Perhaps it makes sense for us to cool off on the keyboard-whining. No new product or service is going to be perfect, because no one is patient enough to get things right, and we refuse to pay for better quality. Hey, remember when the PC-lovers bitched that Apple computers cost too much? Well, now they should be happy that Apple has given in and pulled a typical MS goof. Rush it, ship it half-baked, and plan Service Pack #1 for next year.

That said, what iPod or iPhone-toting idiot would bitch that MobileMe, a networking service that costs 27.3 cents per day ($100/year), is too expensive? Does it not allow you to do things that your current cheapo phone doesn't offer? Is the $300-$500 most teenagers spend per year on their cell phone service a better bargain?

That said, there seems to be a vast gap between reality, developers' abilities, and user expectations.

Here's a slice of what we've become, forgive the overly rosy outlook:

- Corporate marketeers of EVERY company, not just Apple, over-hype new products.
- over-paid executives are cheerleaders who use meaningless words like "synergy" to attract investment and short-term profits - NOT to guarantee customer service or product robustness or durability. The results are predictable: a disposable society in which nothing is designed to have lasting value.
- With this same "quick-to-market" philosophy, corporate managers drive in-house developer and engineers to work under unrealistic project schedules (under threat of outsourcing everything to incompetent developers who will happily deliver crap for whatever price you want, on any schedule, no quality guarantee). The predictable result is that the good developers are overworked and make mistakes; low-cost firms continue to flood the marketplace with cheap knockoffs.
- Users with starry eyes grab the latest shiny gadget from their local megawarehouse store (you know, the one with untrained salespeople and zero customer service) and expect it to be perfect, flawless, ultimate... and if it isn't, well, there's plenty of places online where we can whine about it, or claim that their more-buggy knockoff is better because they don't mind the particular flaws of the product they bought.

So, "progress" marches on. In exchange for Moore's Law and Planned Obsolescence, we get mediocrity and disposability, and we actually think we're making the world a better place with more gadgets. Maybe, maybe not, but we must blame ourselves for the ridiculous speed of the rat-race hamsterwheel that we've spun up, for the crappy plastic products and their many glitches.

Harley indeed turned things around. But in so doing they also priced themselves out of the market. Today times aren't so bright when it has to rely on T-shirt sales to keep itself afloat.

Ford, sadly, is taking far too long to improve its product offerings. Aside from pathetic management, there is no technical reason that powertrain designs couldn't be ready TODAY to be shared between Europe and the Americas. As it is, the USA might see some watered-down Euro engines in 2 years. It's not clear that Ford has enough money to stay on auto-pilot that long.

My recommendation: do whatever it takes to fit small diesels and turbo 4-bangers into existing American chassis ASAP, and get them on the lots for before the end of 2009.

Next, could some of us non-NASCAR racing fans please have a bit more airtime on the Speed channel? Some of us like to see vehicles that turn right as well as left.

for the other 95% of the car-buying public, this attractive, high-mileage car what they've been waiting for. Now get the details right, Chevy: solid, quiet, chintzy-plastic-free.

... only ~15 years overdue, GM!!!

funny thing about the iPhone. As soon as we identify something it can't do, somebody writes software to do it, and it makes all previous handhelds look like shite. It is the Victorinox of electronic gadgets and, according to my friend, worth every penny. I'm saving pennies.

TeleNav Confirms iPhone In-Car Navigation App [gizmodo.com]

I suspect Nissan is trying desperately to axe ~200kg off their battle wagon... until then, the ZR-1 has rightfully earned respect.

... so apparently that means that you want a McLaren SLR, go ahead and buy one. I am happy that GM concentrated on what matters most: drivetrain, chassis, brakes, steering. I guarantee that if you ever drive a car 1/4 as well as Jim Mero, then you won't even notice the design of the air vents. By the way, the interior of the GT-R is nothing to be proud of... Next generation engineering? You really have been drinking too much leftover frat party kool aid. Both cars are state-of-the-art. Leave your fanboy comments on a site that appreciates it, not here.

When a customer buys a new truck, Dodge can simply guarantee it to not require any oil changes for 50,000 miles. For the ~75% of customers who kill their engines, they'll get a new truck, unloading old Dodge inventory. What a brilliant way to move trucks and screw Saudi Arabia at the same time. It'd be the Cerberus "crude truck" program.

Tell me why would anyone buy this new for $20k+ rather than buying a functionally equivalent used one for less than $6k at any dealer in North America. It's not like anyone is going to be able to tell the difference.

Seriously, i don't care how great Godzilla is, it looks like Banglified crap and is 100+ hp down from the Vette. And don't tell me that the GT-R is your pick for a winter car. Winter cars around here need ground clearance.

come swimming in the local lake by me, and then tell me how little impact humans have. The pesticide and fertilizer runoff have turned it into a toxic cesspool. This might not matter to you, but it does to me. It doesn't take that much pollution to cause severe consequences in other areas too.

Yes, some enviro wackos have no concept of reality. But the same is true for those greedy, self-centered exploiters who pad their profit margins by dumping their shit into someone else's lap. Corporate hit-and-run, if you will.

