Sundown

Martian sunset: Spirit at Gusev crater

I’m working on a manifesto (or “vision and mission” statement, if you want something a little less militant) for this blog inspired by the Jalopnik Awesomeness Manifesto by Ray Wert, formerly the Editor in Chief of Jalopnik.

At the time Wert wrote the manifesto in July 2010, I had been reading Jalopnik for about four, maybe five years, and what I had found intriguing about Jalopnik was its mix of love for quirky cars not just the fastest or flashiest cars, articles highlighting unusual aspects of car culture, and the surprisingly intelligent comments section (Reductio ad Hitlerum didn’t apply, the comments usually got better the longer they went [That statement is accurate no matter how you understand it]) which could include quotes from anything from South Park to Shakespeare within the same comment thread.

When Wert published the manifesto the tone at Jalopnik had changed, some of their most popular writers had left, and the quality of the content had declined as they pursued a more mainstream audience (Whoo-hoo! An eight way comparison of mid-sized sedans with six cylinder engines and automatic transmissions, bring it on! [Oh, wait, that was Road & Track, and that's when I stopped reading it]).

Celebrate the bullet

In a another lifetime my buddy Marc and I would rent the video (no not the DVD, the VHS video, which lets you know how long ago this was and in what galaxy this took place) Bullitt so we could fast forward to watch the legendary ten minute 53 second car chase.

Then we'd watch whatever other videos we'd rented.

We never watched the rest of the movie. It was years before I finally watched the complete movie, and, with all due respect to Steve McQueen, that's a terrible movie.

A really, really terrible movie.

I don't recommend it.

So, I have good news for you!

Ampersand

There's only one reason I have any idea what that word means: the car magazine Road & Track.

I actually never had a subscription, I paid full price to buy it off the magazine rack.

I did this for years because I enjoyed it that much.

I once had a subscription to Car and Driver, but I became tired of the libertarian politics.

And I think P. J. O'Rourke is over-rated.

(I also never got the show Seinfeld, so I admit I may be the one with the problem.)

US Senate kills auto industry bail out: "Action Alert"

At the risk of beating a dead horse into a bloody, unrecognizable pulp, here's one more (possibly the last, but probably not) thing about the US ongoing saga of US Senate kills auto industry bail out.

Disclaimer: I am an employee of a General Motors' dealership

The American MSNBC program Countdown acquired an internal, confidential (presumably) memo entitled Action Alert - Auto Bailout circulated amongst Senate Republicans.

From:
Sent: Wednesday, December 10, 2008 9:12 AM
To:

Subject: Action Alert -- Auto Bailout

Today at noon, Senators Ensign, Shelby, Coburn and DeMint will hold a press conference in the Senate Radio/TV Gallery. They would appreciate our support through messaging and attending the press conference, if possible. The message they want us to deliver is:

1. This is the democrats[sic] first opportunity to payoff organized labor after the election. This is a precursor to card check and other items. Republicans should stand firm and take their first shot against organized labor, instead of taking their first blow from it. [My emphasis]

2. This rush to judgment is the same thing that happened with the TARP. Members did not have an opportunity to read or digest the legislation and therefore could not understand the consequences of it. We should not rush to pass this because Detroit says the sky is falling.

The sooner you can have press releases and documents like this in the hands of members and the press, the better. Please contact me if you need additional information. Again, the hardest thing for the democrats to do is get 60 votes. If we can hold the Republicans, we can beat this.

Let me parse the information for you (because this is my blog, and I can):

• America is facing its gravest threat (al Qaeda couldn't have dreamed this up, because there isn't nearly enough bloodshed involved)
• Senate Republicans are unable to get beyond partisan politics even in their last days in office
• It is more important to attack organized labour than to do anything to serve their constituents
• And this plan was formulated, agreed upon and distributed before the talks between Senate Republicans and the UAW broke down.

Or, looking at this another way:

• These are not fanatical free-market capitalists who refused to compromise their principles
• These are not public servants who are selflessly concerned about the greater good of the American people
• And, any debate about the merits of bailing out industry was mute

These people are reprehensible and beyond contempt.

Related Links
GOP: 'Action Alert - Auto Bailout' [MSNBC]

Bonus Video

US Senate kills auto industry bail out: the cartoon

US Senate kills auto industry bail out: point of clarification

In a previous post I said, "The US Senate refused to provide loans to the auto industry without the United Auto Workers making wage concessions".

