Star Wars Republic Commando On Vista

I recently bought Star Wars Republic Commando, a Lucas Arts squad based shooter. It wouldn't run on my machine ("SWRepublicCommando.exe has stopped working").

I got it running by doing two things: first, I set SWRepublicCommando.exe to run as administrator. Second, in the game, under the graphics settings, I set "bump-mapping" to low.

New Taurus Spy Photos

Autoblog has some good spy photo shots of a modestly camouflaged 2010 Taurus.
The interior looks nice, and looks like it has a lot in common with the MKS interior (notice the steep rake of the center stack). Also notice the Sony audio system.

Photos courtesy of Autoblog

See all pics here.

This is a crucial product for Ford, after the flabby sales (<100K annualized) of the current 500/Taurus. The Taurus should be Ford's flagship. It looks to me like it will be a contender, though we don't know what will be under the hood yet. Will it be the 3.5L V6 from the Edge and Flex, or will it be one of the GTDI engines, like the upcoming 3.5L Ecoboost?

It is also quite a bit more exciting to look at than its closest rival, the Toyota Avalon (yawwwwn).

The Bridge Loan Terms

Here are the terms of the bridge loan announced by President Bush this morning.

Fact Sheet: Financing Assistance to Facilitate the Restructuring of Automobile Manufacturers to Attain Financial Viability

Purpose: The terms and conditions of the financing provided by the Treasury Department will facilitate restructuring of our domestic auto industry, prevent disorderly bankruptcies during a time of economic difficulty, and protect the taxpayer by ensuring that only financially viable firms receive financing.

Amount: Auto manufacturers will be provided with $13.4 B in short-term financing from the TARP, with an additional $4 B available in February, contingent upon drawing down the second tranche of TARP funds.

Viability Requirement: The firms must use these funds to become financially viable. Taxpayers will not be asked to provide financing for firms that do not become viable. If the firms have not attained viability by March 31, 2009, the loan will be called and all funds returned to the Treasury.

Definition of Viability: A firm will only be deemed viable if it has a positive net present value, taking into account all current and future costs, and can fully repay the government loan.

Binding Terms and Conditions: The binding terms and conditions established by the Treasury will mirror those that were voted favorably by a majority of both Houses of Congress, including:

• Firms must provide warrants for non-voting stock.
• Firms must accept limits on executive compensation and eliminate perks such as corporate jets.
• Debt owed to the government would be senior to other debts, to the extent permitted by law.
• Firms must allow the government to examine their books and records.
• Firms must report and the government has the power to block any large transactions (> $100 M).
• Firms must comply with applicable Federal fuel efficiency and emissions requirements.
• Firms must not issue new dividends while they owe government debt.

Targets: The terms and conditions established by Treasury will include additional targets that were the subject of Congressional negotiations but did not come to a vote, including:

• Reduce debts by 2/3 via a debt for equity exchange.
• Make one-half of VEBA payments in the form of stock.
• Eliminate the jobs bank.
• Work rules that are competitive with transplant auto manufacturers by 12/31/09.
• Wages that are competitive with those of transplant auto manufacturers by 12/31/09.

These terms and conditions would be non-binding in the sense that negotiations can deviate from the quantitative targets above, providing that the firm reports the reasons for these deviations and makes the business case to achieve long-term viability in spite of the deviations.

In addition, the firm will be required to conclude new agreements with its other major stakeholders, including dealers and suppliers, by March 31, 2009.

Note the inclusion of the UAW-busting requirements for competitive wages and work rules, but also note that these are negotiable! This means that when Obama and the more-Democrat congress are seated in 2009, they can soften the blow to the UAW, which I am sure they will try to do.

There is no explicit mention of a "Car Czar", but it would seem that someone would need to be in charge of over-seeing the agreement. It isn't clear if Paulson will be the man, or if another person will be appionted to 0versee the program.

President Bush Speech on TARP Loans

Recorded this morning by your auto blogger for your watching pleasure. See below for transcript.

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. For years, America's automakers have faced serious challenges -- burdensome costs, a shrinking share of the market, and declining profits. In recent months, the global financial crisis has made these challenges even more severe. Now some U.S. auto executives say that their companies are nearing collapse -- and that the only way they can buy time to restructure is with help from the federal government. This is a difficult situation that involves fundamental questions about the proper role of government. On the one hand, government has a responsibility not to undermine the private enterprise system. On the other hand, government has a responsibility to safeguard the broader health and stability of our economy.

