More interesting news on the Chrysler Crisis

I bought the Scion at a Chrysler dealership, so I'm on their email list and get handy little notices about parts and service deals, etc. So I was rather surprised to see this show up in my inbox yesterday. Really made me realize just how far-reaching the Chrysler bankruptcy is, and what it means for dealers nationwide:


Dear Cassandra,

We are sure you have heard the news that Chrysler has selected Medved Chyrysler Jeep in Wheat Ridge and Medved Chrysler Jeep Dodge of Castle Rock as dealers it plans to end franchised relationships with as part of its bankruptcy plan.

John Medved, Time Magazine's 2008 Dealer of the Year for Colorado, was shocked to hear the news as I am sure most of you were. We have enjoyed strong relationships with our clientele and we believe that not being here for you in the future is not in your best interest when it comes to servicing you Chrysler, Jeep or Dodge vehicle, or when you need to purchase a new Chrysler, Jeep or Dodge product.

That said John Medved has been hard at work formulating a strategy to show the Bankruptcy Trustee in charge of the Chrysler case that ending the franchise relationship is in no way, shape or form a good thing for anyone involved most of all you our valued customer

Tomorrow, Tuesday May 19th, 2009, John Medved will travel to New York to meet with the judge handling the Chrysler filing and he will present his case to remain a franchised Chrysler Jeep Dodge dealer.

If you could share with us your feelings about doing business with Medved Chrysler Jeep of Wheat Ridge we would appreciate it and we will make sure to let the judge konw these things as well.

The real cost of Chrysler's meltdown

You don't have to look far to find people who have received the news of GM and Chrysler's financial hardships with a certain "they had it coming" smugness.

But the fall of these corporate giants has implications far beyond the snipping of a few golden parachute cords. As this story details, the human costs of Chrysler's failure reaches far and wide. Lest we forget, many small dealerships have been family-owned for generations, and small, family-owned businesses are the backbone of America's economy.

What is truly heartbreaking about this news, though, is the way Chrysler is treating its loyal franchisees. After forcing several dealers to acquire huge amounts of square footage just for their brand, setting ridiculously high minimums on parts and unit orders, they are simply cutting the cord on many of these local dealers.

Another example of why Chrysler is failing... a myopic inability to see the true strength they had in their network of dedicated dealers.

Autoshow 2009

Why was I scowling at the Autoshow? Why was I angry and disappointed? Why was I rude to a Ford rep? Because the Detroit section of this year's Auto Show was a little like the most pathetic middle-school science fair you could imagine. Nothing but half-assed attempts drawn up in a fevered night of cramming, motivated by only the feeblest notions of future successes.

The massive front section of the exhibition hall was nothing but big, shiny piles of boring staffed by hungry-looking salespeople and disinterested booth babes. Bizarre hearselike concepts. Hideous, cannibalized Saabs. The sad strange horror of the 2010 Camaro.

Chrysler and Dodge had a few interesting innovations for their part. But for the most part, the spectacle of the GM/Ford section was a sea of cars I did not want, based on shopworn technology, bland design, and the overwhelming pall of failure.

I guess the reason it angered me so was the fact that the American car booths were flanked by evidence of their former glory. Local Hot Rod and classic car enthusiasts had been kind enough to bring in their beauties to show under the glare of the kleig lights. They were lovely. They were beautiful exhibits of what American cars are supposed to be. But why were they there? My sister and I couldn't help but speculate that the nostalgia value of these exquisite cars was calculated, to bring the crowds at the show back to the notion that American cars were still worth their faith. They glittered and gleamed behind velvet ropes as if to say, "Remember us? The cars you lost your virginity in? The cars you heard your first Zeppelin tape in? Remember when your big brother drove you up the twisties to Boulder Canyon in me, that summer you were still close before he left for college?"

But I think we both came to the conclusion that, compared with the sad spectacle around them, these vintage models only proved the point of how far GM, Chrysler and Ford have fallen. Instead of inspiring hope, they only exhibited the sad contrast between what Detroit once was, and what it has become in its bloated, lazy, corner-cutting old age.

what the fiat?

Personally, I think that Obama has every right to push his weight around with GM right now. I mean, we elected him, GM is now in a position where the federal government is their biggest shareholder, so by the transitive property the man the taxpayers have chosen as their representative is now the de facto chief executive of GM, right? We put Obama in charge of our money, and GM is now using our money to try and survive.

I also think that the Fiat move is one of the first truly globalized solutions proposed by this government to bring GM out of its dependence on the American federal dollar and into the world of actual free-market competition.

GM has always been exceptional, always the American trust fund baby, allowed to clutter the highways and driveways of America with cheap, ugly, gas-hungry cars that nobody really wants. It has been bailed out despite its proclivity toward creating a product that is far inferior to that of nearly every single one of its competitors (except Kia. Kia is still crap).

