Checking in with Jalopnik, the just-released specs for the new Jeep Grand Cherokee boast that its Quadra Lift air suspension can elevate the Jeep’s body from Parking Mode’s 4.5″ ground clearance to Off-Road 2’s 11.1″ (obvious joke deleted). So does that qualify the Grand Cherokee for “real Jeep” status? I mean, we are talking about an SUV with a fully independent suspension. Yes, I know: most of the brand’s lineup sport a similar set-up and would fall apart just looking at The Rubicon. But that doesn’t make it right, does it? Jeep’s brand managers are pro-actively defensive on the topic, claiming that the new vehicle “Hits the Sweet Spot of Real-world Capability and On-road Refinement.” I reckon that’s code for Soccer Moms Über Alles (it does sit on a Mercedes ML platform). And lastly, is there anyone who doesn’t think Chrysler is about to go Tango Uniform? Their thirty days are almost up. Isn’t this just pissing in the wind, preparing for a liquidation sale or something they cooked-up a long time ago so? WTH?
We know that Hollywood scriptwriters and their stuntmen enablers rely on the “fact” that cars explode. But do they? The NY Daily News reports that an SUV exploded after being struck by an OOC Benz in Benzonhurst. Just kidding—which I shouldn’t do as a dog died in this accident. Well, not IN the accident . . . And I know: the Element isn’t really an SUV (more like a box-shaped wheelchair). And we only have the News’ word that “The Honda exploded on impact, and flames shot from the engine before engulfing most of the vehicle.” Oh, did I forget “witnesses said”? My bad. So I’m interested in your expert opinion on cars, gasoline and ka-boomery. What’s the real deal here? Do we really have to worry about fleeing an accident before a careless cigarette ignites that trickling trail of gas?
As a kid, I was conflicted by The Land of the Misfit Toys. Sure, I could empathize with the discarded playthings’ emotional scarring. And I had a pre-Captain Planet understanding about the need to recycle—thanks to 10 years at a deeply dippy Quaker school. But the MFTs were clearly—how do I put this gently?—less than desirable. A train with square wheels? A cowboy riding an ostrich? A doll suffering from clinical depression? I remember thinking, what kind of child is going to love these toys? It’s the same question that pops into my head whenever I see a Chevrolet SSR, Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid, Plymouth Prowler, BMW M-Coupe or Lexus IS-F. These are all vehicles without a hope in hell of mainstream acceptance, destined for endless depreciation and permanent exile in The Land of Misfit Motors. And still the hits keep not happening, from economy cars (the Saturn Astra) right up to “priceless” one-off monstrosities (Maybach Exelero). And I love them all. So share with the group. What’s your favorite misfit automobile, and would you ever own one?
Yesterday, GM’s new boss (president Barack Obama) announced he was firing The General’s CEO and six members of GM’s Board of Bystanders. The new chief executive in chief also elevated BOD member Kent Kresa to the top slot. Kresa, who came to GM from the world’s least consumer-focused industry (unless you count killing them), replaces Rick Wagoner as GM’s new Chairman of the Board. You may remember Kent from from last May, when Kresa told the Wall Street Journal that Red Ink Rick was good to go. I mean, stay. “Management has a handle on the situation.” At the time, I wrote that the former Northrop CEO’s faith in Wagoner’s unspecified turnaround plan reflected “Kresa’s seat-of-the-pants, high stakes poker management style, and faith in political influence peddling.” But really, who IS this guy? Why is Kresa sitting pretty after sitting schtum? A little help from TTAC’s Best and Brightest in the Google department, and some thoughtful analysis, would be most appreciated.
Wow, how sexist is that? “Let,” as in “a man is naturally in control of conveyances”? No, of course not. “Let” as in “my wife always lets me drive.” Or, to be less British about it, “I always drive, for whatever reason.” If so, there comes a time in every driver’s life when they have to let their significant other take the wheel. Outside of alcohol-related designated driverdom, I’ve faced this, uh, transition twice. First, when my UK license was suspended. Second, on Friday, when a nature walk turned into knee destruction. And now I know why the minivan’s stoppers are shot; hurry-up and brake is not the best way to ensure pad life. It’s not that Sam’s a lousy driver; it’s just that I’m a horrendous passenger. So the answer to the above question is “only when I have to” and “hell.” You?
