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Is it really time?
If you choose to hang it up, that's your right, and your call. You saw a lot of water pass under the bridge before this all started, and a bunch more over the 27 years you've been regaling us on this site. I'll miss stopping here weekly for your well-informed ranting, whether I agreed with it or not, and a couple times a week after that to read on this page how the peanut gallery takes to it. But you're not obliged to keep me entertained. If you decide you've had enough and hang it up, Godspeed and good luck.
jrhmobile
Sweaty South Florida
From Luce (light) to Oscurità (darkness, obscurity, blackness, gloom).
Peter, I waited eagerly for your comments on the Ferrari Luce, I was not disappointed as you verbalized what many of us think about the car and its designers. No number of "influencers" will convince me otherwise.
Ferarri spent decades developing an unmatched brand persona commanding loyalty and admiration; while owning one is an investment in personal pride and monetary return.
Recent Mecum auction prices for Ferrari's reflect the brands aura:
1963 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spyder = $18,150,000
2003 Ferrari Enzo = $10,230,000
1995 Ferrari F50 = $9,790,000
2014 Ferrari LaFerrari = $8,580,000
1991 Ferrari F40 = $5,170,000
2011 Ferrari 599 GTO = $2,200,000
I can't imagine the LUCE being an auction star 15-20 years from now.
Oh, please don't stop AE; your insights are valued.
TB
Gainesville, Florida
Storms of Mediocrity.
For at least a few months now, maybe a year or even longer, I’ve sensed a world weariness underlying your blog posts. It sometimes surfaces in a rage at the persistent stupidity that has somehow taken over the world. Past eras have had names such as the Gay Nineties, Roaring Twenties or The Gilded Age. Ours hasn’t yet developed such a handle but if it ever does, I suspect the words petulant and childish will be incorporated specifically or by allusion.
It’s not just Dear Leader although he’s such an easy target that he distracts from the sad reality that he didn’t get to his place on his own. He had overwhelming help from a world where no institution any longer is managed in a way that exhibits maturity or integrity. It’s no longer that the center will not hold but that it’s shattered with its shards having been flung to the far reaches of the planet.
We’re the walking gobsmacked, stumbling through a world transformed into a horrific amusement park replete with freak shows as the sole exhibits. It’s not you alone who’s seeking surcease from being buffeted by the storms of mediocrity constantly pounding us. It’s all of us wondering how we went wrong? How’d we get tossed so far down this stony end? Where’s the escape hatch?
After all, this can’t be reality. However, it is. I’ll finish by saying if you do quit the blog, I’ll miss it as will many others. Like others, I will understand and remain with you, if not in readership, then spirit.
Paul Cassel
Near Harper, Texas
Missing knowledge.
The problems that you see swirling around in some sort of permanent Jupiter red spot in the auto industry can be attributed to a rather simple proposal: The folks running the show in "Detroit" and " Washington DC" have absolutely no idea what they're doing. This is not a good situation if you're expecting some sort of rational proposal for the future. The folks in charge really ought to know a thing or two about the topics of discussion. They don't!
DJV
Wilmington, North Carolina
Where is product planning?
I understand your unhappiness. All the points you make are valid, from the top brass reaping huge bucks while their companies flounder. Each time for the past year of so that I drive I-475 through Flint and see the huge field of Brightdrop vans rotting in the field, pass the site of Buick City, and AC/Delco it reminds me of the 75,000 employees that GM cast off from the Flint area. Mary Barra took home a huge payday.
Where is product planning and cycle management? I thought Ford had a hit with Maverick. At least they were on the right path. With the economy struggling for the past two and a half years, where is the average family going to find transportation? I don't see any one even thinking about stepping up. Do you?
Bob Longstreth
Rochester Hills, Michigan
Hurts so good.
Thank you for “Badge” and the knockdown on the Luce. I'm 69 and driving a 1965 Sunbeam Tiger. Yes it hurts, but "It hurts so good"!
Ken Tisdale
Westminster, Colorado
The GMC Hummer X.
Is there a contradiction between what the Hummer X design and marketing philosophy espouses and what the reality of techno accomplishments has already delivered? “The courage to get lost”??? Really??
If you are even minimally aware of the suite of commonplace basic geo location competencies of contemporary vehicles, you know it is now almost impossible to “get lost” (just ask the police) anywhere, anytime in any of them. Certainly so if you carry a personal information oxygen supply in the form of a cell phone. Even “Somewhere West of Laramie” has now lost its iconic romantic camouflage and obscurity.
I’m sure this concept vehicle brims with immense but invisible new engineering, development and manufacturing genetic potential for future GM products that is known only to the dedicated visions of its “true believer” creative team, and is well patented as such.
But in the words of another famous GM luminary, “ The Aztec failed for the same reason all automotive product failures do...it’s ugly.” The HummerX has the same visual appeal that listening to 12 tone classical music has to the common ear. Ugly.
Dr. John
Phoenix, Arizona
27 years.
