[Excerpted; full post here] Today at the Vista Group luncheon, we’ll be discussing the US auto industry’s desire for a government bailout. My view: of course it’ll be great to protect US manufacturing jobs, since the situation is not of the plant workers’ doing. As mentioned in one of my papers, ‘Saving Detroit’, the troubles are self-made: brand mismanagement by the Germans when Chrysler was part of DaimlerChrysler, which I have documented elsewhere; and internal politics within Ford, which is the stuff of legend. GM isn’t totally in the clear but it has done more to attempt to integrate an unwieldy structure (just not quickly enough, with hindsight), coordinate automotive platforms, spread its risk with small cars than its other US rivals, and even engage with consumers via its blog. It’s also taking a useful innovative chance with the Chevrolet Volt, reversing the failures of the EV-1 electric car project.
   I say the US Government could provide some guarantees and certainty for the sake of jobs, but the conditions need to go well beyond salary caps and executive compensations. We are talking serious rebranding (and I mean the vision-, culture- and process-changing definition and not slapping on a new logo) here—something that large US corporations tend to have a problem understanding, executing and absorbing. Or, they get caught up in the rhetoric of branding thanks to the way some of the consultancies work. We’re talking major cultural changes. Read full post here.

Porsche has shown its new mid-engined Boxster and Cayman models at the LA Auto Show today. In some respects, this is a facelift for the cars, now looking more aggressive. Under the skin, the changes are more thorough, with new flat-six boxer engines and the new Porsche-PDK double-clutch gearbox. Below, videos of the new Boxster and Cayman.

In the main part of our site today, photographs of and quotations from Charlize Theron as she is inducted by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as a Messenger of Peace, focusing on violence against women. As we reveal, this matter is very near and dear to Theron’s heart, and she has spent a great deal of effort working for women’s rights over the years—not to mention her roles in films like Monster. Lucire says, ‘Welcome,’ to Charlize in officially promoting UN initiatives, as we have been doing.

Her handiwork has dazzled on the dance floor, won awards and is set to feature in Peter Jackson’s upcoming film The Lovely Bones. Such is the demand for her fancy hats and quirky fascinators that milliner Amy Jansen-Leen has opened her first atelier—Amy Jansen-Leen Millinery—in Te Aro, Wellington.
   With the race day season kicking off, her timing could not be better. Jansen-Leen is already busy filling orders for clients wanting head-turning headwear, and has created an exclusive capsule collection for fashion designer Andrea Moore.
   Her Mad Hatter Tea Party hat designed for Good Morning’s Sally-ann Moffat (above left) was a key part of the ensemble that won the supreme Fashion in the Field Award (2006) at the Wellington Cup.
   Jansen-Leen brings vast experience to her designs having worked in film, television and theatre in New Zealand, Australia and the UK as a costume decorator, costume props’ maker and milliner for more than eight years. Her credits include Dancing with the Stars, films Avatar, King Kong, River Queen and The Lovely Bones, as well as assisting the Royal New Zealand Ballet and New Zealand Opera. Most recently she was the costume coordinator for World of Wearable Art (WOW), which finished on October 6.
   Trust is an important part of the Amy Jansen-Leen millinery experience. She likes her customers to come to her with an outfit they want to accessorize and leave her to do the rest.
   ‘It’s best to leave it open, then I can create something beautiful and truly amazing that they are going to feel great in. The danger of having a fixed idea of a colour or shape is not being able to visualize it and then being surprised by what it looks like and it might not suit you. Leave that part to me,’ Jansen-Leen says.
   While she prides herself in providing bespoke designs that are truly unique, Jansen-Leen is also happy to rework and spruce up vintage designs, retrim an existing hat or replicate a favourite design. Fabrics and trims can also be dyed to match, and flowers made from scratch. An art-déco fan, she has a vast collection of vintage trims that she has collected over the years, and her headwear designs regularly top the ensembles of swing-dancing enthusiasts. Dancing swing is her other big passion. Jansen-Leen was Miss July for the Full Swing 2008 fundraiser vintage pin-up calendar for Wellington Free Ambulance.
   Her personalized millinery service includes a lesson on the best way to wear a hat. Important knowledge for looking your “hat best”, whether attending the races, a wedding or Art Déco Weekend.
   Jansen-Leen’s intimate salon at 19–25 Arthur Street is part-workroom, part-showroom, and visits are by appointment only. This is to ensure that customers receive the best attention, and that she also has time to dream up and craft her fabulous creations.

