Sometimes the new-vehicle market is a hard beast to analyse.

Take Subaru’s performance in March, when the overall industry slumped by more than 15,000 units and 17.1 percent over the same month in 2008.Yet Subaru delivered 3415 vehicles in March – up 18.4 percent over the same month last year, according to official VFACTS figures.While sales numbers are down year-to-date (4.4 percent, against 3.9 percent this time last year), Subaru has increased its share, shoring up the belief that in tougher economic times, consumers turn to brands they can trust and shun those they may have taken a gamble on when they were flushThe hero cars for Sube during March were the Forester. Its volume of 1323 sales was an increase of 84.8 percent over last March, giving it a 19.5 percent share of the Compact SUV category. While sales in the segment are down 18.4 percent year-to-date, Forester is up 29.9 percent.Forester is Australia’s best seller across all SUV categories year-to-date, retailing 3523 in the first three months.And lost among the 1053 sales of Imprezas in the small car sector were 176 WRXs, the best number for some time. Maybe performance car buffs are downsizing…A happily surprised Subaru Australia managing director Nick Senior observed that the excellent results for the brand came without any advertising campaigns “and the cars are not being discounted”.Liberty sales of 559 represented an 11.9 percent market share, compared to 9.6 percent last March.Subaru’s market share for the month was 4.5 percent, compared to 3.2 percent last March.Regional highlights for Subaru in March included a 9.2 percent market share in Tasmania, 7.2 percent in the ACT and 5.8 percent in NSW.

Fifty years after an exhausted and sweaty Jack Brabham pushed his Cooper Climax across the finish line at the 1959 Grand Prix of The United States to seal his first Formula One World Championship, David Brabham is set to follow in his father’s tyre tracks.

At the first and only running of the US Grand Prix at Sebring International Raceway, the now Sir Jack ran out of fuel with ess than one kilometre of the race remaining and had to push the car across the finish line to bank fourth place points and claim the first of his three Formula 1 World Championships.

Now the youngest of the three racing Brabham sons is chasing the Sebring 12 Hour victory at the venerable old circuit in Florida.The LMP1 class David will drive the Cooper Climax T51 that his father famously used to clinch his first world title in a pre race parade before the 10.30am start of the 12 Hour.Then he’ll jump into the Patrón Highcroft Racing Acura prototype for the enduro,the opening round of the 2009 American Le Mans Series and the debut race for the new Acura prototype in the LMP1 class.Brabham will join regular team-mate Scott Sharp aboard the new Acura ARX-02a for the 2009 American Le Mans Series season. They will be joined at Sebring by 2007 Indy 500 and IndyCar Champion, Dario Franchitti.“As a kid growing up in Australia my dad was on a lot of TV advertisements for different companies after he had retired. He was very recognizable walking down the street – it just seemed like everybody knew my dad,” David said.Brabham, right, won the American Lemans Series round at Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada Sebring has been a happy hunting ground for the Brabham family. Not only did Sir Jack claim his title there, his oldest son Geoff has two overall Twelve Hours of Sebring victories to his credit in 1989 and 1991 – the second win shared with Gary Brabham – the middle of the three racing brothers.David is also no stranger to victory lane at the historic Florida venue either. He has added GT1 (Aston Martin) and GT2 (Panoz) class victories to his resumé.“It is a bit of a lifetime experience for me because I have never driven one of dad’s cars. It is such a unique opportunity, not only to drive one of his cars, but also to do it at the track 50 years after he won his first Formula One World Championship,” David said.Every year on the third Saturday of March, the raceway hosts thousands of race fans from around the world to witness the historic 12 hour classic. All the legends have raced at Sebring; Mario Andretti, AJ Foyt, Dan Gurney, Stirling Moss, Juan Manuel Fangio, Phil Hill and dozens of other international motor racing legends, driving race cars built by the world’s great manufacturers such as Ferrari, Porsche, Jaguar, Audi, Ford, Maserati, Aston Martin and Nissan.Audi’s new R15 Audi has won Sebring for the past eight consecutive years.Steve McQueen, James Brolin, Gene Hackman, Craig T. Nelson, Paul Newman and Patrick Dempsey are among the many entertainers who have driven at SebringPole for the 2009 Sebring 12 Hour has gone to the reigning IndyCar champion and ’06 Daytone 24 Hour winner, Scott Dixon.Dixon is being partnered by Gil de Ferran and Simon Pagenaud in the new de Ferran Motorsports Acura ARX-02a.The 28-year old New Zealander stole the front spot on the grid with a time of 1m 45.278s, just under one tenth quicker than the Audi of Tom Kristensen and just under two-tenths ahead of the Peugeot of Christian Klein.

