Dinner With GM’s Bob Lutz Exposes GM’s Bold and Innovative Strategic Shift

General Motors’ Vice Chairman Bob Lutz might have a reputation for pushing the production of performance cars, but high fuel costs and tough new CAFE regulations have him leading GM towards a leadership position in the hybrid revolution with 100-plus-mpg cars.

I’m not one to turn down a meal at a fine restaurant, especially when it’s on the dime of a corporation trying to spin its latest message or show new products. When I received an invitation to have dinner with General Motors Vice-Chairman Bob Lutz at Seattle’s famous Edgewater Hotel, I couldn’t confirm my attendance quickly enough.

If Lutz isn’t the most powerful and important person in the auto industry, then he’s a close second. Even though he is below GM CEO Rick Wagoner on the corporate org chart, Lutz has more influence over product direction. And because of his extensive experience in the automotive industry, journalists often look his way for answers before turning to Ghosn, Mulally or Zetsche.

And let’s face it – anyone who can take credit for green-lighting cars such as the BMW 2002 Turbo, Dodge Viper and upcoming Corvette ZR1 is someone I need to meet with over dinner.

Lutz has been in the Northwest selling the media on the future of GM. In a world that has been critical of GM’s financial woes and reliance on sales of trucks and SUVs going into an era of costly fuel, it hasn’t been an easy task. Passage of the 35-mpg CAFE standard in Congress has just made his job even harder.

Joining me for the dinner discussion are five other selected journalists. Three are from Cardomain.com, while the other two are environmental bloggers from the Northwest. Also in attendance are other GM heavyweights — who even without the presence of Lutz would make for a great evening of car-related banter. On my left is Dee Allen, the good-humored Staff Director Global Product & Brand Communications Integration. Across from me is technical/engineering guru Mark Labaere. Sitting beside me on the right is Dave Barthmuss, GM’s impressive Group Manager for the Western Region, Environment & Energy Communications. Dave is best known for being painted as a villain in his role overseeing the EV1 project in “Who Killed The Electric Car”, a film that I liken to “Tucker: A Man and His Dream” in ratio of facts to creative license for the sake of storyline.

The tall, commanding Lutz walks into the room. He overhears my comment to Dee Allen about declining the opportunity to drive a 1964 Lotus Elan to the meeting for fear that the few ominous clouds would require me to spend too much time fumbling with the Erector-Set top in the middle of a sudden downpour. He comes back with a story about the miserable tops on the pre-production Viper RT/10, as well as how one blew off at 175 mph during media testing on the Autobahn. You have to love any top executive who is as at home doing car small talk as when standing at a podium.

As we sit down, Lutz dives right into the major topic of his West Coast swing: GM’s commitment to making its Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid the standard of the world. Unlike Toyota’s Prius, the Volt will have the capacity to run on battery-only mode for around 40 miles. Considering the typical commuting pattern, Lutz believes that this can translate into real-world 100 to 200 mpg fuel consumption.

Driving the decision are federal regulations. In Lutz’s opinion (as well as mine and any other sane person in the world), combining 35-mpg CAFE standards with the added weight that comes with airbags, electronics and sheet-metal required to meet federal crash and safety requirements translates to a limited future of traditional gas and diesel-powered vehicles.

Like many journalists, I was outright skeptical when the Volt concept was first unveiled. It required lithium ion battery technology that didn’t exist at the moment. It also sounded more like somewhere between a marketing gimmick and a test of concept play (ala the EV1) rather than a technology on which many GM products would soon be based. The need to hit 35-mpg CAFE standards and fuel hitting near five dollars per gallon have changed opinions.

On the important topic of battery technology, Lutz immediately exhibits his indispensible value to GM. For those who forgot what he did after leaving Chrysler, Lutz was the CEO of Exide Battery. Yes folks, this is one of the few executives in the auto world who actually understands the production of batteries cradle-to-grave, as well as the business side of storing and delivering power – such as that it takes four minutes of man-hours to make a modern battery unit.

While Lutz believes that cellulosic ethanol provides a great potential for being a part of energy independence in the future, there’s no doubt that Chevy – and soon GM as a whole will be relying on the Volt’s next-gen hybrid technology. When I ask if and when the technology might make it into a Cadillac (to fight the Lexus hybrids and BMW 7-Series hydrogen cell vehicle), Lutz is quick not to say “no” or “yes”. Instead, like a good salesman, Lutz questions if I think a hybrid Cadillac should be in the works. I respond that as a former marketing guy, I’d want to see the segment research statistics.

“If you’re a marketing guy, you should know that you should make decisions with your gut, not statistics.” Lutz replies.

“With all due respect, even the best guts can lead them towards a bad decision” I say with a smile, eluding to a few of Lutz’s past plays that didn’t work out as planned – such as the recent Holden/Pontiac GTO disappointment.

Lutz comes back with a zinger — asking me how many baseball Hall of Famers have 1.000 batting averages…and then again asks what my gut tells me.

Obviously, I think it’s “a no-brainer”. Applying the Volt technology to an upscale, luxurious Cadillac (or Buick, for that matter) would have minimal cost, yet pay huge dividends in expanding into a segment where additional people would be willing to spend money for both the value and image of owning a green car. Being green is fashionable, and those with money are willing to spend more on fashion. From Lutz’s facial expression to my answer, I would guess that GM is already hard at work preparing to produce hybrid front-wheel-drive Caddies.