It's about time GM were forced to play well with others and collaborate with the innovators abroad. You know, people in Europe for whom the troublesome issues of workers' rights, unemployment and expensive fuel have been a reality for decades. Free market folks like my dad always balk when a federal body starts asserting itself over a business, but the truth about GM is that it has been entangled with the federal government and the American economy for so long that it never has been, and never truly will be, a completely private organization. America owns GM now. We need to cut off its allowance, force it to go to work, and force it, at LONG last, to learn from its numerous mistakes.

I got the white one.

I call him Felix.

2006 Scion tC, or what I dearly hope to park in front of my apartment this weekend.

I test drove the tC last night, and in the words of many a smitten young woman, I think it may be the one.

The particular year I drove was an 06, a slightly edgier, more angular-looking build than the newer 08s and 09s. Which is to say, a better-looking build than the new models, which, I think, edge too close to a sort of space-age bubbleness I'm not too thrilled with. Photos don't really do the Scion much justice. Though much has been made of the supposedly substandard paint Scion used in the first two years of the Scion brand, the graphite color of this car was subtly beautiful, playing up both the curves and angles of the design to great effect.

But enough about the outside.

Though reviews have slammed Scion for their stripped-down interiors and basic interior materials, I have to say that I was impressed with the fit and finish of the car's living space. Tough ballistic nylon-like textile covers the seats, and the dash is covered in some kind of space age polymer resembling a vinyl record. Groovy. My sister couldn't keep her hands off the myriad buttons and dials on the center, "waterfall console," which opens and closes to neatly conceal the frankly, robotic-looking stereo and climate controls.

Scion is defined as an heir, an offshoot to a great legacy. And as soon as the key is turned on the Scion ignition, you get why. This is Toyota's sexy, fun, slightly kinky daughter. While used Accords, Civics, and Corollas in this price range have left me decidedly cold with their 1.8s, 1.7s and such other sad displacement figures, the Scion's feisty 2.4 is exactly what I want, where I want it. Roaring to go under the skin of a lightweight, but well balanced vehicle.

I had just gotten used to the very squishy clutch and very small gearbox of the Saab after repairing the clutch cable this December, so the tight, responsive gears of the Scion took a lot of getting used to (though not as much as the fact that the ignition is actually up by the steering wheel, not on the center console). The gear shift asks for only the smallest of motions to change gears. My sole complaint about this is the fact that the tC really does feel like it wants a 6th gear at highway speeds. It feels like you're asking a lot of it at around 65/70.

We took the tC for a ride on roads that I am almost frighteningly familiar with- roads around Boulder that I spent my teenage years driving. I'd joyrided these curves with my Volvo (which actually cornered better than one might imagine) my sister's 90 Prelude, and, most exciting, my father's 1996 Nissan Maxima (the v6). And the tC should have been the best time I'd ever had on those roads, had I not been trapped behind a noisy, smelly Suburban taking curves at about six miles an hour. But the reason I'll probably buy this car, the reason I fell so in love with it last night, is that I could tell this car wanted to take those curves just as fast as I did.

Shopping around

I am looking for a new car. I have a pretty lean budget- like most people, but rounding up to a $200 car payment is currently a much more attractive option for me than the average of $400 a month I've been paying since November to keep the Saab in running condition. I have a list, a very specific list, because my tastes are very specific. Reliable but not boring, practical but relatively fast, and stylistically appealing. It has come down to these seven:


1. Honda Si
I'm not all too sure my image completely overlaps with the Si market. I mean, I'm not a teen aged Asian boy. However, this car appeals to my desire for something fast without sacrificing reliability or gas economy. Plus: they are very cute.

2. Subaru Impreza RS or WRX
I can't get over the sound an Impreza makes. The WRX in particular, with its sexy little boxer engine, has all the angry growl of an Italian supercar in an unassuming little hatchback. A lot of these are out of my price range by just a tiny bit, but the higher-mileage ones are scarily close. All that horsepower and all wheel drive? The thought gives me goosebumps.

3. Mazda3

I've never considered Mazdas in the past, because of their close relationship with Ford and my genetic aversion to anything with a blue oval on the grille. But the styling of the 3 is dead on, and the hatch has an added aspect of practical charm. The Mazda may be the polar opposite of a Saab convertible in both style and function, but I find that each one I see on my busy street catches my eye.

4. Honda Accord Coupe
It doesn't get much more practical than an Accord. But the 2 door coupes have always had a certain gracefulness I've preferred over the ubiquitous sedan. Plus, even with the added weight, the v6 some of them carry is a very attractive idea. I can only afford the years between 99 and 2003, but I like the older style- with that strange little flat butt- much better than the bulbous newer models.

