November 03, 2007
September 14, 2007
Life in the MoPar Lane
Chrysler is setting up an
alternative-energy division that will concentrate on hybrid and electric vehicles.
That's kind of cool.
Posted by: Attila Girl at
02:03 PM
| Comments (5)
| Add Comment
Post contains 29 words, total size 1 kb.
1
Starting from scratch since their old staff was dispersed to the winds when the work was turned over to Mercedes(DB) HQ personnel. I wish them well.
Posted by: Darrell at September 15, 2007 07:50 PM (RWIxV)
2
I hate it when that shit happens and people need to reinvent the wheel.
But I'm really jazzed that they divorced DB; that was a lousy freakin' marriage.
Posted by: Attila Girl at September 15, 2007 08:18 PM (bIZMS)
3
Also interesting that Chrysler nabbed Jim Press from Toyota. This is going to be fun to watch.
Posted by: david foster at September 16, 2007 03:12 PM (gguM0)
Posted by: Attila Girl at September 17, 2007 10:07 AM (bIZMS)
5
And not to forget, Deborah Wahl Meyer, joining Cheysler on Aug. 28. She had been vice president of marketing for Toyota's Lexus luxury division. I wonder why the new Prius is smiling, though?
Posted by: Darrell at September 17, 2007 09:17 PM (o7PkC)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
July 11, 2007
Come On, Now. Chrysler Still Rulz.
Every brand that wants to survive this decade has to produce at least one
econo-box. The question is, what will the American variant of this one do? My Cotillion sisters tell me that even a Neon—provided it was made by Chrysler, rather than a distant-cousin manufacturer—had that same immediate power I've become addicted to in the Cruiser: everything the car had available was right there, right now. She was able to out-accelerate much more expensive cars, such as Porsches.
And, of course, so am I. I can hold my own against a beamer these days, unless he or she is an awfully good driver.
But I really like fucking with the college-age youts—I let the kids in their souped up Jap imports show me up on the interchanges, and then when we hit the open freeway, I sort of ignore them, move left, and slide by. Their tattoos and whatnot don't help them. They still get to watch the girl spurt off to their left with in a 2.4 four-banger that seems to perform like a V-6 on speed. The driver—invariably a 22-year-old with an oversized black earring in his left ear—generally seems chagrined.
I still think the Daimler thing was a bad fit, so I have high hopes for the new owners. After all, they might just let a MoPar be a MoPar. What could be better than that?
I'm trying to move A the H in the direction of the Chrysler 300, rather than the Lexus he's flirting with. I'm really terrifically subtle, though, so I doubt that he's noticed the working of my gentle mind-rays . . .
My ex used to tell me that "Subtlety" was my "first, last, and middle name." You can see immediately that it would take terrific mental discipline to resist my benificent, yet persistent, will.
Aw, come on, Honey: I'm right about this one. It had to happen sometime, you know.
Posted by: Attila Girl at
05:00 AM
| Comments (10)
| Add Comment
Post contains 332 words, total size 2 kb.
1
yep. MWAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA
Posted by: caltechgirl at July 11, 2007 10:16 AM (/vgMZ)
2
So... what color is the 300? The man never had a chance did he?
Posted by: RWB at July 11, 2007 03:45 PM (4j8Ry)
3
Aren't cars more than transportation in the Hollywood entertainment industry? Remember the people making decisions wouldn't know "good" and "quality" if they bit them on the ass.
The Lexus is already the "entry level" luxury car with the Hollywood crowd. Owning one says you might have a restrained, practical side. A Lexus means you may be down to Earth. The 300 means you're down and out. People that can't recognize quality rely on other "tells." They hire who they think are already successful-- less explaining to do if the project falls flat. In a 'bidness' where $200/week waiters/actor-wannabees lease a Mercedes or BMW, I'd give this a lot of consideration. Perceived success begets more success.