Lutz is a realist, though, and knows that the transition to electrical cars will not be without challenges. When I question about the trouble Chevy has traditionally shown servicing Corvettes (especially since the gizmo-laden 1984 model) in relation to the more high-tech Volt, Lutz admits that training and reducing the role of traditional dealer service for the non-standard technology are hurdles.

There is absolutely no doubt that the whole GM contingent strongly opposes the 35-mpg CAFE standard, which is the driving force to the Volt. (They cite the $6,000 of extra cost it will apply to cars – similar to the figures when the federal government has mandated safety and emissions requirements in the past.) GM and the other auto manufacturers have a history of predicting doom and gloom with each large federal and state regulatory step – and historically these regulations have actually helped, not hurt GM. The list of foreign manufacturers that left the market in 1968, 1975 and other years of tightening emissions and safety standards is long.

This increased 35-mpg standard has forced their hands to taking what looks like GM’s first leadership position in years. When the Volt comes out in 2010 — Lutz projects cars will start hitting dealerships in November, it will certainly have beaten all of the other next-gen hybrids to market. In other words — what is seen by everyone in the auto industry as a great pain might actually be a true gift to GM.

Lutz talks about his decades-long support of increasing the federal gas tax as the fairest way of reducing gas consumption. He feels this can funds the renewal of dilapidated interstates and state highways, (as well as possibly helping to cover better national health insurance, another large cost on GM’s shoulders). Yet while a gas tax is better policy, substituting a large tax for the 35-mpg CAFE legislation could have never forced the hands of the major automakers to produce discontinuous innovations.

The question comes up if the American automotive manufacturers are currently selling gas guzzlers, because that is what makes the most money. Lutz is quick to point out that GM has been selling what customers have wanted.

“All the marketing and advertising in the world won’t make someone buy something they don’t want. People have wanted big SUVs and trucks.”

With high gas prices this has all changed. Thanks to Congress, even if people want big rigs in America, no manufacturer will be able to sell them in great numbers without offsetting it with the sale of ultra-efficient cars. The GM crew is obviously not happy about this part!

Maybe Lutz should see the federal regulations like I do: a vote of confidence that when pushed into a corner, that the brilliant engineering minds working for the automotive manufacturers can create a solution.

And if what Lutz says is true, the future of GM and auto consumers worldwide is quite sunny. By as early as 2010, cars will be available that will deliver 200-mpg averages, will be serviceable at any local dealership, and carry the quality and style of GM brands. Even better, these front-wheel-drive cars will enable small-volume rear-wheel-drive performance cars like the Corvette and Sky to continue.

So for the first time in a long time – GM seems to be taking the lemons of high gas prices, slumping sales and stringent regulation and using very strong and bold leadership to make some pretty sweet lemonade for auto consumers around the globe.

Farewell Good Friend — You Will Be Missed!

“The Great Ron Lee” was a cherished friend and contributor to “Sound Classics” and “Sam Barer’s Four Wheel Drift”. He is seen here prior to a couple laps around Pacific Raceways back in 2006.

All of us here at Apex Marketing Strategy are mourning the loss of one of our own. Our close friend, contributor, mentor, vintage motorsports expert, and partner in crime, Ron Lee, passed away this morning at the age of 79. Ron had been fighting aggressive esophageal cancer for a number of months.

Ron was a true car guy. When my father met him in the 1950s, he was selling and servicing Fiats in a Seattle import car dealership. His profession provided him with opportunities to drive some pretty amazing automobiles. Due to managing one of the initial Lotus dealers, Ron was one of the first Americans to drive the revolutionary all-fiberglass Elite. He told me: “It was like driving in a plastic garbage can. It was noisy as hell.”

One of his favorite cars was the lightweight-alloy-bodied Mercedes 300SL Gullwing originally owned by Lance Reventlow of Scarab. The car found its way to the dealership in which Ron worked in 1960. When the dealership’s owner wasn’t trying to sell it, Ron was out driving it — hard. Just last year we got back on the topic of that car, and Ron reiterated how it was such a pleasure to drive fast.

Beyond his day job, Ron was a well-known driver during the early days of Pacific Northwest sports car racing. Starting out in an Austin Healey 100, he soon graduated to a Lotus Eleven Club. After success with the solid-axle “Club” (as he called it), he upgraded to an Eleven Le Mans (which had the De Dion rear). Ron sold the Club to friend Roy Sender – another well-known name to historians of Northwest racing. Ron, Roy and my father went from city to city racing, hanging-out and raising hell with guys like Pete Lovely, Wade Carter, George Keck, Dave Tatom, Ray Reardon, Jerry Grant, Tom Meehan, and Don Jensen.

Ron had a great sense of humor – and one of his favorite topics was my father’s inability to drive well. Actually, he had to have a good sense of humor about it, since it was my father who nearly destroyed the Eleven Le Mans by spinning it during testing at Shelton Raceway. After snapping back hard coming out of a corner, the Eleven took my father screeching into the grass, which pulled a fuel line loose, causing gas to hit the hot exhaust. While the flames were quickly extinguished, the mileage Ron got out of the story lasted damn near fifty years!

