It starts with actual screws and ends with genuine wood trim. You see, nothing screams “I care about the environment” quite like Chinese solar panels and sheet metal screws. Don’t get me wrong, I think converting a Prius into a full on plug in hybrid or possibly a low speed electric only vehicle is pretty cool.. but not like this, never like this. Continue reading
Back in the 1900s, an Austrian psychotherapist by the name of Alfred Adler came up with an interesting idea. Adler believe that one’s birth order was a major influence on the personality of a person.
For example, Adler believed that in a family with three children, the oldest and youngest children received the most attention from the parents with the middle child often being “forgotten.” Although Adler didn’t have any scientific research to support his theory, the idea of birth order is still well-known today.
So what does all this have to do with cars? Well for a long time, the Ford Motor Company was a family of 3 brands: Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury. Ford was the original and the oldest brand with the largest offering of cars, including entry-level vehicles. Lincoln was positioned as the luxury brand, maker of the finest vehicles that Ford had to offer. Then there was Mercury, the brand caught in the middle. Continue reading
I was desperately trying to find my way out of the dreaded part of North Phoenix known as “The Square” (look it up) when I came across this Hornet parked on the side of the road.
When the Ford Motor Company introduced the Thunderbird in 1955, they created a market for a brand new type of vehicle: the personal luxury car. From the very beginning, the Thunderbird was a big hit that broke sales records and earned high praise from customers.
Over at General Motors, VP of Styling Bill Mitchell wasn’t about to let Ford hog the spotlight. He decided that General Motors needed a personal luxury car of their own. Mitchell asked designer Ned Nickles to come up with a rival to Ford’s 2-door, 4-seater Thunderbird. Continue reading
I really don’t understand what business GM’s “excitement” division had building large, luxurious, slow cars like this. Don’t get me wrong, I love the body style, and I’d love to have one, I’m just having trouble trying to come to terms with the reason for this car existing in the first place. It would have made a little more sense back in the 60’s when it was actually possible for a big car to have enough power to actually be exciting, but by the late 70’s, all the car makers were pumping out turd after (sometimes nice looking) turd and I don’t really see anything too exciting about that.
“Shoot for the moon and if you miss, you will still be among the stars.” – Les Brown
At the time of this writing, California-based Fisker Automotive is in bad shape and if they don’t get a miracle, they are going to go under.
In case you haven’t been following the Fisker saga, let me fill you in. Fisker Automotive was founded in 2007 by Henrik Fisker, a Danish-born designer who also penned the Aston Martin DB9, the Aston Martin V8 Vantage, and the BMW Z8. The new company was to launch a luxury plug-in hybrid car in 2009. After multiple setbacks and delays, customers finally began taking deliveries of the Karma sedan in late 2011. Continue reading
