The cars are really getting nice . . . ’bout damn time . . . Might be way too late!

The LA Times writes today, GM earns $865 million in first quarter for its first profit in nearly three years.

Sustained profits are seen as crucial for GM’s ability to float a stock offering to repay some of the $52 billion the federal government has poured into the company over the last year. The bailout made the government GM’s biggest shareholder, owning 61% of the automaker’s stock. The company exited from a bankruptcy reorganization July 10.

“There is a political aspect that the government wants to get out of its GM stake as quick as it can, especially if it can recoup somewhere near the dollars invested,” said Kenneth Elias, an auto industry analyst and partner at Maryann Keller & Associates.

But GM’s still-recovering finances and tenuous capital markets could still leave taxpayers far from a way out.

Will our government ever get itself disentangled from GM and Chrysler? Probably not as long as Obama is the Auto-CEO-in-Chief . . . dude LOVES runnin’ the big show! Of course, true Progressives HATE the automobile — provides far too much autonomy of movement to the clattering masses don’t ya know. Here is the solution to that from David Lazarus, one o’ the LAT’s Lefty Business-Opinion writer: Punish those of us that drive and reward those that take the bus.

Yeah, like that works out here in “45,000 square miles” of La La Land.

Dude — Subway this!

As GM and Chrysler struggle through their respective bankruptcies and attempt to survive as government-owned industries, the private sector is striking back in Louisiana. Yesterday LA Governor Bobby Jindal (R) announced that a brand new, non-government-owned automotive company will be coming to his state with a new factory located in Monroe. Workers there will earn $40,000 a year — which will go a looooong way in northern part of the Big Easy state.

San Diego’s V-Vehicle Co is that company, and it was said that it would be building high-milage gas powered vehicles. Venture capital company Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, already a major player in Fisker Automobile, along with T. Boone Pickens and — wait a sec, I gotta take a deep one here — Al Gore, via Generation Investment Management. Mr. Global Warming his own wacky self is gonna be a partner in a gasoline-powered car company. The irony hangs heavy like the moss in New Orleans’ Garden District. Still, with Gore on board, the MSM will be giving these guys all the positive press they can muster.

But, back to V-VC. Tom Matano, father of the Mazda Miata (savior of the small, front-engined sports car!) and designer for Mazda for 19 years is staffing the place. The vehicle itself hasn’t been announced as yet, but with Matano in charge it should look good and be fun to drive. With an achieving of their stated goals of high-mileage to boot, what more can one want from an American-made small car? V-Vehicle Co. founder, former Oracle exec. Frank Varasano, said yesterday, “We’ve designed and engineered this car from start to finish to give the U.S. consumer a quality car with great value made right here in America.” They are projecting start of production in 18 months. Here are some video interviews..

Gotta be makin’ them g’vment lackeys back in Detroit a bit nervous, no?

General Motors announced yesterday that it will be selling its Saturn division to Penske Automotive Group, the Roger Penske owned company that has over 300 dealer franchises mostly here in the US and in the UK. Penske already is the US distributor for the MCC Smart vehicles and the new Saturn would be operated in a similar manner. This is good news for the 13,000 folks working in the 350 Saturn dealerships, who would have been SOL if the General had not found a buyer and asked the bankruptcy court to allow them to break those contracts and just shut the whole thing down. It also saves jobs at GM, as a plant that was scheduled to close will now stay open at least another two years as it continues to make three of the existing models for the Penske owned company.

Hummer is going through the same type of deal, if the Chinese allow it, and that will also keep some GM workers working, as they continue to assemble vehicles for the new Chinese-owner Hummer company.

The next big hurdle for Saturn will be to find a new manufacturer to replace GM when it stops making Saturn product in two years. That’s not enough time to design and develop a single model, let alone a vehicle line, so shopping for appropriate existing products to restyle and badge will be the main focus of this new group or it will easily run out of time. One could ask the question of why not continue making for Saturn if the deal is profitable for GM? Funny business, this car business. There are safety and CAFE (corporate average fuel economy) regulations far into the future that must be met in order to sell here, and when models are originally designed and engineered to meet/exceed the regs for a span of time, when that time span is done a significant re-engineering effort is required and that takes mucho bucks! Enter the Koreans and the Chinese for new Saturn products.

