SAME AS IT EVER WAS.
Sunday, April 12, 2026 at 08:26AM Editor's Note: This week, Peter invokes the genius of David Byrne to reflect upon the automotive Twilight Zone in which we seem to be trapped. In On The Table, GM gives you an opportunity to be completely different. And we take another look at the Hyundai Boulder Concept. Plus, we have an update on Peter's book. Our video of the week is "The Outlaw That Nearly Destroyed NASCAR," which presents (one of) the remarkable stories about Curtis Turner. Our AE Song of the Week is "Once In A Lifetime" by Talking Heads. In Fumes, Peter presents the next chapter of his series, "The Great Races" covering the pivotal 1970 Trans-Am Series. And in The Line, we kept previous reports up, as the racing world continues on its break. Onward! -WG
By Peter M. De Lorenzo
Detroit. Last week’s column generated a lot of hand-wringing from the AE faithful out there. Some seriously questioned my identity as The Autoextremist because I had the temerity to actually be driving a small crossover for my daily driver. As if. I have access to any number of hot machines, but in dealing with the urban slog, especially with the mean streets of Detroit and its environs, I choose to not stress myself out trying to keep a hot car intact running the day-in, day-out errands that life requires. So there. And please, get over it. I'm still the same guy who has been saying things that other journalists won't say or can't say, and I've been calling 'em as I see 'em for going on 27 years now. This just in: I'm still here and I'm still standing. And that isn't going to change anytime soon. And, as long as we’re living in this automotive Twilight Zone between the end of the ICE era and the dawn of the BEV era, and dealing with the daily uncertainty that's roiling this industry, things are going to continue to be more than a little unsettled, to put it mildly. Or boring. Or both. But, and this is no real surprise, in spite of all that, it seems like the entire industry is lost in that traditional mindset of "It won't be long now!" Translation? Give us another year and we'll be smokin'. In the meantime, have another SUV and you'll be fine. Or something like that, because this industry is officially out of ideas. With that in mind then, I have a few questions for you (as inspired by one of my heroes, David Byrne)...
What am I doing?
Go ahead and ask yourself
And what is it for?
Go ahead and ask yourself
Am I going where I want to go?
Go ahead and ask yourself
Or am I just running in place?
Go ahead and ask yourself
Is this as good as it gets?
Go ahead and ask yourself
Or am I missing something?
Go ahead and ask yourself
Is this the life I signed up for?
Go ahead and ask yourself
Or am I going through the motions?
Go ahead and ask yourself
Am I spending my time asking why?
Go ahead and ask yourself
Or am I living for why not?
Go ahead and ask yourself
Do I have it finally figured out?
Go ahead and ask yourself
Or am I closer to where I started?
Go ahead and ask yourself
Have I stopped learning?
Go ahead and ask yourself
Or am I better than yesterday?
Go ahead and ask yourself
Are my regrets stifling my soul?
Go ahead and ask yourself
Or is my past fueling me forward?
You may ask yourself
Am I still writing chapters?
You may ask yourself
Or is it time for my next act?
You may ask yourself
Is this all there is?
You may ask yourself
Or am I good right here?
You may ask yourself
Is it time to run?
You may ask yourself
Or can I run but not hide?
You may ask yourself
Is this the best me?
You may ask yourself
Or a pathetic facsimile?
You may ask yourself
Am I ready for The Future?
You may ask yourself
Or am I mired in the way it used to be?
You may ask yourself
Will it really be all that new?
Or will it be the same as it ever was?
What is that beautiful house?
You may ask yourself
Where does that highway go to?
And you may ask yourself
Am I right? Am I wrong?
And you may say yourself
"My God! What have I done?"
Editor's Note: Click on "Next 1 Entries" at the bottom of this page to see previous issues. - WG
