The Latest Auto Extremist
Rants
LIVING ON A THIN LINE.
by Editor
8 Sep 2024 at 8:58am
Editor's Note: This week, as we mark another somber anniversary of September 11, Peter discusses the perilous position that the auto industry finds itself in once again, this time brought about by the severe miscalculation and headlong rush to all EVs, all the time. In "On The Table," we take a look at the new 2025 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat Hammerhead special-edition. And we preview Audi's extensive freshening of the 2025 Audi A3 and S3, along with the return of one of Aston Martin's most legendary names, Vanquish. We also have a special treatise from our Economics Correspondent, Tom Bartkiewicz. And our AE Song of the Week is "Living On A Thin Line" by The Kinks. In "Fumes," we have the third installment of Peter's new series, "The Racing Machines." And in "The Line," we'll have results for MotoGP from San Marino and whatever else interests us. Onward. -WG
By Peter M. DeLorenzo
Detroit. On the anniversary of one of this country’s darkest hours, and amid the somber – and profoundly sad – realization that too many people have forgotten about the events of that horrible day, the auto industry finds itself at a crossroads yet again. For some who are new to this business, this situation is hard to comprehend, as in, “How can this be? Weren’t we just reveling in the immense profits like, five minutes ago?” Why yes, but there is nothing more “yesterday’s news” than what happened in this business last quarter, last week or even five minutes ago.
The reason the auto industry once again finds itself on the proverbial edge is that the premature, “all-in,” en masse move to EVs has proven to be a monumental miscalculation. The result? Crushing hits to these companies’ bottom lines. We already know about the massive, multi-billion-dollar charges piling up at Ford, and to a lesser extent at GM, but this week the news that Volkswagen is teetering on the brink was a wake-up call for the entire industry.
Last week was pivotal for the German automaker. According to a report form CNBC: “Volkswagen’s management went toe-to-toe with workers on Wednesday, outlining the need to take ‘joint responsibility’ in a bid to turn things around at the crisis-stricken German automotive giant. The showdown came shortly after the carmaker signaled that it was no longer able to rule out closing plants in its home country of Germany — a measure that was previously considered to be off the table.”
The CNBC report continued: “Oliver Blume, CEO of Volkswagen Group, said on Wednesday that the current situation at the company ‘affects us all emotionally, including me personally.’ Blume said the automotive industry had ‘changed massively’ in recent years. ‘Together, we will implement appropriate measures to become more profitable. We are leading VW back to where the brand belongs — that is the responsibility of all of us,’ he added.”
But VW’s CFO and COO of the Volkswagen Group, Arno Antlitz, was even more blunt when speaking to employees: “We have been spending more money at the brand than we earn for some time now. That doesn’t go well in the long term.” (Cue Johnny Carson: “I did not know that.” -WG.) Annual vehicle sales in Europe have gone down compared to the period before the Covid-19 pandemic and are set to stay lower against that baseline, Antlitz explained. He said he expects around 2 million fewer cars to be sold every year in the future in the European market, compared to the pre-pandemic period. What does this mean? Antlitz estimates that Volkswagen holds around a quarter of the European market share, meaning that the decline translates into a 500,000-yearly shortfall in the company’s vehicle sales, equivalent to the combined sales typically achieved by two of its plants. Which is why VW management is about to go to battle against the most powerful auto union in the world – IG Metall – to close two plants: Osnabrueck in Lower Saxony and Dresden in Saxony, according to CNBC, a move that was unthinkable in the past.
As AE’s financial guru, Tom Bartkiewicz, explained to me last week: “I can’t begin to describe how serious the economic situation is in Germany. The German economy is collapsing.” And this coming from someone not prone to hyperbole.
It is important to point out that politicians – especially in Europe – were directly responsible for accelerating auto companies’ plans for the “Grand Transition” to EVs, not unlike certain politicians in this country who think that the transition to EVs would be like “flipping a switch.” That these politicians both here and abroad are guilty of knee-jerk reactions is stating the obvious, and the fact that they shirk responsibility and accountability for their actions now is borderline criminal.
But that’s neither here or there at this point. Needless to say, the time for questioning the whys and wherefores of this wildly premature industry move to EVs has long since passed. Now, it’s up to auto company operatives to bob and weave financially and deal with the chaos that politicians have left in their wake.
Not that auto industry honchos are blameless in all of this. After all, Ford’s Farley and GM’s Barra left their companies exposed to the vagaries and predictable missteps that were part and parcel of the “Grand Transition.” And it cost both of their companies dearly. As in billions of dollars dearly. Meanwhile, Honda and Toyota, two companies that never abandoned their hybrid strategies, are sitting in the catbird’s seat at this juncture.
It’s no secret that that the auto industry is a relentless high-wire act, with companies teetering between chaos and prosperity every single day. The “Grand Transition” to EVs has exposed just how much of a ragged edge these companies have to operate on.
As Ray Davies so eloquently put it (See our AE Song of the Week – WG): It’s living on a thin line.
Now another century nearly gone (no, no)
What are we gonna leave for the young?
What we couldn't do, what we wouldn't do
It's a crime, but does it matter?
Does it matter much? does it matter much to you?
Does it ever really matter? Yes, it really, really matters
Living on a thin line (living on a thin line), ooh
Tell me now, what are we supposed to do?
Living on a thin line (living on a thin line), ooh
Tell me now, what are we supposed to do?
And that’s the High-Octane Truth for this week.
Editor's Note: You can access previous issues of AE by clicking on "Next 1 Entries" below. - WG
SUBTERRANEAN MOTOR CITY BLUES, PART II.
by Editor
1 Sep 2024 at 8:24am
Editor's Note: This week, Peter offers an inspired take on the orchestrated cacophony and general all-around chaos of the business with his High-Octane reimagining of the Bob Dylan classic, “Subterranean Homesick Blues.” In "On The Table," we preview the return of one of Aston Martin's most legendary names, Vanquish. And our AE Song of the Week is "Shattered (Turn The Car Around)" by O.A.R. In "Fumes," we have the second installment of Peter's new series, "The Racing Machines." And in "The Line,"we have results for the two INDYCAR races in Milwaukee, F1 from Monza, MotoGP from Aragon (Spain) and whatever else interests us. Onward. -WG
By Peter M. DeLorenzo
Detroit. It’s the beginning of September, and the lingering doldrums of the summer in the automobile business are fading from view. As you read this, hordes of people representing Design, Engineering, Product Development and Marketing are feverishly working away on what’s next. Finessing final design concepts, while envisioning what the compelling looks will be for 2030 and while wrestling with the engineering constraints brought on by an ever-shifting kaleidoscope of regulations and emissions requirements. Finessing the final days of new product programs, while jump-starting future products to life. Meanwhile, ad agencies – reconfigured and locally diminished – have finished fall advertising work and are working on the obligatory year-end holiday ad campaigns, while starting creative concepts for upcoming launches. And of course, the never-ending churn of the monthly sales figures continues.
And this orchestrated cacophony never ends. It’s why I define it as a constant swirling maelstrom of highs and lows, punctuated by triumphs, forgettable missteps and at times unmitigated bullshit. It’s the Autoverse as defined by today’s chaotic global environment.
The High-Octane Truth of the matter is that all of the major players at the car companies want every bit of it, all the time. And surprisingly enough, too many of these executives who should know better actually believe they can have it all. But it never works out that way. In fact, it doesn’t even come close to working that way.
Instead, it’s a two-steps-forward, three-steps-back dance for even the best of the car companies. For every out-and-out product hit, there’s always some corner of the enterprise that is woefully underperforming. And remarkably enough, there are always new executives who seem to have to find this out the hard way.
I was thinking about all of this over this past weekend, as one of Bob Dylan’s classic songs kept popping into my head. Part defiant and poetic social shit disturbing and part Dylan-esque gibberish, “Subterranean Homesick Blues” has a chaotic urgency about it that is hard to turn away from once you let it wash over you.
So, without further ado – and with full props to Mr. Dylan’s original – here’s the “Subterranean Motor City Blues” for your edification (special tip from WordGirl - play Dylan's song in another browser while you read along!).