So, is this what the auto industry is about to become? Will it lead to more, or less diversity of products for us to consider? One thing is certain though, with the Democrats firmly in control, and with the intense hatred of cars by the D.C. elite, as shown every time these jokers regain power, there’s gonna more, not less, regulation and meddling from Uncle Sam. Especially now that he’s (we’re) the majority stake owner in GM. Hey, Prez Barry O’s appointed a 31-year-old college dropout to be the Car Czar and run this deal.

What could possibly go wrong?

Boy, seems like only a few months ago that we were bailing out the banks and big insurance companies with TARP funds, and then we had to step up and loan General Motors and Chrysler BILLIONS of tax payer dollars because, well, uh, “they are too big to fail.” Well, Chrysler failed and went into chapter 13, and now the General has joined them with Monday’s largest industrial bankruptcy evah! Guess we’re all supposed to be placated by US, the taxpayers, ending up owning at least 60% of the New GM.

The implications and repercussions of GM being torn asunder with the toxic assets becoming Old GM — to be thrown under the liquidation bus and afterwards Cadillac, Chevy, Buick & GMC soldiering on as the New GM with little to no debt and parity with Toyota & Honda in wage costs — are staggering! The local fallout of 42% of existing GM dealers losing their franchises is mind boggling! What could go wrong?

Well, imagine the government providing incentives for US to buy government-owned GM cars and trucks via tax breaks — gotta make it work, we ALL own it, right? Imaging the government punishing Ford, Honda, Toyota et all because, well, they aren’t “government owned” and therefore are in direct competition with the government’s best interest. Imagine if the Obama administration decides to force those dealers to close that didn’t support Obama in last fall’s election and make sure that those that did get competition-free zones! Never happen you say? Laer at Cheat-Seeking Missiles lets up know that it might already have.

When I first read of Dealergate in a “Red Alert” post by Doug Ross – the supposed effort by the Obama admin to close Chrysler dealerships whose owners are big GOP donors – I decided not to write about it because a key question was unanswered: How many Chrysler dealers are big Obama supporters?

Seemingly, car dealership owners, as entrepreneurs in a business that’s under odious regulation and ongoing threats to its survival by Dem pontificators, would be overwhelmingly Republican, so dealerships forced to close by a Dem admin would be overwhelmingly Republican. I’m not sure that question has yet to be answered, but the story is getting some very sticky traction (at least on the right side of the blogosphere), so it’s officially an Obama Drama.

In Ross’ newest post, he’s been putting dealership locations and political contributions and finding a pattern of GOP-contributing dealerships being closed to the benefit of nearby Obama-supporting dealerships. Here’s one example of many, many presented:

It’s the Chicago way, don’t ya know? Michelle Malkin has it pegged about that and the total silence from the MSM. Imagine if a Republican administration had been doing something like this.

As I’ve stated from the beginning, there is still much to be researched on this issue. Given Obama’s Chicago gangland propensities, anything corrupt is possible.

Some professional journalists, however, have shown obstinate unwilligness to get to the bottom of the decision-making process.

Visit Laer’s site for the specifics and links to the primary data and to Doug Ross’ blog. Me? I’m gonna go off into a corner and twiddle my thumbs and celebrate owning 2, count ‘em, TWO car companies.

Not really . . .

Howdy! If anyone is still out there to read this . . . I see that it was Mother’s Day, 12 days ago since I posted. That has to be some kind of record for me. It’s certainly not that there hasn’t been a lot to write about, a lot to complain about, a hell of a lot to be worried about — but gee folks, clients came out of the woodwork with a vengeance and one would be a fool to complain about being busy in this current economy!

