won't hunt even with a prosciutto-wrapped T-Bone. Editor-in-Chief's Note: Well, that was special, wasn't it? You waited at the base of the mountaintop for Sergio to come down and bestow his wisdom on you because, after all, Sergio is a genius and he said that Fiat and the 500 "can't miss," right? Then you got the T-shirt and even got your souvenir DVDs autographed by The Maestro and now, except for a few of you in the smile states who have managed to push enough Fiat 500s on to the flavor-seekers-of-the-month to be noticeable, you're all left holding the bag and looking at your watches wondering what the hell just happened. I'll tell you what happened. You got screwed. You bought Sergio's Bush League Bullshit about the 500 being the next MINI and let me just reiterate in case you need to be reminded, that was nevergonnahappen, no matter how many Abarths and other special editions they crank out. (That was the AE "Duh of the Year" hands-down, by the way.) Not only that, you then bought the whole idea that you needed to spend $1 - $2 million each to build exclusive Fiat stores so that you'd be ready to make the real dough when the Alfa Romeo product onslaught started. How is that workin' out for ya? Especially when the first Alfa of any note is easily two-and-one-half years away, if not more? Here's the thing, Fiat is a nice little brand and all but it's never going to be more than a curiosity in this market. Sure, there will be a few consumers every year who like the whole "being different" aspect of buying a Fiat but that's never going to be enough to build brand equity in this market, not by a long shot. And just for the record, the idea of Alfa Romeo being one of the two pillars of Marchionne's strategy to gain global legitimacy for the Fiat-Chrysler mashup? Please. – PMD (11/16)

Editor-in-Chief's Note: It is well known that the Fiat launch was botched from the beginning, and nowhere was that more apparent than in the Los Angeles market. Our West Coast correspondent, Tom Pease, weighed-in on the subject with another "Letter from L.A." that week. - PMD

How Fiat got it wrong in L.A.

By Tom Pease

Beverly Hills. The Fiat story in L.A. is a microcosm of the issues the whole company suffers from, which starts with a complete lack of Common Sense.

First, the 500 is sold only on the cute factor. Its gas mileage, price and usability aren't as good as at least three of its competitors. It's not even that much fun to drive.

Second, Fiat launched the 500 with too many manuals when nobody in Los Angeles wants one. A week of commuting on the 405 in a manual will have drivers learning new and interesting swear words in record time.

Third, they launched in a wasteland area south of downtown L.A. If you're going to launch a rolling fashion accessory at least put the store somewhere where people who might buy one live. At least Smart was smart enough to open first in Beverly Hills. I certainly wouldn't feel like trekking all the way to Figueroa & 21st every time my 500 needed an oil change when there's a Yaris, a Fit, or a Focus with dealerships on Santa Monica Blvd.

But hey, what do I know? I wouldn't have hired JLo either... (11/16)

A desperate need. Editor-in-Chief's Note: Yes, we've been inundated with emails from readers pointing out that various websites are running with the story that JLo didn't actually drive the Fiat 500 back in her old stomping grounds in the Bronx, but rather filmed her parts of the spot in L.A. If you've been in and around the ad biz you'd know that this development is hardly surprising or that big of a deal. All kinds of logistical allowances are made when working with celebrities. It's just the way it is. But that's not the issue as far as I'm concerned. The issue is that JLo has no connection to the Fiat 500 - forced or otherwise - and it's simply not a good fit. Using celebrities in TV commercials is fraught with peril. When it works, it can be memorable, even sensational at times. But that is very rare. Fiat is in desperate need of new creative thinking. And given the players involved, I seriously doubt that we'll see anything demonstrably better in the coming months. – PMD (11/23)

It's just too bad we have to endure the endless hand-wringing from the massively uninformed in the meantime. Editor-in-Chief's Note: The Chevy Volt was under attack.  At this point the battery pack post-crash fires and the lengthy explanation of what has really been going on is getting lost in a media frenzy of Internet headlines and 20-second sound bites that basically go something like this: "Volts Catching Fire." Not "Volt batteries catching fire after crash tests," no, just, "Volts Catching Fire." It doesn't matter that there are well over 250,000 vehicle fires each and every year that cause over 500 deaths here in the United States, according to The Wall Street Journal, all that matters is that the newest and hottest thing in advanced vehicle technology - at least according to the politicians in Washington and Northern California - the much touted "electrification of the automobile" has now hit a roadblock of Bad News: "Volts Catching Fire." This couldn't come at a more inopportune time for General Motors, what with the fact that they've invested hundreds of millions of dollars in developing the advanced - and category leading - Volt extended range electric vehicle technology, and that it's the tip of the company's technological spear. There's more to it than that. The Volt is also the halo for the Chevrolet brand, and they've invested millions upon millions in getting that message across as well. GM's top PR operatives are all over this issue and trying to get out front of it as best they can, and GM's North American chief Mark Reuss is leading the executive charge to defend the Volt's honor as well. But here's the thing. In our world of instant communication gratification, the 24-7 quagmire of punditry, chatrooms and hordes of instant auto "experts" weighing-in on Twitter and Facebook will bury the Volt long before any meaningful evaluations are completed or any real issue is discovered. And that's just flat-out wrong. The Volt will survive this, and GM will survive it too. – PMD (11/30)

(Ford)
Big news for those interested in restoring or building a '67 Mustang. You can now build a “new” 1967 Mustang convertible with an all-new steel body. The 1967 convertible body shell is the newest officially licensed Ford Restoration part and is now available to order starting at $15,995. It is the fourth reproduction classic Mustang body available to restorers, joining the ’65 convertible, the ’67 fastback and the ’69 fastback. Dynacorn International, manufacturer of the ’67 convertible body, worked to not only replicate the original ’67 convertible, but make it better. The body panels are stamped from modern automotive-grade virgin steel that is slightly thicker than the original. Then, to add strength, the panels are assembled using modern welding techniques. There are also newly engineered reinforcements in known stress areas to add strength and rigidity to the body. The body comes rustproofed and primed and is ready for painting and assembly. More information about the ’67 body shell and all other Ford-licensed restoration parts can be found at www.fordrestorationparts.com.

(Audi)
Audi is releasing a limited production version (only 333 units) of its new A1 model series. Powered by a 2.0 -liter, turbocharged engine producing 188 kW (256 hp) and 350 Nm (258.15 lb-ft) of torque, the A1 quattro sprints from zero to 100 km/h (62.14 mph) in 5.7 seconds and has a top speed of 245 km/h (152.24 mph). The A1 quattro is expected to consume on average less than 8.5 liters of fuel per 100 km (27.67 US mpg).