Just to be clear, the UAW had already made concessions to the big three auto makers.

The union has agreed to self-fund some of it's previously negotiated benefits, as well as eliminating the Job Bank, which pays workers their full wages to not work.

Further, UAW workers do not make $70 per hour.

UAW workers, at the big three, cost $70 per hour if you include the costs of retirees and their benefits.

This would be the equivalent to calculating your salary as the amount you are paid plus the retirement benefits of those who worked in your industry previously.

The $70 per hour number came from the Heritage Foundation.

The Heritage Foundation, in their report Auto Bailout Ignores Excessive Labor Costs, claims UAW workers earn $70 to $75 per hour, compared to an average private sector wage of $25.36, including benefits.

Although the wages are not public, it is believed assembly workers at non-union plants in the US earn salaries equivalent to UAW workers to make unionisation less attractive.



Related Links
Auto Bailout Ignores Excessive Labor Costs [The Heritage Foundation]
UAW agrees to suspend Jobs Bank, Gettelfinger says [Automotive News]

US Senate kills auto industry bail out video

Breaking News: US Senate kills auto industry bail out

The US Senate refused to provide loans to the auto industry without the United Auto Workers making wage concessions.

The vote in the US Senate was split on party lines, with the Republican senators voting against the bail out, and Democratic senators supporting the bail out.

It is still possible for the White House to intervene, but markets have already reacted.

In Asia markets dropped 7% on the news of the Senate decision.

Senate majority leader Harry Reid said, “I dread looking at Wall Street tomorrow. It’s not going to be a pleasant sight.”

The US government gave $700 billion to the financial services industry with very few questions or conditions, but the auto industry had to jump through hoops, make concessions and play political optics.

Three million Americans are employed in the auto industry, according to industry numbers.

In Canada government figures show almost 500 thousand Canadians are employed in the auto industry including manufacturing, distribution, sales and service.

Like Chrysler, General Motors has now hired bankruptcy advisers.

Related Links
Auto Industry Aid Bill Fails In Senate, GM Hires Bankruptcy Advisor [Jalopnik]
Rescue Bid for Detroit Collapses in Senate [Wall Street Journal]
Cars on the Brain [Industry Canada]
Senate Abandons Auto Bailout Bid [New York Times]

Douche bag: please see below

Watch the video all the way to the end, trust me on this one.

General Motors' apology - full text

The brilliant documentary The Corporation uses the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders to assess the personality of corporations as entities.

In the end the determination is that corporations have the personality profiles of psychopathy.

Now a corporation is apologizing, what is one to make of that?

(Disclosure: I am employed by a General Motors' dealership)

We deeply appreciate the Congress considering General Motors’ request to borrow up to $18 billion from the United States. We want to be sure the American people know why we need it, what we’ll do with it and how it will make GM viable for the long term.

For a century, we have been serving your personal mobility needs, providing American jobs and serving local communities. We have been the U.S. sales leader for 76 consecutive years. Of the 250 million cars and trucks on U.S. roads today, more than 66 million are GM brands — nearly 44 million more than Toyota brands. Our goal is to continue to fulfill your aspirations and exceed your expectations.

While we’re still the U.S. sales leader, we acknowledge we have disappointed you. At times we violated your trust by letting our quality fall below industry standards and our designs become lackluster. We have proliferated our brands and dealer network to the point where we lost adequate focus on our core U.S. market. We also biased our product mix toward pick-up trucks and SUVs. And, we made commitments to compensation plans that have proven to be unsustainable in today’s globally competitive industry. We have paid dearly for these decisions, learned from them and are working hard to correct them by restructuring our U.S. business to be viable for the long term.

Today, we have substantially overcome our quality gap; our newest designs like the Chevrolet Malibu and Cadillac CTS are widely heralded for their appeal; our new products are nearly all cars and “crossovers” rather than pick-ups and SUVs; our factories have greatly improved productivity and our labor agreements are much more competitive. We are also driven to lead in fuel economy, with more hybrid models for sale and biofuel-capable vehicles on the road than any other manufacturer, and determined to reinvent the automobile with products like the Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle and breakthrough technology like hydrogen fuel cells.

