Hunter S. Thompson's early work is his best. No, I mean his really early writing, before the inventor of Gonzo Journalism reported on– and then succumbed to– fear and loathing in Las Vegas. Back when Thompson wrote for The National Observer, Esquire, The New York Times magazine and other highbrow literary publications, the former USAF Airman was a wry observer of political, economic and moral corruption. And man, the guy could write. Hells Angels: The Strange and Terrible Story of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs was Thompson's greatest work, as passionate and informed a piece of non-fiction writing as you'll ever read. From there, Thompson lost focus. Well, "Dr. Gonzo" became the focus. And that's exactly what happened to the domestic automakers' upper management. At some point, they stopped worrying about building great automobiles and started thinking about… themselves. Their priorities shifted from cars to car-eers. And today's bad news is the result. Just as Thompson reported on the zenith of the hippie culture in San Fransisco, TTAC has born witness to the fall of Detroit. It ain't over yet. But the end is in sight. And it is truly terrifying. As Thompson isn't here to report on this epic tragi-comedy, we will do so in his name.
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The fear is in Detroit; the loathing is in their showrooms.
Er, ah…. Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’73 is his magnum opus.
Which I’m pretty sure means, “Best thing he wrote.”
On the Volt as savior…
How long does GM have? Even if the Volt arrives on schedule (see Camaro project for odds on that), Lutz has said they won’t make money on the car for years. Apparently they plan to ramp it pretty slowly, too. I don’t have a primary source but I hear the plan is negligible output in 2010, minimal output in 2011 and a serious ramp sometime in 2012.
Will GM last long enough for the Volt to save them? Even if it sells well and at good margins?
And there’s still strong rumors that the Volt won’t be inexpensive… or even affordable. Lutz, twice, said $40K and then was quoted at $48K (but less with a tax break or subsidy) and later denied it but declined to say what the price would be. Wagoner was recently reported at $30K but later denied it (and it was weasel-worded, anyway, “want to… $30K”) but declined to say what the price would be. Without significant Federal help, I think we’re looking at a Volt that will be $40K. That might be the price WITH Federal help.
It’s going to go up against a $23K Prius that merely gets 50mpg – but who’s not going to like 50mpg over whatever they’re driving today?
GM does not seem to understand the marketplace. I see products made by Chevrolet, Buick and Saturn that look almost exactly alike. Of course the same is true of the gazillions of boring Toyota Camry’s, somewhat more exiting Nissan Altimas and a host of look-a-likes out there. Chrysler has an interesting looking product line but their quality is disgusting. I was looking at a Ford Focus today and was impressed by the quality and the interior space it offered (no, I did not test drive it)
The main point I wanted to address: Is there any blog or site that addresses the virtues of the steam car? Anyway you look at it, steam had the potential to be viable in early auto history. The Doble and even the Stanley could travel longer distances in 1920 than the current electric based cars. They could be fueled by anything that would burn. Is anybody with me on this line of thought?
“Will GM last long enough for the Volt to save them? Even if it sells well and at good margins?”
No way. Until someone in GM realizes that their only hope is to support Chevrolet and Cadillac exclusively then there is no hope for them. I feel very bad for the many employees who are caught going down with the ship, but the Captains have made so many errors that there is now little hope.
VW had a subsidiary Enginion which was pushing the idea of a modern steam engine in the late 1990s, bu the project folded up. From time to time I read about individual enthusiasts trying to modernize the steam engine, but it hasn’t gotten to critical mass. Bruce Crower has been trying to popularize a six cycle engine which uses a steam cycle to convert waste heat into another power stroke:
http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060227/FREE/302270007/1023/THISWEEKSISSUE
“With the right kind of eyes, you can almost see the high-water mark – the place where the wave broke and rolled back.”
~ Hunter S Thompson
This is one of those instances where I think it would have been beneficial for the podcast to go on for at least 15 minutes.
03/06/2008 was an utter bloodbath for Detroit. Hummer gets the rug pulled from under it, Toyota posted flat sales overall & Honda posted gains, the F-150 is finally supplanted by Corolla, Camry & Civic and Jaguar posted gains.
You can’t give all that a fair analysis in 10 minutes.
4 Billion for not having to buy FIAT…?
I thought it was something like 1,5-2 Billion. Don’t know if it was Euros or Dollars but at that point that didn’t make a difference really.
Still a lot of money to pay only to not buy a company that turned out to be quite capable of creating good cars that sell at a profit on its own, and is now planning on entering the US market once more and will therefore be stealing some of your own market share…
What a great decision that was…I bet those Italians are still laughing right now.
I think it all started when Alfred Sloan’s managment style won out over Henry Ford’s welfare capitalism.
I have to agree….Fear and Loathing on the campaign trail 1973…..Best book…
Damn you, Robert Farago, get out of my head!
[u]Hell’s Angels[/u] was indeed Thompson’s best book and for exactly the reason you described: Because starting with Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Thompson became the story he was writing about. His writing became self-obsessed, self-indulgent and, by the end of his career, self-pitying.
HST is the classic example of someone who peaked early and then spent the rest of his career in a futile attempt to live up to the standard he set with his early work. Which, as you pointed out, is a good metaphor for Detroit as well.
I’ll take HST’s bad writing over most of the pablum out nowadays.
Self indulgent maybe, but Dr. Gonzo was far more interesting than most of his subjects. Like a crazy uncle, sometimes you just had to accept him.
Mr. Leiberman –
How could you not recommend the Civic to your sister? It’s the perfect car for that – chances are exellent that it will perform reliably and economically and hold its resale very well compared to the competition.
If anything goes wrong, you can point to the fact that virtually every resource and magazine (CR, CD, etc.) called it a smart choice.
If you convince her to buy the WRX, it doesn’t matter how much fun it is, when something goes wrong, you’re responsible, no matter how silly that may seem.