Who's On First?

AMERICAN MUSCLE STILL OUT THERE

2012-03-15T18:47:00.000-07:00

Recently a friend and I were cruising around South Florida in yet another new hybrid that was hitting the market. (See “A is for Apple, C is for City” in my blog listings).

The usual procedure at these events is for one person to drive and the passenger to “navigate” by reading off the turn-by-turn instructions provided by the sponsor. Sounds simple, but it still isn’t unusual to miss and turn and get completely lost. At least for me it’s not.

In this particular instance, there was no danger of that. We really weren’t following instructions because we knew exactly where we were, Russ having lived in the area for a nearby of years and the magazine where both of his had once worked being not far away.

Not having to follow a map and guidebook thus gave me time to rag on Russ about how “efficiently” he was driving, which is to say, not very. During our pre-drive briefing we had been shown how a screen in the dash could tell us how we were doing as far as getting the most gas mileage out of the vehicle.

Russ was getting only three bars out of a possible five.

“To hell with it,” he said, or something like that.

After a few minutes watching the screen proved monotonous, and my mind began to wander to other things, as it often tends to do.

Hey! What do you think about the NCAA tournament?

Wait. Where was I?

Oh, yes. I was riding with Russ.

“You know,” I said at one point, “I feel sorry for future generations. I mean, this is a nice, fuel efficient car and gets you from Point A to Point B” -- in this case Point A to B to C to D to E and beyond -- “but it’s not very high in the fun-to-drive category.

“Not like say, that Camaro SS I had recently.”

“Well, get used to it,” Russ said, “because this is what we’re going to be driving in the future. The government’s going to see to it for that.”

Sigh.

Fortunately for car lovers, especially those aficionados of Muscle Cars, those days are still a ways off in the future and the further off the better, I think.

In an odd, and fortunate, coincidence of timing, a couple of weeks later I found myself behind the wheel of a Dodge Challenge SRT8 392. Oh, what fun!

This was not the first time I had had the opportunity to drive this behemoth. The first was a few months ago at the Rides-n-Smiles event sponsored by our media organization, the Southern Automotive Media Association. I was able to drive the Challenger around the road course at Homestead-Miami Speedway under track, but not race, conditions, giving children from cancer support groups and their families from Baptist Children’s Hospital rides around the course.

It was a remarkable performer.

Even though I originally was disappointed when I found it had a six-speed automatic transmission and not a manual, I soon came to love the paddle-shifting on the track with the automatic. I must confess if for some reason I missed an upshift, the car took car of that automatically for me.

So I had a lot of fun with it, and from the smiles on the children’s faces, they did as well.

Having it for a week under street conditions simply re-affirmed that good first impression.

The Challenger SRT8 delivered to my driveway was a different color scheme from the one I had at Homestead but alike in every other way with the same automatic transmission mated to the standard 6.4-liter HEMI V8 engine.

HEMI could be construed as some loose translation of “brute” because that’s what the Challenger SRT8’s power plant is, a real brute that pumps out 470 horsepower and 470 pound-feet of torque to its 20-inch rear wheels. (I don’t know why I wrote it that way. Makes it sound as if the ones up front may be different sized. They’re not. They are 20-inches as well.)

Getting behind the wheel, I soon was back using the paddle shifters driving around city streets just as I had done on the track, which is not what I usually do when offered the opportunity to use the steering wheel-mounted paddles in town.

A waste of time, usually, but it just seemed like the natural thing to do in the SRT8. Placing my hands on the hefty steering wheel -- I loved the way it felt -- at the 10-2 position put my fingertips right at the paddles (left paddle downshift, right paddle upshift).

And if I pulled up to a complete stop, the transmission automatically went into first gear, which took away some of the work. Usually I prefer the car not to do that but to stay in whatever gear I have selected, even if that means a couple of extra flicks with the left paddle to get it down from third to first when I stop. But I was even willing to let the Challenger do that work.

Of course, there are plenty of other performance-oriented coupes and sedans out there. What gives the Challenger its special place is its styling. Well, that and the heart-pumping, solid bass sounds emanating from the dual exhausts. At the Homestead event, I kept the windows lowered to get the full effect of all that power to the children. From their reactions, I think they liked it. (I did, too.)

The Challenger’s exterior is very much line with the original 1970s Mopar icon with its wide, muscular stance, simple color scheme with racing stripes down the middle, and functional hood scoops.

Dodge lists the seating capacity as 2/3 front and back, though it might get a bit crowded in the back with two full-size adults. Also, it’s not all that easy to squeeze through the tilted front seats to get back there no matter what size you are.

As a driver, you sit in a nice position with all the basic controls within easy reach. Nothing complicated to figure out there either, just basic controls for audio, A/C, and all. The one problem is that your view to the rear isn’t the best because of the thick rear roof pillars that could, at the right angle, block the sun.

But the ride for the passengers is as comfortable as the handling is fun for the driver. The SRT8 is a race-capable car that is just as at home in everyday situations as it is on race weekends. (For the record, you can milder versions of the Challenger with all its looks but not the horses for around $25,000, or about $19,000 under the SRT8’s MSRP.)

The bottom line here is that although I won’t argue with those who might be horrified at the 14 mpg city, 23 highway fuel economy ratings (with premium fuel recommended) and argue that more more efficient vehicles, such as electrics, are our future, it’s still good to there is still room for American Muscle i the form of the Dodge Challenger SRT8, Chevy Camaro SS or Ford Mustang/Shelby GT5000.

At least for today.

RIPPING THE TOP OFF AN SUV

2012-03-09T10:35:00.000-08:00

I don’t remember exactly when I first heard that Nissan was making a convertible version of is Murano crossover SUV.

But I do recall my first thought.

“ A convertible SUV? How in hell does that work?”

Turns out the answer to that question is that it works very well.

In fact, members of our automotive media group, the Southern Automotive Media Association, rated the Murano CrossCabriolet as the best family convertible at its inaugural “Topless in Miami” convertible competition last June. (For more information, you can visit www.toplessinmiami.com. Don’t worry. The site is all about cars and safe for work.)

The word “family” should be your first clue as to the size of the Murano CrossCabriolet. As you might deduce, it has a big cabin that provides lots of room front and back. By most convertible standards, the back could be called huge, and it’s not that big a chore to get back there.

It’s easier with the top down, of course, and rolling down the rear windows helps when the top is up. But you don’t have to be a contortionist.

The CrossCabriolet also offers a substantial amount of storage for a convertible with a trunk offering 12.3 cubic feet of cargo space, which is competitive with many sedans.

No, of course, it’s not as much stowage as you will find in the standard Murano (31.8 cubic feet with the second-row seats upright and 64.5 with them down), and I should mention something here about that.

If you take a close look at the photo here of the CrossCabriolet with the top up, you will notice that the soft top does not mirror the profile of the standard SUV. There is not the big liftgate at the rear with open storage behind the back seat.

To do that, designers likely would have had the top retract along rails and fold up at the back, kind of like the Fiat 500C. (You can check the pictures on one of my earlier blogs at paul-borden.blogspot.com/2011/07/pizza-sophia-and-new-fiat.html and you’ll see what I mean.)

But Nissan engineers didn’t do that, perhaps because it just doesn’t work out because of the physics involved or just because they wanted the more open-air driving experience that having a fully retractable canvass top provides for the Murano CrossCabriolet.

But other than no rear liftgate and only two doors, this is very much a Murano.

It comes with a 3.5-liter V6 engine mated to a CVT (continuously variable transmission) tuned to 265 horsepower and 248 pound-feet of torque, slightly more than the 260 and 240, respectively, in the standard Murano.

Fuel economy is rated at 17 miles-per-gallon city, 22 highway in the CrossCabriolet, about the same as the all-wheel-drive version of the Murano’s 18/23. (The CrossCabriolet is offered only in AWD configuration.)

Other than seating for four instead of five, the CrossCabriolet’s interior is the same as the standard Murano with the dash and controls identical. I found the seats comfortable, and the driving position is nice and high. Quality of materials in the cabin is of the best.

The wheelbase (111.2 inches) is the same on both the CrossCabriolet and the standard Murano, though at 190.1 inches and 74.5 inches the CrossCabriolet is a couple of ticks longer and wider, respectively. With the top up, the CrossCabriolet is 66.2 inches tall, the regular Murano 68.

The CrossCabriolet rides on 20-inch wheels as standard, which is the same as those on the high-end LE trim level in the Murano.

The CrossCabriolet doesn’t have a lot of options that can be tacked on, so the final cost isn’t likely to go much higher than the base $45,390 (including destination and delivery). The version I drove had an optional navigation system, upgraded leather interior, and floor mats that ran the total price to $47,890.

A base Murano that keeps its top on (what’s the fun in that?) starts at just over $30,000 including D&D. The top-of-the-line LE Murano with AWD is around $41,000 counting D&D charges.

And they always seem to do count those charges.

So if you are one who had to give up the sportiness and fun of driving al fresco (or au natural) because of your growing family, perhaps the Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet is your solution. It’s not quite the oddball I first thought it would be.

A IS FOR APPLE AND C IS FOR CITY?

2012-03-02T08:11:00.000-08:00

I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone say, “Well, I’d like to buy a Prius, but it’s just so darned big.”

But Toyota says it did because the latest Prius model on the market is -- ta da! -- smaller than its predecessors.

It’s called the Prius c, with the “c” standing for “city.”

I got the opportunity to hear company people list its virtues and then drive it for a bit at a special media preview last week in Delray Beach.