Speaking of said economy, I see on Drudge that the feces have hit the wind machine big time — the Fed Chairman “promising” that inflation will increase, all but six states had job losses last month with this lovely granola state ‘winning’ the biggest loser contest, the Feds may force GM into bankruptcy even though it has made a tentative ‘deal’ with the UAW, (funny how those pesky bondholders can be so picky about the terms of their haircuts — gee, ya think that a secured lender is supposed to get preference over the Unions’ unsecured debt or somethin’?) The US dollar has hit a new multi-month low vs euro, pound and yen. Sweet! Anymore good economic news?

Oh yeah, Treasury Sec. Tax-dodger Tim is ‘concerned’ about U.S. creditworthiness, which is being flushed down the toilet Internationally so he’s now ‘promising’ to cut the budget deficit, like right damn now! With all the spending this administration has planned, and the stimulus package and TARP plus the impending Carbon Cap & Trade legislation that is being railroaded through Congress without opposition comment — where are they gonna come up with the moolah? Once they drain that upper 5% income bracket, better bend over ’cause they’re gonna come after yours and mine!

One last item before I’m off for a client lunch. Nancy Pelosi is now finished saying anything more about her accusations of lying by the CIA. Guess that hole’s been dug deep enough!

More when I can . . .

Tell me it’s only a dream . . .

“Hello, this is Obama, uh, ummm, urr, OnStar — Stay tuned for an important message about your vehicle.”

“Uh, Mr. Okie — we noticed that you voted FOR California’s Proposition 8, the anti-same-sex marriage amendment to the CA constitution and that you also voted for John McCain and that obnoxious moose-shooting abortion-hating-cretin, Sarah Palin — that type of behavior simply will not do.

Your vehicle will be deactivated for the next 60 days so that you can experience the trials and tribulations of your less fortunate brethren as you ride the bus. Maybe next time you’ll make better choices. Have a great day!

In the upcoming “deal” that will keep General Motors afloat, at least for awhile longer, the federal government will “own” 50% of GM’s stock. I’m betting that it will be at least 51%, gotta have that undeniable control don’t ya know? Along with Cadillac, GMC, Buick and Chevrolet, the feds will be getting control of OnStar — that little ditty of a “communications” package that has been installed in most GM vehicles in the past decade. So what? Well, consider this:

“The Truth About Cars” wrote that “OnStar’s computer knows where you were, when you were there, and how fast you went. It knows if and when you applied the brakes, if and when the air bags deployed, and what speed you were going at the time. It knows if and when your car was serviced. OnStar operators can determine if you have a passenger in the front seat (airbag detection). … under certain conditions, OnStar can switch on your GM car’s microphone remotely and record any and all sounds within the vehicle (i.e. conversations).”[8]

{…}

Voice-monitoring capability is marketed as OnStar Hands-Free Calling.[9] The use of this type of capability by law enforcement is subject to legal debate and some technical impediments.[10] OnStar maintains that it is unable to “listen to, view, or record the content of calls”.[11] However, a 2003 lawsuit revealed that systems such as OnStar can be used for eavesdropping on passenger conversations.[12]

Also, it’s possible for them to deactivate your vehicle — What? You thought that they could only unlock the doors?

Police will be able to remotely halt high-speed pursuits with technology being unveiled Tuesday that aims to cut chase-related deaths.

General Motors GM plans to equip 1.7 million of its 2009 model vehicles with the system that allows pursuing officers to request that engines of stolen cars be remotely switched off through the OnStar mobile communications system.

The system, scheduled to be demonstrated Tuesday in Washington, D.C., marks a big move toward reducing what GM says are as many as 9,600 pursuits around the country every year. Up to 400 people die in accidents involving chases, according PursuitWatch.org, an activist group.

“Anytime you have the ability to shut down a dangerous pursuit, that’s a win for everyone,” says Geoffrey Alpert, criminology professor at the University of South Carolina.

Because of a built-in global-tracking device, OnStar already allows police to find stolen vehicles. Now, with permission of the owner, they’ll have the ability to have the engine turned off.

Police will only be allowed to ask for a shutdown when they have a vehicle in sight. An OnStar operator will inform fleeing suspects that the engine is about to stopped, which can then occur in seconds. Brakes and power steering will still function, says OnStar President Chet Huber.