Carlos busy fact-findin’
Talkin’ rehabilitation
I'm at the keyboard
Thinking about the motives
Parachutin’ in
Realizin’ it’s Not Good
Says he's got a bad feelin’
All this stumblin’
Look out kid
It's somethin' you said
God knows why
But FCA is in the shit again
You better duck down the alley way
Lookin' for a new friend
But there’s no white knight
Holdin’ a big pen
The billions aren’t there
Besides, it is all your fault
Mary talks a good game
Face doesn’t show it
Over EV promisin’
While under deliverin’
What’s the point anyway
ICE will save the day
This EV “thing” will happen
Eventually
Look out kid
Don't matter what you did
Walk on those sensible heels
Don’t matter how it feels
Better stay away from those
Carryin’ around a doomsday hose
Keep a clean nose
Jettison those plain clothes
You don't need a weather man
To know which way the wind blows.
Ah get sick, get well
Hang around that Ford well
Ring bell, sure as hell
F-150’s gonna sell
Try hard, get tarred
Kick ass, do tell
Jump on the “it won’t be long” bandwagon if all else fails
Look out Jimmy
You're gonna get hit
By users, poseurs
Six-time losers
Hangin’ around the cheap seats
Holdin’ you accountable
Lookin' for a new fool
Stop followin’ e-leaders
Watch those chargin’ meters.
Ah get born, stay warned
Read rants, no chance, it’s a dance
Get dressed, get stressed
Try to be a success
Please her, please him, buy gifts
Don't whine, don't groan
Twenty years of schoolin'
And they send you to the Dead Zone
Look out kid
They keep it all hid
Better avoid the assholes
Light yourself a candle
Don't wear sandals
Try to avoid the scandals
Don't wanna be a bum
You better chew gum
The pump don't work
'Cause Elon stole the handles.
And remember one more thing: Every time it seems like it won’t be long now for the good times to take hold, there’s always something lurking just around the corner to mess it all up. That has been the historical cadence for the Motor City and the auto biz as we know it ever since this whole thing got started.
When it’s good, this business here in the U.S. is an awesome, 17-million+ Rocket Ride. But when it’s bad, the juice - in this case, the EV juice - runs out eventually, and at that point it won’t take a weather man to know which way the wind blows.
And that’s the High-Octane Truth for this week.
Editor's Note: You can access previous issues of AE by clicking on "Next 1 Entries" below. - WG
THE NEVER-ENDING SHIT SHOW.
by Editor
25 Aug 2024 at 7:45am
Editor's Note: This week, Peter provides a depressing status report on the state of the the Detroit Two + Stellantis (with a bonus shout-out to VW). Let's just say calling it a Shit Show is being generous - and that's before we get to Cadillac's collaboration with an L.A.-based sneaker brand (and no, it isn't April Fool's Day). In "On The Table," Peter has a follow-up report with the results from just one auction house in Monterey, with special details on one special Corvette. Plus, we have pricing, range details and Peter's searing commentary on VW's eight-years-in-the-making ID. Buzz. And our AE Song of the Week is "Tempted" by Squeeze. In "Fumes," Peter launches a new series, "The Racing Machines." And in "The Line," we have results for INDYCAR in Portland, the F1 Dutch GP from Zandvoort, IMSA GT from ViR and Trans Am from Watkins Glen. We're on it! - WG
By Peter M. DeLorenzo
Detroit. The swirling maelstrom is running on all of its Twin-Turbocharged, fuel-injected, flat-cranked, sixteen cylinders at the moment. Rumors are flyin’, EV programs are being postponed, “reimagined” or just outright cancelled, and the chill of an early fall is starting to rear its ominous, ugly head.
First up are the kids out in Auburn Hills, aka Stellantis. Things are so bad currently that Stellantis’ first-half operating income plummeted 40 percent. Why? The company’s North American operation has turned into a Shit Show of gigantic proportions. And remember, Stellantis’ U.S. operation is where all of its profits come from. How bad is it? Ram truck and Jeep sales have cratered 33 percent from the first half of 2019 to the same period this year, according to the research minions at Cox Automotive. All together now: Not. Very. Good.
Things are so bad that exalted Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares interrupted his traditional summer R&R break to personally conduct a three-day fact-finding mission here last week to find out what the hell is going on. (Only three days? That’s wildly optimistic. -WG)
I’m sure Tavares discovered that Stellantis marketing minions assigned to Jeep kept jacking up prices over the last three years to the point that Jeep sales emphatically declined over that same period, The Red Mist of Greed having purged every last shred of rational thought from the premises. To his credit, Tavares has publicly attributed the mistakes to “arrogance” on his part – taking one for the team – but who’s kidding whom here? Behind the scenes it was a vastly different story, because I understand that the CEO’s mood was grim, with him wondering aloud how his operatives could do such damage to a heretofore unimpeachable brand. In fact, it was serial incompetence on a devastating scale, and now Jeep operatives are being forced to dramatically walk back Jeep prices, model by model. And it will get u-g-l-y from here on out.
But that’s not all, because Tavares also discovered on his fact-finding mission that his Dodge division is in deep trouble. Divisional operatives have embarked on one of this industry’s major miscalculations by “assuming” that they could just “flip a switch” and move Dodge Charger and Challenger customers – some of the hardest core enthusiast buyers in the business – to all-EV versions of those two products. That resounding thud you hear is the fact that the mission to convert these hardcore customers to EVs is not only shaping up to be a nonstarter, but even more horrifying for Tavares, the entire program is, for all intents and purposes, pretty much dead in the water at this juncture.
I don’t care how closely Tavares monitors this situation – in fact he could move here for the rest of the year and it still wouldn’t fix things. It’s hard to believe that just a few short years ago, Stellantis’ U.S. operation was one of this industry’s can’t-miss propositions. Now? It will take all of Tavares’ expertise from keeping Stellantis’ U.S. operation from embarking on a death spiral of epic proportions. An exaggeration? Don’t kid yourselves, folks. Stellantis is decidedly under the gun, big time.
And then there’s Ford. It seems that every week now there’s a revelation over in Dearborn about how on top of things Ford operatives are with the changing winds brought on by the lackadaisical consumer acceptance of EVs. It was just a few short years ago that CEO Jim Farley – aka “Electric Boy” – was touting the fact that Ford would be the worldwide leader in electric propulsion. Now? It has been walk-back after walk-back for Ford, as the reality of sluggish consumer adoption of EVs had picked up steam.
Ford’s latest walk-back? The company is canceling its long-planned three-row electric crossovers and delaying its next-generation full-size electric pickup by 18 months. The changes could cost up to $1.9 billion, including a $400 million non-cash charge related to canceling the crossovers that it had already postponed from 2025. Now? Ford plans to build a family of hybrid three-row crossovers at some point in the future. In other words, it’s anyone’s guess when we’ll see those appear in the market.
And true to form for Ford of late, the walk-back is always couched in how smart they are. This is a Farley trick for completely avoiding accountability, insisting that Ford is always one step ahead of everybody else and that it won’t be long before the company assumes its rightful place at the top. The top of what is another matter altogether. In fact, the exact opposite is true. Ford has been backpedaling at a furious rate for years now, with its wildly premature commitment to EVs – thanks to “Electric Boy” – costing the Dearborn automaker billions.
That hasn’t stopped others in the company from singing from Farley’s song book, however. CFO John Lawler had the temerity to say the following to the assembled media: “This is really about us being nimble and listening to responses from our customers. We looked where the segment was evolving, the amount of competition, the customer needs, and then, the size of the battery that needs to go in a pure EV, the cost structure, the pricing, (and) we could not put together a vehicle that met our requirements to be profitable in the first 12 months of launch.”
“Us being nimble”-? What a bunch of unmitigated bullshit. A more accurate description? “We don’t have a frickin’ clue as to what we’re doing. We’ve been reacting instead of acting for years, and we can’t seem to get ahead of anything in this market.” But the backslapping will continue over in Dearborn, because no automaker in this business believes its own press clippings more than Farley & Co.
Oh, but that’s not all. Even though VW isn’t a Detroit-based automaker, it has a looming Shit Show of its own in the U.S. market. Last week, the German manufacturer announced pricing for its ID. Buzz models. The rear-wheel-drive Pro S starts at an MSRP of $59,995, the Pro S Plus at $63,495 and the launch-only 1st Edition starts at $65,495. Not only that, the rear-wheel-drive models will offer 234 miles of EPA-estimated range and 4Motion all-wheel-drive models will offer 231 miles of EPA-estimated range (See more in On The Table. -WG).