We stayed at the Seagate Hotel and Spa a couple of blocks from A1A, which runs in fits and starts along Florida’s Atlantic Coast. Skies were sunny and temperatures in the low 80s. Yes, it’s such a tough life.

I should point out here that the Prius c is not so radically small that it is comparable to, say, the company’s Scion IQ, which is of the bloated golf cart ilk. At 157.3 inches long, the Prius c is only about 19 inches shorter than its older brother, the familiar Prius Liftback.

When my friend and former colleague at the magazine Russ and I went to lay claim to one for the morning drive we first picked out the Prius Liftback the event sponsors had provided for comparison purposes.

Once straightened out, Russ and I spent an hour or two meandering through Palm Beach County, visiting such historical spots such as Russ’ former home in Boynton Beach and a friend’s place that had served as party headquarters. Still does, in fact, when he gets back for visits.

In what has to be an inexcusable oversight, the local historical society has failed to mark either site with appropriate plaques.

I once saw a video that had as its title “How to Drive a Hybrid,” but as far as I am concerned, there is no real secret. You do pretty much what you do in any car you want to save on gas -- go light on the pedal and lift your foot well in advance of red lights, braking gently.

This probably explains why the indicator in the dash showed that neither Russ nor I was getting optimum fuel-saving performance out of the Prius c, which is supposed to deliver 53 miles per gallon in the city and 46 on the highway

Ed Le Rocque, who carries with him the title of National Brand Manager; Advanced Passenger Cars for Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc. (he must get tired lugging that around), said during the presentation that the Prius c was intended for “for young singles and couples who appreciate a vehicle with responsive handling that is easy to park.”

“Young singles and couples” is not exactly a demographic that either Russ or I fit, and a glance around confirmed that not many, maybe one or two at the most, of the others in the room would fit either, but what are you going to do?

The Prius c does come packed with a lot of gee-whiz technological features that will appeal to the younger generation buyers it is targeting, but the only one Russ and I checked out was the Satellite Radio.

The Prius c comes in four trim levels dubbed Prius c One, Two, Three, and Four. Apparently, the people in Toyota’s creative names department went out to celebrate after coming up with “c for city.” The starting price is $18,950 for the One, $19,900 for the Two, $21,635 for the Three, and $23,230 for the Four.

They are due to begin arriving in showrooms sometime this month.

CT 2000h A DIFFERENT KIND OF LEXUS

2012-02-23T10:52:00.000-08:00

A question: Does this look like a Lexus to you?

Ignore that slant L emblem in the center of the hood for a moment and I think you will agree with me that, no, this car doesn’t fit the Lexus profile.

Badging from the parent company Toyota would be more fitting, at least in my view.

Doesn’t make it a bad car or anything of the sort. It just isn’t what I have come to expect from the Japanese automaker in its luxury line

Perhaps with the CT 200h, the company is breaking new ground.

What we have here is the least expensive -- one hesitates to use the more succinct “cheapest” when referring to a luxury auto -- Lexus on the market, and the most fuel efficient.

It checks in at under $30,000, a little over $4,000 less than the next up-the-line, the IS 250, and, with its hybrid drivetrain, delivers fuel mileage rated at 43 miles-per-gallon city, 40 highway. Those figures, you could correctly surmise, as the best among Lexus models, roughly 8-6 mpg (city vs. highway) better than its “cousin,” the Lexus HS 250h sedan.

That’s not quite as good as the new Prius Hatchback (51/48) with which it shares its drivetrain technology, but it’s still pretty impressive.

Lexus introduced the CT 200h for the 2011 model year, trumpeting it as “a hybrid with sporty, sexy styling, dynamic handling, best in class mileage and all the luxury of a Lexus.”

I think it met its goal. The styling -- even if un-Lexus-like, does please the eye, the handling (when in “sport” mode) offers a bit more than you get from the usual gas-electric hybrid, and the mileage and luxury are there.

The cabin is roomy and comfortable and high-quality materials are evident throughout. There isn’t quite the overkill in refinements found in the rest of the Lexus line, but it’s obvious you’re not sitting in a basic Prius either.

There are some interesting touches, starting with the gear shift lever.

Equipped with a CVT (continuously variable transmission), there is no need for the usual kind of shift lever offering a selection of gears. There is simply a handle sticking out of the center stack that lets you slide the transmission into Drive or Reverse. Then it snaps back into place and you forget about it. You push a button to put it in Park.

The most intriguing aspect is what Lexus calls the Remote Touch controller. It operates various functions that are displayed on the screen at the top of the center stack.

I can’t remember where I first saw this -- it may have been on a Prius, but I’m not sure -- but basically Toyota figured that because most people these days are familiar with how a computer mouse works, it could take advantage of that familiarity and incorporate it into the operation of not just the navigation system but the audio, climate and other car settings as well.

You use a knob on the console, which is within easy reach of the driver, to move a little “finger” on the screen to whatever function you want, and then squeeze the bar next to the “mouse” to complete the operation.

It really doesn’t take that much to get the hang of it. Even I managed it the first time and without diving deep into the owner’s manual.

The nice thing is that you can operate some functions, like turning up or lowering the volume on the radio or changing stations, by turning knobs on the center stack or using the duplicate, steering wheel-mounted controls.

Speaking of knobs, there is one big one in the center near the bottom of the center stack. You turn it to select what driving mode -- economy, normal, or sport -- you want to use. Like the gear shift, the knob snaps back into place after you turn it and a little light in the instrument panel confirms what mode you have selected.

Pressing a button next to the knob puts the car in EV mode. The CT 200h features a four-cylinder gas engine and a pair of electric motors which, together, pump out 134 horsepower to the front wheels.

As with most hybrids, the switch between electric and gas power or a combination is seamless and dictated by your speed and other conditions. When you put the CT 200h in EV mode, you can run it on electric power only for short distances. Very short, I confirmed the time that I tried it.

I liked to drive in sport mode, but don’t let the name fool you. The CT 200h isn’t going to suddenly turn into a competitive track car just because it is in sport. Though the steering and throttle response are a bit sharper, this is still a vehicle that labors to get from zero-to-60, nearly 10 seconds (9.8 according to company clockers).

Keep that in mind when you are trying to break into the flow of traffic at an intersection. Once up to speed, the CT 200h isn responsive enough, but I still gave oncoming vehicles plenty of space when I was passing on a two-lane road.

Probably the oddest feature on the center console is a gizmo that sticks up just to the right of the Remote Touch control. It holds your cellphone while you use Bluetooth for hands-free calling.

It slides back and forth on a track, and really seems quite fragile and flimsy I was surprised to find it on a Lexus. My guess is that it’s something that someone is going to break within the first six months you own the car.

It’s going to be interesting to see what comes in the future with the CT 200h. Going downline -- i.e., putting out less expensive models to widen your customer base -- doesn’t always work so well in the luxury market.

Perhaps its hybrid technology, which in itself is a selling point for a certain segment of the population, will help the CT 200h overcome that potential obstacle. But isn’t part of the appeal of owning a luxury car is that it allows you make the statement that you have made it in the world?

Not sure that works in the CT 200h. But I’ve been wrong before. Oh, boy, have I!

I GET MY TIPS FROM MISS INFORMATION

2012-02-21T13:03:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of my cellphone in a bowl of rice.

You are probably asking yourself, why did Paul put his cellphone in a bowl of rice?

The answer is simple. I didn’t have any mashed potatoes.

No, wait.

That isn’t it.

Let me explain.

Earlier yesterday my wife came upstairs with my cellphone and asked me to check to see if it was working because she had not realized it was in the pocket of my shorts when she did the laundry, and, yes, it had gone through the washing machine, soak, rinse, spin, and all.

When I hit the button to turn it on, naturally, nothing happened. It was kaput.

Well, I thought, as soon as I get this work done (Monday is one of by busiest days during college basketball season) I’ll run over to Target and get a new one. I don’t have, or want, any fancy service. I bought a Tracfone last year and am perfectly happy with it.

First, though, I took a moment to call Tracfone to see if I could simply take the SIM card out of the old phone and put it in the new one and maybe save my list of phone numbers.

But the tech person, who must have been somewhere in India or elsewhere in a far away part of the world (not that there is anything wrong with that), told me, no, that was not how it works. My list of numbers was stored on the phone, not the card.

Sigh. They were lost, of course.

Later in the evening, before heading out to the store, I decided I’d try to see if I could get the phone working by blow drying it with a hairdryer.

Nope. Didn’t work.

So off to Target I went.

I found a replacement phone, but in talking to the clerk, he told me that sometimes if you put a cellphone that has been in water in a bowl of rice, the rice will absorb the moisture and it (the phone, not the bowl or rice) will work again.

Worth a try, I thought, and I went back home without buying a replacement.

Thus, the picture of the phone in a bowl of rice. You will notice it is uncooked rice. I’m not a complete idiot.

Looking back, I bet that clerk had a big laugh with his fellow workers later that night about how he had some doofus believing that putting a phone in a bowl of rice would fix it.

“Let’s try Jello next,” one of them probably suggested after he stopped laughing.

As you no doubt have surmised, the next morning when I tried to turn the phone on again, it didn’t work, of course. No easy solution ever does work for me. I decided to plug it into its charger, and all I got was a very cloudy screen.

Dead. Gone. Kaput

So I went back over to Target and got a new phone.

It seems more technologically advanced than my old one, but it cost the same. I just use the phone to make calls any way, and check the time and sometimes the date, so whatever technology is available is kind of wasted on me. I don’t need an iPhone or any of its imitators.