“This isn’t a science project. We are broadly deploying this technology,” he says.

{…}

Such a system has been talked about for years, but law enforcement experts want all manufacturers to participate.

Awww, “want all manufacturers to participate” — no kidding!

Now, there are some stringent privacy provisions in the Onstar contracts, and so far it still takes a court order to use the most egregious tactics against drivers and owners — and we all know that our federal government, our new President and Saviour Bestest-Buddy-Evah! and his Chicago boys would never change the terms of a deal or strong arm anyone, like the Chairman of General Motors, one of Chrysler’s creditors or a Joe the Plumber, right?

Uh Oh! Houston — we got a problem . . .

The rumors had been flying all weekend but this AM it is official. GM announced that the Pontiac brand will be no more, along with the Saturn, Hummer and Saab brands as well as shedding of 42% of its selling dealers and 28% of its manufacturing plants — and the elimination of 21,000 jobs — all by this year’s end. Is this a death spiral for GM or the start of real survival? The LA Times writes:

The automaker announced the sweeping moves as part of a revised business plan it is submitting to the Treasury Department.

“The objective here is not to survive, the objective is to develop an operating plan that helps us win,” said Fritz Henderson, GM’s president and chief executive in a morning conference call. “It’s a difficult period, it’s a challenging period, it’s a very painful period.”

Henderson conceded, however, that a bankruptcy filing would still be a possibility if the company is unable to reach accords with stakeholders.

“What’s good for General Motors is good for the USA” — boy, that’s sure dated now, isn’t it? Or, maybe not — I know that I need to go on a diet! But Okie, why all the fuss about a low-performing division of a car company in dire straights? History — personal history that is. Pontiac has some special meaning for me, let me explain . . .

       Classic Pontiac “Wide-Track” advertising illustrations.The year was 1967, and for some reason I had waited several months after my 16th birthday to even attempt to get my driver’s license. Anyone who has known me since then would not have believed that, as I’ve been auto-addicted ever since. Many a forest has been felled to satisfy my auto mag hungers over the years, and if my current subscriptions are any indication, many more trees will have to die in the future!

I had been taking private driving lessons in a ‘67 Mustang coupe, but the dude from the driving school didn’t show up at the DMV on my test day. Arrrrrrgh! Not wanting to wait another week for a reschedule I decided to take the test in the car that my mom drove us there in — her ‘66 Pontiac Bonneville 4-door sedan. That was like going from a tidy ski boat to a 40 foot Chris-Craft. I made a few practice attempts at parallel parking the beast and then promptly aced the sucker. My eyes and reflexes were so much better four decades ago — I just hope that my judgment and experience level makes up for the deterioration I notice now.

My first car that I bought with my own coin was a 1966 Pontiac LeMans “Sprint”, which had GM’s then brand new OHC six, with a humongous Rochester Quadrajet 4-barrel carb and four-on-the-floor. Man, did that little six moan when the peddle was buried in the carpet, or mat — I can’t remember now which it was. $450 bought a lot of show, but the go part came with some caveats — I didn’t exactly pick the most reputable used car lot and was smitten by the looks — has happened a few times since, too (wish that I was only talkin’ about cars!)

The magnificent six was a sludge monkey — the previous owner evidently never changed the oil — and after a hard run it would belch up about 3 quarts of hot, smelly oil and sludge up and over the fill pipe onto the ground. Lots o’ fun, that. A totally plugged line from the crankcase to the blowback valve was the culprit, and when that was cleared the toxic-oil-spills were defeated. However, the hydraulic lifters that made this OHV engine so quiet and maintenance free compared to the European’s with their solid lifters and constant need for valve clearance adjustment were plugged with the sludge and the cam lobes were getting flattened at an alarming rate. My friend with super mechanic skills helped me through an upper tear-down and a flushing of the oil pan and circulation system with gasoline and an electric drill spinning the oil pump — don’t try that at home kiddies! Yikes! Also, don’t fire up the motor at 4 AM with no mufflers attached in the garage attached to the house, with your parents’ bedroom window just off the garage door! “Uh, no dad, we didn’t know what time it is — sorry?”