When the Obama administration loaned General Motors and Chrysler some $25 billion several months ago, it said that when the automakers returned for additional loans in late March it wanted viable plans for the companies’ recoveries if they expected more funds.

And when those plans were presented, the government rejected them.As we say, “Back to the drawing boards.”We got the first hint of the upcoming changes on the last Sunday evening in March when word spread that GM’s chairman, Rick Wagoner, was stepping down. Soon it became clear the government had asked him to leave.Come Monday morning it was apparent the Obama administration was “playing hardball” with the automakers. It had rejected GM and Chrysler plans that would have assured added funding. While the government will continue to help fund day-to-day operations of the two, GM was given 60 days to present a new proposal and Chrysler was told it needed to wrap up its alliance with Fiat in 30 days. The alternative for both would be government-backed “prepackaged” bankruptcy.What failed the test in the eyes of the government task force looking into GM’s troubles? It thought the automaker’s assumptions of its future market share and pricing problems were overly optimistic. The corporation downsizing plans were too conservative, even though it plans on cutting brands and lowering GM dealership numbers from 6,246 in 2008 to around 4100 in five years. The group considered GM “legacy” costs–retirement plans, health costs, etc–to be unsustainable given GM’s future product plans. In theory this is one area that a bankruptcy court could address head-on, able to do away with old contracts, but it would be, at best, very messy, particularly in a city already as financially hard hit as Detroit.The task force also took on GM for its product mix, saying it was relying too much on SUVs and trucks, making it vulnerable to shifts in market tastes, as during last summer’s spike in gas prices. It did not mention GM had a line of nice, fuel-efficient Saturns the public ignored.As an aside, American new-car buyers are once again proving to be quite fickle. During last summer’s gas price run-up, hybrids were drawing big price premiums and even Ford’s marginal little Focus was a hot seller.Now that gas prices are down again Toyota is offering a discount of $1000 off the Prius (this is the just-replaced version) and hybrids are sitting on dealership lots gathering dust just as the new Prius, Honda Insight and Ford Fusion Hybrid come to the market.We might be seeing the first act in a play in which the government will try to force consumers into vehicles smaller than those drivers want. The “Feds” could, of course, just raise our traditionally low fuel taxes, but that could be construed as regressive, particularly for a government that seems ready to shift the wealth back down the economic scale. There will be acts to follow…Back to GM. A “controlled” bankruptcy would be a way of breaking up the huge corporation under the eye of the government rather than putting it through a normal bankruptcy court, which would be much more chaotic and wasteful. Most likely it would involve moving the potentially profitable divisions of GM–Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC truck–into a new corporation, while those with little or no future–Pontiac, Saturn, Hummer, Saab–would be sold off or closed.While Wagoner’s successor, CEO Fritz Henderson, has said he believes the automaker can rework its future plans to gain the task force’s approval, he also commented that if it comes to bankruptcy, they would accept it.Chrysler’s 30-day reprieve got Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne on a flight to Detroit. The task force said Chrysler hadn’t done enough to finalize the tie-up with Fiat and must get on with it. And it must satisfy creditors and unions…a big task for only 30 days. If it fails, privately held Chrysler will likely be liquidated.The Obama people also said they wanted to see Fiat take a smaller stake in Chrysler, down from 35 to 20 percent. We have heard rumors of what Fiat and Alfa models would be built in the U.S. The industry publication Automotive News has written that the Fiat 500 will be built in Mexico for sale in the U.S. There will also be Chrysler or Dodge vehicles based on the next Panda and the Fiat C-Evo platform. We will get the Alfa MiTo and the 147 replacement, plus a Chrysler vehicle based on the MiTo platform. If the Chrysler-Fiat deal works out.In an attempt to eliminate one of the major roadblocks to sales of U.S. cars, the Obama administration has said the government will guarantee the warranties on GM and Chrysler vehicles. That should make a difference, but what the government can’t do is make up for the immediate loss in the value of any vehicle sold by a soon-to-be (or newly) bankrupt automaker. The administration is also ready to develop a program that will offer tax credits to consumers who buy newer, higher-mileage, lower-emissions vehicles and scrap their old machines.GM and Ford have also tried to jump start sales by offering programs to cover car payments for consumers who lose their jobs. Hyundai has had such an arrangement in the U.S. since January, offering to cover three months of loan or lease payments should the buyer lose his/her job. The plan worked, and while overall light vehicle sales in the U.S. dropped 39.4 percent during January and February, Hyundai sales were up 4.9 percent.Under GM’s plan, over the course of 24 months it will cover as many as nine payments of $500 should the owner lose employment. Ford will go to 12 payments of $700. We expect other automakers to make similar programs available.In addition to trying to push more vehicles out the front end of the pipeline, automakers are cutting back on how many they will be adding to the back end. It’s predicted Chrysler will lower second quarter production by almost 60 percent. Overall industry production is estimated to fall by over 40 percent. Even Honda, one of the most stable car builders in the US, is trimming output, down by 62,000, and for the first time offering buyouts to the majority of its workers in the U.S.The Obama administration’s hard line with the automakers looks unfair to many, given the surprisingly informal manner in which $700 billion was passed on to banks with surprisingly little oversight. But that was the Bush administration and Obama has a different approach.During all this talk of downsizing and failing automakers and dealerships, it was refreshing to see one automaker moving ahead, even if the numbers are tiny. Fisker Automotive says it has signed 32 dealers for its $87,900 Karma gas-electric hybrid, which begins production in Finland later this year. This isn’t exactly a multi-million dollar layout for the dealer, who must order two vehicles and set aside showroom and service bay space for the Karma. Fisker hopes to eventually increase the dealer count to 45 in the U.S. and 40 in Europe.We also need to note the passing of one of the most underrated U.S. race drivers. Lloyd Ruby died recently at the age of 81 and most likely few outside the U.S. remember him. He was considered to be one of the unluckiest drivers in the Indy 500, having led the event handily on several occasions only to have bad luck intervene. Like 1969, when he was easily leading, stopped for a final pit stop and had a crewman sent him off before the fueling hose was detached. Ruby was considered the greatest driver never to win Indy, but he wasn’t completely luckless, having won both the 24 Hour of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring in Ford GT40s.

