Gathered, in part from LeftLane:

Volkswagen says its diesel TDI vehicles are selling well. An impressive 81 percent of Jetta SportWagens were equipped with the TDI, as were 40 percent of Jetta sedans and 29 percent of Touaregs last month. Volkswagen, sales were down 18 percent to 19,027.

Volvo saw a 0.6 percent increase in sales compared to June 2008, though the Swedish marque is still off 35.6 percent for the first six months of the year. The all-new XC60 sold 1,032 units.

Porsche had a disastrous June; just 902 of the automaker’s sports cars left dealer lots, a 66 percent decrease that brought the automaker’s year-to-date sales down 36 percent for the year.

BMW, down 20.1 percent to 16,744.

Maserati, down 47.9 percent to 111.

Mercedes-Benz, down 22.6 percent to 15,155.

Mini, down 21.2 percent to 4,105.

Saab, down 58.4 percent to 779.

Mercedes E-class BlueTec Hybrid

Without a doubt, the EU has become the leader in improving the pollution problem for the automotive sector. Recently the U.S. put in a 27.3 mpg average fleet requirement for 2011. Please see: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov for the latest information and the impact analysis. But is the change enough to get us on the right track? How exactly do carmakers implement changes in their fleet to address the higher requirements?

The European Union defines specific emissions targets for the following 5 years as the following:

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As a car buyer, you have to be a little bit giddy to be ready to buy at the present time. Almost every manufacturer’s numbers are abysmal, and credit is too tight. People are losing their homes as value drop, which means no home equity car financing. Everyone is miserable except the guy who has cash-in-hand at the dealership. You walk through a car dealer’s door right now with a brief case of one-hundred dollar bills, and the General Manager himself will become your new best friend.

And that’s part of the reason why now is a great time to buy a new car. But guess what. There are now two more reasons. First government intervention, and secondly, OEM subsidies.

After its initial demise last month, the U.S. Congress is back with a revised bill that some would call the “cash for clunkers” legislation. LeftLane News points out:

The Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save bill, or CARS Act, the revised plan would offer up to $5,000 in rebates to owners willing to trade-in their old rides for a new set of wheels. To qualify, the ‘clunker’ must be at least eight-years old, the new vehicle must have a price tag under $35,000 and have better fuel economy numbers than the vehicle being traded in. According to Sutton, the new bill would cover about 60 percent of the vehicles on the road.

The CARS Act is also forward-thinking, with a $7,500 voucher set to take effect in 2010. That larger credit would be applicable to plug-in hybrid vehicles with a fuel economy rating of 100 mpg or better.

…

One of the biggest criticisms of the last ‘Cash for Clunkers’ bill was that it favored the purchase of import vehicles. However, the new version of the bill alleviates that concern by offering an additional $1,000 rebate on vehicles assembled in the United States.

What is curious about this bill is the cap at $35,000. Only a couple of European manufacturers even sell a car in the US that would qualify. All employ Americans and all have American investors. So what’s the beef? It makes wonder just how many cars have better numbers than 8 years ago – such a calculation is critical for those that wish to buy the same car model! And who makes a 100mpg car anyway??

The second part of this story deals with an article from Edmund’s Michelle Krebs. Krebs points out that compared with buying a 1-year-old car, some new cars are actually cheaper!

Krebs gives several examples including the Audi A4, and the BMW 1, 3, 5, 6, M5, and M6 series. In the case of the 6-series convertible, a buyer would save $6,175 buying a new example over a one year old example! The Japanese are also examples of carmakers whose cars are more heavily discounted now than a year’s worth of depreciation would otherwise discount them.

Now is definitely a good time to shop!

We reported earlier in the year that Chris Bangle was leaving the auto industry. Regardless of what you thought of his designs, the “Bangle Butt” and flame surfacing being two, you have to admit his timing could not have been better. BMW has, after all seen some incredible growth in the last few years. Sales have been increasing with records being broken month after month.

2009 will prove a much different one for the company. Indeed, last Wednesday BMW announced that it expected sales to be off by as much as 20%! The result of the credit turmoil in the United States and Europe led the company to report a fourth quarter loss of of US$1.3 billion. Profit was nearly US$250 million on revenues of US$22.56 billion in the fourth quarter of the previous year.

For all of 2008 the automaker posted a net profit of 330 million euros ($465.2 million) compared with 3.1 billion ($4.37 billion) in 2007. Sales fell 5% to 53 billion euros ($74.72 billion).

That is disconcerting news to be sure, but what is the long-term outlook? Has BMW made solid strategic decisions impacting its future? The answer is a little complicated. In the first place, BMW has increased SUV production significantly in the last 5 years going from 1 model, the X5 to 3, adding the X3 and recently the X6. We know they may be developing a X1, too. Adding so many heavy cars to the lineup, once dominated by sports sedans, calls into question the BMW moniker: “The Ultimate Driving Machine”.

