Car Lust

First Look: 2010 Camaro

The local TV ad said, "Come by and drive the New Chevy Camaro!" I was in the area, and so I did. The dealer had three brand new 2010 Camaros on the lot, but all were already sold. There was a black one, a dark gray example, and a yellow SS with black stripes. All were locked, so I could not get a good look inside. Of course, driving one was out of the question. And the real irony? The Camaros were going to 16-year-olds.

But I had a chance to look the cars over and talk to a salesman and two service writers. Already the stories were coming in--how they had just replaced a red passenger's side mirror (another 16-year-old), how they had calls saying that the next Camaros were sold before they were even dropped off of the transport truck, and how people would pay anything just to have one.

Car Lust: A Look Back at Automobile Magazine’s 1994 All-Stars

The other day I happened to be leafing through the All-Stars story in Automobile Magazine’s Feb. 1994 issue. While doing so it struck me that I’d rather have a pristine example of many of the chosen vehicles than those models' new replacements. This has to do with my impression that today’s cars have become little more than complex collections of electronic gadgetry enclosed in a structure that, when pressed, can be made to move from place to place. With that in mind, here’s my take on each all-star, presented in the order they appeared back in ’94. When researching current value in each case I used kbb.com’s “suggested retail value” for an excellent 100,000 mile example.

BMW 325is 

In 1994 the 325is coupe deserved its “ultimate driving machine” appellation. Its sublime 2.5-liter inline six delivered a modest (by today’s standards) 189 horsepower, but its variable valve timing spread that power over a broad rpm range. Electronic nannies didn’t get between the driver and the steering and suspension, and the result was a car that responded predictably and rewarded skillful driving. It was a wonderful car for $35K. It’s an even more wonderful car today, when pristine examples change hands in the $5K range. The usual caveats apply when looking at a 15-year-old car, but you’d be hard-pressed to get more bang for the buck for your five grand.

Studebaker National Museum

My youngest son Alex and I went on an extended father-son road trip this summer which included a stop at the Studebaker National Museum in South Bend, Indiana. The Museum presents the story of Studebaker, from its origins as the country's largest manufacturer of horse-drawn vehicles, through its transition to the "horseless carriage" business, all the way to its valiant last stand as an independent carmaker in the early 1960s. The collection covers that history thoroughly, with examples of Studebaker vehicles ranging from a Conestoga wagon to an Avanti II.

I would have enjoyed the Museum greatly if it had just been Alex and I, but we were extremely fortunate to be accompanied by my fellow Car Lust contributor Virgil M. Exner, Jr.  Mr. Exner and his famous father both worked for Studebaker at various times in their careers--and if one of them didn't have a hand in designing a particular car in the collection, Mr. Exner at least knew the people who did! Needless to say, having him with us made the experience even richer.

So let's start the tour.

July 26 Weekly Open Thread

As usual, this thread is the place for all random conversation that doesn't fit anywhere else.

A few possible topics:
- I was flabbergasted yesterday to see a Jensen Interceptor convertible, of all things, parked on the side of I-90 yesterday. Only a few weeks ago, I spotted an Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione, one of the loveliest modern cars in existence, passing the other way on I-90 in rural eastern Washington. Both experiences were the rough equivalent of strolling past the Queen of England in an outlet mall.

Twice in a month is making me wonder--am I the only Car Luster who has been blessed with these sightings?

- My Jensen encounter yesterday came after a weekend backpacking with the family, which was fun. Our reliable Honda Accord family car took us deep into the mountains on a steep, narrow, and incredibly rough gravel road--we're talking potholes several feet deep and rocks the size of apples. I took it slow and was quite careful, of course, but the Accord handled it just fine.