5. Toyota Matrix
I'm a sucker for a good station wagon, and this is definitely a good station wagon. A station wagon for girls with nose studs and tattoos, like me. Killer stereo and great looks. Too bad they only made about four of them in a manual.

6. Scion tC
I really, really love this car. It is perfectly marketed to a person like me, as well: basically a Toyota but with all the sexy style points of a little Mercedes C-class coupe. And with a price point well below the European cars I so covet. I think if I can find one with the right mileage and clean title history, I'll make it mine.

7. Acura RSX
Again with the hot hatch styling and Honda reliability. This is one of the few Acuras you can find with a stick shift with ANY kind of regularity, and its little luxuries make it all the more appealing to me. Fast, fun, and pretty. I like it.

The Trollhaettan blues

I am a Saab owner. I loved my Saab, once. But as "real" Saab people will tell you, the 1996 900 was but a pale, Americanized version of the true, iconic 900. And as I now consider my very real possibility of a Saabless future, I will agree. The New Generation 900 was a model that cut corners, and put a European car price point on Chevy quality control. Considering I've known people who have taken old generation 900s well past the 200,000 mile mark, the sad state of my 900s at barely 100k is testament to a brand that was influenced by the unfortunate, calculated-obsolescence philosophy of American automaking. It is truly sad how GM changed one of the most venerable brands in the world from a name associated with jets and idiosyncratic design to one of flabby Saabarus and ill-advised crossover attempts.

The beauty of Saab was that it never tried to appeal to the Average American. Saab owners were never average. They were people who could never settle for a throwaway American car or an German "I'm Better Than You"-mobile. The eccentrics, the geeks, the niche. A search inside the books of Amazon.com brings up any number of descriptive paragraphs in which writers, artists, sexy indie rock girls in glasses (ahem) or musicians speed off in their 900s. Saabs were never meant to be commuters, daily drivers, an SUV for your 3.5 children and your Golden Lab, and no matter how much GM tried to make it that way, they were going to fail.

And fail it did. And now as the fate of Saab hangs in the balance, I have to say, this is a good thing. Now we have the opportunity, as we do with all automakers at this point, to start for square one and really evaluate the car-buying public. For the first time in ages, carmakers have to think of what their customers want and need, rather than what focus groups and price points have to say. Perhaps Saab, as an independent automaker, will have to return to its off-the-beaten-bath roots, the base that made it great.

1982 in all its glory

I read this news several times before I truly realized that this means auto sales are the lowest they've been in nearly my entire lifetime.

This got me thinking though... I imagine that while some of the reasons 1982 was a lousy car year are probably the same reasons 2009 will be (tight credit markets, poor consumer confidence, etc) another reason might be just that the 1982 model year saw some of the most god-awful cars ever to roll over the planet. At least these days there are a few bright points of design and innovation... all they had in 1982 was the promise of glacially-slow power windows and faux walnut on the heater controls.

If you will, a gallery of 1982 design:



The 1982 Chevy Caprice.

The two-tone paint/vinyl look was big in the late 70s and early 80s, and that's about the only distinctive characteristic the Caprice can claim. This thing looks like a brown corduroy suit with braces.



The 1982 Cadillac Seville.

Does anything embody the renewed conservative promise of the Reagan years better than this hunchbacked, horrible doorstop of a car? Can any other car claim to be as perfectly matched to the spirit of the 1980s Republican Party than this hideous bastion of a trickle-down economy? This car is all angular suits, brick-shaped cell phones, "greed is good," casual coke use, marbled mirrors in the bathroom, "put the his-and-hers brown velour bathrobes on my gold card, baby" early 1980s slime. Gross.



The 1982 Ford Mustang.

Oh, how the American sports car had fallen by this point. Like a mighty wolf stunted and inbred into a snorty French Bulldog, the Mustang had become little more than a Dirt Devil with seats by 1982. So sad. So ugly.

And lest you think I'm just pounding on Detroit steel here, there were imports that were just as bad:



The '82 Celica.

Resembling a sedan whose butt-end is in the process of getting sucked through a black hole, this little piece of Asian pseudo-sporty was sadly underpowered from three generations of overengineering. Those in search of a fun Toyota would have to wait an entire model year for the 1983 GT-S model to come along.



The 1982 Citroen 2CV.

I used to think these were cute. But now I know that the only people who could roll with the Citroen 2CV look are Captain Beefheart and French cartoon hero Tin Tin.



The 1982 Renault "Le Car"

But possibly the worst car, the absolute nastiest vehicle on the dismal 1982 market, was the "Le Car." From its condescendingly faux-francophilic name to its laughable Eurotrash looks, this AMC/Renault showed the world just how far the quality of Franco-American collaboration had slipped since the American Revolution. And this Mork-and-Mindy rainbow van version may just be the stupidest looking car I've ever seen. It seems they were really reaching for a specific target market with this design. Like ambiguously gay guidance counselors who needed a way to haul their drum sets to jazz band practice.

do you know why i stopped you?

