AutoIndustry 2009: It's Going to Be a Long Year

Nissan is using the test track at the Nissan Motor Manufacturing (UK) Sutherland facility to park unsold inventory.

Ouch!

Photo from UK Gaurdian

Ugly Gills = Luxury?

I am baffled by a recent phenomenon in the automotive styling world. It seems non-functional, plastic fender gills are now the price of entry in the luxury market. I first took notice of this trend in the 2000 BMW M3.

The overall styling of the E46 M3 was primarily non-offensive, excluding the cancerous growth on the hood dubbed "the power dome" and the plastic gills on the fenders.

The M3 gills coincided with the BMW Z8, a supercar with super-retro styling sans LSD. I liked the Z8, at the time, and appreciated the styling throw-back to the BMW 507, but why did these plasticy gills end up on the M3 and were they here to stay?

I didn't ask any of these questions at the time, but the E60 BMW M5 introduced in 2005 indicated the gills were here to stay and are now one of the most visible M styling cues.

Unfortunately, gills did not stop at the M5. You can see them on Cadillacs, Jaguars, Range Rovers, Minis and the 2008 M3, complete with holes in the hood, a-la Evo, to complement a larger, more cancerous "Power Dome."

Don't think it stopped with the M3. The new Ford Focus, Pontiac G8 and Hyundai Tiburon also get in on the gill action. The new EVO has upped the ante with this:








and the Lexus IS-F followed suit:









Where did this trend start? Why did it start and when will it end?

Origins
The 1956 BMW 507 is one of the first cars with this style gill I can put my finger on. I am sure there may have been others, but you can trace the BMW Z8 and future gills back to this car. It really compliments this car and doesn't seem like the plastic add-ons of today's cars.


Modern Day
The 1987 Buick GNX is the first modern car I can remember with the plastic side gills. I take them at their word that these gills were needed for cooling the engine compartment due to the turbo.




What's Next?
Now that everybody, including Ford & Hyundai, have copied the gill treatment, how long will these unsightly blemishes grace the luxury car market?

Car Alarms, Really??

A typical day begins around 5:30AM with my neighbor's dog barking, I wake up and eventually drift back to sleep. The dog will bark several more times and THEN the car alarm goes off. I get up, shower, dress and head out to the garage. I get in my car, still a bit groggy and turn the ignition. My car roars to life and another car in my apartment's garage starts blaring its horn. This happens every morning all three cars are in the garage. (Acoustics seem to prevent it from happening if only the alarm car and my car are in the garage. My car does not really roar to life as it has a stock exhaust and is not an Nissan G37 or 350Z.)

Why, in this day and age of cell phones, GPS and Obama, do I have to put up with this noise pollution? It wouldn't be nearly as bad if the owners felt a wave of embarrassment flow over them as they scrambled to shut the alarm off as quickly as possible. They don't. They never do. They JUST DON'T CARE. AND they don't seem to be in complete control of their thief deterring system. I repeatedly hear the woman across the street activate and de-activate her alarm several times in sucession

I am flummoxed that in this day and age of noise restrictions for motorcycles and everything else, I still have to listen to car alarms. I want change! Obama, please ticket owners with offending car alarms! Well, I guess I should ask my Beach Community for change before Obama...(note the Drudge Report flashing light!)

Better Living Through Massive Infrastructure Spending

This is a highly entertaining look into the future from post-war America. A couple humorous takeaways:
1. Radiant Heat will keep the highways dry- Think of the energy required for that!
2. Atomic powered tunnel machines will bore through mountains- That sounds a bit dangerous.

Many of the predictions have actually come true:
1. Backup Cameras
2. Navigation screens/guidance
3. Shipping containers- These appear to have been a new technology in the mid-50's
4. Obesity- Although they didn't come out and say it, citizens of the future lived a sloth-like existence where they only needed to walk from the house to the moving walkway or car.