Posted by: Darrell at July 11, 2007 06:01 PM (wjaCy)
4
"Entry-level" and "luxury" go together like "budget" and "caviar." Maybe it's important in Hollywood to pay $40k for what is essentially a Camry with a better stereo; I continue to believe that an ounce of performance is worth a kilogram of image.
Posted by: CGHill at July 12, 2007 03:26 PM (3UA1B)
5
The 300C AWD does have adjustable pedals and pedal memory...Bet that would benefit somebody.
Posted by: Darrell at July 12, 2007 06:07 PM (e1yGp)
6
I'm shocked at the implication, here.
Posted by: Attila Girl at July 12, 2007 11:49 PM (VgDLl)
7
:-) Just saying. . .
That does benefit BOTH of you, after all. I'm sure Suze Orman recommends using somebody else's car as a coping mechanism for those pesky high-gas prices.
Posted by: Darrell at July 13, 2007 05:48 AM (V50PL)
8
Or to get even with punks that can deliver in those freeway competitions.
Posted by: Darrell at July 13, 2007 05:51 AM (V50PL)
9
At this exact moment, I think we're even in terms of overpaying for gas--or we would be, if I didn't make a point of driving the Saturn once or twice a week in order to keep it running well enough to sell.
In terms of performance, I seem to hold the winning hand, though the husband's car SHOULD win. I've decided it isn't a question of the time it takes to access the power in a V6; I think that the first round of engineering on the Saturn LS was performed by dorks who had just finished working on Tauruses, or whatever. That is, they targeted the car to a different demographic.
The trick is to remedy that when the husband trades up. He's likely to still go for a sedan, and he'll probably want a large-ish one. And since he doesn't care what his cohorts in the entertainment industry think, he won't be getting a Prius or an SUV (unless we get a cabin in the woods this year or something).
So it's a balance of safety, reliability, reasonable fuel economy, and a bit of actual, you know—power.
I'm going to handle this. All he has to do is write brilliant scripts, and I'll do the rest. Then I'll decide what he wants, and go through the tedious process of persuading him that it was all his idea to begin with.
The burdens we
bear on the distaff side . . .!
Posted by: Attila Girl at July 13, 2007 11:35 PM (VgDLl)
10
I hope all that is in the State of the Patriarchy Report for 2007. And women wonder why men rent exotic cars when they are on the road. . .
Posted by: Darrell at July 14, 2007 12:52 PM (sNg02)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
May 24, 2007
On the Future of Chrysler
Hm. It's not like it was a
good match for Daimler.
All I want to see is more cars from them: round, responsive cars. They should keep making turbo PTs, and maybe a fuel-efficient PT that I could pretend to buy and then get a performance model instead of, for my next car.
If they were to create a hybrid PT I would send them chocolates every single day.
And if I every give up my woody, I want flames. If you think about it, they should come standard.
Posted by: Attila Girl at
01:01 AM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 99 words, total size 1 kb.
May 17, 2007
More on My Precious
I'll get my husband to take a portrait of us soon, but in the meantime here are a few Cruiser surfwagons that look a bit similar to The Woody From Heaven (which sounds vaguely obscene, doesn't it?).
And then there's this one, to all appearances parked along the sexiest stretch of coastline in the world:
The color on mine is a dark taupe. And, of course, The Chariot of Coolness sports a sunroof, and a luggage rack that can be configured to look like a spoiler: I'm sure once I do that my gas mileage will be off the charts, due to reduced drag.
Just certain of it.
Posted by: Attila Girl at
03:11 AM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 116 words, total size 1 kb.
May 09, 2007
Increasing the "Yum" Factor
My former boss, Drew Hardin, wrote a nice little
roundup some years back on the ways people were tricking out their PT Cruisers. The lead for the piece is very cute:
Whether you love it or it leaves you cold, ChryslerÂ’s PT Cruiser is an unmitigated hit. People are still standing in line to buy this little car (van? mini-SUV? whatever...), even a year and a half after its introduction.
That delicate little dance leaves one unsure about Drew's true feelings regarding the Cruiser: either he disliked it intensely, or he secretly thought it was great, but didn't want to appear uncool to his automotive-jock friends.