Not too long ago, I almost repeated my father’s mistake during a rather aggressive parade lap in the 1986 Ferrari 328 GTS that serves as the logo banner for this site. Ron and I were out covering the SOVREN Pacific Northwest Historics for Apex’s “Sound Classics” newspaper column when we had a chance to pilot the Ferrari around Pacific Raceways. With Ron riding shotgun, I followed a rather fast group of cars around the circuit. On the second lap, the 350Z in front of me lagged, then hit it hard leaving the final turn before the straightaway. I took the opportunity to ring-out the Ferrari, squeezing on full throttle as we left the decreasing radius turn. The off-camber exit, however, caused the rear end to step out wildly. Some quick opposite-lock and throttle input got the car under control.

Instead of getting a strange or stern look from Ron for almost putting it into the ditch during a parade lap, I glanced to the side to see him looking straight ahead towards the correct driving line. When I pulled off with the group, I apologized for the excitement, but Ron simply said: “You’re a great driver. You had perfect lines, and had quick hands to bring it back in after it stepped out… If it would have been your dad driving, we would have been in the grass and on fire.”

As much as Ron liked to poke fun at my father, the two were the best of friends. They often ate lunch together, and were always up to go cover any car show. A couple years ago, they went down together to cover Pebble Beach, Monterey Historics, Concorso Italiano and the other associated events. It might not have been the beer-drinking, hell-raising days of racing in the 1950s, but the events were the type of experiences with which Ron and Arny were more comfortable given their respective AARP-eligible ages.

Vintage events just won’t be the same without Ron. He won’t be there to tell me how the greasy track food (he was a Vegan long before it was popular) isn’t good for me, nor will he be there to give me period perspective on the special cars on the tracks and show fields. He raced with some of the best racers, knew the executives of many of the legendary car companies, and was respected and liked by all of them.

Mostly Ron cared – telling me how lucky I was for my family, friends and life, while expressing how lucky he was for his.

Ron Lee was a good friend – the prototypical nice guy. If there is a Heaven, Ron picked up at the Pearly Gates the keys to a Lotus Eleven Le Mans with a never-empty fuel tank and always-warm tires so he can tear-up the race tracks on the Eternity Racing Circuit.

California Dreaming — Ferrari California, That Is!

The Ferrari California is the company’s first front-engine V8-powered car…and one of the most visually-pleasing designs in years (photos courtesy of Ferrari S.p.A.)

You would be hard-pressed to find anyone here at The Four Wheel Drift organization who isn’t a self-proclaimed Ferrari fan. Consequently, the recently officially announced Ferrari California has us all giddy — like the first time we got to second base with pretty girls.

“First time” is actually a good theme for the upcoming Ferrari California. The model will be Ferrari’s first front-engine V8 — ever. It will also be the company’s first series production front-engine 2+2 convertible.

Despite being Tifosi (the name given to Ferrari fanatics), we’ve also been quite outspoken over the years concerning the lack of really pretty cars coming from the house that Enzo built. Sure, we have liked the 360/430 series, but we’ve gone on record calling the 612 “ugly”, the 599 “questionable”, and the Enzo “without soul”. We’ve even referenced the lack of passion and risk-taking in the lines of cars of the 550 and 456 GT series. A couple of us went so far as to discuss our opinions at great length with the project manager at Pininfarina responsible for producing Jim Glickenhaus’ wild and alluring Enzo-based P4/5 custom…

…So we’d like to think our words got back to Ferrari and the Pininfarina groups that worked on the California, because this car is gorgeous! It’s not perfect, like a 246GT Dino, but it has the attitude, sex appeal and presence of a summer blockbuster’s leading lady without the shock-value or polarizing weirdness of a runway model.

The last time Ferrari delivered a 2+2 convertible was the Mondia of the 1980s and early ‘90s. With all due respect to my friend who just bought a 1989 Mondial T convertible, these were not the prettiest cars. Furthermore, heavy bodies and bulky luxury equipment made the Mondials a little too slow and ungainly in corners to excite purists.

This time around, the Ferrari California will certainly deliver performance with its style and extra seats. The 4.3-liter V8 utilizing direct injection will likely deliver 460 horsepower and 369 lb-ft of torque. This will probably put the 0-60 time at 3.6 seconds – over twice as fast as the Mondial convertibles with the 3.0-liter quattrovalve V8. Helping acceleration will be an all-new dual-clutch paddle-shift gearbox, which was developed largely by reverse-engineering the hardware and software of the industry-leading Audi unit.

Acceleration is helped by a weight-saving all-aluminum body. The California also utilizes an automatic folding hardtop — a Pininfarina specialty. Ferrari has yet to release to us the photos of the car with the top up, but we can already see the tight lines with the top down. Speaking of tight, the rear seats will be best used for gym bags and briefcases. And to ensure that no Mondial-esque complaints are made about fat-guy-on-rollerskates-like handling, the new suspension and front-midship placement of the V8 engine will pay dividends in apex carving duties.

Original leaks had this pegged as an entry-level Ferrari called Dino. Using the California name was a smarter move, evoking the original 250 GT California Spyder, which first appeared in 1957. California Spyders were built by Scaglietti, initially on the long-wheelbase 250 GT platform using the standard three-liter V12 developing 240 hp. (Later cars switched to the shorter wheelbase chassis and some were fitted with higher-power engines.) Thanks to a recent $10M-plus auction sale for one example, the 250 GT California Spyder is now the most valuable car model in the world, and hence on of the most coveted classics on the planet.

