Random Shots
2010s
Photo Essay
LeMay’s 2018 car show rolls on despite rain
Some light rain in the morning may have dampened participation in LeMay’s 41st Annual Show, but there was still plenty to see. As in past years, the event — which was held at the Marymount […]
Quotes
Bob Lutz: Elon Musk is ‘tired,’ ‘volatile and unstable’
“I think Elon is tired. He’s worn out. He’s obviously got some emotional problems. He’s self medicating. He has shown some disturbing signs of being somewhat volatile and unstable. I think the right solution for […]
Quotes
Why younger people are keeping their vehicles longer
“Welcome to not being a baby boomer. car, house, retirement, savings. pick three.” — Jon368, Car and Driver commentator (2018) “You missed experience (travel, going out with friends, even the humble kick back costs, etc). […]
Calendar
LeMay car show offers a remarkable mix of vehicles
The Pacific Northwest is lucky to have a nationally prominent automotive museum. America’s Car Museum in Tacoma, Washington is worth an occasional visit because of its interesting variety of vehicles. However, I spend more time with […]
Drive-By Musings
Steph Willems: Acura NSX choice of freedom fighters?
Steph Willems (2018) has joined the “they’re coming for our performance cars!” scare campaign. Much like a recent column by Keith Crain, Willems is vague about how this imagined dystopia shows up except to say […]
Quotes
Financial illiteracy among car buyers is ‘staggering’
“Those of y’all who live and breathe cars, and are fairly well versed in other fields, have absolutely no idea how an absolutely astonishing number of people actually buy things. Some years ago, my cousin […]
Drive-By Musings
TTAC writer compares Nissan Juke to your ex
Sometimes harried automotive writers have to scratch the outer reaches of their creativity to come up with an engaging story angle. As a case in point, consider Matt Posky’s (2018) take on Nissan’s production of […]
Data Dive
Is the mid-sized sedan in a ‘breathtaking’ decline?
A Ford executive recently told Automotive News that the Fusion sedan’s forthcoming discontinuance was the result of a “breathtaking” decline in the mid-sized sedan segment that has “accelerated over the past couple years” (Martinez, 2018). In […]
Current Events
Is brand management really an automaker’s No. 1 priority?
In his rousing introduction to Auto Extremist’s annual “Brand Image Meter,” Peter DeLorenzo (2018) argues that “image wrangling is now the Number 1 priority in this business.” The reason is that a “democratization of technology […]