Holiday QOTD: What will be 2009’s Car of the Year?

2008? That was sooo last year.

While every other auto blog is bombasting readers with The Best (fill-in the blank) of the last twelve months, the Crank thinks hindsight is for wimps. Predicting the future, that’s where the money’s at.

Despite the Autopocalypse and a gaggle of 2009 models already available in dealer showrooms, there are still a flood of new cars coming in the next twelve months.

Small cars are still popular in Canada. But will either the forthcoming Mazda3, Volkswagen Golf, Nissan Cube or Kia Soul be the most significant?

With gas prices now almost half the price from last July’s record high prices, will new hybrids like the Toyota Prius—and its Lexus HS 250h derivative—Honda Insight, or Ford Fusion Hybrid still be relevant?

Will new performance cars like the Chevrolet Camaro, Ford Mustang, Hyundai Genesis Coupe, or Nissan 370Zed be seen as mere dinosaurs?

And will anyone have any money left to buy the Porsche Panamera, BMW Z4, Mercedes E Class, or Audi A7?

So get your crystal balls out. Throw some tea leaves in the pot.

By this time next year, which one—if any—of the above do you think will be significant enough to be 2009’s Car of the Year?

Holiday QOTD: Is it time for a national gas tax?

Whether you call it a “rescue plan”, “bailout,” or “secured loans,” tax payers on both sides of the border will be paying for the Canadian, Ontario and U.S. governments’ moneys that are being handed over to the automakers.

But now that gas is once again (relatively) cheap, there's a growing sensibility from some analysts that it might be time for a “user fee”/tax at the fuel pumps.

Already, two U.S. states are moving ahead with the idea.

In a proposed new state budget, in addition to an increase in the state sales tax and personal income tax, California legislators are adding in a provision to apply a per gallon gas "fee" of 39 cents.

The Michigan state legislature is also proposing a hike in its gas tax that could potentially make its gas taxes the highest in the U.S.

Both states argue the gas "fee" would be set aside for transportation projects only—i.e. it isn't a tax, it's a user fee. But in Canada, the extra funds could also go to healthcare and education projects.

What do you think?

Are you willing to pay a “user fee” for every litre of fuel you consume?

Holiday Question of the Day: Green cars or more green in your wallet?

Last summer, when regular gas was hovering around $1.30 a litre, fuel efficient cars of any kind—and especially hybrids—were flying off new car dealer lots.

But now with gas at almost half that price, and everyone tightening their belts girding for Depression 2.0, new car sales of any kind (even the once-hot Prius) have come to a grinding halt.

Yet, the hybrids keep coming.

At next month’s Detroit auto show, Toyota will debut its next generation Prius (above) and reportedly a Lexus version, and Honda is set to unveil it’s Prius-fighting Insight hybrid.

But who’s going to buy these cars?

If you currently own a compact that already gets good gas mileage and looks and drives fresh, where’s the motivation to pop for a new (and pricier) gas-electric hybrid?

[Source: YouTube]

Autopocalypse Update: Is fun-to-drive finished?

By all accounts, it looks like fun-to-drive new cars will be the first to walk the gang plank in the post-Autopocalyptic world we are entering into.

As the Crank has been following, Toyota and Subaru have been working on a small, sporty rear-drive coupe , speculated left, reminiscent of the legendary cheap speed special: the Corolla SR-5.

Production was to start at the end of 2011. But this week, Toyota decided to postpone the car until 2012 mainly due to the Japanese automaker posting a financial loss for the first time since, well, like ever.

And now with Honda killing its own super car this week as well, the V10 revival of the NSX, right, Toyota has even less competitive reasons to green light its on-again, off-again Lexus LF-A super car.

If you throw onto the fast-rising-dead-performance-car-heap BMW’s 470 hp M3 CSL, canned in lieu of an M-badged X6, it begs the question: is the end of the performance car nigh?

Are driving enthusiasts finally at the tail end of what some consider a golden age of sports and performance cars?

[Sources: Bloomberg, KGP Photography, Autocar, 7Tune.com]

Bailout Blues: Pragmatism prevails

After weeks of intrigue and mystery worthy of a B-rate Law & Order episode, the dust on the auto industry bailout soap opera (at least for a few months) has finally been settled.

