@jmoneyred hey mama did you get my email?
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From the monthly archives:
February 2009
Dear President Obama,
You moved the nation with your speech to Congress last night. You called us to task and made us accountable. You treated us as citizens with civic responsibility and a roll to play in society. You told us, “Hope is found in unlikely places.”
And you admitted that mistakes would be made. That’s why when you got to the topic of the auto industry, we who frequent the automotive industry for our daily bread in Detroit and beyond, understand you still have a lot to learn about the historic roll of the automobile in American society, if you are to make wise decisions about it’s future.
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Just because the world seems to be falling apart, auto shows need not be lackluster. That’s because auto shows are essentially about what we have to look forward to, and also beholding cars we may never get to drive, but that we still like to fawn over. That’s why the public pays money to get in after all.
Think of certain showy cars like a beautiful Oscar gown – not for everyone to own, but definitely for all to behold. Join me on the fantasy drive on the convention center grounds as the 2009 circuit is well underway. While it’s great to test performance proportions, there’s something to be said for cruising in automatic sumptuous style, ala the Maserati GranTurismo S Automatic. [click to continue…]
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While much of the focus of the car crises of late has been on the domestic auto industry, the reverberations are felt around the world. The auto industry in Sweden is a crucial part of the country’s backbone. I saw this affinity for auto culture firsthand, traveling to Trollhatten for Saab’s 60th anniversary in 2007. Thousands of Saab fanatics braved unseasonably steamy long summer days and nights to revel in the history. It was a sight to behold indeed — a sea of Saabs and their loyal owners — and a reflection of how culture is reflected through the lens of manufacturing.
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Our artistically-inclined Gotryke contributor/test driver Lee Quinones has some reflections after some time behind the wheel of the 2009 Nissan Maxima. Notes from Lee’s time in the field:
As soon as I get into a ride I can read off all its goods and bad like a Presidential speech. This coach read off swell and well to me. The interior was very manageable with all of the control buttons to stereos, heating, GPS etc reachable by your fingertips with one eye closed. The light beige leather seat were very firm and yet very comfortable. Paddle shifts and steering wheel are both positioned in the right place as to not obscure the view to the dash vitals. [click to continue…]
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Routines are part of our day. Mine begins with the newspaper. It hits the door with a soothing thud. But my routine has changed in the past weeks. It’s gotten to the point where I flip to the arts pages first to focus on the fact that really, for most of us, life is still going on, and there’s still some food on the table. (Thank goodness for the arts and the existence of art sections!) After all, real art doesn’t always take a lot of money *why the 70s still seem cool.) I skip over news about funding cuts and struggling museums to find out who is doing something interesting, and this is what gets my day going.
I love newspapers, but lately I dread Page One particularly if the headlines “auto” or “economy” creep into the the subtext. Well, obviously that’s a nearly impossible task. And as newspapers struggle two of my favorite products — printable and drivable — limp through the trenches trying to make it through the throes of ‘09.
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- Image via Wikipedia
We caught up with Anne Clinard who has some helpful advice concerning the curiosities of Italian road rules.
If there is one rule when it comes to daily life in Italy, it’s this: “The more you plan, the less will go according to plan!” So, I’ve found it’s best to just go with the flow. Feel free to have a general idea of the things you’d like to accomplish that day, but when it comes to a schedule, inevitably it will be anything but predictable!
One of the best examples of this happened to me recently on a ‘quick’ morning outing I took to a local Cathedral for a ‘brief 20 minutes’ of sight-seeing before finishing up what I needed to get done that day. And, oh did the Roman Gods of Parking laugh in the face of my plan!….
The monkey-wrench in my schedule really all boiled down to the rules of Italian parking. Of which, I can assure you, there are none. You can read a thousand tour guide books that will warn law-abiding, nervous tourists about the perils of finding parking in Rome. And if you can’t find a spot, don’t you DARE break the parking laws, or the Polizia Municipale might catch onto you and then you’d really be in trouble! One of my favorite warnings I’ve found is in the 2008 Edition of DK’s ‘Eyewitness Travel: ROME’ guide book which forebodingly warns the unsuspecting tourist, “ILLEGAL PARKING: Rome’s traffic police are vigilant. If you’ve parked illegally, your car may be clamped or (if it’s causing an obstruction) towed away, so phone 06-67 691 to check before reporting it stolen. No-parking zones should be clearly marked, but look carefully, in case the sign is hidden by a tree.” Oh no, NOT a sneaky tree!!!!
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While the rest of America moved through a bank holiday-like Monday, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week was in full hustle and bustle on it’s fourth day. The tents were busy, but the mood was populist among designers who favored well-worn, in the trenches fare. Right on the money or at least in agreement with the sentiment of the time was the disheveled denim of William Rast, the brand famously partly helmed by Justin Timberlake and his childhood best friend Trace Ayala.
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Kenneth Anger’s short film Kustom Kar Kommandos is the historical touchstone for the current exhibition at the non-profit gallery Art in General. The 1965 film depicts a man in tight jeans buffing his car with “Dream Lover” playing in the background, a seemingly mundane task, but one that invokes the raw emotion of the material relationship and America’s love affair with the automobile. The show, curated by Sandra Skurvida, focuses on reexamining this relationship with the automobile in a contemporary backdrop. [click to continue…]
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