The takeaway from Ford Motor Company’s announcement late last week that Raj Nair will succeed Derrick Kuzak, and that Bob Shanks will succeed Lewis Booth is that Mark Fields is in good position to replace Alan Mulally as chief executive officer. “Shuffle at Ford looks like good news for Fields,” reads the headline in Automotive News. Last week, AN notes, Mulally said again that he has no plans to retire.

That’s right now.

The night had everything you would expect of a grand LA premiere:

-A red carpet alley lined with paparazzi.-A swanky, designer space (Tesla’s design studio on the grounds of the rocket ship manufacturing corporate cousin, SpaceX).-VIPs galore, including LA glitterati, power players, and celebrities. Governor Moon Beam, Jerry Brown gave opening remarks, and I spotted the actor who plays that Croatian doctor from ER (Dr. Kovacs? Is that you?), noshing outside on the patio.

I see The New York Times reports some senior Republicans are interpreting Chrysler’s schmaltzy “It’s Halftime in America” ad, which aired — ahem — at halftime at the Super Bowl, as a political ad. According to the Times, George W. Bush’s top political advisor Karl Rove claimed Chrysler was trying to settle a debt to the Obama administration for rescuing Detroit carmakers with billions of dollars in loans.

I attended the launch of the new 3-series and had almost nothing but nice things to say about the new 2.0-liter “TwinPower” twin-scroll turbocharged four-cylinder engine in that car. We were unable to obtain official test figures for the 328i on that trip, but in the article, I noted the impressive performance we recorded from this same engine in the 528i. Well I just spent some quality time in a 528i X-drive, and I’m coming away underwhelmed.

“The NSX has just become the standard for the world. It’s the best sports car the world has ever produced. Any time. Any place. Any price…It’s far better than any Ferrari or Lamborghini ever built; it makes the Corvette ZR-1 look like something contrived under a shade tree.