The Auto Snob

Looks familiar...

2011-04-12T12:24:00.005-05:00

It's been a while since I posted, but I just had to comment on this one. Lexus just revealed photos of its LF-Gh concept, which is surely a preview of the next generation GS mid-luxury sedan. When I looked at the profile view of the car, I was struck by a sense of familiarity.

It only took a half second for me to realize that Lexus is really going for a BMW vibe on this one. Ironically, its a last-gen BMW vibe.

The rest of the new Lexus concept is actually pretty handsome, and has more of an Audi feel to it, which is certainly something worth copying. This, though, I just had to note.

Great car, but the ad...?

2010-11-29T17:36:00.004-05:00

The dictionary on my Mac give the following definition:
platitude |ˈplatiˌt(y)oōd|
noun
a remark or statement, esp. one with a moral content, that has been used too often to be interesting or thoughtful

I present to you the video that might be next to that entry in a multimedia dictionary:

From Bad-ass to Boring

2010-11-04T12:26:00.002-05:00

What had previously been one of the most devilish designs in autodom has now been completely sanitized and defanged. The new Chrysler 300 reminds my of one of those insurance company magazine ad where they throw together an "anycar" on Photoshop. Have a look for yourself.

The rear even looks like one of those awful hack jobs Kia used to do, like the old Amanti.
Chrysler's got some fine looking stuff coming out, like the new Charger and Grand Cherokee. This 300, though, is not what I'd hoped for.

Source: Autoblog

Autoblog Infographic

2010-05-25T16:06:00.002-05:00

[Source: Auto Insurance for Autoblog.com]

Paddling into the Wave of the Future

2010-01-04T00:26:00.002-05:00

I've addressed this topic before, including one post with an equally cheesy name, as well as the saga of purchasing my R32. But my dad recently sent me a link to an article that seems to be a harbinger death for true manual transmissions.

Road & Track explains that the new Ferrari 458 Italia will only offer one gearbox, Ferrari's new 7-speed dual-clutch setup. Apparently only one percent of F430s were sold with sticks, and elsewhere in the world of true sports cars, manuals are going away. Godzilla, the Nissan GT-R, is not available with a manual, nor will be the next McLaren.

The following was from my original post on the subject:

Am I like those who rejected the fancy new water-cooled engines? Or those who proclaimed that airbags would never be a legitimate auto technology? Was I penning myself in with the automotive nay-sayers who refused to make way for new advances? If Mitsubishi had decided that the new SST was good enough for their most discriminating enthusiasts--hey, it's good enough for F1 drivers--then maybe VW was in the right. Maybe I would get used to shifting without a clutch.

Well, the fact is, I'd still prefer a real stick-shift. There's nothing quite like the delicate dance between a man and a machine, wherein you discover the unique character and limits of a vehicle through working a shift lever, a clutch, and a gas pedal. It's truly makes daily driving more fun.

But on the track, I actually prefer the paddles. The DSG offers quicker responses, and allows you to keep both hands on the wheel, while still controlling the rev range perfectly.

I may never be completely happy with having a paddle shifter. But it seems increasingly likely that I one day will. And ironically, my dad, who only within the past decade returned to a stick as his daily driver (my old car, actually), will be a lot slower to accept this new trend.

Of course, computers and I came of age around the same time, which certainly has something to do with this. But when it comes down to it, I just don't wanna be a stubborn old fart.

Deutschland, Part 11

2009-12-22T00:00:00.003-05:00

After the Frankfurt auto show, I was eager to hop town, since the next day I'd be heading to the world-famous Nürburgring, the race track on which pretty much all modern performance cars are tuned, if only for the "cred". The most well-known portion of the track, the Nordschleife (Northern Loop), is also the part that's open to the public on most days.

The legend of the Ring has taken on a life of its own, and most enthusiasts know not only how challenging it is, but also how deadly it can be. Countless lives have been lost by incautious drivers who paid the track less than its fair share of respect.

There are plenty of websites dedicated to teaching you how to run the Ring (I used this excellent Nürburgring for Dummies page), and they'll all tell you how dangerous it can be, especially for the cocky and unprepared. They'll even advise you to try to learn the track ahead of time by both watching recorded laps on YouTube and, get this, by playing the video game Gran Turismo. Lance, who I'd met in Stuttgart, was an accomplished gamer, and he said it helped his experience there greatly.

I'd tried to take this advice, by printing out maps of the track and following a video turn by turn, but by the end of the 14-mile Nordschleife, it's very easy to lose track of what corner you're on. After an hour or so of attempting this on the press computers at the Frankfurt show, I realized it was futile to try to learn the track in one day.

I decided to hit the road, and I grabbed a rental car. I'm sure the rental agency would not have been happy about my intended destination, but what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them. I approached the rental place, and sitting right in front of the door was the car I wanted to take to the Ring: the four-door R32 with a true manual transmission. Although I'd asked for a BMW 3-Series (or something similar) my heart started to pound at the thought that this car might be available.

Instead, they dropped a Mercedes C-Class wagon with a little 1.8L low-pressure turbo on me. Needless to say, I was not happy. The fact is, though, it turned out to be a great car for the situation. Too much power would have the potential to get me in a lot of trouble, and with its manual gearbox, I found the car to be fairly peppy and easy to keep on the boil. Nevermind the fact that the car had 14 miles on it when I picked it up. I'm sure running the Ring is a great break-in for any car.

Armed with a sat-nav and the latest Automobile Magazine, which happened to point out a great route through the mountains (don't ask me what road at this point), I high-tailed it out of Dodge with just enough time to get to the Ring as the open track time would be starting, 5:45 pm. It was scheduled to last until 7:30 that night, so I'd have just under two hours to do the four laps I'd planned to buy for €75.

The ride there was fairly uneventful, though the unlimited speed sections I'd been so eager for seemed few and far between. I didn't really have much chance to see what the Benz could do, but that would come later.

I got to the Ring just in time, though it was a little tough for me to find the entrance. Once there, I bought my Ring Card with four laps, and watched some cars take off just to settle myself into the reality of where I was. Eventually I summoned the courage to swipe my Ring Card and take a lap.

As I hit the North Loop, I settled in behind a brand new, bright blue Scirocco who I thought might have a good idea of the appropriate cornering lines. I'm not sure if he was annoyed at me following him for the whole lap, but I wasn't about to pass someone on my very first lap of the Ring. But I began to realize that if I was going to have a good time, I couldn't let those website warnings scare me into driving like a granny in a Lincoln.

On my second lap I confirmed what I had suspected. If you drive the Ring like it's a challenging road that you've never encountered before, you can have lots of fun while still being safe. Sure, it'd definitely be a blast at 90 mph, but you can still have a great Ring experience at 60. On this lap I managed to pass a few people, and was passed a few times by more serious drivers. But for the most part, I had the track to myself. One of the most important things to remember on the Ring is to always be checking your mirrors for faster traffic approaching. If you remember this, and also to not be an idiot, you should be pretty much okay.

Those websites will also tell you not to time yourself, and this is excellent advice. Most drivers who wind up as paint spatters on a Ring guardrail are found to have running timers inside their cars. It'll turn you into a moron. But I couldn't resist at least getting a ballpark number, knowing that I wouldn't be pushing myself much. And the proof is in the pudding. I reset the trip timer in the car just before the lap, and I came off with roughly a 13-minute run. At 14.173 miles, I was averaging around 65 mph. Which was really plenty.

I exited the second lap with a huge grin and a pounding heart. I pulled off to let the car cool down and to rest up for my next attempt. I struck up a conversation with some Britons, driving a Seat and an Audi S3, to compare notes. Finally I felt it was time to get back out there. I pulled up to the gate, only to be told that the track was closed for the night. The inevitable had happened: someone had crashed.

While deeply disappointed, I viewed this as a mixed blessing. I'd had a fairly quick lap (for my comfort level), and who knows, the next go round it could've been me who closed the track for the night. At the Ring, if you crash things can get very expensive, assuming you walk away from it.

Instead, my day ended with a burger at the Devil's Diner. I intended to drive straight from the Ring to Wolfsburg, where VW is located, but underestimated the size of the country. Germany, while only half the size of Texas, is in fact half the size of Texas! It would have been a 4.5 hour drive, and that doesn't even count the great road that I'd read about which I'd wanted to drive. Instead, I was forced to stop over in Cologne for the night, which happened to have one room left in the youth hostel where I wound up. Wolfsburg would have to wait another day.

What is a sports car?

2009-12-20T23:43:00.005-05:00

On the surface, this seems like a pretty easy question. Most people would just think of it as a high performance car with sleek and aggressive styling and two doors. But in that grand tradition of automotive classifications, which includes terms like "two-door sedan" and "landaulet", sports car really refers to something fairly specific. According to Wikipedia:

The term describes a class of automobile with two seats, two doors, precise handling, brisk acceleration, and sharp braking — trading practical considerations such as passenger space, comfort, and cargo capacity — for driving enjoyment.

This definition recently came up in a conversation I had with my dad about the upcoming Jaguar XE. He read a post on roadandtrack.com that featured renderings of the vehicle, which said the timing of the concept will coincide with the anniversary of the vaunted E-type. He was confused because "The article makes it sound like Jag doesn’t already have the XK."

I too had read blurbs about this upcoming model claiming that it would be the spiritual successor to the E, and thought to myself, wasn't that the whole point of the XK? But herein lies the distinction between a sports car and a grand tourer. Back in the day, the E-type was one of the premier sports cars around, with great handling, decent power, and gorgeous lines. The original coupe was a two-seater, and the roadster was only offered that way.

Not until the stretched 2+2 version of the coupe arrived a few years after the E's debut did the model take on more characteristics of a grand tourer. The XK, on the other hand, was built as a GT from the start. Characterized by a comfortable ride, high speed stability and space for up to four people with luggage, grand tourers, as the name reflects, are meant to allow a long trip in total comfort.

Ferrari offers some great examples of this contrast. Its mid-engined base models, like the F430 and upcoming 458 Italia, are designed to get around a track the fastest way possible. They trade comfort for speed, and the ultimate Ferrari sports cars, like the 430 Scuderia, strip out all comfort items, like radio, A/C and sound deadening.

The 612 Scaglietti, on the other hand, is the Ferrari built for four. You can run it for hours at superlegal speeds and, due to what Ferrari calls its "unprecedented comfort", get out at the other end feeling fresh as a daisy. Ferrari even classifies it as a "berlinetta", which translates to "little saloon", a saloon being the European term for a sedan.

In the context of Jag's lineup, the fact that the XE will be a two-seat sports car means that it will compete more with the Porsche Boxster/Cayman than the Mercedes-Benz SL or BMW 6-Series, as the XK does. Will Jaguar customers go for a true sports car? I think that's a big wild card. But at least we know that, even while the XK remains, the new car has a raison d'être.

Confident or Sporty, Pick One (part 2)

2009-12-18T01:32:00.003-05:00

I recently had a teleconference with a client who produces luxury sport sedans, and I brought up the issue of AWD and sport suspensions being mutually exclusive. This manufacturer explained that for AWD cars, the priority is for maximum compliance over rough roads, and that's not achievable with the sport suspension.

I mentioned the increasing trend toward adjustable suspensions, like Audi's Drive Select (pictured), and inquired whether they would consider the combination on a car with this sort of setup. They responded that the next generation of the entry sport sedan would be getting this technology, and that it's possible that it would be an option with AWD.

I suppose this is actually the reason why Audi was the first to introduce this kind of system in the segment occupied by the A4. Without it, perhaps they can't accommodate AWD and sporty handling, and Audi's sportiest offerings all have AWD.

So here's to the future, when I'll be able to fulfill my fantasy of both the perfect track car, and the perfect winter-mobile.

Deutschland, Part 10

2009-12-17T01:27:00.003-05:00

The major reason that I'd waited until this year to visit Germany was the Frankfurt Auto Show, which only occurs every other year. While you can read about all the cars that were unveiled there in plenty of places, I figured I'd share my own perspective with you on a few things.

First of all, it was a thrill to see all the cars from brands we don't have here, like the French trio of Renault, Citröen and Peugeot, and Fiat, whose cars we will soon be seeing on our shores. Sometimes you see a car that looks familiar, but with a badge that's not:

This Fiat is called the Sedici, and it's just a rebadged Suzuki SX4, which we do, in fact, have here.

This Seat Exeo is actually a reworked previous generation Audi A4. Seat is VW's Spanish brand, and it's seen by the parent company as a stepping stone to the Audi brand. A Skoda rep explained this to me, adding that his marque is seen as a lead-in to the VW badge. Things can be a bit more complicated on the Continent.

There were also lots of MAVs, or multi-activity vehicles. These cars are a wonder of packaging, and one of my favorites was the Toyota Verso, which essentially takes a Corolla-sized platform and jams seven people in it.

At this show, Ford unveiled the new Focus C-Max and Grand C-Max, and revealed that the latter would be coming to America. This could be the start of a big trend in the States.

I also really dug the Kia Venga. While only two rows, it's quite spacious, and would give the Honda Fit a run for its money. I also like the adorable styling, and I'm going to try to get Kia to bring it over here. It would help them sustain some of the great momentum their brand has gotten of late.

And how could I forget the VW Scirocco. This thing looks bad-ass, and as I posted earlier, VW had a hot R version on hand at the show. If only they'd bring it here.

BMW also had a beautiful 507 driving around the elevated track they'd built around their stand, so I got to enjoy the lovely sights and sounds of that classic.

Finally, I got to experience the European Ford lineup up close. I was not prepared for what I'd see and feel. Not only were the materials below the quality level I'd been expecting, but the ergonomics of some of the vehicles was deplorable. To lower a window in the Mondeo you have to contort your wrist into a very uncomfortable position, as you can see on the left side of the picture:

In addition, the interior panel gaps were huge. It's a shame, since I'd based my impressions of European Ford products on their stunning design.

With my press pass, I was a pig in shit at the show. They treat the press quite well at auto shows, and you eat like a king if you want. Plus I had plenty of free Internet with which to research the Nürburgring, where I was going the next day, and try to learn its corners. More on that soon...

Now this is what I call talent

2009-12-15T12:40:00.000-05:00

RIP NWA

2009-12-15T01:41:00.004-05:00

This post is not exactly automotive related, but it does involve transportation in general, so I think it gets a pass. I just wanted to take the time to lament the disappearance of Northwest Airlines, which will be fully absorbed into Delta as of February of next year.

Now I'll admit, this lamentation doesn't make a whole lot of objective sense, since, even though I've flown NWA plenty in recent years due to the fact that Detroit is one of their hubs, I didn't regard this carrier as having any better prices, service, or anything really, than the competition. No, my sadness is based wholly on the loss of a logo. And it's not even their current logo.

For many years I've considered the Northwest logo that was used until a few years ago to be one of the great masterpieces of corporate design. Just look at all the elements that come together beautifully. The N is the most obvious, but the artist figured out how to convert into a W with a simple triangle. Not only that, but that triangle is positioned perfectly to be part of a compass, which points to none other than the Northwest.

I'll admit, the logo with which it was replaced a few years ago does look more modern, but it has nowhere near the layered complexity of this marque.

And I've got to believe that had NWA retained its independence, the company would have unveiled "the logo to

end all logos" in another decade or so, which would have returned to this motif, but with a more polished and pleasing finish.

But alas we'll never get to see that. And for that, I'm am deeply sorry.

Sin or synergy, that is the question

2009-12-14T01:16:00.006-05:00

In a recent article in Automotive News, quote machine David Cole from the Center for Automotive Research explained that the Fiat-Chrysler merger is much more promising than the Daimler-Chrysler link-up was, because there is much more product overlap with the new alliance.

It struck me that this was the exact opposite rationale to the one that was touted about the DaimlerChrysler deal back in the day. From a 2001 article on the company:

At its start, the 1998 merger of Daimler-Benz AG and Chrysler Corp. appeared to unite exceedingly compatible partners. Chrysler would marry into a family of prestige, with Mercedes pledging its engineering and technological prowess. Street-smart Chrysler would show its partner how to fight for mass-market success in North America.

The article goes on to detail how this assumption was mistaken, but it really does beg the question of whether overlap is a good thing in a deal involving two car companies. You can argue it either way. You want to avoid overlap, since it doesn't make sense to put resources into two brands that compete with one another. Or, you want to make sure there's some overlap so that you can maximize the sharing of those resources, such as platforms and engines, between the brands.

Both sound kind of right, and saying either will make you sound smart. But at the end of the day, it's all just bullshit. There are too many other factors, like the economy, company talent both executive and otherwise, competitive forces, and pure luck, that influence the trajectory of a partnership like either of Chrysler's. To isolate a factor like overlap is exceedingly difficult, and probably misleading.

But I guess we industry analysts have to make our money somehow.

Start Me Up!

2009-12-09T01:12:00.006-05:00

As our first big snowfall of the season accumulates outside, I'm reminded of the joys of my garage. With the Green Monster tucked safely away in storage, the Blue Devil is free to get cozy in its new home just downstairs.

Were it not for this situation, I'd once again be pining for a remote start system. I've always wanted one, and since I bought a car with an automatic transmission, it's more of a reality than ever before. But one major obstacle still remains--aside from cost. That's the car's immobilizer system.

Modern cars (except for some cheap Chrysler products) all have immobilizer chips embedded in the ignition key. If you hotwire the car, it'll start up, but then sense that the chip isn't around, and shut right back down. I can only imagine how car thieves are attempting to get around this.

What it means for aftermarket remote start systems, though, is that in order for them to work, a key needs to be permanently installed in the car so it'll start up even when you're inside the house. Obviously this makes the immobilizer system useless, which in turn increases the likelihood that your car will get jacked.

The answer to this issue is factory-installed remote start systems. GM has been offering these on their cars for years, with nicely integrated buttons right on the key fob.

Well, Ford announced a few days ago that they would finally begin offering the feature for 2011. I really wish more manufacturers would follow suit, but I guess I'll always be waiting for the next big thing to get to my car of choice, like Bluetooth streaming audio and voice recognition. Here's to wishin!