The whole thing made me think about the SUV phenomenon, which we've already debated ad nauseum. SUVs are great for rough roads and hauling, but my Accord experience reminded me that before SUVs became mainstream, families took their monstrous rear-wheel-drive sedans and wagons over those kinds of roads all the time, often hauling boats or campers. I'm guessing back in the 1960s and early 1970s, there were plenty of Ford Galaxie 500s and the like towing pop-up campers and fishing boats up that same road. Sure, a Jeep Grand Cherokee could handle that road more easily than my Accord. But the trip was a good reminder that our cars are capable of much more than the typical tasks.

--Chris H.

Star Trek III: The Search For Spock -- Hyundai Genesis

The word? The word is no. I am therefore going anyway.

Thus begins the best sequence in Star Trek III: The Search For Spock, and one of the greatest scenes in all of Trekdom--the scene in which Admiral Kirk and his officers steal the USS Enterprise from space dock to rescue their ambiguously deceased shipmate and friend Spock. I'm not totally clear what they were rescuing him from--evidently some sort of ill-defined post-mortem Vulcan mental trauma--but that doesn't change the fact that it's a tremendous sequence in an outrageously underrated film (a film underrated even by Car Lust sister blog Armchair Commentary).

Now for the whiplash segue and the forced comparison between car and movie that is becoming de rigueur in this series. I would argue that the Hyundai Genesis is the automotive world's version of that scene--a tremendous car from an outrageously underrated car manufacturer. That's convenient, since the Genesis name links the car to the tremendously powerful terraforming device central to the plots of Star Treks II and III (as well as, it must be said, the Phil Collins-led musical group, the Sega gaming system, and of course the first book of the Bible).

It might help my analysis if I knew what Genesis is, beyond the biblical reference.

 The Genesis Coupe represents Hyundai's coming-out party--a top-flight performance coupe from a company known for its small front-wheel-drive economy cars and that has steadily grown from past ignominy into unspectacular but extremely competent respectability.

The Genesis Coupe is a rear-wheel-drive sports coupe with 306 horsepower V-6 (or a tuner-friendly turbo four) that runs off the 0-60 sprint in 5.7 seconds and tops out at more than 160 mph.

Let that sink in for a moment. It wasn't long ago that this kind of performance was restricted to Corvettes, Porsches, and exotic Italian cars. Now a sub-$30,000 coupe from Hyundai can do the same thing. That's pretty remarkable given Hyundai's, well, checkered history.

Design a Studebaker!

My youngest son and I had occasion to visit the Studebaker National Museum in South Bend, Indiana last week, in the company of Car Lust contributor and famed automobile designer Virgil M. Exner, Jr. 

I promise you a full write-up on the Museum visit here soon, but in the meantime, I'd like to encourage our readers to enter the Museum's 2009 design contest. The object of the contest is to design a Studebaker for the twenty-first century, and there will be a winner selected in four age categories: 11 and under, 12-16, 17-20, and 21 and over. Full details and contest rules are available at the Museum website.  You'll have to hustle, as entries are due by August 7, 2009.

Good luck!

--Cookie the Dog's Owner.

July 20 Weekly Open Thread

As usual, this thread is the place for all random conversation that doesn't fit anywhere else.

Suggested topic:
- In last week's thread, reader Bill T. threw out three of his favorite engines, apparently with an emphasis on reliability and durability:
- the 225-cubic-inch Chrysler slant six
- the 3.8-liter GM V-6 primarily found in Buicks
- the 5.0-liter, 302-cubic-inch Ford V-8

It's an interesting topic, and Bill definitely picked some good ones. The slant six and the 3.8-liter Buick V-6 are definitely unsung heroes. Setting aside, if we can, the performance hero engines, what are your favorite powerplants?

---Chris H.

I'll miss you, Pat Bedard

Just for the record, regardless of how this looks, this is not an RIP. Nobody has died

In the August issue of Car and Driver, editor at large Pat Bedard announced that he's leaving the magazine after 41 years in the saddle. This might not sound like big news; after all, editors and writers leave magazines all the time. But, to me at least, this is a pretty big deal.

