The Demo Site

Jim Fouts, Warren Mayor, hand delivered a letter to General Motors’ CEO Fritz Henderson offering the company long-term tax incentives to move its headquarters from the Renaissance Center in Detroit to the GM Tech Center in Warren.

Fouts’ six-page letter proposes a 30-year personal property tax-break, the longest tax-break ever offered in the state and three times longer than Warren has ever proposed. He said the GM could save tens of millions of dollars as it looks to cut costs.

“I present this to you not as a choice between Detroit and Warren, but as a matter of GM moving forward and surviving,” Fouts’ letter said. “Restructuring implies cost-cutting, and this proposal is a prime example of cutting costs through consolidation.” 

The proposal said that the move would require no new construction and that Warren’s Downtown Development Authority would contribute funds to help with the move.

He said that GM’s Tech Center in Warren could easily accommodate the 4,300 employees working at its downtown Renaissance Center headquarters.

Source: Detroit News

Chrysler’s CEO Bob Nardelli said today that he expects the sale of the automaker’s assets to a new company to be completed by Friday. He said that regulatory approvals will be finalized and he will step down as the company’s CEO.

Nardelli said that he plans on returning to his former post at Cerberus Capital Management on Monday morning. Nardelli, who worked for Cerberus until July 2007, was asked to run Chrysler in August 2007.

He went onto explain that Chrysler’s financial troubles started late last year and put the company in a ”situation of not having enough liquidity to keep the doors open.”

He wrapped up his hearing saying that he favored keeping Chrysler independent, as opposed to the partnership with Fiat SpA.

Fiat will take a 35 percent share in Chrysler and will change the name of the new company to Chrysler Group LLC.

Source: Detroit News

Bob Lutz, who has retired from his vice chairman position at General Motors, said that the new GM that comes out of the “cleansing” of the radical restructuring will be “smaller and leaner but a powerhouse” that is very profitable.

As for GM going into bankruptcy, Lutz said: ”We intend to get in and out very soon. The U.S. government wants its money back, and our plan is to pay it back as quickly as possible. The U.S. government doesn’t want to own auto companies.”

Separately, Lutz said that he envisions the Obama administration’s auto task force to become a permanent entity in the government, exercising ”benevolent oversight” of the auto industry.

“I fully expect and I hope that it will be replaced with some sort of permanent structure that facilitates the continuation of this dialogue,” Lutz said in his speech today to the Automotive Press Association.

Source: AutoObserver

Jaguar has just launched a high-performance Police vehicle based on the XF Diesel S model.

“Police forces are looking for vehicles that represent value for money, have good environmental credentials and deliver the power and performance required of a pursuit vehicle,” said Geoff Cousins, UK Managing Director for Jaguar Cars.

The first ever Police-spec XF is currently being evaluated by Police forces across the UK. Power comes from the 3.0L Diesel S engine making 275-hp with a parallel sequential turbocharger system. 0 to 60 mph comes in 5.9 seconds and fuel-economy figures are estimated at 42 mpg (35 mpg in U.S. terms).

The Jaguar XF Diesel S is on sale now with prices starting at £36,900.

GM had offered bondholders a 10 percent stake in the restructured company to reduce its $27 billion debt and avoid going into bankruptcy court. However, yesterday GM failed to gain the near 90 percent of bondholder support to accept a debt-for-equity swap. Sources say that GM is now planning to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy by June 1.

According to a report by the New York Times, the U.S. Treasury will have to inject an additional $50 billion to get GM through Chapter 11. It has already loan more than $20 billion to the struggling automaker. In return for its ‘investment,’ the U.S. Treasury Department will receive about 70 percent of the restructured GM.

Meanwhile, the UAW will get up to 20 percent through its retiree health care fund and bondholders will get the remaining share. GM shareholders will eventually be  wiped out.

Source: New York Times

General Motors is one step closer to filing for the largest bankruptcy ever for a U.S. industrial company after bond exchange offers failed. On the other hand, the sale of GM’s European brand Opel isn’t going so well either as German officials ended talks earlier today without reaching a deal.

The bidding war for Opel had narrowed down to a two-way race between Fiat SpA and Magna International. German officials were unable to reach a deal after 12 hours of talks stretching well into Thursday morning.

Ministers said that talks ended since the German government is unable to provide temporary financing if GM files for bankruptcy is the United States. Reports yesterday said that Fiat and Magna needed to improve their offers and assume greater risk by making commitments to reserve jobs and plants.

“We have made demands on the U.S. Treasury and expect answers by Friday and we will need these answers in order to agree a plan,” said Economy Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg. “We don’t have the security yet that we need to commit to bridge financing today.”