Kick ASCII!!!

2009-12-08T01:42:00.008-05:00

Today I discovered an ASCII art generator. For those of you not light years ahead of me in computing knowledge, it converts a picture into text. I decided to post an ASCII pic of one my favorite cars, the Aston Martin DBS. If you want to convert something, the site is here. Enjoy in both black and white.

Lane Discipline For All!

2009-12-07T01:54:00.004-05:00

As you'll know if you've been reading this blog for a while, I deplore drivers who block up the left lane while drivers behind them want to pass. It's dangerous, since it forces faster traffic to pass on the right. It also muddles up traffic flow, creating lots of unnecessary jams.

Well, I finally decided to try to do something about it. I've turned to that model of futility and wishful thinking, the online petition. I'm hoping that I can eventually stoke a groundswell of supporters who feel the same way, and I can present the petition to local and state law enforcement to urge them to enforce the law, which is actually on the books in Michigan, to penalize left lane sloths.

The petition is here, and I implore anyone else who feels the same way to virtually sign it so I can get some momentum behind it. Also, please pass it along to anyone you know who might be willing to lend their name to the cause. If we get enough support, maybe we can turn Michigan into one of the more progressive states for lane discipline. Thanks in advance.

Deutschland, Part 9

2009-12-04T01:21:00.004-05:00

I hadn't heard the best things about Frankfurt, which is why I chose to stop in Heidelberg on the way. The truth is, Frankfurt is the business hub of Germany, and not much else. I'm sure I could've found tons of interesting things to do there, but compared with the other major cities of Germany, it's kinda boring.

My first excursion there was the zoo. It's actually a pretty good zoo, and I took videos of some of the interesting stuff I saw there. The first is two turtles making out, with one on the other's back.

The second is some really narrow fish that wave their fins in mesmerizing patterns.

I'll admit, these videos aren't nearly as cool as they'd seemed at the time, but I did enjoy the zoo, and recommend it if you have to spend a day in Frankfurt. Unfortunately, it was raining for much of the time I was there.

There also happened to be just a random peacock just strutting around the place like he owned it. I knew peacocks can be somewhat irritable, so I didn't mess with this guy.

Soon I'll post about the Frankfurt auto show, almost 3 months late.

Who'da Thunk It?

2009-12-03T01:08:00.006-05:00

I was listening to the Autoblog podcast from a few weeks ago--which, by the way, I highly recommend for anyone seeking unfiltered commentary from straight-up car guys--and the topic of the new Buick Regal came up. The guys mentioned that it's just a rebadged Opel Insignia, and referenced the fact that if the Saturn brand were still around, this car would have been the next Aura.

It made me think about the interesting path that these two brands, Saturn and Buick, have taken over the past few years. Can you imagine any Saturn from the early '90s being mentioned in comparison to its Buick contemporary? Saturn had been created to present a line of small cars ready to take on the imports. The Buick brand, on the other hand, was the polar opposite, representing big, spacious American iron, for the buyer who thought Toyotas were for suckers. Most people didn't even know that the little plastic-bodied Saturn SL hailed from the same company that pumped out hundreds of thousands of behemoth LeSabres.

By the end of its lifetime, the Saturn brand has moved upmarket, while Buick is on a quest to compete with the likes of Lexus and Acura. I was a big fan of the direction in which Saturn was heading, and I was sad to see it go just as it had finally gotten an exciting lineup. Fortunately, Buick has been given a lot of this displaced attention, and with a showroom that will include the Enclave, LaCrosse and Regal, as well as a spiffy version of the new Chevy Cruze, Buick will be chock full of stylish metal.

Now all we have to do is wait for the Buick name to lose its punchline status.

Party Pooper

2009-12-02T01:39:00.005-05:00

I'm pretty excited about the impending arrival of the Ford Fiesta. It's going to be the best sub-compact in the US market, with the possible exception of the Honda Fit. Ford continues to get its act further together in the US, bringing over many of the great designs from its European arm.

But Henry's brand tends to lose a little bit in translation. The new Taurus, for example, takes many of the cues that make the Mondeo a great design in Europe, but fails to finish the job, with a slab of a rear end that suffers from too many wayward lines.

There seem to be a few missteps with the Fiesta, too, involving the grille. The European version (above) is a great design. For the US version, the front end has been revised, likely for different crash standards here. The sedan gets a chrome grille that has an inexplicable gap under the third crossbar.

The hatch gets a grille insert that looks like it's there to plug the hole that was left by taking out the sedan's grille.

Ford, you're doing so many things right, why screw it up every chance you get?

Deutschland, Part 8

2009-11-26T23:53:00.002-05:00

One of the best aspects of my Germany trip was the opportunity to bear witness to the miraculous German public transportation system. Aside from flying in and out of Munich, and one stretch with a rental car, nearly my entire trip consisted of train travel.

Between cities I took the Deutsche Bahn regional trains, which were fast, comfortable and reasonably priced. Within each city there were two systems of trains, the U-Bahn, which is much akin to the subway system of New York, with a high concentration of stops in busy areas, and each stop only a minute or two apart. The S-Bahn, pictured above, was a more macro train system, allowing you to travel quickly from one area of a city to another. Both were wonderfully easy to use.

In between, where there might not be 100% train coverage, there were generally extensive networks of trams and buses. Anywhere I wanted to go, and just about every city I visited, I could generally get within a few blocks using public transit, and the regularity of these trains, trams and buses was commendable.

There are cities in the US with this kind of extensive transportation system, notably New York City, whose system is about just as efficient, though a lot less clean. But what is truly remarkable is the extent to which the entire country seemed to be covered by this consistent system. In the smaller towns there may not be an extensive subway system, but the buses were easy to use and got me to the important places.

There are too many cities in the US that are lacking adequate public transportation. South Florida, in which a large portion of the population is too old to even drive at night, has a few buses meandering around, and not much else. Detroit, because of the powerful auto lobby, has resisted any sort of meaningful transport infrastructure, which has contributed to the death of the city proper. Anyone who's ridden the People Mover in downtown Motown knows that it's a bit of a joke.

And although Germany also has a powerful auto industry, its focus, as with much of the rest of Europe, on sensible mass transportation has allowed it it create an efficient and extensive system that meets the needs of pretty much everyone in the country.

In the US, we--and our governments--make a lot of choices that benefit the individual at the expense of the common good. Emphasis in many areas is usually more on lower taxes than on desperately needed public works. Hopefully one day we'll realize that the common good is often just that: really good.

Viral Potential

2009-11-24T18:33:00.005-05:00

Lately I've been discovering a bunch of new websites that have been spreading virally. It started with the LOLcats of Icanhascheezburger.com, and then along came fmylife.com (FML) and textsfromlastnight.com (TFLN). You may recognize all of these, or none of them, depending on your level of plugged-in-ness, and I'm quite sure there are plenty of viral trends which I have yet to discover, since I'm the kinda guy who really just uses Facebook to see pictures that my friends post.

But these sites are becoming increasingly collaborative. Actually, a site which popped up as a parody of FML, called mylifeisaverage.com (MLIA), has turned me on to other sites, like Mystery Google. Through these sites, strangers are having disproportionate effects on one another, including copying other people's behavior by imitating stories that have been posted on MLIA, and telling other people to commit random acts (often of kindness, on Mystery Google).

People have lots of stories on MLIA about getting commands from others through Mystery Google (which actually gives you the search results from the person who searched right before you), to call phone numbers and cheer up their friends. It's amazing what someone will do at the behest of a complete stranger, when they're connected through a fun site that both trust.

In terms of marketing, these sites have lots of untapped potential, for a brand that does it right. Many of us have heard, and even seen, how Honda went wrong with its Facebook campaign for the new CrossTour. But if a company has a sense of humor about its brand, and allows people who are not only savvy about this type of social collaboration, but also un-cynical about it, they can reach lots of young buyers, who will have a great new impression of that brand.

All I can say is, ad agencies, I know you have this in you. Get to work, and make it fun.

The Big Brother Car

2009-11-23T22:12:00.003-05:00

Continuing on a recent theme about the technological progression of automobiles, I'd like to share prediction that I made a few years ago at my job. Once again, it may be surprising to realize how close we are to this kind of thing.

It's obvious that cameras are ubiquitous on cell phones at this point. A few years ago, they became so cheap that manufacturers began just throwing them on every phone, and now it's a cost-of-entry feature. Sure, higher resolution and zoom are a bit more expensive and rare, but a basic camera has got to be dirt cheap. And it doesn't really cost more to turn it into a video camera, since it's really just a matter of software.

And now, of course, these devices are making their way onto cars. Back-up cameras, once a novelty, are now a common option an any new vehicle that costs over $25,000. Infiniti has started using multiple cameras to create its Around View Monitor system, which creates a complete birds-eye view of the car's surroundings.

With such a preponderance of cameras on modern cars, it seems a logical leap that they would begin to face forward, and be constantly recording on a loop. It would be the black box of cars, and I can imagine the insurance industry is already lobbying for this. There would no longer be a question of who was at fault in an accident, especially with the availability of data from the rest of the car's systems on brake application, speed, etc.

This isn't a slam dunk. There will be a lot of people on the civil liberties side opposed to this move. And there's certainly a reason why cars aren't already technologically limited to maximum speeds by law. But our obsession with safety will always increase, and if we decide that we want to get unsafe drivers off the roads at all costs, this would be one way to do it.

I by no means offer a full endorsement of this direction. But as a driver with a very safe record, and who prides myself of my defensive driving skills, it doesn't sound like the worse thing in the world. I fully believe that American drivers tend to be woefully under-trained, and the European system of a more rigorous licensing process (if not the expense that goes with it) is appealing to me. Having recently returned from Germany, where I got to experience the Autobahn, and true lane discipline, my lament for our chaotic roads is ever stronger.

But we shall see if the crash video recorder will ever gain credence in this country, or if our traditional need for liberty above all else will prevail.

Absolute Power, Probably Not Corrupting Much

2009-11-22T18:29:00.003-05:00

A few days ago, Autoblog posted about the fact that most Camaros driving off dealer lots have eight pistons under the hood. In fact, the V8 advantage is two to one. Autoblog was psyched about this, saying it was "a trend we can get on board with." For me, it's a different story.

I had the privilege of driving both the V6 and V8 models, and while the eight-banger is undoubtedly a beast, I came away with a preference for the six. The Camaro is already a heavy car, and with the V8 hanging out in front of the axle, its handling is compromised. Add to that the fact that the V6 is actually plenty powerful, more so even than a 2009 Mustang V8.

Do you think that 90 percent of those Camaro SS buyers are ever going to use the muscle they've bought? Yeah, for one burnout coming out of the dealership lot, and then probably never again.

But I suppose that a lot of the Chevy hardcore who shelled out the cash for their dream ride are legitimately concerned about being razzed for buying a secretary's car if they settle for the V6.

VW R Cars

2009-11-20T01:44:00.004-05:00

My friend Adena commented that she needs more photos to be able to decide betwixt the Golf R and the Scirocco R, so here are a few.

Golf R:

Scirocco R:

Confident or Sporty, Pick One

2009-11-19T02:02:00.003-05:00

I'm currently working on a consulting project for a client that is introducing a brand new entry into what we call the Near Luxury segment. You might know this class as the cars getting whooped by the BMW 3-Series for the past several years.

In the info we got from the manufacturer, it turns out that, while there is a sport suspension option on this car, it is not available with all-wheel drive. I was all set to point out the foolishness in this setup to the client, when I dug into the issue and found out that for rear-drive based entries in this segment, this is pretty much universally true. In fact, the Infiniti G37x coupe that I recently drove lacked paddle shifters because they are only available on the sport package. BMW offers a sport package, but on the AWD models it omits the suspension upgrade. You're out of luck with Mercedes and Lexus, too.

It makes me feel a bit left out, since, quite honestly, if I were to buy a car in this class, I'd want both. I'm actually right in the wheelhouse for this segment, and it's possible my next car will hail from it. Why should I suffer if I want the security of AWD for the snowy Michigan winters, during which I actually change my tires, and the fun of a sport suspension for when I visit Grattan for some laps?

I discussed this with a co-worker, and he insisted that our client should be building cars for the larger market, not me. He's got an excellent point, but it still saddens me. If anyone has feedback on this, though, please comment, since I still feel like the combination works. Do you think they're making a mistake? Do you happen to have inside info that generally AWD on rear-drive platforms is not compatible with the decreased compliance of a sport suspension? Sound off!

Deutschland, Part 7

2009-11-18T00:30:00.003-05:00

Since I had some time to kill after leaving Stuttgart, and before I had to be in Frankfurt for the auto show, I decided to see Heidelberg, a beautiful town with an overlooking medieval castle on a hill. The pictures mostly speak for themselves.

To start off the tour, there were scale models of the castle in both its heyday:

And in its present state:

This is the giant wine barrel in which the ruler of the state would put the wine he collected as taxes from the farmers. The farmers would all bring their most rock-bottom wine (who's gonna waste the good stuff when they know its fate?), and it would sit in the barrel with everyone else's wine, plus a ton of air, and they would serve it at huge banquets. Of course the stuff was nearly undrinkable, so they discontinued the practice.

And here's the view of the city below the castle.

They told us on the tour that historians are able to identify who built the castle by their stonemason signatures.

There was even a museum of pharmacy inside the castle.

Well, that's all for Heidelberg. Be sure to check back soon for Frankfurt.

My Dilemma

2009-11-17T00:58:00.003-05:00

As anyone who's read enough of this blog will know, I'm very picky about what I drive. My R32 gave me months of agony over its lack of a true manual transmission, before I even bought the damn thing.

So when I saw the next generation of R hardware at the Frankfurt Auto Show two months ago (more on that in later posts), I once again found it difficult to make up my mind which I liked better.

On one hand, the Scirocco R looks totally badass. Its squat shape looks almost reptilian, making up for the lost cargo space versus its Golf platform-mate. But it uses front-wheel drive, for the weight benefit, according to the VW people on the stand.

The Golf R, on the other hand, has all-wheel drive, just like my beloved R32. I've loved having AWD, due to both its track handling and the winter driving benefits.

The fact is, it doesn't look like the Scirocco will ever make it to this side of the pond, anyway, but I saw a ton of them in Germany, and even tailed one on the Nürburgring for a lap. And nevermind the fact that the new generation of R models have turbo fours, which I'm not crazy about. I'll probably give in eventually and buy a new one.

So, which to buy, assuming I have the choice? I've put a poll at the bottom of the blog. Weigh in on which is more badass.

Automatic Autos

2009-11-16T00:57:00.004-05:00

I've actually had quite a few conversations about the imminent reality of driverless cars. Every time the topic comes up, it's fun revealing to the lay folk that we, in fact, already possess all the technology needed to never have to pilot a car again. Even more astounding, all of this technology is on cars that are at your friendly local dealer right now. When you think about it, you've probably even heard about many of them.

We're all aware of the proliferation of GPS navigation. And perhaps you've caught wind of lane-departure warning systems, which can sense road markings, and when the car begins to cross them without first signaling, gives you an audible, visual, or even tactile warning. There are actually some systems that will give a tug on the wheel to get you straightened out.

Next is dynamic cruise control. We've had cruise for years, which gave drivers a taste of the thrill of auto-pilot. But the latest systems can maintain a set distance from the car ahead, with some even able to come to a complete stop to avoid a collision.

Finally we've got self-parking systems. Toyota was the first to bring this to market on the Lexus LS, but the system is now on Lincolns and vastly improved. The car uses a variety of sensors and cameras to execute a parallel parking job by taking full control of the steering wheel.

So we've really covered every element needed to form a fully functional self-driving automobile. In fact, on a 2007 episode of Top Gear, Jeremy Clarkson took a ride in a BMW 330i as it bombed around their test track under its own, GPS-controlled direction.

So it should come as no surprise that driverless cars on public roads should come a little closer to reality, as a three-year study is about to start assembling "road trains" in which cars on test tracks--and even public roads in Spain--automatically follow a lead vehicle in order to cut drag and improve fuel mileage. Check out the post from Autoblog, and try to guess how soon this kind of thing will be a reality on American roads.

The Toll of Power

2009-11-13T01:26:00.014-05:00

It's been shown time and again that the burdens of power can wreak havoc on one's appearance. Recently, many have discussed the visual transformation of George W. Bush over the course of his presidency.

The auto business can be particularly harsh on the physique, and recently attention was drawn to the transformation of Jim Press, as the former industry heavyweight's gig with Chrysler didn't quite work out as hoped.

Another casualty, which I just noticed today, is Dieter Zetsche, of Daimler AG. He rode Chrysler all the way down the tube, and looks worse for the wear. A few years ago, he looked young and vibrant despite his shiny pate. Now he just looks like an old man.

Poor Dieter. Hopefully his millions will console him.

Shameless Re-post

2009-11-11T00:36:00.004-05:00

I usually try not to repost items from other blogs, but Autoblog featured something I just had to get up on my site. From the blog James Spotting comes the press release from Russian car company Dartz, which has decided to no longer offer a leather option on its Prombron model that included hides from the foreskin of whales.

Here is the text of the release, since it's so priceless:

ARMORED CAR WITHOUT PENIS. LET’S SAVE THE WHALES.

One month ago DARTZ presented uberluxury armored car with whale penis interior - PROMBRON’ (ex.RussoBaltique), lot of people name this car as DARTZ.KOMBAT. As the world’s resonance was very huge and DARTZ got lot of angry e-mails from Greenpeace, WWF and also Pamela Anderson, DARTZ make strong decision to stop their plans regarding such interior.