After a week in the wars thanks to a voluntary mass recall of around 75,000 nat-atmo Territory models, Ford Australia has some positive news for the locally-built SUV and other Ford Falcon models.

From this month, the base Falcon XT sedan with optional ZF auto gearbox comes in under the magic 10L/100km. The G6, G6E and XR6 autos rate at 10.1 L/100km and 239 g/km CO2, while the Territory sees a reduction of almost five percent (0.6 L/100km) on TX and TS RWD five-seaters, and 1.6 per cent (0.2 L/100km) on the seven-seaters and the rest of the range.The XT’s ADR drops to 9.9 L/100km, and CO2 emissions are down to 236 g/km and joining its other I6 siblings with a 5.5star Greenhouse Rating. A new catalytic converter, a engine calibration for improved cold start performance and optimised transmission calibration brought the figure down.Ford Australia President and CEO Marin Burela said the XT auto now equals the fuel efficiency of the local best-selling 4cyl auto, with the additional perks of a large car.“Falcon XT continues to outclass its direct competitor on all the key performance measures, delivering 11 per cent more engine power and 20 per cent more torque, while at the same time using almost seven per cent less fuel,” he said.“Customers can now choose a true family size vehicle that delivers fuel efficiency equal with a four cylinder model, while also providing all the traditional benefits of a large car package, such as performance, refinement, interior space, passenger comfort, five-star safety, luggage capacity and towing capability.“Over the past five years, our engineering team has developed fuel efficiency improvements of almost 14 per cent on this powertrain, helping to reduce a key operating cost for our customers, while also reducing the vehicle’s impact on the environment by way of CO2 emissions.“However, these fuel efficiency improvements have not come at the expense of performance – in fact both power and torque have also steadily improved over the same time frame, delivering on a key customer want of more performance and better fuel economy.”Next month, the E-Gas Falcons will get stability control and a subsequent 5-star safety rating, making the entire FG Falcon sedan range a top-shelf car with ANCAP.

