Hudson

I would like to agree with you, but Automotive Industries hasn't been anything more than a brochure for the industry in years. It's a shadow of its former self and the current owners aren't doing anything with it. I worked for the company that used to produce it and it was a great magazine then...back when it had over 100 pages per issue. Now it's just a 36-page brochure. Sad, really.

This is the problem. We've been given the same-ol'-same-ol' for so long that designers have gotten lazy. When was the last time you saw a truly distinctive design come out of the Big3?I don't have a problem with the new Mustang, the PT Cruiser, the HHR, the SSR, or the various concepts...as cars. My problem lies with the designers who've not been asked to do any work in years....decades, perhaps. Even the 1986 Ford Taurus was derivative of the Audi 100 (Audi 5000 in the US), which probably started the current blandness/sameness that covers the automotive market. Why can't the Big3 designers come out with a modern equivalent of the Lincoln-Zephyr/Continental, 1949 Cadillac, 1953 Corvette, Continental Mark II, Avanti, 1963 Corvette, Mustang, etc. Not a retro car...but a ground-breaking design. Something that non-car people will talk about. "Did you see the XXX on that TV commercial? It was beautiful! I'm heading down to the YYY dealer to take a look." It doesn't happen. Why? Has the Art Center lost its way? Are vehicles really designed by committee? Why hasn't anyone stepped up to take the place of Virgil Exner, Raymond Loewy, Harley Earl, and Bob Gregorie? Have we really lost talents like this to time or corporate greed?

License plates now have a very witty slogan...."www.state.pa.us"

Has anyone told Delorenzo that he's been out for six or seven years? His opinion doesn't mean much. I still enjoy a few mainstream and a few niche car magazines.

Thank you. It would have just sounded like me being stubborn.

I like is so much more than the earlier version. I didn't like the initial concept...I really didn't like the production version...but this update is much better.

The Dodge Rampage/Plymouth Scamp and Volkswagen Pickup were all FWD attempts at small Ranchero/El Caminos. They were pickups, just like the Ridgeline is today...only the Ridgeline can haul much more than the Rampage/Scamp or VW ever could. One of the biggest reasons why the Ridgeline is a better pickup (aside from the frame, power, five-passenger interior, etc) is the fact that the Ridgeline isn't FWD.

This is SOOOO far off topic, but....They don't. SNL is always better in retrospect. About 90% of each early SNL episode sucked. But those 10% have become classics. Just like the "Mister Robinson's Neighborhood" and "Wayne's World" and "Jeopardy" spoof skits. Did anyone see the "Narnia" rap? They have their moments even now.

Not only fuel injection which allows fuel to burn more completely and leaves fewer unburnt remnants behind (to cause friction) but also cleaner fuels. Don't forget better lubrication and lubrication systems...more focus on changing oil (which alone should allow a modern engine to reach 200,000 miles and more).

Eastern PA folks (soda) vs Western PA folks (pop). Add in the tonic, coke (lower case C), and soda pop...and I think we've covered everyone's carbonated beverages.

Contradiction ahead!Well...not entirely. I can't name a specific V3 application but I also can't say that one never existed because there have been some weird engines in the past 120 years or so. But Volksagen did have a V5, which allows for the possibility of a V3 engine even with its theoretical balance problems.

Since when did Sean Connery start posting on this site?

Yes...my thoughts as well.Watching Bug Bunny call the Japanese names in World War II-vintage cartoons tells more about the American mindset of the era than any history book. In addition to the bad parts of American history demonstrated in these cartoons, they're incredible works of art. The "Coal Black" cartoon I mentioned earlier is an amazing 7-minute jazz "music video" featuring Vivian Dandridge.

Sauber 962

South Park is much more topical. Because of their quick turnaround times, they can make comments on the latest news. Drawn Together makes more comments on entertainment and general society than specific situations. The recent show about burying entertainment (specifically animated) history hit a sore spot for me. I've always enjoyed animation and collect it. It took me the longest time to find an animated short called "Coal Black and the Sebben Dwarfs" because it is, in retrospect, a racist film. But it was listed among the 50 greatest cartoons of all time and I had to own it. It's a bad quality recording and I would love to purchase it, restored, on DVD. Other entertaining animated shows (in addition to South Park, Simpsons, Family Guy, and Drawn Together) are Robot Chicken (stop-motion), Boondocks (even though I'm not a fan of Amine), and Futurama (some of the best animation on TV).

