More Auto Hoopla: GM Bankruptcy, Opel Subplot, Tesla Model Years

The General Motors (GM) bankruptcy watch has been relatively quiet today, a refreshing change from a pattern that developed last year: the frantic weekend negotiation with a deadline looming. Maybe we’re getting better at this!

But that doesn’t mean there isn’t some action in carland. Within the GM bankruptcy melodrama, there’s the Opel subplot. Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne wanted to pick up Opel, GM’s main European division. As with Chrysler, Fiat wanted to bring no cash to the deal. The German government didn’t bite, Marchionne got a tad pissy, so Opel may now go instead to Magna, a Canadian-Austrian parts supplier, in partnership with several Russian companies. One wonders if the deal will…go to the weekend! Maybe we’re not getting better at this!

Finally, Tesla has announced that it will be recalling more than 350 Roadsters produced in 2008 (Lotus, the company that essentially builds the Roadster body for Tesla, is executing a similar recall). Auto recalls happen all the time and actually needn’t be a hassle for owners. But the problem in this case for Tesla is that the company has not been able to deliver all the Roadsters that have been ordered. Tesla had hoped to catch up on 2008 deliveries by next month, but the recall will probably throw a wrench into that. The goal was to get the model years in proper sync. With the 2008s delivered, the startup electric carmaker could work on 2009 deliveries and then be ready for 2010 by fall.

At this point, however, you have to ask: Why bother? A Tesla Roadster is a Tesla Roadster, and until the company introduces a redesign, there’s no reason to think much about model years. We could just classify this first run of Roadsters as the “first generation.” Tesla could then go to regular model years once production cycles are more stable. And yes, at this point I’m assuming the company, which has recently unveiled a luxury sedan and allowed Daimler to purchase a 10-percent stake, will be around for a bit longer.