So now I’m in the process of restoring all the numbers I lost, which is not an easy job.

If you get a moment, give me a call. It might help speed sthings along.

JUST ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE

2012-02-14T21:24:00.000-08:00

So who sez I’m not a romantic?

Here Virginia and I are having lunch at the Islamorada Fish Company in the Keys, and on Valentine’s Day yet!

Of course, it was her idea to go, but hey! I did the driving down there.

This really is one of our favorite lunch spots, and we don’t get down here nearly as often as we should. It’s less than 90-minute drive from our house, though it was a little longer on the return since he hit a couple of school zones.

I’m assuming you are somewhat familiar with the Keys, but if you’re not, let me explain something. They don’t have a lot of cops down there, but those that are there have only one highway to patrol. We probably saw three or four Monroe County sheriff’s cars in the two school zones we passed through on the way back home, and two of them had other motorists pulled over.

Any way, as I was saying, the Islamorada Fish Company is one of our favorite spots.

When we first went there, back in the mid-1990s I guess it was it was, you walked out on a concrete pier to where several a few tables with umbrellas were set up.

THS ACTUALLY WAS TAKEN ON ANOTHE TRIP.

The original area has been expanded and now is under a huge tiki hut roof. There are two walkways to get out to it now, and there are tables set up alongside them as well an area under cover near the main building. We were sitting at one of the tables set up just before one of the walkways because the place was crowded and we didn’t want to wait.

The food is good enough -- heavy on shrimp, fish, etc., which is what you would expect -- but a bit higher-priced than we pay for the same fare at our usual places back home. Hey, this is the Keys, so I consider it a surcharge for the atmosphere. Just around everywhere you sit you have some view of Florida Bay (the restaurant sits on the bayside of U.S. 1). The palms in this picture (above) were right in front of us.

Also, this is a tourist spot, so what should we expect?

There are many pelicans and sea gulls around. They seem to be used to people. The gull in this picture was resting on a railing just a couple of feet from the people at the table next to us. Pelicans flew overhead back and forth from a boat tied up across the way to the restaurant.

One of the reasons I liked where we bought our house nearly 20 years ago now was that it was relatively close to the Keys, but, as I mentioned earlier, we don’t get down there nearly enough, not as much as we once did.

It’s not as difficult or dangerous as it used to be because the stretch of U.S. 1 between Florida City and Key Largo has been widened and there is a concrete barrier dividing the north and southbound lanes, which eliminates the chance of head-on collisions. There are a couple of spots for passing lanes if you get caught behind someone particularly slow.

THE VIEW FROM THE NEW U.S. 1 BRIDGE INTO KEY LARGO.

Also, there is now a bridge that crosses high above Jewfish Creek just before you get to Key Largo, so that eliminates the need to use the old drawbridge that allows boats to pass through from the ocean side to the bay side of the islands at the north end of the Keys. Traffic used to back up rather quickly when the bridge was up, even on weekdays.

I’m thinking traffic probably still gets heavy on weekends, but we haven’t gone to the Keys on anything but a weekday in a long time, at least not since one Sunday years ago when we got caught in a line of traffic behind a fatal accident on our way back home.

As I said there is only one highway running the length of the Keys. There is the old original Keys Highway that runs parallel to it for stretches, but eventually you have to get back on the main road because that’s where the bridges are.

Of course, there are other locations for the Islamorada Fish Company, including one much closer to us near the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport.

I’ve been there a couple of times. It’s a nice enough place and, like all of the the IFC restaurants it is next door to a huge Bass Pro Shop. If you haven’t been in a Bass Pro Shop, it’s attraction in itself and a lot more than just fishing tackle and boats.

But take a look at these pictures and tell me if you would prefer the Islamorada Fish Company place near the airport or the one in the Keys.

I thought so. So would we.

THE ATLANTIC, ON THE RETURN TRIP.

A LOT TO LIKE ABOUT CORVETTE AND CAMARO, BUT GM?

2012-02-10T13:39:00.000-08:00

I have mixed feelings about GM.

I don’t really like the fact that the company went to the government for a bailout a few years ago, but I also think the government had at least something to do with putting the company into the position where it had to go begging for financial relief. So there was some justification for it.

Still, there were other options. Even bankruptcy could have offered a way out for the company.

On the plus side for GM, however, I see the company putting out some very good products these days across the line, and when it comes to “affordable” performance, it’s tough to beat.

There’s no question that the Chevrolet Corvette remains the iconic American sports car after more than half a century. And if you’re looking for American sports car panache in a slightly less expensive package and with a tad of practicality (need a backseat?), Chevy offers the Camaro.

They share one common characteristic. Forget about the refined luxury you find in European and Asian sports cars. Both the Corvette and the Camaro are about in-your-face brashness, power, and performance. I wouldn’t call their interiors crude or even spartan by any means, but refined luxury is not what they’re all about.

Especially the Corvette.

The moment you fire up the Corvette’s engine, the cabin becomes awash with testosterone.

How much testosterone depends on which 'Vette version you happen to be firing up, of course. The supercharged ZR1’s 6.2-liter V8 pumps out a whopping 638 horsepower and 604 pound-feet of torque. Numbers for the 7.0-liter V8 in the Z06 are 505 and 470, respectively.

But you get a lot of punch, too, in the base and GS (for Grand Sport) Corvettes and just as much fun. The 6.2-liter V8s in those models send 430 hp and 424 lb.-ft. of torque to the the rear wheels, slightly more in models with the optional exhausts.

Unless you're going racing, the base and Grand Sport coupes should satisfy your need for speed.

Both the ZR1 and the Z06 also require premium fuel which is consumed at a rate of 14 miles-per-gallon city, 21 highway for the former and 15/24 for the former.

According to the company, premium fuel is recommended but not required for the base and GS with the EPA numbers checking in at 15/25 when mated with a six-speed, paddle-shift automatic transmission and 16/26 with the six-speed manual.

My recommendation?

Use premium fuel anyway and go for the six-speed stick shift.

Driving the GS with the stick, I found the shifts rather smooth to make and not requiring the labor that I found when driving the

Dodge Viper around town.

While the Viper is wonderful on the track, it is a bear to handle on the street. I suspect it might be the same with the ZR1 and Z06 when it comes to the Corvette, but not so with the GS (or base, for that matter). There is a nice blending of street/track experience with the GS.

There are differences between the two. The GS and the base both have the same wheelbase (105.7 inches), but the GS is an inch longer in overall length at 175.6 inches. It's wider as well by about three inches at 75.9, an its overall height is slightly less at 48.7 inches. And the GS Coupe is more than 100 pounds heavier at 3,311 pounds curb weight.

The interior volume is the same for all of the Corvette models with the same legroom (43 inches), shoulder room (55), and headroom (38).

That, too, sets the Corvette apart from its foreign competitors, which generally check in at smaller sizes, and the overall size also adds to the bold, brash, masculine appearance inside and out as well. (A quick word here; I’m not saying women can’t drive this car. I’m just saying that you’re probably going to find more women in Miatas when it comes to sports cars than you are Corvettes. Nothing wrong with that. I like the agility of the Miata.)

Though cargo hauling is not exactly what most have in mind when it comes to the Corvette, the car does offer a pretty spacious 22 cubic feet when you lift the rear hatch.

As for cost, the base price of the GS I had was $55,,925. Add in extras like the special Centennial Edition package (which includes Carbon Flash Metallic paint, special graphics and wheels featuring the image of Gaston Chevrolet, and other features), the dual-mode exhaust, transparent removable roof cover, pedal covers, and the battery protection panel, not to mention the $975 destination and delivery fee, and the total cost came to $70,185.

Hmmm, did I say something about affordable?

The base model starts at under $50,000 and the Z06 at under $76,000. The ZR1 starts in six-figures territory at $112,600.

There are various trim levels and packages with each model as well.

A few words about the Camaro.

I wasn’t all that enthusiastic about the Camaro when Chevy brought it back for the 2010 model year after a 10-year hiatus. It was a Muscle Car in every word, from looks to sound to performance, and that I like, but I just thought the venerable Ford Mustang was at the top of the class.

Frankly, I still do think that, but I am a bit more open to the virtues of the Camaro. Perhaps that is because I am over the fact that not once but twice the driver’s side door swung out of my hand and put door dings in my wife’s Passat wagon parked next to it.

Usually, when you open a car door, there is a slight catch at certain points to keep that from happening. That didn’t seem to be the case with the first Camaro I had, and, especially with the traditional wide doors on coupes, it was a problem. (I know, I know. If it happened once, shame on Chevy. If it happened twice, shame on me. But it still ticked me off, not to mention the $100 it cost me to get the dings out.)

But I have grown to appreciate the Camaro a bit more. The one I had late last year provided a good experience overall. A friend who was riding with me in it after a few minutes remarked, “You really enjoy this car, don’t you?” I had to admit I did.

The 6.2-liter V8 sent plenty of power (426 hp, 420 lb.-ft.) to the rear wheels of the 2012 2SS via a six-speed manual transmission, and the sound from the dual exhaust was the kind of deep, throaty bass that is so distinctive to the genre.

The cabin is nicely designed -- no longer is Chevy/GM putting out interiors that seem to be built around $1.98 worth of plastic -- and roomy enough upfront.

Drawbacks include a somewhat cramped rear seat and the contortions you have to put your body through to get back there. Visibility all-around isn’t the best either, though the rear-vision camera -- standard in some trim levels, optional in others -- mitigates that somewhat.

The trunk is about what you expect to find in a coupe with a capacity of 11.3 cubic feet, but the opening itself to get things in there is rather on the small side.

