2012 NAIAS Detroit Auto Show: Part 3, Coda

Coda set up a booth at NAIAS, which was surprising to me.  See, Coda will only be for sale at first in California, and has an unknown timetable to sell in the rest of the country.  I asked one of the Coda reps why they were in Detroit, and they said simply to build awareness.Coda, you have a lot of work to do. Your car does not look like it is worth $15,000, much less $40,000.Coda's biggest...

2012 NAIAS Detroit Auto Show: Part 2, Tesla

First up, we visit Tesla.  Tesla's display was quite busy.  There was one car, the Model S, and some cut-away parts to look at.Model S front suspension. Notice the extruded aluminum tubes and cast aluminum suspension arms. This is not a cheap high volume chassis. Rear suspension and powertrain. Charging port nicely hidden in rear tail lamp assembly. Interior with huge LCD and touch...

2012 NAIAS Detroit Auto Show, Part 1

I went to the auto show.  I took a lot of photos. It has taken me a while to get to them.    Better late than never? One of the more interesting design models at the Michelin design challenge display. Michelin sponsored city of the future display, with 3 concept cars that weren't drawing much attention. Coming soon, much much more...

2012 Detroit NAIAS: Shelby GT500 Dyno Pull

Ford had some cojones. Not content to just show off the outrageously powerful 650HP GT500, they actually set up a dyno, strapped one down, and did 140mph pulls ever hour. It was LOUD. I am amazed the fire marshal allowed it. ...

California ZEV Mandate Rolls On as ACC

Continuing with its previous nonsensical policy, California's ARB (Air Resource Board) has published new regulations which require automakers to sell a certain percentage of vehicles which are BEV, PHEV, hydrogen, or otherwise not just gasoline powered. This is bad pollicy because the mandate tells the producers what they must sell, without forcing anyone to actually buy the cars. This puts automakers in a difficult spot.  If they can't...

Hybrids Losing To Efficient IC Engines

In today's Detroit News is a well written piece about the struggles of hybrids in the marketplace.  Bottom line: most people would rather pay a lot less money for somewhat less efficiency.   A fascinating insight comes from Mike Jackson, CEO of AutoNation, the largest multi-brand car retailer. Mike Jackson, chief executive of the retail chain AutoNation Inc., said that 75 percent of customers come into his showrooms and want to talk...

Tornado Helmets!

Safety Research Strategies (Sean Kane's outfit), the one that has been pushing the claim that unintended acceleration on the part of Toyota was not caused by pedal misapplication, but rather by un-identified electronic gremlins, now brings us this sage advice: if you are in a tornado prone area, you should keep some helmets around to avoid head injuries should the tornado actually hit your house. I'm not kidding.  They are serious.Really!...

Mercedes: Be Like Che

Mercedes uses a huge photo of Che Guevara and a joke about revolution during a presentation in Las Vegas at CES.   Silly Mercedes.  Perhaps you should use revolutionaries from your own cultural background, you know, like this guy. In seriousness, Che Guevara was a murderer, and should not be glorified.  ...

Obama Campaigns On Insourcing

Oh, the irony. President Barack Obama held up Ford Motor Co. as an example of companies that are contributing to the economy by bringing jobs back into the U.S. — and that should be rewarded for their efforts. "You've heard of outsourcing. Well, these companies are insourcing," Obama said Wednesday in a speech, surrounded by business executives, state and local officials and union leaders.See, the reason that there is an inflow of jobs into the...

2013 Nissan Pathfinder: Unibody!

The demise of the old-school body-on-frame SUV continues.  One of the older models on the market, the Nissan Pathfinder, is following in the footsteps of Chrysler, Ford, and GM and going to the lighter, safer (to cars), and better handling unibody architecture. Will it handle the Rubicon trail?  No, but most people won't ever need to do anything nearly so demanding.   More here....

Review: Mexican Coke

The other day I saw glass bottles of Coke for sale at the local upscale supermarket, for the princely sum or $1/each.  I had heard that some Coke lovers swear that Mexican Coke is better than American Coke because it is made with real sugar, not corn syrup.  I have also heard this claim regarding Passover Coke.So I bought a couple of bottles to try.I'm not a trained taster, and I didn't...