I have been a car magazine junkie since roughly the age of 8, and Car and Driver has been my favorite magazine for most of that time. Other kids were fans of Magic Johnson or George Brett; I avidly followed Pat Bedard and Don Sherman. I'm not aware of any other young magazine groupies among my peer group, but had they existed, I'm sure we would have created and bartered Jean Lindamood, William Jeanes, and Brock Yates trading cards. As it is, over the years I've collected virtually every C&D printed back to 1968 and keep them lovingly preserved for reference and rereading.

This is why Bedard's retirement from C&D hits me so hard--I feel like he's been a life-long friend. While I have been alive for only 33 of the 41 years Bedard has been at C&D, I have read virtually all of the road tests, short takes, and columns he has written during his career. I frequently disagreed with his more political columns, but Bedard has always been a fantastic writer with a style so distinctively fresh and entertaining that I can recognize his writing even before I check the byline. Plus, he earns a little bit of extra credit with me for for his (painful) racing experience, and his various looks and styles (I was partial to the huge 1970s mustache), and his odd visual similarity to my dad.

The only constant is change, of course, and given the challenges C&D is facing, it's probably not a bad idea to bring in some fresh voices and ideas. There are still a lot of great writers on staff, among them John Williams, Aaron Robinson, Tony Swan, and, weirdly, for the first time in decades, David E. Davis. Still, it will be weird to read an issue of C&D that doesn't feature Pat Bedard, Brock Yates, or Csaba Csere on the masthead.

I have no idea what Bedard's plans are, but I hope he will continue writing somewhere, anywhere. Pat, any interest for writing for Car Lust?

--Chris H.

Commenting Problems

Quick administrative note: Based on some reader feedback, it appears that Typepad commenting software is having some problems.

If you are encountering issues, please drop us an e-mail and let us know which browser you are using and a short description of where the process broke down. Any feedback you can provide will help me communicate the issue to Typepad so they can fix the problem.

--Chris H.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan--Plymouth Reliant

How we deal with death is at least as important as how we deal with life.

David Colborne: It's difficult to understate the importance of the Reliant. It single-handedly revived a moribund franchise, one which made some truly disastrous decisions in the late '70s. It made its parent brand interesting again--sure, the quality wasn't as high as some of the competition out there, and you could tell that the Reliant and its contemporary kin were put together on a budget, but it was still far better executed than anything that preceded it. It wasn't as slow, as heavy, nor as ponderous as its predecessors--in short, it proved that somebody finally got "it." Were it not for Reliant, the Star Trek movie franchise would have died, never to return.

Oh, you thought I was talking about the K-car, didn't you?

It was only the fact of my genetically engineered intellect that allowed us to survive.

Chris Hafner: In the early 1980s, two American institutions, the Chrysler Corporation and the Star Trek franchise, were teetering at the precipice of failure and irrelevance. Chrysler, perennially a distant third among the Big Three domestic car manufacturers, was on the verge of bankruptcy and had been forced into the indignity of groveling for its solvency in the form of loan guarantees from the federal government. The company badly needed a big hit to repay those loans and to assure its future.

Likewise, while Star Trek had created an enthusiastic fan following with the famous TV show and lightly-watched animation series in the late 1960s and early 1970s, by the beginning of the 1980s its future was in doubt. Based on the fan loyalty inspired by the original series, Paramount had spent $46 million to produce the 1979 film Star Trek: The Motion Picture. That movie, dubbed "The Motionless Picture" by the cruel and cynical, made money but was critically panned and sucked the energy out of the franchise. Given the cancellation of the original show after only three seasons and the relative lack of success of the animated series and the movie, the enthusiasm for more Star Trek appeared to be at a nadir. It would have been very logical to conclude that Star Trek was winding down its run.

As David intimates above, it was Reliant time. Chrysler's recovery depended on its 1981 launch of its pivotal K-car platform, represented most prominently by the Dodge Aries and Plymouth Reliant. Star Trek's ongoing relevance hinged on the success of the 1982 film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, starring Chrysler pitchman Ricardo Montalban and his commandeered starship, the USS Reliant.*