Source: Reuters

Ed Montgomery, known as President Barack Obama’s ‘car czar’ was in Detroit yesterday to answer questions of some 100 state, local and county leaders on how to get a piece of the $76.7 million in energy and conservation dollars set aside for Michigan in the stimulus package.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm said that the need for help “cannot be overstated” as GM heads towards a possible bankruptcy by the end of the month.

Rather than focusing on energy efficiency and conservation block grant funds, Granholm said that the more immediate issue is the next 60 to 90 days. 

“We are in the next week going to see some massive change in our economy. Whatever happens in the next week, we know that things are going to go dark for a while,” Granholm said. “The urgency cannot be overstated. We need to provide the suppliers a means to get through” the next two to three months.

Granholm said that GM and its suppliers will be strong even if they are forced into bankruptcy. She said that as Michigan moves toward a ‘green economy, having access to funds is extremely important.’

Source: Detroit News

The 28th Wörthersee Tour in Austria kicks off on May 20 and ends on the 23rd. The show is a gathering of auto enthusiasts, including those who love the Audi brand. For the latter a special Audi Q5 will be showcased on the Audi stand.

Clad in massive 21-inch wheels with a 7 twin-spoke design, the vehicle is no ordinary Q5. Its track has been widened by 90mm (3.54 inches) while the ride height is 60mm (2.36 inches) lower. The exterior paint colour is called Daytona Gray. Some red paint applications were made on the rims, the roof rails, the front skirt and the rear spoiler. Other fittings include a panoramic roof and ceramic brakes.

There is an S4 connection to this Q5 in that the engine is the same supercharged 3.0 TFSI V6 that powers the S4. Power is not the same 246kW (334hp) though, it has been increased to a sports car-rivalling 300kW (408hp). Torque is 500Nm between 3,000rpm and 5,500rpm. Like a performance car this custom concept is said to whistle away from 0 - 100km/h in 4.4 seconds and top off at a governed 250km/h.

In an effort to show that it is serious about its bid, Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne went to meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel earlier today to discuss Fiat’s proposal to buy General Motors’ Opel brand. Marchionne drove out of the chancellery in his black Fiat without talking to reporters. Merkel also made no public appearance.

It is reported that Economy Minister Karl Theodor zu Guttenberg also met with Marchionne. Guttenberg said yesterday that all three bidders for Opel - including Fiat, Magna International and RHJ International - need to improve their offers. He said they need to assume greater risk and make commitments to reserve jobs and plants.

“There’s no favorite,” Guttenberg told reporters. “Everyone knows that improvements are still necessary.”

Opel’s management, Germany’s government and other executives from General Motors will meet tomorrow to decided on the preferred bidder.

Fiat has made two bids for Opel; one with and one without an offer for GM’s Latin American operations.

Source: Reuters

Earlier this month, Roger Penske of Penske Group hired former Chrysler co-president Tom LaSorda to consult him on a bid to buy Saturn and its dealer network from General Motors. According to Automotive News, Penske now plans on using the Saturn network to sell vehicles made by Renault Samsung Motors, which is owned 80.1 percent by Renault and 19.9 percent by Samsung (yes, the folks that own Samsung Electronics and manufacture cell phones).

The publications says that Roger Penske recently met with Renault and Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn to discuss the plan in Paris.

No word on whether Penske plans on using Renault Samsung’s current models or plans to use Renault’s platforms to build new ones.

Renault Samsung currently uses Nissan platforms for its four passenger vehicles; SM3, which is based on the Nissan Bluebird; SM5 and SM7, which are based on the Nissan Teana; and the QM5, which is based on the Nissan Rouge.

Source: AutoWeek

When you think of Hyundai, the first thing that usually comes to mind is an affordable car with subpar design that is very unlikely to turn heads when you pull up in front of an “enthusiast” gathering. Actually, hardly anyone out there would consider a Hyundai owner a car enthusiast. Well, Hyundai is out to change all that and following its take on the luxury-segment with the Hyundai Genesis sedan, the Korean automaker is now offering a new rear-wheel-drive coupe that is sure to keep the enthusiast in you satisfied while attracting some attention to the sound coming from under your hood.

Meet the 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe 3.8 - Hyundai’s first attempt to compete in the high-performance rear-wheel-drive sports coupe segment. According to Derek Joyce, Hyundai’s main expert on the stateside for the Genesis Coupe, when the Korean automaker set out to plan the rear-wheel-drive sports coupe, it had three primary engineering benchmarks, including the Infiniti G37, Mazda RX-8 and the BMW 335i. While the 2010 Genesis Coupe is available with a 210-hp 4-cylinder turbocharged engine, those benchmarks apply mainly to the 3.8 model which is powered by the 3.8L V6 from the Genesis sedan making 306-hp. And since we wanted to see if Hyundai met those benchmarks, we chose to take the 3.8 model (3.8 Grand Touring to be exact) out for a 2-hour drive around Mount Kisco, NY.