Editor's Note: After a few days in the 2012 Chevrolet Cruze LTZ, I came away with a new appreciation for the compact segment. I found our Crystal Red Metallic tester to be exceptionally well executed, if a bit ordinary in the styling department. Okay, I'll say it - it just seemed bland to me - would it really be that hard to give it a ounce or two of pizzazz? The Jet Black interior cheered me up, however. It is clean and well thought out. The center console, in particular, was fresh and contemporary. It did have my leather-appointed heated seats, standard, but I'll never understand things like a power driver's seat but manual passenger seat - how much more would that really add to the cost? The Cruze is roomier than it appears - it doesn't feel small or 'compact' at all (which I liked), and it's easy to get stuff in and out. The turbocharged 1.4L Ecotec was surprisingly responsive, and although I wasn't monitoring mileage, the sticker claims a decent 26 City/38 Highway. Overall, the Cruze just screams competent - a safe, if somewhat boring, choice. To be fair, however, it really does have a lot going for it. And it's clear that GM has come a long, long way in the compact segment. -WG

Editor-in-Chief's Note: I found the Cruze LTZ to be a quality piece of work and it signals that GM has a firm grip on what this segment is about and what they need to do to stand out in it. For the Detroit detractors out there clinging to the formula that Detroit = Bad, however, things will never change and they won't give the Cruze even a cursory glance. For the rest out there who want to broaden their horizons, the Cruze is definitely worthy of serious consideration. - PMD

2012 Chevrolte Cruze LTZ $25,625 (Base Price, $23,110; Crystal Red Metallic Tinitcoat, $325; Jet Black Interior; Radio, AM/FM/Stereo w/CD & MP3, $995; Premium Audio System, $445; Destination Charge, $750)

Editor-in-Chief's Note: Our talented friend Casey Shain - aka "artandcolour" - shared his wonderfully provocative digital musings with us throughout the year. Here we reprise just a few of his designs, along with his commentary. -PMD

Audi A8 coupe. Really, as great as Audi is doing these days, they really could use a 2-door competitor for the CL Class, and I don't mean the A7 hatchback. This pillar-less Audi would feature a V8, Hybrid and W12 versions.

Buick Invicta — Buick's 4-door coupe entry, based on the LaCrosse platform. Lower and slinkier than the LaCrosse, with more features, including electronic touchpad entry and power open/close doors. 4 bucket seats and a full length console highlight the interior.

(Digital Art Courtesy of Casey Shain, aka "artandcolour")
Chevrolet Volt Coupe - I extended the controversial black beltline trim all the way to the back of the car, separating the painted portion of the C pillar creating a cantilevered look. This is a very subtle homage to GM's "flattop" sedans of 1959-61.

(Digital Art Courtesy of Casey Shain, aka "artandcolour")
Ford Mustang GT Sedan - Based on the Saleen coupe, this is a modern muscle sedan with a tight 4-place interior.

(Digital Art Courtesy of Casey Shain, aka "artandcolour")
VW Beetle Woody - First I modified the new Beetle coupe into a 4-door car. Then I gave it a classic Woody look. Why not, lol?

"Interesting to read the J Mays is going future-forward with the new Mustang for the next generation. That's exactly what will be needed and I can hear the cries of 'that's no Mustang' already. I bet it has some über EcoBoost V6s and a really powerful high-tech 4-cylinder standard. Which I would totally agree with but will freak out the 'Stang Neanderthals' out there. My new Mustang is from the Evos, but it's probably not futuristic enough now!"

"The Cadillac is from the XTS Platinum concept but I call it the XTC and it would have a V12 for a true flagship, 450hp for the luxury version, 600hp from twin superchargers for the V-series. The V is probably a bit too boy racer, but I was feeling randy when I chopped it, lol. Imagine a NASCAR worthy sound from that V12, rather than a Ferrari whine. : )"

"The VW Up! Churada is my fanciful attempt to "sportify" the new Up! city car. It would be a 2 seater with lots of room for luggage or the battery pack for the e/hybrid version. "Churada" is a wind/rain event in the Marianas Islands, going back to VW's use of 'wind' names."

"I know you don't run older cars, but I thought you'd like to see some of my 60s Cadillacs, so I'm including a couple. One is a 2 door pillarless wagon for the Rat Pack, the Esprit de Ville, and the other is what a 'B-body' Cadillac would have looked like had they been produced in '68, sort of a modern-day Series 61 or LaSalle. I think the '68 GM B-coupe roofline really works with the Caddy!"

2013 Audi A4 Allroad: Black Forest Edition with body side Black Walnut micro-veneers. Body has been re-proportioned and lowered.

2013 Audi TT eTron: Bold new concept for the next generation TT coupe. The cautious facelift of the second generation is tossed aside for this 21st century Plug-in hybrid, all-wheel drive, sports coupe. Based on the Audi eTron speedster concept.

2013 Buick LaCrosse Centurion coupe: A re-proportioned large Buick coupe. Based on the just-seen GL concept car, this top-of-the-line coupe would set the stage for a later, reborn RWD Riviera, and full-sized Plug-in hybrid sedan, the Electra.

2013 Cadillac 60-Special: Plug-in hybrid, long wheelbase XTS will bring back the classic 60-Special nameplate, but today "60" refers to the number of miles of pure electric (no gas) driving achievable, 60, almost doubling the Volt's advertised 35 miles. Fender skirts make a comeback as Aerospats, and help lower the drag to .21.

  GM. Editor-in-Chief's Note: This week Automotive News blared the headline, "This isn't the same GM" on Page 1. In the story attached to it the point was made that because GM idled the Chevrolet Cruze plant to keep inventories down it signaled a seismic shift in GM's thinking. The point being that the "old" GM would have just kept cranking the vehicles out and then dealt with it at the dealer level with cash rebates and incentives. And to a certain degree that isolated incident does demonstrate a significant difference with the new company. Having said that, however, I still see much of the same "three steps forward, five back" GM that I have been railing against since Day One of this publication. Examples? 1. GM might have idled the Cruze plant to keep inventories in check, but they're still piling on huge incentives to move their trucks. So please tell me about the difference again? 2. And the "old" GM that made product pronouncements that they inevitably couldn't back up? It seems to be rearing its ugly head yet again, judging by the early chatter coming from within the "new" GM about the Cadillac ATS. It's fine that GM operatives wanted to put an internal stake in the ground and take aim at the BMW 3 Series, everyone needs a target to shoot for in this business. But it's quite another when they publicly state that's what they're going to do. Wouldn't it have been better to let the media and the public "discover" that the new ATS was quite good on its own, instead of dredging up the Holy Grail of premium performance-luxury sedans? Now, with a brand new 3 Series about to hit the market I can predict what will happen with the ATS, no matter how good it is. The media will get their hands on it and say something like this in summation - "Nice effort, but it's no BMW 3 Series." Just you wait. 3. And GM's consistent tendency to "insert foot in mouth" when it comes to their public pronouncements has not subsided one iota. I thought (in retrospect, naively) that GM CEO Dan Akerson learned his lesson about keeping his mouth shut or at least reining it in when he talked to the media. He embarrassed himself greatly early on in his tenure and I thought cooler heads might have finally gotten to Akerson and convinced him that maybe the first thought balloon hovering over his head wasn't necessarily the best comment to unleash to the media in an interview. Well all of that went right out the window during the crisis with the Chevrolet Volt. Akerson (aka Chief Blunderbuss) was in high dudgeon, spewing his boneheaded pronouncements at will, none of which necessarily jibed with the reality of the situation or with the perspectives of the people actually immersed in getting to the bottom of the fix. Not helpful. 4. Since Akerson has proved to be such a relentless train wreck when it comes to dealing with the media, where is the PR staff in all of this? More specifically, what exactly is GM's PR leader, Selim Bingol, doing to quell Akerson's natural idiotic tendencies? Not much, apparently. Shrugging one's shoulders and saying "that's just Dan" isn't a PR strategy, last time I checked. I will have plenty more to say about Akerson and GM and the entire industry in next week's year-end issue. As for the idea that "This isn't the same GM" - ? Although there are many definitive bright spots - especially when it comes to the True Believers in Design and Product Development - to me this new GM is too much the same as it ever was. Not Good doesn't even begin to cover it. - PMD

   Smart. The clown car car division of Daimler is unveiling a pickup concept at the Detroit Auto Show. Why?