I've always recognized that I'm not really like Iowahawk: I don't have the money or the time to put into collecting old cars or modifying/restoring them. But I love the fact that some people out there are doing it, and I love the fact that it filters down to my level, to the point that an ordinary chick like me can own and drive a piece of pop art.
And if my books do end up selling as much as my husband tells me they will, I'll probably get a few extra sets of wheels. Maybe even something nice enough to leave to Mr. P's Museum when I die.
Posted by: Attila Girl at
01:52 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 223 words, total size 1 kb.
I'm Still Living that Roger Taylor Lifestyle.
And it's unlikely to stop anytime soon.
Just in love with that car. And with that 2.4.
Much better than the 1.9 in my Saturn SL2, which could at least climb hills at a steady, reasonable pace.
Fairly close, actually, to Attila the Hub's V6 in an engine that—stock—was 2.2, but became gosh-knows-what when they put the extra
cylinders in it. [Would a real car person step in, please, and spare me from further embarrassment?]
I like the fact that I ride high in this trucklet, and yet while I'm cruizin' along the car looks up at me with puppy-dog eyes and says, "faster, please." I pat it on the dashboard, and then look up to discover that I'm doing 80 without even thinking about it.
Naturally, at that point I say "heavens to Betsy," and slow down . . . if I'm in the mood, or if there are CHP cars malingering on that stretch of freeway.
Posted by: Attila Girl at
01:25 AM
| Comments (5)
| Add Comment
Post contains 158 words, total size 1 kb.
1
The 2000-2005 Saturn L-Series offered a dohc, 24 valve V6 (3.0L)/183(cu.in.) engine that produced 182 hp and 190 pound-feet of torque(@5600 rpm). The curb weight of the sedan was 2910 lbs.
Posted by: Darrell at May 09, 2007 08:37 AM (p9fyC)
2
2002 Chrysler PT Cruiser--
Base:dohc I4 2.4L /148(cu.in), 150hp, 162ft.lb torque.
Turbocharged dohc I4 2.4L /148(cu.in.) 220hp, 245ft.lb torque.
Posted by: Darrell at May 09, 2007 08:51 AM (p9fyC)
3
But mine isn't the turbo. I mean, it would say it was if it were. And it would be on the bill of sale if it were a turbo. I think.
So why do I feel that it's every bit as powerful as the husband's LS? Does it have to do with that distinction of which engines are "peaky" and which are not?
Very mysterious. I swear, I'm almost willing to learn the physics of engines to explain it.
I wonder whether it's the fact that it's so high off the gound, which leads my mind to overcompensate for this vs. the low-riding Saturn.
Posted by: Attila Girl at May 09, 2007 01:03 PM (2WBcM)
4
No "2.4 Turbo" on the tach faceplate? You'll find the turbo connected to the exhaust manifold(the place below the spark plugs where the exhaust gases leave the engine on the way to the catalytic converter and the muffler), which should be visible with the hood open. It'll look something like a half of a 2 pound coffee can. See it?
You are not imagining things. There is speed, and there is the perception of speed. Sometimes it's as simple as there being less noise insulation in a car. Weight is not a factor because the two cars are pretty close there. Whatever it is, enjoy it! You have it and that's all that matters. Be happy!
Posted by: Darrell at May 09, 2007 07:59 PM (fZnAt)
5
Nothing on the tachometer.I think I'm just a naive kid from a small town, who's impressed with all this "acceleration" business.
Posted by: Attila Girl at May 09, 2007 10:35 PM (2WBcM)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
May 02, 2007
We Might Make a Deal Tomorrow.
We're definitely going used. The more I think about it, the more I want to do it that way. But not private party: I want more guarantees.
Bachelor #1 is a yellow Matrix, with which I'm secretly in love—because he has a sunroof, a tape deck + a CD player, a SIX-speed manual transmission, and a quirky maneuver for getting into reverse (one has to move a certain way, while reciting pagan incantations).
