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between the lines
Between The Lines: ESPN Columnist Blows Jeff Gordon Journalistically
We try not to read ESPN columns too often because it most often ends with someone having to restrain us so before we can bash our iBook against the wall. Don't get us wrong, we love Bill Simmons and all of that, but a recent column about Jeff Gordon's identity crisis represents both the worst in writing and the worst aspects of celebrity culture in racing (since no one hosts dogfights, apparently). More »
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Comment by TR3-A: I stopped paying attention to NASCAR when Mark Martin stopped racing full time. I have been loosing interest slowly up... more » | Other threads
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USA Today Gives 2007 Sebring a Handjob
Oh dear. While our impending Sebring review will go down in teh internets annuls as "why Loverman is unemployed," one thing is certain — the 2007 Chrysler Sebring is an abomination. One of the most visually vile cars to ever come to market. However, James Healy of the full-color-weather-maps-on-page-one rag writes, "The front of the car is dramatic, alluring, exciting." Um... Bullshit! He continues, "It has a special charm, especially visually" Oy vey iz mir... Can you do that? Can you just make shit up? Really? And his paychecks don't bounce? Unbelievable. More »
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Comment by Hemidakota: What a pathetic writer. Hey Ray? Where did you find this moron? Back ally of Detroit? Look son, the only... more » | Other threads
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between the lines
Between the Lines: Long-Term Testers
Of all the sleazy little quid pro quos practiced by the mainstream automotive press — undeclared first-class junketeering, advertising that looks like editorial, editorial that looks like advertising — the long-term test car is the most offensive. I'm sure editors can think of 500 reasons why it's OK to "test" a Ford GT for a year. I can think of one good reason why they shouldn't: It clouds their editorial judgment. IRS auditors note: Buff books like Motor Trend are some to the worst offenders. They've assembled entire fleets of freebies; erstwhile journalists dip into the company key bowl like sex-mad suburban swingers. And when it's time to "update" readers on the writers' favorite perk, what's the chance they'll pull their punches? More »
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Comment by Seth L: I would have picked on the Car and Driver long-term SRX, that didn't work most of the year, couldn't be... more » | Other threads
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Between the Lines: AutoWeek on the 2009 Cadillac CTS
I'm not a big fan of bait and switch. For example, Automobile's June cover features the Bugatti Veyron's bodacious butt with the tease "Coast to Coast in the USA." In fact, Editor-in-Chief Jean Jennings drove the Bug from one side of Florida to the other. AutoWeek's editors may not practice this kind of morally reprehensible despicably dishonest deceit, but there's no question that they're willing to skirt the line between what they know we want and what they've actually got. Dozens of AW covers promise readers the inside dope on the latest four-wheeled crack — only to throw down a couple of pages of Photoshop fantasy with a bit of tarted-up conjecture. Jenis Meiners' WORLD EXCLUSIVE on the '09 Cadillac CTS Coupe is a perfect case in point.
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Comment by fjork_duf: Yep for the most part autoweek sucks. That's why I cancelled my subscription. more » | Other threads
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Between the Lines: Motor Trend on the Cadillac BLS
Despite the warm hotness that is the CTS-V, the words "Cadillac" and "small" go together like "male porn star" and "small." Cadillac obviously forgot to learn that lesson back in '81, when they released the "Cimarron by Cadillac". The badge-engineered Chevrolet Cavalier — complete with in-line four and four-speed manual — was the smallest, nastiest, most heinously over-priced Cadillac ever produced — followed closely by its replacement, the Catera. (People watching Saturn's decaying orbit should note that the Catera was a rebadged Opel Omega, imported from Germany.) And now, finally, the Cimmaron has a proper suck-cessor: the BLS. It's a Euro-only model, and Motor Trend's de-capitalized paul horrell likes it. More »
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Comment by InDogWeTrust: Either Farago is brilliant or he lacks the sense of irony to recognize that he's doing exactly what he critiques... more » | Other threads
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Between the Lines: Car & Driver on the Impala SS
GM must really be in trouble. When Car & Driver feels free to give the new Impala SS a black eye, the balance of power has shifted away from The General and towards... the reader? Nah, couldn't be. Maybe America's favorite automotive buff book simply got to the point where they couldn't gloss over one more crap car without writing the word "crap" a thousand times— and they knew that type of review would alienate their arthritic audience. In any case, old habits die hard. The headline over C&D's Impala hatchet job plays coy: "Powerful impulses from a car with a split personality." Or, as we say around here, Crap Car. More »