Up to now, Tesla has been best known for its US$109,000, Lotus Elise-based sports car. Now it moves into the mainstream with the Model S 4-door sedan.

The design was started when Henrik Fisker, who is now busy readying the Fisker Karma hybrid for production, was designing for Tesla. Now that job has gone to ex-Mazda designer Franz von Holzhausen, who likely did a last-minute detailing of the S.In any case, the prototype shown at the launch wasn’t just a rough, cobbled-together studio piece, but a very nicely finished, running example.Tech details include three possible ranges, 257 kilometers for US$49,900 (after considering a US$7500 tax incentive from the government), with 370-km and 483-km battery packs available as an option. Performance for the rear-drive sedan is claimed at 0-100 km/h in 5.7 seconds with a top speed of 209 km/h. There are plans for an all-wheel drive version and a Sport edition that could cut the 0-100 km/h number to 4.2 seconds.Power is from a water-cooled motor and a lithium-ion battery pack mounted in the floor. That battery pack can be charged from 120V, 240V or 480V, with the quickest recharge time being 45 minutes. Tesla also figures the battery pack can be swapped out in five minutes, so you could buy the low-range model for daily use, then lease the long-distance pack for vacations.Tesla claims that 483 km is about as long as any drives between meal stops and most such stops take at least 45 minutes, so the long-range package has across-country possibilities in the U.S.Done as a 4-door hatchback, the layout will take 5 passengers with the option of two rear-facing child seats. Naturally the rear 60/40 split-back seats fold down for added cargo carrying capacity. And there is also luggage area up front under that normal engine bonnet.In the center console is a 17-inch infotainment touch-screen with 3G wireless capabilities.Tesla is planning on the Model S being a 2012 model available as of late 2011, and if all goes well they plan to do up to 20,000 per year.One problem. They aren’t yet certain where the Model S will be built, and are looking for government support.

Volkswagen’s MkV Golf GTI was a huge success for the brand. It returned credibility to the GTI badge after the car had lost its way for a couple of generations. In Australia, 25 percent of Golfs sold wear the GTI badge. Clearly the aim for the new MkVI GTI was very much more of the same – from its familiar, but all-new looks to its mildly reworked drivetrain.

Power from the direct-injection 1984cc turbocharged four-cylinder is up just 8kW (now 155kW at 5300rpm). Peak torque remains the same at 280Nm, but is available over a 300rpm-wider rev band (1700-5200rpm, previously 1800-5000rpm). To offset the modest increases in engine performance, VW has stripped a little bit of weight from the GTI. A German domestic market MkV GTI tipped the scales at 1336kg (Australian models list at 1340kg), but the new car has shed 18kg for a 1318kg kerb weight.While those numbers don’t look earth shattering, they do equate to 118kW/tonne; up from 110kW/tonne in the old model. Curiously, VW’s performance claims look conservative – now 6.9seconds to 100km/h for both DSG and manual (previously 6.9 for DSG and 7.2 for the manual). If the car is no faster from a standing start, it certainly feels punchier through the mid-range, offering real flexibility to use 3-5th gears as cornering gears. On the twisty mountain roads behind St Tropez on the GTI’s international launch, rarely did I have to grab second gear for a corner.On the move the six-speed DSG plucks gears adroitly, but it still suffers from that great twin-clutch bugbear of abrupt throttle tip-in at low speeds. It’s also a bit doughy in normal mode, quickly selecting the highest available gear. But drop the shifter in sport mode and the ‘box comes alive holding gears on the run up the ratios, or instinctively giving you a down shift as you trail-brake into a corner.Like the base car on which it’s based, the new GTI is very similar to its predecessor. That’s not to damn it in any way, as the MkV was such a fine car. But for those expecting a bit more mongrel to match the likes of the Mazda MPS or Renaultsport Megane R26, the VW might prove too tame.If the regular GTI sounds a bit too mild for you, VW is working on two hot models. The first is an R-line car due to debut late this year – probably at the Frankfurt show in September. Replacing the V6 R32, the new R model will use the same 1984cc four-cylinder turbo as the GTI, but in a higher state of tune.Technical project director for Golf and Golf GTI, Rolf Trump told us to expect an output of between 170-175kW. While this is 9-14kW less than the MkV R32, the new R-line model should be lighter to maintain, or even improve, the overall performance.Herr Trump also told Wheels that power junkies will have to wait for late 2010 or early 2011 for an unconfirmed 35th Anniversary model which could have 200-210kW.

