Six years ago, social commentator David Brooks published his book Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There. Brooks’ explained how the countercultural values of the ‘60’s and ‘70’s were adopted by the mainstream by the mid-‘90’s. Marketers devoured Brooks’ book like it was crab legs on a Chinese buffet. Ever since, we’ve seen an explosion of style in every aspect of our lives and every room of our homes– except, of course, the garage.  If Wal-Mart (of all places) sells dinner plates suitable for the Museum of Modern Art, why are today’s cars so dull?  My theory: car designers are still in the thrall of the 1984 Audi 5000.

Should America be fuelling its vehicles with corn-based E85?  Now there’s a question worthy of public debate.  Meanwhile, the question’s been settled.  E85 is coming to a pump near you, whether you like it— or use it— or not.  The political momentum behind the fuel is enormous, including huge CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) credits for manufacturers that build vehicles that will never see a drop of corn juice.  In fact, the production and distribution of E85 involves a strange mix of politics and economics which could well lead to a dead end.  Following the money may make your head spin, but it's high time to separate E85 facts from the politically correct fug of obfuscation. 

The prairie town where I grew up offered exactly one wholesome diversion for teenagers: an eight-block stretch of Central Avenue known as The Drag.  On Friday and Saturday nights, you'd “shag The Drag.” You’d drive from 12th Street down to the city square, then back up to 12th Street, shouting at people you knew or people you wanted to know.  Lather, rinse, repeat.  Your goal: make time with a girl from school or, even better, entrance an out-of-towner who had no idea of your previous track record (or lack thereof).  Of course, you had to come to The Drag in a cool car.  In the late eighties, one car bestrode our teenage world like a colossus…

If the first step on the road to recovery is admitting you have a problem, congratulations Ford, you’re on your way.  The Blue Oval Crew recently admitted that their overly-long product cycles were partly to blame for their current financial queasiness.  As the surprisingly satisfied owner of a 2000 Focus, I’ve earned the right to say: ‘bout time.  I was worried that the marketers’ standard question “Would you buy this car again?” had become strictly hypothetical.