“We have no any ideas to kill the whale or something like that. All we want - to make just luxury car. Real luxury car which will be world number one car. Our brand was started at 1869 when in Riga was opened Coach Factory or Russo Baltiysky Vagonnij Zavod - PBVZ, and first products was luxury train coaches. At 1907 was made a decision to open Car Department, and at 1909 first car left factory - the name of this car was RussoBalt. This was luxury and sport cars. At 1911 specially for Monaco Rally car got french style name - RussoBaltique. At 1912 factory made world first 4 x 4 wheel drive car, and at 1914 - armored car. All we want to unite luxury and armoring traditions of RussoBalt factory in one car, which brand celebrated 100 years now. At 1922 RussoBalt was renamed to PROMBRON’ (ex.RussoBalt).

We just looking for most expensive products for this car - and that’s why we choosed whale penis leathure when we checked it is most of most. After wave of protest we realised our mistake and make a decision not to use natural leathure at all. We will focus on world most advanced nanotechnologies to achieve interior highest quality using artificial materials which also was never used for cars. We want to tell our hello to all whales: “Our Sea Brothers! We all know that earth are stand on three whales - we will keep You live! We don’t Earth fall down to Ocean!”

Also we make a decision to pay more attention to glass and on our new car model we will use glass which will be made by special technology - from artificial grown chrystals, which will be gold sputerred to cut IR and UV rays, which make driving inconvinient when sun shine.

Best regards,
Leonard F. Yankelovich
DARTZ.EU

I could think of little more than how lucky we are that the three whales holding up planet Earth are no longer in danger of being forced to enter Abraham's covenant against their will.

But I was also curious about the scale of use of this material. It turns out it's called Minke Dork, and it's taken from the member of a Minke whale. Its use was "pioneered", if you can call it that, by Sruli Recht, a Jewish fashion designer born in Jerusalem and living in Iceland. I wonder where he finds someone big enough to hold the whale during its bris.

Deutschland, Part 6

2009-11-10T01:07:00.003-05:00

My second day in Stuttgart was spent at the Mercedes-Benz Museum. While I wasn't able to do the factory tour, it worked out fine, since I spent about nine hours at the museum. If you ever find yourself near Stuttgart, I highly recommend stopping by, as this architectural marvel (as seemingly all German automotive museums are) makes for a fascinating experience.

The main exhibit started at the top of an awesome shaft of elevators, where they showed you videos projected on the wall through the elevator glass. At the top you are confronted by a stuffed horse with the following inscription:

From there, you encounter the coolest part of the museum, which only Mercedes-Benz can offer, essentially a chronicle of the concurrent invention of the automobile by two men who apparently never met: Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler.

Starting with the first internal combustion engine, the so-called "Grandfather Clock":

It continues with the first car:

And then on to the evolution and adaptation for myriad uses:

Throughout the exhibit there was plenty of world history gracing the walls, to give you a good context in which to discover the cars. Eventually you get to some of the most beautiful cars ever to grace the road, the 300SLs, including the Gullwing coupe:

They even had a special exhibit which chronicled the evolution of the E-Class:

Needless to say, this museum was the subject of endless fascination for me. I was impressed beyond my expectations, though I can't imagine your stay would be near as long as mine.

A Stay of Execution

2009-11-09T01:12:00.003-05:00

Best. Weekend. Ever!

Last year I acquired my MG in September, and I'd worried that I wouldn't have much time left in the season to enjoy it. But I got lucky, and we had a beautiful October, which allowed me to bond with the Green Monster before I had to shut it away in a lonely garage for the winter.

This year the pattern of alternating years for the weather in Michigan was looking likely to hold up, with most of the October after I returned from Germany dreary, cold and rainy, generally unfit to enjoy the finer aspects of British motoring.

But then came this weekend. While not exactly a full-on Indian summer--the temps topped out in the 60s--it was sunny and gorgeous all weekend. Astoundingly perfect conditions for my little toy.

It started out wonderfully, with a first date with a beautiful girl. I picked her up for lunch--Sushi Samurai in West Bloomfield was great--and then we just drove around for a while, exploring the town and looking for a hidden castle. It was uber-romantic, and perhaps the best first date I've ever had. Dinner's overrated.

Today I met my friend Chris and his parents for a drive with his A5 and his dad's classic Mini Cooper. We drove some fantastic roads Northwest of Ann Arbor, stopping briefly in Hell and then at a cider mill in Pinckney.

Here's a picture of our cars, which happens to be in the order in which we drove, since Chris' fully modern sports coupe can burn our LBCs easily, and of the two classic drivers, I was the more aggressive/insane one, so each of us got to stretch our cars' legs at our own preferred pace.

Quite honestly, I don't know if this holds any interest for anyone reading this, but I couldn't resist the urge to gloat about/appreciate this final opportunity of the year to enjoy the MGB.

Deutschland, Part 5

2009-11-06T00:50:00.003-05:00

And now we come to the event that I'd been dreaming about for months, perhaps years: the Porsche factory and museum in Zuffenhausen, a suburb of Stuttgart. While I was disappointed with not getting my act together for this trip two years ago--the Frankfurt Auto Show is only every other year, so I had to wait until this year--the timing of my trip was fairly auspicious, since the Porsche Museum has only been open since January. Not only that, but I happened to go on 9/11, which was just a function of my trip timing, and were it not for the horrific event that Americans associate with it, this would be a joyous coincidence.

Upon entering the building, I got a good look at the shop where exhibit cars are restored and maintained.

But my first order of business upon arrival was to make sure I could get a tour of the factory. At first, the woman at the desk apologized, but there would be no English tour today. Sunken-hearted, I was about to slink off in despair, when the woman behind her said she had just talked to someone else on the phone (literally while I was talking to the first woman) and had found out there would be an English tour, and it started in a half hour. Now that's luck.

I was fortunate enough to tour the plant where the 911, Boxster and Cayman are born. They also make all of their engines here, and it was quite a treat to see them being essentially hand-assembled. This was our first stop on the tour, and as I was watching a worker lovingly lay a camshaft in a cylinder head, the tour guide explained that this was the only plant in Germany where workers are allowed to have a beer with lunch.

There were two engine lines, one for the traditional flat-six engines that Porsche has used almost since the beginning of time, and running parallel to that, the line for the V8 engines that are used in the front of the Cayenne and the Panamera. Luckily we were standing over the flat-six line. I wouldn't want it any other way.

It’s a very relaxed environment, and this is by design. Porsche has timed the speed of the line minutely so that it is going neither too fast (which would lead to undue stress) nor too slow (sloth makes quality suffer, too). It used to be a one worker/one engine process, but with the addition of a few robots (only for some bolts) this has changed a bit.

We got to see the factory’s leather shop, which apparently also sets this plant apart from its peers in Germany, who usually outsource this work. The cows are all sourced from the Alps (what was that California was saying about “happy cows”?), and up to 10 hides are used per interior. The coolest part about it is how the hides are cut. Not with blades or lasers, which could damage them, but with high pressure water jets. So cool!

In the main assembly building, it was a joy to see the complex ballet of movement whereby the cars are transported between two levels, and automatically rotated to face forward after they leave the elevator to head the other way. The guide claimed this led to increased quality, perhaps purely from the mental effect on the workers. There were far fewer robots on the Porsche line than at the Audi plants, and especially the subsequent Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg. Porsche workers also seemed to possess the pinnacle of pride, as one would expect. They seemed to be generally older, which is natural, since they are surely paid more for a higher level of skill.

While none of the factory tours I attended allowed photography, I do have a picture I took later of the building in which the first Porsche--the 356--was assembled.

After the tour I went back to enjoy the museum at a leisurely pace. It is a beautiful work of architecture, and the exhibits are encountered in a downward spiral around the building. The first picture is from Wikipedia, cause how cool is the building at night, right? The rest are mine, since I only got to experience it during the day.

I've got plenty of other pictures from the museum, but here's a representative one. It's my favorite Porsche of all time, the 356 Speedster, and it was the exact right color combo. Incidentally, I'm trying to convince my dad to pull the trigger on his purchase of the BMW Z8 he really wants in this color combo. Just do it, dad!

I'll leave you with one of the highlights of the museum, which was the staff firing up a 911 race car and revving the engine for the crowd which quickly gathered. Actually it's a fairly small museum, so pretty much everyone in attendance was huddled around the car. According to a security guard, they do it once a day, just to thrill the museum goers.

After leaving the museum, I crossed the street to the dealership that was on-site. It was marvelous, and doubled as an event center. Here's a sculpture that was inside:

Which brings to mind an interesting contrast versus Audi. While I was on the Ingolstadt plant tour, a couple expressed interest in buying an Audi, especially since the tour had gotten their blood pumping. The tour guide said that they would have to go to a dealer, but there was none on-site. Audi, unlike every other company, seems to be missing a great opportunity here. The dealership attached to the Mercedes museum was massive, and rightfully so. What better place to buy a new Mercedes than at the Mercedes museum?

Having spent an entire day frolicking among the maximum Porschetude, I was spent. But I was definitely looking forward to the next day, which was the Mercedes museum, also in Stuttgart. Until then, auf wiedersehen!

A Flash of Idiocy

2009-11-05T01:22:00.003-05:00

I just watched the movie "Flash of Genius", which tells the story of Dr. Robert Kearns, who was ripped off by Detroit, when they violated his patent for the intermittent windshield wiper. The movie portrays Kearns' "flash of genius" moment occurring when his Ford's wipers are moving too fast for the light rain, and creating that rubbing sound we all hate when the windshield surface is too dry.

Interestingly, the Wikipedia entry tells a slightly different story, claiming that "the constant movement of the wiper blades irritated his already troubled vision." This alludes to another aspect of the story, which was in the movie, where we find out that he popped a champagne cork in his eye on his wedding night, leaving him partially blind.

But fair enough, the movie acknowledges the fact that the genius of Kearns' invention was that it allowed wipers to be slowed down for use in light rain. What annoyed the hell out of me, though, was how they portrayed his testing of the invention in the movie. The sky opens up, and Kearns grabs his whole family to go for a ride. He switches on the intermittent wipers, and exclaims at how perfect it is. But he does this during an epic downpour, the precise situation when the intermittent setting is least effective. There's a camera shot out the windshield, and you can't see a damn thing, cause the wipers are going to slow. You can even see how hard it's raining in the movie poster.

Is it me, or did the director blow one of most important shots in the movie. When you have an ah-hah! moment, you've got to get it right. Were they too impatient to wait for the right amount of rain? Come on, Hollywood, Dr. Kearns is owed better.

Deutschland, Part 4

2009-11-04T01:01:00.003-05:00

I've been stalling. I promised to get to the telling of my time in Stuttgart, and I've put it off for a few posts. The pressure of describing the juiciest part of the trip has gotten to me a little. And tonight's no different. Instead of regaling you with tales of the Porsche factory and the Mercedes museum, tonight you only get a taste of the city itself. Quite honestly most of the people I bribe to read this blog will be more interested in this anyway.

My hostel in Stuttgart, Inter-Hostel, was a very friendly one, if not the busiest of my stops. Stuttgart is relatively minor on the list of tourist towns in Germany, with the exception of the car buffs. When I got to the hostel, there were two guys at the front desk, and one of the offered to show me around that night. My room was on the 6th floor. The place had no elevator, and my pack was pretty heavy. On top of that, at the top of the spirally staircase, I found that the key they gave me opened the wrong door, but I decided to crash in the room that it opened, rectifying the situation on my way out to dinner.

Aside from the labor of getting to a comfy bed, the sixth floor did have its advantages. This was the view from my window.

While Stuttgart is not that touristy, it does have a US military presence, and I wound up meeting a couple of Navy dudes and hanging out with them for a while. One of them even joined my little hostel group for a drink at the bar.

After coming back from dinner, another American happened to be sharing the 6th floor suite of two private rooms, but he complained that his room (the room I was supposed to have gotten) smelled like smoke and he was kinda allergic. After going up to assess the situation, I realized that it didn't smell that bad to me, and Lance, an Asian guy from San Fran, seemed like a pretty decent guy, so I made the swap. Good call on my part.

I proceeded to hit the bar with Lance, the guy at the front desk from earlier, and the Navy dude. I spent the whole time talking cars with Lance, while the Navy guy, who turned out to be a little crazy, talked the ear off the German dude, who probably wanted to shoot himself. And Lance also gave me some friendly advice about my upcoming trip to the Nürburgring, which incidentally, he'd just done himself. Probably a bit more aggressively than I, since he said he'd learned all the corners through Gran Turismo, the video game. Finally, he told me to get to the Porsche museum by 9 to get on a factory tour, and he's the real reason I was able to do that tour. Thank you, Lance.

Well, that's really all I have to say about the city itself. To be perfectly honest, I neglected the conventionally touristy spots in Stuttgart for the sake of the automotive stuff...but what did you expect? Next post will be about the Porsche factory and museum, I swear!

Deutschland, Part 3

2009-11-02T20:15:00.004-05:00

On my way to Stuttgart, I passed through Neckarsulm, home to Audi's higher-end production, including its "center of aluminium competence". Here, the put together the A6, A8, and even the R8 supercar. To be perfectly honest, the latter was my only reason for coming to this small town just north of Stuttgart.

And of course the R8 production was not part of the tour.

I did get a minor thrill at seeing an R8 body-in-white. We also supposedly got to stand closer to a stamping press than any other place in the world, with the glass being only about 6 feet from the press.

Because they work with aluminum to create lighter vehicles that are just as strong, manufacturing can be a bit more complicated. Along with the three joining processes of gluing, bolting and welding, Audi adds riveting for the aluminum components because of the unique challenges associated with that metal. Still, the tour guide insisted that after many years of fine tuning, Audi has gotten it so that its aluminum-intensive vehicles—like the A8 and R8—are no more expensive or time-consuming to repair than the competition.

One fact that surprised me was that the plant was not air conditioned. It was a perfectly sunny day, but the plant didn’t feel uncomfortable, so it must take an impressive feat of architecture to achieve this.

These are some photos of the Audi Forum, the building dedicated to the customer experience of picking up the car. While smaller than the complex in Ingolstadt, it's just as gorgeous.

On the same day I arrived in Neckarsulm, I jumped on the train to Stuttgart. But I've run out of time, so that's for the next post.

The worst eBay listing I've ever seen

2009-11-01T16:48:00.003-05:00

My dad is interested in buying a BMW Z8. It would be the perfect retirement car for him: beautiful, rare, and a roadster with a manual transmission. So I have an eBay alert saved that tells me whenever a new Z8 is listed. Most of them are nice cars, with plenty of pictures to prove it, and a full list of their features and specs.

But the listing that showed up today was perhaps to most absurd, intelligence-insulting piece of garbage I've ever seen. In the email that notifies you of a new listing, there is usually a picture of car. This one had only a photo of two hands exchanging some keys. Hey douchebag, those are house keys.

When I went to the listing, I found that it has very little information about the car, just the fill-in-the-blanks stuff that eBay requires. And the kicker is, of the four pictures in the listing, there is only one picture of the car itself (presumably). The other three are the keys pic, a press photo of a Z8 with a different color interior, and a shot of the douche selling the car, who, I must say, does look quite douchey. The picture of the actual car (again, presumably), is just a picture of the side of the car from wheel to wheel, with the front and rear cut off.

This listing was the ultimate waste of time, which is why I decided to waste more time and post about it. If you want to see it for yourself, check it out here. But by no means bid on this car and reward the turd who put up this listing.

Deutschland, Part 2

2009-10-31T18:17:00.003-05:00

I knew that while I was on automotive pilgrimage, I would definitely need to take advantage of being in Germany for a bunch of non-car stuff. I'd heard that the city of Nuremberg was beautiful and interesting, and it has a lot of WWII history, so I continued north from Ingolstadt.

Nuremberg is full of architecture spanning from the middle ages forward. It also has the classic castle-on-a-hill layout, and an old city/new city dividing line. The old castle is actually built into the side of a cliff. In fact, the reason it's called Nürnberg (in real German) rather than Nürnburg, is that berg means mountain or hill (whereas burg means town).

Here are some more pictures of the town and the Kaiserburg Imperial Castle.

Later in the day I went to the Nazi Rally Grounds, which had been an enormous construction project during WWII, but had been only partly finished. They had turned the Congress Hall, the planned HQ of the Nazi party, in a Documentation Center, a giant Holocaust museum. That was fascinating, with a great audio tour.
I also walked to the zeppelin field, where there were giant rally parades, and actually stood in the spot where Hitler watched them. Talk about strange emotions.

Interestingly, these kids are playing roller hockey right where the German soldiers used to march, which kind of drives home the point of how difficult it must be for Germany to reconcile its past and present. Clearly the greatest shame of its history is something that must not be forgotten, but Germans must also make peace with this legacy and continue with their lives.

As a tourist, it at first strikes you as a bit perverse that these people are doing such light-hearted activities in a place that makes your own heart so heavy. But these are people who grew up living among these historical landmarks, and to them it has a different significance, or at the very least, multiple levels of significance.

I'll actually touch on this a bit later when I post about Berlin. I'm hoping to post more tomorrow. That will be when things get really cool: Stuttgart, with both Porsche and Mercedes-Benz.

Video Games vs. Reality

2009-10-13T12:24:00.005-05:00

While I was in Germany, I got to drive the world-famous Nürburgring (more on that in a later post). To prepare, I visited a few websites which gave the advice of playing Gran Turismo to learn the track. And then of course I saw this on an episode of Top Gear:

Within less than an hour of watching this episode on my DVR, this commercial played on live TV:

Both at Laguna Seca. What are the odds? I was amused. I hope you were, too.

The Power of Preconceptions

2009-10-13T09:38:00.002-05:00

I've been pondering this issue for many years, in the context of my role as an automotive analyst. When you read a review of a car, odds are the writer's opinions will be hard and fast, giving you the impression that the car in question offered a unique driving experience in every way, with some traits good, others bad.

As a semi-experienced road tester with some good track time under my belt and access to some of the best roads in the country when I head out to Santa Barbara where my company is located, I must declare that my experience has been quite different.

For the most part, new cars drive pretty nicely, with much more parity than Car and Driver would have you believe. I know that I'm still working on tuning my own senses to be able to detect the minute differences between machines, but the fact is that most of the characteristics under discussion in car reviews are minimally felt differences that are amplified by the writer for the sake of drama and usefulness.