It's un-stealable: say there's a car thief who knows how to drive a stick—despite the fact that it's a dying art. He or she won't know how to get this bad boy onto the road. And it's got plenty of pickup, despite being a souped-up Corolla with a strange, practical Euro-style body.
Od: 35,326
Vintage: 2004
Extras: 4 years or 65,000 left on the extended warranty; tape deck
Even Attila the Hub, who was initially quite put off by the color (inspired, rumor has it, by French's mustard) is starting to warm to the quirky little car. I remind him that he only has to borrow it around three times, so he can get the feel of that funky reverse gear, and then he never has to set foot in it again unless there's an emergency.
Meanwhile, he's seeing more deep-yellow cars all over the highways, and is losing his reservations in that arena. "It's a cheerful color," I remind him. "Without being the kind of cop magnet that most shades of red are."
Bachelor #2 is respectable-looking Honda in a really beautiful light shade of metallic seafoam green. This one doesn't sport a sunroof: it's a grownup-looking car, but it cooks. It's got that Honda maneuverability, and the gears feel nice.
Od: 19K
Vintage: 2003
Extras: It just looks like a sober sort of sedan, in a non-aggressive/pretty color, and yet it maneuvers like a charm. Its another one of these small-but-clever cars, engineered so even tall guys like A the H can ride in comfort. Therefore, I could take him out to dinner without borrowing his car to do it. (Always a nice perk in the marital arena. When it's his birthday, I like to do the driving.)
Bachelor #3 is another Honda Civic, but of the hatchback variety they don't even make any more. He was a sweet ride. His bad habits: two doors (not counting the hatchback), and a rearview mirror that sucked, making daytime look like nighttime. But he might be available for less than his brother four-door Civic, and he like to rock and roll. For me the dealbreaker is that dim rear-view mirror—except that I know these are available on the aftermarket, and some of them are quite a bit better than the ordinary variety. This one is mounted into the windshield, but still: I'm sure there's a fix, and it probably isn't too expensive.
Besides, I carry a purse: think of all the time I'd save by throwing it into the back seat without having to open a back door! Two doors can be pretty practical, when you think it through.
There are a few aces up our sleeves, as Attila the Hub and I set out to negotiate with these people, and maybe even bring one of these sweethearts home:
1) My car works just fine. We aren't in a hurry.
2) When push comes to shove, I'm willing to drive an automatic, if it means a better deal. But they cannot sell their manual-transmission vehicles to people who don't know how to drive 'em.
3) A the H is using a special account for this purpose, and we put $4,500 less into it than we originally planned. This isn't an accident, or carelessness: it's because we knew that once I'd fallen for a couple of used cars, that would get us into a more appropriate price range for the models we were considering.
And I'm me: once my driveability buttons have been pushed, I'd prefer to spend the extra money fixing up our house. I want reliability, and a bit of a speed buzz. After that, who cares? I want to ditch the wallpaper, and paint this palace.
4) We are willing to walk. Not in a dramatic way, but if we aren't happy with a deal on offer, we will saunter off. After all, there are other sweet, sporty abandoned cars with stick shifts that are available for adoption all over the city. We are ready to deal—but not committed.
So if anyone's ready to buy a used car from an actual used-car lot, it's us. We are wearing our financial armor, and yet we carry the loudly beating heart of a passionate wife who has a deep need for speed.
Posted by: Attila Girl at
02:17 AM
| Comments (2)
| Add Comment
Post contains 797 words, total size 4 kb.
1
The MoP and I have been really happy dealing with Enterprise Rental's car sales (http://www.enterprisecarsales(dot)com/carsales/home.do), and my daughter is quite happy with CarMax (http://carmax.com/).
You can preview cars on the web from both companies.
And, no, we have no interest in either company, except as occasional customers.
Posted by: leelu at May 02, 2007 10:53 AM (KFuCy)
2
Let's see. . .
All signs point to Bachelor No. 1.