Slogans aside, is BMW merely profiting from a fad in the automotive sector. Are SUVs here to stay, especially if gas prices skyrocket again? It would seem that BMW needs to develop some competitive “green” strategies if they hope to continue on the SUV path. On the upside, they haven’t developed a mini-van as seen at Mercedes and now VW (thank god). The other recent development is that BMW’s subsidiary Rolls-Royce is developing a new smaller sedan. That car aims to move the lineup down into Bentley Continental territory. Such a move is long-overdue. BMW’s CEO Norbert Reithofer still argues that long-term, BMW is on track to improve its lineup and sales/profitability figures for 2012. Though the stock markets can change from day to day, long-term strategies are critical to the longevity of a company, so we can feel confident that BMW has a future. They have more liquidity that other European automakers and Bernstein Research argues that they have stable investment potential.

As a final note, BMW will have to figure out how to bring down the cost of their smaller cars. No doubt BMW will always try to position themselves as “high-end”, but the buying public’s support for “over-valued” cars may have waned. People in tough economic times want an affordable car with great performance. Why should BMW provide that? One way to do this will be to bring the 1-series, which is arguably far over-priced for its segment, more downstream. One way to do this is to offer the 1 as a 4-cylinder variant with or without turbocharging. LeftLane news suggests some other alternatives here.

Oh the life of a journalist… imagine taking a tour of a factory (in this case BMW) and finding a not so journalist-friendly staff. Specifically, this writer had to resort to crayon drawings when his camera was banned.

Ok, it’s a bit silly but an enjoyable read, it’s weekend entertainment after all!

Visit Hyperleggera: A Trip to BMW Werk Dingolfing

Paranoia und Verschwörung in Bayern

Excerpt:

Intermission

“Agnes, how do you do! I’ve heard you’ll drop in by our Münich head quar ters tomorrow.”

Even as heard through a cell phone’s tinny speaker, the voice of Man fred von Schaden­freude is impos ing. Agnes, head of BMW Hungary’s PR, is respon si ble for han dling the jour­nal ists from Hun gary. She is talk ing on her cell phone a few feet away from the jour nal ists, who—drunk on Rolls–Royce—do not pay any atten tion to her conversation.

“Look, Agnes, you’re a smart woman. Obvi ously, you will want to visit us tomor row as an employee, not as a guest.”

“Of course, Herr Ingenieur.”

“Oh please! Call me Manny.”

“All right…Manny.”

“See? Easy as pie! So go and take that lanky kid’s camera. Alex is a dullard, he does not have the sense to use our BR–2491 Excuse Gen er a tor with style, but you have no need for such prim i tive tools. I see you’re on good terms with the boy. You surely can figure out how to handle this.”

“Herr Ing…I mean, Manny, trust me I can handle him.”

“All right then. Soon there will be an open ing in upper man age ment here at com pany HQ. But I’ll tell you all about that tomor row! Do not let me down.”

The tele phone goes silent. Agnes rejoins the jour nal ists. Stand ing nearby, Alex is fid dling with the button on the BR–2491 Excuse Generator.

A Rolls-Royce: in Crayon

We will be keeping this list updated with the latest cars that run on Hydrogen fuel. Check back soon!

Chris Bangle

Well, 2009 brings great changes. First Bush leaves office, then GM and Chrysler, on the verge of collapse, beg for money from the government, and finally the best news of all: Bangle is bye-bye!

Yes, by now it’s not breaking news but BMW Group’s controversial design chief, Chris Bangle, has announced that he is leaving the company to pursue other interests. Thankfully, those interests are not in the auto industry!

There are countless opinions on this design style at BMW. The BMW 7-series of 2002 was perhaps one of the most controversial automotive redesigns ever, especial compared to Porsche’ much more conservative “evolution not revolution” design concepts. Most of the design results were panned widely but when we look at current model Japanese, European, and even American cars we can point to certain designs that were probably based on the “Bangle Butt” and the “flame” surfacing seem in the 2002 BMW 7-series. As of this writing, 15,000 or so people had petitioned to have Bangles 7-series design scrapped.

The New York Times’ Phil Patton caught up with Bangle at the TED conference, and got a few questions answered. 

“It has nothing to do with how the company works inside or with me,” [Bangle] said, adding that he is not going to another car company. “It was a moment I have been planning for a long time.”

Apparently Bangle is starting his own design firm, and is leaving the auto industry behind altogether. Maybe his next project will be flame-surfaced toasters…

Replacing Bangle is BMW brand’s design chief Adrian van Hooydonk, who had previously reported to Bangle. He will be tasked with designing cars which are both forward-looking, respectful of the past, and pleasing to BMW loyalists. Bangle seemed to achieve only the former.

