The other night, I pulled up to a light next to a Honda Odyssey minivan which had a small TV screen flipped down from the headliner.
On it, quite easily visible to anyone in adjacent lanes, was some sort of porn.
I really don't understand... do people really need to be plugged into TV all the time? Isn't driving engaging enough? And even if they must watch TV at all times, can't the keep their porn at home, where the rest of us don't have to look at it?
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
GM Surrenders (Minivans)
The Detroit News reports that GM is fleeing the minivan market, to concentrate on crossovers, just as Ford is doing.
It seems like Ford and GM both made the same mistake--they brought a knife to a gun-fight, and got whacked by Honda and Toyota in the minivan segment. Both companies sold bland, underpowered, and unrefined vans, and must have made a conscious decision not to invest the money required to produce a world class product. Meanwhile, Toyota focused on quality and refinement, and Honda decided to make minivans a little sharper, and a lot quicker. Chrysler, the now (and future?) king of the segment, made sure to cover the market from cheap soccer wagons up to more elegant looking trim, and dropped some serious money on adding fold-in seats.
There is nothing wrong with using crossovers (tall wagons, or unibody SUVs, or whatever) to fill the"mommy wagon" niche, there will always be a market here. However, CUVs are not minivans--they don't have sliding doors, as a rule, which creates a real problem for many customers, who need the convenience. Power sliding doors allow parents to juggle more stuff while they wrestle the baby out of the second row.
Maybe the minivan market is shrinking, but the abject failure of Ford and GM hinges not on changing fashions--they just chose not to compete.
It seems like Ford and GM both made the same mistake--they brought a knife to a gun-fight, and got whacked by Honda and Toyota in the minivan segment. Both companies sold bland, underpowered, and unrefined vans, and must have made a conscious decision not to invest the money required to produce a world class product. Meanwhile, Toyota focused on quality and refinement, and Honda decided to make minivans a little sharper, and a lot quicker. Chrysler, the now (and future?) king of the segment, made sure to cover the market from cheap soccer wagons up to more elegant looking trim, and dropped some serious money on adding fold-in seats.
"We do believe it is a declining segment," GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz told The News on Tuesday. "Our new crossovers, Acadia, Outlook and Enclave with their three rows of seats and economical V-6 engines, can meet the same customer needs, minus the 'Soccer Mom' stigma.."
There is nothing wrong with using crossovers (tall wagons, or unibody SUVs, or whatever) to fill the"mommy wagon" niche, there will always be a market here. However, CUVs are not minivans--they don't have sliding doors, as a rule, which creates a real problem for many customers, who need the convenience. Power sliding doors allow parents to juggle more stuff while they wrestle the baby out of the second row.
Maybe the minivan market is shrinking, but the abject failure of Ford and GM hinges not on changing fashions--they just chose not to compete.
Spotted: Smart Fortwo
I stopped to buy some gas near my house today, and saw a guy fueling one of these, a dark blue and silver Smart Fortwo.
It is shocking how small these cars really are, compared to a typical mid-sized sedan. There is so little crush space from the front bumper to the driver, and at the rear, I don't think I could ever feel safe driving one. The tall greenhouse and small wheels pushed out to the corners make the thing look like a rollerskate.
The driver was a wiry, gray haired middle aged man, who I imagine was quite pleased with himself, as he filled his tiny gas tank and smugly thought about his 40mpg. Then again, he could have been an engineer or exec driving an evaluation unit--I didn't get a good look at the plate, other than to see that it was the white on dark blue of MI.
It is shocking how small these cars really are, compared to a typical mid-sized sedan. There is so little crush space from the front bumper to the driver, and at the rear, I don't think I could ever feel safe driving one. The tall greenhouse and small wheels pushed out to the corners make the thing look like a rollerskate.
The driver was a wiry, gray haired middle aged man, who I imagine was quite pleased with himself, as he filled his tiny gas tank and smugly thought about his 40mpg. Then again, he could have been an engineer or exec driving an evaluation unit--I didn't get a good look at the plate, other than to see that it was the white on dark blue of MI.
Friday, November 17, 2006
Jealous!
As you may have guessed from my occasional firearm-related posting, I am squarely in the pro-gun camp. Jalopnik reports that Ford took some jounalists, including bloggers, to a shooting range for some fun, as part of a James Bond themed day. (Aside: isn't Aston Martin the Bond brand? And in the last Bond movie, didn't the bad guys drive Fords and Lincolns?)
Color me jealous.
For any readers in SE MI, the range the event happened looks like it was Target Sports in Royal Oak, guessing from the photos. This is a first class indoor pistol range, and they will rent you a full-auto gun (MP5, Colt SMG) if you are ready to pay the (hefty) rental fee. I go there occasionally to shoot.
After the shooting event, the journalists were driven to a martini making class.
Lincoln on Amazon
The Detroit news is reporting that Lincoln is advertising some of its products on Amazon.com. They are displayed as a normal order-able Amazon item, except that instead of a "buy it" link there is a "Reserve" link, which takes you to Lincoln.com.
People are not going to go and email each other, "hey, did you see that new Lincoln on Amazon? $25 shipping!".
See The Lincoln MKX on AmazonI think this is a silly tactic, and one that has a real danger of back-firing. In general, Amazon allows customers to post negative reviews of products if they are reasonably written. Like any other item, it appears that users can comment on the Lincoln vehicles and give them star ratings. You can't really order a Lincoln from Amazon, and you don't save any money, which is Amazon's big draw. You also can't cross-shop other cars.
People are not going to go and email each other, "hey, did you see that new Lincoln on Amazon? $25 shipping!".
Saturday, November 11, 2006
The Buick O' Truth
Ever wonder how a real car would stand up to being shot from a real pistol or rifle? The answer is, "hot knife through butter". A policeman who seeks cover behind an un-armored car door, for example, has very little protection. The only part of a car that will effectively stop a bullet is the engine block.
The Buick O' Truth
The Buick O' Truth
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