I hit a horse with that car. Don’t tow a white car home at 2 AM with the driver’s side covered with thick-dark-red blood, the roof crushed and the windshield caved in without calling first — “Un, no mom, dad. I’m OK. The horse isn’t so good though. You guys look a little pale — you all right?”

Amazing how a car only two model years old could have been such a piece of junk! It also had a few electrical problems, something to do with fuses covered with gum wrapper foil. Gotta LUV that used car dealer! After a couple of hours of my dad and I lying under the dash replacing burnt wiring so that we could get home from his drug store where I worked after school, instead of going home we went to the American Motors lot where I got a brand-spankin’ new 1969 Javelin — Big Bad Blue edition, with a 290, Carter AFB, 4-speed and reclining seats! (That’s a different story altogether.) Thank the fates for a college scholarship — which left me with money for that ride — which I kept for over 5 years.

My next Pontiac was 34 years later — a 2001 Bonneville SSEI which you can see featured in this blog’s footer. Amazing what three and a half decades of engineering advancement does: solid unibody construction, 4-wheel independent suspension and disc brakes, power almost everything, dual-zone climate control, satellite radio with Bose sound, and not to forget, an Eaton supercharger that made puttin’ pedal to carpet way too much fun!

Good bye, Pontiac — it was good to know ya!

Not that the boys at General Motors have done a bang up job or anything the last few years, but . . . I keep thinking that if the Obama crew would just focus on getting the banks fixed and credit flowing again a lot of this US business pain and suffering would self-correct. Of course, that would get in the way of the Mighty O’s channeling of his inner Hugo Chavez. Still, if any other U.S. companies are considering asking this government for a hand up, they now know that it’s gonna be a “Hand Up The ‘ol Wazzoo!”

Bottom line — the termination of GM C.E.O. Rick Wagoner was more Obama Kabuki theater gone wild — a sacrifice to the general public that would still rather buy a big pick-em-up-truck than a sh_t-box tin can, now that gas is again around the two buck mark.

Jeremy Anwyl, chief executive of the automotive Web site Edmunds.com, called the move “political theater” to appease an increasingly bailout-weary public.

“American taxpayers are not happy,” Anwyl said. “But this way you’re able to point to Rick and say he’s gone, and that creates an environment where the loans become politically palatable.”

By all accounts, Wagoner made progress in fixing GM. While CEO, he cut its U.S. work force from 177,000 to roughly 92,000 today.

Wagoner also closed factories; shed the unprofitable Oldsmobile brand; globalized GM’s engineering, manufacturing and design to save billions; and led a resurgence in quality and performance of its long-neglected cars. In 2007, the company reached a landmark agreement with the United Auto Workers that shifted massive retiree health care costs to a union-run trust and ushered in a $14-per-hour wage for new hires, about half that of a current laborer.

But critics, including many members of Congress, say Wagoner moved too slowly, failing to cut enough of the company’s huge health care and pension costs, and relying too long on high-profit pickup trucks and SUVs as gas prices rose and the market shifted toward smaller vehicles.

In the past four years, GM has piled up $82 billion in losses.

Still, Wagoner had the company moving in the right direction, Anwyl said.

Who’s next? Who knows. The Obama crew wants sweeping new powers from Congress to take over financial companies that are not banks, if they feel like it. Maybe Ford should keep an eye in it’s rear view mirror. After Chrysler is gone . . . they’re probably next!

Cause, like in the movies — “He’ll be back!”

[Update]

Laer Pierce offers this:

Who’d have thought a year ago that the federal government would today have the power to force out the head of a private corporation? And yet, curiously, those same powerful hacks seem to lack the power to remove Ron Gettelfinger, the president of the UAW. I wonder what’s up with that …

You know, if I were a less suspicious man, it might not occur to me that the Obamarxists are doing all they can to drive down the value of GM and Chrysler so that were they “forced” to take the companies over for their own good, the cost of doing so would not be so dear.

But I think that’s exactly what they’re doing.