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By David ThomasComment by Andrew J. Sutton: Am I the only one who noticed the 0-60 type-o? lol It should read 5.6 seconds 0-60 not 6.5. Just... more » | Other threads
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between the lines
Between The Lines: Jean Jennings Incurs The Wrath of Jalopnik
When Reverend Dave Thomas gets peeved about something, you know it's worthy of a fire and brimstone bombardment. Jalopnik's temporary editor is an even-tempered, temperate man whose editorial dagger remains firmly sheathed— until the Lord whispers the S-word (smite) into his ear. Well, in this case, Reverend Dave decided discretion was the better part of valor— a theory which this epistle pretty much rents asunder— and charged your humble correspondent with the wet work on Jean Jennings, smiley-faced editor of the chameleon-like Automobile magazine. Dave read her opening salvo in May's issue and took umbrage. Her sin? Pride, which goeth before the main mag in Jenning's [only partially correctly titled] "Vile Gossip" column. More »
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By David ThomasComment by RocketScientist: Lovely picture of Jennings. Long ago when I was a young pup - the bouncy invective of Ms. Lindamood... more » | Other threads
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Between the Lines: The Car Connection on the Cadillac Escalade
As country singer and professional Burt Reynolds pal Jerry Reed sang, when you're hot, you're hot; when you're not, you're not. Of course, back when The Guitar Man recorded his career-topping paean to the joys and sorrows of shooting craps, the second gen Chevrolet Camaro was minting money for The General and Burt's struggling film career was about to receive some divine deliverance. These days, Reed's just released a live album to prove he is, Burt's had so many face lifts he looks like a distant cousin and GM's rolled the dice on its newish SUVs: the GMT900 series. So, is GM's range topper, the GMT-based Cadillac Escalade, hot or not? 'Cause if it ain't, the company's going down. I know! Let's ask The Car Connection! More »
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Comment by Downtown Joe: When you work Urban Dictionary into your next piece, be sure to include a rusty trombone. more » | Other threads
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Between the Lines: Rick Wagoner Takes on the Critics
Rabid Rick Wagoner, GM's beleaguered CEO, recently responded to increasing calls for his resignation by asking The General's Board of Bystanders for a vote of confidence. While it would be uncharitable to suggest that the Board's thumbs-up is an example of the blind leading the deaf, you gotta give Ricky credit for balls. I mean, what low testosterone corporate manager would risk an Ed Koch-like "How Am I Doing?" after losing more than a dollar per human on the face of planet earth, overseeing a relentless drop in market share and cooking — I mean, "accounting errors"? What in the world could Wagoner say to sweep all THAT under the carpet? For an answer, we turn to Newsweek. More »
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Comment by J.T.: Fair criticism, for the most part -- although I think you were just being nitpicky when you complained about his... more » | Other threads
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between the lines
Between the Lines: Automobile on the Future of Cars
The future is a terrible investment. Consider Tommorow- land. Disney s ode to the joys of scientific progress has been causing the Mouse conniptions ever since it opened in 1967. And no wonder. Unlike the past, the future is always changing. One minute everyone s flying around with nuclear-powered backpacks popping food pills like a Jacqueline Susann character, the next they re freight training across intelligent highways in fuel cell minivans munching on apples genetically engineered to make them pay their taxes — er, more alert. Anyway, when Automobile decided to ask a futurist for a glimpse of the road ahead for their 20th anniversary issue, the results were bound to be debatable. But who knew they d be so predictable? More »
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Comment by Confusatron: I worked with an ex-rental manager who had great stories about people unbolting/swapping all kinds of things from cars, then... more » | Other threads
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between the lines
Between the Lines: AutoWeek on Norway's Car Taxes
Our little corner of the infosphere is not immune from political considerations. We re often ground zero for petro-political debates about the connection between American foreign policy and the way the needle in your big-ass SUV's gas gauge swings to E like a Big Band bee-bopper. We re also the subject of discussions about the negative effect of the exhaust gasses blasting out of the conjoined pipes of your Cayman S on California s Mighty Redwoods. Zzzzzzz. More »
