The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Steven “Steve” Rattner of Quadrangle Group will join the Presidential Task Force on Autos as an advisor to National Economic Council Director Lawrence Summers. Rattner has no publicly-known experience in the automotive industry, although as a former newspaper man and print media investor, he surely knows a thing or two about dying industries. Anyway, as we reported earlier, Rattner’s major qualification for the position (he was previously being considered for “car czar” before that position was merged into the PTFA) appears to be that he’s a major Obama fundraiser, and is married to the finance chair of the Democratic National Committee.
Or as the Freep rosily puts it, “Most Michigan voters back aid.” Which is technically true, but also as misleading as a St. Bernard that’s been after its own brandy. Because even though the Rasmussen poll in question shows that 52 percent of Michigan’s likely voters support “additional loans” to the nation’s automakers, there’s a caveat missing: the auto industry is the local issue in Michigan. Michigan’s congressional delegation have been the most shrill bailout boosters in Washington, the local papers are as pro-bailout as they come, and, well, it’s freaking Michigan. If only half of the Wolverine state support more bailout bucks for automakers, how bad must national support be? The Freep could tell you, just not in its headline. Only 24 percent are in favor of “additional loans” accorrding to the national version of the same Rasmussen poll. 64 percent were opposed. Ouch.
I’m not much of a biblical scholar, but I did see Schwarzenegger’s End of Days. All sorts of weird shit happened before Arnie finally sent the devil packing. As we head down the home stretch for the auto industry reckoning, there’s some odd stuff percolating-up in the autoblogosphere. To wit: TheDetroitBureau.com’s suggestion that a newly independent Saturn or Saab should consider adding examples of HUMMER’s strategically doomed product line to their freshly liberated (or not) portfolio. Michael Strong makes the weak argument. Cross yourself and we’ll continue.
I present to you the results of the little brouhaha that I started way back on 3 February. Despite assertions that I was “making a mountain out of a molehill,” I feel it is important. I like standardization because it makes life easier but I also recognize that on a site like this, with its mixture of news and opinion, standards may have to give way to flexible guidelines. Spike_in_Irvine commented, “There is always tension between saying what is right and saying what is commonly used,” and I agree. I personally like the use of “torques,” “ponies,” and Farago’s occasional many flourishes of French because it adds personality. But, I won’t let it get out of hand; and, I will ensure that a review or news item contains the proper terminology.
One hundred people answered the survey. Survey says . . .
Google Analytics provides an interesting look as to how visitors reach a website. I’d like to give our B&B some examples of how others (those who do not subscribe to the RSS feed or those who’ve not bookmarked TTAC) come our way and you’ll find the reason near the end of this post.
Below is a selection of the most interesting “entrance keywords” in the hope of giving you an insight in to the psyche of the non-B&B. Consider this: TTAC receives orders of magnitude more visitors than we have registered users. And, of registered users, a relatively small percentage are active participants (guest writers and active commenters), a.k.a. the Best & Brightest.
In a rare turn of truth-embracing, the Freep is printing the total cost of a fully-funded auto industry bailout: a cool $97.4b. That’s “up to $39 billion in survival loans for General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC, a $25.5-billion rescue sought by auto suppliers and $25.4 billion in requests to retool auto plants to build more efficient models” plus $6b for GMAC and $1.5b for Chrysler Financial. “And,” admits the Freep, “it’s likely not the end.” They even mention the minor detail that “the aid sought by Detroit’s automakers is many multiples of their current market values,” but not before forcing the reader to sit through some choice relativism from Clinton Labor Secretary, Robert Reich. And they wonder where the love is?
Yet again, a manufacturer is releasing an image which shows a bit of a car to generate excitement at the prospect of seeing . . . the rest of the car. Wasn’t there a board game like this, where you had to guess the whole image as little pieces were revealed? Well, I find the hide-and-seek, slow-reveal automotive press release shtick an inherently infantile practice. Resisting the urge to blame Autoblog for this outbreak of electronic peek-a-boo, thrilled as they must have been with the 235 “teaser” shots provided by FoMoCo in the run up to the entirely predictable 2010 Mustang, I will not resist the urge to call this technique the autoblogospherical equivalent of dickless porn. Do I really care what a new fender vent looks like?