(Smart)

China. The country will levy anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties on imports from the U.S. of some vehicles with engine capacities above 2.5 liters, the Ministry of Commerce said. How long before China declares the joint ventures required for foreign auto companies to do business over there illegal in favor of their homegrown auto companies?

(GM)
The 270HP Ecotec 2.0L Turbo 4-cylinder engine that powers the all-new 2012 Buick Regal GS has the highest specific output of any production GM engine. And at 135 hp per liter, it is the most power-dense engine certified by the Society of Automotive Engineers. The ultra-sophisticated 4-cylinder engine is also one of Wards AutoWorld’s 2012 “10 Best Engines” for North America. With this engine the Regal GS delivers 0-60 mph in less than 6.7 seconds and runs the quarter-mile in 15.2 seconds at 98 mph.

(BMW Group)
Late to the Mercedes-Benz CLS/Audi A7 party, BMW has come up with their answer: something called the BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe. A four-door sedan masquerading as a Coupe - although its design isn't nearly as successful as the Mercedes or Audi offerings - the BMW is a 6 Series Coupe all duded-up for what, exactly, we're not sure. We get the idea that BMW felt they just had to have an answer to Mercedes and Audi, but this ain't it. As a matter of fact it's the first entry into AE's 2012 Answer to the Question that Absolutely No One is Asking sweepstakes. The BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe will arrive late next summer, unless cooler heads prevail.

(Ford)
Ford's gasoline-free 2012 Focus Electric (available to order in California, New Jersey and New York since November with other markets to follow) is expected to be the first five-passenger electric vehicle with a 100 miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe) rating under new EPA calculations for electric vehicles. The Focus Electric is also the first all-electric vehicle to offer faster charging technology, allowing it to charge in half the time of a Nissan Leaf using 240-volt outlets.

Editor-in-Chief's Note: This week it was our turn with GM's Great Small Car Hope, the 2012 Chevrolet Sonic LTZ and I must say that I was very impressed. Quiet, composed and even more than a little bit fun to drive with its 1.4-liter Turbo and slick-shifting 6-speed, the Sonic is not just present and accounted for in this ultra-competitive segment, it's a serious player. I think the Ford Fiesta has more of a design presence, but the Sonic LTZ is no slouch in that department, and GM designers came through inside and out on the littlest Chevy. But the most impressive thing about the Sonic is how well it drives and how it goes about its business with a serenity that is so unexpected for this segment. Yes, serenity. Not a word you'd normally associate with this class of car, but the Sonic has a air of sophistication about it that can't be denied. We liked it. A lot. - PMD

2012 Chevrolet Sonic 5DR LTZ - $18,890 ($17,235 Base Price; Inferno Orange Metallic, $195; Jet Black with Dark Titanium interior; ECOTEC Turbocharged 1.4-liter engine includes 6-speed manual gearbox, $700; Destination charge, $760.00)

Sergio Marchionne. Editor-in-Chief's Note: He tells Reuters why the launch of the Fiat 500 went sideways saying, "To be perfectly blunt, the launch was poorly executed because we had a car way earlier than distribution was available," Marchionne said. "We launched too early. It would have been a better launch in January 2012 than in January 2011." Wow. Really? I'm sure the Fiat dealers who shelled out all that money to build "exclusive" Fiat showrooms are absolutely thrilled to hear that. It's nice to see that Sergio categorically refuses to own up to the fact that the Fiat launch was a non-starter because of him. It was his plan, it was his call, and it was his piss-poor decision-making that caused the botched launch of Fiat and cost Fiat dealers a bundle of cash. In short, he screwed it up, big time. But is he going to admit that? Nope. Notevergonnahappen. - PMD

The Wall Street Journal. Editor-in-Chief's Note: In case you're wondering about the efficacy of modern day journalism, let's just say that there's a spectrum of quality out there. Some news sources consistently deliver a quality product, and some never do. But you learn to expect that, for the most part, decent sources get it right more often than not. But when a news source gets a story so fundamentally wrong it makes you wonder. On Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal ran with a story that the "process" to find a successor for Alan Mulally at Ford had begun, then proceeded to name the usual suspects who have been named months ago in countless previous articles (Lewis Booth, Mark Fields, Jim Farley, Joe Hinrichs) and even added a couple of names of their own (Phil Martens, John Krafcik). Except that there's no story here. There's no new urgency to this process, no new discussions, no news period. Will Alan Mulally leave eventually? Of course. But there are no wheels turning or churning in Dearborn at Ford World Headquarters right now. And the moment the WSJ mentioned Phil Martens and John Krafcik, any credibility attached to this story went right out the window. Phil Martens? Please. -PMD

The Lemmings in the Media. Yes, you know who you are. You all ran with the above story as if it were news and you all came off looking like total buffoons in the process. We realize that's a natural state for many of you, but, really?

  Toyota. The company is moving some of the global marketing functions for Lexus to California, according to Automotive News. They're starting with a small office at first, but we're betting that will change almost immediately and Lexus will be fully ensconced in SoCal in no time. The question is, what took them so long? Because if they don't get their arms around what's ailing Lexus here, they'll never figure it out.

Shahid Kahn. From the "Bumpers Been Good To Me" File comes word that the 61-year-old owner of automotive supplier Flex-N-Gate (a developer and manufacturer of automotive bumper technology) has bought the Jacksonville Jaguars for $760 million.

Aptera. A final "up" arrow for Aptera, the bold California-based electric vehicle manufacturer that closed its doors last Friday. Just when the company needed critical funding to develop a mid-sized sedan (its Jetsonesque three-wheeled design was intriguing but a non-starter in the market), investor interest in EV company start-ups waned. Paul Wilbur, Aptera CEO and a veteran of Chrysler and ASC (and an old friend of ours) had this to say: "A couple of years ago, there were a lot of people who thought the automobile industry is easy. It isn't." Amen, Paul. Amen. And that's our AE Quote of the Week.

Subaru. Subaru executives are giddy with the thought that their new BRZ sports car (that it shares with Toyota's Scion division) will be a game changer, and they're absolutely convinced that it will alter their image dramatically. They're way too close to it to believe any different, of course, but it's nevergonnahappen.com. The enthusiasts out there who got off on the whole junior rally racer shtick that Subaru did so well over the years will give it a look, but the BRZ will not do anything to fundamentally change Subaru's mainstream image as a purveyor of pet-friendly station wagons for active people one iota. Not one.

John Maloney. Volvo promoted the industry veteran to CEO of Volvo Cars, U.S. last week. Maloney has been with Volvo for over a decade. A marketing and planning specialist, Maloney has more than 28 years of experience in the biz with Volvo and Ford. Maloney told Automotive News that, "My style is that I love everything that is cars and automotive. I am very competitive in helping Volvo win." Ah, we love the smell of optimism in the morning. Good luck keeping that big "MO" going for Volvo in this market, John. You'll need it.