I need to remind everyone at this point in time that though the ID. Buzz is finally arriving at dealers late this year, it is a full eight years after it was first shown to the public. I see three major concerns for the "Buzz" right out of the gate. First, the launch timing is atrocious. Despite the shiny happy EV boosters suggesting that "it won't be long now!" for EV sales momentum, the reality is that EV sales are sluggish, to put it mildly. Secondly, the EPA-estimated range for the Buzz is underwhelming to say the least. 234 miles on the rear-wheel-drive version? Wow, as in, you have to be kidding me. And finally, the price is a killer. Yes, for months the buzz about the "Buzz" was that it would be pricey, I get that. But VW operatives are going to find out the hard way that the list for the "first-on-the-block" types who just gotta have a "Buzz" is going to be painfully short. The ID. Buzz is just too damn expensive, no matter how VW deigns to position it, but good luck with that, kids.
And finally, as if to underline the height of absurdity going on in this business right now, Cadillac has decided that wasting its time in pursuit of being tragically hip is more productive than fixing its product issues. (In case you missed it, Cadillac has recalled every single one of its LYRIC EV SUVs. -WG.)
How so? Cadillac has teamed up with Los Angeles designer Dominic Ciambrone and his team at SURGEON on an exclusive collection of custom sneakers. Each style in the collection is directly inspired by a vehicle in Cadillac’s EV portfolio, including the Cadillac LYRIQ, CELESTIQ, OPTIQ and ESCALADE IQ.
I want you to read that paragraph back to yourself very s-l-o-w-l-y without shaking your head.
“Cadillac’s design philosophy celebrates transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary, individualizing what is common into something that is distinctively yours,” said Bryan Nesbitt, executive director, Global Cadillac Design. “Cadillac has the desire to set the standard for American luxury, just as Dominic and his team have set the standard for American craftmanship and bespoke design in the sneaker industry.” (Speaking of setting standards, just last month, Nike filed a $60 million suit against ol' Dominic, accusing him of counterfeit and trademark infringement. Is it too late to take a scalpel to the "Shoe Surgeon's" contract? -WG)
I have all the respect in the world for Bryan and his talented team, but really? Is this what it has come to for them? Juxtapose this sidebar effort with the Opulent Velocity concept Cadillac showed in Pebble Beach last week. At least it's a car.
Apparently, the SURGEON team collaborated with Cadillac designers and artisans in-person at General Motors’ Design Center in Warren, Michigan. The sneakers incorporate design elements of the specific vehicles, including interior leathers and upholstery patterning, textiles and stitching techniques, as well as interior and exterior paint colors and design cues.
You can check out some of those shoes – which are rumored to cost in the neighborhood of $5,000, in case you were wondering – below.
I have no words. (Actually, our readers know that is not true – WG.) Why this arrangement happened is beyond me. Are Cadillac operatives that obsessed with taking a flyer on lowering the average age of its buyers that they actually talked themselves into this being a good idea? Because the lingering impression it gives me is that when you got nothin’ to talk about, start talkin’ about shoes. And that is just flat-out stupid, folks. Talk about a giant bowl of Not Good.
The Shit Show in this business is never-ending, apparently.
And that’s the High-Octane Truth for this week.
(Cadillac Images)
Cadillac x SURGEON - OPTIQ
Cadillac x SURGEON - ESCALADE IQ
Cadillac x SURGEON - CELESTIQ
Cadillac x SURGEON - LYRIQ
Editor's Note: You can access previous issues of AE by clicking on "Next 1 Entries" below. - WG
HERE'S TO THE ONES WHO DREAM.
by Editor
18 Aug 2024 at 8:12am
Editor's Note: This week, Peter discusses the mind-numbing, bureaucratic cesspool that still exists in this business, and the perils of dismissing the vision and passion of the True Believers. In "On The Table," we preview the latest cash grab from the greed-meisters at Porsche, the "911 Turbo 50 Years." Then, we look at Opulent Velocity, a new concept vehicle from Cadillac, which, sadly, is nothing more than vaporware. And Automobili Lamborghini brings us an all-new super sports car called the Temerario. We also take another look at the new BMW M5 Touring from BMW M. And our AE Song of the Week is "I'd Love To Change The World" by Ten Years After. In "Fumes," the next chapter in Peter's popular series "The Racers" focuses on the legendary Juan Manuel Fangio, considered by many motosports observers to be one of, if not the greatest driver of all time. And in "The Line," we'll have INDYCAR results from Madison, Illinois and MotoGP results from the Austrian GP; plus a group picture from this year's Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion. Onward! - WG
By Peter M. DeLorenzo
Detroit. Though I'm tired of using the term "swirling maelstrom" to describe this business, I have yet to find a more apt descriptor. It's a land where you're only as good as your last hit, a state of mind where you're forced to make what's happening right now work, while struggling to make what's happening next come into focus. It's a cruel, nonsensical world that punishes those who would deign to march to a different drummer, but it's only those who dare to break through that gauntlet who rise to the top.
It's easy to get mired in the minutiae of this business - the endless meetings, the constant "reviews," the endless hand-wringing and second (and third) guessing. Overthinking might be an operational component in corporate America, but in the automobile business it's a full-blown cottage industry, which makes effectual decisions extremely hard to come by. Why? Because 90 percent of the time is spent worrying about what an upper executive in question might want or might be thinking, which forces underlings to become interpreters and acquire the skill set of nuanced anticipation.
This business is unfortunately littered with so-called genius executives who parachute into the decision process, make a few pronouncements, then helicopter out. And the worst part of this phenomenon is that they come back six weeks later and question why a particular direction was undertaken, totally forgetting that's what he or she directed. Thus, time, effort and money are wasted at a prodigious rate because executives are too self-absorbed to get their heads out of their asses and realize how destructive their behavior is. And no, it isn't exclusive to the automobile business, but it's decidedly more pathetic when product programs or advertising campaigns are on the line.
And yes, product. Product is the straw that stirs the drink, the raison d'etre of the automobile business. It's not selling air. It's not about what a company's vision of “down the road” will be. That's all well and good and fine and wonderful, but it's not the business now, and it isn't the business for the next 36 months. It's about product cadence, which means having the right products, at the right time, for the right market segments. Whatever a company's vision is for the future doesn't matter if it isn't generating serious profits to fund that future (see Ford and GM – WG).
Remarkably enough, some companies forget all of this. They get sidetracked and off kilter, they chase their tails, they start listening to the dulcet tones of their own thought balloons, and they become buried under the heavy mantel of their own hubris. In short, they lose their way and start making mistakes. Except this isn't a business that tolerates mistakes. It's not a strike three business, either. Two strikes and you're out. And in this league, playing catch-up is not only a brutally tough and long road, sometimes it just doesn't work out. And in the new reality of this globally-driven automobile business, some car companies are just not going to make it. The latest examples? Fiat and Nissan are decidedly on the ropes and not long for this market.
The companies stocked with True Believers, the ones unafraid to dream, the ones focused on delivering the best in all aspects of this business - Design, Engineering, Product Development, Marketing - will succeed. It not only requires savvy management, it requires a complete cessation of the normal bureaucratic cesspool that paralyzes these companies, which means loosening the reins of the True Believers so that they can do what they're capable of doing.
When it comes to The Future of this business, I will bet on the companies who value their True Believers, because those companies who refuse to do so will be ringing their death knells.
And that's the High-Octane Truth for this week.
Editor's Note: You can access previous issues of AE by clicking on "Next 1 Entries" below. - WG
INCLUDE ME OUT.
by Editor
11 Aug 2024 at 7:51am
Editor's Note: This week, Peter takes on the greed-fest that is Monterey Car Week and laments the sad fate of the collector car hobby. In "On The Table," we take a look at the new NILU hypercar, a wonderfully analog machine that is exactly what The Autoextremist would order, if he could. Also, GMC unveils its 2025 Terrain and Dodge bets the farm on EV Chargers - although the ICE versions will save the program, according to Peter. And our AE Song of the Week is "Nobody Told Me" by John Lennon. In "Fumes," the next chapter in Peter's popular series "The Racers" focuses on James Hunt, the British F1 star. And in "The Line," since nothing is happening this week, we'll reprise the IMSA results from Road America and MotoGP results from Silverstone. Onward! - WG
By Peter M. DeLorenzo
Detroit. The above headline was attributed to that famous 1930s Hollywood movie mogul, Samuel Goldwyn, in reference to a protracted negotiation that went bad, although since then it has been debunked that he ever said it. No matter, for today’s column it is extremely appropriate. Traditionally, we’ve come to the time of the year when I write about the greed-fest unfolding in Monterey, California, during “Monterey Car Week.” But, after years of doing that my attitude this year is, why bother? Except that it is unavoidable.
