The Demo Site

On Monday, December 29, Chrysler and General Motors were supposed to get the first installments of its allotted funds from the $17.4 billion dollar bridge loans. On Wednesday, GM got it's $4 billion. Chrysler, on the other hand, is still "finalizing the details of our financial assistance." The U.S. Treasury - the body disbursing the funds - didn't have much to say beyond that, either, merely reiterating that it wants to get the deal done within a timeline that satisfies Chrylser's funding needs.

While we wonder what the holdup is, we have no reason to believe that Chrysler won't get its money. It is unlikely that anything has happened in the past three weeks to make the government go "On second thought..." We also wonder how Chrysler plans to meet the next deadline: by February 17, GM and Chrysler need to have submitted plans to demonstrate their long-term viability; on March 31, a putative "car czar" will decide whether those plans are actually worth anything. The idea that Chrysler can demonstrate sound health over the long-term in just 45 days is a head-scratcher, but hey, some folks didn't even think Chrysler would still be here, so that's got to count for something.

[Source: Automotive News, sub. req'd]

Twelve years ago, Toyota started selling a car that was bought by those considered avant-garde, on the fringe. It was called the Prius. Now Toyota is looking to "turn around its struggling business with a futuristic ecological car," and the company is supposedly working on plans for a solar-powered car. We'll ignore, for a moment, that a company with $18 billion in cash and experiencing its first annual operational loss in 70 years is now called a "struggling business." The noteworthy news is that while other automakers are trying to get their hybrid acts together, Toyota is down the road working on a car powered solely by le soleil.

There is little in the way of hard information at this point. The Japanese newspaper Nikkei disclosed the development, saying that the car would have solar cells, and that it would also be charged by solar cells on homes. Also according to Nikkei, the solar cells on the car will be as powerful as those on the house, capable of generating 2-5 kilowatts.

Toyota has talked publicly about a solar panel option on the next Prius, but that was called "a symbolic gesture" by an insider. Privateers have also done their part contributing to the idea of a Prius augmented by solar power, largely with mixed results. Nevertheless, Toyota has a keen partner in the venture: Panasonic. The giant consumer electronics maker that makes Prius batteries is in the midst of buying Sanyo, the world's 7th-largest solar cell maker. Nevertheless, solar cell technology isn't advanced enough to create a mass-market solar car, which is why reports claim it will be years before such a vehicle is on the market. As one Japanese solar energy expert said, "Even if you laid solar panels out on the entire roof of a house, you only generate enough energy to run two hairdryers." Hat-tip: Jarrett

[Source: Yahoo!]

It's not just North America that is yielding an ugly red balance sheet for Chrysler. ChinaStakes.com reports that the automaker's position in China is in rough shape, too. Right before the taxpayer bailout of General Motors and Chrysler became official, Chrysler's Philip Murtaugh exited the company after just 15 months on the job, creating a leadership void in its Chinese operations. Murtaugh had joined Chrysler to lead its Asia/Pacific operations after 32 years at GM, the last ten of which were spent heading up the General's Chinese division, and a stint at China's SAIC.

The thinking was that Murtaugh would be the perfect man to establish successful relationships and footholds in China for the Pentastar, but things evidently haven't exactly worked out that way. At all. Chrysler is still without a joint-venture partner in China, and without such an agreement, production and distribution operations in the country are basically non-starters. Other business relationships the automaker has in China are described as being alternately "overcomplicated" and "inefficient", and recent negoatiations with companies like Great Wall haven't lead to anything. Chrysler's tiny sales footprint in China probably hasn't helped matters, either. Murtaugh's division reportedly had little juice with the home office as a result.

The search for business partners in China will now reportedly be lead out of Auburn Hills, which also has to deal with the immediate problems Chrysler faces in its own home market. One has to wonder, if Chrysler couldn't turn around its Chinese business with an experienced and reputable man on the ground in-country, is it really reasonable to think that managers in a boardroom half a world away will fare any better... especially when they're dealing with an even more pressing crisis on the home front? After all, it's hard to worry about painting the fence when the house is burning down.

[Source: ChinaStakes.com]

Gallery: Fahrmitgas Matiz LPG Concept

[Source: Fahrmitgas]

Gallery: Geiger HUMMER H3 V8 Kompressor

[Source: Motor Authority]

Gallery: Pininfarina B0

[Source: Automotive News Europe - Sub. Req.]

Gallery: 1937 Bugatti Type 57S Atalante

[Source: UK Telegraph; Bonhams]

The interwebs were all alight like Times Square last night with reports of a new Polo GTI on the way. According to Auto Express, the mini-GTI will upgrade on the upcoming replacement for the current Polo with all manner of GTI-trademarked upgrades, from sport seats to the black grille with red stripe, with power provided by the same 1.4-liter twin-charged TSI four as the upcoming SEAT Ibiza Cupra and driving 178hp through a six-speed manual or seven-speed DSG to reach sixty in about seven seconds.

Sounds good, though we're not likely to get the Polo in the American market, in regular or sport versions, for the foreseeable future. What the reports apparently neglect to mention, however, in their enthusiasm for a revived Polo GTI, is that Volkswagen already makes one. The current Polo GTI revived the model in late 2005 with a 1.8-liter turbo four offering up 148hp. Because that didn't measure up against the competition, VW came out with the Cup Edition that boosted output up to 178hp, the same output which Auto Express pegs for the new version. If the new Polo GTI does indeed bow this year in Frankfurt, we'll be on hand to bring it to you live, but one thing's for sure: Wolfsburg will hardly be reinventing the wheel if and when it does.

[Source: Auto Express]

We all know the drill. You see a speed camera, you slow down, you look at the camera, you check your speedometer and look for the camera again. But in the UK at least, reports now indicate that nearly half of the 1,000 speed cameras installed are entirely inactive.

Because many of the cameras installed in the UK during the 1990s failed to meet transportation department criteria for deployment, some 40% were immediately decommissioned. However, the boxes that house them are still there, even though many of them are empty altogether. Motorist groups are lobbying to have the inactive devices removed, citing them as a dangerous roadside distraction, but the government insists that whether they're in use or not, the visible presence of the camera boxes keep drivers' speeds in check.

[Source: The Daily Mail, Photo by SHAUN CURRY/AFP/Getty]