Yes, it’s EV Day here at TTAC. Well, morning. And despite last night’s harangue, one of our Best and Brightest is ready to rock and roll in plug-in paradise. He’s seen the promised land. And he wants to know how to get there with you. Electricians of the world unite! Your time is at hand! Etc..
I have a question for the B&B. While remodeling my home I installed a dedicated line (10/3 wire) to a 30A exterior outlet box on the outside of my house by my driveway. What breaker size and plug type should I install? I’m trying to future proof my home for the day we’re all driving some sort of PHEV. At the very least I’ll be able to use a welder or install a dryer in my driveway.
OK best and Brightest, I really need your help! My car was totaled last week by a DUI driver and I’m in need of a car. I’m trying to decide which car to buy. A NEW Altima Coupe or a 2007-2008 CPO [Certified Pre-Owned] G35. My top concerns are reliability and material quality (and comfort). I’ve see a number of 2007 CPO G35’s with low miles (17K) on dealer sites requesting $24-26K. I’ve seen some 2008 CPO’s for $25K, but they seem to be off rental which I obviously don’t want. Some questions…
Rumors have simmering for some time now that say Porsche is considering extending its once-focused brand downmarket. Again. And though the Roxster rumors prompted a repudiation of volume-chasing from Zuffenhausen, word is filtering in from the German auto press that Porsche might be considering a neo-914 project with VW. Or, as the starry-eyed fools at Motor Authority put it, “work on the next-generation Boxster and what has been thought of as a 914 revival may be a sort of cover for the even more secret work on the 356’s modern spiritual successor.” What they mean (I think) is that the new baby Porsche could be a rebadged VW, true to tradition. The Bluesport Concept, in this case. Of course that means cannibal trouble for the proposed Audi version, but that was coming anyway (VW “needs” to share the platform with “at least” three brands). Meanwhile, CAFE doesn’t just loom for Porsche, they’ve been fined every year since 1991. Oh yeah, and the lovable Boxster has loaded over $6K onto its base MSRP since its 1997 debut. So I’ll break with site tradition and say Porsche should keep stretching that brand. Let’s face it: the Bluesport ain’t coming stateside as a VW, so we can’t expect a true “performance bargain” out of the Bluesport platform. A sub-$40K Porsche? That might be worth dreaming of.
Loads of flames this weekend. The police stop video had members of the Best and Brightest morphing into the Mean and Nastiest. Please remember that TTAC’s posting policy is clear: no flaming the website, its authors or fellow commenters. Feel free to rip apart an opinion, but do not diss the site, the scribes or the folks. We also don’t allow meta-discussions about our editorial stance or style underneath an unrelated post. For example, I exorcised this broadside from thoots’ comment re: my Toyota Venza review:
As some have said, this is no ‘review,’ this is an ‘editorial.’ And it’s the kind of thing that makes me go elsewhere, rather than *cough* actually consider paying for somebody’s personal diatribe against car-like crossover styling or whatever it is that he or she happens to hate. Geez, just say that you prefer school-bus-style visibility, and get on with your life, could you? Crimony.
After a few emails with thoots—the proper place for site criticism—I’ve agreed to open the subject up for debate and turn off the anti-flaming directive. So, what’s wrong with TTAC’s reviews? What should we do to improve them?
OK, we’re ready to start implementing our plan B for TTAC’s survival. I’ll be touching base with our Best and Brightest in the next couple of days to discuss a meta plan to generate income—for the site AND its writers—without walling off content. Meanwhile, here’s our first bit of real (i.e., non-CAFE Press) swag: a framed GM certificate. At $149.99 ($25 kickback for us), it’s not cheap. But I want to position TTAC swag at the top end of the market: quality, price no object. Our agreement with the certificate provider includes one line of text at the bottom (“cut-out in bottom mat, size 3/4″ × 5″ to 7″ for lettering insert”). So what message should we include? We could go Latin: veritas vos liberabit (the truth will set you free), veritatem dies aperit (time discloses the truth), vincit omnia veritas (the truth conquers all). Or perhaps an appropriate quote: “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it” (George Santayana); “History shows you don’t know what the future brings” (GM CEO Rick Wagoner); “Generally, cars were not built to sit on dealer lots. It encourages the wrong kind of behavior in the whole system” (also Wagoner). Ideas?