Guess that means you will go with the unmentioned 5th choice. Women!!!!
Posted by: Darrell at May 02, 2007 07:48 PM (z6eVF)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
April 02, 2007
"I'm Not Ready To Get Another Car," I Tell My Husband.
"You know how we are in my family: we like to drive them into the ground."
"That's fine," he replied. "But the car is in the ground."
A new starter and a new fuel pump in the same month. I feel like someone's trying to tell me something . . .
This week, a question for Bachelor Number Three: "I crave Vitamin D. Why do I have to buy $1500 worth of options just to get you with a moonroof?"
Posted by: Attila Girl at
09:00 PM
| Comments (2)
| Add Comment
Post contains 102 words, total size 1 kb.
1
Why did I have to pay $1500 more and get a moonroof
that will never be used because my wife wanted a six CD
player? It's one of the mysteries of the universe isn't it?
Actually, it's not so mysterious. Toyotas come bundled
with popular option packages. You can still special order
what you want, but the salespeople will attempt to discourage
you from that in order to persuade you to choose what's in
inventory. Special orders can take a long time to fulfill.
-Bob
Posted by: Bob at April 03, 2007 05:57 AM (CP6tB)
2
Well, why don't I get the Matrix without the option package, have a hot stereo put in it, and then trade with your wife for the one with the moonroof?
I don't get multiple-CD changers. I like to decide what to listen to on the fly, rather than premeditate. Actually, if I could get a car with a tape deck for a reasonable price, I'd be tempted--but I know my brother paid $200 or something for his, which seems silly. The fact is, I still have plenty of compilation tapes my friends made for me in the 1980s. (There has to be a way to get those digitized.)
Posted by: Attila Girl at April 03, 2007 08:00 AM (1tv3E)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
April 01, 2007
March 25, 2007
The Saturn Aura
. . . is getting some
positive buzz, over at Reynolds' place and elsewhere.
My 1994 is still going strong; we got it back when Saturn was still making reliable cars. But the husband's 1999 LS (Large Sedan) has been one disappointment after another, and the dealer where we bought three cars doesn't seem to want our business.
So it's probably over between us and GM.
Anyway, I think I'm ready to fall in love again.
Posted by: Attila Girl at
05:03 AM
| Comments (1)
| Add Comment
Post contains 82 words, total size 1 kb.
1
I had a '93 Saturn SL1 that I gave to my son in '03.
(it promptly fell apart, but that's another story.)
Having had a pleasant experience with Saturn,
I was shopping for a new one in '04 when I discovered
that local Saturn dealers were converting other brands!
Something was definitely wrong.
I too, felt the allure of the Subaru Outback.
Business associates told me horror stories.
Things about transmission problems and "paint peeling of
in swatches."
So I did some research. If you look at the JD Powers and
Associates ratings, you'll notice consistent 2 1/2's for the
Outback. JD Power's ratings of 2 1/2 is not even "average":
http://research.cars.com/go/crp/research.jsp;jsessionid=AUXHUIX4FLAJ3LAYII5JXKY;jsessionid=AUXHUIX4FLAJ3LAYII5JXKY?myid=&makeid=45&year=2007&modelid=2996&mode=§ion=safety&mode=&aff=national
So, we bought a Toyota RAV4 for our business that year.
We recently replaced it with a Matrix, after again
considering Subaru, and Mazda (brick seats).
-Bob
Posted by: Bob at March 27, 2007 06:41 AM (CP6tB)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
Here's an Article from Yesterday
. . . about how the Car of Tomorrow is
debuting today. NASCAR fans, cross your fingers!
Posted by: Attila Girl at
02:01 AM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 27 words, total size 1 kb.
March 15, 2007
Prius vs. Hummer
Interesting
take.
I'll admit that hybrids are still a bit of an investment, and that in strict dollars-and-cents terms it's often more practical to simply buy a fuel-efficient non-hybrid. But when I look at where electric cars were ten years ago, I'm still amazed that electric engines (or partically electric ones) have come as far as they have. And, yes: I think they have a place in leveraging us away from our sick co-dependency with the House of Saud.