That the so-called collector car “hobby” has been reduced to a pathetic parade of exquisite machines being sentenced to their “moments” on auction stages so that the assembled fat-wallet swells can piss away obscene amounts of money on them has been well documented. It is where we are at this point, unfortunately. That those machines will never turn a wheel beyond being pushed on those stages so that they can be presented before an auctioneer’s bark and gavel, never take a hit from a stray bug, never be driven near their potential, and never elicit the “tick, tick, tick” sounds as they cool from a spirited run is indeed a travesty.
Many members of the collector car “hobby” view me as the enemy (Add them to the long list – WG) because of my stance on their “passion.” Not surprisingly, I don’t care. The very notion of collecting for collecting’s sake is anathema to me, especially if the cars are barely or hardly ever driven. And when I see collections in the double or even triple digits, the whole thing becomes nonsensical. Again, why bother?
If the collectors find my views offensive, the auction houses reserve a particular animus toward me. That’s funny, because I reserve a particular animus toward them. The “industry” that has emerged and been built up by these auction houses is a flat-out disgrace. Cars (and sometimes trucks) are pushed and prodded across stages almost weekly, as the auction houses collect buyers’ and sellers’ commissions. It is a full-fledged racket that is fueled by willing – albeit misguided – participants hoping for a big score. That a fair number of those participants end up walking away disenchanted and/or disgusted is a foregone conclusion.
And the entire year points to the two main events: the several Monterey auctions and the Barrett-Jackson circus in Scottsdale, in January. These events are reserved for the more-money-than-brains crowd, those eager to participate so that they can flaunt their pocketbooks for all to see. It’s nothing more than Swinging Dick-ism on a grand scale.
Another trick by the auction houses is to portray themselves as nothing more than a subservient order of the Little Sisters of the Poor, who are merely conducting their business purely as part of God’s work. This is a particular specialty of the B-J auctions in January, as they attempt to couch everything in terms of their charitable work, while they fleece people right and left who should know better. That the whole thing has a particular stench about it is plain to see… and smell... aided and abetted by national TV coverage, no less.
The manufacturers are willing – and cynical – participants as well. In Monterey they spend probably $100 million collectively, if not more, trying to lure big money swells to spend stupid money on their wares in a series of events in impossibly beautiful settings, complete with incredibly wonderful food and drink and, of course, machines that are tantalizingly unavailable, unless you happen to have the magic number of digits in your bank account. Offering a flotilla of “one-offs” and bespoke commissions, these manufacturers promise an automotive Nirvana just so potential owners can go back to their gated enclaves and private clubs and say, “Yeah, this is one of one.”
Yes, all of the manufacturers who participate are guilty. It’s what this business has become for car companies attempting to lasso as many of the “1-Percenters” that they can get their hands on. The sound of money changing hands all across the Monterey Peninsula this week will be palpable, from the auction houses and The Quail – which has turned into an off-the-charts greed-fest unto itself – to the perfectly groomed 18th fairway at Pebble Beach. If, as a manufacturer’s operative you aren’t bringing your “A” game, you will be left in the dust and having to explain to management back at headquarters why you didn’t get more commitments from the swells. (There is almost an unfathomable degree of “ROI” at work here, as you might imagine.)
I have no illusions about what’s going on in today's automotive world. The almost incomprehensible cash burn and churn that defines this so-called “hobby” will continue on indefinitely. Why? There’s nothing to stop it. There will always be newly “undiscovered” barn finds, there will always be manufacturers creating “one-offs” or a series of ultra-limited production runs of machines destined to spend their days in garages untouched and unseen until the next time they appear at an auction, and there will always be ultra-monied “swells” who collect for collecting's sake, just so that they can say “I have one and you don’t.”
Not very good, is it?
Meanwhile, the true enthusiasts who still drive or even race their machines are slowly but surely fading from this mortal coil. I will stand with them for as long as I can.
As for the rest of this ongoing greed-fest?
Include me out.
And that’s the High-Octane Truth for this week.
Editor's Note: You can access previous issues of AE by clicking on "Next 1 Entries" below. - WG
FOREVER FU-KING MOTORS: AN UPDATE.
by Editor
4 Aug 2024 at 8:38am
Editor's Note: Since nothing "new" is happening in the business right now other than the endless hand-wringing about the ongoing and relentless Muskian Nightmare, the perpetual Dawn of the EV Era ("It won't be long now!"), auto dealer profitability decimated by the CDK Global cyber attacks (but to be fair, if auto dealers didn't have something to bitch about, it would be weird), and the perpetual – and endearing – influence of sunspots on auto executive thinking, etc., etc., etc., we're going to add a little levity – and fun – to the proceedings by revisiting "the boys" at Fu-King Motors, including the latest future product updates from the shadowy Chinese-based concern. Also, we revisit Honda's first F1 car - the RA272 - and we take another look at the 2025 Corvette ZR1, aka "The Monster" in "On The Table." And our AE Song of the Week is a classic courtesy of The Who. In "Fumes" Peter continues his popular series "The Racers" with a look at the career of Bob Bondurant - "the racer's racer." And in "The Line" we'll have IMSA results from Road America and MotoGP results from Silverstone. We're on it! - WG
By Peter M. DeLorenzo
Detroit. A call at 3:00 a.m. doesn’t often bode well. It’s either some unexpected – and unwanted – bad news, or it’s a wrong number. Either way, it’s usually Not Good. But my early Monday morning call was something else altogether – it was none other than Mr. James “Jimmy” Fu and Mr. S. L. “Sonny” King on speaker. I figured out it was those two right away because of the Asian pop music on “11” in the background, which was almost drowning them out. (But as you know, they actually prefer that, because yelling is their prime mode of communicating.)
We quickly switched to a Zoom call where I could see an array of dancing models awash in LED lights throbbing in the background, which admittedly was oddly comforting at this point, because if they ever felt the need to tone it down the world would become an even darker place. More on this later.
I previously updated AE readers about Fu-King Motors, and before that in the memorable AE interview with “Al Cantara.” And though our longtime AE readers are probably very familiar with Jimmy and Sonny by now, we do have a lot of new readers, so I thought it might be a good time to provide some background about the dynamic duo.
Mr. James “Jimmy” Fu and Mr. S. L. “Sonny” King have operated in the shadows of the gigantic Chinese industrial machine for years. But that hasn’t stopped these two flamboyant and remarkable characters from becoming legends in and out of China. Mr. Fu started manufacturing model cars and trucks in the late 70s. In fact, many of the model cars our readers played with in their youth probably came from Mr. Fu. And 50 years later, I have pieced together and confirmed that he controls every toymaking concern in China through a labyrinthian network of mom-and-pop factories and several other large conglomerates that he lords over. Mr. King became partners with Mr. Fu after initially supplying the elaborately detailed wheels and uncannily accurate tires on Mr. Fu's model cars. Though the two have had knock-down, drag-out disagreements almost from the very beginning – always with the yelling – the two have been partners in Fu-King Motors – and best friends – for going on more than five decades now.
I first got to know Mr. Fu and Mr. King after they approached me at the Los Angeles Auto Show years ago. Apparently, they had stumbled upon Autoextremist.com after they first became familiar with the Internet, and they regaled me with the fact that they both learned English by having my ‘Rants’ columns translated for them. When I first met them, it turned into an uproarious encounter as they blurted out some of my patented phrases that they had learned phonetically, like 'notgonnahappen.com' 'halle-frickin'-luja,' and 'the Answer to the Question that Absolutely No One is Asking.' (How they learned that last one remains a mystery to me.)
Mr. Fu and Mr. King have remained in close contact with me ever since. As I’ve gotten to know Jimmy and Sonny, their frenetic pace and boundless energy never cease to amaze me. The Zoom calls I receive at 3:00 a.m. my time are usually booze-filled stream-of-consciousness rants by Jimmy with Sonny yelling things over his shoulder, accompanied by stylish model types dancing to disco music in the background at their secretive Shanghai lair. And their appetites appear to be even more boundless. In fact, Jimmy is still fond of aspiring female pop stars, while Sonny is a very generous sponsor of a female gymnastic academy.