The 2SS model I drove, which did include the rear-vision camera and features like rear parking assist, power front seats, and satellite radio as standard, started at $35,450. The 45th anniversary package, which include specific hood and deck lid striping, badging, and 20-inch wheels (over the standard 18 an 19), ran the total cost to $37,725.

The 2SS model is the top of the Camaro line. You can get into a six-cylinder base Camaro starting at just over $23,000.

So do the Corvette and Camaro justify what the company -- and you and I as taxpayers -- went through to “save” the company? I guess so, but I still think it would have been better had the company explored other options. And if the company had been putting out products like this it might not have been in such a state in the first place.

THE SUPER BOWL IS BIG, BUT

2012-02-04T13:53:00.001-08:00

I don’t think there is any question that the Super Bowl, which will be played Sunday in Indianapolis when the New York Giants and New England Patriots square off in the indoor playground called Lucas Oil Stadium, has become America’s No. 1 sporting event.

At least with the public.

In a strange paradox, though, if you ask most sportswriters, covering the NFL championship gamel, no matter which teams are in it, the Super Bowl will be far down on their list of favorite events to cover.

I was reminded of this last month when I was given a copy of a Vanderbilt University alumni magazine and in it was a panel discussion featuring several Vandy alums who are now recognizable names among sports media. (There are more than you might think for a school known for its engineering department and high academic standards).

Buster Olney, who does a very good job covering baseball for ESPN, was among them. The others I didn’t really recognize, but for the record they were Dave Sheinin, a national baseball writer at the Washington Post; Mark Bechtel and Lee Jenkins with Sports Illustrated; Tyler Kepner, a baseball writer with the New York Times; and Clay Travis, a columnist for FanHouse who also hosts a daily radio show in Nashville.

Asked what sports event was overly hyped and they all answered the Super Bowl.

“The run-up to it is just mind numbing,” Olney said. “Some people don’t get baseball; I’m like that with the Super Bowl. I don’t want to hear anything about it for two weeks beforehand. When the game comes, I’m excited, but the two weeks leading up to it drive me nuts.”

Travis hit it just right.

“Tons of people watch the Super Bowl who have no idea what’s going on,” he said. “Millions of people are watching who didn’t care about any of the four teams that were playing two weeks earlier.

Of course, you may have noticed the baseball influence in the job descriptions of the group.

Could that be coloring their opinions?

Maybe, but I don’t think so.

Many years ago when I was a bit more active in sportswriting than I am now and traveling to attend various events, like the Super Bowl, I did a sampling of various national writers at the Masters asking them what their favorite event was.

Since we were at Augusta at the time, many mentioned it as their favorite. A couple picked the World Series. The NCAA’s Basketball Tournament and Final Four also got support. Nobody, if I recall correctly, chose the Super Bowl.

One of the main reasons was all the buildup and over-analysis that is done in the days leading up to the Super Bowl. It does and on and on and on, becoming repetitive after about one day. Or one hour.

Meanwhile, both the World Series and the Masters have built-in drama with different things happening every day that impact on the next day’s story.

Masters week starts on Monday after the conclusion of the previous week’s golf tournament on Sunday. You have a couple of days to talk to the likely contenders, who all pretty much have more interesting things to say than anybody on either of the two Super Bowl teams.

On Wednesday you have the Par 3 tournament, which is kind of a fun, relaxing afternoon, and then the real thing starts on a Thursday. Every day from there through Sunday evening things are happening every day with new contenders emerging and favorites dropping out of contention seemingly every couple of hours.

Same thing with the World Series.

In the days leading up to the Series, you have the league championship series going on to determine exactly which two teams are going to be in the event. Then, once the Series, starts you have the drama of the games going on every day (except for the breaks when the teams swap ballparks). You never know when a new hero (Hello, David Freese.)

Of course, not every game is going to be as dramatic as last fall’s Game 6, which was one of the greatest in baseball history, and you can even have a four-game sweep which takes a lot of the mystery out of it. Even then, though, new heroes and goats are going to emerge.

The Super Bowl, meanwhile, rarely comes even close to living up to its hype. And even when it does, the hype itself has taken away much of its appeal. Often, it’s up to the cheese dip to save the day.

Of course, I’ll be watching when the Giants beat the Patriots. If I didn’t, I’d have to turn in my Man Card. But if you told me I could only pick one, I’d go with the NCAA tournament.

RICH MAN, POOR MAN, I'M GOING FOR RICH

2012-01-25T15:14:00.001-08:00

I can’t stand it any more.

The primary election cycle, that is.

We now have reached the stage in the Republican race where a guy (Mitt Romney) is getting heat for how much money he made and what his tax rate was.

Do we prefer to have somebody who was a failure in life run the country?

Here’s what I mean. Say you’re at a horse race track and two touts come up to you with tips on the next race.

Who are you going to listen to -- the guy with in the ratty jacket, dirty shirt, wrinkled trousers and holes in his shoes, or the guy who is neatly dressed wearing a real Rolex?

From what I hear from some of the Romney’s critics (hello, NBC and your cable outlets) is they would go with the guy with the dirty shirt.

And if Romney didn’t pay the same tax rate as Warren Buffett’s secretary, whose fault is that? Apparently, he (or his accountants, to be more precise) paid exactly what the numbers called for. Any beef should be with the tax system, not Romney.

But not according to the media.

Hell, a piece in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution is whining about where Romney got his money and pointedly notes none of it came from wages, as is customary with most of us common folk, it adds, almost sneering.

Is that a sin now? I’d like to have had a life where I could have lived off money earned by my investments, but so far I haven’t gotten a decent return from my lotto tickets.

To show how slanted the piece is, it even tempers something in Romney’s favor, that he donated $7 million to charities over the last two years, with the qualification that most of it went to the Mormon Church, as if that should discredit him.

I would say anyone who supports his church financially the way Romney has his should be congratulated, not scorned, no matter what church it is.

I also have a problem, quite frankly, with the conclusion in the piece that states the effective tax rate for Romney’s returns for the last two years is 13.9 percent. (The DNC has picked up on this as well. Surprise, surprise!) The genius who wrote the piece apparently got that figure by dividing the amount Romney paid in taxes by the total of his gross income.

Ummmm. That ain’t the way it works. None of us pays taxes on our gross income. We all have inductions, whether they are itemized or we use the standard deduction. We then pay taxes on the net. I guess that’s why the piece uses the words “effective tax rate” cause it isn’t the real thing.

Of course, if the media bothered to do math right, the tax rate would have jumped. Just deducting the charitable deductions from his gross and then doing the math would result in a tax rate of 17.1 percent, and that doesn’t begin to include his other deductions.

I’ m just guessing here, too, but I’m thinking if you earn your money from investments, which will have at least some risk, you’re probably going to have more to deduct than someone on a salary.

Whether that is right or wrong can be debated elsewhere. Right now it’s the system we got.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not necessarily for Romney, though I must confess that I would prefer him or anybody else (well, not sure about Ron Paul) over the Democrat candidate.

Wait. I have gotten off my original point here, which is that the primary campaign, which started, if memory serves, about the time since the Cardinals won the World Series (not the 2011 Series, the 2006 one), has gone on far too long.

How many more times can the candidates answer the same questions in the debates? (Another disclosure here. I have watched very, very little of the debates. My wife does that for me. But what I have seen is so much repetition.)

I think we should go back to the old days when nominees came out of smoke-filled rooms.

Go back and check out movies like The Candidate (1972, Robert Redford) or The Best Man (1964, Henry Fonda, Cliff Robetson), though the best political movie in my mind didn’t involve a presidential race. The Last Hurrah (1958, Spencer Tracy) is a real classic about an aging mayor of an unnamed U.S. city (one thinly disguised as Boston) running for reelection.

Or read The Making of the President 1960 by Theodore White. (It’s the first and the best in the series.) and you’ll see what I mean.

Of course, that’s not going to happen. Smoke-filled rooms are hard to find nowadays. Plus, all the political pundits on TV would be out of business and have to get a real job.

Say, that’s a benefit I hadn’t thought of. Maybe they could invest in something.

IT’S CONVERTIBLE WEATHER! WELL, AT LEAST WHERE I AM IT IS!

2012-01-20T10:03:00.000-08:00

Not to rub it in with any of you living up north, but it’s convertible weather where I live.

The temperature is starting in the 70s and working its way to the low-80s during the afternoon, and the sun is bright but not overbearing. You can sit at an intersection without getting a sunburn.

Perfect weather, in other words.

And I have just had the perfect car for it.

The Infiniti G Convertible Sport 6MT with a six-speed manual transmission.

The perfect combination. Life just doesn’t get any better.

Infiniti offers buyers the choice of two engines in sedan-form G models -- the G25 with a 2.5-liter V6 and the G37 with a 3.7-liter V6 -- but only the 3.7 in coupe and convertible models, hence the G37 S tag on the trunk lid.

The 3.7-liter pumps out 325 horsepower and 267 pound-feet of torque to the rear wheels, which results in a lively performance for the driver. It drinks the good stuff (premium fuel is listed as “required,” not just “recommended”) at a rate of 16 miles-per-gallon city, 24 highway with the manual, 17/25 with the automatic transmission.

Zero-to-60 mph times were not available on the Nissan website, but they are probably in the six-second neighborhood. Throttle response is just as immediate at speed to make passing comfortable as well. (Eat my road gravel!)

