Back in ’98, the BBC aired a fly-on-the-wall documentary series called “Back to the Floor.” A camera crew followed five British bosses who left the relative safety of the executive suite for a week's labor with downtrodden workers at the sharp end. When the show migrated to America’s PBS, it lacked the undercurrent of class warfare that gave Auntie Beeb’s original its zing. When Ford CEO Alan Mulally recently revived this scenario by playing car salesman, the results were equally dire.

Once I crossed the line, once I became a fifteen year-old driving addict, there was no turning back. Nothing could stop me from using my drug of choice. Like most addicts, I was willing to cross any line to get my fix. If my supply was cut off, I found another. Needless to say this is not my auto-biography’s most innocent chapter.

As Detroit slips into a quagmire of its own creation, The Big 2.5 are busy flexing rapidly wasting political muscles. On Tuesday, the top brass met with President Bush to forestall discuss plans for greater fuel efficiency. The next day, Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) introduced The Japanese Currency Act. Like her Motown home boys, Stabenow claims the Japanese government is manipulating their exchange rate to provide an inherent– and inherently unfair– “discount” over American-made products. Uh, I don’t think so.

Riding in a golf cart to the nether regions of a dealership lot, an aging salesman explained his selling strategy. “Chryslers appeal to either male or female buyers,” he declared through nicotine-stained teeth. “Take the Compass. That’s for the ladies. The Wrangler? Boys’ toy.” As our EV reaches the 2008 Avenger, it's clear that the latest entry in The Dodge Boys' lineup is no purple Barbie Sport Convertible. But does The Avenger deliver the goods, or is “he” an impotent superhero look alike?

While the United Auto Workers (UAW) were busy plotting their future, The Detroit News ran a Cyber Survey. “Have UAW members given up enough or should auto makers expect more concessions?” As of the time I’m putting electrons to pixels, only 26 percent of the respondents agreed with the ungrammatical assertion “there’s been enough concessions.” The other 74 percent voted that the “UAW needs to make more concessions.” It’s not too promising when the home town crowd starts turning against you. But does it really matter?

Most of the guys I know have 93 octane racing through their veins. But I’ve also met more than a few women who have a need for speed, who lust after the fast and the furious, who live from one clichéd car movie moment to the next. So is a pistonhead born or made? Is it nurture or nitrous? While there’s no doubt that high testosterone levels help create (if not prolong the lifespan of) an automotive enthusiast, there’s more to motor mania than what you’re packing in your genes.

In 2002, GM reinvented Cadillac. The brand’s edgy new “Arts and Science” look reflected a clean break with the sagging fortunes of the former “Standard of the World.” Unlike Ford, which consigned its Lincoln brand to badge-engineered boredom, GM declared its determination to re-establish Cadillac’s lost luster. The world’s largest automaker’s premium brand unleashed a raft of new products, a last-ditch, all-out fight against the relentless erosion of its large luxury car business. A five year report card is overdue. First, a quick recap…

A commentator named Peakay recently posed a pointed question: “Do you guys like anything?” While there are plenty of positive reviews hereabouts, I understand Peakey’s frustration. When ttac.com publishes a rash of reviews describing nasty looking, badly built, dynamically dim-witted vehicles, the negativity eats away at this car lover’s soul. Which made the prospect of reviewing the Cadillac XLR-V a daunting proposition. I really wanted to like this car.

By the end of the year, America’s automotive landscape will have changed dramatically. Chrysler Group will have new owners with new ideas (including, perhaps, dissection). Ford may or may not be in Chapter 11. General Motors’ fate is equally unclear. One big gas price spike and it’s all over bar the filing. And then there’s the United Auto Workers (UAW). This is the year the UAW renegotiates its contracts with The Big 2.5. If the union digs in its proverbial heels to maintain the status quo, Detroit’s doom will be delayed, but not prevented. As will their own.

“A potent, new, 500-hp engine that uses less fuel.” While the newly refurbished Porsche Cayenne Turbo offers well-heeled buyers many delights, you wouldn't think fuel efficiency was the first amongst them. Yet Porsche’s print ads for the off-roader are touting their uber-SUV’s improved frugality, positioning the machine as a fun-to-drive grocery-getter for, gulp, environmentally conscious consumers. If Porsche were alone in this misplaced appeal to green values, it could be dismissed as aberrant lunacy. But they’re not so it can’t.

Tesla Motors says it's taken 350 deposits for their Lotus Elise-based, lithium ion-propelled, $92k Roadster. Despite this success, Tesla's hyper-exotic may offer more hype than hope. The company won't allow expert evaluation of their product until it's "ready for market." Even before they've delivered a single Roadster, they're promising two additional, mass market electric vehicles– whose enabling technology is, at best, under-developed. Meanwhile, they've raised $60m in venture capital and secured $20m in state subsidies to build a New Mexican factory. To find out if the Tesla Roadster is keeping it real for planet Earth, or DeLorean/Tucker redux, we sent our man Shoemaker to Tesla for a "test drive."

[Cue organ music] Welcome to this week’s installment of “That’s the Way the Daimler Benz!” When we last we left our hapless heroine, little Chrissie Chrysler, the not-so-sprightly maiden was tied to the railroad tracks. The fiendish Dr Z stood nearby, twirling his mustache, laughing maniacally as he mentally explored the options for disposing of Chrissie’s family farm. Will this be the end of our plucky paladin? Or will a courageous cowboy arrive to save Chrissie in the nick of time? Join us as we anxiously await little Chrissie’s final fate. [Fade organ music]

After months of testing, teasing, politics and drama, Formula One’s 2007 season has finally sailed past the green flag. If last weekend’s thunder down under is any indication, the 2007 season may (or may not) provide a radical change from the increasing (not to say relentless) routine of F1 seasons past. There are new drivers driving new cars for new teams, and “old” drivers driving new cars for new teams. And thanks to rule changes, F1 racing technology has also altered in several important ways. Here’s the inside dope:

The Truth About Cars (TTAC) has consistently criticized domestic automakers for some pretty basic mistakes: lack of focus, glacial product cycles, bland design and poor customer communications. I would be a hypocrite if I didn’t admit that this website suffers from these problems. But it is my full intention to address ALL of these challenges, so that we can keep faith with our basic brand promise. So, here’s where we’ve screwed-up and here’s what we’re going to do about it. Provided, that is, you agree.

In 1965, my family moved to Baltimore. From my seventh-grade perspective, it sucked. Iowa City was friendly, open-minded, cosmopolitan and relaxed. Towson was cold, prejudiced, provincial and uptight. I soon learned to loathe everything about Maryland– except crab cakes, soul music and the eastern shore. I became a rebel with a cause: driving.

My official driving license was still years away. I mourned the loss of my hot-rodding neighbors, friendly dealerships and farm vehicles. I withdrew into an inner auto-life. I spent long afternoons at the drug store reading car magazines cover to cover, ignoring the pharmacist’s reproachful gaze. I left everything from Hot Rod to Sports Car Graphic shop-worn.