For better or worse, Lamborghinis have an edge that is rather sharper than Ferraris. You can see it in their exterior designs, and things happen–ride motions, throttle response, etc–with more firmness. Lambo has honed that edge a bit finer with the LP 560-4 Spyder.

The Italian exotic car maker launched the Spyder version of its Gallardo LP 560-4 at the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show and we’ve had the chance to drive it on the island of Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands.For Australians they should call it the LP 412-4, because that first number refers to the power output of the 5.2-litre V-12. That’s the rating in kW, and the 560 refers to horsepower, which is an increase of 40 (29 kW). Torque comes in at 540 Nm at 6500 rpm.While the power numbers are up, CO2 and fuel consumption have been cut some 18 percent, the latter to a combined 14 l/100 km.A manual 6-speed is the standard gearbox, while our test car had the optional e-gear “manual automatic.”What Lambo fans really want to know, of course, is that 0-100 km/h number, which is a mere 4.0 seconds. Top speed? 324 km/h.We couldn’t test that latter number, but happily went after the former on a drive up the Tiede volcano. There are suspension mods to go with the added power, a general firming front and rear, with an added link and new anti-roll bar at the back. Combine the changes with the Gallardo’s all-wheel drive and result, in non-technical terms, is still more sure-footedness.Even Lamborghini refers to this as “intense road holding,” and it’s quite impressive as you tuck the car into turns that cut back and forth across a mountain face. Mind you, there’s a penalty in ride on rough surfaces, but arguably worth the payment.Lambo has reworked the front and rear exterior designs for the LP 540-4. The air intakes at the ends of the face are more aggressive and now flank a low spoiler. New taillights are smaller and above a full-width grille, a layout that, in general, makes the back of the car look wider and lower.The soft top glides from open to closed or the reverse in just 20 seconds.It’s interesting how different the Gallardo is than Ferrari’s F430…less subtle than the Maranello machine and a bit rawer for a more aggressive character.How do you say, “in your face” in Italian?

It’s hard to feel sorry for ousted GM boss Rick Wagoner, who will receive US$20.2 million in retirement plan benefits from his struggling company. But will he actually get paid?

Last night our time, the US government decided the future funding of its Detroit car giants General Motors and Chrysler. And it may come as no surprise that Obama’s administration has found their viability plans to be anything but viable.

