The GM Diet
Danny Hakim reports in today's NY Times that GM execs have finally come to their senses. Faced with an excess of too similar vehicles that not enough people will take off their hands without huge kickbacks, and with Toyota and Honda breathing won the General's neck in the popular pick-up and fullsize truck markets, GM has decided to rationalize its product lines. As I suggested in the post below, the Buick Terraza was an example of filling a slot in the marketplace just so you could say this car line is filling a slot in the marketplace. That wouldn't be a problem if trying to be more than anyone wants weren't so darn expensive. While I won't take full credit, I will note that a little more than a week after the post below first ran as a newspaper column, GM is doing the right thing. From now on, only Chevy and Caddy will carry a full line of vehicles, allowing the other brands to not just save money, but create distinct identities. Looks like GM is finally beginning to realize it cannot ignore that basic law of economics: Never worry about sunk costs. For all the American jobs at stake, we hope GM comes through this stronger than ever. GM's cars are better than they have ever been, and the new J.D. Power reports show consumers are beginning to get the message. Now if the policymakers in Washington would work as hard on healthcare as GM has been doing on its cars, they may be able to address a system that has American cars costing $1,000 more than many foreign competitors just because of healthcare costs, while quality measures show our ultra-expensive, inefficient system is only good for a rank somewhere in the 20s in the world despite those tremendous costs.
2005 Buick Terraza AWD- CXL-1SD: Yes, but why?
Not enough for me had been the knowledge that democracy was on the march everywhere and freedom was winning. No, sir, I knew the truth. There was one mighty mountain yet to climb, one ocean left to cross before we could truly say, “Mission accomplished!” I had, in a few moments of doubt and pain, despaired of ever seeing it happen in my lifetime, so long had been the wait and so eager the waiter. But I did not falter because I knew we would not fail. I kept hope alive, and now, our time has come. My living will has been altered, unending life support no longer the preferred option. Because now I can go in peace. The moment I have been waiting for has arrived.
Buick has built a minivan!
If it’s not love, it must be for money, and seeing that it’s far harder to love yet another minivan than even the 16th million rendition of “Satisfaction,” I’m going to climb out on a limb here and say Buick built the 2005 Terraza AWD CXL-1SD (and don’t ask me what that all means) for the money.
Yes, my head hurts and I’m cranky and I’m taking it out on Buick, but how many gosh darn minivans do we need? Why isn’t a division closer to dying than even its average customer not going out there to build a 300C or a Mustang convertible or, God forbid, something fun like a Mini? Is there such a complete failure of imagination at Buick that a new minivan is what passes for excitement in their water cooler discourses? Which Harvard MBA (and it had to be someone from Harvard – all numbers and no heart) looked at the Buick product lineup, looked at the market, and decided, new minivan, here we come? Why wasn’t he taken out and shot?
Why a minivan?
Yes, I know all about filling holes in a product lineup, but did GM’s top brass ever consider what the guys shuffling the deck chairs on the Titanic were thinking? Buick needed a minivan like I need another sleepover at Michael Jackson’s house. What a thriller. Unlike the Terraza.
But for soccer moms who put practicality above styling, the Terraza does deliver. My fully loaded version came in at $36,290, including a $715 destination charge, pointing out the territory in which GM hopes to compete. While GM has done quite well in SUVs, upscale minivans have not been a part of the general’s arsenal. Now, with the Terrazza, Buick, and by extension GM, has something with which to lure those soccer moms who would otherwise head into a Chrysler Town & Country or Honda Odyssey. A lofty goal, but I’m not sure why GM thinks Buick is the division to do this. Saturn has its version of the Terraza, the Relay, and Cadillac has the cachet to pull people into their showrooms on the way to or from the country club. Buick has Tiger Woods, and I don’t think that’s enough.
I keep trying not to be harsh on the Terraza, because it really doesn’t deserve a harsh review. It’s just that it does not stand out in that Town & Country/Odyssey marketplace, and it should if people are going to consider a Buick minivan. Sorry, make that a Buick “crossover sport van.” Wouldn’t want to get Mr. Buick mad.
Buick, if you’ve seen the LaCrosse commercials, is pushing quiet as a selling point, and though they don’t mention it often in connection with the Terraza, this too is a well-insulated vehicle that keeps road and wind noise out. Engine noise from the 3.5-liter V-6 is hushed, to say the least, and if nothing in its handling or performance will evoke memories of a Ferrari, big deal. It handles as well as most minivans, rides comfortably, and will keep the baby asleep in its car seat and the kids engrossed watching the DVD system.
