Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

What Really Grinds My Gears: Gas Pumps Without A Locking Feature

By Robert Farago
November 7, 2009

I have no idea when someone somewhere decided that there was some kind of safety problem with gas pumps offering a locking clip at the end of the nozzle. You know, the little metal doo-hickey that lets you take your hand off the pump while the car fills with gas, then kicks back to let you know it’s done. I suppose someone somewhere experienced a clip failure. I imagine gas poured onto the ground. I have a hard time believing that the result was a lethal conflagration, but a million monkeys and all that. Perhaps it was the idea of an inferno that led to their ban; the relevant bureaucrat having seen Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds” as a kid. Meanwhile, here in the Ocean State, we have to physically squeeze the trigger on the nozzle until the tank’s full. As fellow SUV owners will attest, that can be a long time. Anyone who doesn’t live in the desert or the Deep South will also tell you that pumping gas in sub-zero weather is painful enough to make an Antarctic explorer nostalgic. Tall people have to stoop. Weak people have to strain. Nervous people have to stand still. All for the lack of a single piece of metal. If we can put a man on the moon (and I know you and I were deeply involved in that venture), why can’t we (and now I’m talking about you rather than me) design a gas pump that doesn’t require so much human effort?

Posted in News Blog | Whiskey Tango Foxtrot | 39 comments

Calgary Auto Sales: Gratuitous Much? Again

By Robert Farago
November 3, 2009

I know I “raised” expectations with the previous post on the beautiful Charlene. And so I feel obliged—obliged I tell you—to provide the denouement to what could well be the sleaziest sexploitation perpetuated by anyone even remotely connected to the automotive industry. I think we can all learn a lesson here: lock up your daughters. And if any member or our B&B needs more vigorous instruction on this matter, Google “Standing and Modeling” using only the first letters of each word.

Posted in News Blog | Whiskey Tango Foxtrot | 8 comments

TTAC Throws Down to AutoBlog: Out-Landau This

By Robert Farago
November 2, 2009

Posted in News Blog | Whiskey Tango Foxtrot | 48 comments

How to Almost Die While Waiting for AAA

By Robert Farago
November 1, 2009

A sense of humor will get you through anything . . .

Posted in News Blog | Whiskey Tango Foxtrot | 34 comments

CTS-V Challenge Lap Times

By Edward Niedermeyer
October 29, 2009

Via Cadillac’s Twitter Feed:

John Heinricy (Cadillac test driver)- Cadillac CTS-V: Top Lap: 2:46:560

Aaron Link (Cadillac development engineer)- Cadillac CTS-V: Top Lap: 2:48:902

Brian Redman- CTS-V: Top Lap: 2:49:596

Michael Cooper (Who is this guy?)- BMW M3: Top Lap: 2:50:424

Jack Baruth- Cadillac CTS-V (TTAC): Top Lap: 2:51:153

Lawrence Ulrich- CTS-V (New York Times): Top Lap: 2:53:157

Bob Lutz- Cadillac CTS-V (VP of Marketing, GM): Top Lap: 2:56:321

Michael Mainwald (carguydad.com)- BMW M5: Top Lap: 3:05:398

Wes Siler- Mitsubishi Evo X (Jalopnik): Top Lap: 3:08:126

Chris Fairman- CTS-V: Top Lap: 3:14:292

Archan Basu- Jaguar XF: Top Lap: 3:15:670

Tom Loder- Audi RS4: Top Lap: 3:15:702

It’s official: TTAC’s top driver has beaten Bob Lutz! Check back tomorrow for Jack’s on-the-ground take on the weirdness that was.

Posted in Enthusiasm | News Blog | Whiskey Tango Foxtrot | 96 comments

Monticello: The Lutz At Dawn

By Edward Niedermeyer
October 29, 2009

It's on! (courtesy:Cadillac)

Bob Lutz savors his morning cup of Maximum, as he contemplates a wet, foggy day of racing at Monticello. Competitors will get five laps of the 3.5 mile track… assuming all those ponies at the rear wheels don’t leave Cadillacs scattered across the infield. Early practice video shows a CTS-V shouting at the devil on the main straight, but in these conditions the corners are the issue. Updates will be posted as they come in from our man behind the wheel, Mad Jack Baruth.

Posted in Enthusiasm | News Blog | People | Whiskey Tango Foxtrot | 26 comments

What’s Wrong With This Picture?: Acura, NSFW Yeah! Edition

By Edward Niedermeyer
October 28, 2009

Acura-cy in journalism (courtesy:southparkstudios.com)

[via South Park Studios]

Posted in 3WTP | News Blog | Whiskey Tango Foxtrot | 14 comments

Jaguar Pulls Out Of CTS-V Challenge

By Edward Niedermeyer
October 27, 2009

If we’re learning anything from the twists and turns leading into GM’s Cadillac V-Series Challenge, it’s that a good stunt is hard to stage these days [unless you have access to China's rich reserves of stunt drivers, as shown above]. Jaguar’s US PR boss Stuart Schorr has informed us that his firm’s legal and safety advisers have put the kibosh on the XF-R’s planned entry into the event. Because Jaguar was previously the only manufacturer to enter the race, the pullout leaves TTAC, Jalopnik and the New York Times’ Lawrence Ullrich without an OEM-backed ride. As a result, the media challengers (as we’re being called) will go mano-a-mano with Bob Lutz in… a CTS-V. Which makes the event a bit more of “may the best man win” than “may the best car win,” but then that’s not exactly our problem, is it? [Don't miss the literal Chinese fire drill at 1:56]

(more…)

Posted in Media | News Blog | PR | Whiskey Tango Foxtrot | 57 comments