As reported earlier this morning, GM’s showdown with the bondholders is its biggest obstacle to restructure and avoid a bankruptcy filing by its June 1 government imposed deadline. The automaker won a 86 percent approval from the CAW for a new cost-cutting deal and the same is expected from the UAW later this week.

According to a report by Reuters, GM has failed to convince enough bondholders to accept a debt-for-equity swamp, and is now planning to file for Chapter 11 by the end of the week.

According to two sources familiar with the matter, GM failed to gain the near 90 percent of bondholder support that it needs to fight of bankruptcy. Insiders say that GM had only “low-single-digit” interest from bondholders.

Nonetheless, bondholders have until midnight to change their mind. GM is hoping to reduce its $27 billion debt in exchange for a 10 percent stake in the restructured company.

Ballmer looks ready to break out into his developers chant as he gets the keys to a Fusion Hybrid.

(Credit: Microsoft)

You've got 11 billion dollars to burn, so what kind of car do you get? If you're Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, make that a Ford. Of course,

It’s that time of the day again - where we gather up some of the random things we’ve come across from our editor’s desk into our Miscellaneous Thoughts post.

No smiling rule in place when taking your driver’s license photo: Arkansas, Indiana, Nevada and Virginia have adopted a new rule that forces citizens not to smile when taking their driver’s license photo. ”Neutral facial expressions” are required and allows the DMV to compare a new photo to those in the system. This helps the DMV avoid fraud by using a new face recognition software. - USAToday

Former Cadillac boss Mark McNabb to join Maserati: As reported last week, Mark McNabb has resigned his position as the head of GM’s Cadillac brand. Sources told Automotive News that McNabb will lead Maserati’s North America division and will replace Marti Eulberg who left the Italian automaker last month. McNabb joined General Motors just 13 months ago and will leave on June 1.

Ford’s Advantage Plan ends June 1: Ford’s 0% APR financing and “we’ll make your payments for up to 12 months if you lose your paycheck” plan will be ending on June 1. Interested in buying a Ford but fear that you may lose your job? Go buy one right now. - KickingTires

Jeremy Clarkson, host of our favorite TV show Top Gear, recently got behind the wheel of the new 2009 Audi Q7 V12 TDI. His take?

Even a fast bike, and few are faster than this ghastly Suzuki when ridden by a normal person or that mad-eyed Italian, cannot pull away from the Q7 diesel. And there is something deeply, gooily satisfying about that.

It is a hysterical car, this. Mad. Bonkers. Stupid. It sits on the road network like a Class-1 powerboat would sit at the Henley regatta. Of course, it is also utterly pointless. No one is going to buy a lumbering Q7 for outright speed.

However, let us not dwell on such things. Let us instead rejoice at the fact that it exists. It’s crap. But it’s brilliant too.

You can read his full review over at TimesOnline.

What seems to be the most important week in General Motor’s history is off to a good start. Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) voted 86 percent in favor of a new cost-cutting deal with GM that would assure the company’s feature in Canada. However, in the next five days, GM needs to ratify its terms with the UAW and have a major showdown with bondholders to avoid one of the largest corporate bankruptcy filings ever.

As most of us took the day off to celebrate Memorial Day yesterday, a source familiar with the matter said that the U.S. Treasury was preparing to loan GM $30 billion in debtor-in-possession financing and exit financing. The loan would bring GM’s total federal financing to $50 billion. The struggling automaker received another $4 billion on Friday.

Today, UAW national leaders will meet to discuss a new round of concessions that include closing plants, cutting pay and cutting health car trust. UAW workers are expected to start voting immediately.

The source said that GM is not going to seek bankruptcy protection until its June 1 deadline. Bondholders have until 11:59 p.m. on May 31 to swap $27.2 billion in debt for a 10 percent stake in a restructured GM.

Despite still being in bankruptcy court, Chrysler announced yesterday that it has submitted three proposals to the U.S. Department of Energy that outlines a $448 million plan to “rapidly bring” electric-vehicles and plug-in hybrids to the market.

The plan represents a 50/50 cost-share opportunity where Chrysler LLC and its partners (meaning Fiat SpA) will invest $224 million combined with a DOE matching that with the same number.

“If approved, Chrysler LLC plans to use funds to build a demonstration fleet of PHEVs and EVs, as well as create a new-vehicle electrification technology and manufacturing center located in Michigan.” Chrysler said in statement.

