I finally had a bit of time over the holiday weekend to do some much-need photo sorting and backing up. While I was at it, I decided to upload the complete gallery from the ‘09 JCCA New Year Meeting held back in January in Tokyo.

Read more

So much for the bailout leading to a compact/alt-energy über alles approach. The newly reconstituted Chrysler has lost its A/B segment (compact, city car) vehicle line chief and will be cutting nearly half of its Global Electric Motors (GEM) dealers. Of course, Chrysler’s A/B segment vehicle lines are empty at the moment, and aren’t likely to be filled with anything beyond cynical Fiat rebadges. Is that why Andreas Schell, who came to Chrysler with the Daimler merger, is leaving? Chrysler spokesfolks tell Automotive News [sub] only that they knew Schell “has left the company but didn’t know where he is heading.” Meanwhile, Chrysler is culling 64 of its 150 GEM dealers because “many of the rejected GEM dealers failed to sell more than a handful of GEM cars [er, Neighborhood Electric Vehicles, actually] in the past 12 to 24 months or longer… The debtors have determined that the GEM dealership agreements are neither necessary nor valuable to their estates and should be rejected.” Of course, perhaps the problem isn’t so much the dealers as the vehicles… but good luck getting a judge to rule that way. In any case, the one GEM dealer that the Freep spoke to was glad to see the GEMs go, saying they never sold regularly or particularly profitably.

Read more

Why is Chrysler’s new board chock full of former airline men and the governmentally well-connected? Because auto firm experience isn’t necessary for these things. Just ask Chrysler’s former owners Cerberus. Or, for another perspective, ask United Airlines employees about their experience with employee ownership. Meanwhile, the Aveo still sucks and the SL65 Black Series is still bat-shit loco. Plus, we’re working on getting our sales data in a more universal format.

Read more

The Department of Transportation’s (DOT) is administering the forthcoming Cash For Clunkers (a.k.a. CARS) program. Although the program’s popularity remains to be seen, one thing’s for sure: they’re going in with their eyes wide open. “We’ve spent more time on issues involving potential fraud than anything else,” Spokesman Rae Tyson told us. “If we discover any criminal acts, we’ll hand the cases straight to the Department of Justice for immediate investigation and prosecution.” To that end, the DOT is subcontracting to an as-yet-unnamed third party for an as-yet-unspecified fee to hire an as-yet-unspecified number of “spot checkers.” Hey, you try creating and administering a federal program in 30 days. Truth be told, with just seventeen days left before CARS goes live, the DOT’s still grappling with the basics needed to protect a billion dollars in taxpayer money.

Read more

On April 1st, 2008 significant modifications to road safety regulations in the Canadian provinces of Québec and Nova Scotia went into effect. CTV.ca reports that handheld cellular phones are now verboten while at the wheel, though hands free devices are still tolerated. Nova Scotia will begin ticketing the offense immediately, while Québec has allowed for a three-month grace periods in which offenders will only receive stern warnings and moralizing sermons. The first offense in Nova Scotia will cost $165, while costing $80-$110 and three demerit points in Québec. Still not satisfied, road safety advocate Jean-Marie de Koeninck argues that “[h]ands-free is just as dangerous. (But) by forbidding the hand-held it does send a signal that there is a problem with the cellphone, there’s a problem with concentration”. Meanwhile, the same traffic safety bill in Québec also doubled all speeding fines , with new suspension of license provisions for those caught traveling at 40 km/h over the limit in under-60 zones, 50 km/h in 60-90 over zones, and 60 km/h over in 100+ zones. All in the name of safety, presumably.

Read more

The Fiat 500 C press event I went to at the end of last week was worth going to. Thankfully, I didn’t find myself listening to an over-detailed presentation about the technical specs of the car (that stuff should all be available in the press pack). Most journalists appreciate a to-the-point presentation that highlights what’s important rather than a methodical ploughing through of everything about the car.

In fact, the Fiat UK MD, Andy Humberstone, stuck to the basics of the car and talked more broadly about Fiat UK’s business (here’s a link to the article I was able to write before breakfast, pleasantly hangover free - no need for an Audi-style corporate-manslaughter-avoiding press launch breathalyser).

The car? I hate to sound kind of sexist, but I think it will appeal particularly to young professional females. I like what Fiat have done with the soft top and there’s a ‘girlie’ feel, especially inside. Nothing wrong with that. After seeing BBC Top Gear last night (they did a comparison of small premium cars and admitted afterwards that they had overlooked the best of the lot – the 500), Fiat can perhaps be excused a bit of a bask in the good reception the car has had. The new variant should do well. With small cars all the rage in Europe, it looks like the right product at the right time.

Maybe not a car for thrashing, but it certainly provides enough fun around town for the target customer.

How would it do in the States, I wonder…

Some pics below. Dorset coast was pretty and the hotel was just off Poole quay where we could see the Sunseeker boat yard and some rather large yachts. A jolly chap called Dennis fom a Bridport radio station told me over a beer that a worker there once tried to make his own Sunseeker ‘One piece at a time’ Johnny Cash Caddy assembly line style. They caught him, but he’d got quite a long way to getting his own boat…  

Read more