When I first saw the news release on the new Tesla electric roadster, I enthusiastically forwarded the link to one of my hard-core enthusiast friends who is also an amateur racer and autocrosser. Initially, no information was released on pricing. I conjectured in my synchromesh brain that Tesla Motors would offer it for about $50-60,000. High, yes, but not beyond the reach of the middle-class enthusiast willing to save up for a few years. Later the company announced the price in the $100,000 range.
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While driving to work this morning, I saw a gentleman riding his bike to the tennis court. I could see he had at least three identical tennis racquets stuffed in his backpack. I haven’t played tennis since I was a kid, but I remembered people would break strings quite often, and serious players always had at least one identical racquet as backup. If you broke a string, play was briefly stopped; the racquets were changed out and play continued. There was no big scene, no one was shocked, and no one really complained.
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Finally a commercial that tells the truth!
That was my initial reaction to seeing one of the new Hummer ads that lets people know its product will help them compensate for being inadequate. The first one I saw shows a woman with her child in a playground waiting in line for the slide. Another woman walks up, pushes the first women’s child aside so her kid can go on the slide. What does our first woman do? Does she stand up for her child, either aggressively or with understanding? No, she shows the world what any true coward would do: she goes and buys a big vehicle to “empower” herself. Anyone with any common sense will see that she is still the same coward who can’t stand up for her kid as soon as she steps out of her three-ton monstrosity, but hey, Hummer isn’t looking to sell its SUVs with common sense.
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Though I’m currently not looking for a new vehicle, I know plenty of people who are and who turn to me as the so-called automotive “expert.” (Please, no commentary from the balconies.)
One source I use is Intellichoice. One problem with auto buy mags is that their information can be out of date rather quickly. Even weekly rags are limited in their stock. I found Intellichoice provides plenty of up-to-date info, suggestions, and variety without overwhelming with non-essential info. (Here’s looking at you, Cars.com and Edmunds.)
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Trucks and SUVs are not exactly well-known for great gas-mileage. Though it’s been a while since I owned or even driven either (Mitsubishi Mighty Max. Sniff), I remember a few ways on how to save fuel plus some excellent advice from the web. Hope this helps you, too, when you’re filling up that Escalade or HUMMER at the pump.
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The Mazda CX-7 is a new SUV for Mazda and replaces the outgoing Mazda Tribute. Also called a crossover, the CX-7 combines the features of a sedan, truck and wagon with Mazda’s “soul of a sports car” philosophy.
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If humor’s the chicken soup for the soul or such nonsense, then automotive humor is the Ferrari of Fitness. Events have been too serious in the world of late (e.g., Lebanon, GM/Renault/Nissan, SMART coming to the U.S., etc.) so I thought to go for a change of pace.
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There’s a saying about being wealthy or, in this case, not having riches. The saying is, “if you can’t be rich, have plenty of insurance.”
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I was discussing powerful cars with a car magazine editor friend when we began talking the recent trend in American SUVs which is stuffing giant engines in vehicles that don’t need them.
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My qualifications for knowing this: I am a chick. I really really like cars. Fast ones.
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