It seems the biggest impediment to the saving of General Motors and the rest of the Detroit-based US motor industry is… the industry itself.It doesn’t appear to have imagination and smarts to create an attractive and viable path to resurrection.The restructuring plans from GM and Chrysler demanded by the US government as a key part of their bids to secure more bailout loans failed dismally to reveal essential life support structures. This was the view of Washington’s industry task force.The White House toughened up in its attitude to the wobbly car manufacturers, insisting that GM needs a more aggressive restructuring and that Chrysler needs to form an alliance with Fiat to have a future.President Obama is desperate for the US motor industry to survive. “It is a pillar of our economy that has held up the dreams of millions of our people,” he said before indicating that further help was heavily conditional.“But we also cannot continue to excuse poor decisions. And we cannot make the survival of our auto industry dependent on an unending flow of tax dollars.”Obama went on to use the B word, saying that if GM and Chrysler cannot come up with workable plans to return to profitability, they could have to resort to the bankruptcy process “as a mechanism to help them restructure quickly and emerge stronger”.“We cannot, we must not, and we will not let our auto industry simply vanish,” Obama declared as he summed up his task force’s findings.Obama said that if the bankruptcy option was employed, the car giants can quickly clear away old debts that are weighing them down so they can get back on their feet and onto a path to success.At the bidding of the president, GM chairman and chief executive Rick Wagoner has emptied his desk, as the task force indicated pessimism at the company’s demand for an extra $US21.6 billion in loans.Neither GM nor Chrysler had met the strict conditions laid down under an earlier recent $US17.4 billion government bailout.The plans submitted by GM and Chrysler “did not establish a credible path to viability” the task force report highlighted.Chrysler and Fiat have one month’s grace (and money) to come together and work out a path to cleaner, fuel efficient engines and plants within the US.But while GM’s viability plan and current company restructuring is not good enough to get more dough, the Obama administration will support the carmaker for another two months while it ‘aggressively restructures’ under new leadership – and the watchful eye of its auto industry task force.GM confirmed Wagoner’s immediate resignation and said he would be replaced by bean counter Fritz Henderson, the company’s current president and chief operating officer.Wagoner, 56, was named president and CEO in 2000, and became chairman in 2003.Wagoner had been well regarded as a manager and a handy negotiator. He had pushed to resize, but didn’t appear to sum up the urgency of the situation. The economic downturn exposed GM to the dire predicament it is now in.GM has lost about $82billion since 2004 as its problems grew in the US market.It is no Wall Street honey either. GM has lost about 95 per cent of its share value since Wagoner took over as CEO, plunging from $70 a share to less than $4 now, and its market share has fallen roughly 10 percentage points.Obama had recently blamed mismanagement over the years for some of the vehicle industry’s severe financial problems.“We think we can have a successful US auto industry,” Obama said in a television interview. “But it’s got to be one that’s realistically designed to weather this storm and to emerge … much more lean, mean and competitive than it currently is.“That’s going to mean a set of sacrifices from all parties involved – management, labour, shareholders, creditors, suppliers, dealers. Everybody’s going to have to come to the table and say it’s important for us to take serious restructuring steps now in order to preserve a brighter future down the road,” he said.If the new guy in the White House can see it so clearly, what have the stumblebums in Detroit been doing for the past few decades?

Obama Administration New Path to Viability for GM & Chrysler

Key Findings

Viability of Existing Plans:

The plans submitted by GM and Chrysler on February 17, 2009 did not establish a credible path to viability. In their current form, they are not sufficient to justify a substantial new investment of taxpayer resources. Each will have a set period of time and adequate amount of working capital to establish a new strategy for long-term economic viability.

General Motors:

While GM’s current plan is not viable, the Administration is confident that with a more fundamental restructuring, GM will emerge from this process as a stronger more competitive business. This process will include leadership changes at GM and an increased effort by the U.S. Treasury and outside advisors to assist with the company’s restructuring effort. Rick Wagoner is stepping aside as Chairman and CEO. In this context, the Administration will provide GM with working capital for 60 days to develop a more aggressive restructuring plan and a credible strategy to implement such a plan. The Administration will stand behind GM’s restructuring effort.Chrysler:

After extensive consultation with financial and industry experts, the Administration has reluctantly concluded that Chrysler is not viable as a stand-alone company. However, Chrysler has reached an understanding with Fiat that could be the basis of a path to viability. Fiat is prepared to transfer valuable technology to Chrysler and, after extensive consultation with the Administration, has committed to building new fuel efficient cars and engines in U.S. factories. At the same time, however, there are substantial hurdles to overcome before this deal can become a reality. Therefore, the Administration will provide Chrysler with working capital for 30 days to conclude a definitive agreement with Fiat and secure the support of necessary stakeholders. If successful, the government will consider investing up to the additional $6 billion requested by Chrysler to help this partnership succeed. If an agreement is not reached, the government will not invest any additional taxpayer funds in Chrysler.A Fresh Start to Implement Aggressive Restructurings:

While Chrysler and GM are different companies with different paths forward, both have unsustainable liabilities and both need a fresh start. Their best chance at success may well require utilizing the bankruptcy code in a quick and surgical way. Unlike a liquidation, where a company is broken up and sold off, or conventional bankruptcy, where a company can get mired in litigation for several years, a structured bankruptcy process – if needed here – would be a tool to make it easier for General Motors and Chrysler to clear away old liabilities so they can get on a path to success while they keep making cars and providing jobs in our economy.A Commitment to Consumer Warrantees:

The Administration will stand behind new cars purchased from GM or Chrysler during this period through an innovative warrantee commitment program.Appointment of a Director of Auto Recovery:

The Administration also announced that Edward Montgomery, a top labor economist and former Deputy Secretary of Labor, will serve as Director of Recovery for Auto Workers and Communities. Dr. Montgomery will work to leverage all resources of government to support the workers, communities and regions that rely on the American auto industry.

The boss of Mercedes-Benz Australia is reluctant, and understandably so, to predict the new-car market for 2009 and to indicate how many Three-Pointed Star cars will be sold. Managing director Horst von Sanden admits the unpredictable effects of the downturn leave no alternative crystal balling for the soothsayers.

“I cannot tell you how many we will sell. We have expectations of a certain market share but are not setting targets for our dealers,” von Sanden said.Then in a burst of optimism he added that “we hope we can match last year [around 15,000 units]”.The Merc boss also said that while it was obvious that some consumers were watching their budgets, the model mix being sold at Mercedes-Benz dealers had not significantly shifted. “We expected downsizing in the model mix, but it hasn’t changed.”Von Sanden did concede that some company owners and executives were showing caution in these more difficult financial times and that they were obviously reluctant to purchase an indulgent car when they were occasionally forced to sack staff.Mercedes-Benz car sales dipped badly in the first two months of 2009, but were up slightly in the month of February thanks to a strong retail sales campaign heavily advertised in the media.

In an interview with US broadcaster CBS this morning our time, President Barack Obama expressed his desire for a ‘leaner, meaner’ auto industry – one that apparently has no room for General Motors’ Chairman and CEO of six years, Rick Wagoner.

Obama said the success of the local industry depends on a redesign that will get the companies through the current crisis and ’emerge – at the other end – much more lean, mean, and competitive than it currently is.’And apparently, this redesign starts at the top of the powertrain.Wagoner, who has headed GM since 2003 and been with the company for 31 years, apparently agreed to step down ‘at the request of the White House’, according to US government officials.His resignation precedes tomorrow’s deadline (Monday USA time) for the government’s future plans for GM and fellow car giant, Chrysler.The two carmakers have already received US$17.4billion in taxpayer-funded bail-outs, with Chrysler still coming up US$5billion short, and GM needing a whopping $16.7billion more.The next step of the Detroit rescue plan relies on concessions from the unions and creditors, as well as reducing worker numbers in exchange for the bailout money. GM and Chrysler employ about 140,000 US workers. GM plans to axe 47,000 of these jobs, while Chrysler will cut 3,000, and both will continue to downscale their model line-ups.“There’s been some serious efforts to deal with a combination of long-standing problems in the auto industry and the current crisis,” the President said on CBS talk show Face the Nation.“What we’re trying to let them know is that we want to have a successful auto industry, U.S. auto industry. We think we can have a successful U.S. auto industry. But it’s got to be one that’s realistically designed to weather this storm and to emerge, at the other end, much more lean, mean, and competitive than it currently is.“They’re not there yet.“Everybody’s gonna have to come to the table and say, ‘It’s important for us to take serious restructuring steps now in order to preserve a brighter future down the road.”GM and Wagoner have not officially confirmed the resignation as yet. Stay tuned…FOR RELEASE: 2009-03-29 GM Statement on U.S. Auto Industry Restructuring AnnouncementWe are anticipating an announcement soon from the Administration regarding the restructuring of the U.S. auto industry. We continue to work closely with members of the Task Force and it would not be appropriate for us to speculate on the content of any announcement.