Unable to make a decision on their own, following the $17.4 billion (US) rescue package announced Friday by outgoing U.S. President Bush, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty fell inline with their own $4 billion (Cdn.) bailout for General Motors Canada and Chrysler Canada.

As faithful Crank readers already understand, this has not been, and will continue not to be, a simple or expeditious process.

It would have been easy to not hand over any tax payer money and bury the Detroit Three for decades of greed and mismanagement.

Instead, governments on both sides of the border can now stand up and say, “Hey, we did our part!”

But the reality of the situation is, this a short term stay of execution at the very best.

Having said that, I was just wondering…

Will autoworkers finally wake and smell the burning heap formerly known as “our economy?”

The White House will require unionized Detroit Three workers at GM and Chrysler to cut their pay to match that of workers at Asian and European plants in the U.S.—something the union leaders have been fighting for decades.

How much longer can the CAW play its hard ball game?

Will Chrysler return from its holiday break?

Cerberus Capital Management LP, the venture capitalists who bought Chrysler from Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler in 2007, wants out. It’s offering its entire equity stake in Chrysler to labour and creditors as part of a $4 billion federal bailout.

Can you suggest anyone with deep enough pockets too step up and write the cheque?

How’s your Aura these days?

With GM’s Saturn, Saab, Hummer and Pontiac and Ford’s Volvo brands offered up as the sacrificial lambs in the run up to getting the government money, what will happen to these dealers?

Or how about the residual values if you happen to own any of these potentially lame duck vehicles (i.e. Oldsmobile, Plymouth) today?

BTW, what ever happened to the government appointed Car Czar?

Who will decide whether GM's and Chrysler's restructuring plans pass the muster by March 31 or else they have to give their substantial bags of money back?

I’ve already sent in my resume. And my ZR1 company car’s on order.

I’m waiting…

Autopocalypse Update: Will Ford’s Swedish brand need to learn Cantonese?

Volvo released this week details on a Detroit auto show concept that hints at the replacement for its eight-year old S60 sedan.

The car looks fine. But the bigger question is who will own Ford’s struggling (Canadian sales down almost 27 per cent this year) Swedish brand by the time the production S60 hits showrooms?

Although Ford only “officially” announced Volvo was on the block as part of this past month's tin cup pitch to the U.S. government for bailout money, in actual fact, the Detroit automaker has been trying to flog Volvo for quite some time.

We already know that Ford has had sniffs from the likes of BMW and Renault. But now the UK's Sunday Mail is reporting that Ford has returned to Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. to make another pitch to sell Volvo.

Having paid $6.4 billion for Volvo back in 1999, it is believed that Ford is now seeking around $6 billion for the company.

And if SAIC doesn't bite, rival Chinese automaker Geely has arrived on the scene as a possible bidder, too.

According to Autocar, officials from the Chinese automaker have reportedly made the trip all the way to Volvo's headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden, to discuss a possible sale with Ford.

As I’ve been squawking about all along, the only scenario that makes sense for Ford is for a Chinese automaker to get a hand on Volvo’s safety resources.

So a couple of questions…

Is Volvo’s unknown fate colour your view of the brand?

Is it making you think twice about running out and buying a Swedishbrick?

Would you buy a Chinese-owned S60, no matter how good it looks?

[Sources: Automotive News, Autocar, Sunday Mail]

Bailout Blues: North American auto industry comes to a grinding holiday halt

If you’re a North American autoworker, it looks like you’re in for an extended holiday break.

Instep with recent actions at Ford and General Motors, Chrysler has announced beginning on Friday it will idle plants in the United States, Canada and Mexico that produce vehicles for tall three brands—Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge.

Employees—who will still get paid—won't return to work before January 19.

This follows news this week that Ford will close 10 of its North American assembly plants the week after New Year.

Between January 5 and 12, all North American assembly facilities will be closed except for a plant in Dearborn, Mich., making the F-150 pickup, and a factory in Kansas City, making the F-150 pickup, Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner.