The Auburn Hills automaker said that it will use “as much as $83 million to build a new vehicle electrification technology and manufacturing center in Michigan.” That new facility will be responsible for development, testing, manufacturing electric-drive components and the final assembly of EVs and range-extended-vehicles. Chrysler says that the facility will be functional by 2010 and will produce more than 20,000 units per year.

Press Release:

Chrysler LLC Submits $448 Million Plan to the U.S. Department of Energy for the Rapid Development and Manufacturing of Electrified Vehicles

- Chrysler LLC submits three proposals, totaling $448 million, for two Department of Energy (DOE) initiatives aimed at rapid vehicle electrification - The Transportation Electrification Initiative and Electric Drive Vehicle Battery and Component Manufacturing Initiative
- The 50/50 cost-share opportunity demonstrates how Chrysler LLC, its partners and the DOE can work together to promote technological innovation and energy independence in the United States
- Proposed vehicles to include Dodge Ram 1500 Plug-in Hybrid-electric Vehicles (PHEV), Chrysler Town & Country PHEVs and Chrysler Town & Country Electric Vehicles (EV)

Auburn Hills, Mich., May 26, 2009 - Chrysler LLC today announced the company has submitted three proposals outlining a $448-million plan to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in order to rapidly bring Electric Vehicles (EV) and Plug-in Hybrid-electric Vehicles (PHEV) to market.

Chrysler LLC applied for two initiatives established by the DOE-the Electric Drive Vehicle Battery and Component Manufacturing Initiative and the Transportation Electrification Initiative. Both are designed to speed up development, demonstration, evaluation and manufacturing of EVs and PHEVs. The programs represent a 50/50 cost-share opportunity with $224 million from Chrysler LLC and its partners, combined with a matching $224 million from the DOE. These funds will accelerate the market introduction and penetration of advanced powertrains.

“These initiatives represent how government and the automotive industry are answering the challenge of reaching common goals and demonstrate how rapidly this type of advanced technology can be brought to market in a collaborative environment,” said John Bozzella, Senior Vice President-External Affairs and Public Policy, Chrysler LLC. “Without U.S. innovation and production capacity, we will simply trade batteries for oil in the pursuit of transportation energy.”

If approved, Chrysler LLC plans to use funds to build a demonstration fleet of PHEVs and EVs, as well as create a new-vehicle electrification technology and manufacturing center located in Michigan. The proposal will enable the production of commercially viable products in a shorter time frame. Combined, Chrysler LLC’s proposal will stimulate the economy and help the company achieve its leadership goals in electrified-vehicle development and production.

The Transportation Electrification Initiative
Chrysler LLC’s $365-million submission for the Transportation Electrification Initiative intends to establish a nationwide demonstration fleet of more than 365 test-fleet vehicles for use by select customers and partners. The Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Ram 1500 are popular models in their respective segments and as PHEVs can achieve substantial greenhouse-gas reduction. To ensure a robust assessment, Chrysler will demonstrate 100 Chrysler Town & Country PHEV minivans and 100 Dodge Ram PHEV pickup trucks across a range of drive cycles and consumer-usage patterns in diverse geographies and climates throughout the United States. The company has established more than a dozen partnerships with city and local governments, research and development authorities, utility companies and universities to test the PHEVs.

In addition, through a partnership between Chrysler LLC’s ENVI group and the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), Chrysler LLC will deliver 165 Chrysler Town & Country EV cargo minivans for daily mail service in four regions throughout the country. ENVI has created numerous partnerships with energy providers and utility companies in order to develop an electric-vehicle charging infrastructure that will efficiently service its electric-vehicle test fleet.

The Electric Drive Vehicle Battery and Component Manufacturing Initiative
Within the Electric Drive Vehicle Battery and Component Manufacturing Initiative, Chrysler LLC plans to use as much as $83 million to build a new vehicle electrification technology and manufacturing center in Michigan. This new facility would house development, testing and electric-drive component manufacturing in addition to final assembly of EVs and Range-extended Electric Vehicles (ReEVs). The complex would be functional by 2010 and produce more than 20,000 units per year.

“These proposals present a win-win situation for Chrysler and, most importantly, our customers,” said Frank Klegon-Executive Vice President, Product Development, Chrysler LLC. “This plan will accelerate our efforts to develop and manufacture electric and plug-in hybrid-electric vehicles, which will reduce the amount of time it will take to get these vehicles on the road.”

Chrysler LLC would utilize both DOE programs as first steps toward the commercialization of “no compromise” electrified vehicle technologies beyond Hybrid-electric Vehicle (HEV) applications currently on the road.

