TTAC has not been shy about its scepticism regarding the owner satisfaction and quality surveys produced by JD Power, and the commercial links to the industry that they monitor. We have also pointed out that Consumer Reports' "secret sauce" (i.e. their analytical formulae) have certain limitations. Until now, we've overlooked another source of auto manufacturers' braggin' rights: the Intellichoice awards. While you'll hear Intellichoice mentioned in the same breath as JD Power in more than a few automotive advertisements, Intellichoice's awards don't get nearly the same scrutiny. It's time to correct this oversight.

Intellichoice offers awards in five broad categories: Motorist Choice, Best Deals of the Month, Best Overall Value, Smartchoice (with six subcategories) and Best Certified Pre-Owned Programs. They subdivide each of these categories by vehicle type, e.g. car, crossover, near luxury and convertible. Many of these categories are subdivided even further. I counted no less than 240 permutations, and I could have missed a few.

If that wasn't confusing enough, cars jump from class to class depending on the award. The Toyota Yaris was named "Best Overall Value – Subcompact Class." But when it comes to the "Low Ownership Costs" award, the Yaris lives in the "Compact" category. The Chevrolet HHR is the "Small Wagon" winner for "Low Maintenance Costs" but "Compact Crossover SUV" winner in the "Motorist Choice Awards." For the same award, the Lexus IS is the "Aspirational Luxury Car" but it's in the "Near Luxury Class" as the "Best Overall Value of the Year."

Intellichoice also categorizes certain cars differently from everyone else. Did you know that the Nissan Altima is a "Premium Mid-Size Car" and the Porsche Boxster is a "Luxury Convertible"?  Apparently, the Honda Accord is a "Compact" ("Lowest Maintenance Cost") and the Lexus SC 430 is a "Premium Sports Car"– except when it's a "Luxury Convertible" ("Lowest Repair Costs").

Another mystery: why do certain vehicles receive awards when the exact same model with a different body style (i.e. coupe vs. sedan) doesn't make the grade?  Intellichoice names the aforementioned Toyota Yaris named "Best Value – Subcompact Class" is only the hatchback model; the four-door wasn't included. Several pickup truck awards were given to the crew cab and extended cab models while the standard cabs stood on the sidelines.

After looking at Intellichoice's wide selection of seemingly arbitrary accolades, you can't help but feel that the gongs fall into the same category as kindergarten sports awards. Both processes seem aimed at preserving the delicate self esteem of a bunch of five-year-olds. Last year, almost every company that sells a car or truck in the U.S. received at least one Intellichoice award. Even floundering Isuzu was awarded "Lowest Maintenance Cost" in the "Small Pickup" category. 

This "something for everyone" mindset extends to a few of this website's Ten Worst Automobiles Today (TWAT) winners. The dead van walking Chevy Uplander won "Best Overall Value" in the "Cargo Van" category. It's almost-as-bad corporate cousin, the Buick Rendezvous, won an Intellichoice award for "Lowest Maintenance Costs" in the "Midsize Crossover" class. And the TWAT-worthy Aveo5 won in the "Subcompact Class" of the same category. 

It's obvious that a lot of awards given out by various magazines and newspapers are influenced (if not totally driven) by the pursuit of the almighty advertising dollar.  But even though there are links to get free quotes on vehicles, and links to finance and insurance companies, Intellichoice's website doesn't offer any direct links to automakers' sites or car ads. There's no indication of any outside influences that would entice the organization to devise such convoluted awards and then hand them out like candy.

That is, until you realize Intellichoice.com is owned by Primedia, the same company that brings us Motor Trend and Automobile magazines. While each of these magazines has their own (dubious) annual awards for a variety of vehicles, neither of them approach Intellichoice in number or complexity of awards. But both of them enjoy plenty of lucrative automobile manufacturer advertising revenue. These same manufacturers also drop big bucks for advertisements in other Primedia's other magazines.

Running a web site as timely and data rich as Intellichoice is an expensive business. Not to belabor the point, but the money to run their site comes from Primedia, which gets the majority of its revenue from advertisements. You don't bite the hand that's feeding you. Intellichoice has to keep Primedia's advertising clients happy. And if that means coming up with a few hundred awards to give out (some on a monthly basis), then so be it. 

And there's the fundamental problem. Just as an award for "Most Improved Left-Handed Pattycake Player" only resonates with the recipient's mother, the awards handed out by Intellichoice mean nothing to anyone but the manufacturers. Considering the low profile of most of these awards, you have to wonder if they mean anything at all.

I test drove Nissan’s 2008 Altima Coupe 2.5 S on a sunny summer morning in Denton. Keen to clock the whip’s curb appeal, I stunted and flossed around the University of North Texas campus, stopping to pose (the car) in front of the school’s giant beetle larva-inspired fine arts auditorium. Blurry-eyed students of the Fast and the Furious generation yawned as they made their way to classes. And yet the Altima Coupe’s flying off dealer lots. Does that mean this car’s sex appeal is designed for people who like to wear sensible shoes? Uh-huh. 

