The power of advertising

Somewhere outside Detroit, 1990:  "Hey Maury, we've got 500 acres out back filled with station wagons that we can't give away.  We need to move 'em or the boss is gonna have us inventorying radiator hoses in Fargo for the rest of our careers."

"I hear 'ya Ralph."  *long pause*  "OK, how 'bout we try this:  Why don't we pry off those little chrome stick-on things that say 'Vista Wagon Family Truckster' and re-badge them 'Sport Utility Vehicle'?  Sounds sexy, huh?  What....too long?  OK then, SUV." 

And thus was born the runaway bestseller Ford Explorer, the original SUV.

Never mind that Land Rover....

....and Jeep had them 40 years earlier.  The difference?  By the 1990's Ford was a master marketer and advertiser, while Jeep and Land Rover were still hawking theirs in Field and Stream and The Sheep Rancher's Gazette.

Yesterday I was sitting on my balcony watching the cars go by on Warren Parkway below me.  What I noticed was a few soccer mom's in their minivans with the little stick figure window decals....you know, dad and mom, some old guy in a wheelchair, two kids, and a couple of pets....along with the bumper sticker that says "My child is an honor student at Betty Sue Shnurtner Middle School".

Then there were a few pickup trucks, the beds still holding a bunch of empty beer cans and a turned over cooler from the weekend, with their bumper stickers proudly proclaiming "My kid won early release from the Texas Department of Corrections".

Then aside from a few sedans, all the rest were Sport Utility Vehicles, or as they like to call them today, "crossover" vehicles.  Seems like everyone wants a crossover, which I find odd as they're nothing more than old fashioned station wagons.

The car companies can't seem to make them fast enough.  The funny thing to me is these same car companies have been telling us for years that they can't bring their cool European "hatchbacks" to the US because Americans won't buy hatchbacks.  Oh really?  Lemme think....hatchbacks have doors at the back that open up.  Crossovers have doors at the back that open up.  Hmmmm... 

I think someone forgot to give Rolls Royce....

....and Bentley

....and even Lamborghini, the bad news.

You think maybe we could convince them to call them "station wagons" again?  Then the back pasture would fill up with them all over again and we could buy them at fire-sale prices.  *Interest free financing for 200 months!  But wait....there's more!  The first 50 callers will get absolutely free....*  

That's about the only way I could ever afford a Lambo.  No, probably not even then.  :(

Damn you Maury and Ralph!

S

Cars & Coffee, November, 2012

I was out before sunrise this morning in order to attend the monthly Cars and Coffee and still have time to go to my grandson's soccer game.  Turns out he's sick today and didn't play, so I was able to linger a while longer and oogle some really cool, sometimes exotic, always interesting cars:

My first dilemma of the day....which car to take to the show?  The Bentley or the Rolls?

OK, the Rolls it is.

I guess I'm just a sucker for vintage Porsche's, like this '69 911E.

And Jaguar E Types, too.  Sweeeeet!

Speaking of Woodies....This '50's era Ford Sportsman was...um...interesting, although I doubt original.

This 1970 BMW 1600 Cabrio was never intended for the US market according to the owner.  It was imported from France in 1985, and he's had it since 1990.  It has about 250K miles on it and is still his daily driver (weather permitting).

I finally got to meet Karen O'Brien, who owns this outstanding BMW Z3 I've shown here in the past.  She is a super cool lady!

Her girlfriend brought her Z3, too.  (I guess this confirms it....Z3's are chick cars.)

*Don't tell Karen, but I think I like her friend's ride better*

Oddly enough I actually like this Screamin' Yellow BMW.  Unfortunately my local Constabulary would see me coming a mile away, something I do NOT need!

And now for some grins:

A VW "Thing" the dog let's this guy drive ^

In the rear window of a tiny little Fiat 500 ^

I understand the concept of headlight stone guards, but....

The last word....my personal Best of Show today....this BMW Z8.  

*If you're gonna dream, dream BIG!*

S

Cars and Coffee, March 2012

Today was the first Saturday in March, so you know what that means....CARS AND COFFEE!  I met my friends Neil, Frank, and Ron there at 7:30 this morning, but we were NOT the first ones to arrive.  About a thousand cool cars beat us there.  Yes, there was the usual assortment of new exotica such as every Ferrari currently being offered for sale, and all the new Maserati's, Lamborghini's, Bentley's and Roll's, too.  BMW's and Mercedes', Lexus', Mustang's, Camaro's and 'Vette's we're a dime a dozen.  But for some reason I'm always drawn to the old, rare, characterful, and just downright odd cars. (NOTE:  Click on any photo below to enlarge.)

The Mini lineup.  (As the rest weren't leaking I'm assuming they were already empty.)

A really sweet Austin Healey 3000 Mk III.

The aristocracy of the show.

An award winning Alfa Romeo Montreal.

For you muscle car guys (and gals) how 'bout a Plymouth Road Runner Superbird?

Surf's up!

Old cars, like old guys, RULE!  

I came within a hair of buying one of these (Porsche 911) ACBK.  (After College, Before Kids)

But if I had to pick my favorite of all those I saw today, I'd choose this BMW Z8 Alpina.

Yep, this is the one I would have liked to take home with me....

....but unfortunately this old Rover is the only one my budget could afford.  Such is life.  *sigh*

Drive safely everyone.  :)

S