Last month, ENVI, Chrysler LLC’s in-house electric vehicle organization, made multiple announcements aimed at accelerating the market introduction of electric-drive vehicles. The company created a lithium-ion battery production partnership with U.S. based A123Systems and facilitated a new lithium-ion battery manufacturing plant in Southeastern Michigan-a joint program with A123Systems and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. Chrysler also announced its plans to address the future needs of fleet customers, such as the U.S. Postal Service, with a pure-electric Chrysler Town & Country EV Cargo minivan.

No Porsches allowed: While Porsche CEO Wendelin Wiedeking is scrambling to find Middle East investors to prevent being taken over by Volkswagen—which would be a reversal of his original plan to acquire the Wolfsburg, Germany-based automaker—VW CEO Martin Winterkorn and Ferdinand Piëch, head of VW's supervisory board, basked among 200,000 aficionados at the annual Wörthersee GTI event in Reifnitz, Austria.

Originally shunned by VW as a proletarian gathering of tuning freaks, over time the event has attracted enough media attention and market value that VW and Audi have repeatedly brought in dedicated concept cars. And while Piëch and Winterkorn remain tight-lipped about any new development with Porsche, they feel right at home talking styling and horsepower on the shores of the Carinthian lake.

All Show and No (Added) Go

This year, VW brought two concept cars—one based on the MkVI Golf GTI and the other on the new 2009 Polo. Dubbed "Wörthersee 09" editions, they are only cosmetic exercises and are in stark contrast to the 641-hp W-12–powered GTI concept that the company built for the 2007 gathering.

Don’t let the badge mislead you; the Jeep Commander commands its brand only in name. It is among the youngest nameplates in the Jeep lineup, and its sales figures command little more than an exasperated groan. From their 2006 high of over 88,000, yearly sales fell to just 28,000 in 2008.

Like the disaster that beset another beleaguered commander, General George Custer, at Little Big Horn, what happened to the Jeep’s sales is well chronicled: the price of gas bloated, killing demand for SUVs; and then the value of everything else imploded, killing demand for cars of all types. You can still get a Jeep Commander with the Hemi V-8, but the responsible choice—as far as seven-passenger, V-8–powered SUVs are concerned in a gasping economy—is the smaller 4.7-liter V-8. Oh, wait. The Hemi is only $820 and gets better fuel economy? Never mind. (There is a V-6, but just because you have rope and are near train tracks doesn’t mean you have to tie yourself to them and wait for the 10:15.)

Getting By With Less, But Not Getting By Very Quickly

The 4.7-liter forfeits 52 hp and 55 lb-ft of torque to the updated Hemi, and we wondered if we would miss them. Could Custer have used a few more soldiers that fateful day? Well, he couldn’t have beenless successful with a couple extra regiments. Zero to 60 mph took 8.0 seconds, with the quarter-mile passing in 16.2 at 85 mph; both figures lag behind all but the slowest entrants in our last three-row-crossover comparo.

Specifications

VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, 4-wheel-drive, 7-passenger, 5-door wagon

PRICE AS TESTED: $46,635 (base price: $41,505)

ENGINE TYPE: SOHC 16-valve V-8, iron block and aluminum heads, port fuel injection

Displacement: 287 cu in, 4701cc
Power (SAE net): 305 bhp @ 5650 rpm
Torque (SAE net): 334 lb-ft @ 3950 rpm

TRANSMISSION: 5-speed automatic with manumatic shifting

DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 109.5 in Length: 188.5 in Width: 74.8 in Height: 72.1 in
Curb weight: 5199 lb

C/D TEST RESULTS:
Zero to 60 mph: 8.0 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 23.9 sec
Street start, 5–60 mph: 8.3 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 16.2 sec @ 85 mph
Top speed (governor limited): 111 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 205 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.74 g

FUEL ECONOMY:
EPA city/highway driving: 13/18 mpg
C/D observed: 14 mpg

The 10th annual Burton European Open (BEO) is gearing up to be one of the season’s most exciting snowboard events as many of the world’s best riders get ready to compete in LAAX, Switzerland from Jan. 9-16, 2009. Top prizes are two brand new Volvo XC60’s, that the best male and female overall rider will

Despite the departure of controversial lead designer Chris Bangle, BMW is showing no signs of returning to the “One sausage, three-sizes” styling brief that it once adhered to. The latest proof of this is the announcement of the production 5 Series Gran Turismo, which, as expected, looks little changed from the concept that set tongues wagging in Geneva, save for a few details like smaller wheels, more conventional interior fabrics and real-world-sized side mirrors.

The genre-blurring BMW 5 Series GT is, in the words of BMW, meant to combine “the characteristic features of a prestige saloon, a modern, highly versatile Sports Activity Vehicle, and a classic Gran Turismo” – outwardly, at least, we’d say that they’ve succeeded in meeting that goal, although the final judgment on whether this amalgam of characteristics is a even a direction worth pursuing will ultimately be made by consumers.

