By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Funny spin on the famous anti-drug commercial of the 80s. Compare it to the original. Via Detroit News

Or anyway, that’s what The Detroit News is reporting today. If the deal went through, Chrysler "would participate in the joint purchasing, vehicle platform development and other programs, slashing its costs. But it would have its own management and retain its brands." That sounds pretty good to me, but apparently, "Cerberus founder and CEO Stephen Feinberg favors a deal with GM, viewing it as the best solution for the embattled U.S. auto industry." Or maybe cause it would be the best solution for Cerberus?

Speaking of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, remember the Renault Alliance, built in Kenosha, Wisconsin by AMC during its partnership with Renault in the 80s? A friend of mine had one of those in high school, and managed to roll it while doing donuts on a muddy soccer field. I wonder how many of those are still on the road. I could only find one on CarDomain.

I haven’t written about this since my post last week cause just about everything I’ve read since then has been pure speculation and/or hand wringing (and I’ve been hitting refresh on the Detroit News site every five minutes). The GM-Chrysler talks are going on behind closed doors, so we probably aren’t gonna know anything til someone makes an official announcement. It’s rumored that both sides want the deal to happen before the election, but it all seems pretty complicated, and then of course the whole thing could blow over any time. Still, things are pretty ugly in Detroit right now, and I doubt anyone would be terribly surprised if one of the big three goes down. Right now the money seems to be on Dodge and Chrysler going away (Jeep still seems like a hot property), which could mean a loss of 30,000 jobs. Again, it’s all speculation, but if it did happen, would you care? Would you be sad or glad?

Detroit News is reporting that GM may do to Chrysler what Chrysler did to AMC in the 80s. That is, buy them and eliminate them, with the exception of the Jeep brand:

"The others (automakers) will be delighted to have Chrysler just die and take 1.5 million units out of the industry, which is about what the excess is," said Gerald Meyers, former chairman of AMC and now a professor at the University of Michigan. … At Chrysler’s Auburn Hills headquarters, morale is bleak as employees fear huge job losses in any GM deal, while the top bosses installed by Cerberus are expected to leave with fortunes.

Pretty ugly stuff. Full story at Detroit News.

Craigslist is one of the greatest sites ever. I used it to sell my motorcycle, and I even found this job via an ad posted there. But this? This is too much. Check out this quote from a story on King5.com:

"In a move that could be right out of a Hollywood movie, a brazen crook apparently used a Craigslist ad to hire a dozen unsuspecting decoys to help him make his getaway following a robbery outside a bank on Tuesday. He then made his escape in an inner tube on the Skykomish River."

At press time, they haven’t caught the supremely creative bandit, and while it’s obviously wrong to steal things, at least no one got hurt. Doesn’t he deserve some points for that? Anyway, here’s the rest of the news:

• Ferrari might be down with retractable hardtops—which seem silly on a sports car—but you have to draw the line somewhere, and company president Luca di Montezemolo says there will never be a four-door Prancing Horse. Ever. Automobile
• Nissan has responded to Porsche’s charge that its GT-R wasn’t quite stock when it lapped the ring in a blistering 7:29. Basically, the party line is that the car was unmodified, and shod with optional Dunlops. So Porsche’s testers just can’t drive? Something tells me this isn’t over. Nissan GT-R Owners Club via Autoblog
• The Big Three are going to be getting $25 billion in low-interest loans from Uncle Sam, and now automakers overseas are asking for $55 million to invest in green technologies. No word on whether the European Commission will approve, but the package apparently has a pretty decent shot. Motor Authority
• In case you haven’t noticed, the United States is screwed. Want an indication of just how screwed? Even Toyota—the mighty Toyota—is having to offer incentives to unload its cars. Hang on kids, it’s going to be a bumpy ride. Freep

Generally, the only way I get comments on these posts is by making embarrassing grammatical gaffes. The good news is that on Friday, I got a comment unrelated to a typo. The bad news? The author said I completely suck. What can you do? Anyway, on this day back in 1911, the first Monte Carlo Rally was run. Here’s the news:   

• Saudi Arabia seems poised to lift its ban on women driving. Bravo guys! Lookout 19th century, here comes Saudi Arabia! Telegraph
• The General is looking to raise its profile by launching urban megastores which would showcase all the brands in its stable. Will bigger mean better?  Automotive News
• Ford’s new "Drive it Like You Stole It" campaign didn’t go over so well in the Great White North. Hey, it seemed like a good idea at the time. Detroit News
• Jag’s new flagship has hit the ground running. UK buyer’s guide What Car? has named it Car of the Year, and says it’s the best Jag ever. Freep
• How far would you go to avoid paying traffic tickets? Would you pretend to be dead? Because Shafkat Munir did. BBC News

I’ve spent the better part of two days looking for a photo to go with this story, and I’ve officially given up. Some dude in Australia was waving at girls from a car when a passing truck ripped off his arm. The lesson?  Ogling women from cars isn’t just rude, it’s dangerous. Here’s the news:

• One thing which never changes? People love to complain. These dorks are actually whining about not getting free Hot Wheels cars at NAIAS. Cry me a river: Mlive
• Bike builder Jesse James is more concerned about being fined for violating California’s emissions laws than he is about the environment. Big surprise: Auto Week
• Enterprise, National and Alamo are going to start selling carbon credits to folks who rent their cars. It’s a neat idea, but will anyone pony up? Automotive News
• Stunt driver Terry Grant just set a Guinness Record for tightest j-turn. Yup, there’s a record for everything. Check out the video: Car Scoop
• Tata isn’t totally sold on the Jag/Land Rover deal yet. Apparently they want Ford to sweeten the pot with some engineering talent: Detroit News

I haven’t worked a full week in over a month, and the grind is already started to wear on me. Well, at least I got a flat on the way in to the office. Here’s the news:

• Want to get your hands on a GTR before it officially hits your shores? Good luck. Nissan is threatening gray market entrepreneurs with legal action: Auto Express
• Hot Wheels is planning a cross country blitz to celebrate its 40th anniversary. You can’t blame them—can any other company claim to have sold four billion cars? Auto Week
• This year, F1 cars will be hitting the grid without traction control, and some drivers are predicting more accidents: BBC News
• Upon release, Aston Martin’s new Rapide sedan will be going head-to-head against Maser’s sexy  Quattroporte and Porsche’s dreadful Panamera. How will it do? From the looks of these pics, jolly well indeed: Car Scoop
• So just who is legitimate media anyway? That’s the question the brass at NAIAS are asking. Here’s a tip: if you write a blog about beer and cheese, it’s not you: Detroit News

Yesterday Bob Lutz said that the new CAFE 35 standards will have a major impact on the price of GM vehicles:

"We’ve done even more research and it’s going to be in the range of $4,000 to $10,000 with an average of about $6,000," Lutz said. "This is going to be a net average of cost of $6,000 per vehicle which will have to be passed onto the consumer. The good news is it won’t come all at once, because 35 mpg doesn’t kick in all at once."

As a result, he said, people will keep their old cars longer. He also said that the "worst thing" would be to stop building V-8 powered cars and trucks. More at Detroit News.

I got a lot of grief when I said that it seemed pretty doubtful that the Volt would be out by 2010. Well, GM continues to backpedal. Here’s the statement Rick Wagoner made yesterday regarding the Volt:

"We continue to put massive resources into production as soon as possible," said Wagoner, responding in writing during an online chat session to kick off the automaker’s 100th anniversary. "2010 would be great, but (we) can’t guarantee that at this time. We’ll keep you posted regularly on our progress."

Not hating, just saying… More at Detroit News.