Despite The Big 2.8's mantra that their declining market share and evaporating sales volume reflect a concerted effort to reduce dependence on low-margin bulk sales, Automotive News [AN, sub] reports that Detroit's fleet sales have declined by just one percent during the first five months of '07 vs. '06. Fleet sales still account for roughly 25 percent of GM's total, 32 percent of Ford's and 35 percent of Chrysler's (a slight increase from last year). Into the breach dear Horatio: the transplants. Toyota/Lexus/Scion's fleet sales have increased from seven to 11 percent. Fueled by corporate demand for the new Altima, Nissan's fleet sales rose from nine to 15 percent. One fourth of all Kia sales now sail with the fleets (up from a fifth). And Mazda's fleet sales jumped from 18 to 24 percent of their total. The numbers reveal a stunning lack of resolve by Detroit, and a residual-threatening expansion for their competition.

The Orange County Register reports that dozens of investigators from the Orange police and the county DA’s office raided a local Nissan dealership on Monday. According to the report, Douglas Nissan stands accused of using stolen pay stubs, driver licenses and social security numbers to secure car loans. “There may have been thousands of fraudulent loans processed with the stolen identities of thousands of unsuspecting people," the Chief prosecutor explained at a press conference held in front of the dealership. "The vast majority of the victims were Hispanic." And behind him… it was business as usual. Even as officers carted away hundreds of boxes of lease documents, dealer jackets and loan applications, customers continued shopping. “The only thing going on here is a big sale," claimed a manager. Talk about dedication.

Cell phones cooler than cars? No way! Way. CNW Marketing Research recently reported that thirty-two percent of today’s 16 to 29-year-olds view Apple’s new cell phone as the hot ticket to campus stardom. Only twenty percent made the same claim for a car. In fact, the survey found that any kid fortunate enough to lift an iPhone to his or her ear was guaranteed a seventy percent popularity rating. If we accept that the iPhone is the King of cool, what does Apple know that has the U.S. automobile industry doesn’t, that allows a nerdy little electronic device to trump the [formerly] ultimate symbol of adult independence?

Apple works to a relatively simple recipe: combine incredibly appealing form with reliable, user-friendly function. As Apple’s former vice president of advanced technology put it, “Attractive things work better. When you wash and wax your car, it drives better, doesn’t it? Or at least it feels like it does.” Warm fuzzies are high on Don Norman’s list of priorities, as he explained in his tome Emotional Design. “Positive emotions are critical to learning, curiosity and creative thought.”  

Reflecting this ethos, Apple sweats the small stuff. In 1983, the company adopted a design language with its own “coherent visual vocabulary” to insure continuity across its products. Today, Apple devotes at least 15 percent of its hardware development process to conceptualizing the look, shape, size and feel of a new product. Most companies– in most fields– do not.

The majority of the domestic automobile industry spends precious little time coordinating / obsessing about the look and feel of the entire product (not just the sheetmetal). And that’s just wrong. Although many enthusiasts dismiss mass market motors as “appliances,” all drivers and passengers interact intimately (now, now) with their transportation. And just like computerized gizmos, a car’s design has a huge impact on our mood.

When Toyota launched Lexus, auto aficionados heard tales of ToMoCo engineers sweating minute details, from the placement and feel of the switchgear; to the tone, pitch and volume of the exhaust note; to the suspension’s rebound rate. By contrast, most domestic interior during the late ’80’s were an afterthought– as were exteriors, exhaust systems and handling dynamics.

To a greater or lesser extent, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Audi and VW have also created handsome, aesthetically coherent products for the mass market. With rare exceptions, Detroit still doesn’t get it. You need only look at the interior of the Chevrolet Corvette to wonder why Lord, why?

Norman also revealed that Apple’s product evaluation process requires a marketing plan, engineering specifications and a user experience document.  “Marketing is what people want,” Mark Rolston, senior vice president of creative at Frog Design, adds: “Engineering is what we can do; user experience is ‘Here’s how people like to do things.’”

A coherent evaluation procedure does not guarantee great products. Apple’s product development system was in place during those bleak years when Steve Jobs was in exile. Without Jobs’ presence to steer the ship, Apple’s design-by-committee free-for-all created severely compromised products. 

Jobs– whom Norman describes as a “dictator with taste”– restored discipline in the development cycle. Once the concept of the final product crystallized, no deviation was permitted. Period.

How many times have car manufacturers paraded around delicious cutting-edge design concepts at auto shows– only to deliver ridiculously compromised copies in production? Well exactly. Clearly, Detroit lacks the commanders and command structure needed to fully realize its designer’s visions.