As today’s post on Barack Obama’s Model T vs. SUV comparison indicates, there’s a lot of auto-related misinformation swirling around the court of public opinion. Seeing as you are the autoblogosphere’s Best and Brightest, it’s time to bust some myths. (Or at least engage in some of the usual punch-ups.) What are the automotive myths that simply won’t die? Our Ronnie Schreiber correctly flagged ye olde 100 mpg carburetor, which pairs nicely with the “GM killed the electric car” conspiracy. On the other side of that equation, PCH101 routinely confronts the idea that Japan manipulated its currency to kick Motown’s ass. There’s also this idea out there, somewhere, that a Chinese automaker is just itching to invade the U.S. market and kick some D2.8/Toyondissan ass with ridiculously inexpensive products. My [least] favorite myth: GM is the blameless victim of a bad economy. What auto-related mishegos stick in your craw?
China’s Chery motors has apparently decided that its fruity moniker isn’t strong enough to carry its market ambitions, and it has launched two sub-brands, creatively named Riich and Rely. Riich’s Bentley-aping winged “R” makes no secret of its premium brand ambitions, and China Car Times reports that the sub-brand will offer “technologically rich vehicles at a low price.” Rely looks to be more of a Buick or Volvo-style, entry-luxury brand. Perhaps Chery would like consumers to think of its sub-brand as “reliable”? From the US-market perspective, these branding exercises are quite crude. Not only do they closely copy existing brand imagery (did I mention that the Riich badge looks like Bentley’s?), but their names are also overly literal. So it’s not likely that these two brands will lead Chery’s charge into the global market, but their presence begs a question that cuts to the heart of automotive marketing: are sub-brands ever a good idea? Or are they just usually poorly executed? For every Lexus or MINI which show that major OEMs can branch out of their core competency, there are two Merkurs or Scions warning how pear-shaped branding exercises can get. The fall of the house of General Motors proves that too many brands can be bad juju, but are there niches for brands out there that haven’t been considered? Or do niche vehicles strengthen mainstream brands rather than distract them?
Robert, I am a musician living in New York City since 1997. I have owned a car here since day one, and need one to move my drums around. Since I was a boy I’ve been pretty well obsessed with all kinds of cars, starting with my older brother’s ’68 Mustang, and it seems to just be getting worse with time. Of course I visit TTAC every day, as well as other blogs and forums, and have stacks of car magazines and books at home. My private shame is that the car I own is the beige ’99 Camry LE I bought from, ahem, my mom six years ago. In fact every car I have owned in NYC the last twelve years has been some kind of boring, base model 4-door sedan that blends into the NYC scenery like a dirty paper coffee cup on the sidewalk. With the exception of a too-short ownership of a ’71 Dodge Dart a couple years ago, my own Truth About Cars has been about as fun as getting a parking ticket. At this point, time is passing too quickly and I need to get a car to drive that doesn’t feel like putting on a wet pair of socks every day. I am asking for some advice for what you think (and maybe your colleagues) I should look for that would meet the following criteria:
Obviously, I don’t have an statistical data on Ferrari crashes. Neither, I suspect, does the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA); they don’t tend to compile stats on marques that sell in the hundreds. But as someone who spends his days floating through the autoblogosphere, I’ve noticed a number of halved Ferraris. We have the famous Enzo crash on the PCH, and now this, a fatal accident involving the mixed martial artist/TapOut clothing designer artist known as “The Mask.” So I clicked on over to wreckedexotics.com to search for more anecdotal evidence. While there are a number of Ferraris with fire-vaporized back ends (that’s where the engine is), I didn’t find a trove of demi-Ferraris. To defend my access to all those Ferrari press junkets (as if), I’ll posit that ANY car would break in two if it happened to hit something immovable side-on at a high rate of speed. In fact, it could very well be a good thing, providing you’re ahead of the fissure, as the cleaving process dissipates lethal energy. The question is, is that true?
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