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Comment by WrightEquestridomus: good article. One correction. Norway is the 3rd largest exporter of oil, not producer. Not even close... more » | Other threads
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Between the Lines: Gary Witzenburg on the Cost Disparity Between Domestic and Asian Automakers
As bankrupt and bankrupting suppliers begin to supply General Motors with potentially lethal trouble, the debate over free trade is quickly heating-up. Despite the issue s enormous complexity, or perhaps because of it, auto writers are beginning to analyze the effect of international trade relations on American automakers and, by extension, American workers. Despite being a former GM Spinmeister, or perhaps because of it, The Car Connection scribe Gary Witzenburg has decided to tackle the Big Kahuna. If America s failing automakers and their engorged unions are looking for an excuse to assume a victim mentality, Witzenburg is happy to oblige. More » -
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Between the Lines: Daniel Howes on Presidental Help
Daniel Howes writing for The Detroit News sets the gold standard for automotive journalism. His news pieces are comprehensive, insightful, balanced and eloquent. Lately, Howes has eased-off the hard news and ramped-up his commentary. Specifically, he s written a series of columns analyzing Motown s woes, from GM s fall from grace to the region s faltering fortunes. While keeping one foot in objective journalism, Howes has gradually become the best (if not the only) cheerleader The Big Three have got. And now he wants a word with the President. More »
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Comment by Cliff: Howe has the same problem that Sweet Pete does, which is to underestimate the scale of currency trading. The... more » | Other threads
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Between the Lines: The Winding Road on Private Jets
I don t get it. Why publish a car magazine on-line that looks exactly like a buff book? Readers downloading a PDF of The Winding Road onto a normal-sized screen have to do more scrolling than a Babylonian library clerk, without any of the web's inherent advantages (embedded links, readable font, word search, easy navigation, etc.). These e-mag guys may be Luddites, but they have some big advertisers behind them - and Car and Driver and Automobile ex-jeffe David E. Davis ahead. That's right: the Dean Wormer of automotive journalists is set to helm Winding Road's newfangled net thingie. Meanwhile, here's a pertinent question: what s a car mag doing reviewing a private jet? More »
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Comment by scotte: If DED is Dean Wormer, what's that make Brock Yates? John Phillips? Any of us? How 'bout a cross-country... more » | Other threads
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Between the Lines: Automobile on the Cadillac XLR-V
You may not believe this, but my mother always told me to be polite. I just never saw the point. Honest, yes, absolutely. But polite is so boring. Being snide, flip and nasty is so much more entertaining. (Why should drag queens have all the fun?) I guess that s the biggest problem with US automotive buff books: they re perfectly polite and deadly dull. This failing is easiest to see when magazines like Automobile review a real stinker like the new Cadillac XLR-V. How do you tear a substandard car a new asshole while, at the same time, kissing its ass? Over to you Mr. Johnson More »
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Comment by sebrock: I totally agree with you Admiral, Let's put a 400hp LS6 into a $50,000 car and let's put a crappier... more » | Other threads
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Between the Lines: The Car Connection on the Jaguar XK
It s nice to know that automotive websites are finally welcome to suck on the corporate tit alongside their buff book brethren. For The Car Connection s recent review of the new Jaguar XK, scribe Marty Padgett joined the glossies go-getters in South Africa for a romantic interlude with the Ford s division s latest two-seater. As our fearless leader recently indicated, Jalopnik is not entirely averse to that kind of action. We will simply state our cooption up front, and report on the bacchanalia as well as the whip. Meanwhile, Marty starts his automotive post card (from the company that makes the Edge) by waxing lyrically about luxury brand imagineering. More »
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Comment by skierpage: The XK is the Aston-Martin V8 Vantage gone badly wrong. Its fenders blob up where the V8's hunker down;... more » | Other threads
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Between the Lines: AutoWeek on Hip-Hop Car Culture
Once upon a Time, millions of Americans digested the Newsweek with one of two general interest magazines. When it came to pop culture, Time and Newsweek spoke with one voice. And earned a reputation for being cursed; the moment an artist appeared on their cover(s), their cultural relevance was over. It
s the same deal with AutoWeek. As soon as the car mag describes an automotive trend as being in the zeitgeist, it
s already gone Beanie Baby. Victims include retro-muscle cars, rice rockets and now... hip hop car culture.
