Recent Added Posts
The 2010 Subaru Outback 2.5i Limited, an AW Drivers Log:
COPY EDITOR CYNTHIA L. OROSCO: This Outback served us well for transporting family over the weekend. Everyone was comfortable and warm and we didnand#8217;t have to drive separately.
2010 Dodge Journey R/T, an AW Drivers Log:
EXECUTIVE EDITOR ROGER HART: I haven’t seen an option list this long in quite some time. Wow! With all of the electronic goodies, I’m somewhat amazed that the sticker was less than $34,000.
My New Favorite Sport: "Toyota Half-Pipe"
Most Americans are now seized by the “Devil Toyota” panic rampaging across this vast, enlightened nation of ours. Not me. I’m watching all this nonsense from the sidelines, popcorn bowl at hand. TV hasn’t been this entertaining since the O.J. trial — the first one.
Rather than attempt to explain how seemingly rational, intelligent humans can transform a mere automotive recall into a pandemic of four-wheeled Avian Flu, I’ve decided to make the best of the situation. Hey, at the Vancouver Olympics gold-medal snowboarder Shaun White performed unbelievable jumps, flips, spins, and the Double McTwist — just like today’s Toyotas! I see a new sport here!
Here’s a look at some recent standout entries from my new favorite athletic pursuit, Toyota Half-Pipe:
–Woman drives her 2009 Toyota Corolla out of her driveway, clear across the street, and through the front door of her neighbor’s Atlanta house. “She had her foot on the brake the whole time, and the car just kept on going, and next thing you know it hit the house and bam!” said the unfortunate homeowner, who did not actually witness his neighbor’s run accident.
Judges’ Scores, 1 through 10 (higher is better)
Originality: 6. Smashing into houses in itself is derivative, but said Corolla driver ingeniously chose an abode that had just been put up for sale.
Authenticity: 9. “I thought it was a movie,” said a friend of the driver’s. Nothing is more authentic than a movie.
Execution: 8. Brilliant marksmanship — right through the front door! Bonus points granted thanks to crack forensics team at CBS Atlanta News, which checked Corolla’s VIN number and discovered “It’s been recalled because of a possible problem with the accelerator.”
Medal: Lead. Just like the pressure applied to Corolla’s accelerator.
–Woman crashes into Pennsylvania laundromat. The 68-year-old driver of a 2007 Camry was “trying to put the vehicle in park when she says it just lurched forward and smashed into the Melody Cleaners.”
“I just felt sorry for the lady, but it wasn’t her fault,” said the laundromat’s owner.
Judges’ Scores
Originality: 5. The car-through-plate-glass thing fell on deaf judging ears, though the resulting foam party raised the points total slightly.
Authenticity: 4. Impressive broken glass, rubble, and dented industrial dryers, though low points for degree of difficulty.
Execution: 7. Admiration and applause for temporary halt to public exposure of jock straps and man-thongs.
Medal: Linoleum.
–86-year-old man says accelerator on his 2009 Camry became stuck, causing him to crash into the steps of his synagogue in Queens, New York. Along the way, hit two parked cars, flew over bushes, and narrowly missed bystanders.
Judges’ Scores
Originality: 8. Judges impressed by novel use of “place of worship” instead of conventional “convenience store.”
Authenticity: 3. Major deductions for near-absolute score on “age/crash” index.
Execution: 5. Flattened bushes poor substitute for burning bushes.
Medal: None. Israeli and Palestinian judges removed from panel following food fight.
–Southern California realtor can’t stop his raging Toyota Prius from barreling down Interstate 8 near San Diego at 90 mph — even with the brakes full on. Said the Olympic hopeful after the incident: “It was accelerating out of control. Period.”
Fortunately, thanks to some brilliant stunt work by the California Highway Patrol, after 30-40 miles the Prius eventually came to a safe stop.
Judges’ Scores
Originality: 4. Major points deducted for calling 911 mid-incident (sorry, seen that one before).
Authenticity: 3. Stinky, melted brakes aren’t proof that you couldn’t stop — more likely you’re a two-footer (see also “God’s Waiting Room Syndrome”).
Execution: 2. Major points deducted for having a 911 operator tell you to “turn off the ignition” and “put the car in neutral” but failing to do so for up to 40 miles.
Medal: Gold. Despite low points total, judges award most coveted accolade in the sport after driver reports he didn’t shift to neutral because “I thought the car would flip.”
Sixty Minutes with GM’s Mark Reuss
General Motors North American President Mark Reuss is making a habit of conducting regular web chats at gmreinvention.com. Having recently returned from a gig running the Australian Holden operations, he’s been quickly moving up the corporate ladder since last summer’s bankruptcy, and has impressed chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre with his hand’s-on approach to calling disgruntled customers. With Bob Lutz about to retire, Reuss is now GM’s chief car guy.