“The hardest part of design,” writes Norman “is keeping features out.” Rolston underlines the point: “[Apple] is just as smart about what they don’t do. Great products can be made more beautiful by omitting things.” The iPod, for example, has fewer features than its competitors, but its minimalist elegance makes it a success.

In the automotive arena, feature overload is rampant. In Jay Shoemaker’s recent critique of the Porsche Cayenne Turbo, the TTAC scribe was dismayed by the 39 buttons crowding around the navigation screen on the center console. For the love of the fish, it’s an SUV, not the Space Shuttle!  Without a navigation officer, how’s a pilot supposed to operate the nav system while negotiating his way through traffic?

To recapture hearts and minds, automakers need to design elegant vehicles that don’t try to be all things to all people. They need to produce simple, well-engineered cars with tastefully uncomplicated driver interfaces, free from distracting superfluous accessories.

The alternative is unthinkable. Imagine a modern day American Graffiti.  Bad boy Bob Falfa (Harrison Ford) sends innocent young Carol (Mackenzie Phillips) into ecstatic delirium each time he whips out his iPhone. While intimidating rival John Milner, Falfa says, “Hey you're s'posed to be the fastest thing in the Valley man, but that can't be your iPhone. It must be your mama's iPhone! I'm sorta' embarrassed to be this close to ya!”

Do ya have a hankerin’ for a cheap small car that can’t be satisfied by an offering from Korea, Japan, Europe or the good ‘ole US of A? Me neither. But Chrysler’s CEO thinks you– or someone– does. On July Fourth (no less), Tom LaSorda finally inked a deal with China’s Chery Automobile Company. As early as 2009, Chrysler could be offering Dodge-branded, Chery-manufactured subcompacts in the US and Europe. Target price: $7k. Too good to be true? You bet it is.

About a week before LaSorda was ordering Chinese, Brilliance submitted their would-be Autobahn cruiser to the Germany’s Automobile Association for 40mph head-on and side-impact tests. The sedan failed brilliantly, earning just a one star rating (five possible). The spectacular result for a Chinese-made sedan has raised new questions about Chery’s readiness to produce vehicles for the U.S. market.

You may recall that Chery, China’s eighth largest automaker, survived a brief association with the sterling silver tongued Malcolm Bricklin, whose numerous vehicular importation schemes include the shameful Yugo. The rupture of the Bricklin-Chery deal cleared the path for the Chrysler agreement. As Bricklin walked away from his abortive Chinese venture, his parting comments were prescient.

“The Chinese need to learn that you cannot develop cars for the Chinese market and then upgrade them for the North American Market,” the entrepreneur proclaimed. “You must build for the North American market and then de-option for other markets, never having two standards for quality since great quality is the only option.”  

That’s pretty rich for the man whose Canadian-built SV-1 (Safety Vehicle 1) was famous for its leaking gull wing doors. Anyway, assuming Bricklin learned his lesson, Chrysler didn't. The Sino-American partnership plans to upgrade the Chinese market Chery A1 for the U.S. market.

John Humphrey says Chery’s unlikely meet their ambitious 2009 target for U.S. export. In fact, J.D. Power and Associates’ General Manager for the Asia/Pacific region says that none of the Chinese auto manufacturers are prepared to meet U.S. environmental and safety standards.

Humphrey says Chery is closer to being ready than its fellow Chinese manufacturers, but a U.S.-legal Chery A1 is still “at least a product generation away.” If Humphrey’s correct, Chrysler’s re-branded subcompact is about five years out. 

In China, the Chery A1 sells for $7100 to $7900. Both LaSorda and Chery’s CEO have announced that the U.S. A1 will sell for $7k. Does this mean that the American market will get a stripped-down version? Not likely.

Industry analysts say that the A1’s $7k price point is highly unrealistic; they estimate that the Chinese export would have to sell for $10k to turn anything even remotely resembling a profit.

George Magliano, automotive research director for Global Insight is adamant. “I don’t think seven is going to work… In the U.S., this thing has got to be styled right, it’s got to perform right, it’s got to have quality, it’s got to have safety. You don’t get that for $7k.”

Erich Merkle, director of forecasting for IRN Inc., predicts that the Chery-Dodge could cost as much as $15k– once laden with features that U.S. consumers demand (e.g. power door locks and windows, and a high end stereo system).

Immediately after Chrysler and Chery signed their agreement, PRC Communist Party bureaucrats gave official approval to the Chrysler-Chery deal ('natch). At around the same time, the partnership garnered the attention of another government.

Reacting to the importation of tainted Chinese pet food and toothpaste into the American market, Congress plans to hold its first hearings on the safety of Chinese-manufactured goods this month.

The recent recall of 450k defective Chinese-made tires sourcing from the Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co. also caught the eye of the Senate’s Commerce Committee. Don’t expect any pity on Chinese manufacturers from the Democrats that now control both houses of congress, who’d love nothing more than to slow the tide of imported cars and Chinese car parts that “steal” union jobs.