After all, who's really going to pay attention to a writer who declares that his experiences in the Nissan 370Z and the Hyundai Genesis Coupe were too close to call. Readers demand conclusions, which is why C/D ranks their road test subjects in every face-off--and possibly why Car and Driver is the most popular enthusiast rag.

But aside from the most obvious cues, like exhaust note (in which the Genesis absolutely shone) or parking lot steering effort (the Genesis was a bit too heavy here), the ride and handling can be tough to compare accurately, even when driven back-to-back. And this is where I feel like preconceptions play a big role.

Going into this particular duel, the Nissan would naturally have a big advantage, purely because of its badge. The driver believes that the Nissan is a better-handling car, and it may well be, but the only way he or she will give the Hyundai the advantage is if the Nissan has noticeable deficiencies, which it really doesn't.

Which brings me to what set off this rant in the first place. I'm catching up on the Autoblog podcasts, which by the way, are fantastic. If you want to learn about cars, and how auto journalists think, these hour-and-change rant sessions are a gold mine, and a great source for honest opinion. But I was just listening to blogger Dan Roth talk about the Audi Q5 he has in his garage right now, and the first phrase he used to describe it is, "It's a fancy Tiguan." That was quickly pointed out to be untrue, and you could just hear the wheels turning in his head as his conceptions of the vehicle were adjusted.

After learning that the Q5 is actually based on the A4/A5 platform, it felt like his impression of it got more favorable. Not to pick on Dan, though, since I know that I do the same kinds of things. When discussing cars with my colleagues after a test drive, we'll often have wildly different impressions, especially since we're struggling to pick out the traits that stood out in any way, and exaggerating them to show that we really noticed something. When this happens, the viewpoint that is most supported by preconceptions of a brand is the one that always seems to carry the most weight.

Perhaps this is just me wrestling with my frustration at the trouble I have with evaluating cars. But I really feel that, especially in every-day, public-road driving, most people wouldn't even be able to tell the difference between a front-drive and rear-drive car, let alone which car has the best handling balance.

And when it comes down to it, having fun in a car is usually more a function of the road than the actual car. Even with wildly different abilities, I had about as much fun in a Nissan Altima as I did in a 1-series BMW, simply because the road was a blast.

No doubt any auto journalist who reads this will take complete umbrage with it. But part of the point is that cars have just gotten so good that it's tough to find a sub-par driving experience anymore. Sure, few machines can approach the experience of a Lotus Elise on a twisty mountain road. But daily drivers are all tuned within such a narrow spectrum that a lot of the time, they all seem to blend together.

Deutschland, Part 1

2009-10-11T17:32:00.007-05:00

I recently returned from a grand automotive trip to the Fatherland. My plan involved a whirlwind tour of Germany, hitting all of the major car-related sights, like car factories and the spectacular museums that each of the brands has attached to their headquarters.

I flew into and out of Munich, home of Bayerische Motoren Werke. My first full day was spent touring the city, since throughout Germany many of the museums and tourist attractions are closed on Mondays. But I got to do a great bike tour with Mike's Bike Tours, meeting a lot of great people and seeing some very cool stuff. Here's some of the highlights:

These are some good examples of the architecture that covered most of the cities of Germany. As anyone who's been to Europe knows, there are many more centuries of architectural history to be discovered there than anywhere in North America.

That night some of the crew from the tour went to the Hofbräuhaus to, what else, drink some beer. There was a group of 5 from Philly, plus me and Allison, a fellow Jew from Chi-town. We'd actually discovered our shared tribe when, at a certain point in the trip there was a memorial to a WWII resistance movement with stones set on top from people who'd visited, a very Jewish custom, usually used to pay respects at Jewish cemeteries. We were the only two to place stones atop it.

We hadn't talked all that much during the tour, but afterwards, sitting in the Hofbräuhaus, and especially when the Philly contingent had left, we seemed to really hit it off, getting into some fascinating conversations, including about our common anxiety about traveling alone. Planning and doing this trip had been fraught with anxiety for me, and it was great to meet someone who shared some of those feelings, and not feel lame about it. It really seemed to lift some of the weight for me. Thanks, Allison.

But it leads to another interesting part of the trip. I'd used the Rosetta Stone program to learn some German before the trip, but until this point, I hadn't used it at all, since I knew the front desk people at my Munich hostel spoke flawless English, and quite honestly, I chickened out. But I knew I'd be late to my hostel in Ingolstadt, since I didn't want to leave my wonderful conversation with Allison. My trip was the budget kind, so I stayed mostly in hostels, usually in big, cheap dorm rooms. I called the hostel, and to my surprise no one in the "Jugendherberge", the youth hostel, in Ingolstadt, spoke English. When you think about it, why would they? Any foreigners traveling to Ingolstadt would generally be picking up their new car at the Audi Forum...not exactly the kind of person looking to save money with a youth hostel.

So I had to struggle through my first real conversation in German, and by golly I got through it. It actually gave me the first hint of confidence I needed, if not to engage random strangers in banter, to at least try to use Germany when I needed to interact with locals.

That night, I took a train to Ingolstadt, Audi central.

The old town of Ingolstadt, situated on the Danube River, is a beautiful slice of well-preserved germania. It was a pleasant surprise, since all I was expecting out of this town, about halfway between Munich and Nuremberg, was a city built around a car factory. Its charm was undeniable, though, perhaps best represented by the main gate of the city, seen here.

Since I'd already toured the Audi museum on a business trip in November, I only did the factory tour. Unfortunately none of the manufacturers allow cameras into their factories, for obvious reasons, but I can give you a few juicy tidbits from each.

In Ingolstadt Audi manufactures their lower level products, like the A3, A4 and A5, as well as all their engines. We got a tour of the body stamping area and the main assembly line. It was here that I was introduced to the Audi concept of assembly line work groups. It’s a group of around 5 or 6 people with one quality specialist and one “group speaker”, who gets to boss people around. They stay at one area of the line, but they get to rotate between jobs, so it breaks up the monotony. Apparently each worker is in charge of learning additional jobs at their own pace to be able to take advantage of this. This group set-up seemed to inject a more social atmosphere than at the American plants I’ve seen, but my experience there is definitely limited.

I was also fortunate enough to be treated to lunch by a friend from Audi at the restaurant at the Audi Forum. The Forum is where Audi customers from around the world come to pick up their Audi and be treated to a world-class experience. All the manufacturers in Germany have a program like this, though Volkswagen doesn't extend this privilege to Americans. Here's a customer picking up their new Q5.

After Ingolstadt, I was off to Nuremburg for some good ol' fashioned non-auto-related tourism. But I'm a bit tired of writing now, so I'll save that for part 2.

Another Wonderful Juxtaposition

2009-08-25T12:03:00.003-05:00

I do so love it when two news stories so ironically related appear near one another on the same day. The first example I showed was the Sirius/XM merger and the DaimlerChrysler split.

Today I saw two posts on Autoblog, both addressing the fate of the luxury hybrid segment. The second post discussed the future of the Cadillac Converj concept, saying that GM had given it a new lease on life. The Converj would be a luxury car based on the plug-in hybrid underpinnings of the Chevy Volt. The post closed with the sentence, "While nothing has been officially decided – some inside GM think the Volt should have been a Caddy all along while others don't think that luxury car buyers care about being green – don't count the Converj out yet."

What I found interesting was the absence of mention of the post right before it, which states that, "the new Lexus HS 250h is in such high demand in Japan that Toyota may not be able to provide an adequate supply of the luxury hybrid model here in the States."

Perhaps a little self-awareness on Autoblog's part wouldn't hurt.

Clunkers will end with a clunk

2009-08-05T18:56:00.002-05:00

The Cash for Clunkers program has been so successful, it ran out of cash in less than a month. We've all heard about this, and the Congress' scramble to re-fund the program. The prospect of the sudden loss of the government-backed incentive has, for me, brought to mind the biggest downside. When the program's done, there'll be a massive drop in sales. The Auto Extremist wrote an excellent column to this effect. In fact, it's likely that the program is just pulling forward sales that would've been delayed until later in the year, a phenomenon I've seen many times in my career as an analyst of the industry.

In my mind, what's needed is a soft landing. While you'll never completely get rid of the aforementioned effects, it may be possible to mitigate the boom and bust that seems inevitable at this point. For this, we'd need a gradual phaseout. Towards the end of the program, decrease the maximum cash from $4,500 to $3,500, then a thousand less each successive month.

While there will still be a significant dropoff right after each decrease, it will allow the manufacturers--and consumers--to gradually ween themselves off the support, and hopefully back to a dynamic in which people are looking past "the deal" toward the product, as Peter mentioned.

Otherwise, the carmakers will have another round of panic from returning monthly sales drops, and it will add to the gloomy economic outlook. Let's get off this cycle, and back to buying cars we really desire.

Mustang (stickers) headed to NASCAR

2009-07-29T09:47:00.003-05:00

The "sport" of stock car racing lost its luster for true car enthusiasts years ago. NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow put the final nail in the coffin of legitimacy, taking all variables out of the race except for the pit crew and driver. Fans of Ford, Chevy, Dodge and Toyota can root on their favorite make, but in reality their just cheering for a particular set of decals.

It was with this lament in mind that many had been hoping for a rebirth in the sport, with manufacturers taking advantage of the recent resurgence of the pony car wars to bring some real competition to the track, in the form of actual Mustangs, Camaros and Challengers going head-to-head, perhaps in the minor-league Nationwide Series.

Well, based on the picture below, that might be kind of happening, but not really. Ford wants to campaign the "Mustang" in Nationwide, but of course they can't stray from the formula of standard template bodies on special tube frames, covered in stickers that minimally resemble what they hock on the showroom floor.

I found the following quote from the press release amusing: "Ford Racing has gone through the official NASCAR submission and approval process for the new car, and, once templates are finalized, production of Mustang parts will start so teams can build the first cars for testing later this fall." Testing what? Do different stickers (i.e. "parts") actually have divergent wind tunnel properties?

C'mon NASCAR, let's get back to roots and give fans something to actually cheer for.

I drive another whale

2009-07-12T13:06:00.004-05:00

In a trip to CA earlier this year, I got to drive my "white whale", a water-cooled 911. Well, a year or so ago I got an excited text message from a coworker telling me about the Audi R8 we'd just gotten at the office. How long would we have it, I asked. Turns out, only a week, and I was stuck in Detroit. Crushed.

Well, the car clearly became "the one that got away". My new white whale is actually an Aston Martin DB9, but the R8 was definitely a large, sea-borne mammal. Until now. Last week, my friend Chris got an R8 to review for Left Lane News. He let me jump behind the wheel for a brief stint, and we took it to the area around GM's Milford Proving Grounds, which has some great roads. I've decided I'm okay with being forever in Chris' debt. I got to drive an R8.

The first impression was great, as rather than offer a horn blare to signal his arrival, Chris greeted me with a lovely chorus of revs. The second impression was just as good, with the car's looks doing a lot of talking. The third impression was a bit of a letdown, however, with the car's R tronic gearbox marring the initial interface with the car.

You may have read about this transmission. It's been getting a lot of negative feedback from reviewers, and I've gotta say, it almost ruins the car. R tronic is very similar to Lamborghini's e-gear sequential manual, and some say it's the same gearbox. I'd love to drive it in the Lambo, though, and see if it's just as jerky as it is in the Audi. As John McElroy says in his Autoline video, "every time this thing shifts, it feels like somebody's pressing on the brake." It actually feels pretty similar to the smart fortwo's jerky trans, and in both cars the only way to drive it smoothly is to trail off the gas just before a shift--but not too much. I guess maybe I'll have to leave the R8 on my whale list until I get to drive the supposedly phenomenal 6-speed manual.

The good news is VW has developed a new 7-speed DSG for Audi that will bear the brand's S tronic name, but will now be able to handle up to 406 lb-ft of torque, rather than the 6-speed's 258-lb-ft limit. No word yet on it's installation in the R8, but it seems like a perfect application, so I can't imagine it'll be too long.

Transmission issues aside, the R8 is a joy. The engine note is addictive, and cornering is a study in drama-free mastery of physics. I didn't get too far above the rule of law on the speedo, and I of course didn't get to work it out at the track, but Chris did get to do that, so I'll keep you updated on his post(s). He's in the planning stages now.

Bob Lutz here to stay?

2009-07-09T15:43:00.002-05:00

The Wall Street Journal seems to have buried a lead in its article about GM exiting bankruptcy. According to a paragraph towards the end, "GM Vice Chairman and former product chief Bob Lutz will stay with GM indefinitely, according to people familiar with the matter." It gets a little muddy after that, with Fritz apparently declining to confirm the change, but this could be big for GM. Lutz helped to turn the General's product line around, and had pledged to retire by the end of the year. While it seems that Tom Stephens will still take over as product czar, having Lutz' influence around will be a boon to the "new GM".

I actually have an email in to John Stoll to clarify the issue, and I'll keep y'all update.

MG Journal

2009-06-29T00:09:00.002-05:00

I recently started keeping a "journal" of my experiences with my MG on the MG Experience website. Apparently they haven't yet heard of the word "blog", or they just don't like it. Anyway, check it out. I'm trying to get some perspective about what it's like to be initiated into the world of collector car ownership and maintenance. Enjoy.

Detroit: City on the Move?

2009-06-16T10:18:00.004-05:00

I posted earlier about the Sam Roberts song Detroit '67, which made me nostalgic for a past I'd never even seen. The video starts with an intro from then-mayor Jerome Cavanagh, and I've finally gotten to see where that footage is from. This is Detroit's bid for the 1968 Summer Olympics. It doesn't elicit the emotion of Sam's video, but it is very interesting to look at, especially knowing that two years after it was filmed the city had its infamous 1967 race riots.

Sexy Beast

2009-06-04T15:35:00.001-05:00

This was written several weeks ago, before the print embargo for the new XKR:

I just got down from the hills with the new 510-hp Jaguar XKR. The acceleration on this car was absolutely brutal. Great sounds, as well. I wisely chose to turn off the stereo at the start of my jaunt, and didn't miss it one bit.

It's a very comfortable car, with the full complement of features you'd expect from Jaguar. My butt was nice and cool throughout the ride thanks to its seat ventilation, though Jag still has some work to do on its touch-screen control interface, since I actually wanted to turn the climate control off, but gave up before figuring out how.

Okay, the car is comfortable for the front-seat occupants, but the rear seat, well let's just say Jaguar failed to account for the lower extremities of the human body. Even with myself at the helm, a diminutive 5'7", I noticed that there's just about enough room behind the driver's seat for a thick folder, filled with important papers. Don't worry, they won't fly away. They'll be pinched tightly between the driver's seatback and the rear passenger bottom cushion. This is actually how I secured my fairly thin laptop bag during the drive, though I actually needed the extra room that was behind the front passenger seat, since no one was riding shotgun.

On the road, the Jag has impeccable manners, though the steering could stand to be a little more involving and a little less isolating. But as a 29-year-old guy, and not the middle-aged man to which this car is targeted, I'm sure Jag is less worried about pleasing me. Thankfully, though, middle-aged men still love horsepower. Stepping on the gas, the acceleration was astonishing. I've actually driven one or two 5-cent cars, like the BMW M6. But I guess the extra 10 hp puts this cat over the top.

Up in the hills, the twists and turns were fun, but the most entertaining part was the straights. Hey, I'll take my g loads from whichever direction they come. Plus, the stability control was a little too intrusive, robbing me of some power coming out of the sharpies. I really must get in a better habit of looking for buttons with checkered flags. I usually don't turn off stability control, since a windy mountain pass is not the best place to find out that a car was not quite as predictable as you thought. So I didn't notice the race mode (I guess?) button until I'd come down. I'm guessing this little beauty would've helped in the hills, but I can't say for sure.

My biggest impression of the XKR was its raw power. It's a highly comfy tourer, but when the goin' gets fast, this cat get's goin'.

Challenger Ride and Drive

2009-05-14T23:48:00.001-05:00

The following is a write-up of a ride-and-drive I did with the Dodge Challenger last year before its debut. Enjoy...

After debuting the Dodge Challenger with the 425-hp SRT8 version for 2008, Chrysler follows up with the SE and R/T trims for 2009, with the 3.5L V6 and 5.7L Hemi V8 respectively. This strategy is in contrast with the launches of its prime competitors, like the Mustang and Camaro, which launched, or will be launching, standard versions first, following them up with super-performance versions like the Mustang GT500 and the Camaro SS, which debut at the same time as the base models.

Dodge is also adding a six-speed manual option to the SRT for '09, which should make many enthusiasts who waited very happy. Of the ~7,000 '08 SRT8s already on the ground, Chrysler says around 60% have been sold. This lines up with the reports from the media, which corrected earlier reports that nearly the entire first run had been spoken for. Still, dealers are looking to get well over sticker for these cars, which may be a big part of the slower-than-expected sales pace.

Chrysler opened the order bank for the '09s on May 12, and since then dealers have requested more than 22,000 cars. Of those, 22% are already sold to customers. There is also a very strong trim mix, with 41% being R/Ts and 32% SRTs--higher than the percentage of SEs!

My colleague and I were given the chance to drive two '09 Challengers around the 'burbs of New Jersey and back into Manhattan. The novelty of the car is still fresh, and everywhere we went there were stares and thumbs up. A cop even blocked traffic to ask Danny about the bright red R/T model he was in. That car was equipped with a pistol grip 6-speed manual to wring the most out of the 376-hp Hemi. Like GM will do with the Camaro, Dodge gives the manual version more horses and twist, though the difference in the Challenger (4 hp and 9 lb-ft of torque) is relatively small compared to the Camaro. It also has a different ratio for its rear axle and no cylinder deactivation, so the mileage is around the same as the auto.

The black SE we drove is only available with a 4-speed auto, and as such does not even offer AutoStick capability. When the new Phoenix engine arrives in 2012 it will be paired with a new 6-speed auto box, but until then this powertrain will bear a disadvantage against the Mustang (in gear ratios only) and especially the Camaro.