I hope this is the last car post for a while since we are in danger of turning into a car blog. The Opel Insignia has won European Car of the Year, so I was wrong on my guess that a Ford would take the position.
   The Ford Fiesta lost by one point: 320 to the Opel’s 321.
   Volkswagen’s Golf VI was well behind in third at 223.
   This year, 19 had the second-placed Ford Fiesta as their pick, pipped by the 20 who chose the Opel Insignia.
   The other cars and their scores were: Citroën C5, 198; Alfa Romeo MiTo, 148; Škoda Superb, 144; and Renault Mégane, 121.
   The Opel Insignia is called the Vauxhall Insignia in the UK and the Buick Regal in China.

BMW will present a some of its new technologies at the Los Angeles Auto Show this year. The new shape some BMW fans will want to see will be the 7-series, which will also appear at the show as an Active Hybrid concept. We’ve video of some of the other technologies that BMW will be showing. From the below video: driving shots of the new 730d diesel saloon around Dresden, Germany; active cruise control and front-to-rear collision warning system; the lane change and lane departure warning systems; and, what we think is the pièce de résistance, night vision with person recognition.

I hope this doesn’t mean that Jaguar has gone back to its old ways as a US survey puts the Toyota Prius at the top of its reliability list, and the Jaguar XF (left) at the bottom. Both cars have been nominees in Lucire’s Car to Be Seen in awards: the Toyota in 2004–5, the Jaguar in 2007–8.
   The TrueDelta.com reliability survey claims to have 36,000 cars in its database, with owners surveyed throughout the year. This gives it, says the company, more accuracy than the Consumer Reports surveys which are done on an annual basis, where respondents tend to remember only the latest problems.
   The 2008 Prius averaged five dealer trips per 100 vehicles, while the 2009 XF averaged 159 per 100 vehicles. The average is 60.
   Nine out of twenty-six XF owners needed repairs to their car by the end of the year (October 1, 2007–September 30, 2008), compared to two out of seventy-four for the Prius.

Wandering Films and Minx Films’ short film, La Milonga, has been chosen as an official selection of the Miami Short Film Festival. The festival will take place November 17–23. La Milonga will screen on November 20 at 7 p.m. at the Tower Theater.
   Now in its seventh year, the Miami Short Film Festival was created to highlight the best short films from around the world. Since its inception, the festival has screened over 600 films from 23 countries. Tickets can be purchased at www.miamishortfilmfestival.com.
   The film is set in 1920s Buenos Aires and was inspired by the era of Carlos Gardel and the rise of tango. La Milonga tells the story of a young virtuous woman who wanders into a Milonga dance hall, and meets a famous Milonguero. When he asks her to dance she must decide if she is ready to enter his world, one where he is experienced on the dance floor as well as with the ladies. In this stylized and romantic tango film, the two dancers discover a part of themselves previously unknown.
   Our friend Angie Ruiz stars and executive-produces. Christian Monzon also stars. La Milonga has been written and directed by Francesca Di Amico.

I have a feeling that tomorrow, we will hear that the Ford Ka, as driven by Olga Kurylenko in Quantum of Solace, will be European Car of the Year. It has a good chassis, it’s a subcompact car that fits modern European sensibilities, and it has cross-Europe appeal. Our second pick would be the Alfa Romeo MiTo, based on the Fiat 500, a previous winner—but Ford has a habit of making better chassis. Both are on our Car to Be Seen in shortlist, but we have very different and less objective criteria than the European motoring journalists.

PS.: That was a buggy post and the gremlins crept in big time. Not entirely sure how—maybe I am looking really far into the future with the 2009–10 picks! There were two errors, as pointed out by commenters: the Alfa Romeo MiTo is on the Fiat Grande Punto platform (this was a regular brain-faster-than-fingers typo). Secondly, the Ford Fiesta is on the shortlist, not the Ka (no explanation on how the error got in). In which case my money is on the B409 Fiesta.

Today in Lucire: Stanley Moss visits Grover Cloth House, a New Delhi tailor which boasts President Bush, Cherie Blair and Chelsea Clinton as clients. The pashmina scarf photographs are lovely—and they can be picked up for a song at Grover’s.