MERCEDES MAKES A BIG MOVE; ENTIRE S-CLASS COULD BE HYBRIDS

September 10, 2009—Mercedes-Benz, caught like other automakers in a regulatory squeeze to post higher fuel efficiency, may make the next generation of its flagship S-Class sedans all hybrids, a company official said Monday. It would be the first time an entire conventional model line has been converted to an alternative powertrain. "The modular configuration is so versatile that we're seriously exploring the possibility of equipping the next generation S-Class models entirely with hybrid drivelines," said spokesman Dan Barile. The next generation of the S-Class is due in 2014.
(USA TODAY)

CARMAKER HOPES FOR BIG SAVINGS BY HAVING REGIONS WORK TOGETHER

September 10, 2009—Ford Motor Co. has saved hundreds of millions of dollars by combining its worldwide design and engineering operations into a single, global product development organization. Now, it wants to do the same thing with marketing. Before, Ford's marketing and public relations organizations in each of these regions would have developed their own campaigns in a vacuum. Now, they are working together to identify common themes and share their best ideas. "Never has that happened before at Ford," [Henry Ford's great-great-granddaughter] Elena Ford told The Detroit News. "It will drive a ton of savings."
(The Detroit News)

GM BOARD CONFRONTS QUESTIONS ABOUT OPEL

September 10, 2009—General Motors Co. Chief Executive Frederick "Fritz" Henderson won't make a specific recommendation on what to do with the company's Opel unit when he meets with GM directors [today], people familiar with the matter said. The new board ... could ultimately decide to postpone a decision on the German operations until later in September, these people said. While such a move would provide more time to devise a plan for Opel, it could jeopardize billions in financing that Germany is offering in an effort to save jobs, one person involved in the negotiations said.
(The Wall Street Journal)

U.S. TAXPAYERS UNLIKELY TO RECOVER AUTO INVESTMENT, PANEL SAYS

September 10, 2009—U.S. taxpayers are unlikely to recover their $81 billion investment in General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC and were “left in the dark” on specifics of a decision to aid automakers, a congressional panel said. The Treasury Department should consider placing its GM and Chrysler ownership stakes into an independent trust to prevent “political pressure and government interference,” the Congressional Oversight Panel said in a report today. “Even if no direct conflict exists, a trust could prevent the use or appearance of political influence in the government’s ownership,” the panel concluded. The Treasury Department’s “more likely” scenarios show lower recoveries for early aid to GM and Chrysler and a “reasonably high” chance of return of funding “advanced as part of the restructurings, [Treasury Secretary Timothy] Geithner said in the statement.
(Bloomberg)

ADMINISTRATION PUSHES FOR ‘CLUNKERS’ EXTENSION

August 4, 2009—The Obama administration has asked the Senate to pass a $2 billion extension of the “Cash for Clunkers” program before it leaves for its monthlong recess Friday, according to published reports. If it does not, the program will end. To help persuade senators who had threatened to pass the extension only with tougher fuel-efficiency requirements, the administration cited a Transportation Department report saying that cars sold under the program through August 1 are bringing an average 61 percent increase in fuel economy over the trade-ins. That helped to get Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and Susan Collins (R-Maine) to support the bill. Nearly half the sales so far have come from the Detroit Three; the top-selling vehicle is the Ford Focus.