Dodge Dart. Automotive News is reporting that Fiat-Chrysler has decided to call its new compact the Dart. Well, it's better than Hornet at least.

Editor-in-Chief's Note: Our good friend Casey Shain (aka "artandcolour") is at it again with a series of new "chops" as he likes to call them. Here are his comments: "I know you don't run older cars, but I thought you'd like to see some of my 60s Cadillacs, so I'm including a couple. One is a 2 door pillarless wagon for the Rat Pack, the Esprit de Ville, and the other is what a 'B-body' Cadillac would have looked like had they been produced in '68, sort of a modern-day Series 61 or LaSalle. I think the '68 GM B-coupe roofline really works with the Caddy! These are all sort of out there on a limb, a wooden limb, perhaps. A few are production-like, though." Always provocative and compelling, Casey's "chops" are very popular with our friends in the design community, and with us. We hope you enjoy his latest creative explorations. - PMD

2013 Audi A4 Allroad: Black Forest Edition with body side Black Walnut micro-veneers. Body has been re-proportioned and lowered.

2013 Audi TT eTron: Bold new concept for the next generation TT coupe. The cautious facelift of the second generation is tossed aside for this 21st century Plug-in hybrid, all-wheel drive, sports coupe. Based on the Audi eTron speedster concept.

2013 Buick LaCrosse Centurion coupe: A re-proportioned large Buick coupe. Based on the just-seen GL concept car, this top-of-the-line coupe would set the stage for a later, reborn RWD Riviera, and full-sized Plug-in hybrid sedan, the Electra.

2013 Cadillac 60-Special: Plug-in hybrid, long wheelbase XTS will bring back the classic 60-Special nameplate, but today "60" refers to the number of miles of pure electric (no gas) driving achievable, 60, almost doubling the Volt's advertised 35 miles. Fender skirts make a comeback as Aerospats, and help lower the drag to .21.
2013 Ford Taurus SHO coupe: I was thinking of Ford's classic coupe roof lines of the 1960s, the '63 1/2 Galaxie slant back, the '66 Fairlane 500/XL coupe, the '67 Galaxie 500/XL coupe. They all had almost parallel, slim C pillars, with great visibility and high style. This SHO coupe was meant to evoke those earlier, highly-desirable, Ford coupes. I'm not sure why there isn't a large Ford coupe. Even the most powerful SHO coupe wouldn't compete with the Mustang. There is room for both in the lineup.
2013 Lincoln Continental sedan: Based on the Lexus LF/A sports car (yes, seriously), this clean-sheet design is for a large RWD/AWD EcoBoost-powered Hybrid sedan.
2013 Lincoln Continental sedan: Based on the 2006 MKR concept car with a taller roof line and longer trunk, this close-coupled Continental sedan would be the Hot Rod Lincoln of the early 21st century.

 GM. Editor-in-Chief's Note: The Chevy Volt is under attack.  At this point the battery pack post-crash fires and the lengthy explanation of what has really been going on is getting lost in a media frenzy of Internet headlines and 20-second sound bites that basically go something like this: "Volts Catching Fire." Not "Volt batteries catching fire after crash tests," no, just, "Volts Catching Fire." It doesn't matter that there are well over 250,000 vehicle fires each and every year that cause over 500 deaths here in the United States, according to The Wall Street Journal, all that matters is that the newest and hottest thing in advanced vehicle technology - at least according to the politicians in Washington and Northern California - the much touted "electrification of the automobile" has now hit a roadblock of Bad News: "Volts Catching Fire." This couldn't come at a more inopportune time for General Motors, what with the fact that they've invested hundreds of millions of dollars in developing the advanced - and category leading - Volt extended range electric vehicle technology, and that it's the tip of the company's technological spear. There's more to it than that. The Volt is also the halo for the Chevrolet brand, and they've invested millions upon millions in getting that message across as well. GM's top PR operatives are all over this issue and trying to get out front of it as best they can, and GM's North American chief Mark Reuss is leading the executive charge to defend the Volt's honor as well. But here's the thing. In our world of instant communication gratification, the 24-7 quagmire of punditry, chatrooms and hordes of instant auto "experts" weighing-in on Twitter and Facebook will bury the Volt long before any meaningful evaluations are completed or any real issue is discovered. And that's just flat-out wrong. The Volt will survive this, and GM will survive it too. It's just too bad we have to endure the endless hand-wringing from the massively uninformed in the meantime. - PMD

(GM)
General Motors built its 100-millionth small-block engine yesterday, 56 years after the first production small block. Chevrolet introduced the small-block in 1955 and the production milestone comes in the same month the brand marked its 100th anniversary. The small-block engine has been used in GM vehicles around the world and is currently found in global Chevrolet, GMC and Cadillac vehicles, as well as Vauxhall in the United Kingdom and Holden in Australia. “The small block is the engine that brought high-performance to the people,” said David Cole, founder and emeritus chairman of Center for Automotive Research – and whose father, the late Ed Cole, was the chief engineer at Chevrolet and oversaw development of the original small block engine. “There is an elegant simplicity in its design that made it instantly great when new and enables it to thrive almost six decades later.” The milestone engine was a 638-horsepower supercharged LS9 small block – the power behind the 205-mph Corvette ZR1 – which is hand-built at GM’s Performance Build Center, northwest of Detroit. It represents the fourth generation of the small block and is the most powerful engine ever built by GM for a regular-production car. GM will preserve the engine as part of its historical collection.

(VW Group)
The small crossover segment is shaping up to be an intense battleground. Volkswagen has revealed the Cross Coupé concept SUV at the Tokyo Motor Show. A clear indication of what the Tiguan of the future is going to look like, the concept is longer than a VW Golf and shorter than a Tiguan at 171.1 inches overall. At 73.5 inches wide and 60.0 inches high, it also falls right in between those two vehicles. The Cross Coupé also has a very long wheelbase of 103.5 inches, two inches longer than a Golf and an inch longer than the current Tiguan. It looks like this new VW is going to be a very strong entry in the segment.