Fast American muscle cars are overflowing in their underground garage, which is an enthusiast's cornucopia of greatest hits. Jimmy was happy to provide me with an update of their Fu-King Motors fleet. They sold off their three Purple Dodge Demons (each modified to deliver 1000HP) to one of their best, long-term suppliers (whose son promptly wrapped one around a light pole; and the two daughters lent them to their boyfriends to drive, who – shocker – totaled both of them). The two original “narrow-hipped” 427 street Cobras have been reduced to one, and the matching ‘68 L88 Corvettes were sold. The Corvette C8s they acquired (one black, one white) are long gone. Jimmy gave his black one to his administrative assistant, and Sonny gave his white one to his latest girlfriend. No worries, Jimmy pointed out, because they each have added a Z06 to their fleet (Jimmy's is Black; Sonny had his wrapped in AE Purple). I'm happy to report that their favorite hot rods (and our readers’ favorites, judging by the mail we’ve received), the twin custom-built, 60s Willys Gasser replicas powered by race-prepared Chevy 502 big-blocks remain. These ultimate bad-ass machines – with open headers – are reserved for terrorizing the neighbors in the middle of the night. (Jimmy and Sunny were corralled recently by the authorities for going 150-mph in a 55-mph zone, but after much discussion and a substantial contribution to the police "fund" they returned home with their licenses intact.)
Their fondness for Knob Creek Kentucky Straight Bourbon gave way to Basil Hayden’s Kentucky Straight Bourbon several years ago, but they have moved on to Heaven Hill Heritage Collection 18-Year-Old Bourbon, which goes for $300 a bottle (where they discover these new bourbons is puzzling to say the least). But they reminded me that they still order cases of champagne by the week because, as Sonny said, “the girls like it.” And, of course, they still absolutely love their twin Gulfstream G650s (Jimmy’s is Jet Black with dayglo orange stripes; Sonny’s is Chaparral White with Midnight Blue stripes).
But the main reason for the call, which they got to about 20 minutes in, was that Jimmy and Sonny wanted to give me an update on the Fu-King Motors future product cadence. The fact that they used the word "cadence" was a bit shocking, but Sonny said that was because they liked the way I use the word in my columns, so they use it all the time. “It’s all about Cadence! Cadence! Cadence!” Jimmy shouted, while they each banged the table in unison. So, after sorting through the yelling and trying to piece together the details in between the disco-pop blaring in the background, we finally wrapped up the call at 4:30 a.m. I was exhausted, but I never get tired of hearing from Jimmy and Sonny. In fact, they want me to come for an extended visit, but I told them I would have to have my affairs in order before I would even consider it. I mean, really.
So, as best as I can tell, the timeline for what Fu-King Motors has coming has been pushed back considerably. In fact, it has been completely blown-up. “Was it the chip crisis?” I asked. "Supply chain issues?" And they both chimed in, “No, it was the champagne… and the girls!”
2025: To quote Sonny: “Forget 2024, it is over.” “What is coming in 2025?” I asked. “Press conferences!” they said in unison. “Dog and Monkey shows!” Seems logical, at this juncture. “We dangle the bait and flip the switch!” I could have pointed out a few linguistic disconnects at this point, but I didn’t bother.
2026: The long-awaited debut of the six-wheeled, all-electric Fu-King Gargantuan SUV has been, not surprisingly, cancelled. The Gargantuan was designed to humiliate the all-electric GMC Hummer EV and “anything else on the horizon” according to Jimmy. The Gargantuan flaunted some incredible numbers: 2000HP; 10,000 lbs. and with retractable electric step ladders (“not steps, ladders,” Jimmy insists) and “a look that was designed to humiliate all that other crap out there,” added Sonny. When I asked about the price, Jimmy and Sonny answered in unison what they had told me before: “Enough to make grown men cry!” But alas, the Gargantuan is no more and in a rare – and shocking – moment of introspection, Jimmy admitted that it was "wrong for the times." What? Was this the Jimmy I know? But there was more to it, apparently.
2026 (4th Quarter): Another much anticipated debut is The Fu-King Motors KickBoxer. The boys’ answer to the Jeep Wrangler 392 and new Ford Bronco with “unequaled” off-road performance. Boasting a carbon-fiber unibody and a kaleidoscope of different versions, including a pickup and one cryptically referred to as the “RumRunner Edition” (“It can conceal forty gallons of Bourbon!” Sonny chimed in), the KickBoxer will be powered by an all-aluminum, now 3.0-liter, fuel-injected, Twin-Turbo, flat eight-cylinder motor that delivers 800HP. When asked if this could possibly be construed as overkill, Sonny quickly replied: “We would like to introduce our competitors to custom cans of Whup-Ass!” This machine, as hard as it is to believe, is still in the works.
2027 (3rd Quarter): The all-electric semi-truck that looks eerily like the Bison advanced long-haul trucking concept that GM Styling created for the 1964 World’s Fair is a definite “go” for late in the 3rd Quarter of ‘27. When I was shown photos of the concept, I thought they had resurrected the designers who did the original Bison – it looks so close to the original (see below). But this truck will be a hydrogen fuel cell-powered electric heavy truck with a range of “900+ miles,” according to Sonny. The name? “Convoy.” (Jimmy and Sonny are huge fans of the original “Smokey and The Bandit” movie and the whole C.B. radio era in the U.S. (“We just watched it again last Saturday night,” Sonny added.)
(GM)
The Bison heavy truck concept from GM Styling was designed for the 1964 World's Fair in New York.
2028: The development of the Fu-King Motors supercar that has been fraught with problems from the beginning, has been cancelled. With Jimmy and Sonny constantly at each other’s throats over the direction of the concept, it’s no surprise that it exists only in their minds at this point. Oh hell, let’s just call it for what it is: a giant Black Hole of Vaporware. The toll it has taken on Jimmy and Sonny is obvious, as whenever I mention it their usual exuberant dispositions turn decidedly dark.
First envisioned as a high-performance, hydrogen fuel cell-powered electric hypercar, the machine – code named “Bandini” (which I came up with) – had been reimagined as a BEV aimed squarely at Gordon Murray’s T.50 with 1+1 seating and a curb weight of 1900 lbs. But now that Porsche and Rimac Automobili formed a new joint venture called Bugatti Rimac to build a future hypercar, Jimmy and Sonny are apoplectic. “Porsche and Remulac!” Jimmy pounded on the table. (I pointed out that it was Rimac, not Remulac, to no avail.) “This is nothing but a German-Croatian nightmare! As you like to say, it’s notgonnahappen dot fricking com!” The subject brought Jimmy and Sunny to a rare moment of silence, although the stereo was still cranking LOUD (this time with “Jump Around” by House of Pain).
Then Sonny pitched in: “We need you to give us direction! No Zoom either! We need you here! We’ll have a third Willys built just for you! Any color you want!” Now, that was tempting.
When I asked about products beyond 2027, the boys just shrugged and happily chimed in again in unison, “It’s a 'giant we’ll see' as you like to say!” After some coaxing, the boys admitted that they had reached consensus on a much more realistic version of their hypercar, still with 1 + 1 seating but with a more believable target weight of 2800 lbs. and a much more realistic price point of $60,000. I was shocked. Were my favorite wild boys softening? "Nah," Sonny said. "We just want to see this project come to life, or, as you say, fruition." At this point they both shouted "Fruition, Fruition, Fruition!" in unison before dissolving into cackling laughter. And the name of this double-secret - and more realistic - hypercar? The Fu-King Flyer. These guys are magic...
I closed the exuberant session by asking if they had any plans to import their products to the U.S., the answer was once again a resounding, “Never!” Asked why, they answered again in unison, “Too much bullshit, too much aggravation, too many rules.”
At that point all I could say was, “I concur.” And I hope they never change.
And that’s the High-Octane Truth for this week.
Editor's Note: Click on "Next 1 Entries" at the bottom of this page to see previous issues. - WG
DETROIT FINDS OUT THE HARD WAY: THERE'S NOTHING "GRAND" ABOUT THE TRANSITION ...
by Editor
28 Jul 2024 at 8:05am
Editor's Note: This week, Peter provides a searing take on the current state of Detroit, and its reversals and missteps along the way to the "Grand Transition." In On The Table, we feature an in-depth look at the 2025 Corvette ZR1, an emphatic statement from the True Believers at Corvette and a "monster" machine in every sense of the word. We also highlight Bentley Motors as it celebrates production of its last handbuilt, high-performance 12-cylinder engine. And we take another look at the Cadillac SOLLEI concept, an all-electric, 2+2 convertible that Cadillac should bring to market. Our AE Song of the Week is "If I Could Turn Back Time" by Cher. In Fumes, we bring you Part XVII of Peter's riveting motorsports series, "The Racers," this week featuring the great British champion, Graham Hill. And finally, in The Line, we have coverage of the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa. Onward. -WG
By Peter M. DeLorenzo
Detroit. Over the past few weeks, two things perfectly encapsulated what’s going on in this business right now. In the midst of industry operatives insisting that the EV momentum is growing exponentially, reality suggests something else altogether.