An interesting little tidbit on Wired yesterday shows that Hummer drivers get nearly five times the traffic tickets than the average driver.

It's definitely food for thought for me, because I firmly believe that only certain personalities consider purchasing a Hummer. I mean seriously. People who don't care about cars get cars that make that statement: the "I don't care" car can be a number of different makes. The Ford 500 and Chevy Cavalier are classic "whatever" models. People who care about speed buy fast cars, people who care about the environment (or care about being perceived as caring about the environment) buy hybrids. So what kind of person buys the Hummer? And are they really less careful drivers? Do they attract the wrong kind of attention from the law? Or, as the article dismisses at the very end, are they being unfairly targeted by the police?

I have to believe that there is a personality type behind the wheel of the Hummer that leads to these statistics. Obviously someone who drives a Hummer cares very little about what people may perceive as politically correct, and has a desire to sit head and shoulders (quite literally) above the rest of the traffic fray. Perhaps the Hummer simply imbues its drivers with a sense that the usual rules just don't apply.

Or maybe it's just really hard to tell how fast you're going when all the other motorists look like tiny ants from where you sit.

panic in detroit

I adore car shows. I have been to the Twin Cities and Denver ones but never to Detroit. However, it is sounding like Detroit this year is a bit of a bummer. With their fate in the hands of federal lawmakers, American automakers do not have a lot to celebrate with the 2009 show.

But it looks like Conan O'Brien had some fun at his visit, and it reminds me of the silly fun I've had at autoshows in the past:

rising to the challenge

I am a purist when it comes to muscle cars. I don't consider my own old Cutlass a true member of the breed- it lacks the bucket seats and big block engine but the styling was dead-on. No, in order to be a muscle car, a vehicle has to meet certain specific requirements. It has to be a V-8. It has to be a BIG V-8. It has to be built for comfort, but mostly for strength- hence the bucket seats. It has to have a somewhat reasonable starting price- back in the day, any kid with a summer job could get a decent deal on a GTO or a Chevelle. And finally, it has to have that sound. That throaty, dig-dig-dig sound that says "whenever you need me to, I can chew up this road like a rottweiler will take to a plate of bacon."

It has been a long time since the death of these great giants. Camaros and Mustangs have long since dissolved into over-the-top eighties miscalculations and concerns over efficiency and emissions. But at long last, Dodge has finally brought America a muscle car for the age of the Prius. Behold. The Challenger.

It would have been easy to simply recreate a big, lumbering V-8 driven sedan and tried to pass it off as a muscle car. And Dodge did, and they called it a Charger (and everyone who had ever owned a true Charger collectively sighed in disgust). But the Challenger is decidedly different. Take the styling for starters. The perfect marriage of curves and heft without relying on cheap plastic body kits. That expansive grill, reminiscent of the old Plymouth GTX.

But what's under the hood is the most innovative thing to come out of Detroit in a very long time. Of course it's a Hemi. Of course it's a V-8. But it's a Hemi V-8 that can switch off half the cylinders if necessary (in stop and go traffic, slow traffic, whenever you don't need all eight cylinders tap dancing under the hood), thereby saving gas and cutting emissions. While the system is nothing new (it's another little bit of thievery from the Daimler-Chrysler days) it makes the Challenger more politically correct without sacrificing power where a muscle car is at its best- on the wide open straightaways.

It's been a long time since I've been this fired up about an American car. Especially an American car with a base price around 22k. But there is something so beautifully American about this baby. Something so nostalgic and yet so new. This is what Detroit has always been about, and it brings me hope for what American carmakers are still capable of.

generations

First, an introduction.

I am a vehicle dealer. My grandfather was a vehicle dealer, my uncles were vehicle dealers and mechanics, my father is a weekend mechanic and my great-grandfather started a vehicle dealership in the 1920s in Luverne, Minn.

My father was born in Pontiac, Mich., when my grandfather was a marketing and advertising executive for GM.

I have always been around cars. I grew up at car shows, at my grandfather's dealership, and in heated dinner table discussions about transmissions, body style, new innovations and old classics. I'm a car girl.

My first car was a Volvo 240 GL with a sunroof and not much else. But I loved it for all its Scandinavian squareness. The second car: a 1973 Cutlass Supreme. And the current car, a 1996 Saab 900 Convertible.

But this story isn't about cars I've had. This little plot of cyberspace real estate is about the cars I want, the cars I see, the cars I learn about. The thing is, America's obsession with cars rarely has anything at all to do with the cars we drive. It is about the very American endeavor to obtain the next car. It's always about next year's model, the shinier chrome, that New Car smell.

This is a blog about desire.