Car names are a happy hunting ground for motoscribes and headline writers. Nissan Armada? Please. Versa? Vice springs immediately to mind (and not because of any other websites I may or may not have visited recently). I'm not sure if Nissan was trying to flummox the press when they settled on Qashqai as a name for their new "cute ute," but I reckon it's a big mistake. First, naming a vehicle after an obscure ethnic tribe is a bit too me-too, what with the Toureg already twisting tongues at VW dealerships worldwide. Second, the Qashqai are a semi-nomadic, Farsi-speaking Shia Muslim tribe based in southern Iran. Nuff said? Third, it's unpronounceable. I've scoured the web, and still can't find a phonetic spelling. (Little help?) And fourth, capitalizing on a tribe's identity without paying them for the privilege ain't exactly what I'd call PC. Meanwhile, Spinelli and I kick around Mr. Mulally's appointment at Ford. Figuratively speaking. 

Was he pushed or did he jump? Either way, Billy Ford’s resignation as CEO of the family firm is yet more proof that The Blue Oval’s in big trouble. Not that he’s been trying to hide the fact. In his Newsweek interview, Billy telegraphed his intention to fall on his sword: “I've always said that titles are not important to me… What's important is getting this company headed in the right direction." And the new man is… Alan Mulally, Boeing’s now former Executive Vice President. Not to coin a phrase, one wonders if Billy told the board, “If it’s not Boeing, I’m not going.”

I've been podcasting with Mike Spinelli of Jalopnik on a daily basis for quite some time. I hesitate to say exactly how long because then I'd have to think about the precise meaning of "hobby trading" and I've always found that term more than a bit humiliating. Anyway, Mike has graciously allowed me to air these podcasts on TTAC. So I'm going to posting them for a week or so. If they prove popular, the kid stays in the picture. If not, well, Tamora is another TVR. Or something like that.  

So, General Motors has pulled its sponsorship from Survivor. Flackmeister Ryndee S. Carney claimed GM came to its decision “months ago, before the show made its recent announcement." The announcement in question: Survivor will divide its competitors by race and ethnicity. Carney quashed the idea that GM pulled the plug in response to the controversial formatting in no certain terms: “I think it's just a coincidence.” Think? Carney’s comment brings into question GM’s ability to tell the truth and, thus, to survive its evaporating market share, bloated dealer network, distended brand portfolio, lackluster product lines and horrendous cost structure.

Something, anything, is worth exactly what someone will pay for it, no more and no less. Human beings being what they are, that "willingness" has a strong emotional contingent. When it comes to cars and car collectors, all sorts of strange commercial transactions can occur. For example, the muscle car market is red hot; proper GTO's, 'Cudas and Shelby Cobras are regularly fetching triple digit prices. This despite the fact that the majority of these machines are foul-handling beasts whose power-to-weight ratio seems carefully designed to kill its driver dead. Still, you can understand aging baby boomers' desire to own the car or cars they couldn't afford back in the day. Does that mean a carefully preserved Honda Integra Type R will someday fetch serious money at auction? Or a Chrysler 300C SRT-8? I turned to RM Auctions' Terry Lobzun for the skinny on future classics.  

The flame wars regarding “imports” versus "domestics" have reached Fahrenheit 451. Ironically enough, I’ve doused those fires by banning “any comments that attempt to impugn this site's authors or its commentators for an anti-domestic car bias.” And I mean it. To those who would malign this website on that basis, I state for the record that TTAC writers apply their critical facilities without fear or favor, regardless of a manufacturer’s national origin. Although I haven’t asked my scribes to take a loyalty oath, I’m sure they love their country. What they don’t love is crap cars.

Our West Coast Bureau Chief is one persistent son of a bitch. Every day I get emails or phone calls from Jonny Lieberman asking me to pimp him a ride, preferably a Porsche Turbo or Audi RS4. Since we've cut a deal with The Aston Lawrence Group re: sourcing press cars for our troops, he's… still on my case. But I respect that. Cars are my drug too. If I wasn't so busy answering JL's emails and other equally vital administrative tasks, I'd be sending myself emails asking why I haven't found a ride for… me. Anyway, Jonny rang me up to discuss his MX-5 review, his forthcoming F150 King Ranch review and Frank's ad article. At least it kept him away from his computer for 10 minutes… 

My Space's success has not gone unnoticed. No, I'm not talking about pedophiles. I'm referring to the Lords and Lordettes of the "new media," who are busy trying to make your space their space so they can make advertisers' money into their money. It didn't take a great leap of imagination for entrepreneurial e-pistonheads to imagine a My Space for cars, where owners throw down pics and stats of their wheels to engage in the guilty pleasures of automotive exhibitionism. Boompa.com is one of the more interesting examples of this new genre, combining the usual "rate-a-ride" meters with some genuinely useful features with relatively clean (if cartoonish) design. I rang up co-founder Ethan Lance to find out if a lack of taste makes waste, or, eventually, a cyber fortune. 