The G37 Convertible also has a choice of two transmissions, a seven-speed automatic and a six-speed manual. I think the company shows it is very much in tune with its prospective customers when it charges a premium for the manual over the automatic. It's usually the other way around, but in this case, the MSRP for the automatic is $46,400, for the Sport 6MT $50,850.

Some people, of course, think that when you’re driving in a lot of stop-and-go traffic -- and who isn’t these days? -- it becomes a chore to constantly have to work the clutch with the manual.

I don’t, certainly not with the easy throws when it comes to shifting in the G37.

The G37 is a hardtop convertible, which means you can have the experience of coupe as well as going top-free. (Insert your joke here.)

The roof lowers and raises with a simple push of a button on the center console, that is, it does if the rear gate is in its proper place. It’s not big deal to set it right. All it does is ensure you don’t have any extra items in the trunk that would be crushed the top as it folds up on the trunk.

Naturally, you lose all your trunk space (though there was still room for the thick owner’s manual, however) when the top is lowered. Frankly, there’s not a whole lot there to begin with, just over 10 cubic feet overall.

That small trunk is about the only negative thing I could see in the G37. But you've got to expect that in a convertible. If you want a cargo hauler, get an wagon or SUV. This one is built for hauling. ... never mind.

Of course, there’s not a lot of room in the backseat either, and there is the inconvenience of fiddling with the front seat belts to get back there, but my wife said the room was fine for her. (No, I don’t make her ride back there; her brother was riding shotgun.)

The G37’s ride is sporty and it handles corners well, but at the same time, it is comfortable going over bumps like on railroad crossings as well. No jarring of the teeth, and no rattles anywhere else.

The cabin is nicely done and has the quality materials and all the bells and whistles you usually find in this price range. Infiniti made the navigation system, which is pretty easy to operate, standard in the Sport 6MT trim level. Two-way lumbar support in the driver’s seat -- power adjusted, of course -- also is standard in the Sport 6MT, a welcome feature for those of us with aching backs.

In fact, you won’t find a lot of options available on the Sport 6MT because so many things you might want are standard, which means not a lot of expenses added to the base price. The model I drove came with the nav system with backup camera, Bose audio, Bluetooth, XM Satellite radio (three months subscription; after that, you pay a monthly fee) and more included in the base price.

The only extra was illuminated kick plates, which added $340. That and the $895 for destination and delivery (which should be included in the MSRP but never is in the industry for some reason) ran the total tag to $52,085.

Maybe if you are a savvy negotiator, you can get the dealer to throw them in free. If you’re not, like me, go ahead. Splurge. Life’s too short not to live it up a little!

And don't worry. It will be convertible weather where you live sometime soon I’m sure. Maybe June, when hurricane season opens here.

WHY DOES HOLLYWOOD HAVE TO TINKER SO MUCH WITH HISTORY?

2012-01-18T20:40:00.000-08:00

I finally saw Moneyball the other night.

Yes, yes, I know, I am late to this party, but for me to see a 2011 movie in January 2012 it’s like a regular moviegoer going to the Hollywood premiere.

I don’t see many movies these days until they come out on DVD.

Hey. I just realized something. I must have been one of the first to get the movie from Netflix! That should count for something.

Anyway, Moneyball is the story of how general manage Billy Beane turned the Oakland A’s into winners by ignoring traditional baseball figures (batting average and RBIs) and going by the new numbers put forth by the so-call statistical genius Bill James, who rates the most important thing about a player not his batting average but his on-base percentage added to his slugging percentage (OPS).

That probably would have gotten me to watch it by itself, but I also was interested because of Beane. I had seen Beane pay when he was with the Class AA Jackson Mets back in the early 1980s and I was the sports editor of the Clarion-Ledger newspaper.

I found the movie, which stars Brad Pitt, who also is the producer, enjoyable and interesting, and it’s not a bad way to spend a couple of hours. Much better than the Red Box a friend of mine is always talking about.

Just don’t take it literally.

When I first saw this movie previewed on TV (since I don’t go to the movies), the first thought that crossed my mind was this: What have the Oakland A’s won recently?

The answer is, not much.

THE REAL BILLY BEANE

They have yet to make it to a World Series and they have been to the playoffs only twice since the time setting of the film, which was in 2002 when they won 103 games but lost in the first round of the American League playoffs. They made it back in 2003, but have done so only once since then (2006).

So I’m not sure if the premise of the movie, that Beane unleashed this great revolution on the baseball world, is all that solid.

At the end, a tagline cites that the Boston Red Sox used the same principles Beane followed at Oakland to build their 2004 World Champions, which kind of seemed rather lame. Still, the numbers and theory is interesting, and if there’s anything a baseball fan likes better than numbers I’m not sure what it is, unless it is different interpretations of numbers.

It’s not just that that bothers me about the movie, though. No, it’s the toying the writers do with the story.

Actor Philiip Seymour Hoffman as Art Howe.

A’s manager Art Howe is treated brutally, and several incidents are portrayed inaccurately.

For instance, in a radio interview available on the Internet, Howe notes that it was he, not Beane, who broke the news to a player he was being cut (and just five days before he would have qualified for major league baseball’s lucrative pension, something the movie ignores completely).

Howe also notes that the early scene where he asks Beane for a contract extension didn't happen:

No. 1, his agent always handled Howe’s contract negotiations, and Howe would not have approached Beane in a hallway in the training complex to confront him about it.

No. 2, Howe didn’t need a one-year contract extension in the first place. He was already covered for 2003 because of the rollover provision in his contract.

Frankly, I’m not sure why the scene was in the movie in the first place other than to try to make Howe out as more of a villain. The movie people had to create some sort of conflict to make Beane more of a hero, I guess.

At the end of the credits, it is explained that some characters and incidents have been changed for dramatic effect -- shoot, even the name of Beane’s assistant was changed, not to mention the movie has him coming on board just before the 2002 season when he actually had arrived in 1999.

It always disappoints me when Hollywood people decide they have to jazz up a story because the truth, in their eyes, isn’t dramatic enough.

Hollywood did it with Glory Road, the story of Texas Western’s basketball season that ended with a team of five black starters beating Kentucky’s all-white lineup in the final game for the NCAA champioship.

The movie begins with Don Haskins supposedly beginning his first season as coach when he had been there for five years. Some of the players he (in the movie) brought to El Paso (the school now is the University of Texas-El Paso, or UTEP) that 1965-66 season had already been there for a year or two, and there was no playing of “Dixie” or Confederate flags waved at the national title game as the movie shows.

THE BEAUTIFUL SECRETARIAT

Secretariat is an overall entertaining movie, not to mention a great horse, but it gives you the impression Penny Chenery’s Meadow Stable would have gone under had not Secretariat come along at that moment. Actually, Riva Ridge had done that the year before when he won two (Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes) of the three Triple Crown races, losing only in the Preakness.

OK, OK. I already hear you saying, “It’s only a movie.”

That’s what the makers of Field of Dreams said when baseball fans criticized them for making Joe Jackson a left-handed thrower and right-handed hitter (a rarity in baseball; Rickey Henderson is the only good one who comes to mind) instead of the other way around.

But nobody thought Dreams was anywhere near a true story. (I don’t think.) Moneyball and those others I mentioned are supposed to be telling you the story of something that actually happened.

If they want to add character composites or add things for the sake of drama, then go the extra step and really fictionalize it, like Hoosiers.

Movies portraying historical events can be done accurately. All the President’s Men pretty much did it. At least the director didn’t have Nixon going to the Washington Post newsroom to challenge Ben Bradlee to a fistfight. (That’s a scene I would have liked to have seen, especially in real life.)

Did the changes made to Moneyball, Glory Road and Secretariat really add anything to their stories? I don’t think so.

I’m looking forward to seeing Red Tails (probably next year on DVD). I hope it sticks to the truth because it’s a great story (first told in a TV movie back in the '90s) that needs no embellishment.

I hope I don’t see a scene where some white Army Air Corps colonel is sitting in his office whistling Dixie and sitting in front of a Confederate flag as one of the black pilots from Tuskegee approaches him. Unless that really happened, of course.

MY FAVORITE LEXUS

2012-01-12T12:05:00.000-08:00

This is the 2011 Lexus GS 350.

Like other models in the Lexus lineup, it is a nicely styled, attractive car built with quality materials and filled with lots of user-friendly technology. The navigation system is arguably the easiest to use and with the best display, and the radio and A/C don’t require a Ph.D to operate.

What makes the GS my favorite Lexus, however, is this way it drives.

For the longest time, I found Lexus models like the LS, ES, and even the IS very comfortable vehicles to ride in and very high in styling. The RX I thought was the best-looking SUV on the road. But they simply didn’t get the juices going when you got behind the wheel and hit the accelerator.

That impression changed when I finally got to drive a GS.

I wish I could tell you exactly when that was, but it doesn’t matter. It was several years ago, and my latest experience didn’t change my impression that this is a vehicle that adds some punch to typical Lexus poshness.

The standard GS comes in two sizes, the 350 with a 3.5-liter V6, and the 460 with a 4.6-liter V8, plus a hybrid model that is built more for extra power than for fuel savings, which likely would come as a jolt to someone seeking a hybrid for its mileage.

IT'S A 2012 MODEL, BUT DON'T CALL IT A NEW BEETLE

2012-01-06T11:21:00.000-08:00

Volkswagen has an extended portfolio now that features sedans, hatchbacks, wagons, minivans, SUVs, and even a hardtop convertible.

But there was a time and not so long ago that if you mentioned the German automaker's name or referred to a VW, you were talking about one vehicle.

The Beetle.