In the first case, Ford, led by its CEO Jim Farley, aka “Electric Boy,” did a complete 180 on its plans to spend $1.3 billion on its plant in Oakville, Ontario, in order to turn it into an electric vehicle assembly hub. Instead, the company plans to expand production of its Super Duty pickup – with the various, obligatory propulsion options, according to Ford PR minions – suggesting that it will be able to produce around 100,000 trucks a year, rather than the originally planned three-row electric crossovers, beginning in 2026. Ford says that this plan will add in the neighborhood of 1,800 jobs, 400 more than the EV plant would have.
Wait, weren’t we all supposed to be awash in EVs by now, especially Ford EVs? Wasn’t this supposed to be EV Nirvana, where we would all blissfully move around in our whoosh-mobiles, not causing any damage to the environment, even though the creation of batteries exacts a heavy toll to the environment on several fronts? Oh, “they” forgot about that little detail, right? They don’t want us to think about that, do they?
So, what happened? Reality happened. Myriad boastful statements by “Electric Boy” about how Ford is going to be an industry EV leader turned out to be unfounded. Because without the profits from its ICE vehicles, especially the incredible, mind-boggling profits generated by its line of pickup trucks, the Dearborn automaker would be dead in the water. The sustenance generated by its ICE vehicles is the company’s financial lifeline, and there’s just no denying it.
But, as always with Ford, there's more. Much more. In a call with the media after the automaker released its second-quarter earnings report last Wednesday (income fell 4%, by the way), Ford CFO John Lawler said that increased warranty costs were "unplanned" and represented about a $700 million increase in warranty expenses for the second quarter compared with the same period in 2023. This was also an $800 million increase from the first quarter of this year. In total, Lawler said the warranty costs for the quarter were around $1.5 billion-$2 billion. But - and this is rich - Lawler insisted that it would be "a one-time issue, though." Really? What unmitigated bullshit that statement is. After all, getting a handle on warranty and launch costs at Ford was the current CEO's primary responsibility. And "Electric Boy" has failed miserably and repeatedly. According to Farley, it will take time for new Ford vehicles of higher quality to make their way into the market, but once they do, warranty costs will be reduced over time. Sure. He's been saying that for the last four+ years. To make matters worse, everyone over in Dearborn has been forced to sing from the CEO's songbook, which means that the choruses of "it won't be long now!" before Ford is swimming in profitability are ringing through the halls with glee. Fundamental accountability is missing in action at the Dearborn automaker, and it's beyond embarrassing at this juncture.
Meanwhile, on the other side of town, there’s General Motors, which just announced a thoroughly revised and enhanced 2025 Cadillac Escalade. As I said in “On the Table” last week, GM’s CEO can drone on and on about its EVs that are here – and coming – but who's kidding whom? This new Escalade, with its refreshed interior and exterior and assorted other tweaks, is where the action is, folks, as in ka-ching. Cadillac has moved to solidify its role as the best-selling luxury full-size SUV, because that’s where the ca$h-ola is.
For GM, even though the Cadillac Lyriq is nice and all, and the other new EVs – including an all-new Escalade EV – that are beginning to trickle out in an attempt at paying off Mary Barra’s “vision” seem to be emerging slowly but surely, the profits for the foreseeable future originate with its ICE vehicles, period.
As a matter of fact, just this past week GM CEO Mary Barra announced that the company is delaying production of its EV pickups at its Orion Assembly facility in Michigan another six months, until mid-2026. And the launch of the first Buick EV was pushed back until... Who knows? I have to wonder how many other EV programs will be pushed back, delayed or abandoned altogether.
Barra and her counterpart in Dearborn do not look good in any of this. They and their minions are attributing it to the vagaries of the market on the way to the "Grand Transition," but will there be any consequences for these major miscalculations, other than a shrug of the shoulders and a repeat of the Alfred E. Neuman mantra of "What, Me Worry?" There should be, but both Boards of Directors are go-along-to-get-along backslappers. They don't even bother with the sound and fury part; they just signify nothing.
And what about the spectacular new Cadillac SOLLEI EV concept? (See On the Table -WG) It's yet another scrumptious concept from GM Design, home to some of the best designers in the world, but it seems to be another concept "show pony" with no definitive plans for being built, which is nonsensical. Why GM doesn't have a satellite design and order center in Beverly Hills, California, so that people can spec their SOLLEI out is a complete mystery to me. The Cadillac House is wonderful and all, but it's in Warren. Cadillac needs to go to where the potential SOLLEI (and Celestiq) buyers are, and this just in: It ain't Warren.
And, oh, by the way, Barra announced in a July 23 letter to shareholders that the company's strong second-quarter financial performance was due to favorable volume, share and margins from its gasoline-powered pickups and SUVs in North America, as well as to increased sales of electric vehicles. (Don't get too excited – GM reported U.S. sales of just 21,930 EVs in the second quarter.) Read that again, and let it sink in. All of GM's profitability is due to sales of ICE SUVs, crossovers and pickup trucks. All of it. GM's EV master plan? It won't be long now, right?
Hear that grinding noise? That’s the sound of hedging going on all over town. You can hear it wafting through the trees and feel it in your bones. And you can see it in the wide array of ICE SUVs and trucks rolling around all across the country. EVs may assuage the intelligentsia, but they don’t pay the bills, and they won’t pay the bills anytime soon.
As I’ve said repeatedly in this space, EVs will have their place in our nation’s fleet, but they will only be part of the overall transportation equation. As for the people who suggest that we’ll all be buzzing around in a 100 percent EV world in no time, they are simply flat-out delusional. Our nation’s transportation fleet will have – and should have – a kaleidoscope of options: EVs, Fuel Cells, Hydrogen Fuel Cells, Hydrogen as a fuel for ICE engines, ICEs, and on and on. Besides, let’s not forget that the development of battery technology is accelerating at a furious pace, with the emphasis on lighter weight, the use of fewer rare earth materials, and myriad other improvements. Yes, the EVs of today will look positively antiquated by the time the next decade rolls around, as well they should. Bloated, lumbering, behemoth EVs will never be the answer going forward, thank goodness. And oh, by the way, despite the constant blather generated by the pro-EV types, the charging infrastructure isn’t remotely close to being complete, let alone effective. How long? Give it a decade before there is serious, meaningful progress. Yes, a full decade at least. Not very good, is it?
I’ve talked about the “Grand Transition” to an EV-driven automobile industry for years now, but maybe that expression leaves a lot to be desired. Because the real “Grand Transition” and in fact the more precarious one is this: How are these companies going to survive the switch to EVs? How are they going to survive without the profits generated by their ICE vehicle lineup? This is not an inconsequential question. The very future of these companies is on the line now, and for each and every day going forward.
I know that certain CEOs – you know who you are – are brimming with optimism and confidence about how wonderful their companies will be once they transition to building a majority of EVs, but a large measure of that optimism is woefully misguided. Another dimension to this burgeoning reality is that these corporate operatives don’t know when the “Grand Transition” really begins. In the meantime, they’re sweating bullets and building as many ICE vehicles that they can crank out.
As Jerry McGuire once famously said, “We live in a cynical world.”
We do indeed.
And that’s the High-Octane Truth for this week.
Editor's Note: Click on "Next 1 Entries" at the bottom of this page to see previous issues. - WG
AND SO, WE PRESS ON.
by Editor
21 Jul 2024 at 8:31am
Editor's Note: This week, Peter addresses the need to move on in his Rant, knowing full well that it's all "easier said than done." In On The Table, we preview a new concept from Cadillac named SOLLEI, an all-electric, 2+2 convertible. Next, Porsche announces its entry-level Macan EV, which will be - halle-frickin-luja - rear-wheel-drive. And we take another look at the 2025 Cadillac Escalade. Our AE Song of the Week is "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield. In Fumes, we bring you Part XVI of Peter's riveting motorsports series, "The Racers," this week featuring the outstanding American champion, George Follmer. And finally, in The Line, we have coverage of INDYCAR from Toronto and F1 from Hungary. Onward. -WG
By Peter M. DeLorenzo
Detroit. After some of my recent columns – “The United States of Mediocrity” “The Price of Independence” and “Stick to Cars, Part II” – landed with a crash on the hard deck of reality, complete with much hand-wringing and recriminations, I thought it would be a good idea to move on to other things, if at all possible.
And yes, it actually is, at least to a degree. I, for one, however, can never fully get away from the swirling maelstrom that defines this industry and “life its own self” as the late Dan Jenkins – one of my favorite authors – so ably once put it.
