Weekly Wrap-Up – 8 October 2011
Saab — The Swedish government’s attempt at pairing Saab with China’s Geely was unsuccessful, and now Youngman Lotus (China) may no longer be interested. Rumors are swirling that some in the Swedish government are conspiring to take Victor Muller and Vladimir Antonov out of the picture.
Meanwhile, unidentified firms have expressed interest in Saab. The drama never ends.
Domestic Manufacturing — Rising fuel costs and rising foreign labor costs have attracted reinvestment in American manufacturing. GM and Ford are planning multi billion dollar investments in US plant upgrades, adding shifts, and hiring new workers.
Land Rover — Britain’s hottest brand is considering a 300-horsepower of the critically acclaimed Range Rover Evoque.
Cerberus, Bob Nardelli — Bob Nardelli of Cerberus, the private equity firm that gutted and nearly destroyed Chrysler (after it was nearly destroyed by DaimlerBenz), said that Cerberus could have saved Chrysler had it been offered the same deal as Fiat. Delusional. He redacted his statement later on.
Cadillac — Four cylinders return to Cadillac, gone since the universally panned Chevy Cavalier-based Cimarron of the 1980s. This time, it’s a brand new, highly sophisticated turbo unit promising 270hp. The long wheelbase Chinese version of the RWD/AWD Cadillac STS (known there as SLS) is powered by the same turbo 4-cylinder engine that was used in the Pontiac Solstice GXP.
Cadillac — With the end of the 4.6L Northstar, Cadillac now lacks a V8 option in its standard cars, leaving only the V-series CTS powered by the 6.2L “LSA” OHV V8 shared with the Camaro ZL1 and the Escalade powered by a 6.2L Vortec 6200 V8. Cadillac’s prestige is in peril, lost in sort-of-premium territory alongside Acura, Infiniti, and Lincoln.
Summary: Cars are getting smaller, lighter, quicker, and more efficient without significantly sacrificing performance, but the dust from the autopocalypse still hasn’t settled.
STFU Bob Nardelli, you stupid hack. You can’t sell cars like you can sell overpriced home improvement crap at Home Depot.