Until recent events, we felt the actions we’d been taking positioned us for a bright future. Just a year ago, after we reached transformational agreements with our unions, industry analysts were forecasting a positive GM turnaround. We had adequate cash on hand to continue our restructuring even under relatively conservative industry sales volume assumptions. Unfortunately, along with all Americans, we were hit by a “perfect storm.” Over the past year we have all faced volatile energy prices, the collapse of the U.S. housing market, failing financial institutions, a stock market crash and the complete freezing of credit. We are in the midst of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Just like you, we have been severely impacted by events outside our control. U.S. auto industry sales have fallen to their lowest per capita rate in half a century. Despite moving quickly to reduce our planned spending by over $20 billion, GM finds itself precariously and frighteningly close to running out of cash.

This is why we need to borrow money from U.S. taxpayers. If we run out of cash, we will be unable to pay our bills, sustain our operations and invest in advanced technology.

A collapse of GM and the domestic auto industry will accelerate the downward spiral of an already anemic U.S. economy. This will be devastating to all Americans, not just GM stakeholders, because it would put millions of jobs at risk and deepen our recession. By lending GM money, you will provide us with a financial bridge until the U.S. economy and auto sales return to modestly healthy levels. This will allow us to keep operating and complete our restructuring.

We submitted a plan to Congress Dec. 2, 2008, detailing our commitments to ensure our viability, strengthen our competitiveness, and deliver energy-efficient products. Specifically, we are committed to:

* produce automobiles you want to buy and are excited to own
* lead the reinvention of the automobile based on promising new technology
* focus on our core brands to consistently deliver on their promises
* streamline our dealer network to ensure the best sales and service
* ensure sacrifices are shared by all GM stakeholders
* meet appropriate standards for executive pay and corporate governance
* work with our unions to quickly realize competitive wages and benefits
* reduce U.S. dependence on imported oil
* protect our environment
* pay you back the entire loan with appropriate oversight and returns

These actions, combined with a modest rebound of the U.S. economy, should allow us to begin repaying you in 2011.

In summary, our plan is designed to provide a secure return on your investment in GM’s future. We accept the conditions of your loan, the commitments of our plan, and the results needed to transform our business for long-term success. We will contribute to strengthening U.S. energy and environmental security. We will contribute to America’s technical and manufacturing know-how and create high quality jobs for the “new economy.” And, we will continue to deliver personal mobility freedom to Americans using the most advanced transportation solutions. We are proud of our century of contribution to U.S. prosperity and look forward to making an equally meaningful contribution during our next 100 years.

Bonus Video

The end is nigh (No, really it is this time!)

Sign number one: A black man elected president of the United States.

Sign number two: Toyota reduces its forecast profit by half

Sign number three: Gas is less than $1.00 per litre.

Wait, what?

Uh, we're just not getting to this guy.

VIENNA (Reuters) - An Austrian man, charged with drink driving, drove to a police station to complain about the charge whilst drunk, officials said on Monday.

The 65-year-old had his driving license and car keys first taken away from him on Sunday after driving while over the alcohol limit in the northern city of Linz.

He then went home, picked up his spare car keys, went back to the abandoned car and drove to police headquarters to explain why he was unhappy with the charge.

That guy has cojones.

Yes, drinking and driving is bad, but come on, that's funny.

Related Links
Yahoo! News (Just to prove I'm not making this crap up)

Ars gratia artis?

Okay, yes, you're right, that is MGM's motto.

(What's a "motto"?

I don't know, what a motto you?

[Um, I guess that wasn't really a print joke. Sorry.])

Returning to your regularly scheduled blog post, ars gratia artis is Latin for "art for art's sake".

Why mottos are written in Latin is the subject of another blog post.

Uh, it's the subject of another blog post because I'm too lazy to plagiarize Wikipedia right now my research assistant Helga is away on an archaeological dig.

Uh, getting back to whatever this blog post is supposed to be about, automobile manufacturer Ford contracted a bunch of artists to create art inspired by its cars.

Its CURRENT cars.

Do you know what any of them are called?

Besides the Mustang.

I didn't think so.

Do you know what any of them look like?

Besides the Mustang.

I didn't think so.

So, these artists had to come up with works not based on a lovely '32 Deuce Coupe, or a T-bucket (pictured above), but "inspirational" vehicles like the Taurus X (no relation to Malcom X), Fusion and Edge.

I like cars and I can't tell you much about the Taurus X (no relation to Malcom X), Fusion or Edge, let alone what would be inspiring about them.

The artists speak about travelling, process and the use of colour.

Except for the guy that did the painting inspired by the Mustang.

Which kind of gives you a clue with what's wrong at Ford.