This just in: Life is hard. And complicated. Yes, I know, no great revelation here, but it’s a reminder that with the current state of constant, oppressive technology we’re dealing with on a 24/7 basis, our lives have been simply overwhelmed. And the uproar of life as we know it is unlike any other time in human history.
On the one hand, at times I personally love the technology at our fingertips. The instant access to knowledge. The ability to communicate far and wide at the push of a button. The ability to go, and do, and see things that we’d never be able to do otherwise. I find the images of other parts of the world to be endlessly fascinating, and if any of you follow me on social media, you know I repost those kinds of photos often. The access to all genres of music of course is simply phenomenal. And it goes without saying, for car enthusiasts it has been a cornucopia of delights.
The one thing that I don’t think gets talked about enough with our modern communication platforms is the access to history and historical perspective, something so clearly lacking among too many. Yes, I know every new generation thinks that they invented it all and it has never been done before until they did it, but if you’ve been ambulatory long enough on this planet you know that is simply not true. An appreciation of what has come before us is critically important in order to gain the perspective that is essential to go forward. As I’ve often said over the years of writing this column, we need to know where we’ve been before we can understand where we want to go.
I could go on and on about the bountiful opportunities of life-enhancing experiences available to us on our myriad communication platforms, but suffice to say we have a lot to be thankful for when it comes to our ability to savor the richness of life. When it all works as intended, it can indeed be a wonderful thing.
On the other hand, we know that the Internet and other associated communication platforms have let millions of malevolent genies out of the bottle. We are constantly bombarded with verbal and visual squalor, and constantly exposed to the darkest and most malicious minds, because the access that works so wonderfully well for us on the positive side of the ledger is used to unleash the most virulent and reprehensible hate bombs on the electronic landscape. Terrible, disgusting and disgraceful stuff that we would prefer to pretend doesn’t exist but is brought to the fore on a relentless basis. It is like the anthill from Hell has been turned over, and the most vicious, mutant killer ants from outer space are coming for us all. Needless to say, the Dark Side of our communication platforms has unleashed a malignant fury that we are forced to contend with every single day.
And the ugly thing is, none of this bad stuff can be put back in the bottle. Instead, we’re forced to navigate our lives picking and choosing what we access, how we access it and most important... why, and when. As I mentioned previously over the last few weeks, this requires a level of critical thinking that seems decidedly lacking with too large a percentage of our fellow citizens. This is when the effects of the degradation of our educational system over the last several decades really starts rearing its ugly head. When people can’t sort through the debris generated by malevolent interests, the result is rampant disinformation that corrodes the citizenry at an alarming rate. This result is a “dumbing down” of the populace because too many are simply incapable of finding or even understanding what an honest perspective should look and sound like.
Needless to say, it’s a giant bowl of Not Good.
I’m often asked this: So, what can be done about this? Modern life is daunting, to say the least. We’re forced to fight and claw for sanity in insane times. And unfortunately, all of what I’m about to say falls under the category of “easier said than done.”
We need to do our part when possible to make things a little better or a little brighter, even if it’s just in our small circle of friends and family. Will this make a difference? Yes, it will make a difference and besides, every little bit does count.
And we need to focus on what matters, in whatever spectrum of life we’re living in. We need to savor life whenever we can, and let go of the stuff that makes it unwieldy and tedious whenever we’re afforded the opportunity.
Again, easier said than done, right?
The truth is there are no quick fixes or easy solutions. A switch can’t be flipped that will make it all better. We must exist in a world of constant consternation filled with global concerns and worries, as well as deal with the fraught landscape and day-to-day challenges in our own communities and with our country's current chaotic climate overall.
When we tally up this kaleidoscope of life, we’re all dealing with our own issues large and small and even petty. It’s who we are and it’s what we do. All we can do right now is to try and make things better somehow and in some way.
And so, we press on.
And that’s the High-Octane Truth for this week.
Editor's Note: Click on "Next 1 Entries" at the bottom of this page to see previous issues. - WG
MISTAKES WERE MADE.
by Editor
14 Jul 2024 at 9:05am
Editor's Note: This week, Peter blasts GM and its marketing 'brain trust' for the abysmal TV spot they're running for the magnificent Cadillac Celestiq. A major marketing misstep that is both painful and pathetic, but not entirely surprising given the players involved. In On The Table, we take a detailed look at the 2025 Cadillac Escalade. Peter tells us about George Levy's superb new book, TEXAS LEGEND. Jim Hall and his Chaparrals. It is the definitive biography of one of racing's most influential talents. We also preview the new Mercedes-AMG GT 63 PRO 4MATIC+. And, we take another look at a new limited-edition Audi, along with the latest EV bike from Maeving. Our AE Song of the Week is "I Melt With You" by Modern English. In Fumes, we bring you the next chapter of Peter's much-talked-about motorsports series, "The Drivers, Part XV," which this week features the great Ken Miles. And finally, in The Line, we'll have INDYCAR results from Iowa. We're on it. -WG
By Peter M. DeLorenzo
Detroit. When I first became aware of the Cadillac Celestiq, I was thrilled that GM was finally going to compete at the highest levels of the game. With the capable talents of the True Believers peppered throughout the GM organization – from Design, Engineering, Product Development and more – I was quite sure that GM could deliver on the promise of the Celestiq: a machine that could be and should be the "New Standard of the World."
For the most part, I was not disappointed. In person, the Celestiq nails the concept of design “reach” with aplomb, as GM Design, firing on all cylinders, hit this one out of the park. Many automotive journalists initially commented that the Celestiq looked “just like” various cars that came before (one favorite comparison was to the Jensen Interceptor), but that was a knee-jerk reaction. When you see the Celestiq in person, it becomes apparent that it is a singular design triumph, with a bold, unexpected presence – its scale is impressive – and it delivers an emphatic message of confidence unlike anything else on the road.
And all the signs indicated that – at a price starting at $300,000+ – this EV machine would, in fact, be an extraordinary presentation in every respect, a true bespoke automobile that prospective owners would be able to spec out to the last detail, at a special building at the GM Tech Center created just for that mission. The way GM/Cadillac operatives were handling the Celestiq made it seem that much more special. This would be, finally, the technological tip of the spear – as brought to the fore by Cadillac – a machine every bit as significant for the company as the various high-performance iterations coming for the mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette.
Since its public introduction, however, the Celestiq seems to have lived in the shadows, which really wasn't a surprise. After all, I didn't expect Cadillac – or Celestiq buyers – to promote this "exclusive" manufacturer/customer relationship. Instead, I expected to see the Celestiq "arrive" at all the finest events and destinations in the U.S. and beyond, with minimum fanfare and maximum impact.
Then, unexpectedly, something very strange and extremely disappointing happened. The GM/Cadillac marketing "brain trust" decided that now was exactly the right time to do a TV commercial for the Celestiq. And after watching the spot entitled “A Bespoke Journey” at least a dozen times (see it here -WG), I have to say that I grew more shocked – and pissed-off – after each viewing.
First of all, the spot comes off as an advertisement that could easily be for the latest Genesis luxury entry, and not for a handbuilt, triple-six-figure engineering tour de force. In fact, other than the fact that the Celestiq looks so visually distinctive when presented on screen, the spot has an unmistakable air about it of being remarkably ordinary, complete with the obligatory supers touting its features, as a colleague texted to me, “like a Kia spot.” (Oh, and by the way, “Super Cruise” is available? WTF? For 300 G’s everything should be standard. What GM minion thought that would be appropriate? Just ridiculous. -WG)
At no time does the commercial say that the Celestiq is the most technologically advanced Cadillac ever built. At no time – other than the way the machine looks – does the spot say or imply that the Celestiq is the “New Standard of the World.” At no time does the spot give you a sense that this machine is in a class with a Rolls-Royce. (And yes, there’s a reason why you don’t see a Rolls-Royce spot on TV. It’s really quite simple – in the stratosphere that company operates in, its management operatives have found that there are other, more appropriately focused avenues to court its clients. And after pricing the Celestiq at $300,000+, you would think that GM/Cadillac marketing operatives would have at least a shred of understanding about that, but no. Anyone? Bueller?)
I find everything about this spot for the Celestiq to be misguided, inappropriate and flat-out excruciating. Again, it bears repeating, why does this commercial make the Celestiq seem so completely ordinary? What the hell were these GM operatives thinking? Oh, I get it now, clearly, they weren't, as in, why was this spot even created to begin with? Was it for image enhancement? Was it to do a “halo” thing? Was it because there aren’t enough customers yet and people are getting nervous? Whatever the reasons, it was wrong-headed and pathetic.