Editor's Note: This week we're back in Audi land with a 2012 TT. I owned a few Audi sedans back in the day. Then, I got the Mercedes Kool-Aid patch and haven't done much looking around since. I am way into luxury, and Audi has always been a bit too restrained for me in that department. I did warm up to the Audi sedans we drove over the summer, however, especially the A7. So I was anxious to see what this latest TT was all about. When the TT burst on the scene more than a decade ago, I fell in love with its design. As it evolved, it gradually lost its distinctiveness and now I find that it is a bit ordinary for my tastes. I must be alone in this opinion, as Audi continues to get praise for the TT's styling - I just think it blends into the (very crowded) crowd right about now. But that didn't stop me from enjoying all that the 2012 TT has to offer. As Audi's "entry level" TT model, the 2.0 TFSI Quattro S-Tronic Coupe (just rolls off the tongue, doesn't it?) delivered unexpected performance and even a bit of fun. The turbocharged 4-cylinder made the 211hp seem like a lot more (but the 360hp of the 2012 TT RS model is what really taunts me). Inside, the TT is oh-so-Audi. Not nearly as luxurious as some of the Audi sedans we've driven recently but every bit as clean and well thought out. This is very much a driver's car, which is enhanced by the purposeful interior design and overall sporty feel (love the three-spoke flat-bottom leather-wrapped steering wheel). But it is very nearly winter, so of course I was more concerned with stuff like heated seats. I love that the TT's system remembers - if I turn the car off with the seat heater on high, it is still on high when I start up again. It also doesn't decrease the heat level over time, whereas the three-pointed star gang has taken it upon themselves to decide when my posterior is too hot and dials the temperature back - this really irks me (sometimes, it's the small stuff). Speaking of small, the TT is described as a two-plus-two seater. I prefer to describe that description as a joke. There is no way any human, regardless of age, could sit in the rear seats. I did, however, like the trunk compartment and the pass-through to the rear seats - plenty of room for the spoils of everyday errands. All in all, there is a lot I really liked about the TT. It is quintessentially Audi, which means it is extremely well executed. And although I'm lukewarm on the exterior design, this car is about driving. And for that, it's a hell of a lot of fun. - WG  Editor-in-Chief's Note: It's difficult for the new Audi TT to compete with the visual impact of the original design, but there's no denying the car is more grown up now. It's roomier, sophisiticated, more comfortable and still relatively fun to drive. I say relatively because as long as the TT RS looms out there this car will always be tame. Is it well-executed? Of course. Audi doesn't build average cars. And this TT comes off very, very well. I find it to be a bit pricey for a standard TT, even though it was loaded, but it was fun and lively to drive. So good in fact that for a brief fleeting moment you can almost talk yourself into thinking that you could do quite well with the standard TT drivetrain. Almost. But, nah. We'll wait for the TTS and RS versions, and then we'll discuss "fun and lively." Oh yeah, it looked pretty damn good in its Volcano Red Metallic too. - PMD

2012 Audi TT 2.0 TFSI Quattro S-Tronic Coupe $48,920 ($38,300 Base Price; Volcano Red Metallic $475; Prestige Model – Audi Navigation Plus w/6CD changer, Audi parking system, BOSE Sound System, heated front seats, LED interior lighting package, Black Fine Nappa leather package – $6,100. Audi magnetic ride w/S button program, $1,900; S line package – Black leather/Alcantara seats, 19” 7-twin-spoke-design wheels w/summer tires, matte brushed aluminum inlays, extended leather, headlight washers, S line steering wheel w/shift paddles, S line exterior package, S line door sills, S line fender badging, $1,200; Audi music interface w/iPod cable – replaces 6CD changer, $70.00; Destination charge, $875.00)

Letter from L.A.: Piling on Maybach

By Tom Pease

Beverly Hills. I remember when Beverly Hills Mercedes took over the space on the other side of the lobby in the building they are in (displacing I can't remember what) and putting in finishes that were deemed grand enough for the King-of-the-Road new über car. I thought at the time that if I had just plunked down seriously large cash on a new S-Class that I'd be a bit miffed (to put it politely) that I was now being told that I was a distant second-class citizen in the Daimler-Benz hierarchy, as if I were buying white-label Armani.

The first time I saw one it was being piloted past the dealership. I had a head-on view and the first thing that crossed my mind was "is that a new Chrysler Town & Country?" Then I got the side view and wondered who would buy this graceless, gaudy invitation to class warfare. The answer turned out to be no one, of course, the bottom promptly fell out of that segment and the few people who could afford one would rather have been seen in a Rolls that looked like something Lady Penelope's FAB-1 than a minivan on steroids.

I also (completely irrationally) blame Daimler for killing the idea in GM's mind that they could have gotten away with building the Cadillac Sixteen.

Several years later the windows of the Maybach showroom went dark again for several months; the Maybach selling floor shrunk to about a sixth of the space it previously had and the rest of the area was transformed into a shiny white plastic-clad space reminiscent of the set of Space: 1999, dedicated to selling the next cannot-miss Daimler-Benz product: smart.

Editor-in-Chief's Note: Our good friend Casey Shain (aka "artandcolour") is at it again with a series of new "chops" as he likes to call them. Here are his comments: "I know you don't run older cars, but I thought you'd like to see some of my 60s Cadillacs, so I'm including a couple. One is a 2 door pillarless wagon for the Rat Pack, the Esprit de Ville, and the other is what a 'B-body' Cadillac would have looked like had they been produced in '68, sort of a modern-day Series 61 or LaSalle. I think the '68 GM B-coupe roofline really works with the Caddy! These are all sort of out there on a limb, a wooden limb, perhaps. A few are production-like, though." Always provocative and compelling, Casey's "chops" are very popular with our friends in the design community, and with us. We hope you enjoy his latest creative explorations. - PMD

2013 Audi A4 Allroad: Black Forest Edition with body side Black Walnut micro-veneers. Body has been re-proportioned and lowered.

2013 Audi TT eTron: Bold new concept for the next generation TT coupe. The cautious facelift of the second generation is tossed aside for this 21st century Plug-in hybrid, all-wheel drive, sports coupe. Based on the Audi eTron speedster concept.

2013 Buick LaCrosse Centurion coupe: A re-proportioned large Buick coupe. Based on the just-seen GL concept car, this top-of-the-line coupe would set the stage for a later, reborn RWD Riviera, and full-sized Plug-in hybrid sedan, the Electra.

2013 Cadillac 60-Special: Plug-in hybrid, long wheelbase XTS will bring back the classic 60-Special nameplate, but today "60" refers to the number of miles of pure electric (no gas) driving achievable, 60, almost doubling the Volt's advertised 35 miles. Fender skirts make a comeback as Aerospats, and help lower the drag to .21.
2013 Ford Taurus SHO coupe: I was thinking of Ford's classic coupe roof lines of the 1960s, the '63 1/2 Galaxie slant back, the '66 Fairlane 500/XL coupe, the '67 Galaxie 500/XL coupe. They all had almost parallel, slim C pillars, with great visibility and high style. This SHO coupe was meant to evoke those earlier, highly-desirable, Ford coupes. I'm not sure why there isn't a large Ford coupe. Even the most powerful SHO coupe wouldn't compete with the Mustang. There is room for both in the lineup.
2013 Lincoln Continental sedan: Based on the Lexus LF/A sports car (yes, seriously), this clean-sheet design is for a large RWD/AWD EcoBoost-powered Hybrid sedan.
2013 Lincoln Continental sedan: Based on the 2006 MKR concept car with a taller roof line and longer trunk, this close-coupled Continental sedan would be the Hot Rod Lincoln of the early 21st century.

The JLo Controversy. Editor-in-Chief's Note: Yes, we've been inundated with emails from readers pointing out that various websites are running with the story that JLo didn't actually drive the Fiat 500 back in her old stomping grounds in the Bronx, but rather filmed her parts of the spot in L.A. If you've been in and around the ad biz you'd know that this development is hardly surprising or that big of a deal. All kinds of logistical allowances are made when working with celebrities. It's just the way it is. But that's not the issue as far as I'm concerned. The issue is that JLo has no connection to the Fiat 500 - forced or otherwise - and it's simply not a good fit. Using celebrities in TV commercials is fraught with peril. When it works, it can be memorable, even sensational at times. But that is very rare. Fiat is in desperate need of new creative thinking. And given the players involved, I seriously doubt that we'll see anything demonstrably better in the coming months. - PMD

The UAW. From the "Same Old Shit, Different Day" File comes word that UAW honcho Bob "I know what's best for America" King, hell-bent on organizing Asian and European U.S.-based assembly facilities, is going to start harassing the dealerships of these manufacturers in an attempt at extorting concessions. Will it work? Our bet is that it will manage to piss consumers off royally and just hasten the departure of the UAW as a viable entity in this country. But King doesn't get it. Not by a long shot. Evidence? Last January, as reported by Automotive News, he warned that the UAW will label any automaker that tries to block its efforts as a "human-rights violator." Nice.