Ford, like General Motors and Chrysler, face significant market challenges, and if only one of their cars, itself inspired by an earlier version of itself, is inspirational they need a clue.

Related Links
Artists and Inspiration [Ford Canada]

Bonus Video:
An inspirational Ford beside an inspirational Chevy.

Yes, that is Harrison Ford in the Chevy.

OMYGODOMYGODOMYGOD!!!

Yeah, Star Trek is okay, Star Wars nice and the new Battlestar Galactica will do, ya know, if there's nothing else to do.

TRON 2 is coming!!!!!

OMYGODOMYGODOMYGOD!!!

The 1982 movie Tron had amazing special effects, better than anything else I had seen, including Star Wars.

Oddly, it wasn't nominated for an Academy Award because (wait for it) they used computers to create the special effects.

I loved the light cycles.

The Tron arcade game was one of very few I was competent at back when they had arcades. (Ask your parents.)

I loved the light cycles.

Actually, the Tron arcade game was one of very few whose gameplay had anything to do with the movie.

I loved the light cycles.

I mean, seriously, what did the arcade game Tempest have to do with William Shakespeare's movie?

And as for Pontiac's (the car company, not the First Nation chief) attempt to do a product tie-in with the movie or Broadway play, how high was John Z?

One last note before you watch the YouTube teaser below (because I know you didn't just skip the "blah, blah, blah" wordy part and go straight to the video), dear reader, you should know the trials I went through to get you the best video available on the internet, as of this writing.

No, I didn't attend a Comicon.

No, I didn't fix a poor quality cellphone video. (This is called "foreshadowing". You'll understand when you see the video)

I got Rickrolled. (Ask your kids.)



Related Links
TR2N [IMDB (There's nothing there, so I'm not sure if I should have included it, but, well I did anyway)]
TR2N [Wikipedia (Ironically, or not, there is a surprising amount of information here)]
Tron [IMDB]
Tron arcade game [Wikipedia]
Tempest arcade game [Wikipedia]
The Tempest (William Shakespear) [Wikipedia]
Pontiac Tempest [Wikipedia]
Chief Pontiac [Wikipedia]
TR2N [Rickroll]

Via Autoblog (oddly enough)

You can't get there from here

I am glad, as I have previously mentioned, to be back in my beautiful British Columbia.

One of the things I was afraid of, besides being attacked by killer pine beetles, was not remembering how to get around the Lower Mainland.

It wasn't that I was expecting to have no idea how to get from Coquitlam to South Delta, for example (Easy route: Highway 7 West to Port Mann interchange, Highway 1 East to 152nd Street exit, follow 152nd Street South to Highway 10, take Highway 10 East to South Delta. That's not the fastest route, just the easiest if you don't know your way around.), I was worried I might forget shortcuts.

Like, is it faster to take the Burrard Street Bridge into the downtown core when coming from Richmond or the Granville Street Bridge when you are on your way to Stanley Park? And once you are downtown, is Pender faster than Dunsmuir, or should you use Hastings? Does it matter if it is a weekday afternoon as opposed to Saturday night?

Never mind why I would be going to Stanley Park on a Saturday night.

It turns out my old shortcuts are the least of my problems.

Yes, yes I know, I've always had more significant problems than routing.

Anyhoo, the point that I'm getting to, and trust me, I am meandering to a point, is that there is so much construction going on that my former shortcuts, and routes are irrelevant to getting around the Lower Mainland efficiently.

When I left, the most important thing about getting around was which bridge were you going to use, or which major intersection you were going to avoid. I'm looking at you Lougheed and Willingdon! And don't think you're off the hook Boundary and Marine!

There is so much construction going on, in so many places, you have to listen to traffic reports on the radio and even consult websites to see what roads are open, and in which direction.

According to Wikipedia, Vancouver's AM730 was the first radio station in North America to be licensed to broadcast traffic reports 24/7.

You'd think it would have happened in in Los Angeles first.

Vancouver really is world class.

If you can get there from here.

Related Links
AM730
borderlineups.com
BC Ferries
Canada Line Construction
Drive BC
The Road Ahead
Sea-to-Sky Highway Improvement Project

Not just a geek, a CAR geek!

As may already be clear from previous posts, I am a geek.

What may also be clear from previous posts is that I like cars.

I'm not sure if it's clear from previous posts that I like movies too.

I do.

Now, all of these things are coming together in what may be the greatest car/movie/geek event ever!