The smallest car in Chrysler’s current arsenal is the linebacker-sized Caliber, whose base price is roughly twice that of the proposed sticker for Chery A1 import, whose quality and driving dynamics can’t hold a candle to the Honda Fit, Toyota Yaris or Nissan Versa.

While you don’t have to survey a dealer lot stuffed with unsold Aspangos to appreciate Chrysler’s need for a viable subcompact, summoning a federalized Chery A1 seems a distinctly enigmatic choice.

OK, dumb. If the Chinese import's two years too late and twice the targeted price, it’s going to hit the exact same wall as the Caliber. If the Chery A1 gets a one star government crash test rating… In this country, three strikes and you’re out.

In June ’05, GM CEO Rick Wagoner unveiled his turnaround plan for the beleaguered automaker: accelerate new products, eliminate discounts, renegotiate union contracts, import parts from China and downsize to match diminished demand. The last of these five points captured the critics’ imagination. “You can’t cut your way to profits,” they warned. Wagoner reacted with characteristic bravado: “We aren't going out of business in the next six months.” One wonders how those words would sound today, two days after the world learned that GM’s June sales slid 21.3 percent.

By now GM has a lot of practice explaining operating losses, shrinking sales and lost market share. Still, Black Tuesday challenged veteran mouthpiece Paul Ballew’s exculpatory skills. Once again, Ballew was determined to convince GM’s camp followers that the automaker’s sagging fortunes actually represent good governance and bad luck. To that end, Ballew rounded up the usual suspects.

GM’s Spinmeister began by pointing out that the showroom massacre was “partly attributable to a planned reduction of an additional 13,487 daily rental sale vehicles.”  Although Ballew did his best to headline the fact, empirical analysis suggests additional emphasis on the word “partly.” In June, GM’s sales fell by 86,825 units (320,688 vehicles vs. 407,513). GM’s reduced fleet sales only account for 15.5 percent of the total tumble.

Ballew then trotted-out the old “soft industry” excuse. Only it turns out the U.S. automobile industry has an airtight alibi. According to Autodata, American automobile sales fell just three percent in June; from last year’s 1.5m to this year’s 1.46m. The numbers clearly indicate that the industry was tucked-up in bed at the time of GM’s bloodbath.

And anyway, how do you explain the fact that GM’s transplanted competition went nuts? Nissan posted a massive 22.7 percent sales increase. Toyota’s turnover rose by 10.2 percent. Honda’s sales ascended by 11.5 percent. Hyundai’s sales climbed 11 percent.

Surprisingly, Ballew says GM wasn’t surprised by their [continuing] shimmy down the sales charts. “We had very strong retail sales in June and July a year ago, so we knew we'd have a tough time on the retail side.”

Yes, well, that's what happens when you offer zero percent financing to anyone with a pulse for six days, and then don't. In any case, there's no getting around the fact that GM sold 50k units less in June than it did the previous month.

Ballew identified two legitimate conspirators: rising gas prices and slowing housing starts. The twin terrors tore into GM’s truck sales, scything 22.9 percent from the previous June's total. Sales of the relatively new GMC Sierra and Chevrolet Silverado pickup trucks fell 26.5 and 23.5 percent respectively.

Surprisingly, Ballew says GM was surprised by Toyota’s aggressive offers on their Texas Tundra: zero-percent financing for 60 months and $5k in dealer incentives. The fact that GM failed to realize that their deep-pocketed nemesis would slap cash on the dash to attain their 200k per annum Tundra target shows GM’s woeful lack of situational awareness.

It gets worse. Ballew hinted that his employer will react in kind, increasing incentives on its pickups to protect its turf. As predicted, Toyota’s entry into the market is gradually and inexorably taking its toll on the profitability of GM’s last remaining cash cow.

Meanwhile, GM's new product cadence has peaked, and its eight brands are in dire straits. Caddy (-28.4 percent), Chevrolet (-23.5 percent), Hummer (-10 percent), Pontiac (-18.1 percent), GMC (-16.1 percent), Buick (-30.4 percent) and Saturn (-8.8 percent) all sucked the joy out of June. Only Saab stayed above water, adding 1066 sales, topping out at 4361 vehicles.

In silver lining search mode, Paul Ballew and Marketing Maven Mark LeNeve pointed to the early success of the SUV-sales-stealing Lambda triplets (Acadia, Outlook and Enclave) — although admitting you can’t build a new model fast enough to meet demand is a curious sort of boast for a company that's boasted about reduced production. 

So, where does all this leave Rick Wagoner’s turnaround plan? Accelerate new products. Flop. Eliminate discounts. Nope. Renegotiate union contracts. Health care “giveback” swallowed by soaring costs. Import cheaper parts from China. Check. Trim excess capacity. Who cares? If you didn’t believe it then, believe it now: you can’t cut your way to prosperity.