The AWD in my Terraza stands for all-wheel-drive. You can save a few bucks if you go for front wheel drive, but why. This is one of many safety features standard on the Terraza. Inexplicably missing are side curtain airbags, but one year of OnStar does come standard, and I can’t see living without that afterwards.
The 3.5-liter V6 came with a four-speed automatic transmission. EPA mileage was 17 city, 23 highway.
Driving the 2005 Buick Terraza AWD CXL-1SD is a civilized and civilizing experience. Given GM’s history, this is a quantum leap in the quality of its minivans. Given Buick’s history, we wish them luck.
Lies and the lying liars
Scott McLellan has some big ones. The face of an administration that repeatedly and boldly (not to mention baldly) lied to the American people about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, about weapons of mass destruction in Cuba, about Social Security, about energy, about government interference in the life of a dying woman, about whether the sun would rise in the morning has now become the poster boy for journalistic veracity. Yes, Newsweek screwed up big time, but let's not forget who created the atmosphere where the Geneva Convention does not apply, where American citizens can be thrown in jail indefinitely without trial just because I say so, where American soldiers are repeatedly accused of violating prisoners' religious beliefs during interrogations, where respect for international law is deemed as "quaint" as an American citizen's right to privacy by its highest authorities. Let's not forget who created an America whose credibility is so shot internationally and whose morality so suspect that, well, anything seems possible. Both
Keith Olbermann and
Eric Alterman have good postings on this. All I can say is 1984 is lasting an awful long time, and it's so much worse than Orwell said.
UPDATE: After a discussion with unnamed officials in an undisclosed location, Another Look seeks to retract everything that was said above. Scott McLellan is a patriot and a fine one, and government has every right to instruct Newsweek what to write, First Amendment be damned. The Iraqis welcomed us with flowers in their hearts. Perpetual war is peace, killing everyone who doesn't agree with you is pro-life, Sen. Norm Coleman's caps look even better than his credibility and expecting truth from goverment in a time of war is a liberal plot against America. Oh, and while we're at it, evolution is wrong, the sun does revolve around the earth and gays and feminists caused 9/11. Please, Americans, be more like the responsible media. Do not pay any attention to the fact that Pentagon spokesperson Tory Clarke said Defense "Secretary Rumsfeld Secretary Rumsfeld does not recall it being brought before the board at any time” (yes, I know you liberals are snickering that this is the classic non-denial denial) -- "it" being the sale of two nuclear power plants to North Korea by ABB when Rumsfeld was on its board in 2000, waste material from which could be used to make dirty bombs, were there any terrorists doing business with North Korea. May God continue to bless America.
Oh, what a night!
Talk about bittersweet. The great Bernie Williams
comes back with a bang, his 11th career grand slam lifting the once again mighty New York Yankees back above .500 with their ninth straight victory. Bernie may not be what he used to be, but, to use those words of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, who in the closing stanza of Ulysses said it best:
"Tho much is taken, much abides; and tho' We are not now that strength which in old days Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are; One equal temper of heroic hearts Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."
The young 'uns will understand someday. For us older folk, there is inspiration here. As Tennyson understood, "...you and I are old;/Old age hath yet his honour and his toil;/Death closes all: but something ere the end,/Some work of noble note, may yet be done,/Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods."
Last night, Ray Romano and his hit comedy Everybody Loves Raymond closed all. It left on the same note that sustained it for the past decade - love and family. It was a noble note, filled with grace. Underappreciated for so long, this charming comedy succeeded because of what it was - a slightly distorted mirror in which we could all recognize our own families and the love sustaining us. It was the mirror Cosby (Ray certainly wasn't the all-knowing father, although both sitcom husbands had wives smarter than they and willing and able to puncture their pretensions - much like my own wife) and in so many ways, the same. We'll miss Raymond. We like you, Ray!
We liked Newsweek. For a long time, it has had the best reporting of the newsweeklies. Back when Clinton was in power, they were hated for the Linda Tripp/Monica Lewinsky coverage (with an assist from Matt Drudge, who forced it out of the closet). Christopher Dickey has had some of the most insightful coverage of Iraq. The New York Times, whose coverage has veered from painful sycophancy during the run-up and in the early stages of the war to an overly belligerent nothing's-going-right afterwards could learn from reading his dispatches. Reporting like this on that disaster in the making, John Bolton, made it a must read. Now all that matters less than a piece of incredibly sloppy reporting - a single-sourced, unconfirmed, bound to be inflammatory item - and even worse editing that allowed it to get through. It will be interesting to see what Newsweek reporters have learned. I would hope humility, but not becoming gun shy. In other words, I hope they learn the lesson they've implicitly been trying to share with America about Iraq: Causing people to die based on recklessly bad intelligence is unforgivable, no matter the motivation.
