Automotive Milestone

In case you can't tell, that's 250,000 miles on the odometer of my venerable 1992 Saab 900 hatchback. By sheer coincidence, this occurred just as I turned into a friend's driveway so I was fortunate enough to be able to snap these pics.

What's even more impressive is the minimal amount of maintenance required to get to this milestone. The only power train-related repair was the recent replacement of the crankshaft timing sensor. I'm convinced that the engine on this Saab will outlast every other part of the car. I'm expecting that some day the body will just fall apart all at once, leaving only the motor sitting on the frame. I've taken to thinking of my Saab as though she's the Battlestar Galatica at the end of the Sci-Fi series: a proud, distinguished history; well deserving of retirement yet still called to service; and always a few trips away from busting wide open.

This is the type of quality that Saab was capable of producing before the buyout by GM. In fact, it is not too uncommon for Saabs from the 80s and early 90s to reach 300,000-500,000 miles. My hope is that we will see some wonderful engineering and design work under the stewardship of the new owners of my favorite Swedish brand. Koenigsegg certainly knows how to build things that go very fast, which might pair well with the "Born from jets" heritage of Saab.

Travel Day

I'm off to Washington, D.C. and vicinity today. Just hope this doesn't happen to me...

You're a MOTOR company, right?

This is something of follow-up to my recent posts on gasoline prices and automobile manufacturing. Several major car companies, including Nissan, Toyota, and GM, have announced plans for new all-electric or hybrid products to be introduced over the next 4-odd years. After some additional pondering on the matter, I have an important questions:

You guys are MOTOR companies, right? The word MOTOR is there in your name - General MOTORS, Toyota MOTORS, etc...

So why can't you just build me an electric motor to replace the internal combustion one in my current car? I really like my current car. It's extremely reliable and gets almost 30 mpg on the highway (and it was built in the early '90s). I'm confident there are engineers out there who would love the challenge of retrofitting a shiny new electric motor into my car and replace the gas tank with some sort of battery/power cell. Maybe I need to go into the retrofit motor business and become the next Henry Ford.

My New Favorite Brit

Jeremy Clarkson is my new favorite Brit. He just breaks me up with his snarky wit. He's funny in that English condescending way yet slightly goofy. Almost like John Cleese but less spastic and more intellectual. For those of you unfamiliar, Clarkson is longtime co-host of the popular BBC show, Top Gear, a more entertaining version of Car & Driver featuring more exotic cars, celebrities on a test track, and cool car-centered challenges. I could go on and on about Top Gear, but I'll suffice to say go find out more yourself - this post is dedicated to Mr. Clarkson.

In addition to discussing "motors", Clarkson is a thinker. He writes frequently on culture, politics, and "nitwits" in his Top Gear blog and in the Times of London. His bio from the Times describes him thus:

Jeremy Clarkson's career as car reviewer and BBC Top Gear presenter has made motoring into show business, but he has earned himself the description of an "equal opportunities loudmouth" for his opinionated commentary on all aspects of life.

You might guess that my affinity for Mr. Clarkson is based on more than his reviews of Aston Martins, and you are correct. I also like his voice. No, no, there's more. On many topics, I agree with his point of view. He's unapologetically British, as I'm unapologetically American, and that pretty much boils down to both of us wanting everyone else to bugger off and leave us alone to enjoy life as we see fit. He also has no compunctions about calling Communists, well, Communists, e.g., the Chinese, union laborers, and quite a few politicians. Perhaps not too surprisingly, some in Britain (and maybe some in America) would like to see Mr. Clarkson elected Prime Minister. I say, "BULLY!" To preview a potential PM Clarkson's policies, you can read about how he would rule the world, here.

I'll leave you with a teaser for Jeremy and Top Gear. Here he is, all 6 foot 5 inches of him, in the world's smallest car.





My former favorite Brit, you ask? This guy:

Dude, you're getting a Ford

Why can't I purchase and customize an automobile in the same manner as a laptop?

No, seriously. Stop snickering at me.

I can go online to Dell.com or half a dozen other computer companies and build a laptop to my preference. I get 4 different types of processors, 4 different sizes of RAM, 5 varieties of hard drive, not to mention pre-loaded software. My computer arrives several weeks, if not days later.

So why can't I build a car online? Not like the current attempts by Saturn and other makers. I'm thinking about the details, not the major components like the chassis and suspension; real wretch heads can continue to buy and install after-market parts for those. But parts like the head- and taillights, sound system, interior styling, gauges, side view mirror styles, should all be easily customizable before delivery to the buyer. Before delivery to the dealer, even. In fact, if mass customization could be implemented to the auto industry, dealers wouldn't have to stock so much inventory. That means less upfront costs to the dealer - and lower overall costs because of no, or less interest payments on loans to buy inventory. And valuable cars would not be sitting out in vast parking lots open to damaging weather, theft, arson, and other events that add to insurance and carrying costs. This system also has the potential to do away, once and for all, with those insipid "close out sale" advertisements that your local dealer runs every other month on radio and television. (Do you have to be a special kind of jerk to produce those ads?)

Okay, I'm rambling on the financial aspects. Back to the heart of the matter. Let's take the Honda Civic as an example. Instead of my local dealer trying to find a Civic somewhere in the US with the exact options I want, I go online to select my options. Instead of just choosing the color of the interior, I should be able to select the seat style. I want 4 types of sound system, not just basic CD or 6-disc surround sound. I want a variety of spoiler and grill options.

Perhaps another question I should be asking is whether Americans will wait 2 weeks upon ordering a customized Honda before it arrives in their driveway, fresh from the plant. Unfortunately for my mix-and-match desires, I think not. People like and are excited by the convenience and thrill of driving off the lot with their new baby, I suspect.

New line of thought... is there room in the marketplace for a middleman who purchases those Hondas wholesale (plain vanilla probably), then customizes to the wishes of customers via online ordering?

I will probably devote far too much time and far too many brain cells to pondering this alternative auto shopping experience. Yet, I just can't get past thinking that that the only reason we as consumers do not see radical changes in auto manufacturing and delivery (a la other manufacturing industries) is that we as Americans attach too much sentimental value to the this industry. I, for one, reason that when Detroit represents your status quo, it's time for a change.