I watched the movie "American Beauty" this past weekend. It was the first time I'd seen it in several years, but it was just as powerful as I remembered after my first viewing.
What was more interesting to me this time, on a personal level, was the specific car Kevin Spacey's character -- "Lester" -- goes out and buys as part of his rebellion against his too-ordinary life: a 1970 Pontiac Firebird (a red one). The scene where his wife first spots the car in the driveway includes one of the best lines from the movie:
Continue reading…
Categories: Cars in Entertainment, Karl on Cars, Pontiac
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood made a big splash recently in his quest to crackdown on distracted driving. His campaign focuses on the most common behaviors behind the pandemic: speaking or texting on a cellphone while driving. As more states continue to add laws banning such behavior, Secretary LaHood has a popular new ally for his cause.
As her contribution to end distracted driving, Oprah Winfrey has pledged to make her vehicle a "No Phone Zone". The catchy slogan is park of a special page set up on her website to encourage others to follow her safe driving lead. Via the site, folks can sign up and join her pledge to not drive distracted. So far, over 109,000 people have joined Oprah in her crusade. Cell phone usage is one of many distractions that can occur while driving, and Oprah should help bring more visibility to the issue.
Categories: Cars in Entertainment, Traffic Safety
In case you missed it, the Ford Mustang turned 45 last Friday. It was August 17, 1964 when the car debuted at The New York's World Fair, effectively creating a new category of vehicle -- the Pony Car.
In the next three years over one million Ford Mustangs were sold. Think about that for a minute -- one million units in three years. We're not talking a million full-sized trucks or four-door family sedans. The Mustang was a two-door coupe with clearly sporting intentions. That would be like selling one million Hyundai Genesis coupes in the next three years (like the original Ford Mustang, the new Genesis is a sporty, rear-wheel-drive coupe that offers good value and performance).
Now I like the Genesis coupe, and judging by our site traffic reports and anecdotal evidence so do many of you. But one million units in the next three years? Not gonna happen.
But then a lot of things have changed over the past four-and-a-half decades. GM once owned over two-thirds of the U.S market with mulitiple models hitting the million-plus mark in three-year sales. Back then many Americans had never heard the words "Honda" or "Toyota" (let alone "Hyundai"), as both the manufacturer and model count was substantially lower. Did you know there are over 40 manufacturers and 330 U.S. vehicles for sale as 2009 models?
Which brings me to today's question: Could a future performance car ever see the level of economic and cultural success that the Mustang has seen over the past 45 years?
Continue reading…
Categories: Cars in Entertainment, Ford, Muscle Car, Retro Revivals, Talk Back Tuesday
While watching a recent television program I noticed something troubling, but not at all unexpected in today's world. In the program a primary character was describing a new automobile, and the dialogue sounded almost like a dealer brochure. My guess is the writers tried (in vain) to mold the brochure-speak into a believable conversation string, but it didn't sit right with me. I told my wife, "Okay, first of all the features mentioned don't actually work particularly well, and second they are a major waste of money in terms of what you pay and what you get." I mentioned all this in an annoyed tone just to clearly establish my suspicions. Less than two minutes after this scene a commercial break began. Anyone wanna guess what the first commercial was advertising?
Now before we all get caught up in exactly which car was being discussed on which show let me clearly state the focus of this blog post: the changing nature of advertising (not the validity of any specific product claims).
Continue reading…
Categories: Cars in Entertainment, Talk Back Tuesday
Someone brought up this topic a few days ago, asking me what my dream cars were as a child.
If you're an automotive enthusiast you can likely rattle off the dream cars of your youth without taking a breath. Dozens of images flow through my mind when I think about what cars fascinated me as a kid. But to give the question merit I think you have to define "childhood." The cars that excited me in grade school, late '70s Firebirds and '57 Chevys, weren't the same ones I lusted after in my teens. For me, I'll define "childhood" as 16 years old, or the year driving cars went from being fantasy to reality. At that age, these were my favorite vehicles (with period-correct photos to prove the point):
Continue reading…
Categories: Cars in Entertainment, Muscle Car
As with so many of my automotive-related interests I acquired my joy of slot-car racing from my older brothers. They were playing with Aurora AFX cars and tracks in my earliest memories (the first Aurora sets were introduced in 1971) and I was happy to take up the cause when they outgrew the activity. If memory serves, it was about when they could start driving real cars. I finally sold all our remaining cars around 1999 on ebay. I was shocked when the random collection brought $110.
Continue reading…
Categories: Cars in Entertainment
I'm going to admit it -- my interest in professional football is at an all-time low. Growing up in Denver it was impossible not to be a fan of the Broncos, which ultimately paid off several years ago. But I don't live in football-crazed Denver anymore. Hell, I don't live in football anywhere anymore. Gotta love the second-largest city in the nation not having a pro team. Regardless, the Broncos have been mediocre at best for several years, and honestly I've got other ways to spend my Sundays. What, you think those old Triumph motocycles stay in tune by themselves?
Continue reading…
Categories: Cars in Entertainment, Ford
Of course nobody is still buying Chistmas gifts on December 24th, right?
But, in theory, if you still have to buy something for that car geek on your list you might stop by the local Radio Shack. They've got $8 remote control cars that range from Enzo Ferraris to Porsche Carrera GTs to Hummer H2s. I bought two of these toys in Ford GT form a couple months ago when I couldn't pass up the low price. Last week I saw some more, and because those first two were bubble-wrapped for future posterity it made sense to snag a couple more for the kiddies.