And for good reason.

From the time the first production Beetle rolled off the assembly line in 1938 and just past the turn over the century, more than 21.5 million Beetles were sold around the world, making it the most popular car manufactured off a single platform of all-time, according to company publicists.

No doubt, the Beetle hit is zenith in popularity in the 1960s, when it identified readily as the “people’s car” with the emerging hippie generation.

But its success and appeal began to wane in the ’70s with the emergence of many more attractive compacts and subcompacts on the market, many coming from, ironically, Germany’s old World War II ally Japan.

The Beetle virtually disappeared from the American market in the 1979, when production in Germany was halted. But it continued to be made in Mexico and other plants around the world on a stop-and-go basis through the 1990s. Finally, in 2003, the last of the air-cooled, rear-engine Beetles rolled off the assembly line in Mexico.

By then, however, VW already had introduced to wider audiences its New Beetle, which had its water-cooled engine in the front but took on many of the readily identified signatures of the original Beetle in shape and appearance.

The 1998 New Beetle even paid homage to its past with the placement of a small, tubular bud vase attached to the dash. Ah, where have all the flowers gone?

Now, for 2012, the Beetle moves into its next generation, with very much the same traits and personality of its predecessors but in a bolder and more dynamic package. (And no bud vase.)

It’s a bit wider (3.3 inches), longer (6.0 inches), and lower (0.5 inch) than the New Beetle -- for the record, the 2012 Beetle may be new, but it is no longer the New Beetle when it comes to nomenclature, just plain old new Beetle -- and that results in slight more interior volume for the passengers (85.1 cubic feet to the old 84.3).

It comes with a choice of two power train packages, a 2.5-liter five-cylinder engine mated to a six-speed automatic transmission and a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-banger with VW’s DSG six-speed, dual-clutch automatic tranny. The former puts out 170 horsepower and 177 pound-feet or torque, the latter 200 hp and 207 lb.-ft. of torque. (Models with five- and six-speed manual transmissions are in production now.)

A turbocharged diesel version is coming out later this year that will help the torque figure to a whopping 234 lb.-ft. and increase fuel economy figure from the 22 city/29 highway neighborhood for gasoline power to 29/40/33, making it the most fuel-efficient Beetle ever.

I drove the 2.5L model with an automatic transmission with a panoramic sun roof and navigation system, the first nav system to be offered on the Beetle. It’s one of four trim levels offered in the Beetle, which run in price from $18,995 to $24.195.

It’s a fun car to drive, though I would prefer a manual transmission over that automatic even though it does have manual shift capability. Not neck-snapping getaways, but quick enough if you work it right. If you’re interested in more performance, you might want to try out the turbo version or wait for the diesel and its advantage in torque.

The interior is nicely designed and functional. The flat-bottom steering wheel has redundant, easy-to-use audio controls, and the climate control works off large buttons placed underneath the audio display in the center of the dash.

Hmm, speaking of the dash, I liked its red wrap-around, contoured appearance with the upper and lower glove boxes on the far right. Nice and clear, it gives the interior a kind of space-age look.

The radio was easy to operate as well, always a big plus in my book.

As for the navigation system, I’m not too sure about it. For one thing the screen is small, very small in my book. It looks kind of like many of the screens on some Garmin systems, but it’s not a Garmin. It is is supplied by a firm called Technisat, a German manufacturer.

It’s not that difficult to see the road details because of the large scale, but at the same time that large scale cuts down on the size of the area that can be displayed.

Still, if you are driving in a strange or unfamiliar area, it’s better than nothing.

It was easy to enter a destination, but it was either my mistake in typing in the numbers or a system flaw that took me several blocks past my hotel when I gave it a try. I tried to go back and check to see I could verify what numbers I had typed in, but the system wouldn’t let me do it.

Just put it down as my mistake.

The system also had the annoying habit of advising me to continue on the same road from time to time as I made my way north on I-95. Note to programmers: If you don’t tell me to take a freeway exit or make a turn at some point, you don’t need to remind me to keep going straight on an interstate. It kind of reminded me of this: www.onionsportsnetwork.com/video/nascar-coach-reveals-winning-strategy-drive-fast,14154/.

I didn’t actually ride in the backseat, but I did venture back there, and it’s not as bad as you might think. It’s not that difficult to get back there in the first place, which is half the battle in a two-door, and it wouldn’t seem to be too cramped for shorter jaunts. Not sure I’d want to go all the way cross-country riding back there, but for smaller children I wouldn’t see a problem.

Cargo capacity is fine for most chores (15.4 cubic feet), but you gain only another 14.5 cubic feet by folding the rear seats.

Overall, I would have to say the new Beetle is a worthy successor to the New Beetle and serves its heritage well. I don’t see Volkswagen selling 21.5 million of them over the next few decades -- too many other choices on the market today. But it should get a hefty number.

TOO FUNNY NOT TO MENTION

2012-01-03T09:55:00.000-08:00

BAD PEGGY

Having finally gotten back from a holiday trip and into the usual routine, I was going to write about something else today.

I was thinking on my walk about how the people who run college football have completely fouled up the bowl games, which should have all finish up yesterday (January 2) but now will extend to next Monday night when LSU and Alabama play for the national championship in the Tigers' backyard in New Orleans.

I also have a couple of cars I want to comment on, including the VW Beetle I drove last month.

But this is just too good to pass up.

We paid off a credit card bill last month, but when we got the followup statement after I collected our mail, there was another small amount as an interest charge.

On what, I wondered.

So I called the 800 number on the statement to see what the deal was.

After punching in the last four digits of my account number (If that’s all they need, why are all those other numbers there?) and zip code and then hitting all the right buttons to get through the phone answering maze, I finally got an agent.

“Hello,” a charming, female voice said. “My name is Peggy. May I have your name?”

For a moment, I just couldn’t say anything.

“May I have your name please?”

“Ummm,” I said. “Have you ever seen that ad ... “

“Yes,” the voice replied with a laugh. “I have.”

(I’m assuming here you have seen the commercials that feature a guy somewhere off in shack in Siberia identifying himself as "Peggy" giving callers with questions about their credit card accounts the run-around. But as I think about it, most of the people calling “Peggy” with their problem seem to be football personalities like Lou Holtz, Bobby Bowden, and Kirk Herbstreit, so maybe they’re just on sports broadcasts.)

She allowed as how she had gotten reactions similar to mine from other customers, but she enjoyed having the name, even though the “Peggy” in the credit card ads on TV is not exactly a very good example of credit card service.

Any way, we had a very pleasant conversation, and she said she was wiping that interest charge off the books because I was “such a good customer.”

I have to admit that sounded like something the bad “Peggy” would say, but as long as she was tending to the matter I was happy.

I wonder if this is a sign of the way things are going to go this year.

SNOW FOOLING

2011-12-27T12:57:00.001-08:00

So I woke up this morning and what did I see?

Snow.

Yep, snow.

Two days too late for a white Christmas, and it was only a light dusting, but snow nevertheless. By early afternoon, most of it had melted away.

It’s not often I get to see snow. I live in South Florida, after all, and the last time was a year ago at Christmas when I was visiting my daughter in the St. Louis area.

A lot of people got it then. In fact, there were traces of snow even south of Atlanta on our drive back home. Evidence was gone by the time I hit the Georgia-Florida border.

So now here it is again.

Oh, by the way. I did mention I was back in the St. Louis area for the holidays, didn’t I?

Or did you think I was talking about snow in Miami?

Nope.

It’s 81 degrees there as I write this.

I am looking forward to getting back. Just a little snow does a lot for me.

ONE THING LEADS TO ANOTHER

2011-12-19T20:08:00.001-08:00

You no doubt have heard how one thing leads to another. It’s a trite but common saying. (Maybe that’s a definition of trite.)

But sometimes the path from the first thing to the last can be a fascinating one.

For instance, thanks to a friend who emailed me a couple of weeks ago I now know how I spent the day on July 1, 1956.

No, there was nothing of real consequence news-wise that day, at least that I know of. It’s not a date like Dec. 7, 1941, or Nov. 22, 1963, or Sept. 11, 2011, that would be permanent in your memory.

July 1, 1956. Just an ordinary Sunday really.

That’s what makes the leap from one thing to another so interesting.

Here’s how things got started.

My friend Ed emailed me to make an observation about how there is nothing else in sports to match the buildup of tension as a pitcher who is working a no-hitter. I messaged him back and said the atmosphere around a heavyweight title fight -- back in the day, not now -- was something special, but we agreed that wasn’t quite the same.

I told him I’d never seen a no-hitter, but I had seen a journeyman pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds named Johnny Klippstein carry one into the ninth inning against the Brooklyn Dodgers before PeeWee Reese broke it up with a one-out single to right field.

The mention of the Dodgers led the next thing.

That led to Ed mentioning how he used to enjoy going to Dodgers games in Ebbets Field as a kid, and I wrote him back saying I wish I could have see the place.

(You may deduce now that somehow the date July 1, 1956, has something to do with baseball, but that’s getting ahead of the story.)

Something along the line, I brought up the name of an obscure Dodger pitcher from the 1950s, Karl Spooner, a lefthander who was supposed to be Sandy Koufax before there was a Sandy Koufax.

This really struck a note with Ed because Spooner had had such a brief career in the majors it isn’t likely many people, even baseball fans, have ever heard of him. Ed, though, had actually seen him pitch.

It was near the end of the 1954 season, Ed said, a meaningless game for the Dodgers because the New York Giants had won the pennant that season and swept the Cleveland Indians in four games in the World Series.

