Short And Sweet

 While Carspace seems like a neat idea, they really need to fire whomever came up with the title. Carspace - The Car Enthusiast's Automotive Lifestyle Social Networking Site. Sounds like a website for car marketeres, not enthusiasts.

Marketing Imitates Life

 The relentless pursuit of perfection was the Lexus motto for a long time, and it perfectly sums up the course Toyota has chosen. Take a look at the new Tundra for a fine example.



 If you remember the first Tundra, the T100, then you know it wasn't even close to what was needed to compete in the full-size truck market. Too little with not enough engine, it was Toyota skipping a stone across the enemy's bow instead of a cannon shot. The second generation aimed closer, with an increase in size and the addition of a proper engine, a V8. Now we come to the new Tundra, and it's fully on target.

 Publically, the competition is acting like the new Tundra is not a threat, but you know they have to be feeling the heat. If you go back to 1983 when the Camry was created, you would never gues that it would eventually be the powerhouse of the sedan market, but Toyota relentlessly improved the design every generation, better sales following better cars.

 With the Tundra and Titan now in F-150 territory, how long can the diehard buyers remain loyal. They've already given up on the domestic cars, does anyone really believe that it won't go the same way for trucks? The new buyers have grown up in the back of Toyotas and Hondas, not Chevys and Fords. If GM and Ford want to continue dominating the truck market, then they better get serious about the car market.

Troubling Quote

"Saab is no longer an independent company that you could sell off as a unit," Lutz said.

 This comes from a Detroit News article here. I find that the most disturbing thing to come out of GM in a while. If Saab is no longer a seperate entity and is now a name only, why in th hell did GM purchase it in the first place? What has been gained in the transaction? GM has a brand with no unique vehicles, and Saab is now an amalgam of several brands haphazardly thrown together (Here an Opel, there a Subaru, and let's throw in a Chevy truck for good measure.).

 An ignition switch between the seats does not a Saab make, no matter the marketing. Being in a state of dependance is not where Saab belongs, and it's now another brand fated to fade into oblivion when GM implodes.
 
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