In order for the planet to work over the long term, everyone has to clean up their own messes. We don't, and as a result, there are very few freshwater lakes that remain swimmable and drinkable, not to mention a hundred other environmental/health/social problems. If you don't believe me, I'd be happy to show you...

Sorry, but that's robbery. An actual policy involves prioritization, equitable sharing of costs & benefits, as well as long-term planning for realistic scenarios, which do include at least as many known risks as advantages. Trying to increase the supply sounds great, but it is far less costly, quicker, and easier to get the runaway demand under control.

Supply-side economists seem to forget how fickle geology is. If the USA had so much readily accessible oil within its borders (a view not shared by the U.S. Energy Information Administration), then American gasoline refineries wouldn't have been importing the majority of their oil feedstock from overseas for the last several decades. The sudden impulse to drill new holes in the USA only seems to have occurred during the GWB administration. You know, the administration that believes that, free trade be damned, if you scare enough people into thinking we have no choice but to drill, then they'll let you walk all over their land, pollute it, and maybe even crash a tanker or two. Small price to pay for helping buoy refinery profits a few percent and keep the nation strong.

Fact is, every new drop of oil that is ever discovered anywhere in the world will be sold to the highest global bidder. No matter how much you love your car, it is doubtful that you will be the one to outbid major manufacturing countries (China now being predominant). China NEEDS oil to build and transport your cheap disposable plastic junk to your local Wally World megastore.

But sure, if you think that by having a low-yield oil well in your backyard will reduce your transportation costs without any lifestyle change on your part, go ahead and contact Exxon right away. Sell the mineral rights to your property, you don't have to wait for Uncle Sam to tell you it'll fulfill your American dream. Go ahead, drill your backyard, not mine.

If car owners really cared about safety, they would use the safety equipment already installed on cars (including indicators/turn signals) instead of chatting on their cell phones while "driving".

What about the Trans-Global highway, if it ever is completed? [en.wikipedia.org]

Most people despise a loss of choice. When you go shopping for bread, do you want to choose only between plain Chevy white and Cadillac organic multigrain colon cleaner? Hell no. Sometimes you want rye, or a baguette, etc.

Axing brands is bad for everyone. GM needs to axe redundant models, as well as outdated hardware. It needs to update its powertrains and differentiate brands based on chassis configuration and features. Axe the cheap plastic trim. If plastic trim is all that separates brands, then that is the fault of crappy brand management, not the indication of too many brands. Yes, GM accountants, such a radical decision will cause the books to appear as if GM spends too much on product development - you know, hiring engineers to build various coupe, sedan, hatchback, wagon, and cute-ute chassis configurations on top of the same powertrain - but i guarantee you'll sell more than if you just build utes and sedans.

Then again, imagine how quickly you could get to the grocery store if you didn't have to stay on the asphalt. That'd save fuel, right?

... and with new "security" rules in place, there's no limit to what venues will charge for refreshments.

Excuse me now, i have to puke.

For those of you who don't know GMC, test drive a GMC Kodiac.

The GM executives who decided to slap GMC stickers on cheap Isuzu-engineered crap trucks should be castrated or, worse, forced to have Sonomas and Canyons as their only vehicles.

GM doesn't need fewer brands, it needs less badgineering.

It includes:

- 55 mi/hr in the merge lane
- 65 mi/hr in the middle lane
- 80 mi/hr in the left lane
- passing on the right is a fineable offense
- holding up more than 5 cars behind when the lane is open to the right is a fineable offense.

Bingo - everyone is free to drive in their comfort zone, and The Man will almost certainly increase his revenue substantially.

Oh, and i fully support IntBev buying Budweiser. I know that there's nothing more American to drink than watered-down German swill, but those Belgian monks always seem to craft a better brew. I suspect that maybe, just maybe, the US consumer would buy superior products if their corporate overlords wouldn't keep feeding them a steady diet of garbage products designed specifically for the lowest common denominator.

Corvette
Panoz
Saleen
Lingenfelder
Callaway
Greenwood
Fisker
Mosler
Tesla
Vector
....

Why don't more people consider motorcycles & scooters practical transportation? Instead of selling your utility vehicle, which does occasionally serve a purpose, why not just buy the right size commuter vehicle???

MS has problems enough trying to force its corporate customers to update to Vista, let alone Seven or whatever comes after it. There is no compelling reason to "upgrade" to Vista now, and it's doubtful there will be in the next 5 years.

@gregmick: not bloody likely, especially given the stagnant value of MS stock.

@Shenzhov: better submit your CV to be the next MS Monkey Boy. They'll have an opening soon, since Ballmer has little time before his massive heart attack or until the board finally gets their heads out of their asses and fires the arrogant prick.

ATT is a company of pricks, but they're not not all stupid pricks. They know how to squeeze the last thin dime out of their loyal subjects.

Better to get a used/unlocked/hand-me-down first-gen iPhone, upgrade to 2.0 software, and then use it on T-Mobile's network.