Recent Comments:
GM ready to let Opel go for free? {Autoblog}
Apr 23rd 2009 1:46PM Kevin and Sea Urchin - What you say would be true if "bankruptcy" meant "failed." What Mazda is educating you on is that companies that file bankruptcy are not closing their doors. This is the real world, not the game "monopoly."
Maybe it's in that next econ class that Sea Urchin didn't take but filing bankruptcy means that companies enter a legal status and structure that gives them the ability to restructure. That restructuring is meant to enable them to exit bankruptcy as a profitable and sustainable company. Some of the activities that take place include renegotiating terms of debt (or elimination of it entirely), contracts with suppliers, and relationships with labor.
Not all companies manage to exit bankruptcy as going concerns but many do.
REPORT: Fiat's Marchionne says Chrysler deal odds are 50-50; warns unions to cut costs {Autoblog}
Apr 15th 2009 12:21PM This comment perhaps best illustrates why Chrysler is in such dire straits.
Being reliable cars for 100k+ miles is table stakes for any mass market car company today. It's the bare minimum of competence. Meanwhile, other companies have vastly improved design, refinement, and features.
Then there's the refusal to consider something made by a non-big3 manufacturer. Another example of setting a low bar that has encouraged and enabled the big3 to trail the industry. Chrysler has been allowed to build a lot of mediocre product because we don't require their product to be competitive. This is where the "patriotic" american needs to learn the difference between being patriotic and being indulgent. Buying american because it's american is not patriotic. Providing the support and guidance to american companies so that their product is actually better than others....that would be patriotic.
This is fostered and/or caused by a self-limited world view. Chrysler has nothing that will even come close to competing with a Honda Accord or Toyota Camry. Call them names all you want but at the end of the day, it won't change the fact that a Chrysler Sebring is a poor excuse for a car in 2009. It's meaningless if it runs for 170+k miles trouble-free if the Honda will do that while having better refinement, handling, interior, etc.
But the bottom line is that this argument is behind the times. Quality was the issue over a decade ago. The automotive conversation has moved far beyond that. If that's the battle the american companies are still fighting, the war is lost.
Which is what we're seeing with Chrysler today.
Pioneer officially leaving the TV biz by March 2010, focusing on audio {Engadget}
Feb 12th 2009 8:50AM This is like saying you're hoping for a ferrari economy car.
Porsche RS Spyder center lock wheels now available for the street {Autoblog}
Oct 29th 2008 6:06PM Dean - You can try to resist but there's this funny thing called "slang."
In "slang" people refer to wheels as "rims."
This is not like people calling brakes, "breaks" or calling a dual clutch tranny an automatic transmission. They know what they are referring to. These same people might call tires, "meats."
You can argue it but you'd lose. Or are you the same guy who argued in the 80's that wheel covers are not hubcaps?
More 'Ring running: Maserati MC12 beats world's best in super comparo {Autoblog}
Oct 10th 2008 12:25PM Actually, the best benchmark would be a series of laps on the 'ring with an average of those times.
Smaller courses magnify volatility in lap times. With fewer corners there are fewer opportunities to make a mistake but there are also fewer opportunities to make up mistakes as well.
The reason the 'ring serves as good benchmark is because it is a good combination of factors. There are plenty of technical sections that favor handling, long sections that favor power, and enough variety in both to provide a complete test of performance capabilities.
Short technical tracks over-emphasize handling over power. Traditional long "power" tracks over-emphasize power. The 'ring combines both and if a series of laps are done, you cover handling, power, and endurance.
What's very true about your statement, though, is that on a course as long as the ring... a few seconds difference is meaningless unless it's an avg of many laps.
Panasonic IFA 2008 plasma prototypes: super thin, super green, super big {Engadget}
Aug 28th 2008 10:02AM Tough to be arrogant if it's really just ignorant.
Those arena quality projectors aren't exactly living room friendly, HD, and use ungodly amounts of power.
You know...if you can fathom it.
Man claims prayer brought pump prices down {Autoblog}
Aug 18th 2008 9:31PM dave0mary
"compared to all history".... you sure about that, chief? Be careful. There's a lot at stake.
I love it when the foolish call others fools.
VIDEO: Garage419 split-screens the ZR-1 and GT-R 'Ring laps {Autoblog}
Jul 11th 2008 2:45PM A little oversteer is easier to control? Clearly you've never driven 10/10ths on a track. A little oversteer can be quicker but understeer is always easier to control.
Please don't paint the corvette as some kind of "old fashioned" chassis and brute force. There's more than a little technology in both chassis and motor in the ZR1. You're not under the impression this is some kind of street version of a NASCAR are you?
Lastly "ricers never race in america because they'll get ther ass handed to them..." I take it you've never watched a ALMS, rolex, or SCCA race before. Never mind F1 or even CART.
Your entire post is an embarrassment to fans of either car.
Huzzah! TVR lives... again. {Autoblog}
Jul 11th 2008 9:06AM Well, you may slide off the track because you don't know how to handle high performance driving... but for the few who have enough track time to be good high performance drivers, there is nothing quite as enjoyable as being fully in control of all aspects of the car.
There's nothing wrong with wanting the car to do the driving for you but don't mistake electronic nannies for being better.
Review: 2008 Porsche Cayman S {Autoblog}
Jul 8th 2008 9:51AM Real men drive. They don't need their car to be a proxy for their manhood.
As a track instructor for the last 10 years, I have significantly more respect for the "sissies" driving the wheels off of miatas, base boxsters, and any other "chick" car then I do for anyone driving a high powered beast that needs the car to do all the work for them.
If I had a dime for every student who didn't know the first thing about weigh transfer, proper line, or braking... but thought they were "beasts" because of their "manly" car I could field a race team. What's worse is trying to convince them that yes, they are holding up that miata behind them who's been waiting to pass for 4 corners.