Addressing the challenges in the auto industry requires us to balance these two responsibilities. If we were to allow the free market to take its course now, it would almost certainly lead to disorderly bankruptcy and liquidation for the automakers. Under ordinary economic circumstances, I would say this is the price that failed companies must pay -- and I would not favor intervening to prevent the automakers from going out of business.

But these are not ordinary circumstances. In the midst of a financial crisis and a recession, allowing the U.S. auto industry to collapse is not a responsible course of action. The question is how we can best give it a chance to succeed. Some argue the wisest path is to allow the auto companies to reorganize through Chapter 11 provisions of our bankruptcy laws -- and provide federal loans to keep them operating while they try to restructure under the supervision of a bankruptcy court. But given the current state of the auto industry and the economy, Chapter 11 is unlikely to work for American automakers at this time.

American consumers understand why: If you hear that a car company is suddenly going into bankruptcy, you worry that parts and servicing will not be available, and you question the value of your warranty. And with consumers hesitant to buy new cars from struggling automakers, it would be more difficult for auto companies to recover.

Additionally, the financial crisis brought the auto companies to the brink of bankruptcy much faster than they could have anticipated -- and they have not made the legal and financial preparations necessary to carry out an orderly bankruptcy proceeding that could lead to a successful restructuring.

The convergence of these factors means there's too great a risk that bankruptcy now would lead to a disorderly liquidation of American auto companies. My economic advisors believe that such a collapse would deal an unacceptably painful blow to hardworking Americans far beyond the auto industry. It would worsen a weak job market and exacerbate the financial crisis. It could send our suffering economy into a deeper and longer recession. And it would leave the next President to confront the demise of a major American industry in his first days of office.

A more responsible option is to give the auto companies an incentive to restructure outside of bankruptcy -- and a brief window in which to do it. And that is why my administration worked with Congress on a bill to provide automakers with loans to stave off bankruptcy while they develop plans for viability. This legislation earned bipartisan support from majorities in both houses of Congress.

Unfortunately, despite extensive debate and agreement that we should prevent disorderly bankruptcies in the American auto industry, Congress was unable to get a bill to my desk before adjourning this year.

This means the only way to avoid a collapse of the U.S. auto industry is for the executive branch to step in. The American people want the auto companies to succeed, and so do I. So today, I'm announcing that the federal government will grant loans to auto companies under conditions similar to those Congress considered last week.

These loans will provide help in two ways. First, they will give automakers three months to put in place plans to restructure into viable companies -- which we believe they are capable of doing. Second, if restructuring cannot be accomplished outside of bankruptcy, the loans will provide time for companies to make the legal and financial preparations necessary for an orderly Chapter 11 process that offers a better prospect of long-term success -- and gives consumers confidence that they can continue to buy American cars.

Because Congress failed to make funds available for these loans, the plan I'm announcing today will be drawn from the financial rescue package Congress approved earlier this fall. The terms of the loans will require auto companies to demonstrate how they would become viable. They must pay back all their loans to the government, and show that their firms can earn a profit and achieve a positive net worth. This restructuring will require meaningful concessions from all involved in the auto industry -- management, labor unions, creditors, bondholders, dealers, and suppliers.

In particular, automakers must meet conditions that experts agree are necessary for long-term viability -- including putting their retirement plans on a sustainable footing, persuading bondholders to convert their debt into capital the companies need to address immediate financial shortfalls, and making their compensation competitive with foreign automakers who have major operations in the United States. If a company fails to come up with a viable plan by March 31st, it will be required to repay its federal loans.

The automakers and unions must understand what is at stake, and make hard decisions necessary to reform, These conditions send a clear message to everyone involved in the future of American automakers: The time to make the hard decisions to become viable is now -- or the only option will be bankruptcy.

The actions I'm announcing today represent a step that we wish were not necessary. But given the situation, it is the most effective and responsible way to address this challenge facing our nation. By giving the auto companies a chance to restructure, we will shield the American people from a harsh economic blow at a vulnerable time. And we will give American workers an opportunity to show the world once again they can meet challenges with ingenuity and determination, and bounce back from tough times, and emerge stronger than before.

Thank you.

Bush's Comments At AEI

President Bush gave an interview to the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank, today in which he revealed some of his thoughts about the automotive industry. If you want to read the whole thing (and you should), it is here.

MR. DeMUTH: You'll be surprised that I have several questions about the auto bailout. (Laughter.) Let me put it in the context of this discussion. Isn't the Detroit bailout an example of interest groups thinking they can get a better deal from the executive branch than from the Congress?

