Ford Motor Co. may have some good news for fans of its long-running Ranger pickup, as well as workers at the company's Twin Cities Assembly Plant in St. Paul, Minnesota. The surge in fuel prices has slammed Ford's full-sized F-Series pickups, long the nation's best-selling vehicle line. But many buyers are simply downsizing to smaller models, like the Ranger, which has seen a reverse in its long, steady market slide.

As a result, sources indicate Ford may give both the Ranger and the Twin Cities plant a reprieve. The factory was due to close next year, and it was not clear if the automaker was going to transfer production of the small pickup elsewhere or simply let it fade into oblivion.

While company officials indicate there's been no firm decision made, the unexpected 2.3 percent increase in Ranger sales have them seriously considering the idea of continuing operations at Twin Cities until 2011. At that point, Ford is expected to introduce an all-new "world" pickup, which it plans to produce overseas.

The Ranger has been a truck that Ford loves to hate. In the youthful years of the Baby Boom, compact pickups were a popular - and often more affordable - alternative to conventional sedans and coupes. But as trucks went mainstream and fuel prices stabilized following the last oil crisis, buyers switched in increasing numbers to full-size models, such as the Ford F-150.

Many competitors, such as Toyota, with its Tacoma, have continued investing in upgrades, but Ford hadn't done much of anything with Ranger since 1998, and the basic technology underneath the pickup's skin dated back another decade.

Ironically, while Ranger may be getting a new lease on life, Ford is slashing production of the F-Series, and according to a report in the Detroit News, it may be ready to pull the plug on the SVT Raptor, a super-high-performance version of the F-150, which was aiming to compete with the largest, HEMI-powered version of the Dodge Ram. Along with Raptor, the paper reports Ford will scrub the 6.2-liter V-8 truck engine that was supposed to power it.

General Motors customers have some good news, and some bad. The automaker plans to raise prices a whopping 3.5 percent - or an average of $1,000 per vehicle - on 2009 models. But there are also some good deals coming, according to Mark LaNeve, head of sales, service, and marketing, as GM struggles to clear out a bloated inventory of leftover ‘08s.

Most of those in-stock models will be offered, during a one-week clearance campaign, with a 72-month, 0 percent finance package. And customers who buy, rather than lease, will qualify for $500 rebates.

GM previously raised prices on its 2008 models twice, and then as now, the moves reflected the sharp run-up the industry has seen in the cost of raw materials, everything from steel for sheetmetal to the palladium used in catalytic converters. The industry giant isn't alone. Chrysler recently raised its own prices 2 percent, and other makers, including Toyota, have taken steps to at least pass on some of their rising production costs.

Industry observers question whether the new clearance deals will really empty out an inventory particularly bloated with unsold pickups and SUVs, and anticipate further offers before the model year wraps up.

Meanwhile, GM is taking steps to head off further inventory problems, especially on the truck side. By cutting line speeds or suspending production at seven of its North American plants, it hopes to take 170,000 vehicles out of the mix during the second half of 2008. But it also intends to add 47,000 of its more popular passenger cars and crossovers, reflecting the ongoing shift in the U.S. market, driven by record fuel prices.

In what may be a sign of things to come, BMW AG plans to divert cars originally earmarked for the U.S. to more profitable emerging markets. The announcement came at the same time the automaker reported a hefty 17 percent plunge in its first-quarter earnings, which fell to $761.7 million.

The simple reality is that the weak U.S. dollar is clobbering foreign-owned brands, like BMW, which rely heavily on imports. It’s all the worse for those bringing in products from Europe, which already suffered from high production costs, even before the dollar collapsed against the euro.

In a conference call, BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer said the idea of shifting allocations was first raised last year. But with the dollar continuing to weaken, it has obviously become a critical move for the automaker as the American economy continues to flounder. How much of a shift U.S. buyers will see is unclear, and it appears that BMW may still try to beat last year’s sales numbers, a total of 336,000 BMW-, Mini-, and Rolls-Royce-branded vehicles. But the growth would be less than originally planned.