Cody Lusk. The president of the American International Automobile Dealers Association criticized the UAW on their disruptive plans. The group represents about 10,000 U.S. import dealerships. Lusk said in a prepared statement: "The UAW's most recent threat to target dealerships in their campaign to unionize international nameplate manufacturers is unwarranted and will only hurt these small businesses, their employees, and communities. The UAW would be better served focusing their energies on constructing a convincing argument to present to plant workers who have voted against unionization numerous times." And that's our AE Quote of the Week, Part I.

The NADA. The National Automobile Dealers Association, which represents almost 16,000 new car and truck dealerships, chimed in with their displeasure with the UAW in a statement: “While details of the UAW’s ‘dealership campaign’ are not public, the National Automobile Dealers Association would have serious concerns about any efforts that interfere with the car buying process or frustrate customer satisfaction at dealerships. Attempting to disrupt new-car sales by targeting small businesses whose employees and families are dependent on those sales could create a public backlash and be counterproductive for the entire industry." Amen to that and that's our AE Quote of the Week, part II.

Thanksgiving. Yes, we did get the memo. We hope you and yours have an enjoyable Thanksgiving Day. And oh yes, GO LIONS!!!

Editor-in-Chief's Note: We're happy to feature another "Letter from L.A." by our west coast correspondent, Tom Pease. This week, Tom summarizes his thoughts on this year's L.A. Auto Show. - PMD

A Few Thoughts About the L.A. Auto Show.

By Tom Pease

Beverly Hills. The good thing about "covering" the auto show as a civilian is that I don't have to go look at cars that I frankly don't care about.  So I didn't.

I made my yearly visit to the Miata, mostly to see if I could still gracefully fold myself into it and get out without using lube and a crane.  Happily, the answer is still yes.  The car itself is still a model of simplicity: there was no nav system I could see and there wasn't evidence of blind-spot warning systems, rear-view cameras or frankly anything else that would take away from the experience of just driving.  To some it would seem like Jurassic-era tech, but to me it's a welcome relief.  I'm as iConnected as anyone but I spent 15 minutes in an E-series trying to tune in KCRW before finally giving up.

I mean, all this seamless connectivity is great and if I get a call I guess it's nice that the radio will cut out and I can using my phone wirelessly, but if I'm cruising PCH with the top down and enjoying the smell of the ocean and the engine noise I don't want to chat.  Or text.  I don't want to multi-task, I want to drive.

Small cars seem to be the Next Big Thing.  Scion had the iQ, which I'd be interested to spend a weekend in.  It's small, with some odd packaging that feels weirdly claustrophobic while being oddly spacious.  Spacious in that there is a lot of room for the driver, cramped in that the a-pillars are really thick and the roof seems fairly low, like looking through a gun-slit.

Chevy was showing the Spark in three colors.  If the iQ is the smarter smart, then the Spark is even smarter.  We couldn't sit in it, but it has four doors and still manages to balance cute with being decently practical.  If the interior managed to be as nice as the Spark and the driving experience as fun as the Cruze we'll be seeing a lot of them on the road.

Speaking of the Cruze, I visited the Verano, Buick's version of the compact.  It's almost unfair to call it that since Buick ups the game considerably.  With a couple of niggling exceptions this is like the original Seville over the Nova upon which it was based.  The other Buicks are looking younger, more blingy and with much better interiors.

Ford's most exciting products were its small cars: the Fiesta and Focus are eye-catchers.  So much so that they make some of the older models look as ancient as a Model T.

Honda had the full lineup.  Tennis anyone?

Hyundai and Kia have some of the most exciting products out there, bringing style, quality and content at prices that the Japanese should be shaking in their Red Wings over.  The only downside to the Koreans is that the styling is just too "me too" in my opinion.  A Chrysler rep was speaking about them to me and praising them in that he couldn't tell whether they were European or Japanese or what.  I agree with him but think it's a bad choice in the long term.  Korea has a rich history of art and design.  I hope Hyundai and Kia will mine it.  We're ready.

BMW had the e-Tron show cars.  Were I Disney I'd sue.  I sat in the Z-4.  I could hang with it.

Lincoln needs a corporate face, now.

Chrysler was there.  They need a new lineup.

Fiat was there with the Abarth and the Gucci editions.  There's a British word for the Gucci ones: "naff".

Cadillac had the XTS, which will sell well to the people who miss the DTS.  It's handsome and so not me.  The Converj was there, which they referred to as the ELR.  The lady giving the presentation sort of said that the production version would be the same with regular side mirrors instead of cameras.  I'm  holding her to that.  The Ciel was there, and pictures do not do this car justice.  If the powers that be at Cadillac don't green light this (even with regular doors and a fixed roof) for production then they are insane.

Range Rover had the Evoque, which looks like something Hot Wheels offers.  It seems about as serious an off-roader as a pair of Louboutin pumps would make good hiking shoes.

The high-rollers were, as they always are, off in their own hall, either roped or plexi-glassed off from from the rabble.  I don't know how one gains entrance into the inner circle and frankly don't see why they bother.  Anyone in Los Angeles county can see expensive cars they can't sit in and dream about for the price of a bus ticket to Beverly Hills.  If you don't want the rag, tag, and bobtail of Los Angeles who've merely ponied up $12 admission to sully the Woolton carpets then maybe you shouldn't bother renting the space?

The best part?  A bunch of them showed up with cars to drive.  I took the CTS-V and the CTS coupe out.  LAPD pulled over a previous V, which might presage the actual owner experience.  The coupe I liked.  A lot.

The Volt continues to impress me.  There's just no trade-off at all.  To paraphrase a commercial I hate, "the core competency is competency."

I drove the Prius V.  Note to Prius drivers: your Hair Shirt now comes in Extra Large.  The plug-in Prius seems like a hot-rod in comparison.

The Hyundai Veloster is a great package hobbled by a horrendous transmission.  It has a DCT that's as willing and perky as an elderly DMV employee.  I guess they figure that the fact that they offer (optional and not free) a bluelink system that will give me Yelp! reviews of local restaurants and places to get cheap gas, it will distract me from the fact that I hated every second of driving the thing.

Chrysler held me hostage.  If I wanted to drive the Challenger, the 300 SRT8 or the Fiat I'd have to drive the lesser models.  Which isn't a bad strategy since the 200 I piloted was light-years better than the g-d-awful Sebring I'd rented before.  Not that I'd want to own one since it's way too much car for me, but at least now it's a contender.

Drove the Fiat Cabrio again.  I'm liking it more, just not enough.  Drove the Challenger.  Totally not me: too big, too thirsty, too vulgar, too silly.  I love it.  I want to eat Chili burgers at Penny's in Highland Park and peel out onto the Pasadena Freeway with it.  It's the tattooed bad boy (or girl) that you lust over but dare not take to the company picnic.  The 300 is that bad boy in Armani. Still not for me but I'm glad it's there.  If you get one and want to hit Penny's let me know.  Just once let me punch it on the on ramp.