THE PRESIDENT: That's an interesting way of putting it. First, let me take a step back--I haven't made up my mind yet, So you're assuming something is going to happen. (Laughter.) This is a difficult time for a free market person. Under ordinary circumstances, failed entities--failing entities should be allowed to fail.

I have concluded these are not ordinary circumstances, for a lot of reasons. Our financial system is interwoven domestically, internationally. And we got to the point where if a major institution were to fail, there is great likelihood that there would be a ripple effect throughout the world, and the average person would be really hurt.

And what makes this issue difficult to explain is--to the average guy is, why should I be using my money because of excesses on Wall Street? And I understand that frustration. I completely understand why people are nervous about it. I was in the Roosevelt Room and Chairman Bernanke and Secretary Paulson, after a month of every weekend where they're calling, saying, we got to do this for AIG, or this for Fannie and Freddie, came in and said, the financial markets are completely frozen and if we don't do something about it, it is conceivable we will see a depression greater than the Great Depression.

So I analyzed that and decided I didn't want to be the President during a depression greater than the Great Depression, or the beginning of a depression greater than the Great Depression. So we moved, and moved hard. The autos obviously are very fragile and I've laid out a couple of principles. One, I am worried about a disorderly bankruptcy and what it would do to the psychology and the markets. They're beginning to thaw, but there's still a lot of uncertainty.
I'm also worried about putting good money after bad--that means whether or not these autos will become viable in the future. And frankly, there's one other consideration, and that is, I feel an obligation to my successor. I've thought about what it would be like for me to become President during this period. I have an--I believe that good policy is not to dump him a major catastrophe in his first day of office. So those are some of the considerations that we're weighing.

What was the question on autos? (Laughter.)

MR. DeMUTH: The President-elect said--

THE PRESIDENT: Oh, you said Congress and the executive branch.

MR. DeMUTH: Yes, yes.

THE PRESIDENT: Well, just remember a majority of Congress voted for a plan that we thought was a good plan. It didn't get the requisite votes in the Senate in order to move it on, but there was a majority vote if you add up the House and the Senate. So the Congress, in one way, expressed its will for a way forward with some--with a plan, or a strategy for viability.

MR. DeMUTH: But there must be some question in your mind whether the two political branches are better at bankruptcy restructuring than a bankruptcy court. I mean, we do have a law.

THE PRESIDENT: Absolutely.

MR. DeMUTH: Do you think when everybody stops--

THE PRESIDENT: I think under normal circumstances, no question the bankruptcy court is the best way to sort through credit and debt and restructuring, no question. These aren't normal circumstances, that's the problem. This is a hard issue for political people, because people never know how bad it could have been. And so the decisions you make are easy for people to say, why did he do that? Why is he wasting our money on this? Or, why is he doing that? Because without a catastrophe, the reasoning doesn't, it just doesn't really make it down to the grassroots.

People look at, "My money being used because Wall Street got excessive." And I make the case that I didn't want to do this. It's the last thing I wanted to do. Nevertheless, I felt compelled to do it, because it would make life worse for you. We lost 533,000 jobs last month. What would another million jobs lost do to the economy? What would that do to the psychology in markets? What would that do--how would that affect the working people? And so as you can tell, we're all in, in this administration. And if need be, we'll be in for more.

So, bottom line, "normally bankrupcy would be best, but now is not normal. I haven't made up my mind yet what to do".

Update:

Bush said basically the same thing this morning, when he announced loans from the TARP for GM and Chrysler.

IIHS Crashes Small Cars

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, IIHS, is an insurance industry funded organization which does its own crash tests, in parallel to the NHTSA. IIHS' tests are more severe than NHTSA's, and are much harder for automakers to score well on.

For example, in the latest round of small car crash tests, the Chrysler PT Cruiser fared miserably in the IIHS side impact test, which uses a high barrier to simulate a mid-size SUV or pickup truck hitting a passenger car in the side. However, the PT Cruiser got a 4 star rating for side impact from NHTSA.

Top Gear Reviews Tesla, Breaks It

This is a hilarious segmeent from BBC's Top Gear show, in which Jeremy Clarkson evaluates a Tesla roadster, and breaks 2 of them. The first one overheats its motor, and has to be parked for a while, and the second one has a brake failure. Clarkson also reports that he only got 55 miles range out of the car.



This shows how difficult it really is to be in the car business and build a quality product--there are more ways for cars to break than they have parts. Even starting with an existing platform (Lotus Elise), the Tesla apparently isn't ready for mass market use.