Our fearless leaders seem bent on the destruction of the US economy. At the G20 we’ll see if they want to cripple the world at large, which is what their cap-&-trade plans suggest. Yeah, a good ol’ cap&trade war — big fun for everybody! Totalitarianism rises from the ashes of chaotic destruction like the mythical Phoenix — oh ya betcha!

Over at Track a ‘Crat an ex. pat Brit living in D.C. comments on our Pres and his actions as opposed to his campaign promises.

Some people thought that President Obama, true to his more moderate campaign language, would shy away from his radical tendencies once in office.

Suckers.

Michelle Malkin has this one:

Barack Obama, auto repairman-in-chief, is on TV promising to guarantee that your GM/Chrysler car gets serviced and repaired.

Only thing he forgot to promise: the free tire gauges!

Heh!

At Hot Air, Ed Morrissey gets this in on the All About The ‘O’ Auto Warranty Program:

Good news, American auto owners! If you’ve been eyeballing a Lexus or a CRV because you want to own a car whose maker will be around long enough to honor the warranty, take another look at Detroit. Instead of handling their own warranties, Uncle Barack and his dog Spot will handle your warranty — along with a hefty new bureaucracy: {…}

This is great news — for fans of the DMV.

{…}

Government does not belong in the business of offering auto warranties. Two years ago, that would have been so obvious as to elicit derisive laughter for even mentioning it. But when we get a bunch of used-car salesmen in the White House and Congress, this is the result.

Double heh!!

Meanwhile, in an unrelated vein, The Anchoress’ Sandra Bullock/Rush Limbaugh dream gets a poster.

Triple heh!!!

Technorati Tags: GM CEO, Obama, Rick Wagoner

Progress! On Tuesday General Motors unveiled the production version of the upcoming (2010?) Chevrolet Volt, a series-hybrid vehicle who’s motive force is an electric motor with an axillary gasoline engine on board only to recharge the battery pack after its initial 40-mile range is depleted. Since the average commute for the American driver is less than 40 miles, most Volt owners will use very little gasoline, as long as they remember to plug it in at night.

Wired Magazine quotes GM CEO Rick Wagoner as saying during the unveiling:

“Revealing the production version of the Chevy Volt is a great way to open our second century,” Wagoner said. “The Volt is symbolic of GM’s strong commitment to the future … just the kind of technology innovation that our industry needs to respond to today’s and tomorrow’s energy and environmental challenges.”

Wired goes on to preview the Volt’s features and details of its development from concept to production reality:

The Volt is not a Johnny-come-lately second-rate Prius. It’s a technological step forward and a bit of a surprise from a company that has for decades been known for evolution, not revolution. The Volt’s 17-inch wheels are driven by an electric motor that gets its juice from a T-shaped battery with 220 lithium-ion cells. GM says it’s good for 40 miles of zero-emission electric driving. The small gasoline engine under the hood acts only as a generator, charging the battery as it approaches depletion and eliminating the “range anxiety” that make EVs a tough sell for road-trip-lovin’ Americans.

The sleek, rounded car Wagoner showed off today shares little family resemblance with the angular concept he unveiled in 2007. The radical redesign was borne of necessity — maximizing aerodynamic efficiency is essential to squeezing every last mile from the battery, and the original design was about as slick as a brick.

After discovering the concept car’s wretched drag coefficient of .43 — roughly the same aerodynamic efficiency as a Chevrolet Silverado pickup — GM’s designers and engineers spent more than 1,000 hours in the wind tunnel reworking the exterior. What they emerged with is, according to GM, more aerodynamic than the Toyota Prius or the Honda Civic Hybrid. “We spent three times longer on this car than any other car [in GM’s history],” says Nina Tortosa, the engineer who oversaw wind tunnel testing. “It will be one of the most aerodynamic cars out there.”

OK, looks like the future of daily commuting is only months away . . . regardless of the beatings of the do-nothing-but-impede-with-regulation Dem-wit controlled Congress. Here’s a look at the production version outside and in, although motivated only via a small electric motor as the production drive train is only being tested in Malibu mules.

Carpe diem Volt