I started out in the R/T, and was immediately impressed with the suspension calibration. It wasn't a hard-core sports car with no body roll, but the compromise they chose seems to be the right one. The R/T soaked up bumps with little drama, a big contrast with my R32. You certainly feel the car's mass through corners, but it is well controlled and confidence-inspiring.

The steering had a nice weight to it, but I was a little disappointed with the lack of feel. This is a direct result of the car's LX-platform origins, and wasn't surprising. Speaking of trade-offs based on the car's platform, my coworker and I were both a bit puzzled by the car's foot-pedal parking brake, given the fact that it is a stick-shift. No hand-brake assisted drifting here! It was explained that this was due to the car's Mercedes E-Class ancestry, and it would've been prohibitively expensive to reengineer.

The stick in the R/T could be a little notchy and high-effort, but never inhibited the fun factor. The one time it became an issue was when I experienced the 1st-to-4th skip shift feature, which locks out 2nd gear when you rev it high in 1st. It was definitely tough to engage 4th at that moment. The shifter is a throw-back pistol grip, but excecuted in a nice modern way. With most stick drivers accustomed to the typical ball-top manual, it can be a bit strange to use. It's angled perfectly to grip as intended, but if you want to grab the top as you normally would in another car, it feels too narrow and angular. I'm not sure how long it would take to get used to, and this shifter is standard equipment, with no Mopar alternative yet in the offing. This may change, though.

Moving on to the best part of the car, the engine is a symphony. For most of the drive in the R/T, I left the radio off, content to listen to the under-hood music (okay, it was probably mostly the exhaust pipe's doing). It's bad-ass in the just the right way, and never got tediously loud or obnoxious. And of course it's quick: 5.5 seconds to 60. It had flexibility all over the place, and it left the SE behind easily.

The Challenger R/T was a thoroughly impressive car, with relatively few criticisms. One improvement needed is the steering wheel. It's pulled straight from the sedans, and it has four spokes in just the wrong places. In fact, in the 9:00 and 3:00 position best for serious driving, the spokes keep you from wrapping your fingers around the rim. The Chrysler guy said they're considering a more sporting 3-spoke version, but didn't know the timing on it.

The interior materials were an improvement over the sedans, especially on the upper dash, which is soft-touch, but the center console is still covered with unappealing hard plastic. The seats, however, were top-notch, some of the most comfortable I've experienced on a long drive.

Going from the oh-so-satisfying R/T to the SE secretary's car set me up for a big disappointment, as my colleague pointed out. Having started in the lower model, he was relatively happy with the driving experience. He's probably somewhat right about my opinion, but I did have some specific gripes about the SE.

The first was the suspension. While it's clear that this model was tuned for more compliance over bumps, I actually found that I preferred the R/T suspension, even in comfort cruising mode. The suspension seemed jittery over bumps, with worse control over rebound.

The steering was also not as good, with the same lack of feel, but here accompanied by a lack of weight.

The engine was obviously not nearly as exciting, but I found it wasn't as bad as I'd expected. The sound was relatively smooth and refined, and the power felt adequate for the task of hauling a nearly 3800-lb car around. Sometimes the transmission seemed a bit slow to kick down, and having only four ratios does disadvantage the car somewhat.

With the combination of its tepid 250 hp, its 4-speed auto, it's lackluster steering and its unsatisfying suspension, to me the SE was not a car that could be called "exciting" (with the obvious exception of its styling). The V6 Chevy Camaro, on the other hand, with its 304-hp V6, 6-speed transmissions, and chassis less closely related to GM's full-size sedans, will probably be a legitimate performance entry, rivaling the Nissan 350Z.

The Future of this Blog

2009-05-04T13:10:00.002-05:00

Well, I've been thinking about this blog, and blogging in general. It seems as though most of the blogs I've been following have fallen by the wayside, since I haven't seen any posts from them in my RSS reader in many months. I think this may be the fate of almost all blogs that have not "broken out" and established a sizable readership. It's tough to stay motivated when you feel like no one's reading.

I really don't want that to happen to this blog, since I feel like I have a compelling voice among the automotive world, at least when I have something legitimate to say. But I've clearly been lazy about its upkeep, especially since this mouthpiece is dedicated not to regularly occurring current events within the industry (we've got Autoblog, Jalopnik, Edmunds, etc, etc, for that), but to randomly occurring flights of fancy in which something interesting pops into my head. I've gotten positive feedback in the past, particularly for my little primers on how the industry works for the layman. But there's only so much that I have to say without prompting.

With this in mind, I'd like to solicit some feedback from my readers, whether or not they number in the double digits. Please post something in the comments section about what you'd like to see more of, or maybe just register your fandom of this blog to give me some encouragement to keep on keepin' on.

I've also started participating in Google's AdSense program, which surely you'll notice in the form of the ads now scattered all over the blog. It's ugly and intrusive, but I figure maybe if I can track my success in monetary terms, I'll be motivated to post a little more often. Nothing like a kick in the ass from the almighty dollar.

Thanks, and I'll see y'all at the next post.

Why?

2009-04-06T09:06:00.002-05:00

It's April 6th. I gotta get out of this damn frozen hellscape.

It's STILL interesting in Detroit

2009-04-05T21:37:00.002-05:00

In this previous post I testified as to SE Michigan's crazy weather. Well, I just put my summer tires on a few days ago, as the weather forecast didn't call for any more arctic temps. Tonight I walked out of the bar and it was 39 degrees...and snowing. As I pussyfooted home in my car (AWD, you complete me), I noticed the temperature dropping steadily towards 34, and the cars in my sub were getting some legit build-up.

For some reason I've so far resisted the urge to move closer to my company in California. It is now confirmed: I'm an idiot.

A useful application for a useless feature

2009-03-30T12:00:00.003-05:00

Three years ago, the Answer to a Question Nobody Asked award undoubtedly went to Volvo, for the heartbeat sensor feature on its Personal Car Communicator key fob. Supposedly it tells you if there's someone lurking inside the car waiting to attack you. Really, Volvo? If I had a dime for every person that's happened to, well, I'd probably have around 10 cents (unless the Volvo engineer who thought of the feature was not actually working from a perspective of experience).

Well, the perfect application for this technology has revealed itself. I'm sure I'm not the first to think of this, but I just read an article in the Washington Post Magazine about child deaths due to being accidentally left inside a sweltering car. Apparently it happens 15 to 25 times per year. The main thrust of the article is how it can happen to anyone, and has befallen parents from all walks of life.

But there is also a brief discussion of safety features that have been developed to combat this sort of thing. The article mentions seat weight sensors, which I'm sure work fine, but if Volvo already has this heartbeat technology in its cars, it should be marketed for this purpose, and proliferated throughout its lineup.

It's always interesting in Detroit...

2009-03-29T16:52:00.004-05:00

Well, Rick Wagoner is gone, and there's a blizzard outside my window. Things may be more calm and pleasant out by my office in Santa Barbara, but I gotta love the D. Never a dull day.

tPod?

2009-03-26T17:04:00.002-05:00

Okay, I'm officially calling it: when the Tesla S sedan finally goes into production in two and a half years, it will be the iPhone of cars. It is going to mark a major change in the industry, and they're going to sell every single damn one they can pump out of the factory (hopefully that won't be limited to 20K for too long). The car will even elicit behavior similar to that of iPhone users, with the fact that it has a 3G-enabled touch screen eliminating all dash buttons, and also that its owners will plug the car in to charge (and maybe sync?) each night.

Every single celebrity will have one, showing up to the Oscars in it. Every young person will want one. It will create a whole new sector of the industry, just as the iPhone has. There may even sprout up an entire accessory and software industry around it. And Elon Musk will be the new Steve Jobs. That is all.

More Diesels!!!

2009-03-24T11:06:00.004-05:00

Back in 2006, Audi began running ads in the US touting its success racing the diesel-powered R10 TDI Le Mans car, with wins at both Sebring and Le Mans. I thought for sure that Audi was priming the pump to bring diesels to the US, but the brand's product pipeline, empty of US oil-burner entries, left me mystified.

Three years later, the four rings still do not adorn a US diesel entry, though that will be changing this year, with TDI versions of the A4 and Q7. Unfortunately, Audi has not continued its pump priming in the US, having been relatively silent about its diesel racing engines for quite a while.

The fact is, diesels have a lot of potential for being marketed as sporty choices, less for their top speed than their prodigious reserves of torque. It appears that Audi's parent company may be about to take the lead in this regard. Autoblog has heard rumblings of a diesel equivalent to the GTI, called the GTD.

This would be seriously exciting, and hopefully high-profile enough to kick off the diesel passenger car market in the US. Think about a car with all the agility, and most of the quickness of a GTI, but with 40 mpg. If I had an actual commute, and didn't love AWD, this might be my next car.

Unfortunate Body Double?

2009-03-18T13:18:00.004-05:00

Okay, I'm sure this'll seem like a huuuuuuge stretch to most of the people that read this, but it's just something that came to mind, and being true to the intent of this blog, I felt I had to post. I was just looking at pictures of the new Lincoln MKZ that's coming out for 2010. I actually was on a drive event with this car (and it's Fusion and Milan brethren) not too long ago, and it's a fantastic entry in this Lexus ES-dominated segment.

One thing that gave me pause, though, was the trim around the headlights. It gave me a visceral reaction, brought on by the memory of what I consider to be one of the most hideous design atrocities ever committed. I speak of course of the Saab 9-5 redesign for 2006.

Okay, so the chrome trim rings around the MKZ's eyes don't ruin it's look nearly as much as it does for the Saab, and I really like Lincoln's new styling direction, and I'm glad it's being proliferated across the lineup, but the 9-5 has instilled in me a belief that chrome headlight surrounds are just dorky. Can anyone possibly agree with me?

GMC has a reason to exist!

2009-03-18T11:03:00.004-05:00

My friend Chris, a spy photog extraordinaire, recently caught the new GMC Terrain out testing, with relatively little in the way of camo. You can check out his full set of shots at Car and Driver. It sets up a nice contrast to the way GM used to do things, and sometimes still does in the quest to save a buck. To grab a few extra units in the small CUV market, the General rebadged the previous Equinox as the Pontiac Torrent. The scalpel job constituted little more than just a new face and taillights that actually fit into the same sheetmetal holes.

With this new generation, GM has jumped through hoops to ensure that the vehicle is substantially different for the Chevy and GMC brands. Each looks like a fitting segue to their respective Lambda big brothers, the Traverse and Acadia.

I think the Terrain will do very well, and will be especially popular among young women who will see it as a nice alternative to the less refined small Jeep lineup. With GM making this kind of progress, it's a shame to even think about the prospect of the company not surviving.

More SoCal Cars

2009-03-16T13:36:00.007-05:00

My recent trip to Santa Barbara was perhaps the best yet. Not only did I get to go skiing in a t-shirt in Big Bear, but I got to drive quite a sweet collection of cars. (Hey look, it's a couple riding an ATV down my suburban street! Sorry, I got distracted.)

Anyway, I was treated to, among other things, a drive in what I had considered my "white whale", a water-cooled Porsche 911. Not only did I get to drive one, but it happened to be one of the top examples, a Carrera 4S cabriolet, with Porsche's new PDK double-clutch transmission. I had two days of bliss with this car, and loved every minute of it. It's been quite a while since I've driven my uncle's air-cooled '88 911 cab, but I can say with certainty that this is a whole different beast. The stability is second to none, with none of the fear of swing-tailed antics to which earlier cars were subject. The sounds were perfect, and the thrust is astounding from a 6-cylinder.
In terms of usability, well, you've gotta give up something for this kind of perfection. The interior feels perfectly spacious in front, but don't expect any real humans to ride in the back seat. And the dash layout of 911s is a bit behind the trends of the day, though the materials are top notch. The one not-so-pleasant surface inside was the bottoms of the doors, where Porsche, in an effort to prevent door scuffs--which are certainly common getting in and out of a car--has placed a very course carpeting. The "trunk", which is a relatively small compartment under the hood, actually seemed to be custom fitted for my expanded roller luggage bag, but could not have fit anything else. The one final gripe about the 911 was its lack of auto headlights. This car starts at $103,900, and it can't match this feature on my $30K VW?

Still, this car was pure joy to drive, and now that I have, I guess I'll have to look for a new white whale. I'm thinking Aston Martin...

I was also able to enjoy some Audis, including the new A4 and A6. The A6 I drove was the new 3.0T model, which contrary to its name actually has a supercharged 3.0L V6. While I've given turbos a personal pass since I moved to (relatively) larger naturally aspirated engines, I've gotta say that I'm thinking my next car my have a supercharger. This engine was wonderfully powerful, and gave no hint of the inherent trade-offs of a turbo: namely the lag. Some people object to superchargers because of their whine, but I noticed none of that disagreeableness here. I can't wait to drive the new S4 with this engine, which will be a phenomenal driver's car, lighter than the V8 S5, and nearly as powerful.

The A4s I drove were nice, solid competitors in the segment, but nothing that remarkable. The one thing I will say is that Audi has done a great job tuning it's new clutch-operated automatic transmission to feel as though it still has a torque converter. I'm assuming it was created to improve fuel economy, but unlike my R32, which has a bit of a jerky, unnatural feel as it starts to roll when you take your foot off the brake, the A4s had an immediate, smooth take-off that hid the nature of the driveline connection.

I got to drive a new VW CC, as well, and while it's not really that special compared with the Passat, boy does it look good. Interestingly, people seem to comment a lot on the interior of this car. It actually has the same dash as the Passat, but that's a car that has largely flown under the radar in its latest iteration. Back when I was selling VWs, around 2002-03, Passats were hot, having just gotten an '01.5 refresh that added strategic chrome and new head and taillights to give the car an upscale air at a relatively small price premium. The current generation has not done as well, possibly as a result of VW's quality issues, but also I think because the look of the car is slightly awkward. On top of that, the new car starts at nearly $30K, which is pushing it for many people in the mid-size segment.

The CC, however, aims at a slightly different class of competitors, which we in the biz call Near Luxury. It ranges from bigger cars like the Nissan Maxima, to smaller models from luxury brands, like the BMW 3-Series. With the CC's style, it has legitimate claim to compete within this segment, and since VW has actually been advertising the CC (something they haven't done for the Passat in quite a while) many of my friends have been commenting on how nice it is, especially inside. Well, the ultimate conclusion is that it took a lovelier outer shape to bring out the inherent inner beauty of the Passat. I think once the CC catches on, it'll take the Passat's slot nicely, and allow the upcoming domestically-produced Altima fighter to take over as VW's mainstream family sedan.

Another VW I was finally able to drive is the Jetta TDI. While wholly unremarkable in most ways (aside from VW's normal elevated level of fit, finish and tuning), the engine was great. I truly hope that diesels take of in American passenger cars, since these motors will allow even automotive enthusiasts to get in on the act of saving energy.

My drive in the Nissan 370Z was quite entertaining, what with the car's magical rev-matching software. It's exactly what an affordable sports car should be, and the interior materials left me quite impressed. I really don't have that much more to say about this car, other than to segue into my impressions of the new Hyundai Genesis coupe.

Compared with the Z, the Genesis coupe clearly does not have the decades of pedigree behind it that Nissan offers. But the differences are in degree, not whole orders of magnitude. The steering, for example, did not have the right boost level for every situation, being too tight in parking lots. But overall, it's a phenomenal effort on Hyundai's part, and the V6 model starts at around 5 grand less than the Z. The biggest surprise for me was the engine, which sounded even better than the Z's. With plenty of pull, it's an amazing sports car value. I highly recommend taking a drive in one of these. I'm sure the dealer will be eager to let you.

After missing the opportunity to drive the Jaguar XF last time I was in town, my wait paid off. Instead of the base model we had 6 months ago, I was treated to the supercharged variant, and it was a blast. While I'm only 28, and haven't driven too many Jags, I can confidently say that this is exactly what a Jaguar should be. While it's tuning was softer than a youngblood like myself would desire, the ride was fantastic, with an effortless sense of speed, even on twisty back roads. It presents the ultimate in comfort and stability, no matter what the road throws at it, and it's lightning fast. It's too bad the reliability of the car is sub-par, especially with all the bells and whistles they've thrown in. I could easily see this car being rendered undriveable due to a faulty, non-rising gear selector knob.

Finally, I'll end with the car I had the pleasure to drive up the mountain for my ski trip: the BMW M3. There are no adequate words to describe this car, but to sum it up succinctly it was simply bad-ass. A monster flow of power and torque at all rev ranges gave this car a menacing presence that was matched by its power dome hood. And what a comfortable cruiser! My friend's girlfriend, who is not short, rode in the back the whole way (about 4 hours) with nary a complaint. For me, the driver's seat was a wonderful place to spend those hours, fending off fatigue easily. And BMW's new dual-clutch gearbox was a joy, an serious improvement over my DSG 1.0, especially in the down-shift department.

The interior was a step up from the typical 3-Series boringness, with woven leather covering the dash, indicating this car's specialness, just like the engine-turned aluminum does in my car. I've always had a preference for Audis over BMWs because of design, but this latest M3 gives me pause. The fact is there's one factor which could actually push me over the top in selecting a Bimmer, and that's seat comfort. I realized on this trip that Audi and Porsche, two brands I've admired and desired for years, bolster their lower seatbacks far too aggressively for my tastes. The TT I drove last year was uncomfortable shortly into each trip I made with it, and this is exactly why. I know many drivers prefer more lower back support, but I like very little, and this has become a deal-breaker for me. Ironically, VWs have great seats for my taste, and so my planned brand upgrade may not happen as I'd hoped. The M3's seat was superlatively comfortable, and it'll be my standard for years to come.

Enduring Designs

2009-03-08T21:00:00.005-05:00

First of all, I'd like to apologize to my tens of loyal readers for not posting in a while. I just came back from California (for the first time in a while) and drove some sweet cars while there, so there will be another post on those to follow shortly.