Detroit’s hometown newspapers are reacting positively to the most recent requests for another round of automaker bailouts. Shocking, I know. After all, Detroit’s media is fast becoming the most notorious bailout boosters on the block. But titling an editorial “U.S. auto producers make a solid case for federal aid” is really stretching things, even by Detroit News standards. And as conditions worsen, the rose-colored-glasses act is really wearing thin. To paraphrase an old Soviet joke, there are two ways Detroit can be turned around: the natural and the miraculous. The natural way is that the Archangel Michael and his bands of angels descend to earth and work 24 hours a day to save the city’s economy. The miraculous way is that the automakers do it themselves. Detroit’s local media clearly believes in miracles.
After swimmer Michael Phelps won a drawer full of Olympic gold, he signed a deal with Kellogg’s to promote Frosted Flakes. Stupid move. Tens of millions of parents know that Frosted Flakes make their kids bounce off the friggin’ walls. Part of this healthy breakfast, my ass. All Phelps had to do was align himself with brands selling healthy living and he could have smoked the finest Maui Wowee, in Maui, for the rest of his life. Anyway, Phelps got caught doing bong hits. A smart handler would have used the opportunity to strengthen the Phelps brand. “Michael is obsessed with fitness. He doesn’t drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes. He regrets using an illegal herbal drug for relaxation. He is now exploring yoga and other alternatives. He encourages his millions of fans to learn from his mistake, as he has.” Let the Mary Jane debate begin! Anyway, Phelps signed a million dollar deal with Mazda to promote the brand in China. (Huh?) When the swimmer got busted, they somehow convinced him to make this entirely bogus, po-faced apology. It manages to make both Phelps AND Mazda look stupid. Yes?
Pity the print journalists. You work hard to live up to stringent standards of journalistic ethics, collect quotes, confirm sources and generally bust your hump only to have some snotnose with a laptop beat you to the punch. Ken Bensinger of the LA Times knows what I’m talking about. He has a piece today that compares the Chevy Malibu with the Chevy Impala, a contrast he spins into a number of critiques of GM’s product overlap, cannibalism and image-weakening products. Sound familiar? I thought so. As tempting as it might be to blame the family bankruptcy for falling standards, or guffaw at the very notion of a newspaper criticizing an automaker’s business decisions, this isn’t Newspaper Deathwatch. On to the cars.
Word and music by John Rich. (Lyrics after the jump) The same singer-songwriter who delighted crowds with the deliciously, unintentionally ironic Raisin’ McCain. You know, for background.
Every now and then the mainstream automotive press gets its inner TTAC on. Normally, those moments are reserved for vehicles that A) don’t advertise very heavily and B) don’t advertise very heavily. To be fair, the Nissan GT-R doesn’t advertise very heavily. So it’s fair game for USA Today carmudgeon James Healey. You may recall Healey’s previous work, in which the scribe often sounds like he’s holding a conversation with a PR flack– with Healey playing both critic and spinmeister. (Except when he actually quotes the manufacturer’s rep.) In this case, we get less prevarication, more kvetching.
But, c’mon, for a starting price of about $77,000, shouldn’t the power-window switches and the inside door handles be easy to reach? Shouldn’t the high-falutin’ dual-clutch transmission engage more gently than a whack in the back by a Caterpillar D9? Or the shift lever move toward the words “manual” and “automatic” to choose your mode instead of going one way only? Shouldn’t the outside door handles be easier to grab and yank?
“In the true spirit of the Ferrari racing team, the Acer Ferrari 1200 notebook combines powerful performance and extreme portability with the excellence of design. From the choice of materials to the smallest detail, the Ferrari 1200 conveys the look and feel of a F1 racecar. The carbon-fibre cover, a material actually used in racecars, is lighter yet stronger than magnesium alloy, making the Ferrari 1200 the perfect travel companion. Unique ventilation design echoes the exhaust pipes of F1 cars and the anodized-metal touchpad resembles the brake and acceleration pedals ofa Ferrari car. A tasteful wave pattern embellishes the cover, while the soft-touch coating and the velvety texture of the interior ensure ergonomic comfort.” See? Now that’s funny. [thanks to Autoblog, without whom we’d know nothing of bodacious auto-brandation]
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