The more demand goes up for hybrids, the more efficiently batteries will be produced. And the more cleanly—because Toyota and Honda are on a roll, and they won't want to spoil that.
Posted by: Attila Girl at
12:07 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 117 words, total size 1 kb.
February 25, 2007
More On
. . . the General Motors
Swan Song.
Posted by: Attila Girl at
03:36 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 12 words, total size 1 kb.
January 31, 2007
Are Americans Really
. . . that
car-happy?
Well, I am. But in my case it's genetic.
Posted by: Attila Girl at
01:30 AM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 20 words, total size 1 kb.
January 21, 2007
Mileage, Shmileage
Just tell me they're going to be making it
less ugly.
Posted by: Attila Girl at
10:42 PM
| Comments (6)
| Add Comment
Post contains 15 words, total size 1 kb.
1
Has anyone else noticed that almost every Prius on the
road (at least in Southern California) has a "rainbow"
sticker in the rear window?
Is there some non-environmental statement the Prius
drivers are trying to make?
-Bob
Posted by: Bob at January 22, 2007 06:56 AM (CP6tB)
2
The Dems will make it beautiful when they fully implement their 'global warming'/'conservation'/'anti big oil' initiatives that get gas up to $7.50/gal. I'll be happy with a 'carbon tax' that makes it prohibitive for Dick Durbin to speak.
Posted by: Darrell at January 22, 2007 12:59 PM (XR8l3)
3
I haven't noticed a lot of rainbow stickers on Prii around here. They are certainly ubiquitous, though. Of the five Prius owners I know personally, only one is gay.
Certainly the trend has been leftward, but I think that's a function of the higher prices: people with a few extra dollars buy the Prius. Those without find a practical alternative. Once the market is flooded, prices on hybrids in general will come down.
David Zucker, on "coming out" as a conservative: "once in a while I'll mention my real politics, and someone will say 'but you drive a Prius!'" Hilarious.
Posted by: Attila Girl at January 22, 2007 01:12 PM (0CbUL)
4
Our motivations are different, too (right vs. left): I just want to save money, and tell Chavez, the Iranians, and the House of Saud where they can stick it.
Posted by: Attila Girl at January 22, 2007 01:14 PM (0CbUL)
5
It's definitely less ugly, but still ugly nonetheless. Maybe we'd conserve more if they made it better looking.
Posted by: PoliticalCritic at January 23, 2007 05:43 AM (BIANp)
6
If you want a decent-looking hybrid, get a Honda Civic (or a Honda Accord, or a Toyota Camry, or a Ford Escape).
Posted by: Attila Girl at January 23, 2007 02:48 PM (0CbUL)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
January 06, 2007
Don't Bury Ford;
it's not
dead yet.
Posted by: Attila Girl at
08:43 AM
| Comments (1)
| Add Comment
Post contains 10 words, total size 1 kb.
1
Anecdote (as opposed to rumor) has it that Fords catch on fire more often than any other brand. (Disclaimer: My Ford LTD
caught on fire twenty years ago, so I could, just maybe, be
biased.)
http://a9.com/ford%20fire
[Funny, attempting to post the "G" search link renders:
Your comment submission failed for the following reasons:
Your comment could not be submitted due to questionable content: google. com]
-Bob
Posted by: Bob at January 06, 2007 06:04 PM (2tBSJ)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
January 03, 2007
Hybrids and Electrics!
There's a nice update
here.
Posted by: Attila Girl at
09:46 AM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 11 words, total size 1 kb.
January 01, 2007
Now This
. . . is a
race.
A mini against an itty bitty.
Posted by: Attila Girl at
04:21 AM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 16 words, total size 1 kb.
62kb generated in CPU 0.027, elapsed 0.1265 seconds.
213 queries taking 0.1118 seconds, 474 records returned.
Powered by Minx 1.1.6c-pink.