Congratulations on 27 years of High-Octane Excellence! To say that I would miss your weekly Rants is an understatement. The Autoextremist has been our portal into the inner workings of an industry that we all love and one (as you have noted) that has contributed more to our country and culture than the vast majority of the population will ever realize.
In the event you choose to hang it up, I wish you (and WG) all the best in the next chapter of your lives!
KB
Sparta, New Jersey
Good cars are still out there.
Wow, what a salvo! Your frustration is palpable and you so eloquently put into words many of the same frustrations' we enthusiasts feel. The inmates have taken over the asylum. I'd hate to see AE go away, but I can only imagine the grind and toll it has taken on you and WG. Should you all exit, thank you for all these years of Monday must-read missives and reflections. 27 years is a remarkable run. Well-deserved rest, my friend.
On a side note, I'm completely satisfied with my little 2024 Maverick hybrid. It's well built (cheap plastics aside, but it is Ford's least expensive vehicle...). It's a Swiss army knife in daily life, and well worth the $35k I spent on it 2 years ago ($40k adjusted for the Lariat). My godson just snagged a '26 XLT with a few options for $30k, not a bad deal these days. Good cars are out there for reasonable prices if you temper your expectations.
Dave M.
Houston, Texas
God Bless Bill Mitchell.
One must try and imagine what was the inspiration for the Luce? Possibly the elimination of corners, creases, and sharp edges thus providing the ability to easily navigate the intestines with the least amount of pain or discomfort. A vast improvement compared to eliminating a '65 Comet Cyclone, or worse yet, the '67 Eldorado.
Jim Pytleski P.E.
Rochester Hills, Michigan
Car enthusiasm is alive and well.
It is easy to become disheartened in todays maelstrom, but a ride in my NA Miata cures most of it. I will be sporting my Autoextremist.com t shirt at the Lemons race at NJMP this weekend. Politics and unctous pricks aside, car enthusiasm is alive and well. Come to our weekly Wednesday night car shows at Bear Mountain in New York and you will see everything ever built with gonzo owners.
Casey Raskob Esq
Green Leafy Burbs, New York City
Protectors of the flame.
PMD, to truly understand our existence is to realize we are just vessels of knowledge that got passed down from a previous generation. Our thoughts, feelings and actions aren’t original or even ours. But we as humans continue to believe we can create something new. Our ideas are so great nobody has ever thought them before. A brand like Ferrari needs to be curated. Protected. And evolved from itself so abominations like the Luce never happen. The heft that brand carries is beyond the scope of imagination but it is not indestructible. It can be fucked up as easy as a cup of coffee. If you are so inclined to believe it needs to be changed. The true believers know they are just passageways of history and protectors of the flame. The jackasses that come and go from the C suite have never understood that.
JRR
Plymouth, Michigan
Appliance manufacturers.
I agree, please don't retire but if you must, you must. When I first saw the Luce, it reminded me of a story I heard long ago about Westinghouse Electric designing an elevated automated train for the City of Pittsburgh called Skybus. When people saw the passenger cars it was said what do you expect from an Appliance Manufacturer (link attached). That is not what we expect from Ferrari, or even Toyota for that matter. Best of luck in whatever you do.
Dave
Follansbee, West Virginia
We've seen this movie before.
Hasn't the U.S. auto industry built niche vehicles native to this country for ages? The wonderful cars of the '50s, '60s and '70s were completely unsuitable for the narrow city streets and the winding roads of Europe and way too expensive for other places. This is what led to the awkward "small" cars of the '80s and the decline of the Detroit 3.
Eric H.
Calgary, Alberta, CANADA
Enshittification.
I completely understand your disgust, not just with the auto industry but everything, everywhere. Enshittitfication is the mantra of the 2020's. About a decade ago my interest in the auto industry morphed from the vehicles to the internal workings of the business. Now I no longer care for that either. Or any other news. I'm 63, conservative, and feel radical changes are in the wind. The question is will these be for the better or for even worse? My heart fears it will be the latter.
So, if you must hang up the keyboard and mouse, then go forth and enjoy while you can the remaining freedoms still available in the good old U. S. of A. Godspeed to you, Word Girl, and fellow readers, I have enjoyed sharing the ride with all.
DG
Berwick, Maine
Why?
My current car is a 2015 Honda Civic that I bought in 2020 for $13,500. It has cold A/C, good sound, Bluetooth and starts and runs flawlessly. Do I want to buy a newer one? Let's see, the 2026 equivalent goes for $30K... so no, I'll keep the one I have and spend my money on other things. New cars (and new homes) are becoming a luxury product beyond the reach of the average American. We're on our way to being a nation of 20-year-old Toyotas and Hondas; you see them everywhere, still providing efficient and reliable daily transportation. Why do people spend $50-$60k on new F150 and Silverado pickups? I have no earthly idea.
Tom W.
Austin, Texas
Oh, that guy.
Is that Marc Newson, as in the Ford 021C? Or, as I like to call it, the world's coolest electric shaver?
Tom Pease
AE's L.A.-based correspondent
Beverly Hills, California
Editor-in-Chief's Note: You are correct, Sir! -PMD