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 I work for an import truck manufacturer, which offers a wealth of opportunity to discover people and places I never would have encountered if I were behind a desk. You see, I travel throughout the northeast US to scout for new dealers to handle our truck line and to work with existing dealers to maintain market share, customer satisfaction, and to monitor their general well being. What I find in the surrounding automotive landscape is undiscovered treasures from small hot rod shops to large flourishing dealerships, and they all have stories to tell. When I have some down time, I reflect on the industry in general, from obscure makes that are long gone to the turmoil within the car companies today, so writing about an out of the way machine shop or a particular model that just went out of production started almost by accident. Come along for the ride.
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Written by Jim Brennan
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Friday, 16 April 2010 14:48 |
How a luxury car competing directly with Cadillac and Lincoln met its demise in the form of an elongated "K" car
 Chrysler sold a strange brew of models in the late 1980s, almost all based on the front-wheel-drive "K" car architecture. The exception was the "M"-bodied Fifth Avenue, itself nothing but a Plymouth Volare in a tailored suit. Yet in 1988, Dodge introduced the Dynasty, based roughly on the "K" car but with a grander mission. This was the first of the AC/Y-bodied cars that would eventually take over when the "M" cars were discontinued in 1989. And it wasn't a moment too soon, because these rear-wheel-drive models had been in production since 1976! Stretching the basic FWD platform for all its worth, Chrysler was able to introduce four separate models within the AC/Y family: the New Yorker Salon (a Dynasty with a Chrysler name), the New Yorker Landau, the longer New Yorker Fifth Avenue, and the Imperial. Should they have built the Imperial--a name with a long and significant history--into what was essentially a "K" car?
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Written by Jim Brennan
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Tuesday, 16 March 2010 09:42 |
With crossovers dominating the market, are the minivan's days numbered on the eve of its 30th anniversary?
 The annual auto edition of Consumer Reports magazine is now on newsstands. Curious, I decided to thumb through the pages to see how this publication rated some of the domestic models. I was not at all surprised that very few of the domestic nameplates were recommended, with most of the top picks going to the European and Asian brands. With the exception of the redesigned Ram pickups, the Chrysler brands (Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep) were the perpetual whipping boys.
This bit of news is unfortunate, because the Chrysler brands used to offer some of the most innovative models on the market. The Jeep Cherokee, in four-door mode, actually created the mid-sized, sport-utility segment in 1984. The Dodge Club Cab pickup was the first truck to offer a cab and a half in 1972. And, of course, Chrysler is credited for creating the minivan segment with the Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager in the Fall of 1983. Unfortunately for Chrysler, the history and innovation such vehicles represent counts for zero, as the Chrysler minivans rate at or near the bottom of their categories, while the imitators are embraced as the saviors to the family with their van, SUV, and crossover competitors. Let's take a look at the decline of the once-popular domestic minivan and see what went wrong.
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Written by Jim Brennan
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Tuesday, 16 February 2010 11:22 |
What late-model (less than 15 years old), V8-powered four-seater with an independent rear suspension can you often buy for less than $3,000?
 If you answered the 1991 to 1997 Ford Thunderbird, pat yourself on the back. You guessed right. And if you knew this, you probably bleed Ford Blue Oval Blue.
Thunderbird is an historic and important brand within the Ford Motor Company that seems to be filed away for the moment while the company re-invents itself in the face of growing economic uncertainty. Currently benefiting from the missteps of rivals Toyota, General Motors, and Chrysler, Ford is poised to become the largest selling car company in North America with new or refreshed models that seem to strike a chord with potential buyers. Unfortunately, a Thunderbird model is not among the mix--which I find rather sad, because it could have been a key player in a market where the car-buying public craves a domestically built full-sized two-door coupe or convertible... and an affordable alternative to such cars as the Audi A5, the BMW 6 Series, the Lexus SC, and the Infiniti G.
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Written by Jim Brennan
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Wednesday, 23 December 2009 08:13 |
Was the pioneer crossover doomed from the start?
 Prelude to a category that's currently one of the hottest sectors in the business, the Chrysler Pacifica, along with the Pontiac Aztek and the Buick Rendezvous, was among the first vehicles introduced that could have been called a "Crossover Utility Vehicle." Yet Chrysler's parent at the time, Daimler, launched a flawed product, priced it above what the public's perception of what Chryslers should cost, and never really followed through with the marketing and support for this breakthrough vehicle.
Back in the autumn of 2003, the German-American car company Daimler Chrysler was set to introduce a relatively new "segment buster." The idea was to marry the usefulness of a people carrier with a go-anywhere Sport Utility Vehicle, offering better fuel mileage and a better highway ride. Unfortunately, as with all compromises, the Pacifica never really lived up to any of the promises. Yet the good idea, gone very badly, inadvertently started the new larger Crossover Utility Vehicle (CUV) trend.
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Written by Jim Brennan
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Monday, 14 December 2009 11:16 |
I have seen the future (of racing), and it is... a little odd.
 Author, racer, and all-around track addict Nick Pon wrote a great article in the December issue of Grassroots Motorsports on the fastest growing road race event in the country: the 24 Hours of LeMons. I definitely recommend checking out the digital version. As a recent LeMons participant myself, I'd like to share with you here my own photos alongside with some of the highlights from the categories Nick touches upon in a section titled "LeMons by the Threes" (in honor of the series' third anniversary). These were compiled by chief organizer and racing legend himself, Jay Lamm.
Jay and his crew (the Lemon Squeezers) define many great categories in LeMons racing, with one of the most admired categories consisting of $500 cars kept running competitively throughout the weekend. A trophy is awarded to the most heroic fix of each race. Of the three best fixes according to the Grassroots Motorsports article, it was the repair made this year at the Kershaw, South Carolina event by Team Turbo Schnitzel that will be the most remembered....
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