Not that they're asking, but the advice I'd give Newsweek staffers is the same I'd have given to Rumsfeld or Bush. They didn't ask either, but nobody asked Tennyson, yet we listen: "Come, my friends/'Tis not too late to seek a newer world."
Let's just hope this is not a world where we'll really have to pay $49.95 to read the New York Times's op-ed page. If they're going to charge, at least add some more compelling commentary to join Frank Rich's. As the debates over the futures of conservativism and liberalism both heat up, how about infusing the page with some authentic voices from each side? Pat Buchanan and Eric Alterman - now that would be worth the money!
Fox in the henhouse
Former
Coca Cola exec and Bush best buddy, Mexican President Vicente Fox
put his foot in it this past week when he said Mexicans were "doing the work that not even blacks want to do there." While Jesse Jackson contorts into positions previously unknown in the Kama Sutra to try to avoid labelling Fox's obviously racist comments racist, journo supreme Richard Prince reminds us of
this Reuters story, which says, "Racism against blacks and Indians runs deep in Mexico and other parts of Latin America." In contrast to Jesse, the State Department had it right: "That level of dialogue doesn't merit comment." Fox doesn't get it, as witness
his non-apology. What he also doesn't get is
the new approach to illegal immigration in the post-9/11 world. What Fox said has been true in a sense for a long time. An unholy combination of liberals and big businesses has long condoned, if not encouraged, illegal immigrants from south of the border. From Wal-Mart to the local landscaper, these immigrants have enabled employers to push salaries down in that race to the bottom. As long as our borders are poorly policed, not only are Al-Qaeda operatives free to stroll across, so too is the economic threat to American workers and our way of life. Why would an employer pay an honest, hard-working American at least minimum wage and overtime and benefits when he can exploit a vulnerable illegal immigrant? Of course I may be completely wrong on this, as Sebastian Mallaby
persuasively argues in the Washington Post, or I may be completely right, as union official Mark Erlich
argues just as persuasively in the Boston Globe, but either way, let's have the argument. The McCain/Kennedy bill may be a good place to start. Like drug use, we try to choke off the supply elsewhere because the people with the demand vote. That doesn't work for drugs and it doesn't work for illegal immigration. The important part of Kennedy/McCain, if it works is described in
this piece from GovExec.com that says: "The Labor Department would take on a new role, enforcing employer sanctions against the hiring of illegal workers. That is currently the province of the Homeland Security Department, which enforces employer sanctions rarely because of opposition from businesses and some in Congress."
You don't say!
More Cos and Effect
While I think Prof. Eric Dyson does make some valid points in his criticism of Cosby, most notably on the Cos's previous lack of involvement in matters of race, I think if he came down to the trenches, he'd see far less criticism and far more corroboration of the Cos. I work with social workers daily who work with children at their worst. As one sista who's long been involved with our children and a leader in our community said to me yesterday, what some of these kids need is for a parent to take them out to the woodshed and lay the law down. A brotha I work with was pissed off big time recently because one of his teenage charges had been arrested for a major crime. He explained this youngster grew up in the projects, in an environment where hope was as scarce as non-drug dealing BMW drivers. This young man didn't have to grow up in that moral wilderness. The brotha said the parents both had very good jobs, and he'd pleaded with them to take their kids out of that environment. However, the parents chose cheap rent and lots of the best material stuff for their apartment over their children, and now we have another young man with no future. We had a 10 or 11 year old future gangsta at the office a couple days ago, demanding we give him one of the toys we distribute to needy children. His aunt drove him to the office in a new Audi.
We cannot and should not diminish the barriers facing young black men in this society, but we have to stop pretending some of the largest ones are solely the fault of society and that we are blameless. Until we eliminate the pathology that we have allowed to infect us and return to the wisdom of our ancestors, we send our children out into this world of cruelty and opportunity sadly unprepared. That is our failure, and it's time to address it.