Motor Trend just reviewed the new Saturn Aura. Reading between the lines, it’s clear that GM’s mission critical mainstream motor is another in a long, not-so-illustrious line of “almost” cars. It’s “no sports sedan” with lots of “corner cutting” powered by a “crude” engine with “some looseness in the drivetrain.” The Aura is a “step in the right direction”– that leaves the badge-engineered Opel at least two steps behind the competition. Anyway, does it even matter? I reckon GM’s car business is beyond repair. 

First off, I’d like to ask you a favor. Could you please take a couple of minutes and fill out this survey? The suits at FM Publishing want to hook potential Truth About Cars (TTAC) advertisers on the quality of our readership. As you are all Harvard MBA’s earning seven figure salaries ready to buy whatever high-priced goods we tout, FM should have no problem landing a major sponsorship deal with BMW (you know, aside from the whole flying vagina thing). No really; do what we do: tell the truth. Much obliged. Now, to my main point: should TTAC post once or twice a day, or more?

You've got to feel sorry for the Brits. Once home to some of the world's best– er, most charismatic vehicles, the country has seen their automotive crown jewels sold off to Johnny Foreigner and/or fade into the mists of time. With the disappearence of the once-proud MG Rover Group, it's no wonder that British automotive analyst Michael Wynn-Williams doesn't like the idea of Ford selling off Jaguar and Land Rover. In a recent white paper "Jaguar’s part in rescuing Ford," Trend Tracker's trend tracker said "Whoa! Slow down there Billy Boy! Why sell the family silver when you may want to throw a dinner party or two when things settle down a bit." OK, I'm paraphrasing. But Wynn-Williams' main point is there for the taking. So, I called-up WW and took it like a man.  

A few days after GM's vice president of vehicle sales, service and marketing assured auto industry analysts that his employer will maintain incentive-free “value pricing," General Motors announced two grand cash back on the 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe, Avalanche and Suburban and the GMC Yukon, Yukon XL and Denali. To be fair, nobody took LaNeve’s price promise seriously. By now, everyone knows GM’s new(ish) SUV’s are a drug on the market, and it ain’t Viagra. There’s only way to move the metal: lower the price. Either that or stop making the damn things.

Backseat branding is easy. Porsche? Sports cars. Ford? Sedans. Hummer? Assault rifles. Maserati? Who knows? The company likes to promote a philosophical connection to its distinguished racing heritage. But Maserati's competitive heyday ended on May the twelfth 1957, when the Marquis de Portago’s Ferrari somersaulted into the crowd at Guidizillo, triggering a vicious pan-European anti-motor sports backlash. Since then, Maserati has concentrated on making unreliable sports cars and sporting sedans. These days, the resurgent automaker builds Jaguars.

Crunch time is coming. Whether or not GM can hobble through the third quarter intact, whether or not Ford can find a way forward, whether or not DCX will end up RIP, it’s clear that old Detroit is dead. Big unions, big plants, big markets, big dealers– 50’s-style automaking is headed for extinction. While TTAC will continue to chronicle this slow motion pile-up, I’d like you to cast your collective eyes to the future. What will the American automotive market look like after the reverse Big Bang? Will a range of boutique brands offer a limited lineup (e.g. Corvette, Saab, Cadillac)? Will cars be sold via Internet, creating mass customization? You tell me and then we’ll all know.

Fresh from some serious seat time in the Ford Mustang GT Convertible, Jonny Lieberman rang up TTAC HQ to schmooze about all things automotive. After listening to JL sing the praises of Ford's rear wheel-drive rag top, I tried to ease the conversation towards the tectonic shift from fuel-sucking SUV's to more economical cars. Only Loverman wasn't having it. Sure, he noticed a fleet of Prii and scoped a seaside parking lot stuffed with SUV's, but whether or not the Prii were statistically relevant or the SUV's were GMT900's escaped his attention. Anyway, speaking to Jonny reminds me of a line from "My Favorite Year," when one of the writers for a New York-based comedy show announces his intention to move to Hollywood. "How can you be funny in Hollywood?" the head writer demands. "No one's miserable enough!" And yet, somehow, he manages.