In the meantime, we can focus not only on the five-door hatchback’s design, but also its internals, as BMW has released specifications and pricing for its European market models.

As GM’s June 1 deadline winds down, the struggling automaker borrowed another $4 billion from the U.S. Treasury and won a cost-cutting deal from the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) and United Auto Workers (UAW). However, GM still faces a huge showdown with bondholders, which will most likely drive the automaker towards bankruptcy at the end of the month.

With the new $4 billion borrowed yesterday, the Obama administration has loaned GM a total of $19.4 billion to stay afloat. GM said that it expects that number to rise to $27 billion after June 1.

President Barack Obama said in an interview released today that he is very “confident” that GM would survive after restructuring. Obama did not mention whether GM would be filing for bankruptcy to complete it’s restructuring.

“Ultimately, I think that GM is going to be a strong company and we are going to be pulling out as soon as the economy recovers and they’ve completed their restructuring,” Obama said.

He said that he wanted the government to get out of the auto business as soon as possible.

Source: Reuters

This weekend, the MINI brand and its worldwide community is celebrating the 50th birthday of the brand. The MINI United Festivail takes place at the famous British race track in Silverstone and fans around the world have gathered for this special event.

With this occasion, MINI took the opportunity to introduce two special edition models. The two cars are being derived from the popular Cooper, Cooper S and Cooper D models, and are being branded with the names MINI 50 Mayfair and MINI 50 Camden. The new models are set to launch in September 2009 and they will run in limited numbers.

Some of you might wonder where the naming convention came from, the 50 Mayfair and 50 Camden, were named after famous boroughs of London. To quote from the long MINI press release, ” Both in their design and their features the MINI 50 Mayfair and the MINI 50 Camden stand out clearly from the current, “regular” production models. Numerous features helping to make these two cars truly unmistakable are indeed reserved to these individual anniversary models, making each version truly unique in its own right.

Special body paintwork, light-alloy rims tailored to the car, special materials and surfaces within the interior as well as a range of colors tailored specifically to the MINI 50 Mayfair and, respectively, the MINI 50 Camden underline the exclusivity of these special models available only for a limited period.

The jubilee placard proudly surrounded by chrome trim on the radiator grille provides clear testimony to the tradition of the brand now going back fifty years, bearing the number “50” in typical MINI design and boasting the colours of the Union Jack – red, white, and blue.”

It remains to be seen how serious Cerberus is about keeping Chrysler LLC going or if anyone else will step forward to take control of the Auburn Hills-based company. While the gang in the executive suite determine the company's fate, the engineers at the ENVI division have their shoulders to the grind-stone turning out a fourth electric vehicle for the 2009 Detroit Auto Show. This time the team has applied it's extended-range electric-drive powertrain to the Jeep Patriot. Like the earlier Town and Country EV, this one has an electric motor driving the front wheels, in this case a 150 kW unit. A lithium-ion battery pack of indeterminate capacity gives the Patriot EV a claimed 40-mile range per charge.
A surprisingly small 60-hp internal combustion engine/generator combo keeps the Patriot going after the battery is depleted for up to 400 miles. Since the Patriot is a rebodied Caliber, it seems plausible that if the lights are still on by the time we get to Chicago or New York, we might see an ER-EV version of the Dodge at some point, too. Unfortunately, unless the economy picks up and Chrysler's mainstream lineup is improved, the efforts of the ENVI team might all be for naught.

Navigon and Rand McNally have teamed up to develop some interesting new GPS features that make it easier for users to personalize their trips.
Landmark View 3D is s a $40 upgrade for Navigon's 2200T model and has the ability to display 600 North American landmark buildings in 3D to aid directions... or at least add some novelty to your nav. In keeping with the tourist theme, scenic routes and city guides will be available for $20 each. The scenic routes will feature weekend getaway suggestions, picturesque tours and regional trips. More than 1,400 cites are covered in the guides and routes can be customized to fit your interests. And for another $30 a year, Navigon owners can now be alerted to red light camera locations.
Headed overseas? Add maps of 38 European countries to your Navigon for $130. The update comes pre-loaded on an SD card and covers 4.5 million miles of road and millions of points of interest. The new features will be available for download from the Navigon Fresh software website sometime in the Spring.