When one has that much contact with consumers, the automotive press and bloggers, the amount of real news from any given chat makes up a small percentage of time spent online — in this case, 60 minutes. And it’s hard not to blow out of proportion some of Reuss’ comments.
For example, in response to a question about the dead Pontiac division, Reuss seemed to be on the side of Lutz, who wanted to retain it as a tiny “niche” brand based solely on the G8. Reuss said the decision to completely kill off Pontiac came during bankruptcy.
“I would never say we would NEVER talk about Pontiac again (his emphasis). But, we need to pay back U.S. taxpayers too…and go public. And make money. And make Americans proud of who we are again. Any other focus would be wrong.”
I agree, especially with the last part. While I grew up with Pontiacs, Oldsmobiles and Buicks in the ’60s, it’s pretty obvious that the U.S. market has been unable to accommodate so many middle brands with such minor distinctions since the ’80s, at the latest. When Bunkie Knudsen was promoted to Pontiac general manager in the ’50s, he was told to make it relevant, or kill it off. He made it relevant by making it sporty and youthful, while going upmarket with cars like the Bonneville and Catalina Grand Prix, encroaching on Oldsmobile’s territory in an era in which GM had such high market share that its divisions competed with each other instead of Ford, Chrysler and AMC.
There’s no room for that today, and there’s no room for a Pontiac in the future.
For saving Pontiac, Knudsen was promoted to general manager of Chevrolet. His Super Sport models, beginning in 1961, went after Pontiac’s now-sporty cars, just as Pontiac attacked Olds. Fact is, there is nothing a modern Pontiac could do that wouldn’t prompt loyal Chevrolet buyers and their dealerships to say, “we want that.” Anything Pontiac could have done in the next five years could be a Chevy SS. Consider how you’re all waiting for Chevy to build a civilian Caprice or Impala off of the RWD Zeta Pontiac G8.
And that still may happen: when a web chatter named Pete asked whether a Zeta RWD sedan is “still moving forward,” Reuss responded, “quite possibly, Pete.”
I asked whether last week’s reorganization of GM and its divisions’ sales and marketing executives — punctuated by Cadillac General Manager Bryan Nesbitt returning to the design department — means that divisions now have less power in determining their model lineups, Reuss responded that the opposite is true.
“Previously, a small point but a large topic on the reorganization would indicate we had no North American planning in my organization — it was done centrally. So, to correct this I appointed Mary Sipes to do North American planning and fully integrate — next to the dealers and customers — planning by division.”
In other words, product planning was so centralized before the reorganization that North American product planning had no control of it. After the reorg, it starts with Reuss and Sipes with more involvement by the four individual brands, though it obviously never again be like the pre-Roger Smith days of divisional independence, when Chevy, Pontiac, Olds, Buick and Cadillac each designed their own engines. But with just four North American divisions from eight earlier last year, GM has things under much better control. Competition between Chevrolet and Buick-GMC dealers ought to be minimal.
Finally, one more interesting tidbit, from a question about GM’s bland paint colors. Reuss says Chevrolet will soon offer Atomic green, as previewed by a custom paint job at last November’s SEMA show, on the Camaro. Reuss likes the more colorful palette he saw at Holden, and is letting exterior design chief Mike Simcoe, an Aussie, “lead the charge” on more colorful paint for GM cars and trucks. He can start with the all-silver Cadillac displays I saw at the Chicago and Geneva motor shows.
The 2010 Mazda 3 i Four-Door Touring, an AW Drivers Log:
SENIOR WEB REPORTER GREG MIGLIORE: Dollar for dollar, pound for pound, I think this is one of the best cars on the market. If you like to drive, you will like this car.
Wanted: Your Barnfinds and Classics
MOTOR TREND CLASSIC has returned. And with it comes coverage of “your Classics” and great barn finds from around the world.
Please send us photos and a brief description of your old car. Not really looking for hot rods and street rods here. We take wide definition of “classic” but the less modified the better, but it can be a well-patina’d weekend toy, the mos important facto is coolness.
Please email your words and a medium to high res photo to me at Classic@motortrend.com
Also need great barn find stories and pix too. Send ‘em to the same address.
MTC will be a high quality, large format magazine available at select newsstands. Or you can pre-order your issues at https://www.circsource.com/store/Subscribe.html?offerId=3896. Its expensive, but its our belief that all premium print products will be in time.
2010 Ford Taurus SHO, an AW Drivers Log:
EDITOR WES RAYNAL: I think Ford might be just a little high on the sticker price, but this is a good driver. It looks good, too. It’s sophisticated, subtle, a big car, but subtle still.
2010 Kia Forte Koup SX, an AW Drivers Log:
ASSOCIATE EDITOR JONATHAN WONG: If you were to ask for my suggestion on which affordable, semi-sporty two-door coupe you should buy, I would always spit out the Honda Civic as a response.
2011 Volkswagen Touareg, an AW Flash Drive:
What is it?