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between the lines
Between the Lines: The UK Observer's Paul Harris on The Decline of The US Auto Industry
A decade or so ago, a left-leaning English newspaper writer could insinuate himself into the heart of America s liberal elite, send anti-American diatribes back to his champagne socialist admirers, and nobody on this side of the pond would be any wiser (so to speak). In these days of the Internet (and CSI), a hack can t get away with anything. So when professional Bush-basher Paul Harris decided to tell the UK Observer s audience How the US fell out of love with its cars , it was inevitable that his outlandish thesis would fall foul of US pistonheads. Autoblog s readers recently had a go. Now, it s our turn More »
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Comment by Robert Farago: More on Harris' "artistic license" via email: "Do I believe that Cadillac Ranch symbolizes the decline of the American empire? -... more » | Other threads
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Between the Lines: The UAW Responds to Ford's Way Forward Plan
After all the build-up, Ford s Black Monday had a distinctly grayish tinge to it. The Blue Oval Boys bad news bash was pretty much what everyone expected: 30k factory jobs, 4k managerial position and 14 factories scythed from Henry s North American operations. The fine print was, of course, exceedingly fine. To wit: no mention was made of the United Auto Workers (UAW) contract, which guarantees that not one Ford assembly worker will find themselves on the street without a significant payoff. If you thought that this iron-clad income protection program would stimulate the union to show a little magnanimity towards Ford s recovery effort, think again. More »
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Comment by DetroitWonk: Although I posted about this issue already over at my site...I wanted to comment on jbmadness's thoughts over here. It goes... more » | Other threads
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Between the Lines: Motor Trend on the Mercedes-Benz S500
It s hard to believe a German car maker would follow the advice of Winston Churchill, but there it is. If you re going through Hell, Winnie admonished his admirers. Keep going. Translation: If your flagship suffers from an overdose of kludgy electronics, add some more. To its credit, Motor Trend s undercapitalized, unattributed, parenthetical (first test) mercedes-benz s550 grasps the electronic nettle from the git-go. To its shame, the buff book never once uses the r word. But if questions about Mercedes s reliability remain unexpressed, at least Motor Trend is willing to tackle the big issues surrounding electronic intervention. Like who actually needs this shit? More »
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Comment by shoes: I don't know what you expect reading MT in the first place. I gave up on that rag a long... more » | Other threads
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between the lines
Between the Lines: Motor Trend on the Chevrolet Tahoe
While the automobile industry gorges on gorgeous, unveiling wild and sexy concept cars in LA and Detroit, the real business of the car business grinds on. GM enters 06 with its financials on the crash cart side of perilous, and it ain t anything a turbo-charged two-door with all the luggage capacity of a grocery bag is gonna fix. Almost all the General s chips now rest on the little square marked GMT900: their new(ish) SUVs and trucks. So, is it a hit? Motor Trend s persistently undercapitalized (first test) chevrolet tahoe tells the tale. More »
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Comment by Davey G.: David: As an SUV owner because I currently can only afford one main vehicle, my Durango's a far from perfect compromise.... more » | Other threads
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Between the Lines: Sports Car International on the Bugatti Veyron
These days, Sports Car International (SCI) is a serious playa. Editor Erik Gustafson has upgraded his publication s output across the board; his glossy car mag now hunts with the big dogs. In fact, SCI s clean-room layout, automotive eye candy and spade-calling editorial make the buff books look like timid, doddering, mutant Chihuahuas. So how does SCI No. 172 tackle the big Kahuna, a.k.a the Bugatti Veyron? While the competition has set the bar at limbo levels, it s up to SCI freelancer Jeurgen Zoellter to show em how it s done. Go Zoellter, go Zoellter; it s your birthday, it s your birthday... More »
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Comment by TexansAreHot: There's nothing quite like reading a Veyron story all the way through to the end only to discover that it... more » | Other threads
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Between the Lines: Jeremy Clarkson on the Bugatti Veyron
