Detroit 2009: Best automaker cutaway displays

Filed under: Trends, Etc., Tech

Click above for high-res gallery of NAIAS cutaways

Cutaway displays have been a staple of auto shows for many years, but we're noticing that more and more automakers are devoting money and floor space to cutaway displays. Aside from being cool to look at, cutaways are an increasingly valuable tool for explaining today's advanced technologies -- particularly when it comes to the complex systems found in alternative-fuel vehicles. Check out the gallery below to see how different automakers are taking the hinges off for the viewing public at the Detroit Auto Show.

Gallery: Detroit 2009: The Cutaways

Photos copyright (C)2009 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc.

Detroit 2009: Best automaker cutaway displays originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 13 Jan 2009 14:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mitt Romney Changes Tune When It Comes To Michigan [Save GM]

If you hadn't noticed yet, Tweedle-dee, Tweedle-dumb and Tweedle-how-stupid-are-you-to-take-a-fleet-of-jets and their scary Op-Eds haven't done anything to Save GM or either of the other not-so-Big Three. The Senate is not pleased with their behavior. But here comes Mitt Romney, "favorite son" of Michigan. The guy who took tons of auto-exec money and said this before the Michigan primary:

"I want to bring Michigan back. I am not willing to sit back and say 'too bad for Michigan, too bad for the car industry, too bad for the people who lost their jobs, they are gone forever.' I will not rest when I am president of the United States until Michigan is brought back."

January is a long time ago in Romneyville as Mitt said this in the NY Times earlier this week:

IF General Motors, Ford and Chrysler get the bailout that their chief executives asked for yesterday, you can kiss the American automotive industry goodbye. It won’t go overnight, but its demise will be virtually guaranteed.

What's the difference?

After losing both the New Hampshire and Iowa primaries, Michigan became an incredibly important state for Romney's presidential quest. He was a big cheerleader for the auto industry and, according to the NY Times He:

campaigned as a populist champion for the auto industry on his way to winning Michigan’s primary last year, excoriating Senator John McCain for declaring on the stump that some of the industry’s lost jobs were not coming back.

Circumstances are different now and the $700 billion treasury bailout enraged small business conservatives. Michigan isn't as important a state for Romney as it once was and, if he wants to stay relevant, talking about the Detroit bailout has proven to be a big way to gain attention.

There's nothing wrong about believing that bankruptcy is the best path for the automakers. Many would disagree, but it is a completely valid point. What's wrong is that when Romney says Detroit shouldn't "ask Washington to give shareholders and bondholders a free pass — they bet on management and they lost," he fails to mention that in Michigan, during the primary, he also bet on Michigan. He said that he opposed new mileage requirements. He said we should give aid to bailout health care and pension costs of the automakers. From another article in January:

Romney proposed increased government spending for research on advanced fuels and vehicles, aid to automakers to deal with the costs of health care and pensions for retirees, and tax cuts for most taxpayers to help them buy new cars.

[...]

In Warren, McCain said he would be "ashamed" to tell voters that the lost jobs would return to Michigan, but he vowed to take care of displaced workers through a promised job retraining program that would be offered through community colleges.

There's nothing outrageous about what Romney is saying, but we have yet to see him aknowledge why he suddenly changed his mind.

[Photos by Bryan Mitchell/Getty Images, Scott Olson/Getty Images, GEOFF ROBINS/AFP/Getty Images, Bill Pugliano/Getty Images, J.D. Pooley/Getty Images ]

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President-Elect Barack Obama Is Detroit's Personal Jesus, Plans To Help Not-So-Big Three [Industry News]

It looks like it was a good thing Michigan delivered up the electoral votes to help elect Barack Obama, because he's just made saving the auto industry part two of a three-part plan to address the nation's economic woes. In his first press conference today as President-elect, Obama whipped Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm out on stage, telling the world he hopes to approve the $25 billion in assistance for retooling. In addition, Detroit's new diety claimed he plans to make additional policy options to help U.S. automakers create fuel-efficient cars a "high priority" for the transition team.

That's good news for Detroit given today's bad...err... awful... news. Although after Wagoner's remarks earlier, we're hoping there will be an industry to save after he's inaugurated. Full remarks from Detroit's personal Jesus below:

The news coming out of the auto industry this week reminds us of the hardship it faces – hardship that goes far beyond individual auto companies to the countless suppliers, small businesses and communities throughout our nation who depend on a vibrant American auto industry. The auto industry is the backbone of American manufacturing and a critical part of our attempt to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. I would like to see the Administration do everything they can to accelerate the retooling assistance that Congress has already enacted. In addition, I have made it a high priority for my transition team to work on additional policy options to help the auto industry adjust, weather the financial crisis, and succeed in producing fuel-efficient cars here in the United States. I have asked my team to explore what we can do under current law and whether additional legislation will be needed for this purpose.

Preach it.

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