Adventures in Advertising: What is the Creature in that Mercedes Ad?
You’ve probably seen a certain Mercedes-Benz ad this year. Or maybe in years past – I think the ad in question ran last year, as well, and maybe even before then. It’s a holiday ad featuring one of the...
View ArticleAdventures in Advertising: That Ford Mach-E Ad with Clark Griswold Lacks Laughs
While on the subject of holiday ads, I have another beef with a different automaker than yesterday. Today’s target: Ford. Like practically everyone, I love National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. It...
View ArticleOpinion: Jeep’s Super Bowl Ad Won’t Unite Us
Last night’s Super Bowl got out of hand about as quickly as the newsman fight in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. This meant that I, watching the game home alone since Super Bowl parties aren’t...
View ArticleYour Regular Reminder That Fully Self-Driving Cars Don’t Exist Yet
While we’re on the subject of Super Bowl commercials, there wasn’t just one, but two, that irritated me on Sunday. This one has little, if anything, to do with politics, so you can relax and cancel out...
View ArticleOn Tiger Woods, Auto Journalism, and Clickbait
Golf legend Tiger Woods was involved in a nasty one-car accident yesterday. He survived, but he suffered serious injuries, and his golf career might be in jeopardy. Not long after my social feeds lit...
View ArticleProfessional Troll Elon Musk At It Again
In addition to Elon Musk’s title as CEO — sorry, Technoking — of Tesla, along with his role as boss of SpaceX, we need to add professional troll to his resume. How else to explain his latest Twitter...
View ArticleCalifornia PHEV Owners Return to Gas Power
Electric vehicles are one way to carbon neutrality. Yet 20 percent of California PHEV owners have gone back to gas-powered vehicles. Published in Nature Energy on April 26th by the Institute of...
View ArticleOpinion: The Ford Maverick Makes Me Shrug
The word of the week has been Maverick. The 2022 Ford Maverick has gotten plenty of coverage on this site and elsewhere, plenty of buzz on Twitter, and every auto journalist I know, self included, has...
View ArticleOpinion: The Mustang Mach-E Really is A Mustang, and Let’s Not Pretend It Isn’t
It’s almost a cliché at this point. “The Mustang Mach-E is a great crossover,” they say. “It’s quick, it’s capable, it’s got great range — it’s even pretty good-looking for a crossover. But it’s not a...
View ArticleThe Insanity of BAT Finally Broke Me
Like most automotive journalists — and car enthusiasts in general — I have three ways of goofing off online that involve the cars. One is reading sites like this one. Two is building and pricing cars...
View ArticleOpinion: It’s Fine If the Honda Civic Si is Sedan Only
We gave you all the goods on the 2022 Honda Civic hatchback yesterday, and part of that reporting also mentioned the Si performance trim — and how it’s likely that the Si trim will be offered only on...
View ArticleOpinion: Toyota’s Political Giving Encourages the Big Lie
A report from Axios shows that Toyota has given $55,000 to 37 Republican politicians who objected to the certification of Joe Biden’s election as president of the United States. That’s about a quarter...
View ArticleThe Ford Maverick Isn’t as Compact as It Seems
A few weeks ago, Ford took the wraps off of a new, “right-sized” pickup for the 2022 model year called the Maverick. The truck is different. For one, it’s a unibody design with four doors and a bed...
View ArticleOpinion: There’s Something the 2021 Ford Bronco is Missing
We reviewed the 2021 Ford Bronco earlier this week, and while my feelings toward Ford’s new rival for the Jeep Wrangler were more or less on the positive side of the ledger, I do feel that something is...
View ArticleOpinion: EV Shift Will Require Philosophical Blend
A little under two weeks ago, yours truly wrote about President Joe Biden’s plans for cutting tailpipe emissions and helping to encourage the shift to electric vehicles. I laid out three basic...
View ArticleOpinion: Tesla’s Cybertruck Will Be Company’s First Flop
Tesla’s Cybertruck is in the news again, thanks to some (on paper) comparisons between it and the Rivian R1T and news about a deal with Samsung for cameras for the truck. I’ve been thinking this for...
View ArticleOpinion: I Will Never Understand Tesla Fans
Yesterday, I got Musked*. I wrote an op-ed about how I think the Cybertruck won’t sell well over the long term, though I do expect it to sell strongly at first. I said it might be the first real flop...
View ArticleCounterpoint: Mask Mandates for Autoworkers Are Fine
On Tuesday, Matt wrote an op-ed piece in which he said that it’s a mistake for automakers to bring back mask mandates. I disagree. First, a bit of peeling back the curtain on how op-eds are handled...
View ArticleOpinion: You Should Not Tune Your Daily Driver
The Fast and Furious franchise gets a lot wrong when it comes to tuning cars – but what thing it gets mostly right is the spirit of family that comes with that lifestyle. “Normal people don’t tune...
View ArticleOpinion: EVs Should Not Get More Government Incentives
The current $7,500 Federal electric vehicle tax incentive could get a boost to $12,500 if the “Clean Energy for America” bill ever makes its way to reality – but it’s absolutely the wrong way to go, in...
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