Jeremy Clarkson is a one man army. The English auto hack wields barely-judged invective like a malarial Crusader swinging a Damascus double mace, flailing at anyone and anything within reach. Self-deprecation and self-righteousness are the spiked balls in question. While the combination is a clear indication that Clarkson suffers from a bad case of class-related self-loathing, the journalist s deep-rooted insecurities don t detract from the fact that he s superb writer, with an instinctive command over the English language. So, does JC s prose rise to the challenge presented by the world s fastest production automobile, or does the big Bug fling him into a rhetorical cesspool of his own creation? Get your waders on boys More »
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Comment by Robert Farago: This is not the first time I faced this accusation. The underlying assumption-- that a writer who criticizes a more... more » | Other threads
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Between the Lines: EVO on the Bugatti Veyron
EVO is the UK pistonhead's bible. While populist titles like Top Gear, What Car? and Max Power troll the Sceptered Isle's mass-market, EVO remains resolutely high church. Every month, over 60,000 adherents peruse its glossy, over-sized pages to delight in the world's best automotive photography, and absorb the strange cadences of writers dedicated to The Gods of Opposite Lock. It's somehow appropriate that the magazine was started by a gentleman farmer/car enthusiast named Harry Metcalfe. It's equally apt (in a class-bound kinda way) that The Boss would reap what he sowed, grab the Bugatti Veyron keys for himself and write EVO's review of the world's fastest production car. More »
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Comment by Cliff: After literally 40 years of car magazine reading/buying, I have found EVO to be the only one worth buying. ... more » | Other threads
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Between the Lines: Motor Trend on the Bugatti Veyron
Never fall in love with your writing. Authors smitten with their handiwork tend to guard even the most pointless piece of purple prose against essential self-sacrifice. The resulting read contains words, sentences and entire paragraphs that should have disappeared down the highlight-and-delete highway. And yet, there they are, just sitting there, lazing around, doing nothing special for anyone save their creator. If you re looking for particularly egregious examples of superfluous text, always scan an article s first four graphs. To see how it should be done, check out this piece from Motor Trend s decapitated feature (first drive) bugatti veyron 16.4. More »
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Comment by skierpage: Skip the Yanks and go to the Brits for fine supercar writing. "car" mag is far from the glory... more » | Other threads
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Between the Lines: Tag Lines, Part 2
You know an automaker s tag line lacks a certain piquancy when a professional car journalist can t remember it. Or his managing editor. I know Mercedes used to be engineered like no other car in the world (which is still true, but not necessarily a good thing), but what the Hell is it now? Rob Moran, MB s infinitely affable PR meister and occasional provider of cars that go AMG in the night, put us out of our misery: Unlike any other. Now what does that tell you? More »
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Comment by Peter Orosz: Saab's tagline would be great if the jets thing weren't sad reminiscence but actual product. On the other hand, when... more » | Other threads
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between the lines
Between the Lines: Tag Lines, Part 1
I have a sneaking suspicion that the tag lines deployed by automotive advertisers are aimed at the carmaker s workforce. Your average car buyer is more likely to know the spoken intro to Madonna s La Isla Bonita than which brand offers inspiration as standard . Como puede ser verdad? I reckon it s a hangover from the eighties, when corporate mission statements were only slightly less popular than The Material Girl s seemingly unstoppable parade of hook-laden hits. Although Madonna has since descended deep into Desperate Pop Stars territory, automotive tag lines are still here and they re still a crystal clear description of the automakers intent. But not necessarily their execution More »
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Comment by B Borrman: You've forgotten the silliest part of Ford's slogan -- the only "innovation" they tag to a brand is safety. And... more » | Other threads
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Between the Lines: Road & Track on the Bugatti Veyron
It s Road and Track s turn to test drive the Bugatti Veyron 16.4. Reflecting the impact of a two-month lead time on its vehicular priorities, Hachette Filipacchi Medias car mag consigns the world s fastest production automobile to a corner of their front cover (in favor of the slightly more accessible Shelby GT500). At least R&T s brought/bought a big gun for their shot at the top dawg: car designer Gordon Murray. Mr. McLaren F1 inaugurates his contract with R&T with a seven-page analysis of Veyron s mechanical challenges and charms. Meanwhile, helmsmanship falls to Patrick Hong, who demonstrates a fondness for figures that puts Don Eppes to shame. More »
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Comment by Luis Camino: 0 to 100km/h is 2.5 indeed. i don't know who's the reviewer in that article, but it feels like he's more... more » | Other threads
