Presidential Race 2012: Romney-Rubio vs. Obama-Clinton

According to Robert Reich, the presidential tickets for November 2012 will be Mitt Romney and Marco Rubio versus Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. According to Reich, Biden and Clinton will switch jobs for the second Obama term. This Biden-Clinton swap has been bantered around on message boards before, but Robert Reich is the first person that I've seen that actually knows these folks that's actually gone on the record with such a scenario. Things that make you go hmmm.

2013 Ford Fusion


It appears that the embargo came off the 2013 Ford Fusion at midnight. The new Fusion goes worldcar this year and will be essentially the same as the European Mondeo. Judging from the picture at ttac.com, the new Fusion looks a lot like the old Mondeo, but it's a handsome car, nevertheless. I just got back from a trip where I rented the current Fusion. It was a very sound and capable family car. Let's see if Ford announces whether the UAW will build the car in the underused Flat Rock, Michigan Plant. For more info, check out ttac.com's story here.

Congratulations Drew Brees

My fellow ex-Purdue Boilermaker, Drew Brees, broke the NFL's single season passing record this week -- a record that Dan Marino held for 27 years. I've got a passing record too, but in my family, we've agreed to stop talking about it.

Report From the Indianapolis Auto Show

My buddy Bill and I made our (almost) annual outing to the Indianapolis Auto Show this week. The Indianapolis show isn't one of the big press events like the Detroit, New York or Los Angeles shows; rather, it's more representative of the rank and file shows that show up everywhere else.

I was impressed that all of the product representatives that we spoke to seemed to know their stuff. That was far from the case just a few years ago. I have some other "seat of the pants" impressions of cars that I had only read about in on the web and in magazines.

The cars that were better than expected:

The Chevrolet Sonic was only available in hands-on form in the sedan version. This is the lowest end Chevrolet that is sold here, but quite honestly, the majority of Americans could use this vehicle as their only car with very little inconvenience. It is decently roomy for four, front and rear. In fact of the A&B sized cars at the show, the Chevrolet seemed to be the most roomy overall, with the Toyota IQ matching it in front seat room. The Sonic also has a decent trunk and a very respectable 138 horsepower turbo 1.4 liter engine. Chevrolet is selling Sonics as fast as the plant can churn them out. The hatchback Sonic has been dubbed Chevy's "Tater Tot" by loving fans.

The Volkswagen Passat - From pictures, this car was purely unexciting, a generic box with a so-so engine and a downgraded interior. In person, what stands out is how roomy this car is. It has by far the best rear seat legroom in the midsized segment and a good trunk to boot. This is the car I would want to rent for my family and its luggage. This is what Chevrolet should be selling as the Impala.

The Chrysler 200 - I can't believe I'm saying this. The Sebring had one of the worst interiors in the car industry. The redesigned 200 has one of the best in its price range. It is better looking in person than in photos.

The cars that were the most disappointing:

The Toyota Prius V. They built a bigger Prius, but they forgot to give it a comfortable rear seat. The hard rear seat was fit for a penalty box.

The Fiat 500. They didn't build this for me. If you are little, you might give this a try. Just don't try to get anybody in the back while there is someone in the front.

The Lincoln Everythings - All of the Lincolns were vastly overpriced compared to more appealing competitors of many makes. This makes me sad because it wasn't too long ago that Lincolns were my aspirational vehicles.

The Buick Verano: This new compact from Buick is built on the same platform a the Chevrolet Cruze. I really like the Cruze, and I thought I'd like the Buick even more. The problem is that the Chevrolet Cruz has a rear seat that is just big enough. The Buick seems to have a lot less legroom in the back. I think this is because of a thicker front seat. The Buick Regal seems to have the same problem. The Lacrosse is great in the back. The trunk is pretty iffy in the 4-cylinder model with the eAssist helper motor though.

Most improved player: that would be Chrysler. With the 200, an updated (though pricey) 300, freshened Jeeps and the new 500, Chrysler rose from the near dead in the past year. I'm not into trucks, but I'd have to say that the Ram Sport on display for $26,xxx was head and shoulders better than the (now discontinued) Ford Ranger that was on display for $28,xxx. The Ranger had 4 wheel drive, but the Ram had a Hemi V-8, a full-sized body, but it still beat the Ranger in EPA economy ratings.

The brand with the most "incompletes": That would be Mazda. Mazda desperately needs to move its SkyActiv technology into its line if it wants to survive in the marketplace.