Ferrari is choosing to cash-in on the model name’s always-strong-but-still-rising stock. Unlike the Ford GT, Ford Mustang, Dodge Challenger, or Chevy Camaro, which were little more than old looks on modern technology, the new Ferrari California uses only subtle cues to remind of its ancestor. It is retro in spirit, but not in design or lines, an obvious key to success in the supercar market. The most important homage to the great 250 GT California is that this new Ferrari will be just like its dual-purpose grandfather: just as capable of being driven during the week to work as on the track during weekends.

Alas, we probably won’t be able to afford one, since it likely will be priced similarly to the current 430. The current 430 will get a modest price increase, holding true to initial reports that the California will indeed be the “entry-level Ferrari”.

Hopefully we’ll be able to steal a ride when one comes stateside. And we promise that there will be no “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”-like calamities when we take out the new Ferrari California for a first date.

Happy 60th Birthday to the Best 4×4xFar

Today is Land Rover’s 60th birthday. On this day in 1948, a Land Rover was first shown to the public.

As the story goes, the owners of the British Rover car company retreated to their family farm after World War II. They used US Army Jeeps left in England for agricultural work, but spare parts soon disappeared. They decided to build a Rover version of the Jeep for personal farm use. The first prototype was even built on a Jeep platform. As requests from friends for similar vehicles mounted, the owners decided to put their Land Rover into full production.

Rover’s cars had long been considered the “poor-man’s Rolls Royce,” due mostly to high-quality engineering. Similarly, its first Land Rovers released at the 1948 Amsterdam Motor Show gained almost immediate notoriety for bulletproof construction. The Series I featured a box section steel chassis, and due to shortages of steel, rustproof all-aluminum bodywork. Under the hood was a four-cylinder, overhead valve gas engine that drove all four wheels.

Land Rover’s popularity also ignited due to its versatility. The Land Rover became available in wagon and pick-up forms with short and long wheelbases. A diesel engine also emerged. Other optional equipment could be added based on need, from dual-plane roof panels to aid cabin heating and cooling, to snow plows. Some vehicles were equipped with periscope carburetor air-intake snorkels to allow vehicles to cross rivers almost completely submerged. In the field, a Land Rover could even operate multiple transmission-driven winches, welders or generators

Safety and emissions legislation caused Land Rover to abandon the American market in the 1970s. Those sold in the states prior to the retreat became instantly coveted for their rugged nature. One of my Land Rover-owning high school friends used to cruise the hills of Seattle during big snow storms looking for stuck cars and lesser SUVs to winch to safety. Great weight distribution and skinny tires meant even the most insane snow-covered hills weren’t safe from the LR’s prowess.

When Land Rover returned in the late 1980s, its vehicles reflected the softer needs of a more upscale clientele. The company was purchased by BMW, which helped increase the luxurious nature of the product line, but did absolutely nothing to improve reliability – a nagging problem of the Rover group (and the entire British car industry since the horrible days of British Leyland.)

Even after Ford purchased the company from BMW in 2000, Land Rover’s products were perennial basement players with the likes of Fiat and VW in global quality studies. Still, from the LR3 to the luxurious Range Rover, the brand’s models have remained among the most competent off road vehicles.

Now going into the hands of India’s Tata (along with Jaguar), a new chapter of Land Rover’s history is in the making.

While many of us long for the tough-as-nails, works even when broken nature of the Land Rovers of old, they are still the rides to have when you absolutely need to cross the craziest terrain. As Land Rover owners say: they’re the best 4X4XFar.

Hyundai’s Genesis marks the beginning of Korean styling excellence…and end of American pony car reign

While journalists have been throwing praise at Chevy for the 2009 Camaro, Cadillac for the upcoming CTS Coupe, and Dodge for the now-arriving Challenger, the sweetest looking two-door to hit the “coming soon” pages is actually from Hyundai. The Genesis coupe is simply a work of art.

GM, Ford and Chrysler: beware! The 2010 Genesis (due out in 2009) is not destined to be another rice rocket in the mold of the Acura Integra. Hyundai has instead designed it to be an American-like pony car to do battle against the Mustang. Don’t laugh – when it hits dealerships, the rear-wheel-drive Genesis will be available with either a turbo 2.0-liter 212hp four or a high-output 306-hp six-cylinder engine. And no doubt that the V8 Hyundai has in development will be there sooner than you think!

Hyundai has delivered nicely styled cars in the past. Indeed the current Hyundai Tiburon coupe obviously stole lines from the Ferrari 550 Maranello. Unfortunately, the front-wheel-drive Tiburon (as well as other cars from the Korean automaker) has always been a let down in the driving department. The new Genesis, however, has earned praise from the few journalists who have had the chance to do preview drives. Rumors are that power, handling, braking, and refinement are all top-notch for the general price and segment.

What seems most important is that from a style perspective, the Genesis doesn’t seem to steal from any other car. It is fresh and devoid of all the foolish, tacky add-ons all too familiar on American so-called performance cars. There are no non-functional fake air intakes, nor are there creases or edges that are there just to maintain a corporate look or theme. In fact, the Genesis shows no evidence that the designers were out to make a unique-appearing Hyundai, rather one that would point to the future, not the past.

So as GM goes to 1969 for the design of its 2009 Camaro, Dodge’s Challenger steals entirely from its 1970 version, and Ford’s Mustang soldiers on with a pastiche of 1965, 1967 and 1969 Fastback ‘Stang cues, the Hyundai Genesis proves that being new can be done without looking old. Furthermore, the Genesis will remain fresh for years to come.

