In a speech in Cape Town, South Africa, Robert F. Kennedy put a phrase into common usage by declaring "There is a Chinese curse which says, ‘May you live in interesting times.’" Lexicographers now say Kennedy made it up. But if it was true, you could argue that Toyota’s been cursed. While critics focus on the automaker’s recent experiences with recalls, leaked memos, NASCAR additives and misleading ads, pickup trucks are where things are starting to get scary.

In a recent study of new vehicle owners, Ford products came second in "overall initial vehicle quality." According to Ford's PR release, Honda took the top slot, while Toyota and Nissan tied Ford for second (although Toyota actually beat Ford by three points). Yes, well, it turns out The Glass House Gang paid for the report, which mirrors the format of J.D. Power's Initial Quality Survey (IQS) without reproducing the results. Last year, JD's mob ranked Ford fifteenth in Initial Quality, one place beneath the industry average, nine places behind Honda and eleven places behind Toyota. Anyway, who cares?

Yesterday, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez did something unusual: backpedal. The South American Bush basher “clarified” his opposition to an agreement between the U.S. and Brazil to promote ethanol production. Chavez claimed he objected to the development of corn-based ethanol– not Brazilian sugar cane-based ethanol. Echoing last month’s interminable diatribe by Fidel Castro, Chavez condemned America’s energy policy, declaring that "taking corn away from people and the food chain to feed automobiles is a terrible thing."

CUV’s are nothing more than oversized station wagons on stilts. If you think about it– and not many American motorists have– CUV’s don’t work like a truck OR handle like a car. I wouldn’t say they’re the worst of both worlds, but others have. In fact, the modern CUV may just be a marketing-driven gimmick designed to take one last shot at emigrating gas guzzlers before they get down from their perch and do something really sensible, like buy a car. No wonder Mitsubishi’s website says the Outlander doesn’t like labels any more than I do.

Fifty years ago, GM's engineers and designers worked overtime to create a radical new economy or "compact" car. Its mission: take on the VW Beetle and a host of European imports flooding the U.S. market. The 1960 Chevrolet Corvair flopped in its intended role. Nevertheless, it went on to become one of the single most influential American cars ever made. Its legacy can still be seen around the world.

Every year over ten million vehicles pass through U.S. auto dealer auctions. This decades old free market has always been dependent on you, the consumer. Dealers will bid up those models that are popular with buyers, while those with a limited audience are stuck in what’s commonly called ‘wholesale heaven’. This is a place where thousands of unappreciated and unloved models go until the market dictates otherwise. Over the course of time, consumers dictates the winners… and the losers.

Beware the Ides of March! OK, relax. The sales figures are in for Julius Caesar’s final month. While it's hard to find new ways to say "GM, Ford and Chrysler sales are sinking while Toyota's eating their lunch" month after month, it’s not impossible. How about this: The Big 2.5 look more and more like Lawrence Edward Grace Oates (to Toyota’s Roald Amundsen). “I am just downsizing and may be gone for some time.” Anyway, the more things change, the more they change the same.

If Toyota is the new GM, Kia is the new Toyota. After establishing a U.S. beachhead with price-oriented products, the Korean automaker has gradually expanded its reach by replacing its penalty boxes with vehicles sporting upmarket features and class-leading safety, while maintaining the brand's value promise. The Rondo is yet another example of the kind of mass market machine The Big 2.5 should be building, but isn't.    

Someday you’ll boast “I read TTAC before reading TTAC was cool.” Back when the website looked like a parked URL site. When reviewers had to pretend to be new car buyers. When the TTAC’s “take no prisoners” editorial stance was diss-missed as AWAKitude (Anyone With A Keyboard). Back before the site threw auto show Bacchanalia for its loyal readers paid for by firewalled advertising, branded merchandise and TTAC Buyer’s Club car sales. Rewind to now and you’ve got some work to do. Yes, you.

On a sunny February morning I left my family behind, hitchhiking west out of Baltimore. By Ohio I was barreling through a night-time blizzard in the cab of a semi. I reached Iowa the following morning. It was ten degrees; I needed to stop and warm up. California would have to wait.

Word, Excel, Acrobat Reader, Photoshop, Powerpoint… The computer programs you depend on are filled with bloat: unused features that hog your hard disk, crowd the CPU and drain your laptop’s battery– without adding to the action on the screen. Ditto SUVs. They are extraordinarily capable vehicles whose unused features guzzle gas, add weight and drain oil from the ground. In both cases, slimming down has few downsides– save the psychological. And therein lies the tale. 

The last generation Audi TT had more show than go. The German roadster’s dynamics were tarnished by massive turbo lag, an over-eager paddle shift gearbox and an entirely flappable suspension. In fact, the TT’s iconic exterior design and interior quality were its only saving graces. Now that TT 2.0 has arrived, and a decent enough amount of time has passed since Hugh Grant’s loathsome character drove a TT in “About a Boy," is Audi finally ready for a little Boxster bashing? Yes and no.

Once upon a time, a loafer-wearing businessman buried the front end of his rented Oldsmobile in a dune on the barren southwestern point of Galveston Island. I retrieved my Jeep Liberty and drove it to the Olds across a sea of tidal dunes carved into the coast like three foot swells; the Liberty loped from crest to crest in a spray of sand. Within minutes, I dug out enough of the Olds’ front bumper to affix a strap and pull the trapped car onto smooth packed beach. So how does this Jeep lover rate the prospects for the new 2008 Jeep Liberty? D.O.A.

"It was at the point where if you extrapolated that trend line out, you could see where that trend line hit the ground.” No, GM Car Czar “Maximum” Bob Lutz wasn’t referring to his employer or a bad flight in his L39 Albatros combat jet. Maximum Bob was reflecting on his infamous “damaged brand” assessment of Buick and Pontiac at the ’05 New York auto show. So how’s tricks? "They're still not where we'd like them to be,” Lutz told the Detroit Free Press, “but the vital signs have at least turned up.” In other words, they’ve gone from flatline to comatose. Nice one Bob.

Time and time again, automakers flush with cash decide to grow their business by expanding their model lineup. Which is a bit like trying to improve a gourmet meal by adding more menu choices. That’s not to say brand extensions can’t be done, and done well. Volvo’s XC SUV’s were a logical and successful addition to the company’s safety-themed vehicles. But a performance tuned Volvo station wagon or sedan? Uh, no. At long last, the company has reached the same conclusion— for all the wrong reasons.