Have you ever looked at something and just are not able to see the point of it? The Simpsons, Kim Bauer, RC Cola and Michael Bay’s career all spring to mind, but right now I’m more confused than a chameleon standing next to a rainbow. The Wall Street Journal reports that Chrysler are raising production of their minivans at their plant in Windsor, Ontario. More precisely, they are raising production of their right hand drive, diesel minivans for export (naturally). This will be the first time RHD minivans are built at Chrysler’s Canadian plant.
From the “how had that not happened yet” file [via AutoTelegraaf] comes word that Cadillac has finally euthanized its latter-day Cimarron, the Europe-only BLS. The Saab 9-3/Opel Vectra brand engineering victim sold just 7,365 units since its 2005 introduction. Was it worth it? “Think of the profit,” was the watchword for BLS backers. “Think of the brand,” is the obvious retort. Especially because Cadillac’s only real appeal in Europe is a variety of willful iconoclasm akin to . . . driving a Saab in the United States. And look what happened with GM’s similar effort there.
TTAC Commentator Boff says the new Porsche Panamera sounds like Ye Olde 928—which would make my previous headline seem pretty pig ignorant. He may be right. We retort, you decide.
Nor, in fact, does the Panamera look like any Porsche I’ve ever seen before, although it’s vaguely reminiscent of the 911. I wonder if they can match the shag carpet in my basement . . .
Darwin wasn’t kidding when he described the new GMC Terrain as “hideous.” Check out Susan Docherty’s video—no embed codes for New, transparent GM—over on the right hand side of the FastLane home page. GM’s GM for the Buick-Pontiac-GMC channel also tells us that the LaCrosse’s quad-pot powerplant will make it “lead within its competitive set as the only vehicle with a four-cylinder engine.” I don’t suppose anyone stopped to wonder why none of the LaCrosse’s competitors avoid that particular powertrain . . . There’s more, but it’s late. Have a look for yourself.
The price of any exclusive story is a straight face. Having scored some seat-time (and flack-time) with GM’s Corvette Stingray Concept, Jalopnik was obliged to report the experience sans critical filter. Which means we learn that the Stingray “represents a merger of GM design and technology from the past, present and future,” as well as “the merger of high technology with high design in the powertrain, exterior and interior.” Of course, in order to keep that all-important straight face, nearly everything about the concept has to be described using either the term “represents” or “theoretical.”
At the risk of some unseemly self-congratulation, this is why you didn’t catch the hot Cayman Shooting Brake rumor here at TTAC: it’s a fake. The New York Times reveals that the hoax was perpetrated by a Top Gear USA summer intern using 3-D graphics software and a lot of spare time. And the job was well enough done to make a number of well-known car blogs look a bit foolish. Enthusiasts are such suckers!
Puralotor filters are OK, I guess. I’ll defer to our Best and Brightest on that score. The company’s claims don’t seem particularly boastful—“Purolator filtration products provide high quality performance for everyday driving”—or, let’s face it, exciting. And so the company’s ad agency has convinced their client to take a walk on the weird side. “Keep it Pure” is a series of vignettes that thinks outside the bun—although it’s less Dada then da-da-da-da. Anyway, when the ad folks offered us otherwise restricted access to some of these, uh, pronouncements, I said “damn, did I forget to put that up?” Actually, before that, I said, “This campaign was born for our Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” category. Or vice versa. While we await our TTAC-exclusive ’round three “Keep it Pure” moment, here’s one from Purolator’s YouTube channel. I bet you can’t wait for the next installment. In a strange sort of way, neither can I. Despite Mel’s antagonism, despite Detroit’s nationalization, don’t you just love corporate America?
I have been consistently frustrated by the misinformation and untruths I have seen on websites and in the media about the Big-3. In addition to the outstanding vehicles they produce, many fail to recognize the contributions the Big-3 have made and continue to make to the infrastructure of this Country. I feel compelled to do my part to correct the misconceptions and get the word out about these fine Companies that have supported our American infrastructure. They are committed to America because it is American. Instead of criticizing them, I believe we should be thanking and supporting them for their innovative, high quality, safety driven cars, trucks, SUV’s and Hybrids, but moreover, for being the steadfast stewards of our American infrastructure for so many years.
So when did the thousand days start? TTAC’s put in a call . . . [thanks to gamper for the link]
When you hear Cash for Clunkers praised as “the most efficient stimulus for the auto industry,” you kind of have to wonder. Why did we spend the other hundred billion bucks?
Is $2.00 gas killing the Middle East economy? Strolling through a Mercedes dealership in Abu Dhabi revealed this SLR Roadster priced at 2.44 million Dirhams.Think the exchange rate will help? Nope, try $667,000. Talk about mark-ups! When the salesman was asked about the tremendous mark-up, he suddenly forgot how to speak English and walked off. (That, or it was my Innova rental in the parking lot.) Still for this kind of money buyers get a red checkered top that looks like it was stolen off a pimp, and black wheels previously seen in a Tire Rack ad. Even if I was ultra rich, I may just have to pick up another vacation home and a Gallardo instead.
You can argue with The American Thinker’s politics, but they’ve got a point: there’s a spooky parallel between Robert A. Heinlein’s “The Door Into Summer” and the current Cash for Clunkers (a.k.a. C.A.R.S.) program. [thanks to fincar1 for the link] Grok this:
The job I found was crushing new ground limousines so that they could be shipped back to Pittsburgh as scrap. Cadillacs, Chryslers, Eisenhowers, Lincolns—all sort of great big, new powerful turbobuggies without a kilometer on their clocks. Drive ’em between the jaws, then crunch!smash!crash!—scrap iron for blast furnaces.
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