With better pricing and all the power of American pony cars, it’s possible that the Genesis’ show and go will translate to stealing sales not only from Mustang, Challenger and Camaro, but also from Infiniti G, Acura TL, Pontiac G8, Subaru WRX, Mitsubishi Evo, and Cadillac CTS. Who knows, maybe even a few Bimmer or Audi drivers will wonder why they’ve spent $10K-$20K more than they had to?

Pontiac, Holden, the return of the El Camino… and why Mullets won’t save GM

The Holden Ute will come to the USA as a Pontiac. It probably won’t be called El Camino, which was the infamous trucklet sold by Chevy during the muscle car era. The Ute will get left-hand-drive, a V8 and Pontiac’s front grill treatment.

Mullet-heads rejoice – the Chevy El Camino is making its triumphant return. Alas, it will be sold as a Pontiac and not called the El Camino. Heck, it won’t even be American, rather another Australian vehicle – a Holden Ute, with left-hand drive and rebadged a Pontiac.

Pluck me bald and call me Breezy, but I just don’t see why bringing back the El Camino is a real priority for GM. I’ve mentioned over and over again that continued focus on niche vehicles is simply killing the Big Three.

We all know that Bob Lutz has an addiction to bringing captive imports over. The problem is that none of them have really been successful. From both a unit sales and profit perspective, the GTO was a disaster. And there’s a long track record of captive imports failing – need I mention Opel or the Merkur. (Yes, I know the XR4ti was a fun car. With only 42,183 sales in 1985-1989, however, it wasn’t the sales and profit success for which Ford had hoped.)

Pontiac’s slice of the overall automotive market pie right now is the caloric equivalent of something on the “Biggest Loser” diet. One might wonder why the company would spend money federalizing a vehicle that is at best a small niche player. This is a company that needs a solid double or triple to stay relevant, not a third-strike passed-ball run to first.

To put some perspective to the project – even in its heyday, the El Camino was never a huge seller. In the days when conventional wisdom placed model survival at 100,000 units, the El Camino never eclipsed 70,000. It was more at home in the 40,000 range. And yes, this includes its GMC Sprint platform-mate.

The El Camino had its best sales in the days before small and midsize trucks. These days, people who want an image truck incapable of hauling huge loads or towing anything larger than a SeaDoo buy a Toyota Tacoma, or one of the other dozens of mid-sizers. This doesn’t even include white-collar “trucks” like the car-based Honda Ridgeline or Subaru Baja.

With higher CAFE standards on the horizon and miserable sales of current Pontiac offerings, it’s a head scratcher concerning GM’s decision to make the brand the home to all the small-market long shots. The GTO, upcoming V8/rear-wheel-drive G8 and El Camino will not be kind to Pontiac’s CAFE ratings (or profitability). Pontiac is also home to some other also-runs – although even I’ll admit that the current portfolio is extremely impressive, but only when compared to the Grand Am, Grand Prix, Sunfire, Bonneville and other garbage that littered dealerships ten years ago.

Certainly there isn’t a complete lack of rationale for the El Camino coming in as a Pontiac. This has been GM’s “performance division” for decades, even if it hasn’t had a top-tier performance car of its own to top other GM divisions since the tripower-equipped 389-ci GTO of 1964. Since then, performance enthusiasts were better off shopping in Chevy dealerships.

The worst part of the Holden Ute-to-Pontiac conversion is that the car will come out looking less like a cool GM performance car, and more like the ugly angled-nose Dodge Rampage car/truck hybrid of the 1980s. How are enthusiasts supposed to get excited over a vehicle that seems to exhibit more visible DNA from a Subaru Brat than from the Chevy El Camino.

And please don’t use the argument that “they already have it, so it’s cheap to market here”. This simply isn’t true. Let’s not forget that GM can’t do ANYTHING cheaply, as the billion-dollar cost to shut down Oldsmobile exhibited. Converting the Holden Ute to left-hand-drive and meeting all safety standards is damn expensive, both in terms of total cost and percentage of projected sales revenues. Furthermore, Pontiac could sign a Major League Baseball MVP to a long-term contract to play for the corporate softball team for less than the cost of marketing and advertising.

I might have said this over a thousand times, but it’s worth repeating…”Big Three automakers have to stop making cars to feed the gray-haired executives’ nostalgia.” The El Camino’s days have long passed, and in the era of high-output low-displacement import tuners, the Elkie is no more than a punch line to the standard white trash joke.

Motorola’s MOTOROKR Hands-Free Unit Rocks… And How to Win One Here.

More and more regions have already outlawed driving while talking on a cell phone without a hands-free kit. It is no surprise that the hands-free equipment market is booming with new and better options.

Despite what politicians say, there are no statistics to show that hands-free kits make driving any safer. Basically, a distracted driver is a distracted driver. Since most hands-free devices are headsets, often you’ll find drivers untangling cords, plugging things in, dialing and then talking, whereas before the hands-free requirement, the user was simply dialing and talking.

No matter what I or anyone else says, the laws are the laws, so the next issue becomes how to best comply.

Motorola sent “Sam Barer’s Four Wheel Drift” two units of its new T505 MOTOROKR Bluetooth-enabled speakerphone – one to test, and one to give away to our readers…but we’ll get into how to win this a little later.