It’s too late now to make a long story short, so I’ll skip some more mundane details of our email exchanges.

Essentially, what happened was our dive into 1950s baseball trivia continued. With Ed bringing up old Dodger games, I got to thinking about baseball games I had seen as a kid.

In particular, I told Ed, I remember a high-scoring game between the Cardinals and Reds that had opened a doubleheader. The Reds won 14-10, I wrote him, scoring six times in the top of the 10th and then giving up two runs to the Cardinals in the bottom half.

Along the way, Ed, who was looking up the 1954 standings to confirm how the Yankees had won 103 games but still lost the American League pennant by eight games to the Indians, had referenced a website, www.shrpsports.com. I decided to check into it.

Glad I did. I found it listed all kinds of sports data and records, including all-time standings for baseball. Not only that, but scores of all the major league games were listed by year.

I could look up that Reds-Cardinals game!

I searched through the game-by-game scores by season for the 1950s and found that on July 1, 1956, the Reds had beaten the Cardinals in 10 innings, but by a 19-15 score, not 14-10. I was pretty sure that was it.

A quick Google search got me to the box score of that game to confirm it. The Reds won not only that game but the nightcap as well by a routine 7-1 score.

So, cut to the quick here, now I know that on July 1, 1956, I got up early in the morning to ride with my parents (and probably a friend) from Vincennes, Indiana, to St. Louis and Busch Stadium (the old, old one once know as Sportsman’s Park).

And we would have returned home that night on the long, nearly four-hour drive across Illinois on U.S. Highway 50, two lanes and small towns for all of 154 miles.

So, you see how one thing can lead to another?

Maybe “fascinating” is too strong a word. Let’s call it at least interesting, though. If the details are boring, why did you read this far?

A DIFFERENT KIND OF RANGE ROVER

2011-12-14T18:29:00.000-08:00

I had a brief opportunity to drive the new Range Rover Evoque last month, very brief, and was hoping to have another opportunity again before I wrote about it because, quite frankly, you don’t get much of feel for a vehicle in less than a half-an-hour behind the wheel.

But the marketing people who paid for my lunch would like it if I mentioned it, so I will.

After all they were kind enough to bring in the designer, Gerry McGovern, over from England to talk about it.

He’s an interesting chap -- see how the Brit influence takes over; that’s the first time I can ever recall writing the word “chap” in ages-- and had done a remarkable job in giving one of the most iconic automotive shapes -- the boxy, muscular Range Rover -- enough of a twist to appeal to a totally different customer from those who usually show up in Land Rover showrooms.

Thus the Evoque has a more rakish roofline than you usually are apt to find in Land Rover (see above where the Ranger Rover you’re used to seeing is on the right and the Evoque in the middle; just click on the picture for a larger view).

It fits in more with the urban environment that most of us find ourselves in these days as opposed to the cross-country safaris Land Rovers are identified with.

In that, it has a lot of technological feature that will adapt to today’s iPhones and MP3 players and whatever else is coming in the future.

At the same time, it still is a Range Rover, the smallest, lightest, and most fuel-efficient in the lineup.

It comes in Pure, Dynamic, and Prestige trim, both featuring a 2.0-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder engine that is mated to a six-speed automatic transmission and sends 240 horsepower and 250 pound-feet of torque to an all-wheel-drive system. Fuel economy is estimated at 18 mph city, 28 highway.

Pricing starts at $43,995 for the Pure Plus five-door model, $44,995 for the coupe.

It doesn’t have the full off-road capability of other more established (and more expensive) Range Rover models with their low-range gearing for treks over the mountains and through the woods, but it doesn’t embarrass itself off pavement either.

Getting back to McGovern, he’s an interesting guy who started off his automotive designing career with Chrysler. He has worked with several different marques, including Land Rover back in the ’80s, and now is back with the company.

Our lunch conversation covered many topics, including my appreciation for the British mystery television mystery series Foyle’s War and his appreciation for the TV series Rome.

He has a wry sense of humor as illustrated by this story.

At one point, I mentioned something that iconic automotive executive Bob Lutz had said a few years ago about the much-ridiculed Pontiac Aztec. Lutz said if the Aztec had come from Honda it would have been heralded by the media as a great hit.

I asked McGovern if he knew Lutz, and he does, in a casual way. Turns out they have the same tailor in London.

On one of Lutz’ visits, the tailor asked him if he knew Gerry McGovern.

“Yes, I do, and I’ve never seen him in a decent suit yet,” Lutz said in his customary booming style.

I asked McGovern what the tailor had replied.

“He just sort of smiled and said that would be changing now,” McGovern said.

A DIFFERENT KIND OF IQ TEST

2011-12-08T20:33:00.000-08:00

Quick now.

What kind of car is that in the picture?

A Smart Fortwo?

Good guess, but wrong.

This is the iQ, which Toyota is launching under its Scion brand.

Yes, it does look a lot like the Smart, but that’s the only similarity. The iQ has everything the Smart car has (save for the world's worst transmission) and more.

I saw it and drove it for the first time today as the automaker introduced it to auto journalists at an event staged at a cushy beachside resort along A1A south of Palm Beach. (Yes, life can be tough!).

Unless you live on the West Coast, you probably haven’t seen it yet because the Japanese automaker is introducing the iQ in “waves” around the country. It hit California and neighboring states in the fall and early next year Scion will bring it to the Southeast and Gulf States. It’s due in Florida in February.

New York dealers will get it next, then the rest of the East Coast and the Midwest by the middle of the year.

I’m not going to lie to you here and say wow, this is a great car and I really can’t wait to plunk down $15,995 to buy one. I wouldn’t. But that doesn’t have as much to do with the car as it does with my own personal tastes.

I just don’t get it when it comes to cars like this, but Toyota (or Scion, if you prefer) is betting a lot of young people will. They may be right. In addition to its style, the iQ has a many features, like its audio system, that will appeal to the young buyers.

The main difference between the iQ -- it stands for “intelligent Quality,” according to Scion National Market and Communications Manager Owen Peacock -- and the Smart Fortwo is that the iQ drives like a real car.

Its front seat is actually quite roomy, and it handles well even in heavy freeway traffic, or at least in did on my brief sojourn up the interstate. The 1.3-liter four-cylinder engine is rated at only 94 horsepower, but it doesn’t have a lot of weight (only 2,127 pounds) to get moving.

It’s a bit loud, though, especially at highway speed.

The big difference is that the iQ’s engine is mated to a CVT, or continuously variable transmission, and that is a big advantage over the Smart.

The Smart operates with what the manufacturer calls an automated manual transmission, and when you drive it as an automatic (which you can), the shifts are incredibly balky with an very noticeable lag from first to second, so noticeable I remember fearing that if someone was close on my tail they might run into me as I pulled away from a stoplight. Yes, it slowed that much.

There’s also another difference in that the iQ actually has a backseat. Not a very big one, mind you, but there is one back there. It would be ideal for happen to be driving circus midgets around town, but I’m guess here that doesn’t come up often in your life.

There is room for the front seat to move forward to make more room in the back, but if a regular-size adult gets behind the wheel, chances are the left seat is going to be pushed back too far for anybody who happens to have legs to fit comfortably behind the driver.

Safety is always a concern in a vehicle this size, and you can bet I gave extra attention to the dump truck that was pulling a trailer and running just to my left as I motor at 70 mph up I-95. The iQ doesn’t have its safety ratings yet, but Peacock did point out that it does have 11 standard airbags, including the first rear-window airbag.

Besides the size, the other drawback I see is in the mileage figures. The biggest reason I can think of to buy a car like this is for its ability to drive from here to China with maybe one stop for gas.

But the iQ is rated at only a combined 37 miles-per-gallon, which the company points out is the highest number for any non-hybrid vehicle. (Those 40 mpg figures you see tossed about in TV ads are for highway driving only.)

But you maybe would expect more out of something like the iQ -- at least I would have -- or the Smart, for the that matter. The Smart, which has only 70 hp, checks with numbers of 33/41. The iQ is 36/37 (yes, the difference in city and highway is negligible).

To me, that’s not a big enough difference over other, more traditional subcompacts on the market today to justify going with either the iQ or Smart.

To me, both the iQ and the Smart come up just a tad short to winning me over completely. But if I had to choose between them, I’d say the iQ is a more, hmm, intelligent buy than the Smart.

MORE POWER TO THE PEOPLE

2011-12-02T12:43:00.000-08:00

The people who keep track of these things say that fuel economy has become more of a factor for car shoppers these days went it comes to deciding what to buy.

But you don’t have to take my word for it. Just think of all the car ads you see on TV touting fuel mileage of their cars.

So, does that mean horsepower wars are over?

Not necessarily. At least not in the luxury segment.

Take Jaguar and its XK line of coupes and convertibles.

That standard out-of-the-box XK (coupe or convertible) is a powerful performer in its own right. Its 5.0-liter V8 engine pumps out 385 horsepower and 380 pound-feet of torque, resulting in zero-to-60 times of 5.2 seconds for the coupe and 5.3 seconds for the convertible.

Apparently, it was a bit annoying to the Jaguar folks to have those digits added to the five-second time, so they came out with the XKR, which adds supercharging for boosts to 510 hp and 461 lb.-ft. of torque and a zero-to-60 clocking of 4.6 seconds.

But they didn’t stop there.

Introducing the 2012 Jaguar XKR-S.

For a price tag of $132,875, or about $50,000 more than the
XK and nearly $38,000 over the MSRP of the XKR, you get what the company is calling “the most powerful production car Jaguar has built.”