Alpine has had iPod compatibility for years, but the user interface has been decidedly un-Apple. Alpine hopes to rectify matter with its new touch-screen iXA-W404 unit works, which boasts a new interface, new features and all the connected goodies audiophiles on the move require.
iPod and iPhone owners will notice that the Alpine's 4.3-inch, touch-screen face displays album art of the current song, and the names of the next two and most recent songs played. Song selection can be made from an alphabetical list just as on the iPod Touch and iPhone or by flipping through the album art in an animation similar to Apple's Cover Flow. Alpine's newest unit also supports video playback from an iPhone or any 30-pin iPod. W404 owners can choose to display three of five "widgets" included with the unit, which include a clock, calendar and photo viewer. The unit can be upgraded by adding components from Alpine's lineup, ranging from GPS, HD Radio, rear-view camera and Bluetooth connectivity. The W404 head unit can even control video display on rear-seat monitors.
The 2DIN iXA-W404 will be available in April for a suggested retail of $550. Alpine's HD radio tuner is a $230 add-on, the rear-view camera system is $220, the Bluetooth module is $180, navigation capability is $350 and a dual seven-inch headrest monitor package is $750.

Chinese manufacturer BYD is planning to have vehicles on sale in the U.S. within two years, with similar ambitions for the European market. The company took a step closer to reaching those goals by launching the world’s first mass-produced plug-in hybrid vehicle in China last month, and at this week’s Detroit Auto Show it confirmed that it plans to enter the U.S. with a range of pure electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. BYD's future lineup will include the F3DM and the battery-powered e6, a mid-size five-passenger crossover vehicle with a driving range of up to 250 miles on a single charge.
BYD Auto F3DM plug-in hybrid

Behold, "The Great Indian Traveling Machine." According to Mahindra, the company's new XYLO has been completely engineered around the customer, and it is nothing short of a frontal assault on the era of sedans. The Indian automaker's new crossover/MPV spells almost certain doom for a project between Renault and M&M to develop a seven seat version of the low-cost Logan. The XYLO and Logan MCV would compete directly, and Mahindra has gone with its own product instead. 57 Mahindra dealerships will be the elite points of sale for this new vehicle that adds luxury items like captain's chairs, dual-zone air-conditioning, and "flight trays" to a vehicular market that requires ruggedness above all.
The XYLO's powertrain packs a 2.5-liter diesel engine that delivers a run to "60 kmph" in 5.8 seconds. 5.8 seconds to 40 miles-per-hour isn't exactly scorching performance, but it's not like traffic in India fosters wide open running, and being comparatively coddled while stuck in New Delhi gridlock strikes us as a serious selling point. As does its 624,500 INR starting price, roughly $12,700 in US dollars. Laugh at it if you will, take xenophobic shots if you must, but Indian automakers are rounding the learning curve quickly.

We really feel for the folks at Saab, and not just because we love the 9-5 SportCombi and that we pined for a Turbo 900 with the Aero package for what seemed like all of the '80s. Yet look ahead 20 years - specifically to the 2009 Detroit Auto Show - and all we have to get excited about is the Saab 9-5 Griffin Edition. Frankly, the press release is more exciting.
The grille is spruced up with matte chrome. Besides the fact that it looks like plastic, doesn't a matte finish defeat the purpose of chrome? Inside, as always with Saab, the two-tone seats are terrific places to plop one's rear, and the things covered in leather have the look and feel you want in your quirky luxury sedan. Elsewhere... well, it's the same thing Saab owners have been looking at for years, but with some of the plastic in different places. It isn't bad. It's "Why?"
It comes with almost everything; the only options being metallic paint, ventilated seats and navigation. But when this is everything, and everything in sedan form costs $42,775, who's looking for this? Oh Saab, wherefore art thou? You can read the press release after the jump, and check out the gallery of high-res photos below.

Yesterday's announcement from GM stating the 2010 Pontiac G8 ST was being canceled came to us like a knife in the heart, so today, we had a conversation with Susan Docherty, the Pontiac Marketing VP.

We all knew the G8 ST would be a niche product, with a concentrated but rabid fan base, us included—it was so close we could almost smell the burning rubber. Unfortunately, forces beyond the control of the General have colluded with forces within its control to put an end to the not-El Camino. But why? We took a half hour and talked to General Motors Vice President for Marketing at Buick, Pontiac and GMC, Susan Docherty.

First and foremost we had to ask if it was a postponement or a permanent cancellation. We're sorry to report it is a permanent cancellation. As part of the recovery plan submitted to Congress, Pontiac will "focus the brand on useful, sporty, passenger cars," the G8 ST just didn't fit into that definition. She further went on to note that, although it was a car enthusiasts were waiting for, it was a prudent business move to cancel the program.

But what of Pontiac? Well, the pointy-arrow brand is in for some shake ups. Just as Buick has been paired down to a leaner, meaner product portfolio over the last few years with the stylish Rendevous and the new 2010 Buick LaCrosse set to unveil at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show, so too will Pontiac be slimmed down. The current lineup includes six nameplates if you include the to-be-released Pontiac G3 and GM now believes this is too many. Beginning immediately, Pontiac is evaluating its portfolio and examining product plans to determine what the brand will look like in the years to come.

