Nostalgia

The Carless Generation

By Jim Sutherland
October 24, 2009 There is always going to be a generation gap. The term “generation gap” was coined in the 60s when it became evident that Baby Boomers had developed a whole new set of rules for themselves that put a significant chasm between them and their parents in terms of interests and values. Generation gaps will always [...]

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Posted in Editorials | Nostalgia | Sales and Marketing | 101 comments

Editorial: Camaro Versus Camaro

By Jim Sutherland
October 11, 2009 The 1969 Camaro is an automotive icon. Because of this juggernaut tag there are tens of thousands of these late 60s pony cars restored or under restoration. The late Reverend Jimmy “drink the Kool-Aid” Jones would have been humbled by this kind of blind loyalty-the sole reason the 09 Camaro exists was GM’s critical need [...]

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Posted in Car Buying Tips | Editorials | Nostalgia | 43 comments

Editorial: Collector Car Market: The Sky Hasn’t Fallen; Just a Few Prices

By Chuck Goolsbee
September 11, 2009

In a recent news article, RF stated: "…here’s another story where the web pulls the rug from under auto industry types seeking to hide the truth. We’ve been saying it forever (in Internet terms): the collector car market has collapsed. Well, duh. But the mainstream media and specialist press has both been happy to perpetuate the myth perpetuated by the auction houses that their business has been defying gravity. See? Cars are selling for phenomenal prices! Meanwhile, Hagerty’s CARS THAT MATTER is telling readers to pay attention to the men behind the curtain." In truth, the men behind the curtains are not the market. They are middlemen. They extract a percentage from every participant they can find to witness their activities; Buyer, Seller, hell, even the gawkers have to pay to watch the show. The auction houses are, in ecological terms, parasites on the very market they claim to serve. Like any parasite their success has a tendency to cause harm to their host. These guys are tarted up used cars salesmen. That, and the recent transformation of the car auction into a three ring circus, is what is killing the auction companies, and it has absolutely nothing to do with the collector cars being sold.

Editorial: Collector Car Market: The Sky Hasn’t Fallen; Just a Few Prices editorial continued »

Posted in Editorials | In Defense Of | Nostalgia | 26 comments

“Cars for Comrades: The Life of the Soviet Automobile”

By Lewis Siegelbaum
August 5, 2009

I set out to write a book not so much about the varieties and comparative deficiencies of cars in the Soviet Union as what these objects meant to Soviet citizens. The structure and organizing principles of the book were among the first things to become clear. There would be three chapters on the “Soviet Detroits”---the places where automobiles were built, the people who built them, and how the cars and trucks they produced both embodied the state's agendas and inspired popular identification.

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Posted in Editorials | Industry | Nostalgia | 32 comments

Editorial: Are New Cars Ruining Old Car Shows?

By Jim Sutherland
August 3, 2009

Over the years, I've attended thousands of “old” car shows. At the most prestigious of these events, eligibility rules are clear, consistent and cast in concrete. Meanwhile, at the bottom end, the cars on display have grown to include brand new Chevy trucks and late model imports. As long as it has four wheels, it's in. What kind of twisted logic allows a post-millennium car or a brand new truck to qualify for a car show when some poor schmoe who put thousands of unpaid hours into his '57 Ford has to park away from the show in a dusty parking lot? I know: times are tough. If you want to shoot ducks, go where the ducks are; the money's in the mods. But once again, we're looking at an auto-related industry where the relentless pursuit of short term gain threatens long term survival.

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Posted in Editorials | Nostalgia | 40 comments

Editorial: The Importance of Being Stranded

By Jim Sutherland
June 30, 2009

In general, today's cars don't put us in mortal peril (by themselves) or strand us miles from home. They don't require any special driving or mechanical skills. As always, progress has come at a cost: it's eliminated the character-building experiences that helped guys of my g-g-g-generation become "car guys." Yup, I come from a time without cell phones, G.P.S. navigation, OnStar, and vehicles that can breeze through 100,000 miles with little to no fear of meltdown. A time when cars offered a shorter shelf but more human - machine interaction. When car guys could look under the hood, see a problem and correct it. On the spot. I'm not bragging, so don't put me down. Not yet, anyway.

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Posted in Editorials | Nostalgia | 45 comments

Editorial: Nostalgia Ain’t What It Used to Be. Or Is It?

By David Holzman
April 25, 2009

For the last decade or so, nostalgia has been big in the car biz. Does it work? If substance backs it up. To wit. . .

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Posted in Editorials | Nostalgia | 53 comments

In Praise of: Detroit’s HVAC Engineering

By Ronnie Schreiber
January 22, 2009 With all that the domestic automakers have done wrong, it's important to remember the things they've done-- and continue to do-- well. In his post about dumb moves behind the wheel, Jonny Lieberman highlighted one of these engineering accomplishments: Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HAVC). As JL pointed out, even when Detroit was making malaise-era cars that barely ran, their HVAC systems were the "envy of the world." Sure, Volvos and Saabs had good interior heating and defrosting systems, not to mention heated seats. But Detroit led the world in keeping drivers physically comfortable. In this, geographic happenstance played a critical role.

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Posted in Editorials | In Defense Of | Nostalgia | 62 comments

Editorial: Winter Comes To Michigan

By HeBeGB
November 27, 2008 I live in Michigan. Not on the Detroit side of things, around here it's mostly suppliers. I'm an engineer. As I write this, I'm off on unpaid furlough. I don't work in the auto business; my company is in an industry about 10 bailout levels down. But around here, it all looks the same. Two years ago the Delphi fuel injector plant was shut down; two months ago the big GM stamping plant was stamped for extinction. Winter even came a bit earlier this year. It's cold, damp, gray, and we got some snow before Thanksgiving. Not unheard of, but not exactly welcome. I think it was P.J. O'Rourke who remarked while flying over the "liberated" but still depressed Eastern Europe, "Communism is the only form of government you can see from 30,000 feet." This economy is like that. You can see it of course, but it's also cold and gray and it hangs in the Michigan air.

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Posted in Editorials | Features | Nostalgia | 39 comments

Land of Hope and Glory

By Adrian Imonti
May 17, 2008

Driving in London just for fun is as sensible as rollerblading on the autobahn. Enlisting a young fresh-off-the-boat Yank to indulge in such folly should be a felony. Yet there I was, strapped behind a steering wheel located where the glove box should be, with a carload of norteamericanos who had entrusted me with their sightseeing and their lives. As an avid reader of British car magazines who watched BBC documentaries on PBS, I convinced myself that I possessed the knowledge required for such an undertaking. I'd already shown courage under fire, surviving several days as a pedestrian on these streets without being hit, not even once. All we needed now was more petrol, and a bank loan to pay for it.

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Posted in Editorials | Nostalgia | 19 comments