I spent a good portion of my early life working in telecommunications, so I was an early adopter of both cell phone and hands-free technology. Generally speaking, most hands-free kits diminished the sound quality (both sending and receiving) from the base levels of the handset.

Even on my current Palm Centro, trying to utilize the wired earpiece results in inaudible conversations for both parties.

Speakerphone devices have traditionally been a no-no in my life. A convertible junkie, the only thing worse than trying to carry on a conversation on a cell phone in a drop-top is to attempt to do so on a speakerphone.

So when I started testing Motorola’s MOTOROKR speakerphone, my expectations were lower than a D student during college admissions season.

The MOTOROKR is a small box (about half the size of a radar detector) that when plugged into the lighter/power outlet enables one to listen to conversations via an FM station on the car’s stereo (just like Mr. Microphone from days gone by.) A microphone in the box picks-up the user’s voice. Through the wonders of modern Bluetooth technology, the user’s cell phone can stay in a pocket or purse.

Installation is a breeze. Plug it into the power and push the FM transmitter button to select a station (and then tune your stereo to the same station.) Unfortunately, here are where my only gripes come about the whole experience. First, the power cable is too short to enable the box to be clipped anywhere higher than the center console. (The MOTOROKR has an on-board battery, but the cord still means that you’ll have to take it off the sun visor and place it near the console to recharge.) Second, the power and FM transmitter selection buttons are on the rear of the unit (with the other two phone function buttons on the front) so finding them while driving is somewhat clunky. Finally, it can be very tough to get a station with no interference in a busy media market. This obviously isn’t Motorola’s fault, but at some point, companies using FM transmitters will find a better way of overcoming ghosting from other stations.

The first test was in the 2006 Toyota Avalon. If a hands-free kit can’t make it in the Avalon’s Lexus-level of quiet, it can’t make it anywhere. With the MOTOROKR mounted at knee level, my voice still was clear.

Sample of MOTOROKR in a 2006 Toyota Avalon

Don’t think that I’d call it a day after one test in a Toyota. No sir, out of the cushy, quiet Avalon and into the nasty world of fiberglass (actually, “composites” is more accurate) in the form of a 2002 Corvette Convertible. The C5 Corvette Convertibles are instant death to cell phone technology. Top up, the noise from reverberating plastics and rumbling run-flat tires is deafening. Top down, even with an earpiece wedged in your ear canal at maximum volume you can’t hear anything…plus the person on the other end hears little more than wind and diesel truck engines.

At 60 mph with the top down on Interstate 5, the MOTOROKR worked like a champ. Sitting in the cup holder, it actually picked up my voice over the ambient noise. Furthermore, since it broadcasts the other party’s voice over the stereo, I was able to turn up the volume to the point where hearing the conversation was easy – even for my damaged ears.

Sample of MOTOROKR in a 2002 Corvette Convertible — top down on city steets
Sample of MOTOROKR in a 2002 Corvette Convertible — TOP DOWN AT 60 MPH!

For just under $100, the MOTOROKR…well, it rocks — like Motorhead in a world that’s all too full of Brittany Spears-level pretenders. It actually makes conversations easier to hear for all involved. It definitely doesn’t make driving any safer — indeed, I nearly tore off the Corvette’s side mirror when I grazed a trash can parked too far into the street while trying to power-on the MOTOROKR…and I’ve never come close to hitting anything during a non-hands-free conversation in the past.

But if the law says you have to be hands-free…the MOTOROKR is a fabulous way to go.

So now – how do you win one?

I’m pleased to announce The Four Wheel Drift’s Best Car Jokes Contest. Simply send in your best original car or car-related joke to fwd@apexstrategy.com (along with a way to contact you.) On July 1st, 2008, to commemorate Washington State’s hands-free law going into effect, a hand-chosen panel of “experts” will pick the best joke and award the author a new Motorola MOTORKR T505.

Jokes should be new and original – the staff here has heard all the classics already. All entries will be posted in the Best Car Jokes column, when we’ll award the Motorola MOTOROKR to the winner.

Why the SRT8 is no hemi-powered Challenger

The automotive world is seemingly in a full-body tizzy over the return of the Dodge Challenger. Hitting dealerships now, the SRT8 version has been the darling of the automotive press for months.

I’ve gone on record plenty of times about Dodge’s horrible belated timing — just like the 1970 Challenger on which the lines are almost completely based. And though I haven’t yet had the opportunity to slam the Challenger SRT8’s sickening 4000-plus pound curb weight, I’ll simply say that it’s disgusting and move on to a more important topic.

Dodge says its Challenger is equipped with the “6.1 liter SRT Hemi® V8 Engine.” Hear this loud and clear: no SRT8 Hemi Dodge or Chrysler is a hemi. With full credit to former Vice Presidential candidate Lloyd Bentsen, I say: “I knew Mopar’s Hemi, and you, Mr. SRT8, are no hemi.”

In an effort to make it crystal clear, ladies and gentlemen, since 2002 there has been a difference between “Hemi” (the marketing brand name) and “hemi” (the technology from which the brand got its name.)

The word “hemi” (lower case) is short for hemispherical combustion chambers. Put into terms the average runway model might understand, a cylinder fitted with a head utilizing a chamber formed like a hemisphere makes the quickest, largest, and most efficient boom. Placing valves on opposing sides of a central spark plug provides maximum ability to introduce air/fuel, ignite it and remove resulting exhaust and heat. This means more power, a happier driver, and busy radar-wielding police officers.