The two most important cars that I didn't get to try out: That honor would be shared between the 2013 Ford Escape and the 2012 Toyota Camry. There was a new Escape on a rotating display, but you couldn't get in it or even view it up close. I thought it looked pretty good, but I heard several people in attendance morning the passing of their old faithful boxy version. I was a little surprised at how commonly that feeling was expressed. Now, the Camry: I didn't check it out at all. I know it is usually the most popular car in the United States, but I didn't have enough interest in it to get around to looking at it, sorry. No, not really.

Now for a (more than) marginally related video. Indianapolis Reporter Kevin Rader interviewed the most important automotive analysts in the region for his report on the Indianapolis Auto Show. That guy interviewed at 1:25 in the video seems almost as handsome as he is astute.

Video of the Day -

For no particular reason.

The Googleteer: Obvious Joke Alert - The Dog Particle

Last week, scientists at the supercollider at CERN found hints of the famous "god particle". That announcement brought our familiar searching superhero, The Googleteer to high alert, realizing that we would soon be deluged with reports of dyslexic scientists looking for the "dog particle".

the search

CERN dyslexic "dog particle"

Only 71 hits as of now. Only partially obvious, I guess.

Here's a better version of the joke: Scientists at Cern found hints of the famous Higgs Boson "god particle" by looking for tale-tale green streaks on their monitor. After these scientists were done, a group of dyslexic scientists took over looking for characteristic yellow streaks of the "dog particle".

A marginally relevant video perhaps? Doggone right.

What's the deal with Santander Losing Payoff Checks?


When you pay off your car, either by the sweat of your brow, trading it in, or refinancing, you don't expect your old finance company to send its collection goons after you for more money. Yet that's exactly what's happening to a number of consumers with Santander auto loans. In two minutes, i was able to find three posted complaints, and I think that I could have spent half a day ferreting more out of internet complaints.

http://santander-consumer.pissedconsumer.com/still-being-harrassed-after-payoff-20110323228329.html; http://www.merchantcircle.com/business/Santander.Consumer.USA.Inc.214-905-4940/review/list; http://www.complaintnow.com/Santander-Consumer-USA:-Loan-Payoff/complaint/complaints/message/show/15259/0/171593/0

Message to car dealers, banks and credit unions: one of the worst customer relations problems that you can have is a consumer who is getting harassed because the check that you sent in didn't get handled properly by Santander. A customer should reasonably expect his/her car dealer or fiancial institution to give a damn that Santander is calling him/her several times a day. If it were me in that situation, I would go on Youtube and complain both about Santander and my financial institution. If you run across this posting and you are having a problem with Santander, please post in the comments. Thanks.

For a marginally relevant video, I couldn't find a good video on Santander, So I'll settle for Santana.

Tesla Model S - Almost Real Now

The Tesla Model S is one step closer to being ex-vaporware. According to the company, the car is just a year from production, and the company has set up its Model S configurator page. http://www.teslamotors.com/models/options

The base model will have a 40kw/hour battery and will be rated for a 160 mile range for $57,400. That's "only" $49,900 after projected federal rebate. That's a lot of money, but there are a lot of mid-range "status" cars of every type that cost at least that much and won't draw nearly as much attention as the Tesla. I think it is a nice looking car, and I wouldn't mind if this is the "car of the future". It looks kind of Saabish to me - ironic since Saab has finally joined the ex-parrot club. Pricing and some info via autoblog.com. For a marginally relevant video, I tried to see if there was a video of the Swedish Chef and a "cooked goose". No such luck. We'll have to settle for donuts. (That's the first and last time I've ever said or will ever say "settle for donuts.")

All I Want for Christmas . . .

Nissan Targeted by UAW? - Unfortunately, it's a Moving Target

The UAW has refused to name a particular transplant carmaker as the primary target for an organization drive, but there's a report at Autoblog.com today that the UAW may be planning to target Nissan. Since the UAW has tried and failed to entice Nissan workers before, the odds aren't good. The odds are ridiculously low if another news report is true. Autonews.com is reporting that Nissan is planning on nearly doubling its production of cars in Mexico, increasing production by 600,000 vehicles per year. There will be three separate production lines each with the ability to produce 200,000 units per year. This expansion of the Mexican operations would exceed the capacity of Nissan's largest US plant in Smyrna, Tennessee (555,000 units.). Nissan has a smaller plant in Canton, Mississippi that can produce 400,000 units. In other words, in the near future, Nissan may be bringing on more new Mexican production capacity than either of the potential UAW target plants. I don't buy the notion that this capacity is targeted at North American market growth or that it is intended to replace production in high-cost Japan. Nissan's high-volume US models are already produced in North America. Bottom line: I'm pro-union, but given Nissan's expansion in Mexico, I'm not sure that I would sign a card if I were a Nissan worker in Mississippi or Tennessee right now.

A marginally related video? of course.