What was me?  The new Mercedes-Benz SLK.  Now I need to figure a way to afford it...

(BMW Group)
2011 was the first year that the Concorso d’Eleganza also invited motorcycles to enter a competition – and the Concorso di Motociclette will be back in 2012 for a second run. Again this year, the parkland of Villa Erba, not far from the Villa d’Este in Cernobbio, will provide the stage for this unique beauty pageant. The entry application list for the 2012 Concorso di Motociclette will open on December 1, and applications are welcome from collectors, enthusiasts and private owners alike. The motorcycles for the event are selected according to their historical significance, as well as technical and aesthetic criteria. Further information on applying to enter the event can be found at www.concorsodeleganzavilladeste.com.

Sergio Marchionne. Editor-in-Chief's Note: Automotive News is reporting that the Chrysler Group has suspended production of its 1.4-liter FIRE engine that powers the Fiat 500 in North America due to slow U.S. sales of the subcompact, according to "a top UAW local official." Internal Chrysler documents obtained by AN dated Nov. 1 show that the Italian-owned automaker has a 184-day supply of Fiat 500 coupes and cabrios available to dealers. Uh, hello? Remember all of the glowing pronouncements by Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne about how the Fiat 500 would "transform the U.S. market" and that the automaker would easily sell 50,000 units in the first year? Even though he downgraded that prediction somewhat when the rollout of the car turned out to be a complete and utter disaster, the bottom line is that just 15,826 Fiat 500s have been sold in this country to date. Let me repeat that, just 15,826. And that number includes fleet sales. The problem wasn't with Marchionne's delusional thinking about Fiat and what it could and would do in this market, because even though he fancies himself a genius and his minions think he is so very, very, special, the bottom line is that delusional thinking is delusional thinking in any language. And Marchionne is no different from any of the other auto industry executives of the last, say 50 years, who were convinced they were special and who were equally convinced that they couldn't possibly be wrong. The problem with all of this, of course, is that Marchionne's vision for the future health and well-being of the Fiat-owned Chrysler hinges upon Fiat making it here in the U.S. so that the table can then be set for the launch of Alfa Romeo. (And while we're at it let's not forget that Marchionne has also promised that Alfa will be another "can't miss" success and will propel the new Fiat-owned Chrysler to new heights around the world.) This is a giant pasta bowl of Not Good, any way you look at it. Marchionne has sold everyone a big fat bill of goods with the return of Fiat in this market and the big losers - besides the media mavens who kiss Marchionne's ass on a regular basis, of course - are the dealers who bought Marchionne's Bush League Bullshit from the beginning (see below). Will Fiat ever be more than a small-time niche player in the U.S. market, at best? No. Frickin'. Way. - PMD

Fiat Dealers. Editor-in-Chief's Note: Well, that was special, wasn't it? You waited at the base of the mountaintop for Sergio to come down and bestow his wisdom on you because, after all, Sergio is a genius and he said that Fiat and the 500 "can't miss," right? Then you got the T-shirt and even got your souvenir DVDs autographed by The Maestro and now, except for a few of you in the smile states who have managed to push enough Fiat 500s on to the flavor-seekers-of-the-month to be noticeable, you're all left holding the bag and looking at your watches wondering what the hell just happened. I'll tell you what happened. You got screwed. You bought Sergio's Bush League Bullshit about the 500 being the next MINI and let me just reiterate in case you need to be reminded, that was nevergonnahappen, no matter how many Abarths and other special editions they crank out. (That was the AE "Duh of the Year" hands-down, by the way.) Not only that, you then bought the whole idea that you needed to spend $1 - $2 million each to build exclusive Fiat stores so that you'd be ready to make the real dough when the Alfa Romeo product onslaught started. How is that workin' out for ya? Especially when the first Alfa of any note is easily two-and-one-half years away, if not more? Here's the thing, Fiat is a nice little brand and all but it's never going to be more than a curiosity in this market. Sure, there will be a few consumers every year who like the whole "being different" aspect of buying a Fiat but that's never going to be enough to build brand equity in this market, not by a long shot. And just for the record, the idea of Alfa Romeo being one of the two pillars of Marchionne's strategy to gain global legitimacy for the Fiat-Chrysler mashup? That dog won't hunt even with a prosciutto-wrapped T-Bone. So good night, and good luck. - PMD (Get more Fiat perspective from a Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge dealer in Reader Mail - WG)

(Ford)
Ford has announced an exclusive collaboration with SHFT.com, the award-winning multimedia platform and green lifestyle website founded by actor and filmmaker Adrian Grenier and film producer Peter Glatzer. Together, Ford and SHFT are collaborating on a variety of programs with the intention of inspiring and inviting consumers to take a more sustainable approach in life. One project includes developing the creation of a short documentary series profiling leaders in innovation who are shaping new sustainable businesses that are influencing positive change around the world. Ford and SHFT also are looking at live-event programs and film festivals to further spread their shared mission.

(Photos courtesy of Mercedes-Benz)
The next-generation Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG will make its world debut at the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show this week. In addition, three more high-performance Mercedes-Benz cars are making their North American debut at the show – the roadster version of the SLS AMG gullwing coupe, the monster C63 AMG Coupe Black Series (the most powerful C-Class of all time, with 510hp) and the 415-hp SLK55 AMG, the first V8-powered car in the SLK lineup.

(Photos courtesy of Ford)
The escalation in the Pony car wars between Chevrolet and Ford just got a lot more serious. Chevy fired first with its mind-blowing 580HP ZL1 Camaro, but everyone knew that car would only enjoy a moment in the sun before the much-rumored "Super Boss" Shelby GT 500 Mustang made its debut. Powered by an aluminum 5.8-liter supercharged V8 producing 650 horsepower and 600 lb.-ft. of torque, the 2013 Shelby GT500 boasts the most powerful production V8 engine in the world and an aero package which generates the proper downforce for its over 200 mph top speed. Ford went through the whole car tweaking everything to make sure it was ready for the inevitable stand-off with the ZL1 including a new supercharger, a significantly updated cooling system, new cross-drilled block and heads, updated camshaft profiles, a new carbon fiber driveshaft and upgraded clutch, 6-speed manual gearbox, a revised rear axle with a 3.:31 final drive ratio, and updated Brembo brakes with new six-piston calipers in front along with larger front and rear rotors. A new launch control system lets drivers set the desired launch rpm depending on tire temperature, street surface or other conditions. Unique to SVT’s launch control is that it is integrated with both the engine control and traction control. The car has new downforce-generating front grilles, an aggressive splitter, new quad exhaust system and two new forged-aluminum wheels, including a unique wheel for cars with the optional packages. The 19-inch front and 20-inch rear wheels are coupled with Goodyear Eagle® F1 SuperCar G: 2 tires on all vehicle configurations. The super Mustang also has an optional Performance Package with SVT-designed Bilstein electronic adjustable dampers and a Torsen limited-slip differential. The option can be coupled with a track package for all-out racetrack performance. “It might just seem like we’re putting a bigger engine into the car. But it’s been a balanced approach through and through,” said Jamal Hameedi, SVT chief engineer. “We’ve completely redone the car to be even more sophisticated in terms of handling and control than the prior model.” Editor-in-Chief's Note: The only problem with all of this? These two car companies should be racing these machines against each other. I've suggested a new "GTX" class for American road racing over the last several weeks in my "Fumes" column, but these manufacturers love competing on playing fields they can control. So the likelihood you'll see these cars compete against each other on the racetrack is slim. And none. - PMD