Just Be 'Cos
Today's guest posting on the Bill Cosby/Eric Dyson actually is closer to my own views. It comes to us courtesy of the NABJ forum from Teresa Ridley of NiaOnline(www.niaonline.com), a site seeking to create a direct link and trusted dialogue with African-American women. Here's what she says:
"I would suggest that the class-and-race schism isn't a neat one. First of
all, I know plenty of lower-income Black folks (some of whom live in the
same housing project in which I was raised) who agree with every word
they've heard Cosby make about the behavior of *some* teenagers (and, too
often, their parents). In fact, I've heard more upper-middle-class members
of the Black intelligentsia dis Cosby for being politically incorrect than
I've heard lower- and middle-income Blacks disagree with him
I also think we all realize that behavioral and educational problems can be
found among teenagers of every ethnicity and class. But I see nothing wrong
with focusing on Black teenagers, who face some of the biggest challenges in
terms of education and job success. And those challenges tend to be both
class- and race-specific."
2005 Chevy Cobalt LT: GM finally gets it right
The ongoing lamentation of auto reviewers is that there are no longer any truly horrible cars being made, so the opportunities to spew venom are few and far between. Yes, some cars are overpriced, others underpowered, some too small, some too large, some just so obnoxious as to not deserve to live, but where are the Yugos of yesteryear? 
I’m sure you can sympathize with my plight. Fortunately, as a survival measure, smart auto reviewers have developed a workable workaround over the years. Whenever the need to make snide comments became overwhelming, simply call GM and have them send you one of their small cars. I’ve never been disappointed by the Cavalier for example – lawnmower engines, uncomfortable seats, mismatched trim, doors closing with that unmistakable thunk, er, chiiink of cheap tin, trunks refusing to close – the Cavalier was great, a worthy addition to a long line of Chevy small car luminaries, a line that peaked with the Vega, a line we loved to hate.
Way! It is my sad duty to report that with the new Chevy Cobalt LT sedan, the good old days are officially over. 
So before I tell you more about the Cobalt, I’m asking you to join me in a campaign to save the dignity of the American auto reviewer. Please, please, right now, go to your PC and send an e-mail to Tom Delay and Bill Frist. Demand they pass a law forcing American automakers to once again make cars like the aforementioned Vega, or the Ford Pinto, or almost anything from Chrysler’s Corinthian leather period. Do it before it’s too late, before we dissolve into tears, consumed from the inside out by vitriol we want to spew but can’t. Save us from good cars.
So that’s the downside. The upside is almost everything else. The Cobalt comes in base, LS and top of the line LT models, and my top of the line LT just barely made it over $20K with the destination charge built in. For this you get a 2.2 liter DOHC engine, automatic transmission with traction control, antilock brakes, lots of airbags, 16-inch wheels, fog lamps, leather seats, cruise control, XM satellite radio and, of course, OnStar. This is to say this is not a stripped down economobile, but a comfortable, well-equipped transporter.
Handling is also a little different that one might expect. The Cobalt feels larger than I thought it would, and while that means it’s no barnburner (the Cobalt SS is there for those who have the need for speed), acceleration of this relatively heavy sedan for its class is more than adequate, and the ride’s comfort is on par with that of a larger, more upscale vehicle. The engine feels (again a surprise for old Cavalier hands, given that it’s a carryover) refined, pushing out its 145 horses smoothly and quietly. Steering is solidly middle of the road, not sports car quick (again go with the SS for that), but responsive and compliant. Mileage is estimated by our friends at the EPA as 24 in the city, 32 on the highway.
If that seems like damning with faint praise, it isn’t. It’s simply a way of pointing out how far GM has come in making quality cars at all the points in their lineup. If you had a Cavalier, it’s almost unfair to both cars to compare the old Chevy to its replacement. Think of the Cobalt as a next step instead. It is a far more upscale model than its predecessor, and a pleasant surprise to those of us who haven’t had the highest of expectations of Chevrolet. The 2005 Chevy Cobalt LT sedan is an affordably priced, well equipped, finely engineered compact sedan that takes GM firmly into the top level of this market segment.
Murderer's Row
Looks like it will be
a long, cold summer for Yankee fans.
Last place is not the accustomed position for the mighty Yankees. This is especially true when the $96 million of US taxpayer money missing in just one corner of Iraq (
an audit by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction found that in the South Central Region, based in Hillah, officers “cannot properly account for or support $96.6 million in cash and receipts.”) couldn't even cover half your payroll.
