February 2009

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28

The errors of definitions multiply themselves according as the reckoning proceeds; and lead men into absurdities, which at last they see but cannot avoid, without reckoning anew from the beginning.

-Thomas Hobbes

US Automakers: Rising to the Challenger?

Via Jon Henke at QandO, on the new Dodge Challenger.

A good-looking throwback, to be sure, but I could care less if Dodge, GM, and Ford go out
of business. They deserve to.

I've been saying for years now that they continually fail to deliver on the biggest strength they've got going for them: US history and nostalgia. I mean, Volkswagen practically smacked the U.S. automarket on the head with their success over the re-release of the Beetle, and still no U.S. auto-manufacturer gets it.

Dinosaurs. They are smug Titanics that deserve to sink. You take a 55 Chevy body and put in a modern engine and interior, and you'll see a hit car. Why is Ford going all plasticky with their F-series of trucks? Blech. Where is the innovation in the auto market? Rain-detecting windshield wipers? Give me a freakin' break. That's a gimmick, not an innovation.

At least Dodge is giving it a go here. Although Telemetry on their dashboard is a little goofy. It's not telemetry, for cryin' out loud. In 2008, there's no excuse for a car not to have an LCD display with a built-in GPS. I mean, what's this cost the manufacturer? $50 a car? C'mon.

You have to be careful with cars like this. I love the idea, but it's too easy to try to make something overly manly and cross over into that gay area. (For example, I think the name "Titan" is slightly gay for a truck). The remarkable failure of the Hummer is a clear illustration of this phenomenon. Still, it's refreshing to see that U.S. auto-manufacturers have given up trying to out-honda Honda. Stick to what you know: building behemoth, gas-guzzling cars and trust that Americans will take care of you.

Where is the innovation?

Why isn't there an interface that I can plug into my car that sends me detailed emails of my car's health and status? Why are we still using paint? Where are the interchangeable exterior panels that I can swap out depending on my mood? How come no ones putting USB ports in cars?Why are we paying 30k for a car to subsidize the monstrosity known as the UAW's union? Why do I need 4000 air bags in my car?

Feh. I'll stick to my Nissans until American cars become American again.

Posted by Rammage on February 6, 2008 at 07:29 PM

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.atlasblogged.com/cgi-bin/mt/mtb.cgi/582

Comments

I'm with ya to some extent on this, but I'd point out that european cars suck, and from a quality standpoint, are well behind those of the good ole' USA. I usually explain it like this:

Japanese car: Moderately expensive up front, but cheap to repair, and never break, so you don't worry too much about repair costs.
American car: Cheap up front, cheap to repair, breaks on occasion. It's a trade-off with the Japanese cars whether you spend the money in repairs or initial purchase price.
European car: Horribly expensive up front, horribly expensive to repair, and breaks ALL THE FRIGGIN TIME. A horribly irrational choice for a vehicle.

Like you, though, I admire that Dodge is at least trying to do something different and exciting. They're aiming straight at the 18-34 year old male with their line of vehicles, which isn't a bad idea, because older folks buy Lexus or BMW anyway, and more sensible folks buy Honda/Toyota. So they're actually trying to fill a niche market that few others are going after, which just happens to be one of their historical specialties (before the Neon days!).

Do you have a Titan? Name notwithstanding, it seems like a really good truck. I'm considering either that, a Tundra, an F-150, or a Jeep Wrangler (maybe 4-door) as my next vehicle.

Posted by: Brad Warbiany at February 7, 2008 11:25 AM

I do have a Titan, and like it quite a bit. I originally purchased it for the towing capability, but since a boat seems a ways off in the future for us, I could have probably settled for the smaller Frontier. I also had a Jeep Wrangler and loved it, but traded up to the Titan due to a need to haul things. The Tundra is a very, very nice truck, but from what I've seen, you can expect to spend 10-15% more on the Tundra than a Titan, and I'm not sure that you're getting that much better of a truck. You still can't beat the F-150 on price.

Posted by: Rammage at February 8, 2008 11:46 AM

The errors of definitions multiply themselves according as the reckoning proceeds; and lead men into absurdities, which at last they see but cannot avoid, without reckoning anew from the beginning.

-Thomas Hobbes

US Automakers: Rising to the Challenger?

Trackback Pings

Comments

Post a comment