Dealers are apparently behind the culling as well. After the announcement of the cancellation of the G8 ST and a refocusing of the brand, Docherty says she received emails from dealers stating their support for the move. She's believes they'll be happy with fewer models if if the trimmed down product line is as good at Pontiac as it has been at Buick. Docherty also doesn't believe that a Pontiac full of "useful, sporty, passenger cars" will necessarily abandon the longterm "Driving Excitement" mantra at Pontiac. The decision to include the Pontiac G3 in the US lineup to satisfy the demand for a fuel miser makes us pause at that assertion, but we'll grudgingly admit it makes sense from a dollars and cents perspective.

It's a tough moment for GM, and it's requiring tough decisions. Painful as it may be to see products like the G8 ST fall under the knife, Pontiac, and in the larger picture GM, will probably be healthier in the long run. We don't have to like it though

We knew it was on the bubble, but just moments ago, Pontiac told dealers they plan to kill the Pontiac G8 ST. Yup, GM's killed the El Camino. Again.

Really, ever since we saw the Pontiac G3, we kind of knew the brand was moving away from the direction the brand deserved to be and into...well...something else. We also knew the new coming of the El Camino was on the ropes. So the news today from our sources with knowledge of the arrowheaded brand's product direction wasn't entirely unexpected.

The General's recent cash problems only heightened the reality. We're disappointed, of course, but we were more disappointed when the news came out the pickup-truck-ized G8 wasn't going to get the El Camino name plate. Well, it's over. Guess we can cross the G8 ST off our list of cars we want to buy in the new year. We're going to go and hit up CraigsList

Hyundai recently updated its Tucson compact SUV with a new four-cylinder engine but the next-generation model, seen here testing in prototype form, is less than a year away and is expected to be limited to a four-cylinder engine lineup. Due late this year as a 2010 model, the new Tucson will move to a more crossover-styled body and is tipped to share its platform with the next Kia Sportage. These latest spy shots show the upcoming SUV undergoing cold-weather testing in Europe. The rough outline of the prototype reveals that the next Tucson will have a much smoother design than the boxy style of the current model, but will remain largely the same size.
2010 Hyundai Tucson spy shots

Before Subaru entered the World Rally Championship in the Nineties, it was little more than an obscure Asian automaker. Though its rallying efforts helped to put it on the map, Subaru has decided to ditch the WRC this season. But another little-known Asian automaker may be ready to pick up what Subaru is throwing away. That company is Malaysian automaker Proton. And it's not as ridiculous as you may think.
The state-owned enterprise has a strong customer base in Asia, and is the largest automaker in the Muslim world. Proton also owns Lotus, which brings the parent company a considerably performance engineering knowledge base to tap into. Subaru's former partner Prodrive is looking for a new client. And to cap things off, now unemployed former champion Petter Solberg (who used to drive for Subaru), is now rumored to be signing on to Proton's rally team. Together with motorsport garage MEM, Proton has been busy preparing an S2000-spec rally car based on its Satria Neo hatchback for the lower-level Intercontinental Rally Championship, and if plans to switch the WRC to a modified "S2000+" formula come through, it could pave the way for Proton to mount an assault on the WRC by 2010, as the brand is eager to expand outside its regional market and establish itself in Europe.

Click above for high-res gallery of the Kia Soul

In addition to making its own sportscars that are renowned for their sublime handling, Lotus has helped a wide variety of other automakers - Dodge, Ford, Isuzu, Talbot, Tesla, Toyota, and Vauxhall to name a few - adjust the suspensions on their cars to Lotus standards. Kia is slated to become the next to benefit from the combined experience of Lotus' chassis experts, as the Korean automaker recently contracted the services of the British engineering firm.
The first car to benefit from Lotus' input will be the new Kia Soul, but the partnership is slated to extend to all of the Korean brand's future models. Although reports suggest that the collaboration is earmarked specifically towards setting up Kia products for British roads, we certainly hope that Lotus can help Kia's ride and handling dynamics across the board. This isn't the first time Lotus and Kia have collaborated, either, as Kia sold rebadged versions of the Elan for a couple of years after Lotus discontinued the model in 1995.

Gallery: Paris 2008: Kia Soul

Apparently while 50 Cent was recently in England to shoot a film or a video or who knows what, him or his crew locked the keys to someones Rolls Royce Phantom in the car and required the art of the coathanger to open the doors. The plates are from Dubai, which is apparently not uncommon for exotics in London to Dubai plates, however I doubt he owns this car let alone had anything to do with these photos