Chrysler Corp wasn’t even close to the first producer of an engine with hemispherical combustion chambers. The famous Hemi engines of the 1960s and early 1970s weren’t even Chrysler’s first hemi engines in name or technology.

So let’s start the history lesson: Way back in 1902, the Welch brothers of Pontiac, MI began building cars with an overhead cam engine featuring hemispherical combustion chambers. By the time General Motors bought out Welch (then known as Welch-Detroit) in 1911, the cars had yet to go into production. Tragically, GM decided to do nothing with the engine technology.

Charles Knight built his 1904 Silent Knight prototypes, which used a sleeve-valve engine with hemispherical heads. Like Welch, Knight never went into series production, but unlike GM, Daimler purchased the technology and used in its later products.

Starting in 1908, Franklin started using a hemispherical design on its air-cooled production engines, making it the first true production hemi. A well-known manufacturer of cutting-edge luxury cars since 1902, Franklin made hemi-powered cars available to its well-heeled customers, which included Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart.

In 1912 Peugeot’s factory racer, featuring a three-liter hemi-headed mill, dominated European events. Other companies would soon develop their own competing hemis. The most notable company was Alfa Romeo, whose chief designer, Vittorio Jano, created four, six and eight cylinder dual-overhead-cam hemis (some were even supercharged) for race and road cars starting in 1925.

Possibly the most unorthodox early hemi came from BMW’s 1937 328 sports car. Engineers utilized vertical pushrods and rockers for intake valves, but to actuate the exhaust valves located on the opposite side of the head, vertical pushrods and rockers pushed a second set of horizontally placed rods and rockers. Although complex, it worked surprisingly well, plus the dual rocker boxes made the inline overhead valve six look like a dual-overhead-cam unit.

Three years after Jaguar’s XK DOHC six became the first post-war hemi, Chrysler finally got into the game with 331 cubic inch FirePower-equipped 1951 New Yorkers and Imperials. De Soto’s 276-ci FireDome appeared in 1952 and Dodge’s 241 ci Red Ram V-8 came in 1953. Mopar “baby hemis” could also be found in Cunningham sports cars and Facel Vega grand tourers.

The heavy, complex baby hemi engines ate valve springs for lunch and camshafts for dinner. In 1957, Chrysler decided to end production of the engine with the 310-hp 325-ci Dodges and 345-hp 345-ci De Sotos. Chrysler held out through 1958 with the 380-hp 392-ci hemi in the 300D.

Then came the 426-ci Hemi. Debuting in 1964 factory-supported racers, the engine redefined the reaches of performance in NASCAR and drag racing. Chrysler begrudgingly made the 425-hp street Hemi available in 1966 to meet homologation rules. (Homologation is the fancy word used to describe the requirement in a production-based racing series that anything offered on a race car is also sold in dealerships to non racing clients.)

Mopars powered by the so-called 426 “Elephant motor” became legendary purely on brain-bruising performance. Simple hot-rodding easily unleashed over 750 hp. Due to being as fuel efficient as a 747, environmentally friendly as Clean Air legislation penned in Houston, maintenance-free as a runway model, and easy to insure as a sky-diving octogenarian, it was killed off after 1971.

With original Hemi cars bringing over six figures at auction and a contemporary power war raging, DaimlerChrysler decided the time was right in 2002 to bring back the Hemi in modern Dodge, Chrysler (and gulp) Jeep vehicles. Consumers responded by opening up their checkbooks and lines of credit.

The ads might have asked “that thing got a Hemi?”, but in reality, none of the Dodge and Chrysler engines based on the modern 345-ci “Hemi” can be considered a “hemi”. Plain and simple, none of these engines, base and SRT8 Hemi offerings included, actually have hemispherical combustion chambers! Just because they have valves opposing central spark plugs does not there is a hemispherical combustion chamber formed inside.

It is easy to get lost in the technology and terminology. The bottom line is that the SRT8 delivers 425 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque, which absolutely is better than the quoted statistics for the 426 when normalized for the difference between pre-1972 gross and ’72-on net SAE ratings. The SRT8 Hemi is a fabulous engine, and the use of Hemi as a brand name was a stroke of product marketing genius, period.

When equipped with this glorious 6.1 lump, the 2008 Challenger weighs more than a 1970 Hemi Challenger. It also isn’t offered with a Pistol Grip four-speed.

The SRT8 Challenger might look like a Hemi Challenger…

…but really it’s just a semi-Hemi.

GM’s Lithium Ion Hybrid Announcement — Days Late and Dollars Short

As a follow-up to yesterday’s story about Mercedes’ new Lithium Ion battery technology going into hybrids, we have today’s release from GM announcing that they will also utilize the new batteries in 2010 models.

High-volume system will debut in North America in 2010, and then expand globally
Hitachi to supply new lithium-ion battery
Cost-effective technology to improve fuel economy by up to 20 percent

GENEVA - As another key element in its overall global strategy to improve fuel economy and reduce oil consumption and CO2 emissions, General Motors Chairman Rick Wagoner announced today that GM will introduce a second-generation version of the GM Hybrid System with a new, more powerful lithium-ion battery.

It seems that GM is always days late and dollars short with both announcements and products. It is admirable that GM will quickly embrace the technology, but for the life of us, we cannot understand why a company of such influence couldn’t find a way to scoop Mercedes, which also upped the ante by announcing plans to produce a diesel-electric hybrid in the same time frame as GM’s gas-electric.