Continue reading…
Categories: Cars in Entertainment, Ford
If you're under the age of 40 and have ever picked up a joystick you're probably aware that we're on the brink of a major event in the gaming world. The third series in the Halo franchise hits stores at midnight tonight (in those stores willing to open at midnight). As a lifelong gamer (had an Atari 2600 in grade school) I'm still amazed at the level of technology and associated realism offered in modern gaming. And while I'd just assume leave many aspects of the Halo world inside my Xbox (sword-wielding aliens, a war-ravaged earth, purple chicks who get inside your head and tell you what to do), there's one Halo item that brings together my love of gaming and my love of automobiles -- the Warthog.
This four-wheel drive, four-wheel steering military vehicle is like a Jeep Wrangler on steroids. It can turn on a dime, climb over anything and happily bounce along after a 30-foot drop (though like any high-profile vehicle it can also roll over). Obviously there is no real-world version of the Warthog, but the Jeep Hurricane concept car from the 2005 Detroit Auto Show was surprisingly close. With two Hemis on board, one powering each axle, and the abiliy for each wheel to turn either direction --indepently -- the Hurricane had Warthog-like traction, plus a near-zero turning radius. Sure, the Hurricane was pretty over-the-top, but considering how close Chrysler got to making the Tomahawk...
Continue reading…
Categories: Cars in Entertainment
Being the dutiful parent of a nine-year-old boy I put in my theatre time during the opening weekend of Transformers. However, in a pleasant surprise, the movie wasn't a completely pointless excercise for moi. As a mediocre fan at best (I watched the series occasionally back in mid '80s, but never had a toy and haven't followed it since), I have a very basic understanding of the storyline. But start talking "Series 1" and the like and I'm lost. While our own Daniel Pund was quick to point out the film's weak points
(and they are plentiful) I was able to focus on the special effects and (albeit rare) witty dialogue and have a relatively good time...
Continue reading…
Categories: Cars in Entertainment
Okay, the suggestions are in and the winner is clear, though not surprising. The favorite car commecial, according to you guys, is the Rube-Goldberg inspired Australian Honda commerical, "The Cog." I remember when the link to this commercial first made the rounds in everybody's inbox, and it is an undeniably impressive series of events. I also like the solid directorial work that effectively captures the entire sequence. But here's my question, how much of this was real and how much was computer annimated/enhanced? I think I read somewhere it was all "real." Either way, here's the link:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=OFTduBCb7Eo
However, my favorite car commercial of all time remains the Ridley Scott classic for the Nissan 300ZX. The commercial as a whole is pretty cool, but I love the end, where the 300ZX creates a sonic boom and flashes by and then...after a noticeable pause...when you think the commercial is done, the jet finally
flies by.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w21qQFJ5rTU
Others sent in by readers include:
Continue reading…
Categories: Cars in Entertainment, Reader Feeder
Alright guys, I've finally set up a specific email for people to send in their random thoughts, insightful observations or useless time-wasting links (definitely don't skimp on the latter). I've gotten an increasing amount of excellent information from readers who either email my direct account or know me well enough to call. In fact, tomorrow's Talk Back Tuesday is totally inspired by excellent reader feedback on a certain topic near-and-dear to my heart (hint: it's near and dear to Chicken Little's heart, too).
So, instead of making folks jump through hoops to send me this stuff, I've set up the email karloncars@edmunds.com to make it easy...
Continue reading…
Categories: Cars in Entertainment, Reader Feeder
Ah, the Mercury Montego. At some point in the brand's history this nameplate had a bit of muscular/performance flair, but like too many Mercury nameplates it ultimately became an oversized, underwhelming shadow of a Ford product. To me the Montego nameplate will always represent the blue car that was really a red car (that was really a gray car?) in the movie Used Cars. And to save the dealership from evil "Roy L. Fuchs" a superstitous car salesman had to jump a 1974 (or so) Montego sedan over a moving train. If you claim to be a car nut, or just enjoy the subject of buying and selling cars, you must see this movie.
The new Montego lives up to the nameplate's history, as it's basically a warmed over Ford Five-Hundred. And like the 1970s Montego, this version is being retired in favor of a more recognizable (and, Ford hopes, appealing) nameplate. The 1970s Montego was replaced by the "upsized" Mercury Cougar of 1977 (ugh, let's not go there...), and the current Montego will become the Sable for 2008.
Continue reading…
Categories: Cars in Entertainment, Mercury
...we've got a good one going up on Monday about Smokey and the Bandit
, a classic car movie that turns 30 this week. If you're of a certain age group this movie likely left an indelible impression on you when it premiered in 1977. It was the second-highest-grossing film of 1977 after Star Wars
(another movie that left a large impact crater on my young psyche). The harsh truth of 1977 is that there wasn't a lot to celebrate in the world of automotive enthusiasm. Cars were weak, gas was no longer cheap, and it looked like we'd all be pedaling front-wheel drive hatchbacks before the end of the decade. Bandit
was a total departure from this line of thinking, which is probably why it resonated so well across the fruited planes.
Continue reading…
Categories: Cars in Entertainment, Muscle Car, Pontiac
I haven't seen the Transformers movie
yet, but I've seen several of the many trailers
flying about the Internet. In case you don't already know, the movie is basically a GM fest in the spirit of The Matrix
sequels and Live and Let Die
(yes, go back and view that 1973 Bond flick again and you'll know what I mean). I'm not picking on GM here, as Ford was just as guilty in Casino Royale (though the spread of divisions from Aston Martin to Mercury helped hide the effect). Of course it happens on T.V. too. The only non-Chrysler in The Beverly Hillbillies
was the hillbillies' ancient Ford. And do so many Desparate Housewives
really drive Nissans?
Continue reading…
Categories: Cars in Entertainment