While as part of a plan to slash North American production to 425,000 vehicles in the first quarter of 2009— fewer than half the total it built in the first quarter of this year—GM has scheduled temporary shutdowns at 20 plants in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Now, the last we heard from GM and Chrysler, they needed billions by December 31—or else...

So judging by the speed that changes are happening (for the worse) in the economy, and the lack of news on the government bailout front, how soon (or ever) will any of these factories get back to making cars again?

[Source: Automotive News]

Bailout Blues: Is $6,576.40 per Canadian auto job worth it?

As we all wait for the Right Honorable—oops, sorry, wrong realm—er, outgoing, shoe dodging U.S. Prez George Bush, to make up his mind on the proposed $14 billion (U.S.) handout, I read in the Star yesterday a report that claims Ontario would lose 517,000 jobs within five years if the Detroit Three automakers went out of business tomorrow.

The august study, prepared for the Ministry of Economic Development warns the disappearance of General Motors, Ford and Chrysler would send lasting shock waves through our economy.

The study arrives as the Canadian federal and Ontario governments are preparing a $3.4 billion (Cdn.) emergency aid package.

Let me fire up the abacus for a second…OK, carry the six… so that means about $6,576.40 per claimed lost job could be handed over to the executives of companies that can’t guarantee their existence to the end of 2009.

Are we getting our money’s worth?

Is this good money being thrown after bad?

Would we be better off spending that money on extended unemployment benefits or job retraining?

Or how about spending that tax money on more sustainable industries?

Just asking…

George Orwell is alive and well and working in Munich

It all started about ten years ago with the introduction of BMW’s first sports-utility-vehicle, the X5.

Instead of calling it an SUV—so downmarket, so déclassé—the brand wizards in Munich dubbed it a Sports ACTIVITY Vehicle, or SAV.

Not that any X5 customers would actually call it that…

Then, last year, the BMW doublespeak continued by changing the naming architecture of its all-wheel-drive vehicles to “xDrive.”

So, instead of the logic of model name (X6) and engine size (3.0 for the six), we now have X6 xDrive30i Sports ACTIVITY Coupe.

Not that any X6 customers would actually call it that…

Now, with the release of details for the refreshed Z4 Roadster coming next spring, seen here, BMW is adding yet another layer of naming nonsense that would make George Orwell proud.

Rear-wheel-drive models—which used to be any BMW—will now be saddled with the "sDrive" nomenclature.

Hence, the new Z4s are badged sDrive30i and sDrive35i.

Not that any Z4 customers would actually call it that…

At the very least, BMW won't be substituting  “Midlife Crisis Coupe” in lieu of “Roadster” on the Z4 any time soon…

[Source: BMW Canada]

Autopocalype Update: Porsche Canada pulls out of the 2009 Toronto auto show

Just as it was the first of the herd to abandon the Detroit auto show last January, Porsche said today it will not have a display at next February’s Toronto auto show.

When the U.S. arm of the German automaker bailed on the Detroit shindig last year, it pragmatically claimed that it simply didn’t sell enough vehicles in the Michigan region to justify the costs of attending.

But the Toronto show is a different matter. The GTA is one of the largest Porsche markets in the country.

And, so far at least, Porsche’s Canadian sales haven’t been hit too hard by the Autopocalypse.

Sales for November were off only 0.9 per cent, 114 to 115 units, compared to the same month last year. That's relative to an industry that's down 10.3 per cent overall.

“The Toronto auto show is the most important in Canada,” said Jasmin Rawlinson, Porsche Canada’s Director of Marketing.

“We did not take this decision lightly.”

Instead of appearing at the Toronto show, Porsche said it would deploy its marketing resources in a “targeted fashion to interact more directly with its customer base.”

The list of this season’s auto show no shows is growing.

General Motors, Volkswagen and Chrysler canned media presentations at last month's L.A .show. And next month in Detroit, along with Porsche, Suzuki, Nissan/Infiniti, Honda (no media presentation) Ferrari, Land Rover, and Rolls-Royce are all no shows.

Will you miss Porsche at the Toronto auto show?

Or maybe a better question is: With so many buyers getting their info online, are auto shows in general relevant anymore to the new car buying process?

[Source: Porsche Cars Canada]