Hoping to placate its increasingly vocal critics – both in the environmental movement and in government – Ford Motor Co. is pledging to reduce the emission of carbon dioxide by 30 percent by 2020.

The move comes as the auto industry, and Detroit makers, in particular, are under pressure to sharply improve fuel economy. Last year, Congress authorized an increase to 35 miles per gallon by 2020, so Ford’s promise effectively mirrors those new rules. There is a near one-to-one correlation between fuel consumption and the production of CO2, a prime culprit in global warming.

Nonetheless, Ford’s announcement is being given a warm reception, according to a report in the Detroit Free Press. The paper notes that a coalition of shareholder activist groups, including the Connecticut state treasurer, have declared Ford’s announcement a “first” among U.S. corporations, and something they hope to use to pressure changes by other among manufacturers. The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, for one, plans to press a resolution that would require a similar pledge from General Motors Corp.

Some skeptics question the depth of Ford’s commitment, however. During the tenure of former CEO Jacques Nasser, the automaker announced its “25-in-5” program, which was intended to improve mileage 25 percent over a five-year period – and thus reduce CO2 emissions by a similar amount. Following Nasser’s departure, and shortly before the 25-in-5 deadline, Ford’s former product development chief, Phil Martins, revealed that the program had been scrapped.

On the other hand, Ford has taken an aggressive role in other environmental areas. It was the first of Detroit’s Big Three to introduce a true hybrid-electric vehicle, and has been expanding that lineup with models such as the 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid. And its newest U.S. assembly line, in Dearborn, Michigan, features an array of environmentally-friendly technologies. The roof of the plant, for example, is covered in greenery meant to reduce rainfall overflow, while also stabilizing factory temperatures, which means less need for heating and cooling.

The image is little more than a series of sweeping lines and arcing curves, but use a bit of imagination and you might just see something more in this sketch, the first official hint of what will, in a few weeks, be revealed as the 2009 Buick Invicta Concept car. Indeed, it’s more than that, the prototype that will be fully unveiled at next month’s Beijing Motor Show is a good indication of what’s to come from the long-struggling General Motors division.

What appears to be a coupe-like-sedan is all but certain to become a production model, according to Dave Lyon, until recently the head of GM design operations in Asia. One of the automaker’s most important styling operations, known as PATAC, is based in Shanghai, and its stylists worked closely with their American counterparts on developing the 2009 Buick Invicta Concept.

And well they should. Buick now sells more vehicles in that emerging Asian market than it does in the United States. Indeed, senior GM officials concede that without China, they’d have very likely abandoned the Buick brand entirely, as many industry analysts have been demanding, for years. But as GM goes with a more global approach to product design and development, it’s able to justify a struggling brand, like Buick, by sharing costs in more than one market.

“China has been very important to us,” said Ed Welburn, GM’s director of global design, during a preview of the 2008 New York Auto Show. “Clearly it has had significant impact,” showing that the Buick brand has some viability left in it.

Once one of the most treasured GM brands, Buick had a long history of design leadership. Its 1938 Y-Job, in fact, was considered the first truly modern concept car. But cookie-cutter styling, in the 1980s and ‘90s, along with quality snags and other problems, all but doomed the division. Now, Welburn told TheCarConnection.com, GM is using cutting-edge styling to help rebuild Buick – with concepts like last year’s Riviera, and the new Invicta, echoing the strategy that helped Cadillac regain its reputation for design excellence.

There are signs that Buick can make a mark. Its new Enclave crossover, which made its debut in concept form, has become the hottest product in its segment, Buick selling 36,000 in the CUV’s first 10 months on the market.

“Design is absolutely critical to Buick’s comeback,” said Welburn, though he added that looks alone won’t be enough. New products “have to have it all,” inside and out, with good designs, plenty of high-line features, top quality and a competitive price tag.

Whether Invicta will deliver remains to be seen, but this teaser suggests the concept car will be worth a second look.

Buick to Auction Tiger Woods Paintings. by Paul A. Eisenstein (3/18/2008)