This post, however, fits with the recurring theme of this blog: random thoughts. I was on the road tonight, and saw a car that sparked a familiar thought of mine: That's a nice-looking car, even though it was designed over 15 years ago. The car I was looking at was actually a Ford Probe (the second generation; I'm not a big fan of the first).

There were actually two other cars which came to mind that fit a similar bill, the last Mazda RX-7 and the 2nd-gen Toyota MR2, and I've had the thought about all three multiple times, but now I've decided to pull them together and find a few others that I think have enduring style.

Mazda deserves a special mention in this post for its solid styling stint in the '90s, when it had some of the sexiest coupes around. I actually had to take another look at the MX-6 and MX-3 to make sure I didn't want to include them, too (some might consider that thought ridiculous).

Clearly there's a theme with these cars, though. They're all sporty coupes with rounded contours and pop-up headlights, which have clearly gone the way of the dodo. But aside from that anachronistic feature, I think that each of these designs, were they to be introduced today--with a collective societal brain-wipe of the memory of their existence--could stand on their own.

I'll admit that the MR2 is pushing it a bit, since it was designed in the '80s (and introduced for 1990), and it's a bit before the point which I would consider the cutoff for "modern" design. You can see that in some of the details, like the black trim line on the side, and the lack of shaping in the lower air dam. But I think that makes its styling achievement all the more remarkable, and I'd bet it still turns heads occasionally.

In searching for a few more examples of vehicles that have aged extraordinarily gracefully, I was able to come up with two more, though I'm sure that every one of these vehicles will have several people calling me crazy.

The first is not that far out there, since it is yet another sports coupe. I always thought the 2nd-gen Mitsubishi Eclipse was a knock-out. The 3rd was an abomination, but the 1995 Eclipse continues to stand the test of time as a great looking car. And just like Mazda, Mitsubishi had some solid styling chops in the '90s, and you can see how they've tried to return to that era, as some of the lines from the latest Lancer mimic some earlier Galant themes. I remember seeing the 2nd-gen Diamante in Australia (called the Magna there) in 1997, and thinking it was a great design. If you look at it today, it's still a handsome car.

The last car is probably the most controversial, since it's a sedan, and its brand had achieved the highest heights of stodginess before getting the ax by the early 2000s. I still believe it is one of the great shames of modern automotive history that Oldsmobile had to die just as its designs were getting good. (Ironically, it looks like GM is about to be forced into the same decision with Saturn.)

The Intrigue was the best-looking mid-size sedan on the market when it debuted, and its untimely death, with the attending lack of a replacement to make it look old, has helped this design stay pretty fresh, notwithstanding the usual state of disrepair in which you find many current examples on the road.
So what do you think? Am I nuts. Am I on to something? Please post a comment and let me know your thoughts. It's good to be back!

Some Great Americans

2008-12-17T16:45:00.012-05:00

As previously alluded to, I'm as bummed about the fate of Detroit as the next guy, and so I thought maybe I could do my small part to help. As anyone who's familiar with this blog knows, I'm a big fan of compact imports, and I've helped my fair share of friends buy Mazda3s and compact VWs. But my import-philia doesn't necessarily mean I'm anti-domestic. Who, then, better to introduce a list of great American iron to you than someone who was raised in the heart of import country?

The fact is that while American cars have been catching up to their import competitors by leaps and bounds in recent years, it takes quite a while for public perception to do the same. So without further ado, I present to you a list, by segment, of American cars you should go out and buy right now. Oh, and as my mother once said, "Do as I say, not as I do." ;-)

Saturn Astra: Although GM has clearly starved its Saturn arm of marketing muscle, the fact is many of its new cars are winners. This is especially true of the Astra, which as brought over pretty much as-is from Europe, where it competes with the top-selling VW Golf and the superb Euro Ford Focus. It's a bit of a step down from those expensive competitors, but a big step up from the compacts the US market is used to. It combines handsome looks with lively handling, high efficiency and great space usage to give compact buyers the total package.

Chevy Malibu: This car is quite simply one of the best competitors in the midsize segment. It matches or surpasses the Japanese leaders in style, handling and value, and is a major leap forward for the General in this segment.

Pontiac G8: GM's answer to the Chrysler 300, this one has a more widely appealing style (well, at least it'll age better, I think), and better handling. It's basically a BMW 5-Series on a budget, and is what the Pontiac brand should be all about. Ooh, and soon you can get it with a truck bed out back, a la El Camino. Word.

Pontiac Solstice/Saturn Sky: These roadsters were Bob Lutz's first brainchild when he got to GM, and they're still as exciting as they were then, especially in GXP/Red Line forms. But grab one fast, because GM is not planning to renew their lease on life.

Chevy Corvette: This is all-around the best sports car value on earth. Coming in flavors varying from awesome to double-awesome Z06, to triple-super-throwdown-awesome ZR1, these cars regularly match the performance of those costing twice as much. Not to mention their beauty and their amazing efficiency (26 highway for a 430-hp pushrod V8?!!).

Saturn Vue: Another rebadged Euro product, this CUV is attractive and upscale. Too bad, once again, that GM has choked off the division's marketing juice.

Ford Edge: This crossover is handsome, handles well and has Ford's great 3.5L V6, the American answer to the Nissan VQ, but smoother. When I was at the ad agency, I even got to work on claims that it's faster than a BMW X5 or Porsche Cayenne (the V6 models, of course).

Ford Flex: If that's your style (it's certainly not mine), then this is a great vehicle. The interior package is amazing, despite its lower roofline than competitors like the GMC Acadia and Honda Pilot. The materials they use are fantastic, it has that same 3.5L V6, and it also boasts some really cool features, like the Sync multimedia system and an in-car fridge...and you can get a contrasting white roof, just like on a MINI!

Jeep Wrangler: I recently had the pleasure of taking one of these things off road at Chrysler's Chelsea Proving Grounds, and it was a blast. The thing is so ultimately capable, and it's stayed true to its roots all these years. And now you can get one with four doors.

Dodge Ram: I haven't driven it myself, but my colleagues tell me it's the best-riding truck out there, thanks to its now coil spring rear setup. Amazingly, they did it without any degradation to the previous truck's capabilities. Add to that the new actually-attractive interior and innovations like the Ram Box bed-side storage, and we have a winner.

Ford F-Series: These trucks are tougher than a mofo. At the agency I got a chance to hear about the durability testing they put 'em through, and it did more damage to the engineers inside than the truck itself. It's pretty brutal. Their capabilities are unmatched by anything of similar size in the world, and the new generation of Power Stroke diesels is not only brutally torquey, but clean as a whistle. If only they weren't ugly...

Cadillac CTS: I while ago I posted that this was the first American car I'd actually buy myself. The rest of the cars on this list are great cars, but they just don't suit my taste. But this one, well it's got great looks, a phenomenal interior, a powerful direct-injection V6 available with a stick, and a great sport suspension. This is a fantastic car.

Lincoln MKS: This is a perfect example of a great car for other people, but not for me. We drove it back to back with the Lexus GS, and this car blew that one out of the water in several ways. The interior is top notch, and it's got great looks. With the available AWD and 20" wheels, it makes no difference that it's based on the Taurus' front-drive platform. Though that happens to be one of the safest in the world. This is what a Lincoln should be.

Buick Enclave: This is the best value in luxury CUVs, even though many buyers won't give Buick the credit it deserves because of recent history. The Enclave is gorgeous inside and out, and it shares the space efficiency and solid feel of the rest of GM's Lambda large crossovers. It may seem pricey for a Buick, but it's dirt cheap compared to an Audi Q7. Maybe people will chuckle at the country club, but we all know your self esteem is more secure than that.

Coming soon--the Ford Fiesta: Don't laugh. This isn't your hippy cousin's ratty old Fiesta. This is the most exciting small car on this side of the Atlantic since the Mini Cooper. You may have noticed that my list of cars was dominated by GM, while Ford has the edge (no pun intended) in trucks and CUVs. But Ford is about to unleash a slew of sweet rides, including the Euro Fiesta and Focus. The Fiesta comes first, and it'll blow the Chevy Aveo sky high, with great styling, great handling and a great interior. It's grrrrrrreat!

So get out there and BUY BUY BUY!!!

Keep Calm and Carry On

2008-12-16T16:41:00.006-05:00

This explains the reference in the previous post: http://www.keepcalmdetroit.com/

Detroit '67

2008-12-16T16:23:00.003-05:00

I started listening to a new radio station recently, 93.9 The River, Windsor-Detroit, and they play a really great variety of stuff. One of the new songs I've been introduced to is Detroit '67, by the Sam Roberts Band. Not only is it a great, swingin' song, but it's got a wonderful sense of the city's history, and the video that accompanies it is fantastic.

Detroit's history makes me both sad and proud, even though I didn't grow up here. The city, and the surrounding region of Southeast Michigan, have an amazing spirit, and I think it's one of the reasons why I feel so at home here, despite my New York roots.

Anyway, I've looked for the song on iTunes, and it just ain't there, but I did find the video, so I'm happy to share it here. I don't know if it can inspire the kinds of emotions in others that it brought forth in me, but it's definitely worth a look.

Keep Calm and Carry On, Detroit.

Bigger is Better?

2008-12-15T12:30:00.003-05:00

I recently read a snippet about the CEO of Fiat, Sergio Marchionne, proclaiming that the number of global carmakers will eventually shrink to six behemoths. This, from the over 20 companies of significant size that Automotive News lists on its "Guide to global automaker partnerships". I searched further and found this article. Marchionne says that in order to survive, a company with need a sales volume of over 5.5 million cars each year, a number to which his own Fiat does not even come close.

I don't doubt that Fiat may need a merger to survive, as a recent news item claims it may be seeking. But the fact is, this very same statement was made roughly eight years ago. In a paper I wrote in college in 2000, I cited a claim by many industry bigwigs that by 2010, there would be a lot fewer car companies running the show. How many? The generally agreed-upon estimate was six. In fact, they used a very similar line of reasoning to Marchionne's, stating that there would be two for every major continental base, North America, Europe and Asia. Marchionne has also stated his theory in terms of geography: 'As far as mass-producers are concerned, we're going to end up with one American house, one German of size; one French-Japanese, maybe with an extension in the U.S.; one in Japan; one in China and one other potential European player.'

But the fact is, there hasn't been a huge amount of consolidation in the industry since that first round of predictions almost a decade ago. These predictions were likely precipitated by the "merger" of Daimler and Chrysler in 1998, and the alliance of Renault and Nissan, which had been inked the following year. We all know how the former turned out, creating not economies of scale, but rather one of the largest destructions of company value in automotive history. The latter tie-up is still going strong, and paying dividends, but aside from that, there has been little action that suggests a highly consolidated industry.

And why does Marchionne think that size is inherently good? While it's true that there are obvious advantages that stem from the basic principle of economies of scale, there are also downsides to this, most notably the loss of corporate agility. Corporations like GM have huge resources to offer its producers in each market, but if the act of marshaling those resources becomes cumbersome, decisions cannot be made in a timely manner, and competitiveness suffers.

While GM is a great example of how size does not necessarily equal strength (as is Ford, one of the other four companies cited as above Marchionne's magic 5.5m number), there are some equally good examples of smaller companies that have so far proven resilient in this tough economic climate. Honda is thriving, as Japan's number-two producer, because the company has refused to compromise its ideals. Its growth has been organic, driven by demand rather than production.

An even better example of the principle is Porsche, a company which sold less than 100,000 units last year. Despite its volumes, Porsche has managed its business so well that it is now financially powerful enough to have gobbled up a controlling interest in the only German company that is "large enough", Volkswagen. Porsche has achieved this clout with strict discipline, and tough decisions made based on the existing business and market climate (including the oft-derided decision to market an SUV).

Size may be what's important to Fiat at this moment, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it is the major determinant to survival throughout the industry. It's true that for any company to survive, it needs to achieve a decent level of scale. But at a certain point, scale can become counterproductive if not managed the right way, and the right product decisions will, in my opinion, always trump size in importance.

Poor American car companies...

2008-12-11T15:35:00.006-05:00

They're now the subject of mocking email forwards. I got this one from my dad today:

A MODERN PARABLE...
A Japanese company ( Toyota ) and an American company (Ford) decided to have a canoe race on the Missouri River . Both teams practiced long and hard to reach their peak performance before the race.

On the big day, the Japanese won by a mile.

The Americans, very discouraged and depressed, decided to investigate the reason for the crushing defeat. A management team made up of senior management was formed to investigate and recommend appropriate action.

Their conclusion was the Japanese had 8 people rowing and 1 person steering, while the American team had 8 people steering and 1 person rowing.

Feeling a deeper study was in order, American management hired a consulting company and paid them a large amount of money for a second opinion.

They advised, of course, that too many people were steering the boat, while not enough people were rowing.

Not sure of how to utilize that information, but wanting to prevent another loss to the Japanese, the rowing team's management structure was totally reorganized to 4 steering supervisors, 3 area steering superintendents, and 1 assistant superintendent steering manager.

They also implemented a new performance system that would give the 1 person rowing the boat greater incentive to work harder. It was called the 'Rowing Team Quality First Program,' with meetings, dinners, and free pens for the rower There was discussion of getting new paddles, canoes, and other equipment, extra vacation days for practices and bonuses.

The next year the Japanese won by two miles.

Humiliated, the American management laid off the rower for poor performance, halted development of a new canoe, sold the paddles, and canceled all capital investments for new equipment. The money saved was distributed to the Senior Executives as bonuses and the next year's racing team was outsourced to India.

Sadly, The End.

Here's something else to think about:
Ford has spent the last thirty years moving all its factories out of the US, claiming they can't make money paying American wages.

TOYOTA has spent the last thirty years building more than a dozen plants inside the US. The last quarter's results:

TOYOTA makes 4 billion in profits while Ford racked up 9 billion in losses.

Ford folks are still scratching their heads.

IF THIS WEREN'T TRUE, IT MIGHT BE FUNNY.

While it's obviously a gross oversimplification, the fact is that this story does give you a decent idea about how the Americans go about things sometimes.

The one thing I thought was left out was Ford asking its ad agency to do a brainstorming session to rename the canoe...twice.

Stop it, Ford, just stop it!

2008-10-29T14:31:00.005-05:00

For some reason, Ford has decided that the only way to get its cars noticed in the US is completely outlandish and ugly designs. This was true of the current Focus and Lincoln Navigator, and it's now true of the next Fusion, of which there is a freshly-released new shot of the front end.

With this new design, Ford is creeping ever further from its design leadership days, when the Taurus was strikingly set apart from in competitors...in a positive way.

True, Ford learned a painful lesson from the Five Hundred and Freestyle, two cars that could be considered styling black holes. Determined never to produce another anonymous car, Ford has swung wildly toward overwrought designs that beg for attention.
The lower bumper of this Fusion is actually heading in the right direction, borrowing some geometry from Ford's European Kinetic design language, which includes the gorgeous Mondeo (pictured).
But the huge chrome grille overpowers these cues, and throws the whole design out of balance. Ford's American design department is degenerating into the type of amateurishness that Hyundai and Kia has struggled for so long to overcome. Plain and simple, Ford needs a new director of North American design. Now.

Chargerghini Revealed

2008-10-01T09:36:00.005-05:00

Well, after a few weeks of being a giant tease, Lamborghini's coyness has been rewarded with a broken embargo. The Estoque four-door concept has finally been revealed, and I must say I'm quite underwhelmed. The teaser detail shots got my motor revving, with Lambo's mastery of the details quite apparent. But the car as a whole is pretty disappointing, in my opinion. And then I saw the rear three-quarter shot. Suddenly I knew where I'd seen this car before.

Okay, so the Estoque Concept doesn't look exactly like the Dodge Charger R/T Concept from 1999, but the stance is pretty much identical, and helps to elucidate why the overall execution of the Estoque already seems dated to me...especially for Lamborghini. Let me know what you all think.

He said it again!

2008-09-29T10:15:00.005-05:00

After being on the road for a while, I'm finally getting a chance to catch up on some of Joe White's Eyes on the Road columns in the WSJ. I especially like this recent article, in which he closes with some sage words:

"Achieving freedom from foreign oil and keeping consumer gasoline prices low are conflicting goals. America's energy policy for the past three decades has tilted toward cheap gas to fuel our cars. Washington's energy debate is really about whether that should continue. The rest is mostly diversion."

Rock on, Joe. Rock on.

A Car's Saga

2008-09-25T22:16:00.007-05:00

Now that I'm in possession of the MGB, I though I'd relate a little bit about the process of getting it to me. It was chock full of omens. In fact, as soon as I committed to buy the car, putting the money in escrow, the first omen came. I left my house, and around two blocks away there was a nice black MGB roadster sitting in the middle of the road...with a flat tire. Not a good sign.

Well, my beautiful green example needed a few repairs before it was shipped from Iowa, and as soon as those were complete I arranged for its transport. The car was picked up this past Friday and was scheduled for delivery bright and early Saturday morning. It didn't quite make it. There were no flat tires involved, but the brand new, '08 Ford Super Duty PowerStroke that bore it apparently had some diesel fuel that didn't agree with it, and it just decided to quit right on the highway. I doubt a child waking up on Christmas morning to find out that Santa isn't real would be more disappointed than I was.

So what did I see just as I left the house Saturday morning? A shiny red MGB roadster cruising around, apparently just to rub salt in my wound.

Long story short, due to the lofty customer service of a Ford dealer in Illinois, who jerked the truckers around for a few days until they were convinced to take the needed part from a truck on the lot, I had to wait until Tuesday night to meet my new love. Incidentally, on Sunday I took a trip down to Columbus, Ohio, returning Monday night. Since it was quite a schlep, I took an audiobook, From Russia with Love (I've been listening to all the James Bond novels in order). And as a final jab from fate, this book introduced a new Russian intelligence agency to the mix. Was it the KGB? Of course not. It was the MGB!!! So I had to listen to the reader pronounce this acronym over and over during the course of my ride back, each time wincing a bit with longing.