Like the Camaro to the Mustang, (which will debut right in time for the retro look to die, and the muscle car craze to wane,) GM is again late to the party…maybe because they’re playing with a few billion dollars short.

Mercedes Announces the Marriage of Lithium-Ion Batteries With Gas…and Soon Diesel Engines

Our inboxes have been working overtime due to the insane number of press releases issued by the automotive manufacturers. Needless to say, most of the email fails to catch our attention, because we honestly don’t care about which insider got promoted to division head.

One specific release did indeed peak our interest. This one from Mercedes Benz:

Stuttgart - Daimler AG has achieved a crucial breakthrough in battery technology. The Stuttgart-based automaker is the world’s first manufacturer to have succeeded in adapting lithium-ion technology to the demanding requirements of automotive applications. Until now, the technology has been used primarily in consumer electronics. The new battery will be used in the series-production S 400 BlueHYBRID beginning next year. This important technology was possible thanks to 25 patents held by Daimler.

Dr. Thomas Weber, member of the Daimler AG Board of Management and responsible for Group Research and Mercedes-Benz Cars Development, says: “What we have here is a groundbreaking key technology that is going to be a decisive factor for the future success of the automotive industry. That is a tribute to our intensive research efforts, which we have been conducting in this area since 1992.”

The engineers’ success is above all a result of the Daimler-developed integration of the lithium-ion battery into the vehicle’s climate control system. This ensures that the battery always works at optimal system temperatures of between 15 and 35°C, which in turn makes it possible for the battery to provide long service life and maximum performance.

The main advantages offered by the newly developed lithium-ion battery are its very compact dimensions and its far superior performance compared to conventional nickel-metal hydride batteries. The weight/power ratio of the entire battery is 1,900 watts per liter (W/L). What’s more, the battery stands out by virtue of its high ampere-hour efficiency, long service life, and great reliability, even at very low temperatures. Its high level of safety is the equal of that provided by today’s auto batteries.

Lithium-ion batteries are ideally suited for use in hybrid vehicles to help reducing fuel consumption and thus also CO2 emissions. At the same time, the Daimler engineers are investigating to what degree this technology can be applied to other vehicle concepts, such as electric and fuel cell-powered cars.

S 400 BlueHYBRID — the world’s most economical luxury sedan

The S 400 BlueHYBRID consumes only 7.9 liters of gasoline per 100 km in the NEDC. This results in very low CO2 emissions of only 190 grams per kilometer, a very low value for this vehicle class and power class, making the S 400 BlueHYBRID the world’s most economical luxury sedan — unrivaled by any gasoline, diesel, or hybrid drive system offered by any competitor. And S 400 BlueHYBRID drivers will still enjoy impressive performance: combined with the hybrid module, the maximum output is 220 kW/299 hp, and the corresponding maximum torque is 375 Nm. The S 400 BlueHYBRID accelerates from zero to 100 km/h in 7.3 seconds on its way to an electronically limited top speed of 250 km/h.

Even more potential is offered by the combination of clean BlueTec diesel technology with a hybrid module, a duo that is featured in the S 300 BlueTec HYBRID, for example.

This definitely spells the end of Toyota’s worldwide dominance in hybrid technology, as well as puts the kibosh on its advantage from having Lexus as the only luxury division offering a hybrid.

Anyone familiar with “The Four Wheel Drift” knows we aren’t the poster-children for hybrid and diesel vehicle cheerleaders. In the past we’ve called-out hybrids for being a net loss for the environment, as well as challenging their economic value. The same holds true with diesel, which is currently much more expensive than gasoline, while only being able to claim lower greenhouse gasses (hence causing less global warming/climate change) at the expense of giving people asthma. Diesel also has an additional hurdle in America: our refineries are set-up to produce less from each vat of crude, so it will always be less economical than in Europe…that is until we build new refineries. At last we checked, nobody was volunteering their backyards for one.

Mercedes, though, has gone to great lengths to continually improve diesel to the point where we can see the firm in the near future offering oil-powered vehicles that emit less particulates than gasoline-powered counterparts. Furthermore, by combining diesel and advanced battery technology hybrids, the value benefits increase in terms of both economy and ecology.

This is not to say that other automakers are asleep at the wheel. General Motors actually provided an interesting story with its announcement that “Virgin Atlantic Airways, Ltd. … will use Chevrolet Equinox hydrogen fuel cell vehicles for its ‘complimentary ground transfer service for upper class passengers’ for planes landing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).” The thought of a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle from GM is a great story, but it’s a little too little too late to get the standing ovation. After all, BMW already has H-cell 7-Series in the hands of real customers.

At least it’s better than Ford, which competed with announcements indicating, among other things, that “Ford’s new Focus and SYNC are connecting with small car buyers. Focus retail sales were up 36 percent in February – the fourth month in a row of higher retail sales” and Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) today announced that Mike Nakashima has been named director of marketing for Mazda North American Operations, reporting to Jim O’Sullivan, president and CEO of MNAO.

Congrats Mike! Maybe you can convince your parent company that what would be great for Mazda’s product strategy is if Ford would get off their asses and provide R+D money to build next-generation energy-powered vehicles to compete with those coming soon to BMW, Mercedes, Toyota, and Chevy dealerships.