Lowe Joins Hybrid Plug-Ins Hype

By Mike Bartley

Actor Rob Lowe went to Capitol Hill last week to tout plug-in hybrids and a bill sponsored by Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass. The said bill would vest drivers tax breaks for converting their hybrids into plug-in models that can be recharged using a regular wall outlet.

Automakers were annoyed by the decision to include Lowe, while none of them was invited. In his testimony, Lowe twice quoted his Sam Seaborn character from TV's “The West Wing” and said that the car has improved his driving skills since he tries to get better mileage. “I have been driving this car around and I have to tell you, it did what my mother couldn't do. It did what my driving instructor couldn't do, it's made me a better driver,” Lowe added.

Markey's occasion got lots of hype and pulled plenty of environmentalists who back the event with noteworthy speed and reliability likened to ACT performance. One man, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that his group had recently raised money to send copies of the movie “Who Killed the Electric Car?” to all 535 members of Congress and all 50 governors. The initiative would cost around $9,000 at current prices. The film suggests a host of scoundrels were behind General Motors Corp.'s decision to end its EV1 electric car program after investing more than $1 billion.

How did the Congress react? Did lawmakers enjoy the show? And the media thought United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger was not a devotee. A throng of quote-thirsty reporters, grabbing the out of the usual run of things chance, swooped on the notoriously reticent labor chief after his speech to the NAACP at its national convention last week in Detroit.

While auto company chief executives regularly make themselves available to the press, a Gettelfinger interview is a rarity. That fact is especially irritating to reporters in the weeks leading up to this summer's national contract talks.

One journalist asked the labor chief to explain why he does not like talking to reporters. A look of surprise crossed Gettelfinger's face and his jaw dropped. “What do you mean? I have no problem with the media,” he said. Apparently the question stuck with him, because after answering questions, he returned to the topic. “I love the media,” he said. “What makes you think I don't?”
Afterward, to drive the point home, Gettelfinger reminded the group that, while he might not talk to them, at least one journalist in town is on his A list. “Call Paul W. Smith if you think I have a problem with the media,” he noted, referring to WJR's NewsTalk-760 host to whom he habitually grants interviews.

You can go home again. The Cerberus Capital Management LP sees value in Detroit automakers, or at least in the Chrysler Group, the American luxury unit of DaimlerChrysler AG. So perhaps it should come as no surprise that the New York-based private equity firm's chairman, John Snow, has an appreciation for the barrel-aged, exquisite tang of Vernors ginger ale.

The former U.S. treasury secretary was in town last week for an appearance before the Detroit Economic Club. He could not stop gushing when he spotted the green can so familiar to Midwesterners on a table outside a conference room at the Royal Park Hotel in Rochester. “Vernors!” exclaimed the Toledo native Snow to his private equity associates, who gazed on with bewilderment. “This stuff is so good. I used to drink this all the time,” Snow chattered. “This is what I was telling you about. You have to try this.”

Cerberus is expected to close its deal to acquire Chrysler this quarter.