Quite honestly, I don't put much stock in supernatural forces controlling the universe, and I chalk all these instances up to coincidence. But come on, WTF!!!

It was so worth the wait, though.

So Happy Together

2008-09-24T12:33:00.004-05:00

I've just reached automotive nirvana. I now own two of the coolest cars on the road. After an excruciatingly long wait (including a broken-down transport truck), my 1966 MGB Roadster arrived last night. This car is fun!!! And it looks great, too. So without further ado, I present my two dream machines together: the Blue Devil, and introducing the Green Monster! (Fred Savage would like it...it's a little monster.)

It's a gas gas gas!

2008-09-23T16:37:00.010-05:00

Well, I finally hit the big time. I've gotten some recognition for my blog in the form of Chevron's PR agency. They invited me to a special blogger tour of Chevron's tech facility in Richmond, CA, outside Oakland. I'm guessing their PR staff had seen my extremely well-balanced and superbly written post regarding the backlash against the oil companies. What Chevron wanted to get the word out about, though, was Techron, its relatively well-known fuel additive which purports to keep your engine spic and span. In particular, they spent most of their time talking about Techron Concentrate Plus, which can be added to a tank of cheaper stuff every oil change to clean things up if your engine's feeling dirty, but I was more interested in Techron's application to their gasoline.

You may have noticed recently that Shell has been running a campaign designed to raise awareness of the detergent power of its fuel, as well. In fact, I've been buying mostly Shell gasoline for my cars for the past few years. For my readers I suppose this begs the question, how much can the quality of gasoline differ? After all, most people treat gasoline as a commodity, with station location as the primary factor in where they fill up. Well, the answer is both simple and complicated. Read on...

Most drivers think of gas on three levels: regular, mid-grade and premium. This simply refers to the fuel's octane, which is essentially its resistance to detonation. Why would anyone want a fuel that's tougher to ignite? Well, on higher performance engines, the compression ratios tend to go up, meaning fuel is more likely to ignite before it's supposed to, and to not burn evenly. This can create problems in both performance and emissions. Especially because of the potential for emissions issues, all modern engines are able to sense these issues (knock or ping) and adjust their operation accordingly. But this robs a high-performance engine of its full capability, so it's still recommended you pop for the highest octane specified for your car.

One big question that people wonder about: Can high octane gas help a car spec'd to run on regular? Answer: not really, don't waste your money. Unless...

Here's where things get a bit more complicated, and where I actually did learn some things from the Chevron event. Techron has been around for around 35 years, and many dyed-in-the-wool car guys swear by it. They gave us a whole presentation about their continuing advancements, waxing euphoric about PEAs (as opposed to those lame PBAs, which are so yesterday), and other technical stuff that my readers would neither understand nor care about. The crux of it all is that Techron prevents gunk from building up on your valves, injectors and combustion chamber, which can keep your engine from performing at its peak. Think of it as Lipitor for your car.

Okay, so is Chevron gas really the best around? Well, they certainly think so, but from a more neutral perspective, there is something to be said in Chevron's favor. For a little background, I'll explain why I always fill up with Shell. A few years ago I read about a standard for gasoline called Top Tier. Before this, I'd thought it laughable that gas companies wasted money on advertising, since all gas was pretty much the same. But I found out that there's actually a pretty wide range of detergency among fuels, and the brands that conform to Top Tier standards actually follow a much stricter set of guidelines.

A few years ago, a coalition of automakers (including VW) decided that the EPA standards for gasoline detergency were not high enough, causing emissions and reliability issues. They banded together and worked with a few oil companies (including Chevron) to establish a stricter standard.

When I heard about this, I decided that I'd only fill my tank with the good stuff. Scanning the list of brands that met the standard, though, there were few companies on it that offered easy access in my area. Interestingly enough, the biggest companies out there, ExxonMobil and BP Amoco, are missing from this list. The one that was most promising was Shell. Rather than memorize the list, I just figured if I could find a Shell station, I'd be alright. After doing this for a while, I figured I might as well get a Shell card and get 5% back every time I fill up. And this, ladies and gentlemen, is how brand loyalty is built.

Fast forward to Chevron event, and I clearly went into it with a skeptic's eye. Aren't all the Top Tier gasolines good stuff? And what about Shell's V-Power brand. When Shell talks about its gas which can clean up your engine, they're talking about V-Power. And when I asked the guys at Chevron how much better than Shell their stuff is, they didn't really have a satisfactory answer for me. They'd really been comparing their fuels with others meeting the minimum EPA standards and other Top Tier fuels. But in reality Shell V-Power is on a third level with Chevron fuel--the real "top tier". In the public's eye, at least, they said that Amoco Ultimate is up there as well.

But here's the real advantage in Chevron fuel. Every one of their fuels is up to the same lofty standards. With Shell and Amoco, it's only their high octane stuff that's branded with the V-Power and Ultimate names. So back to the original question: Can high octane gas help a car spec'd to run on regular? As I said, the answer is usually no. But if you're buying Shell or Amoco (or BP of course), your engine can get a nice Spring cleaning if you pop for premium.

I always buy premium, because I'm a car nut and I baby my baby. And Chevron didn't really have me convinced that Techron would deliver that much benefit to me (at least not enough to search all over town for a damn Chevron station). But they did make a pretty convincing case that most people could stand to benefit from regular use of Chevron. That, and the fact that they bribed me with a free trip to the San Francisco Bay Area and some free Techron Concentrate Plus, in the spirit of full disclosure.

Rowing through the gears...with a paddle

2008-09-10T22:44:00.013-05:00

The past several new cars that I've driven recently have had shiftable automatic transmissions. I'm quite used to this of course, since I almost always drive in manual mode in my R32. But the three recent cars I've driven have all had interesting variations on the theme that help to differentiate the driving experience between brands. I'd like to take a moment to weigh the pros and cons of each approach, so maybe you can benefit from my experience if this is something you really care about.

I'll start, of course, with Volkswagen's DSG. The transmission comes with an automatic shift gate with the manual mode selected by pushing the shifter to the right. This, I believe, is the most common execution for a shiftable manual, and it's shared with VW's regular 6-speed slushbox. One difference is the shape of the shifter. Most of VW's automatics come with a T-shaped shifter that is fairly common, and easy to use for the common task of shifting back and forth between park, drive and reverse (much of which requires holding down the release button).

Where this shape is not so satisfying is during manual shifting, where those of us accustomed to manual transmissions like to use a similar grip on a manumatic stalk. For this reason, VW provides a ball-shaped shifter on its sportier DSG applications, including the GTI and R32. I'm a fan.

Next we come to the paddles. I'm quite fond of how VW executes its shift paddles. They're fixed to the back of the steering wheel, with an exposed bit that's labeled + or -. This label even lights up at night. Very classy. This execution has also proven very useful during track work, as the paddles will always be at the tips of your fingers during corners, assuming your hands are still at the 9 and 3 positions. For most turns in which you'd need to shift, your hands should still be there, because they'd be fast sweepers. For tighter turns, if you find yourself needing to shift in the middle, it's probably because you missed a downshift as you were braking before the turn started. In that case, you can always fall back on the shift lever, but it may even make you a better driver to learn this lesson.

This execution is in stark contrast to that of another twin clutch gearbox on the market, Mitsubishi's SST. Mitsubishi has made absolutely certain that everyone knows that their shift paddles are made from magnesium (BMW on the other hand uses magnesium for an actual benefit, that of reduced engine weight). But it is the mounting of these paddles that makes Mitsu's execution really unique. They're affixed to the steering column, meaning they don't move with the wheel. Some people prefer this, but in some spirited driving I did in a Lancer Ralliart yesterday, I firmly established my preference for wheel mounted paddles.

The one area where I do prefer Mitsubishi's layout is the shift lever. It actually looks and feels like a true stickshift lever, and its shift layout is opposite to that of the VW. To engage manual mode, you pull it to the left, so it's closer at hand, and you pull it back to upshift and push forward to downshift. To some this is counterintuitive, but to a true stickshift driver, this is exactly how it should be, mimicking the way a direct throw backward in a manual is always a higher gear.

BMW also agrees in this regard, as they've been laying out their manumatics this way for years. Where BMW falls flat is in their steering wheel paddles. The Bavarians believe that you should be able to upshift or downshift with either hand, and it's a solid idea, until you come upon their solution for this. Each paddle in a Bimmer can be pulled with the fingers (for an upshift) or pushed with the thumb (for a downshift). While this does feel inherently intuitive, especially as it matches up with the shift lever, its downfall is in the thumb activation. When your hands are in a natural driving position, a yank on a paddle is natural and easily executed. But as I found in the X6 I drove yesterday, the downshift was another story, especially during spirited driving. The thumb extension felt strained and awkward, twisting my wrists into unnatural positions. You may think this is nitpicky and stupid, and I'll admit that I'm the prince of piddling pet peeves, but it did make me feel less in control and legitimately reduced my enjoyment of the drive.

I also got to drive the new Cadillac CTS-V. Fantastic car, but its shift setup was not ideal. Not only was the shifter laid out with forward upshifts, but the paddles were not visible behind the wheel. They were basically just buttons on the backs of the wheel spokes, and if you weren't feeling around for them, you wouldn't know they're there. They also offer less surface area than other paddles, making them less accessible.

I think the variety of executions throughout the industry makes for interesting reinforcement of brand character. Mitsubishi's setup reflects the raw nature of its performance cars, whereas VW executes the system in a highly refined way. But some systems just work better than others, and clearly my ideal setup for a shiftable automatic would be the VW paddles with the Mitsubishi lever. Manufacturers take note!

My New Cd

2008-09-03T13:04:00.002-05:00

After almost a year of waiting, the new front bumper/grille came in for my R32. All the initial allocation of Michigan models were shipped erroneously with plate brackets on the front bumper, meaning the front end didn't have the clean look that I'd been all excited about. Well, I just got the car back from the dealer, and it now has a completely clutter-free front end, which I'm assuming brings the drag coefficient (Cd) down precipitously. I'd imagine that I can now hit around 140 on the front straight at Grattan, instead of 110.

Here's a shot of my gloriously clean front end. Enjoy!

My Drive With Ralph

2008-09-01T22:56:00.007-05:00

Today I held the fate of Chrysler LLC in my hands, and I chose to allow it to continue its existence. This is actually only partly hyperbole and grandiose delusion. It's also partly true. I drove Grattan Raceway, instructed by none other than Ralph Gilles, on the very day on which he assumed responsibility as head of design at Chrysler. As I rounded corner 4 with him strapped into my passenger seat, the awful thought ran through my head of the ramifications at Detroit's number 3 carmaker if anything were to happen to Mr. Gilles on my account. Yeah, a little pressure.

Of course, nothing went wrong, and a lot of things went right, and I was the gleeful beneficiary of some great coaching from one hell of a driver. (Special shout out to my buddy Jon for hookin' me up.) The highlight of the day, however, came not in my humble R32, but in Ralph's outrageous Viper ACR (humility need not apply).

The Viper ACR (American Club Racing, for the uninitiated), is essentially a street-legal race car. I actually had a chance to drive one a few months ago at Chrysler's annual "What's New" event at the Chelsea Proving Grounds, right after a regular Viper, in fact. The "base" Viper is itself quite a track star, with the sort of telepathic handling you hear spoken of in the most connected and pure cars (as I mentioned of the Loti). The ACR version, on the other hand, reminds me more of the idea of "precognition" from Minority Report. In my run through the first set of slalom cones with this car, I hit almost every one, since the car had responded even before I realized I wanted to turn. Suffice to say it's a handful when you're first getting acquainted.

When I first approached Ralph's ACR, I noticed that it was a lot more handsome than some of the others I've seen, especially the red and black version. As a car designer, I suppose he's allowed to customize his with a nice dose a actual taste, the car being all black, with a single dark gray driver-side stripe. In fact, when I entered the car, a plate in the middle of the dash proclaimed that it had been "Handcrafted for Ralph V. Gilles", a fact which instantly nullified the previous thrill I'd enjoyed when he'd noticed my steering wheel's "1236 / 5000" declaration of my car's limited edition nature. This is also probably the reason why I couldn't find a picture of this particular color combo to include in this post.

We entered the track on the front straight, and the acceleration practically melted my face off. So this is what unrestrained power feels like, eh? On the autocross course I'd probably hit around 50 mph. On that front straight Ralph danced with 150. (In the same stretch my R32 can reach around 110.) With the end of the front straight looming, Gilles stabbed the brakes and I hit the seatbelt. I'm quite glad it happens to be a high-quality seatbelt, since it was the only thing standing between me and an express flight through the windshield. Literally.

We happened to be running Grattan backwards today (it's usually run clockwise), so there was a hill after this straight. The ACR made such short work of the slope that my ears actually popped. Every time. The g-forces were so extreme that my stomach felt like it was rattling around freely in my torso...but in a good way. I believe Ralph when he says it took hours to clean to the puke of a previous passenger from inside the car.

While the car was certainly extreme in its abilities, so was the driver. Having helped to calibrate it, Gilles is clearly familiar with the the ACR's limits, allowing him the confidence to wring the maximum from it. With our 20-minute lapping sessions, the car's slicks were getting slightly greasy towards the end, giving the rear some interesting character. This failed to phase Gilles even the least bit, as he kept his go foot firmly planted long after a driver with less faith would've backed off, easily using steering corrections to get the tail back in line.

Ralph devoured the track with the ACR, and I had a front-row seat. It was also amusing to watch a Porsche 911 wag its tail all over the track in an effort to get the hell out of his way. I can truly say I bore witness to a master craftsman at work. Thanks, Ralph.

The short memory of auto journalists...

2008-07-17T12:27:00.004-05:00

I remember distinctly the excitement that came from the buff books a few years ago when the Mazda6 debuted. They praised not only its Zoom-Zoom handling, but also it's sporty looks that flew in the face of Camrys (by the way, I'm ready to start the discussion about the pluralization of proper nouns according to the conventions of the English language, changing this to "Camries"--please leave your thoughts in the comment section) and Accords.

The following is an excerpt from a 2004 Autoblog review of the Mazda6: "...The 6 hatch has all the Mazda traits we love like crisp handling, decent power and a very upscale feel to the interior. ...As far as sedans go it still outdoes most of the competition in the looks department."

But I just read a first-drive review from same of the all-new '09 model, and it's as if the first generation missed the mark completely: "We didn't exactly feel tingly with the last model (the MazdaSpeed6 would be the exception), so we walked out to the new car with key in hand to see if we are going to be feeling 'it' with the new car."

And this gem: "...The [new] 6 doesn't look nearly as painfully boring as its predecessor."

This kind of phenomenon seems to happen fairly often with the motoring press. A car debuts, they drive it, they love it, then it ages. As soon as this happens, and they're able to compare it with the new hotness, these journalists proclaim, "We never thought it was that great anyway." C'mon, guys! Sure, maybe the new Altima and Accord have surpassed the 6 in power and possibly even dynamics, but when it hit the market you couldn't get enough of this sedan's sporty handling and its interesting compound eyes that made it not another Japanese snoozemobile.

I love reading Autoblog and plenty of other automotive journalism, but I'm calling shenanigans!

More R32 Accolades

2008-07-15T23:51:00.003-05:00

I only recently realized that I get BBC America, so of course I've been mainlining episodes of Top Gear for the past few days. I noticed that my beloved Mk V R32 held a pretty damn impressive spot on the list of times around their test track in the hands of The Stig, so of course I sought out the episode where it's featured. They've placed it head to head with the BMW 130i hatch, and the result makes me giddy. Although the final segment in which they show the track runs gets out of synch, you get the idea. And I absolutely love Jeremy's final word on the two cars. Enjoy!

A Slippery Subject

2008-06-29T15:13:00.004-05:00

A few weeks ago, I was reading about Barack Obama's support for a windfall profits tax on the oil companies. While I support his candidacy, and was glad he hasn't quite reached the level of pander that McCain and Clinton did with their deplorable ideas for gas tax holidays, this profits tax is extremely wrongheaded.

I'm in full support of a progressive tax code, in which the more you earn the higher percentage of your money the government takes. But this windfall profits tax is more of a resentment-based code, in which we basically decide whomever we're mad at for the moment should bear a higher tax burden.

It's 100 percent true that the oil companies are making money hand over fist right now. But as many have only started to understand--at least in the mainstream media--this is attributable for the most part to pure economic forces. We're in the midst of the biggest world-wide explosion in demand for oil, led by China and India, that we've ever seen. When more people want your product, the price goes up.

But with this in mind, it made me wonder why the candidates seemed to be ignoring a real issue in the context of these companies' profits: subsidies. I've been hearing about oil company subsidies for quite a while now, and I figured this could be a reasonable target for the ire of the American public.

Eager to learn a little more about the subject, as well as to get the other side of the issue, I emailed my uncle, who happens to work at an oil company. I asked him why, even with the big bucks they were taking in at the moment, they were still benefiting from government subsidies. His answer, while interesting and informative, started with a very plain statement: "I'm not sure what you mean by 'subsidies'. We do not get subsidies."

For the most part, he's right.

Seeking a little more in-depth info on what people were calling subsidies, I found this web page, which explains the assistance that oil companies get from the US government. My uncle is right that pretty much none of the assistance listed on this page is a subsidy, which is more accurately defined as a payment by a government to aid an industry or another government or the people of a country (by artificially lowering prices).

In discussing this issue, most people's anger is directed at the tax breaks granted the industry for various purposes. The fact is, pretty much all major industries get tax breaks designed to increase their investment in the economy, benefitting the country through economic growth. It's also interesting to note that not too long ago the oil industry needed these tax breaks to operate profitably.

"You only have to go back 5-7 years, when oil was $20/bbl, and cash was short, that the companies were looking for ways to become more efficient so that they could still afford to pay dividends and invest for the future. That's what drove all of the mergers, Exxon and Mobil, BP and Amoco and Arco, Chevron and Texaco, Total, Fina and Elf. It's easy to suggest taking away the bennies when the companies are making lots of money, but when they were struggling at the front end of the decade, no one was lining up either to throw money at us."