To wit: GM’s U.S. market share fell 3.3 percent in June, down from last year's 25.4 percent to this year’s 22.1 percent. (Down 8.1 percent since '90.) Toyota’s U.S. market share now stands at 16.9 percent. When you consider the disparity in the two automakers' dealership count– 7715 vs. 1740– it's easy to see which company is headed for Chapter 11, and why.

In fact, since Rick Wagoner launched his turnaround plan, GM’s market share has shrunk by 5.2 percent. No matter what else GM's CEO may or may not have achieved in that time, the figure is an irrefutable condemnation of his administration. GM's Board of Bystanders granted Rick Wagoner a bankruptcy-proof pension. It's time they activate it.

In the Dirty Harry movie Sudden Impact, Jennifer Spencer (Sandra Locke) confronts one of the gang members who raped her sister and left her for dead. Even though the cornered perp is looking at the business end of a gun held by a woman who has already killed every other conspirator (shooting them once in the genitals, once in the heart), the gang leader taunts her executioner. "So how's your slut sister?"

Hate rapists. Love the ‘tude. Here's a felon who sees Death's blade scything towards her and mocks its master. Compare that attitude with The Big 2.8 of late. These beleaguered automakers are busy advertising their po-faced passenger cars as highway high mileage champs and Camcordima-crushers. Puh-lease.

While I'm sure there are plenty of readers ready to pronounce Detroit's passenger cars superior to their transplanted competition, what IS the point? That train has left the station. The Big 2.8 would have to crank out a decade's worth of mechanically bulletproof, class-leading cars to regain the mid-size momentum from well-satisfied Toyondissans.

News flash: Detroit doesn't have a decade. As Ford's Presidente de las Américas Mark Fields recently admitted "Time is not our friend."

Gentlemen, it's true: you're screwed. Your margins are in pickups and SUV's, the trucks ain't movin' in big numbers no mo', you ain't got the time to change focus (so to speak) and you're selling three-quarter-assed transplant wanna-be's based on price. On top of all that, you're busy rushing more milquetoast motors to market. 

Hey, it's the ‘70's all over again! Gas prices spiked and Detroit didn't have anything genuinely competitive to offer, save market share. Gas prices have risen again and Detroit STILL doesn't have anything competitive to offer. And their passenger car market share is history.

Back in the day, Detroit destroyed their vehicles by trying to compete on the imports' terms, sticking diesels into piss-ant little Cadillacs for Christ's sake. And now they're doing it again.

Yep, they're building a whole range of slow, bland, watered-down versions of their once all-conquering SUVs. If ever a vehicle lacked edge, the Edge is it. And what's a honking great Buick somethingorother doing with a weedy V6 under the hood? Trying to be a bigger Honda Pilot? Fuhgeddaboutit.

More generally, why is Detroit trying to be Toyota? OK, The Big 2.8's gas-guzzlers aren't selling. That really blows. But here's an idea: go out and sell them!

The current generation Ford Explorer is safe, cheap, comfortable, smooth, powerful, versatile and handles like a dream. So when was the last time you saw an ad for a Ford Explorer that didn't scream CASH BACK! DEALER INCENTIVES! ZERO PERCENT APR! LEASE A NEW FORD EXPLORER FOR $199 A MONTH!

C'mon guys, you're staring down the barrel of bankruptcy (at best). Stop selling cars like Ginsu knives! Just look death straight in the eye and tell it to F-off. All I'm seeing is market-reactive, mileage-related come-ons. How about some ads telling people to forget fuel efficiency and buy big?  

"Excuse me sir, you don't seriously think a few more mpg's is going to save the planet do you? Life is short! Do you want to spend it DOWN THERE, eye-to-eye with all those passenger car people? Speaking of which, have you ever wondered what happens when an old school SUV hits one of those new school compacts? Of COURSE you have.

"Yes, I know: gas is expensive. What if I can show you how to save enough money on the purchase of your SUV to pay for that gas? You LOVE your SUV. You give that up and the next thing you know you'll be eating soybean burgers and drinking white wine spritzers. We build some GREAT SUV's. Do yourself a favor. Do US a favor. Buy one."

Meanwhile and in any case, the fact that the Chrysler 300 was a hit seems to have escaped Detroit's import-addled attention. Hello? Can Toyota, Honda, Nissan, KIA, etc. build a big, bad, trad American sedan for the masses? I wouldn't recommend waiting to find out.

Or, for that matter, trying to sell [non-fleet] American motorists more lily-livered Euro-styled front wheel-drive mileagemobiles. Go wake up your design teams and show us what real ‘Merican metal is all about. What? You killed the Cadillac 16 and Buick Velite in favor of green machines? When did hara-kiri hit Detroit?

Will a more ballsy strategy work? Hell no. The Big 2.8 have too many dealers, brands and overheads; their continued survival demands all blockbusters, all the time. That just ain't gonna happen. But what the Hell. When you're moments away from the big sleep, it's better to go out like the Dirty Harry villain, showing a little class. OK then, style.