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Between the Lines: The New York Times Advertoralizes on Car Design
BTL salutes the New York Times. The Old Gray Lady s automotive department boasts the industry s most stringent ethical guidelines. Not only does the NYT refuse manufacturers junkets and shun any writer louche enough to suckle on the proverbial tit, but the section pays for its press cars. The cynical amongst you may attribute the papers late-out-of-the-gate reviews and curiously bloodless copy to these policies, but we re glad that the Times still sets — and upholds — the standard for journalistic integrity (in this at least). Unfortunately, the barbarians are at the gate . More »
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Comment by tr: as an industrial designer, i'd have to say stuff designers say is usually 50% bs, 50% truth. i mean,... more » | Other threads
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Between the Lines: AutoWeek on the Cadillac STS-V
What is it with AutoWeek and Cadillac? After giving the new DTS a free pass, the weekly car mag French kisses Cadillac s performance-tuned luxobarge, the STS-V. Promises Kept the cover headline proudly proclaims. For years GM said it would battle BMW s Best. Now it Does. The eagle-eyed lawyerly-types amongst you will notice that the copy doesn t say anything about the STS-V beating Bimmer s best. The fact that the issue also includes a review of the new BMW M5 might have something to do with it. Or not. Who knows what editorial disconnect creates AutoWeek s unintentional irony. But it sure is painful to read. More » -
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Between the Lines: AutoWeek on the Subaru Tribeca B9
This Web site and others have savaged the Subaru B9 Tribeca for its hideous snout, ugly ass, cramped interior, hateful ergonomics, anemic engine, pathetic gearbox and piss-poor mileage. Needless to say, Rich Ceppos and his fellow AutoWeek scribes don t share our editorial freedom. The magazine s lucrative relationship with their auto making sponsors demands that all punches must be pulled, all dissing dissipated. So when AutoWeek s Autofile set its sites on the horrific B9, it was inevitable that it would read more like a bi-polar apologia than a coherent analysis. More »
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Comment by henri: this was the most telling paragraph, no need to "read between the lines" on this one: > A third staffer said... more » | Other threads
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Somebody Doesn't Like You, Mark LaNeve
It's no secret around here that GM doesn't particularly love us. Our readership isn't exactly miniscule, we're part of a high-profile network of blogs, and we're even occasionally fun to read. Yet unlike other automakers, the General won't give us the time of day. We're not on their Fastlane blogroll, and what's more, they still won't give us access to their press site. Basically, they like to pretend we don't exist. So somebody over in Web services at GM must have it in for Mark LaNeve, because we ended up first on the list of sites that reference Mark LaNeve's latest Fastlane post regarding GM's revised Red Tag promotion. For a quick refresher, check out our Robert Farago's evisceration of LaNeve here. More »
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Comment by aaron x: I know that this has been said over and over again, but, speaking for every Michigander that hopes (against hope)... more » | Other threads
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Between the Lines: GM's LaNeve on Red Tag Sale
The General has decided to revive the moribund market for its substandard sheet metal with yet another national incentive / discount campaign. Out goes GM s Total Value Promise (something about the sticker price reflecting the actual price), less than halfway through its promised run. In comes the Toe Tag Sale — I mean, Red Tag Sale. The man who promised to stay the course is, of course, the same man who must now sell the new, new plan. And check this: Monster Mark LeNeve is blogging! More » -
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Between the Lines: Road & Track on the Chevy Impala
The Chevrolet Impala embodies everything that s wrong with GM. It s not a bad car; it s just not a great one. The Impala struggles vainly to make a marque in a class filled with deeply-entrenched, top-notch competition. Road & Track s First Drive review of the new Chevrolet Impala embodies everything that s wrong with buff books. It s not an obsequious review; it s just not an honest one. Road & Track struggles vainly to maintain fading street cred in a new media world filled with editorially liberated content. In that sense, it s ironic that Shaun Bailey s apologia begins by harkening back to less demanding times... More »
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Comment by Davey G.: Robert. I haven't driven the Impala, but I recently spent four days in its sibling, the Grand Prix, and OMG.... more » | Other threads
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Between the Lines: Motor Trend on Leno's Record-Setting Spin