 Camaro ZL1. The 580HP 2012 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Coupe by the numbers? It accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds and can reach a top speed of 184 mph. Base price is $54,995 (includes a $900 delivery fee), including Performance Traction Management and Magnetic Ride suspension. The Camaro ZL1 is available with six options: The six-speed automatic transmission with TapShift controls is $1,185; 20-inch, bright aluminum wheel package, $470; Power sunroof, $900; Stripe package, $470; Exposed-weave carbon fiber hood insert, $600; and the suede package, including suede microfiber accents on the steering wheel, shift knob, and shift boot, $500. The Camaro ZL1 Coupe will go on sale in the spring of 2012, as a 2012 model. The Camaro ZL1 Convertible will go on sale in the summer of 2012, as a 2013 model. Pricing for the Camaro ZL1 Convertible will be announced later. “With 0 to 60 taking less than four seconds, and a top speed in excess of 180 mph, the power and acceleration of the Camaro ZL1 rivals many supercars,” said Al Oppenheiser, Camaro chief engineer. “And, horsepower is only half of the story, as the most significant measurement of the ZL1’s potential is lapping the Nurburgring in 7:41.27. That is a great testament to the power, braking, grip, and balance of the Camaro ZL1, and to the well-rounded performance of the ZL1 that sets the bar for the sports-car segment.”  And it all gets put on the trailer as soon as the new Shelby GT500 Mustang appears.

(Ford)
The "standard" 2013 Mustang gets tweaked too with new exterior design cues including a more prominent grille, new hood, standard high-intensity discharge headlamps on both V6 and GT cars, new signature lighting with two individual LED bars accentuating the front headlamps and three LED ropes forming the iconic three-bar rear lights, plus a bunch of other tweaks and details too numerous to mention. The 5.0-liter engine will now deliver 420 horsepower. A new SelectShift Automatic™ transmission is standard as well. The 2013 Mustang Boss 302 Laguna Seca (above) has a new reflective hockey stick graphics package, which is the first modern application on a production vehicle, according to Ford. And the 2013 Boss 302 and Boss Laguna Seca models feature new School Bus Yellow paint, honoring Parnelli Jones' iconic 1970 Trans-Am championship car prepared by Bud Moore.

(Ford)
The new Ford Escape makes its debut this week at the L.A. auto show and it could be one of the most significant entries to the segment, if not the most significant entry, simply because of the total package: exceptional design, excellent fuel economy, versatility, technology, connectivity and most important, it's going to be fun to drive. Ford projects that fuel economy is up to 5 mpg better than the previous Escape, with 1.6- and 2.0-liter EcoBoost® engines available. The Escape is jam-packed with features and available cool stuff, like an available hands-free power liftgate that allows quick and easy access to cargo with the kick of a foot, but suffice to say we project that this new Escape is going to be one of the industry's hot sellers the moment it hits the ground next spring.

(GM)
Another significant entry to the market next spring will be the 2013 Cadillac XTS, unveiled today at the L.A. Auto Show. Larger than the CTS, Cadillac says that "the new XTS delivers the space, elegance and dramatic presence that are Cadillac signatures, but with entirely new and technically advanced methods tuned for a new generation of luxury customers." We say this new Caddy will be hot in the market because this just in: There are ton of buyers over 50 "out there" in ConsumerLand who will find this roomier, sorta large Cadillac just what the doctor ordered. And yes, it has a ton of stuff jammed into it as well, including the debut of CUE, which Cadillac calls "a comprehensive in-vehicle experience that merges intuitive design with auto industry-first controls and commands for information and media control." Uh, that's nice, but here are the details you'll be most interested in: The XTS has an advanced Haldex all-wheel-drive system with electronically controlled limited-slip differential available, Magnetic Ride Control, rear air suspension, HiPer Strut front suspension and Brembo brakes. 19" wheels come with it, 20" wheels are optional. It's powered by the now-obligatory direct-injected GM 3.6L V-6 with lightweight features, including integrated cylinder heads/exhaust manifolds. It also has a capless fuel tank filler, a feature that Ford pioneered and that is so simply brilliant that it should be standard throughout the industry. And a bunch of other stuff. And knowing what people are looking for, Cadillac is pushing the roominess of the new XTS, touting its 40 inches (1,016 mm) of rear legroom, which is about four more inches than the BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class, and about two more inches than the Audi A6. It also has 18 cubic feet (509 L) of trunk space. The real secret of the XTS, however, will be its presence on the road. This car flat-out looks great when you see it, and people in the market for this kind of car are going to give it a close look.

Editor-in-Chief's Note: It is well known that the Fiat launch was botched from the beginning, and nowhere was that more apparent than in the Los Angeles market. Our West Coast correspondent, Tom Pease, weighs-in on the subject with another "Letter from L.A." this week. - PMD

How Fiat got it wrong in L.A.

By Tom Pease

Beverly Hills. The Fiat story in L.A. is a microcosm of the issues the whole company suffers from, which starts with a complete lack of Common Sense.

First, the 500 is sold only on the cute factor. Its gas mileage, price and usability aren't as good as at least three of its competitors. It's not even that much fun to drive.

Second, Fiat launched the 500 with too many manuals when nobody in Los Angeles wants one. A week of commuting on the 405 in a manual will have drivers learning new and interesting swear words in record time.

Third, they launched in a wasteland area south of downtown L.A. If you're going to launch a rolling fashion accessory at least put the store somewhere where people who might buy one live. At least Smart was smart enough to open first in Beverly Hills. I certainly wouldn't feel like trekking all the way to Figueroa & 21st every time my 500 needed an oil change when there's a Yaris, a Fit, or a Focus with dealerships on Santa Monica Blvd.

But hey, what do I know? I wouldn't have hired JLo either...

(Honda)
The fourth-generation Honda CR-V also made its debut at the LA Auto Show today.  Honda says that the 2012 CR-V (EX-L shown) "... introduces the latest evolution of Honda's successful CR-V formula. Compact on the outside and roomy inside, the CR-V represents an ideal balance for size and capability in the entry SUV segment. The all-new five-passenger CR-V offers improved car-like interior comfort, a smoother and quieter ride, and even more innovative features than the previous model." All CR-Vs are powered by a 2.4-liter i-VTEC 4-cylinder engine with 185 horsepower and 163 lb-ft. of torque paired with a standard 5-speed automatic transmission. Huh? No 6-speed transmission in a land of six-speeds and more? Not. So. Much. The CR-V will go on sale at Honda dealerships nationwide on December 15th.

(Lincoln)
The 2013 Lincoln MKS and MKT get tweaked for the 2013 model year, in preparation for the all-new MKZ, which will really set the tone for the rejuvenated Lincoln brand when it hits later next year. Most apparent is the refined grille work, which is noticeably more restrained and refined, or "tailored" as Bill Mitchell would always say. The two vehicles are also jam-packed with more technology, far too numerous to list here.