Fortunately, as NBC reported, "
Auditors found that $9 billion handed over to Iraqi ministries by (Paul) Bremer’s CPA could not be accounted for. An additional $1.5 billion in Iraqi funds were given to Halliburton in sole source contracts. And the contract to build an accounting system for DFI funds was awarded to a small company run out of a home in California, which wasn’t even a certified public accounting firm." That mean if George has friends in Iraq, the
Yankees still have a chance to
buy a few good pitchers. Don't laugh, it's possible. According to
this exclusive, George W. Bush has spent his life as a George Steinbrenner wannabe, and, as Saddam Hussein himself noted when
Bush appointed him President of Iraq, "
The US makes me feel like a modern-day Billy Martin!"
The only consolation for those of us who genuflect at Monument Park is that the
Red Sox still suck, and nobody cares!
Yankee fans can console themselves with the knowledge that instead of Wells and Schilling, we have a class act like
Bernie Williams. We love
you, man. Get well soon.
2005 Nissan Altima SE-R: Power for the People
Who’da thunk it? A dying Japanese car company turns to a French CEO from Renault for help. How else could this story end but with Nissan joining the scrap heap of automobile history?
As Rick said in Casablanca, I was misinformed. Turns out, Louis, this was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Given that the prospect of dying does concentrate the mind wonderfully, car companies on the verge of implosion tend to have a creative explosion. Witness the first Ford Taurus or the Chrysler 300C. Necessity being the mother of invention, auto companies that are failing in the marketplace tend to burst out from the gray conformity stifling more successful manufacturers in order to make a splash and attract attention, much like a supernova announces the dying of a star. For the fortunate ones, the darkest hour turns out to be just before the dawn.
Sorry about that last sentence. I’ve just been dying to fit three clichés into one paragraph and had to go for it.
So did Nissan. With notably more success. From the redesigned Maxima to the interesting Quest to the sexy Z, Nissan has made a mockery of the supposed virtues of blandness, re-establishing itself with cars that you may love or hate, but you certainly won’t ignore.
In 2004, Nissan set out to change that, and with the SE-R, the transformation is complete. Nissan took a midsize commuter and retained the virtues that its previous customers like – comfort and reliability – while adding what new customers want – style and speed.
The SE-R is the sportiest version of the Altima, and, at about $30,000, the most expensive. But what you get for that is an aggressive handler that’s fun to drive, and, with the optional side airbags, as safe as one could want. The virtues of the line – again, comfort, reliability, interior space – get layered onto a car that makes commuting fun both when the road is all backed up and you sit back to listen to satellite radio, and when the open road is before you. The specially tuned 3.5-liter DOHC 6-cylinder engine pushes out a fabulous 260 horses, making this relatively light midsizer fodder for dreams of Lime Rock racing. My transmission was a responsive five-speed automatic with manual mode (a 6-speed manual is also available), and with the performance suspension tuning, back roads became a thing of beauty (I would suggest a radar detector). Handling was right on the money, twisting and turning into curves becoming a calling, not a response. Mileage is estimated at 20 highway, 30 city, smack in the middle of the range for midsize sedans.
About the only downsides to the SE-R are the engine and road noise – the car sounds as aggressive as it handles – and the fact that front side and rear head curtain airbags are an option. That airbags are packaged with the traction control system with a total cost of $800. Seems a little chintzy to me for something every buyer should get.
Still, Nissan has gambled and won with the 2005 Altima SE-R. Reviews are one thing; spending your money on a car something else. But people who are plunking down their hard-earned cash clearly agree with this reviewer on the merits of the 2005 Nissan Altima. Numbers just released by Nissan show March was the best ever month for Altima sales. Having driven the enjoyable Nissan Altima SE-R, I find no reason to be shocked.
The most prominent difference between the SE-R and other 2005 Altima models is the three-pod center-mounted gauge package, similar to that found on the legendary Nissan Z, with volt meter, oil pressure and fuel consumption gauges. Other changes include sport-shaped front seats and headrests with perforated red or gray leather-appointed inserts and matching stitching on the seats, steering wheel and shift knob, dark chrome trim treatment and drilled aluminum pedals. The front seats are also heated, as are the SE-R’s outside mirrors.
Gone, but not forgotten
Two giants died this past month. While the Bush administration lies in bed cooing to the far right, a scholar who had a great deal to do with breaking the hold of the far right on our educational system and starting the process of desegregation, Kenneth Clark, died.
This leads us to wonder what he would think of the Cos. 
Also leaving us was Dr. Alvin Novick. This Yale physician made his name researching bats and sonar, but his reputation by standing up for the rights of victims of AIDS when few others would. Wonder what he would think of the oppressed becoming the oppressors. Dr. Clark would not be surprised.