This reminds me of an argument I got into over email a few years ago. I was selling VWs in New York, and I'd just listed the rights to buy our first R32 at sticker on eBay, essentially creating an auction for how much the premium would be over sticker. One person who spotted the listing was particularly offended, arguing that it was unethical to sell the car over sticker. The argument I used then was that sticker price is officially called Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price, and the price is always set by the dealer. Usually we'd sell it for under that, since that's what the market will bear, but when a limited edition car comes along with high demand, the market price is above sticker. Why is she okay with paying the market price when it benefits her, but outraged when the dealer would like her to pay a market price that benefits them?

This is really the same argument as tax breaks for the oil companies. When these companies need the assistance to sustain their business (and to compete against foreign companies getting tax breaks from their own countries, no less!) so they can continue to help the US economy grow, we don't hear a peep. But when these same tax breaks are seen on the other side of a business cycle as just heaping on more profit, it feels wrong to us. And politicians use this discomfort for their gain.

The fact is, we need to remove the emotion from these policies. If we indeed want companies to benefit less from tax breaks when they're profitable, that should be built into the tax code, and all industries should be treated the same way. I know, this is a bit naive considering the complex natures of lobbying and industry structures. But it is a decent goal toward which to strive.

The point of this long blog entry: next time you hear a passionate argument about oil company profits or other corporate greed, try to think with both your head and your heart. Understand that, while we need to be a compassionate society that seeks equality and fairness, some issues are more complex than a sound byte.

A Sheep in Lamb's Clothing

2008-06-29T14:35:00.003-05:00

Designers have striven for years to make certain vehicles look smaller than they actually are. One of the latest examples is the Chevy Tahoe, which had been getting flack for being a road-hogging behemoth. Even though the current vehicle grew further from the previous generation's none-too-diminutive size, designers took pains to ensure that observers would think its mass had gone in the opposite direction, and by many accounts it seems to have worked.

Some cars, though, can't afford to be seen as smaller than they are. But as I watched a recent ad for the Kia Optima, it occurred to me that this is indeed what has happened. I wish I could show you the ad, but it starts out with some standard driving and panning footage, probably the same stuff that's used in the "Driving" video here. To me it seemed nothing more than a respectable looking small car. It then goes on to compare the Optima to the Accord and Camry, and I remembered, Oh yeah, the Optima's a mid-size car!

This is a big problem, especially for a brand trying to overcome the "cheap and cheerful" image that Kia contends with. The last generation of Optima was slightly goofy looking, but at least it looked as big as it is (perhaps even bigger).

It seems that as soon as Hyundai/Kia overcome one obstacle--especially in the field of design--they throw up another for themselves. When will the Korean giant finally wake up to its full potential? I'm still waiting...

Some Well-Earned Recognition

2008-06-23T17:08:00.002-05:00

This was a pretty good write-up of my beloved R32, and of course I can't resist posting it. Enjoy!

Jumping the Shark...With a Car

2008-06-16T09:34:00.003-05:00

Take a look at this trailer. Okay, clearly this movie's gonna kinda rock and be kinda lame all at the same time, but there's nothing like a trailer that starts with the words: "I created Death Race six years ago. I now have as many viewers as the Super Bowl." Yeah, this could really happen. Oh, Joan Allen, what has become of you?

There, he said it!

2008-06-10T15:10:00.003-05:00

For his most recent column, Wall Street Journal auto columnist Joe White talked to Mike Jackson, who runs the largest car dealer network in the country, AutoNation. The column, and Mr. Jackson, articulate so beautifully what the American people don't seem to get, and what politicians cynically ignore. We need high gas prices. This country's oil dependency is not just an environmental risk, but a security risk as well, which means that the sooner we get to the point where we can supply our own fuel, the better off we'll be as a nation.

The fact is, our lifestyles will need to change unless technology leaps forward faster than it has been. We've been hearing about all-electric vehicles and fuel-cells for decades now, but that technology is not yet cost-effective for the job we as a country would like it to do. This president's administration has been all about the idea that Americans should not have to sacrifice their way of life for the sake of national security, unless it involves civil rights, in which case all bets are off. Anything that might put a check on our collective spending habit was completely off the table.

To be perfectly honest, I'm not the poster-child for reduced fuel consumption. My car, while small, gets around 20 mpg, not much better than your average SUV. I waste gas taking it the track, offsetting some of the benefit of working from home. But these are active choices I've made, and they're for a particular reason. I love driving my car, and the happiness I get out of it is a pretty reasonable return for the opportunity cost of other things in my life that I can't afford as a result, if less arguably for the societal cost that my behavior brings as well. If gas prices rose even higher, I might be forced to change my habits accordingly, which may offer me less car-based happiness, but would shift more of the real external costs of my actions to my pocket.

Many other Americans will have to sacrifice things in their lives, too. It'll certainly be more painful for them, especially if they sank more than they could really afford into getting that cool SUV to go grocery shopping with. But now is the time when we must accept the fruits of our collective decisions, and learn from them. Let's not talk about things like gas tax holidays that will lower prices by 18 cents for a few months while crippling our already-overworked infrastructure. Let's applaud the fact that these trends in fuel prices have created a new mentality on the part of both companies and customers that says we're ready to see the future.

Another Day in Paradise

2008-06-01T01:58:00.007-05:00

I just flew in from California, and boy are my arms tired! No, not from flying. That's just silly...why would you even suggest that? No, it's from muscling a Lotus around the hills near Santa Barbara. Don't believe me? I've got the pictures to prove it.

In an additional dose of perfection, this was the Elise California edition, so, you know...

I'd also like to mention that I found it interesting that even Lotus is giving in to the American demand for creature comforts. Not only did this car have an iPod hookup, it also had a cupholder!!! It was machined from billet aluminum, of course, in classic Lotus style. And the key is now actually nice looking, with an integrated remote.

The soft top was a cinch to get on and off, once I figured it out, so the only thing this drive was lacking was sunblock. You may now commence with the envy.

It's Finally Happened...

2008-05-31T16:42:00.005-05:00

Well, I was driving up Highway 101 in California when it happened. It hit me for the first time: the notion that I would be willing to buy an American car. I've driven plenty of American cars in my time with my current company, and I've liked several of them. But this one was different. The materials, the attractive displays, the mix of a stick shift with a potent V6 engine, the confident handling. It was all here.

I speak of none other than the Cadillac CTS.

If you've followed this blog, you know that I have extremely particular tastes. I've often wondered if I'll ever reach outside the Volkswagen/Audi family, let alone outside of the Germans. But this experience was top notch. I drove down to LA in the lap of luxury. The car had a navigation system that didn't have a lawyer present when you turn on the car (there's nothing I hate more than repeated unnecessary actions when it comes to electronics). And the voice coming from the nav system was so pleasant, at times the woman's voice sounded almost...plaintive, but wonderfully so. It had an iPod hookup in which the iPod was not only controlled by the stereo, but the nav screen displayed playlist, song and artist names, rather than just numbering everything and making you guess. It had heated and cooled seats. It had an auto lane change blinker (blinks thrice with one tap--okay, I know I like stupid little shit).

I just read a column by David E. Davis in Winding Road about the fact that the automotive press in this country fails to promote its home country's industry the way they do in every other country. I do take issue with the assertion that our press should have an agenda to push (okay, they've got a financial agenda, but they try to keep that out of sight, and that's the way I like it). But if you agree with David E., you have to at least admit that the American manufacturers have been struggling to do it right for quite a while, not leaving the press with much to crow about. I've asserted for the past few years that GM seems to be on the right track (product-wise...I'm not so sure about financially), and for me, this drive was proof that they've passed the tipping point. Congrats, GM.

Now if you can get to the point where I actually buy one of your cars, rather than just proclaiming that I would, you'd be on a roll!

It's SHOtime

2008-04-17T13:49:00.003-05:00

A spy shot of the next Taurus has emerged, and that car will be much more dynamic looking than the current model. There's word that Ford will also be using a version of its EcoBoost engine, which would be competitive with entries like the 300C and Pontiac G8 GT. If Ford is still tossing around names for this hi-po version, it's clear that they should resurrect the SHO name. Then, they should get the most famous Taurus owner, Conan O'Brien, to endorse it.

The Blue Devil

2008-04-16T12:14:00.004-05:00

Well, I finally got some shots of my car just the way I want it, with the right front plate (okay, i'm still waiting for VW to replace my front bumper with one without a plate bracket), and my new wheels. Without further ado, I present the Blue Devil.

Mmmm...Blue Kool-Aid

2008-04-15T23:11:00.009-05:00

I just read something that really disturbed me. Jim Farley, who came from Toyota to head up Ford's marketing, has apparently been fully assimilated into Ford's groupthink atmosphere. He stated with utmost confidence that Ford will be able to sell 100,000 Flexes per year. Should that happen (without $10,000 on the hood of each one) I'll obligingly pick my tastiest hat to devour.

This weird-looking weiner dog of a vehicle will appeal to some, but will permanently settle into niche-land as soon as all the me-firsts are done grabbing it up to apply faux-wood contact paper to the sides. And since Farley told the press that this is Ford's production goal for the vehicle, it looks like Ford is either going to have to scramble to rearrange the production that fills that factory, or cut a deal with Chrysler to share the lots where they were holding all their unsold Commanders.

Further along in the little snippet from Automotive News he mentions "the natural traffic historically generated by Ford's Explorer and Expedition SUVs." Ford basically killed off those two models with their recent do-nothing redesigns, meaning those trucks are going to draw in about as many interested buyers as a new Isuzu.

Probably the worst part of all this is that all this talk sounds so familiar. Whenever people at the agency would talk about why a Ford launch was going to go so well, they'd harp on old successes. The Explorer was gonna sell like hotcakes, because Ford was a powerhouse in the SUV market and people trust the Explorer name. The new F-150 will go gangbusters, cause no one can challenge Ford on trucks. Sorry, Ford, but you can't keep expecting the same customers to keep coming back to you. You've gotta keep up with the latest trends in the industry--especially when it comes to styling--and not trust that everyone's going to fall for an overgrown station wagon because it's got the same badge as the former king of SUVs.

Jim, you're better that this. Don't just repeat what the brand managers and agency tell you. Come back to reality. We miss you.

Pot Luck

2008-04-09T10:00:00.003-05:00

In case you don't live in the great state of Michigan, you can get a better idea of how ridiculous our pothole situation is with this Autoblog post. I'd lament the fact that I didn't know about the contest so I could enter my "favorite" potholes, but these put mine to shame.

Diesels!!!

2008-03-31T12:37:00.004-05:00

Check out this video in which writers at the Times Online pit a Toyota Prius against a diesel-powered BMW 520d. Now go buy a diesel.

Pimp My Credit!

2008-03-27T16:22:00.000-05:00

I couldn't NOT post this:

The Bell Tolls for Mercury

2008-03-26T14:02:00.007-05:00

While Autoblog fairly recently posted that Ford is not ready to give up on Mercury, it seems the rumors of the brand's survival have been greatly exaggerated. In the very same post, AB laments the lack of future product headed to the showrooms of Ford's ugly stepchild brand. The truth is that Ford is likely just paying Mercury lip service to keep the dealers happy--no one wants to see the bottom fall out suddenly for Mercury stores before Ford can execute an exit strategy--while quietly phasing out all semblance of a product plan.

I have it on pretty good authority that this phase-out will be complete after the 2011 or 2012 model year.

It might have made sense for Ford to take my advice regarding the brand, and bring over Euro products as Saturn is doing. But this didn't work for Merkur, so Ford can be forgiven for declining this course of action. The fact is that even VW is planing to create a unique lineup to serve the lower-cost US market, and that's a brand that has spent years building its German-engineered rep.

Saturn is still a grand experiment, and clearly by the time we find out whether it works, Mercury will be dead and buried. For now, let's just have a moment of silence for what might have been.

Stupid People --> Traffic

2008-03-21T11:41:00.003-05:00

Well, there it is, folks. The traffic jam shockwave theory finally put to the test. The real cause of traffic jams is stupid people, AKA bad drivers. This is readily apparent when driving in and around the LA area. But maybe now we can finally start weeding these people off the road.

The Gauntlet

2008-03-10T14:22:00.006-05:00

My car has 18" wheels wrapped in low-profile tires. Consequently potholes are not my friend. Take a look at the road I have to traverse to get to 7 Mile from my apartment. This is Silver Spring Rd. in Northville, a city which should be ashamed of itself. The road has gotten progressively worse over the winter, to the point where it is nearly impassible for a car like mine without using the other side of the road.

There are many factors cited for the state of Michigan's inability to attract and retain citizens, which has contributed to its economic stagnation. For auto enthusiasts, though, it has to be the awful state of the roads in this area that makes this such an unattractive place to live...ironic considering the industry which singlehandedly supports most of the state economy. Come on, Michigan, let's get our act together...especially you, Northville.

Detroit Muscle

2008-03-07T13:48:00.003-05:00

This video clip brought a tear to my eye. Representatives from all three domestic manufacturers came together to get a stuck semi out of a ditch. Just shows what this country (and its rednecks) can do when it puts its back into it.

A Lost Cause

2008-03-06T17:40:00.003-05:00

Most of the cars that I've gotten to drive while out in Cali have had navigation systems in them. I must say, none of these systems is worth a damn. The nav program on my phone, with its tiny little screen, is easier to use (albeit less reliable) than any of these car-based systems. For this reason--and the fact that you have to push that damn "accept" button on the screen every time you turn on the car, even if you're not using the nav system--I won't be buying a car with a nav system any time soon.

I think it's about time that a major car magazine did a thorough comparison of nav systems by auto brand. Then, perhaps, we might decide on an established industry standard for the best navigation system that all other companies can try to take on. I think I'll write an email to all of them imploring them to take on this issue.

A dozen years...1 mph

2008-03-06T14:31:00.003-05:00

I was just watching a History Channel show on the fastest vehicles on earth. They started with cars, and progressed to trains, boats, etc. Anyway, I watched the first segment with rapt enthusiasm as they recounted the history of speed in cars, going from Karl Benz's first car at 13 mph, to Ford's Model T at around 45 mph, and on through cars that went successively up to 90, past 100, past 200 and finally to 240 mph for the McLaren F1 in 1995.

The segment was highly focused on one car in particular, though, the Koenigsegg CCX. They covered its carbon fiber construction and what was claimed to be the most powerful production engine around, at 806 hp (hello, haven't they heard of the Bugatti Veyron, at 1001 hp?). And then they told of the amazing record-breaking speed run that the CCX made, in which the car rushed right up to 240 mph, and then "broke through" to a record-breaking...wait for it...241 mph!!! Are you kidding me? Why even bother? Koenigsegg's own website proclaims that the CCX is capable of exceeding 245 mph. If this was the case, why not do it for the show? What a letdown! I thought it was gonna hit 250 for sure.

Well, I guess it's just a testament to the amazing ahead-of-their-time prowess of the McLaren team that built the F1.

My Double Life

2008-02-24T13:59:00.003-05:00

I often happen upon thoughts that, while inane, do not chance to be about cars (yes, hard to believe, but true). While I've wanted to blog about them, this just didn't seem the appropriate forum. Well, I've now been honored with an invitation to blog on The Original Frozen Banana Stand. This is a small group of my soccer-playing buddies who happen to have as much inanity rolling around in their heads as I. For those of you who don't get the reference, suffice to say they're a bit obsessed with the show Arrested Development.

I haven't yet contributed, but I'm looking forward to finally having an outlet for the non-automotive randomness that I regularly ponder. Check it out.

Attn: Europhiles

2008-02-23T13:21:00.002-05:00

A while ago, I posted about my grand plan for Mercury, and subsequently a bit about the American auto market, to explain why this seemingly obvious course of action hasn't yet been undertaken. As I mentioned, GM is taking this route with Saturn, and the outcome is anything but certain. Here's an interesting column from the Wall Street Journal about the new Astra, and why a quintessentially European small car may have trouble winning over American consumers.

Think Green, Run From Yellow

2008-02-21T21:19:00.001-05:00

Whoa: http://www.autoblog.com/2008/02/21/science-magazine-declares-ethanol-worse-for-the-earth-than-fossi/

Movie Magic

2008-02-19T00:30:00.004-05:00

I just finished watching Away From Her, which was quite a good movie. There was one part, however, which drove me nuts. I'm sure that it's only me--and maybe a handful of car-obsessed people--but during the scenes in which Grant was "driving" his F-150, without fail the steering wheel would be cocked in a completely random direction while the scenery passed straight back.

I'll give the movie industry credit, the scenery now looks completely real as it passes beyond the windows. My mom, who couldn't give a half a damn about cars, noticed nothing. But the steering wheel issue was really distracting to me. C'mon people, is it really that hard to get that right? It also strikes me as odd that a decent actor, which the guy playing Grant most certainly was, wouldn't protest that something was wrong as he's sitting there doing an entire scene with the wheel cocked a full 270 degrees. I thought actors were supposed to interact with their environment as if it's reality. Hasn't this guy ever driven a car before? Is something not askew when the Ford oval is sideways while you're casually talking to your passenger?

Okay, so by this point, most readers are thinking, "Get a life, dude." But when you consider that studios are always looking to put that extra touch of realism into their productions, this is such as easy way. Hmm, I wonder if it's cause the movie was made by Canadians...

Knight Rider: A Bit Much

2008-02-17T21:24:00.003-05:00

I'm watching the Knight Rider movie right now, and we're in the process of the first chase scene. If you watched it, you may have noticed that every fuckin car is a Ford product. I might've been a bit more excited about that when I was helping make Ford ads, but come on, it's complete overkill. They even used Volvos, Mazdas and Land Rovers.

Ooh, they just used the nanotechnology to change the look of the car on the fly!

Anyway, one final note: in the interior of the car, they have racing seats, but apparently they needed to find ones that lacked headrests. You know...for rear angle passenger shots. It makes the interior look slightly lame.

Okay, back to the show for me.