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AutoLine Daily - March 5, 2009; GM takes a big step towards Chapter 11. Visteon is expected to file within weeks. And Honda and Mazda are going to ask the Japanese government for money.

This is Autoline Daily for Thursday, March 5, 2009. And now, the news.

Looks like General Motors just took another step towards a Chapter 11 bankruptcy. When the company announced its year end earnings it issued a warning saying it expected its auditors to question whether GM was still a going concern, i.e., questioning whether it could stay in business. And that’s just what happened. GM’s independent auditor, Deloitte Touche, went through the books and said they have substantial doubt GM can continue as a going concern. At the end of the month GM has to present its turnaround plans to Congress showing that it can be a viable company going forward. But after this auditors report, no one in Congress is going to believe GM can make it without a Chapter 11 restructuring.

Speaking of bankruptcy, Visteon is next on the list. The big supplier company that used to be part of Ford is going to be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange tomorrow, because the NYSE expects Visteon to file for bankruptcy in a matter of weeks. Visteon stock traded as high as $5 a share last spring. Today it’s at 7 cents a share. The Detroit Free Press reports that American Axle may be the next supplier to get delisted from the NYSE, and all this may signal the collapse of the supplier industry that we’ve been talking about for months on Autoline Daily.

Tuesday we reported that Toyota had asked the Japanese government for a loan and now Honda and Mazda may do the same. Bloomberg reports that Honda would use the money to lend to U.S. car buyers and Mazda needs the funds mainly for its American and European operations. No word yet on how much money the two companies are seeking.

And speaking of Honda, the company that builds hybrids just introduced a Class-8 semi-truck hybrid diesel into its fleet to deliver parts to parts centers and dealers. The truck is manufactured by Peterbilt Motors and is expected to save 45 tons a year in carbon dioxide emissions compared to its diesel counterpart. The diesel hybrid system was developed by the Eaton Corporation.

Just in case owning Land Rover and Jaguar isn’t enough, Ward’s reports that Tata is thinking about building a luxury car (subscription required) of its own to sell in India. Company honcho Ratan Tata made the announcement in Geneva on the same day the automaker premiered the Euro version of its Nano car. As strange as a Tata luxury car sounds, this story gets even more unbelievable. Pininfarina already is working on the design of the vehicle which is called the Pr1ma. You know, the more I hear about Tata, the more I like it.

Last week we showed you the all-new Mercedes-Benz E-Class. Well, now the company has revealed a coupe version of the car at the Geneva Motor Show. It’ll share the same mechanical parts with its sedan sibling, but it’s wrapped in a design that’s swoopier and more emotional. Adding to the style, all of the windows are fully-retractable and no b-pillars intrude into the daylight opening, which makes the profile look clean and improves visibility for the driver.

Coming up next, a look at BMW’s redesigned Z4, we’ll be back right after this.

For 2009 BMW has redesigned and restyled its Z4 roadster. Like before it promises a great driving experience, but now it’s more comfortable and convenient.

Half the fun of a roadster is having the wind in your hair and the sun in your face. Making that possible is a retractable hardtop, the first time Z4 has had a metal roof. The two-piece unit made out of aluminum can be opened in only 20 seconds.

The biggest news about the Z4 probably is its styling. I was really wowed by the design when I saw it up close at the Detroit Auto Show. The new look is aggressive, but it still has those characteristic roadster features, like a long hood and a low stance. Its taut lines make last year’s Z4 look like a cream puff in comparison.

The body’s angular shapes are carried over to the interior where the dashboard and door panels have similar swoops. Much of the switchgear is brand new and the car has the latest version of iDrive.

BMW is known for its inline-sixes, and the 2009 Z4 offers two different flavors. Both displace 3.0-liters, but one uses twin turbos and direct injection to pump out 300 horsepower. The other is naturally-aspirated with 255 horses.

A six-speed manual transmission is available with either engine while a dual-clutch seven-speed automatic is available with the turbo motor.

There’s no word yet on pricing, but the new car will probably cost slightly more than this year’s model, which starts at about $37,000.

And that’s it for today’s show. But one more thing before I sign off, this week’s trivia question is a real dusey. We challenged you to name the car pictured here. So far not one person has answered it correctly. If you don’t know what kind of car it’s that’s OK, submit a funny or clever answer anyway. If no one gets it right we’ll choose an answer we like. As always, we’ll announce the winner on tomorrow’s Autoline Daily, so good luck.

Anyway, that’s it for today’s show, thanks for watching, we’ll see you tomorrow.