December 12 Weekly Open Thread
The weather outside may be frightful, but here in the back of the garage it's so delightful--a perfect climate-controlled 72 degrees Farenheit. C'mon in and join the conversation.
The Car Lust Global Operations Center mailbox, carlustinfo@amazon.com, like any publicly-posted e-mail contact, gets its share of spam. We got one last week that was amusing because the spammer's e-mail bot interpreted "carlustinfo" as someone's name and headed up the solicitation with a cheery "Hey Carl!" I guess the bot thinks "our" full name is "Carl Ustinfo."
I found this particularly amusing because just a day or two before, I saw a news story about another website which lists as its "Editorial Director" one "Susan Lee Ward," a woman who does not actually exist. Despite being wholly imaginary--they admit on their "staff" page that Susan is a "composite character"--she is credited with writing much of the site's content, and has a nicely-done professional headshot to go with her biographical blurb.
She's not the first imaginary executive to rise to a prominent position in a media organization. The Rocky & Bullwinkle Show listed the wholly ficticious "Ponsonby Britt" as its Executive Producer in the closing credits.
Still, it got me thinking. What would Car Lust's "composite" executive, "Carl," look like? What would his job title be? What kind of car would he drive?--or not drive, seeing that he doesn't physically exist and all that.
--Cookie the Dog's Owner
Al on December 12, 2011 at 08:14 AM
Is Carl above Chris H. on the CL hierarchy?
Assuming he's not, he's a middle manager. Ergo, He Drives Either A Buick, Oldsmobile,or a Mercury.Sure, he makes enough for a Caddy, Lincoln Or Chrysler, but he doesnt want somthing flashy.
Im thinking some tasteful classic yankee luxury:2006 Mercury Grand Marquis, 1995 Buick Roadmaster, Or a 1996 Oldsmobile 98.
Carl is a brown haired, mustache'd man standing about 6' 1'. He's worked at amazon since 1994, starting in the cardboard box dept. He later worked his way up to blog manager. And On January 21, 2008, Carl was named "Middle manager for blogs related to zany cars" Carl has a lovely wife, Christine,and 2 daughters: Caroll, and Shelby.
Accurate Enough Description?
tigerstrypes on December 12, 2011 at 08:22 AM
Remember this?
http://www.carlustblog.com/2010/01/sebringvanguard-citicar.html
The maker of the CitiCar, Robert "Bob" Gerald Beaumont, passed away at 79 on October 24th at his home in Columbia, Maryland. I decided to take the opportunity to mention these sad news seeing that no one has mentioned this yet here.
R.I.P., Bob.
Anthony Cagle on December 12, 2011 at 08:57 AM
Thanks for that link, tigerstrypes. You have to admire the pluck of Beaumont and his passion for the electric car, misguided (arguably) though it was. That second photo of him standing next to a CitiCar though. . . .just oozes "Leisure Suit Larry". There's a better pic of Beaumont here, along with an obit: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/30/business/bob-beaumont-who-popularized-electric-cars-dies-at-79.html
I think Carl Ustinfo probably looks a lot like Beaumont in the 1970s. . . .
In other news, I've been watching ABC's "Once Upon a Time" and they have a fascinating array of cars. Last night I caught an Edsel and one of those slant-back Cadillac Sevilles. Probably deserving of a post at some point. I wonder if there's some hidden meaning there. . .
Chris Hafner on December 12, 2011 at 09:31 AM
My grandfather (the Wagoneer guy) used to own his own refrigeration company, named (predictably enough) Bob's Refrigeration.
One time back in the 1970s, he received a form letter that apparently thought his company name was his personal name, minus a character removed from the last name (ostensibly a database limitation).
I don't recall the exact wording, but this is a paraphrasing:
Dear Mr. Refrigeratio,
Have you considered upping your life insurance policy? What would happen to Mrs. Refrigeratio and the Refrigeratio family if the worst should happen to you? ....
To this day, I've sworn that if I was to ever be put into witness protection, I'd call myself Bob's Refrigeratio.
Al on December 12, 2011 at 11:59 AM
RIP Mr.Beaumont. God Speed In Your Well.... Trapazoidal Car.
Big Dave on December 12, 2011 at 12:50 PM
Carl Usinfo is not what you would think. He has a slender build and stooping shoulders, and he is an unabashed California hippy all grown up. Balding on top yet with enough grey hair around the back to be able to sport a tidy pony tail, he sits in his office in blue jeans and either tan or navy blue tutleneck - with a fringed leather vest hanging from the coat rack of course - gets out his reading glasses and pours over the monthly statistics, open enrollment for Medicare Part D, and frowns when he sees how much his retirement stock portfolio has lost this quarters. He never wanted to be in management at Car Lust, he was assigned here after things got a little out of hand with some guest contributors over at the "Hemp Alive" blog he used to run. So he sits in his office and signs off on whatever the guys pass across his desk, and wonders what his ex-wife Sunflower is up to these days. At the end of the day he gets into his Subaru Outback Sedan and commutes out to his house in Issaquah, where there is a VW Bus sitting in the garage, waiting to be restored by a guy who really isn't that interested in cars.
Al on December 12, 2011 at 05:56 PM
Oh HEAVENS no. Mr.Ustinfo is a professional. He doesn't wear jean shorts and jesus sandles to work. He wears a suit, and drives a roadmaster.
Big Chris on December 12, 2011 at 07:38 PM
Carl would be the strange Scandinavian cousin to PBS's Car Talk brothers - http://www.cartalk.com/ Carl would be the reason their shop stays in business.
jjd241 on December 20, 2011 at 01:20 AM
Here he is... http://i.fra.bz/h18