If you’re looking for someone to blame for the whole yuppie-SUV fad, look no further. Back when I was bouncing over Rocky Mountain off-road trails in my VW bug, I sneered at actual Jeeps. And when I headed out across the desert in my Dodge van, I (almost) never missed having four-wheel drive. The moment we became city folks with kids, we just had to have a genuine 4X4 SUV. Read More >

Back in '89, the Chevrolet Lumina arrived to take on America's sweetheart: the Ford Taurus. The swoopy-shaped FoMoCo four-door kicked the Lumina's butt seven ways to Sunday. The Taurus continued to crush The Official Car of Disney World– until Dearborn's astrological automobile hit the skids, knocked off its perch by Toyota's handiwork. The Taurus slid into fleet-only sales, replaced by the lackluster Five Hundred. Meanwhile, Chevy replaced the Lumina with the Impala and walked away from the full-sized Ford. And now Ford's back with the resuscitated Ford Taurus. Gentlemen, Ford or Chevy? Place your bets!

Introducing, in the Bow Tie corner, a genuine best seller! For real!. At the turn of the last century, Chevy took the dubya-bodied Lumina, haphazardly re-skinned it and slapped the famous Impala logo on the grille. Seven years later, after a few tweaks and a cleaner profile, the Impala has become GM's best selling passenger car (fleet sales notwithstanding). Year-to-date to June, The General's sold some 144,451 Impalas.

Though it never grabbed headlines like the so fresh, so clean Chrysler 300, the wrong-wheel drive Impala quietly raked in the greenbacks for a cash-deprived General Motors. And if you (conveniently) overlook the acres of American-made Camcords, the Lumina-cum-Impala is still the best selling domestic car on the market. It's even had a bit of a bounce of late, as Chevy-loyal SUV refugees succumb to the Impala's frugal and capacious charms.

Once you jettison the "parking lots filled with refrigerator-white fleet bodies" slam to the base unit and drop the "torque steer monster" insults to the SS variant, the Chevrolet Impala emerges as one of the most popular full-size sedans. And why not? Forget the dull styling, lousy road manners and crude materials, and you'll find a comfy ride with several trim levels sporting mad value-added skills. Like, awesome.

And now, presenting, in the blue corner, the fairly competent but totally uncool Ford Five Hundred! Bred from a meticulously cost-engineered, well-aged Volvo platform, wearing the most generic lines this side of a Levittown township, sporting a boring name and cursed with an overburdened powertrain and a silly-ass transmission, the five bills Ford designed to restore luster to The Blue Oval didn't.

The Five Hundred has rarely sold over 10k units a month. Considering the startup costs of a new platform and a thoroughly modernized Chi-town facility, that's gotta hurt. Months after launch, production was lowered to meet demand. Sales in 2006 barely crested 84k, some 70 percent below the Impala's sales for the same period.  

So while Ford struggles, GM's laughing all the way to the bank; their sedan from the Tone Lōc school of thought is a money-making sleeper. Yes but– the Impala ain't no beancounted wild thang. The W-body is primed to get knocked off its high horse. Cue the Rocky training sequence, as the Five Hundred pumps iron to become… the fifth generation Taurus!

The pride of FoMoCo's Chicago plant is ready with a dollop of new sheetmetal, a Volvo-bashing marketing strategy (America's safest car!), a larger and more refined Duratec six-banger and one unforgettable name. All of the Five Hundred's shortcomings are addressed (if not entirely cured) in the mildly updated, mildly appealing 2008 Ford Taurus.

Ford's bullish about the model's brand heritage, but there are plenty who hate the Taurus. Memories of exploding head gaskets and grenaded transaxles fade slowly. Some go the other way: SHO-ing the sedan some love for the design revelation that saved Ford's bacon. Odds are most Americans recognize the name and will listen to Dearborn's elevator-pitch before making up their minds.

Truth to tell, there's not much chance that the Five Hundred redux will take the market by storm. Still, The Glass House Gang deserves some credit for finally realizing that constant evolution is the way Fordward- even if the move was motivated more by financial constraints than strategic sagacity.

Anyway, how could the Taurus not improve Ford's sales disparity with the Impala? Put another way, Ford has a two out three shot of making a bigger score with the Five Hundred's replacement just by name alone. Look out Impala: the Ford vs. Chevy battle is about to begin, again.

Unfortunately, this match is not likely to be as well-attended as the epic battles of days gone by. Years of customer indifference to half-assed redesigns and the smell of fleet sales spirit (not to mention the constant action over at Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Kia and Nissan) have emptied the stands.   

Both Ford and Chevrolet will have to work a lot harder to recapture the public imagination. How about a title bout between a full-fledged rear-wheel motivated Impala and a sharp-looking, smooth-riding, Mustang-based Ford Galaxie?

