Deutschland, Part 8

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.