Editorials

Editorial: Opel, Aftermath and Prelude

By Bertel Schmitt
November 5, 2009 On Tuesday, twenty years after the fall of the wall that separated the two Germanies, German Chancellor Angela Merkel went to Washington. For the first time since Germany’s Chancellor Adenauer in 1957, the topmost German addressed Congress—to roaring applause. There was another wall. A wall of silence. Nobody in the US government—owner of General Motors—supposedly had [...]

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Posted in Editorials | Industry | 58 comments

Curbside Classic: 1968 Chevmobile Impala

By Paul Niedermeyer
November 5, 2009 Hybrids are big in Eugene, but some are just plain huge. The Prius is the official new car here, having dethroned Subaru. But here’s a hybrid of a different color: instead of a marriage of two drive systems, it’s a cross between two brands, the engine of one transplanted into another. Back in the day, [...]

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Posted in Curbside Classics | Editorials | 28 comments

Curbside Classic: 1965 Volvo 122S Amazon

By Paul Niedermeyer
November 3, 2009 How exactly did the Volvo 122 Amazon achieve its mythological stature? Naming it after the eponymous nation of all-female warriors was a good start. Legendary ruggedness and durability solidified its status. Sporty performance burnished it further. Then there’s the magic belt: one of the twelve labors of Hercules was to secure the girdle of Hippolyta, [...]

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Posted in Curbside Classics | Editorials | 29 comments

How I Won/Lost/Failed To Understand The Cadillac CTS-V Challenge

By Jack Baruth
October 30, 2009 With apologies to Douglas Adams: Stress and nervous tension are now serious social problems in all parts of the Galaxy, and it is in order that this situation should not in any way be exacerbated that the following facts will now be revealed in advance.

How I Won/Lost/Failed To Understand The Cadillac CTS-V Challenge editorial continued »

Posted in Editorials | Features | 51 comments

Curbside Classics: Chrysler’s Deadly Sin #1 – 1976 Plymouth Volare and Dodge Aspen

By Paul Niedermeyer
October 29, 2009 While the human Seven Deadly Sins – lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy and pride – clearly play a part in any automaker’s fall from grace, Detroit cultivated its own favorite deadly transgressions. Chrysler’s recurring dirty little habit was premature ejection: spurting cars out of the factory door before they were ready. The shoddily built [...]

Curbside Classics: Chrysler’s Deadly Sin #1 – 1976 Plymouth Volare and Dodge Aspen editorial continued »

Posted in Curbside Classics | Editorials | 77 comments

Ask the Best and Brightest: What If We Didn’t Have Federal Safety Standards?

By Robert Farago
October 27, 2009

Posted in Ask the Best and Brightest | Green | News Blog | Safety | 76 comments

Curbside Classic: 1985 BMW 635CSi

By Paul Niedermeyer
October 27, 2009 Somewhere deep in the comments to last week’s oft-misunderstood Datsun 210 CC was this: “With all the beautiful cars in the world, why do you insist on picking shit boxes all the time?” Well, it’s not like the streets of Eugene are lined with Delages and Delahayes sitting curbside in the [...]

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Posted in Curbside Classics | Editorials | 43 comments

Housekeeping: TTAC’s Comment Policy

By Edward Niedermeyer
October 27, 2009

As TTAC moves into its next chapter, it’s important that we revisit a topic that has long been a defining factor in our site’s success: our comment moderation policy. TTAC strives to provide the very best discussion on all things automotive, and in order to maintain decorum and high-quality online discourse, we’ve always moderated comments. This will not change, because—as a visit to most other car blogs proves—it’s the only way to prevent otherwise interesting conversations from devolving into ad-hominem, flaming and general unpleasantness. To help combat the internet’s endless supply of insulting, angry, incoherent, thoughtless, unfunny and generally annoying commentary, I’ve enlisted longtime TTACers Jeff Puthuff and Daniel J. Stern to help patrol our community. If you step over the line, expect to hear from one of us. Meanwhile, hit the jump for a little more detail on on community expectations and behavioral standards here at TTAC.

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Posted in Housekeeping | News Blog | 74 comments

Ford Death Watch 49: Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves

By Robert Farago
October 26, 2009 Will Ford go bankrupt? I doubt it. Not while the “bad” automakers that suckled on the federal teat go on and on and on and on. A FoMoCo C11 would expose the government’s Detroit bailout for what it was/is: unfair, ineffective, ill-conceived and unsustainable. Politically, Ford’s failure is not an option. If push comes to [...]

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Posted in Editorials | Ford Death Watch | 60 comments

Editorial: The Carless Kids

By Edward Niedermeyer
October 25, 2009 We’ve seen the signs coming for some time: rumors from Japan, declining car sales at home, advertisments selling cars as “the ultimate mobile device.” And the picture that’s beginning to reveal itself is a challenging one for fans of four-wheeled transport. Young people, once a deep well of enthusiasm and sales growth for the car [...]

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Posted in Editorials | Industry | Sales and Marketing | 74 comments