As far as the automotive press is concerned, Jay Leno is the gift that keeps on giving. The Tonight Show host is endlessly, relentlessly generous with both his time and his [large] jaw-dropping collection of exotic, vintage and mutant motors. To say Leno s pithy munificence has been endlessly exploited by doting car hacks would be like wondering if pre-pubescent Persian carpet makers would benefit from union representation. A quick search of Motor Trend s Web site reveals more than a dozen Leno-inclusive features. So, when Porsche approached Motor Trend with yet another JL-based idea, the temptation to file the request under DTD (Done to Death) must have been immense. Unfortunately, they resisted. More »
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Comment by quick5pnt0: Anyone else see the spin on Rides? I wish they would have had a in car camera to catch the... more » | Other threads
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Between the Lines: Autocar's Sutcliffe on the Bugatti Veyron
Having watched Car & Driver fumble the Bugatti-shaped literary football, it s time to check out UK weekly Autocar s take on the big Kahuna. To go flat out in the fastest car ever, the august publication threw the keys to their Editor-at-Large, Steve Sutcliffe. As Autocar s top lead foot, Sutcliffe has driven every supercar extent: Pagani, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, Maserati and all those commercially doomed, massively powerful misbegotten motors produced in English, French, German, Dutch, Swedish and Swiss sheds. So it s no surprise that Sutcliffe initiates his career capping Veyron review by comparing the Bugatti Veyron to the McLaren F1. More »
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Comment by blalor: Dan Neil's take on the Veyron came out in the LA Times recently. He succumbs to some of the... more » | Other threads
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Between the Lines: Csaba's Excellent Adventure
When Car and Driver received an invitation to run the world s fastest production passenger car up to V-Max, it s no surprise that Editor-in-Chief Csaba Csere grabbed the keys. Needless to say, the assignment held its dangers— and I m not talking about the prospect of Csere ending his life in a twisted heap of mangled Volkswagen parts. (As John Lennon said when he heard of Elvis death atop the porcelain throne, it would have been an excellent career move.) I m referring to the possibility that Csere s prose would not prove itself equal to the task of describing one of the seminal events in 21st century automotive journalism. The piece certainly starts well enough More » -
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Between the Lines: Autocar Reviews the Spyker C8 Spyder
Jalopnik s exploration of the tension between art and commerce in the review sections of various US car mags continues. Meanwhile, we couldn t help but notice a stunning example of this literary sub-genre in the 11 October issue of Brit weekly Autocar. Although Spyker doesn t advertise within Autocar s glossy pages, Chris Harris article on the Dutch automaker s C8 supercar is the single best example of this car sucks but I m not going to say so in so many words review we ve ever read to date. As the British like to say, Harris starts as he means to finish. More »
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Comment by st3ph3n: What you have to remember about Autocar is that it's basically the automotive equivalent of the national enquirer. I'd still take... more » | Other threads
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Between the Lines: Lutz in the Blogosphere
God knows why GM introduced their car blog. I suppose somebody s teenage son thought they should have one, so have one they do. The electronic dialogue s net effect on GM is precisely nothing — save the chance it affords kvetchers and kiss-asses to parade their prejudices. And yet Maximum Bob Lutz persists in posting. Once again, his unedited comments offer a fascinating (if unintentional) insight into the strategy and mindset of GM s top car guy. More »
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Comment by noremac: true colors....Bob gets his assistant to get on a blog and make him sound like a old codger the same... more » | Other threads
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between the lines
Between the Lines: AutoWeek on the Jaguar Super V8 Portfolio
Automotive writers serve three masters: their readers, the publication and the manufacturers who supply cars — but not in that order. While you re guessing who goes where, October 17th s AutoWeek provides yet another off-kilter example of a tri-cornered car hack struggling to balance these forces. Steven Cole Smith supplies this week s lesson in comedic tightrope walking: a review of Jaguar s Super V8 Portfolio entitled More Super Than Clark Kent. Hang on; shouldn t that be more super than Superman? The headline is the first indication of Mr. Smith s, shall we say, ambivalence More »
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Comment by Robert Farago: Thanks for the heads up. Something tells me I should expect a lot more of that in the future... more » | Other threads
between the lines
Detroit, 8:14 AM
Sun Jul 12
14 posts in the last 24 hours
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