For now, both combatants are losers, desperately clawing for respect among those who currently start (and finish) their sedan search at their local transplant dealer. Ford vs. Chevy. Someone will win, but does anyone really care?

In “The Blue-Eyed Salaryman,” American author Niall Murtagh charts his fourteen year career inside Mitsubishi Japan. When Murtagh gets transferred to Osaka, he concludes that the Tokyo part of the company focuses on large visionary research projects, while Osaka demands practical applications. And there you have it: the dichotomy that accounts for Mitsubishi’s progress in the automotive arena. You have visionary products like the Evo with very little practical purpose, and dull products like the Outlander with very little vision. So where does the new Lancer fit?  

Welcome to the next step in the The Truth About Cars’ evolution: TrueDelta spec and pricing data. (If you don’t see a button marked “Get Nissan SE-R Spec V Pricing” above the SE-R review, click on “Classic” in the header, and then click on “Improved” in the top right corner of the header.) From now on, visitors can use TrueDelta data to check vehicle specifications, get new car prices and make an “apples to apples” price comparison to other models. It’s part of TTAC’s ongoing commitment to provide the web’s most trustworthy automotive content.

As many of you know, Michael Karesh is the man behind TrueDelta. Today’s integration is the culmination of a longstanding relationship between Michael and TTAC. From our first contact (comments and writing), we knew that Michael shared our ethics-driven goals and attention to detail. When we decided to offer more content for the 57 percent of TTAC’s daily visitors who are “in market” car buyers, we immediately thought of TrueDelta.

Michael and the programming team have done a terrific job coordinating TrueDelta’s software with TTAC's back end. We’re still playing around with a few widget placements and stress-testing the system, but TTAC can now give Edmunds, kbb and their ilk a decent run for their money when it comes to accurate, timely and user-friendly new car pricing data.

Even as we smooth out any remaining rough edges, we’re looking to expand our services to these new car buyers, making it even easier for them to buy the right car at the right price. Meanwhile, rest assured that we will NOT be neglecting our “base:” the pistonheads who come here daily to engage in a discussion and dissection of all things automotive.

In the next few weeks, we’ll be adding a news blog. It won’t be as comprehensive as Autoblog or as funky as Jalopnik. We’ll scan the net for significant developments in automotive design, engineering, manufacturing and retail; and split the difference. We’ll help pistonheads surf the automotive gestalt without getting all knarly about it. Or something like that.

At the same time, I’ll soon be creating more podcasts. You may notice I haven’t uploaded an audio file in ages. That’s because anytime I create a TTAC podcast it automatically appears on the home page, and then the back end spits out a New Content Notification. When the programmers disenable (a.k.a. kill) that process, we’ll have a walled audio garden. Visitors who want notification of new podcasts can sign-up via TTAC or iTunes. Everyone else can carry on as normal.

And then there’s the TTAC forum, or lack thereof.

When Mr. Montgomery’s recent editorial challenged TTAC readers to debate global warming in a dignified way, you rose to the challenge magnificently. Anyone who visits this site regularly knows that our commentators are the automotive webspace’s best and brightest. While I enjoy feeding our prose to the wolves on a daily basis, it’s high time you had a larger territory to piss mark.

That said, of one thing you can be sure: we will implement our existing posting policy on all forum contributions. In other words, the intellectual playground will be vastly larger, but the anti-bullying rules will remain. TTAC does not now, nor will it ever, tolerate personal attacks on the site, its authors or fellow commentators. Persistent offenders will be permanently banned.

If you have any questions, comments or criticisms of TTAC’s TrueDelta partnership or the plans described above or anything else site-related, please leave them below. My team and I read every comment left on TTAC, and respect the intelligence, wit and wisdom of our readers. We never forget that this website couldn’t exist without your energy, enthusiasm and patronage.

OK folks, it’s been a long strange day. I want to finish it by taking this opportunity– given as it is by me to me well past the logical point of conclusion– to thank all the people who put in the hard work to make TTAC and TrueDelta happen. From our Managing Editor Frank Williams, to our new data guy Michael Karesh and his supportive wife, to our programmers, biz dev dude, writers and commentators, ALL of you have given your all for what is, let’s face it, a labor of love. Thank you.

For my part, I pledge to continue doing everything I can to put TTAC on a firm financial footing without violating our core values. I am determined that the site will remain a labor of love even after it becomes a thriving commercial enterprise. I don’t see these goals as mutually incompatible. In fact, I view their realization as a vindication of our founding principle: the truth conquers all. 

Anyone who’s ever watched a canard-laden, sooty-arsed Spec V Skyline blast through a corner like a turbocharged gecko knows that the NISMO (Nissan Motorsports) boys are capable of crafting some serious speed. Yes, well, making a street fighter out of Nissan’s weight-challenged Sentra compact is sure to require some extra strength bippity-boppity-boo. Speedy silk purse, lethargic sow’s ear, that kind of thing. In short, I approached the Sentra SE-R Spec V with a healthy dose of scepticism, cynicism and I’ll-believe-it-when-I-thrash-it-ism.