There should be a trademark provision (I'm not sure that it doesn't exist) for a "statute of limitations" on infringement. If somebody has a similar trademark but is not overstepping infringement bounds (like GMC vs GNC...I don't see someone going into a GNC store and wanting to find a Sierra) and has been using it for a considerable length of time, I think there should be no room for a lawsuit. However, If GNC were to change their logo TODAY to emulate the GMC logo, there might be some grounds for legal action.

I'm sure that if ANY UAW members are still in Flint and Toyota were to open a plant there, those people would be among the first to file an application. But the point seems to be moot at this time: Consultant: Toyota will spurn Michigan UAW dissidents' Delphi protest killed chances for a plant, Cole says Lindsay Chappell Automotive News / February 6, 2006 - 6:00 am Toyota Motor Corp. says it still is considering locations in union-heavy Michigan to build a transmission and engine plant. But one of Michigan's biggest boosters, industry consultant David Cole, says he believes Toyota no longer is serious about the state. Cole says he thinks recent activism by dissident UAW members has effectively killed the deal for Michigan. "I believe we had a great shot at bringing a Toyota plant here," Cole said from his office at the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich. "It's now off the track. Indiana looks like the front-runner for it now." http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti...20of%20Contents

As has been Toyota's (and Nissan's and Hyundais...) past practice, they will interview 5-10 times the number of potential employees for the open positions. Which, it would seem, would include people older than 30-somethings. Potentially opening the door for former GM (or supplier) employees.

Interesting perspective. While I agree with the concept in the first part of your statement, I don't believe in your conclusion. Everyone has the right to be compensated when they have been wronged. But how was Toyota infringing on Lexis-Nexis (computerized databases) trademarks when they introduced the Lexus car? And how was Ford bothering Focus magazine when they introduced a car of the same name?I feel too many companies are gaining too much financially from lawsuits. I'm all for it when it's deserved, but not when it's a similar name not trading on "value" of a name in some other market.

Now you want a break-out of every vehicle's multiple body styles? Getting that kind of information from the manufacturers is harder than pulling teeth. Very few companies provide that kind of detail...even though it would be nice for my work. I'm lucky to get model breakdowns...in some countries, I'm even lucky to get MANUFACTURER breakdowns.

SOMEBODY would cover it. And it would be fodder for the UAW to turn the country against Toyota. Even if Toyota is actually providing jobs to people who need them, they wouldn't be union jobs and the UAW would see this as a problem to their own selfish ends.

I agree with Croc...it shouldn't be an issue, but... There was also the Lexis-Nexis vs Lexus debate...and the Chevrolet Beretta vs the gun manufacturer (this one actually made sense to me)...and Focus magazine vs the Ford Focus....the Vector car vs the Vector tire....the list goes on and on.If I make clothing and name my product something, I don't see how any reasonable consumer would confuse my product's name with, say, a car or a prescription drug or a computer service or... Is it just me or has our society just become too litigious? To the point that someone notices a nutritional suppliment store's logo is similar to a truck brand's logo and starts a thread on it? I'm just asking...is this a sign of our culture?

You've got me on the Element and the Lucerne...I had the same questions. But as for the XG350/Azera and Impala/Monte Carlo, sometimes automakers report some models jointly. I think GM reports the Impala and Monte Carlo separately, but I haven't seen a Hyundai sales sheet recently.For example, Toyota reports Corolla and Matrix as the same vehicle. GM reported the old Century and Regal as one vehicle in production reports.

While it's not going to go down in literature history as one of the all-time greats, I just finished "Vinyl Junkies," a book about record collecting and the collectors. Quite an enjoyable read...for a vinyl junkie. As for automotive literature, I've enjoyed "All Corvettes are Red" and, my all-time favorite, "Where the Suckers Moon." Excellent behind-the-scenes books about the automotive industry.

Thank you.I can't imagine the typical unemployed worker in Flint being of the same mindset as an unemployed worker in Georgetown, Kentucky twenty years ago or one in Buffalo, West Virginia ten years ago or one in San Antonio today. While the positive PR of Toyota moving into Flint would be good, wouldn't the negative PR of "Toyota making GM look bad" be bad for Toyota?