Shifting Gears

Tuesday Tune-Up

The New Yorker’s Susan Orlean needs gas. (@susanorlean)

Obama on biofuels. (NYT)

Toyota recalls 200,000 Prii? Priusi? Prisues in Japan. (ABCNews Australia)

Toyota Recall: The Digg Dialogg

Toyota’s U.S. President, Jim Lentz, will be taking on the Digg community today at 5pm ET. The subject, as if you had to ask, is the Mutha of All Recalls. So far, the questions are rough. Buckle up, Mr. Lentz. Here’s our fave question, and it’s of the inevitable “How could you?” flavor:

Fear the Obamamobile

At the WSJ, Holman Jenkins walks readers through the modern onslaught on complex computing power in cars. This is one of the things that could be to blame for Toyota’s current recall woes, as Shifting Gears and others have suggested. However, Jenkins does make a sort of strange link to the impending generation of what he calls “Obamamobiles”:

Superbowl Ads: Manhood Sucks, Dodge Doesn’t

Shifting Gears in the NY Times: Toyota’s Perfection Problem

Shifting Gears is in today’s New York Times, with an opinion piece about Toyota’s epic recall woes. My verdict? Toyota will never really recover from this debacle. How can it when the brand’s entire identity is built around the mythical “Toyota Way," based on achieving a kind of purifying efficiency? It got them to number one, but failed miserably to help them deal with the inevitable crisis:

At Bentley, They Still Rub the Steel by Hand

Crewe, England is where Bentley builds its ultra-expensive rides for rappers and plutocrats of exquisite taste. It’s a magical place where Old World meets high-tech. The company (owned by Volkswagen) has a new car, the Mulsanne, named for a famous section of the Le Mans race course and assembled by steadfast men in white coats who really know what they're doing. For example:

Autoblog Creates Toyota-Recall-Content-Free Zone

This is funny: Autoblog has institued a Toyota recall-free version of its content. You can click on some “oddly colored words” and “get your daily dose of automotive news, reviews and information mercifully free of ThrottleGate coverage.” Me, I can’t get enough of ThrottleGate. But I provide the link above as a service to the automotive community.

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Dan Neil Has Been Freed—Leaves LA Times for WSJ

Well, when I initiated this (brief) campaign, I didn’t think he’d actually leave the LA Times! But that's what he did, nabbed by the Wall Street Journal. A coup and just what the WSJ needs right now, as their auto coverage has been excellent and will benefit from Neil’s unique abilities.

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GM Takes On Japan With ... Robots

Kia’s Disturbing Superbowl Ad

Chevy Volt 101, with VIDEO!

The Chevy Volt extended-range electric vehcile is a-comin’. But do you really know all you could about the most important vehicle General Motors has ever built?
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How Great Is Ford? It’s a Carbon Trading Pioneer, Too

How Your Hybrid Rips You Off

Did you know that the Union of Concerned Scientists offers a “hybrid scorecard?” Well, you do now! The Prius holds the top spot, but there are some surprising contenders, including the Cadillac Escalade Hybrid, which received a “high” rating—and is ranked only two slots lower than the Honda Insight! Also of interest is the “forced features” metric, described thusly:

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Toyota Recall: Time for the President to Resign?

We told you so. The National Highway Transportation Safety Association, according to CNN, is “looking into whether the problem with Toyota’s (TM) gas pedals goes beyond the fix announced by the company Monday and involves the vehicles’ electrical system.” And Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, after retracting his suggestion that Toyota owners stop driving their cars, is now going to have a talk with Toyota’s new president, Akio Toyoda, grandson of the company’s founder. 

Wednesday Tune-Up

January sales numbers: Ford (F) and GM way up, Toyota way down—and the “worst isn’t over.” (Freep)

Meme or bust: the electric car as iPhone app. (ETA UK)