Once upon a time, a "brand" was something you burned into the hide of your horse. The mark told everyone "this one's mine." It also served as a kind of frontier Lo-Jack against the varmits what done rustled your horses. In those days, brands were just about impossible to change. Now as then, "brand loyalty" was the breeder's best chance of staying in business. Only applied to modern pickup trucks, the concept is fast going the way of the Conestoga wagon.

As recently as a decade ago, America's flatbed fraternity fell into three camps: "I'm a Chevy truck man" or "I'm a Ford truck man" or "I'm a Dodge guy." If I had a nickel for every rear window vinyl graphic I've seen of Calvin peeing on a rival brand's logo, I could play the Atlantic City slots for the rest of my life.  

When foreign trucks first hit our shores, truck guys dismissed them as "Tonka Toys." They were considered cute little rice burners for people who couldn't afford a "real truck." Just in case the base was tempted by the small is beautiful gestalt, Chevy and Ford fired back at their diminutive competition with the S-10 and Ranger, respectively. Initially, they weren't bad trucks t'all. Brand loyalty survived.

The Japanese automakers did what they do: adapt, survive, thrive. Each model year issued forth an evolution– and I don't mean the shape of the front grille. The Japanese rigorously applied the not-so-secret pickup truck formula: reliability, practicality, style. Engines got bigger. Payloads improved. Amenities became more amenable. In the process, they gradually removed most (if not all) of the reasons NOT to buy one of their pickups.

In Marketing-land, "influencers" and "alphas" are the people who determine how the wider populace perceives products and brands. A decade or so ago, a prospective pickup truck buyer turning to an automotive alpha for advice would get a lecture on why Ford, Chevy or Dodge made the best vee-hicle, bar none. Today even the most rabid pickup truck partisan understands that the flatbed buyer's choices are no longer so clear cut, or cut-and-dry.

Sure, you can still find pickup-driving guys hitting the honky tonks wearing tight jeans held up by Blue Oval belt buckles. But Japanese persistence has caused a decided and dramatic shift in the truck landscape; there's been a massive erosion in traditional brand loyalty.

These days, the difference between various brands' pickups is relatively minute. Whereas influencers used to sell their friends on a brand, they now talk about product. F-150, Silverado, Ram, Tundra, Titan, Ridgeline– which is the best pickup? Well, that depends…

Have a look at the streets of Amarillo, Laredo and Dallas. No question: them funny furriner pickups is showin' up in ever greater numbers.  Where every red light once stopped a sea of Rams, F-150s and 1500s, you'll now find a decidedly international mix of Tundras, Titans, and yes, Ridgelines waiting their turn.

Don't get me wrong: The Big 2.8 still make mighty fine pickups. Japanese products haven't "blown them out of the water"– as Japanese cars did to America's compact and mid-size sedans. But Toyota and Nissan's single-mindedness and high profile in other parts of the American automotive landscape, has paid off in a more subtle way. They've turned "Hell no!" into "What's the best truck I can get?"

To entice open-minded buyers and suggestible alphas to look beyond traditional brand loyalty, the Japanese are currently playing the inscrutability and "dare to be different" marketing cards. The Nissan Titan is… the Titan of trucks. Honda dares buyers to "Break the Truck Mold." And Toyota is the "Truck that's changing it all."

In a very real sense, Toyota's right. In today's more malleable market, The Big 2.8 have to distinguish themselves from the competition. And that means examining their pickups' core competencies, choosing one, developing it and refining their marketing focus to suit.   

At the moment, Ford claims its F-150 "Hauls more. Tows more. Built for more." Chevy touts the Silverado's Truck of the Year award and instructs the sheeple to "Follow the leader." Dodge proclaims the Ram the pickup buyer's longest-lasting option.

Although these tag lines suggest Detroit's drawing the battle lines, the domestics have a nasty habit of thinking short term. Their marketing departments tend to chase the trend of the moment, to react to fickle consumer fashions. This ADD limits the Big 2.8's ability to pick one unique selling point and stick with it.

Also, pickup trucks are like Swiss Army knives. Asking a domestic manufacturer to pick a blade and promote the Hell out of it is like asking a cowboy to ride a thoroughbred. Still, when you're in a race for your life, a workhorse isn't your best option– no matter how famous the brand it bears.      

Chevrolet’s Aveo has the makings of comic gold. It’s the cheapest car sold in America. It’s from GM, ever the stooge to straight men Honda and Toyota. And get this: despite being the first vehicle to feature in Chevy’s ubiquitous “An American Revolution” campaign, the Aveo is built in… wait for it… Bupyong, South Korea. Ba-dum ching!