Flash of Genius is a feature length movie from a major studio about the history of intermittent wipers.

Yes, a movie about intermittent wipers.

I imagine the third act will be even more action filled than Denzel Washington's 2007 movie The Great Debaters which told the story of a debate team.

A debate team from 1935!

I didn't know this, but Ford and Chrysler were successfully sued for patent infringement because Robert Kearns was the actual inventor of intermittent wipers, and they didn't pay him for his patent.

There isn't a modern car available that doesn't have intermittent wipers available at some price point, if they are not standard equipment.

Kearns died in 2005, most of the money he made from the lawsuits went to lawyers, I hope some money from this movie goes to his family, because you know there are going to be a lot of people going to see a movie about the history of intermittent wipers.

The movie comes out in October.




Related Links
Flash of Genius [IMDB]
Robert Kearns [Wikipedia]
The Great Debaters [IMDB]

Via Jalopnik

Corvette ZR1 at the Nordschleife (Nürburgring)

Why this?

Because I don't care about the iPhone 3G release.

And because Corvettes have been pretty good sports cars since they got independent rear suspension in 1962.

And because the Nürburgring is amazing, with about 100 turns per lap, it is considered one of the most difficult race courses in the world.

The Nürburgring was created as a make work project to reduce unemployment in the 1920's.

It is, and has been an important part of Formula One and sports car racing as well.

Today the Nürburgring has become an important part for marketing for modern performance cars, with manufacturers making sure their car's lap times are publicized and "leaking" pictures of their lapping the ring while "testing".


Related Links
Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 [Official site]
Nordschleife lap times [Wikipedia]
Nürburgring [Official site]

Via Corvetteblogger

A rose by another name

Anita Orne is the the lovely owner of an equally lovely early 1962 Austin Healey Sprite Mark II in the most unusual colour.

The unusual colour is "deep pink", and the car is the 2007 winner in the Original Unrestored Class at the 2007 Vancouver All British Field Meet.

Coincidently, this is the 50th anniversary of Austin Healey's Sprite.



Related Links
Vancouver All British Field Meet [Western Driver]
Gordeaux's Fine clothes [Anita Orne's business]
Austin Healey Sprite [Wikipedia]

Happy Monday

It's happened again!

No, not that. And, yes, I know there is a pill for it.

I had pictures published at my favourite blog, Jalopnik.

Okay, my second favourite blog, because, of course, yours is my favourite. (You know who you are.)

Jalopnik, they're obsessed with the cult of cars, you know, have a series, Down on the Street, which features unusual cars on the streets of Alameda, California shot by Murilee Martin, a regular contributor.

Down on the Streets has spawned a "bonus edition" of reader contributed pictures of unusual cars in their neighbourhoods.

I submitted this car because it looks like Jim Rockford's Firebird.

Who?

Jim Rockford was a fictional private investigator played by James Garner in the television series The Rockford Files.

Actually, it looks like the car used in the 1977-1978 seasons because they always used the current year Firebird, and the show ran from 1974-1980.

And, yes, this is a blog post about a blog post.

Related Links
Jalopnik
Down on the Street
Down on the Street Bonus Edition
My pictures at Jalopnik [Rockford car]
My pictures at Jalopnik [Datsun 710]
The Rockford Files [IMDB]
The Rockford Files [Wikipedia]
The Rockford Files [Fan site]
The National Firebird and Trans Am Club

Happy Friday

My favourite blog, Jalopnik, used some of my pictures for their Down on the Street Bonus Edition.

Jalopnik, "obsessed with the cult of cars", has a regular posting called Down on the Street where Murilee Martin, a resident of Alameda California, posts pictures of cars parked on the street.

With Alameda's warm climate cars survive there for years even if they've started to rust, unlike my beloved Geo Metro after one winter in Ontario.

Also, apparently, Alameda residents rarely drive their cars off the island, so in an automotive sense, Alameda is the island that time forgot.

The "bonus edition" part of Down on the Street started when Martin became inundated (I imagine) with pictures of cars from elsewhere. There have been many excellent submissions from Denver.

Anyhoo, I submitted some pictures and they were posted. Woot! Woot!

Oh, and if you're really not into cars, don't bother with the links below, because they'll just lead you to pictures of a bunch of old cars, and you won't understand why anyone in their right mind would want to see them.

Related Links
Jalopnik
Down on the Street
Down on the Street Bonus Edition
My pictures at Jalopnik