I have to assume that this spot is a by-product of the new marketing regime at GM. These are the operatives who deemed it necessary to upend the agency roster working on GM and its divisions’ advertising business. Needless to say, this spot, and the thinking behind it – if you can call it that – are not exactly a ringing endorsement of their capabilities. (Even if the spot originated with the “old” ad agencies, it never should have seen the light of day. In fact, it never should have received even a momentary thought – nothing more than a shrug and a collective “nah” at the end of a meeting.)
A few more things about this tragic spot. There’s no sense of history, no sense of what Cadillac stands for, no sense of what the Celestiq represents. “The Seamless Union of Power and Grace” are nice words, but they hang in dead air like an afterthought. Because they don’t even begin to describe what the Celestiq is.
The fact that this poorly-thought-out spot saw the light of day is exactly why I started this website 25 years ago. People in this business need to do better, especially marketers charged with crafting images for superbly rendered products. I have repeatedly called out those people over the years when it’s needed and justified – and it is especially justified in this case.
Making a difference in this business requires full commitment, and more than a modicum of expertise and understanding. This commercial is such a huge miss that it’s painful and pathetic.
Mistakes were made.
And that’s the High-Octane Truth for this week.
Editor's Note: Click on "Next 1 Entries" at the bottom of this page to see previous issues. - WG
STICK TO CARS, PART II.
by Editor
7 Jul 2024 at 8:32am
Editor's Note: This week, Peter follows up his most recent incendiary Rants – “The United States of Mediocrity” and “The Price of Independence” with an eloquent rebuttal to the dipshit trolls and haters out there who suggest he should "stick to cars." In On The Table, we take a closer look at a new limited edition Audi and the latest EV bike from Maeving; and another look at the new Bentley Continental Speed (although we do not like the factory’s choice of color). And our AE Song of the Week is the "10538 Overture" by Electric Light Orchestra. In Fumes, we bring you the next chapter of Peter's much-talked-about motorsports series, "The Drivers, Part XIV," which this week features the career of John Surtees. And finally, in The Line, we will have coverage of the F1 British Grand Prix, INDYCAR at Mid-Ohio and the German MotoGP from the Sachsenring. (And by the way, some readers have asked why we don’t cover NASCAR. Peter’s response: We. Don’t. Care.) Onward. -WG
By Peter M. DeLorenzo
Detroit. Well, in spite of celebrating our country’s Independence Day, it has still managed to be another tumultuous week around here (and that would be different from every other week, how? -WG), as I had the temerity to write my column about something other than cars (read "The United States of Mediocrity" here and “The Price of independence” here). Most of our AE readers are accustomed to going along with the roller-coaster ride of content that we create here every week, but others find that my providing commentary about “other things” is tantamount to a being federal offense, or as one reader suggested, akin to an irrelevant and tedious boomer screed.
I gave up trying to predict what our readers take away from my columns long ago, as more often than not they will alight on a particular passage and make assumptions about the rest of the column and what it all means. We have found that those who do that can be puzzling, to say the least. And more often than not, wrong. (One reader on LinkedIn chimed in after reading “The Price of Independence,” saying, “if you don’t like it here, leave!” which was an excruciatingly painful reminder that some people just don’t get it and are incapable of ever getting it, for that matter.)
But most of the knee-jerk negative reactions from some quarters are always the “stick to cars” rejoinder, as if my writing about anything than cars is an affront to their sensibilities somehow. As you might imagine, that doesn’t sit well with me (No. Shit. Dot. Com. -WG). But, as I’ve said previously, we’ve become an airy, vapid wasteland of unserious people spewing flat-out stupidity 24 hours a day. The collective “we” dines on a cotton-candy menu devoid of substantive ideas and purpose. Fewer and fewer things have true meaning and retain genuine, legitimate value, because people are all too busy with relentless self-absorption and the pursuit of “more” to pull their heads out of their asses and actually see where this is all going. And oh, by the way? That downward spiral is accelerating.
So, "stick to cars"? Not. Gonna. Happen. Dot. Com.
Yes, this website is called autoextremist.com, we get that. Yes, the True Believers are still giving it their all in this industry, and the Design community is still artfully creating compelling, interesting design work – although I’m not counting the endless interpretations of the SUV as such. But the fact of the matter is that the automobile business as it exists right now is a swirling maelstrom of tedium, punctuated by abject stupidity and relentless boredom.
Example? No one should have been shocked that Henrik Fisker ran his sideshow into the ground. He is a guy who has been dining on his ego for decades yet has always managed to dupe a motley crew of investors to buy into his “vision.” And it never ends well, especially with the latest iteration – aka the bankruptcy of Fisker – which is oceans deep in disappointment and recriminations. As I have strongly suggested, Fisker should go back to being a designer, and kept as far from the decision-making process as possible. Because he has demonstrated repeatedly that he royally sucks at it.
Or how about the ongoing Muskian Nightmare that seems to never end? Tesla continues to be allowed to scam countless consumers with its “Full Self Driving” bullshit, but I am encouraged that the Feds are at least slowly but surely turning the screws on St. Elon over this, and hard. How hard? Musk and his minions are going to be on the hook for billions of dollars for this FSD fiasco, and it couldn’t happen to a more deserving Unctuous Prick.
And then there’s the current state of the business operating in the Twilight Zone between a shiny happy EV Future and the ugly realities of a market not ready for it. Yes, misguided political mandates are a huge cause of this mess we find ourselves in, as politicians are quick to believe “flipping a switch” will make everything good overnight. Hardly. The laundry list of why EVs are not ready for prime time is long: the infrastructure isn’t there and when it is the lack of maintenance is appalling, the charging times are tedious and unacceptable for most, and, to make matters worse, the costs are simply out of line. And finally, there are two things that I find most egregious with the “promise” of EVs: the ground-pounding weight of EVs is simply unacceptable, and the lack of a sound signature – electronically enhanced, or not – is flat-out stupid. I’m not into rheostat-controlled driving, despite what the EV fanboys say.
Other journalists have adopted the mantle that we should all grow up and realize that our EV Future will take time, and that we should give the automakers a break. I find that to be laughably rich. After all, it was the automakers who set these expectations in the first place by spending hundreds of millions of dollars marketing and advertising EVs that were years away. Not months, years. And we should give them a break now out of the goodness of our hearts? Sounds like unmitigated bullshit to me.
As a reminder, let’s take yet another look at Jim “Electric Boy” Farley, the Ford CEO who beat the EV drum incessantly and loudly, insisting that our EV Future is right around the corner and that Ford would be leading the charge. How did that work out again? Stalled EV sales, crushing losses and plant “pauses” just to name a few. But then again, that Farley has overpromised and underdelivered is par for his career course. EVs are so dead in the water at Ford right now that Reuters is reporting that the company is requiring its managers to lease a Mach-E EV or Lightning EV pickup before they can order an additional vehicle. if all else fails, force EV "demand" down your employee's throats, right?
Meanwhile, Farley is insisting that American consumers need to fall back in love with small cars again because big EVs just aren’t sustainable. Oh, really? What about the Lightning? Hello? To make his point, Farley is promising a profitable $30,000 EV in two-and-one-half years. Really, Electric Boy? That’s the story you’re going with? Pathetic.
It should be noted that Ford’s most noteworthy success story at the moment is the Maverick hybrid pickup, a vehicle that I identified a couple of years ago as something Ford should be promoting because of its fundamental affordability and fuel economy. The company is just now getting around to building enough Mavericks to matter in the market. So, Farley can blather on about EVs all he wants, but it will be years (not two-and-one-half, either, more like five, at least) before they matter to the company in real-world terms.
Granted, the development of battery technology is moving at a furious pace – lighter weight, fewer rare earth materials used, more storage capacity, more range, quicker recharging, etc., etc., etc. But for right now and the next decade at a minimum, this Twilight Zone will continue. I warned years ago that the “Grand Transition” to an EV fleet would be excruciatingly slow and painful, marked by a two-steps forward, three-back cadence. The recent news from the “biz” has only solidified my analysis. The U.S. manufacturers in particular are struggling to find a balance between churning out profit-generating ICE vehicles and continuing the breakneck pace of EV development. They found out the hard way that being ahead of the curve had consequences, monumentally negative consequences.
So again, "stick to cars"? Hardly. As a matter of fact, given the current dismal state of this business, I will be writing about topics other than cars more frequently. So, get used to it... or not.
And that’s the High-Octane Truth for this week.
Editor's Note: Click on "Next 1 Entries" at the bottom of this page to see previous issues. - WG
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