BMW 5-series GT concept

A profile picture of Mr. van Hooydonk:

BMW's new Design Chief, Adrian van Hooydonk

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Germany’s car companies seem to be in love with themselves these days. Travelers rejoice: no longer is it a “day out” to go and tour a manufacturing line, after all that would require some extensive travel (Porsche produces some cars in Finland, and BMW produces some in America and South Africa). Instead both BMW and Porsche have built self-serving shrines to themselves in the form of public museums. And these aren’t just any museums. They feature the cutting edge in modern-day architecture.

Porsche has just opened their facility in Zuffenhausen, have a look…

If you “loved” BMW’s iDrive system, now 7 year old, then you are going to continue the “love-fest” with BMW’s latest implementation of bizarro technology courtesy of Microsoft’s “Surface” computer. BMW wants to up the ante using this intriguing table-technology to better sell customized cars to its upscale clientele. Find out how here:

For more on surface, see this video:

The economy is hurting and more and more carmakers are suffering. Not all are doing poorly, though. Audi, as an example reported record sales for 2008, with over 1,000,000 vehicles sold. Lamborghini, owned by the VW/Audi Group, also posted record sales for 2008. Both companies produce sports cars that retail at over US$100,000.

Let us examine the developments of the last month by automaker:

Porsche. There is no substitute for a strong economy. A poor economy negatively impacted sales at the sports car maker, and even a significantly revised 911 model did not save it from a virtual sales slump. Porsche is tighter with numbers than most companies, but while sales were slowing, the company hopes that new models in 2009 will help it combat slumping sales. A four-door car, the Panamera should hit showroom floors in the first half of 2009, while you can expect to drive a 2009 Boxster/Cayman with revised powertrain as soon as March.

In financial news the company announced the first week of January that they had bought an additional 8.16 per cent stake in VW worth 6.1bn Euro/US$8.2bn. Porsche now owns 50.76 per cent of VW Group but may gain further stake in VW, rising to 75 per cent in coming months (if all goes as planned).  In November, news came out that Germany’s upper house of parliament passed new laws regarding ownership of VW, despite European Commission rulings that such laws were illegal.

In November, the high profit-maker in the world gobbled up a stake, which sent hedge funds scrambled to recover from trading, which briefly left VW as the most valuable company in the world. Porsche’s finance team effectively practiced something called “cornering”. Let us not forget that Porsche is better as an investor than as a carmaker – though they are a damned good carmaker. In 2007, the company made 3.6 billion Euros on investments, and only a paltry 1 billion Euros on cars. At a 12 per cent profit margin, the decision to invest in VW stands financial positioning, and partly seeking a partner with whom to share technology development costs.

Still, everyone is watching the dollars and cents these days. Even Porsche has announced that is it pulling out of the American LeMans series for 2009 – in part. It is pulling the P2 team, but not pulling support for the 911 GT3 RSRs in the GT2 category.

Mercedes-Benz. Mercedes has finally announced the much-anticipated E-class for 2009. The new car replaces the round headlights with more rectangular ones, perhaps in the style of the C-class or a Lexus.

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According to an article on LeftLane News, Chrysler execs are so delusional these days that they think their prime competitors are Mercedes and BMW. WHAT?????????????

Former Toyota executive Jim Press, and current Chrysler Co-President thinks that the company will build itself a few cars that will beat Cadillac at its own game and attempt to take on BMW and Mercedes for sales. RIIIIIGHT! Where’s this plan coming from?

Who’s next? Ferrari? Is Chrysler the next Lamborghini? The next Porsche? If this is the way management at Chrysler plans to act? What’s next for them, making cars that run on petrol? Oh…wait!? Where’s the originality at Chrysler? Better question, where is the R&D??? Perhaps a bailout should be tied to a commitment to change. Now THERE is a novel idea!

Co-President Press claims to want to rebuild Chrysler as a smaller, nimbler company. But he certainly has to see that this means smaller cars, and alternative energy resources. Perhaps imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but how will they accomplish all of this? You’d love to see the plan, huh?

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Susanne Klatten owns 12.5% of BMW, is the 68th richest woman in the world, and the richest woman in Germany. So why is she headline news this week? Apparently Ms. Klatten, pictured above, has learned a difficult personal and business lesson: don’t become a victim of blackmail.

The whole incident does bring up a good point, which is how does a wealthy auto executive stay clear of drama and sketchy affairs? No doubt she’s hired a crisis management consultant. She is probably in the right to be coming out and exposing the embarrassing affair. It does make one wonder just how many executives in her position stand to lose or may make decisions based on blackmailer by elicit lovers or poor business partnerships.

All the worse is that a regularly private person is now put on public scrutiny.

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