The XKR’s 5.0-liter V8 power plant has been tweaked to put out 550 hp and a whopping 502 lb.-ft. of torque that will move the XKR-S from zero-to-60 in a hiccup -- or 4.2 seconds, according to the company.

And the fuel economy -- if “economy” is the right word here -- is the same as the XKR, or about 15 miles-per-gallon city, 22 highway. (I’ll pause for a moment here to allow you to go revive any tree-hugger who may have stumbled on this.)

Just recently, the German motoring magazine Auto Bild Sportscars named the XKR-S its “2011 Sports Car of the Year” after polling more than 70,000 of its readers. It beat out the Mercedes-Benz C36 AMG and Audi RS5. So much for home-field advantage for the Teutonic competitors.

It doesn’t take more than a slight tapping of the accelerator to get the XKR-S moving. You can virtually feel the rear wheels clawing at the road as all that power propels you forward, leaving others behind so quickly you would think they weren’t aware the light had changed.

Though tuned for the track with a slightly stiffer suspension, the XKR-S with its sport front seats provides a comfortable ride in a street environment as well, though it consistently seems to beckoning you to hit the open road where it can roam free. Unlike say the Dodge Viper, which I love on the track but grow weary of muscling around town, the XKR-S is at ease in both locales.

It rides low, which means you want to take care when you enter a parking lot with curbs separating the rows of spaces. Unfortunately, drivers before me had already made their marks underneath the front air dam, and a huge vertical scratch marked dead center of the splitter. What’s with these people?

I love the way the XK series looks from the outside, from the catlike headlight configuration down the sleek profile to the rear taillamps. The wide, 20-inch wheels on the XKR-S give it a solid, muscular stance

Inside, you’ll find the usual luxury refinements for the class, lots of leather with contrasting stitching throughout.

The front cabin is spacious for the two occupiers of the frontseat, no so much for those trying to squeeze into the back. In fact, I didn’t even try it. But then, if you buy one of these, you’re going to be behind the wheel, not riding in the back, so what do you care?

A lot of people don’t, but I like the way the rotary dial gear selector rises like a Phoenix from the center console when the engine is engaged. It raises in me a feeling of anticipation as I think about all the power is going to be sent through the automatic gearbox when I push the start engine button.

You can set the gear dial on automatic or move it to “S” for sport mode and select gears with the steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters. Frankly, with South Florida’s flat roadways I find little need for that, though if I am looking for some sporty performance I’ll use those shifter every once in a while.

You can also adjust the driving dynamics (sportier or more comfort) with the push of a button on the console.

If I have a complaint -- and you know I do or I wouldn’t have brought it up, it is with the operation of the audio and navigation systems, particularly the latter. The map screen is not very big, and the system is on the fussy side to operate.

At a time when even the Germans, who seem to love complexity when it comes to technology, are making such systems easier to operate, it might behoove Jaguar designers/engineers to take a closer look at their navigation system, maybe bring in someone who isn’t familiar at all with them to find out how to make them more intuitive to work.

My motto: If you have to consult the owner’s manual to find out how to change the map scale, you need to consider some changes.

But that shouldn’t be a discouraging factor.

What is discouraging is this: Jaguar is bringing only 100 XKR-S coupes and 50 convertibles to the U.S. for the 2012 model year, and, according to the company, the coupes have already sold out. The convertibles, which were introduced at November’s LA Auto Show, just went on sale.

Who’s buying?

I asked that question of Wayne Kung, Product Communications manager, who noted that the demographics of the typical car buyer these days are “often hard to pin down.”

When I suggested rich guys as the answer, he sent this email reply:

For some, this is the culmination of a life of hard work, and sort of personal gift for their success and decades of raising family and working. Some may be wealthy, while others may just be serious car nuts. Like most luxury manufacturers, we lease and finance most of our cars, so our customers come from many places in life, and buy for many reasons.

Not to pick on Jaguar’s former parent company, but I don’t think you’re going to find many Ford Fiesta buyers stopping by the Jaguar showrooms any time soon, no matter how big a car nut they are.

Like I said, rich guys.

More power to them, I -- and apparently Jaguar -- say.

GREAT RIDE, AND LOTS OF SMILES

2011-11-26T17:31:00.000-08:00

Today was our annual Rides-N-Smiles event.

By “our,” I refer to the Southern Automotive Media Association.

When we first formed this group nearly five years ago now, one of our first officers, Bill Adam (a former champion racer) said one event he would like to see the organization get involved in was to a day giving seriously ill children rides in dream cars around a race track.

He had been part of an event back in Canada, where he grew up after leaving Scotland.

Everybody thought that was a great idea. After all, we have a Speedway right in our backyard, so-to-speak, in Homestead. Should be a snap, right?

Well, it look us a bit more doing to get this event going that most reasonable folks might have expected, but the balking had nada to do with the speedway or the car manufacturers.

Both stepped right up with the speedway donating the use of the facility for the day and manufacturers immediately agreed to provide the cars.

Believe it or not, the difficult thing was to find get the children to provide rides for.

This may be a bit of a revelation, at least it was on our part, but some people who run organizations whose purpose is to provide support for seriously ill children and their families seem to be more interested in raising money for their own projects than to take part in something sponsored by somebody else, even when that somebody else is going to do all the heavy lifting and all they had to do was get the children to the speedway.

In fact, at least one group (which will remaining nameless, because overall they do good work, I think) sent Bill paperwork to fill out to sponsor a fundraiser.

Before Bill gave up in frustration, I told him I would call some friends of mine in marketing at Baptist Children’s Hospital, which is part of the extensive Baptist Health South Florida hospital and healthcare service system down here in South Florida (hence the system’s name).

They had children from cancer support groups and with other serious illness they were looking to give a day of cheer. They do fantastic work there. When I was working at another job, they once gave me a tour of the preemie ward, where there were prematurely born children weighing hardly more than a pound being tended to. And they were saving their lives.

So we had our children, and on Nov. 1, 2008, we had our first Rides-N-Smiles event.

You can read it about it if you want by going to our website at www.samaonline.org, then clicking on events on the front page. There you’ll find accounts of our monthly meetings and other events, including Rides-N-Smiles. They are in reverse chronological order, and Rides-N-Smiles coverage will be found among the November dates.

A couple of years ago, because of the speedway’s schedule, we moved the event to the on Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend. That has remained the date since. And last year, we expanded the list of children to include those from Miami Children’s Hospital.

This year we had soldiers from the local VA hospital and other military outlets come and help escort the children out to the cars. They got rides as well in the afternoon.

All in all, it was our biggest and best Rides-N-Smiles event yet, with a big number of participants and the kind of weather (sunny, temperature in the low-80s) South Florida tourist directors are always bragging about.

I am posting this blog before all the pictures from today’s event have been posted to our website, and one of our members also sent a video link that I’m sure will be posted later.

The above picture, by the way, is of Angel, one of my passengers, and me. Angel asked some of us to sign the back of his shirt after his ride.

I didn’t have much time to take many pictures since I was driving the Dodge Challenger SRT pictured here. I also snapped the red Audi R8 on the track, then got all artsy-fartsy with the reflection of pit row in the windows above Victory Lane at the speedway in the other shot on this blog.

As I note, there will be much better coverage at our website. If you like to see kids having fun (not to mention a few adults as well) check it out sometime.

MORE ALPHABET SOUP

2011-11-18T11:05:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I fear the luxury car segment is going to drown in alphabet soup.

Luxury imports long have filled their portfolios with a multitude of alpha-numeric designations, and even Cadillac and Lincoln, which once went by full names like El Dorado and Town Car, have succumbed.

Now it’s the Caddy CTS, DTS, STS, and SRX (with the XTS and ATS coming) and the Lincoln MKS, MKT, and MKZ. Only the Escalade (Caddy) and Navigator (Lincoln) survive among full names.

If that’s not enough, luxury automakers append tags like V and S and R to separate the run-of-the-mill luxury models with their upgraded “performance” brethren. Plus Mercedes has the AMG-tuned models in its fleet.

I’m not complaining here, mind you. I love to drive any and all of them. I’m just having trouble keeping up.

Infiniti has joined the party now with its IPL line, IPL being shorthand for Infiniti Performance Line, the first model of which is the IPL G Coupe.

What Infiniti has done is taken a G37 Coupe Journey and given it not just more juice under the hood (up 18 horsepower to 348 total and a mild jump to 278 pound-feet of torque for the 3.7-liter V6) but tuned the suspension, steering, and exhaust systems for more sportier performance as well.

Design treatments both on the outside, like a standard rear spoiler, and the interior, like sports seats with red stitching, also give the IPL a sportier appearance than the standard G37 Coupe, which is quite handsome in its own right.

Ah, and there’s the rub, as they say.

I’m not sure the IPL offers enough over the regular ole G37 to justify its starting price of about $10,000 higher. For the IPL version, with its seven-speed automatic transmission, standard navigation system, and premium Bose sound system, you’re going to pay around $50,000.

I’ve always been a big fan of the Infiniti’s G lineup since the company boosted it from the G20 that served through the 1990s to the G35 sedan and coupe it introduced for the 2003 model year.

The G37 (which replaced the G35 a couple of years ago) is hard to beat when it comes to sporty performance, a nice sound, and luxury touches inside and out.

In fact, you can take what I wrote about the G25, a somewhat smaller version of the G35, back in July and apply it to the IPL G Coupe. They are in many ways the same, high-class vehicle.

Except the IPL is going to get you moving quicker. Much quicker.

WHY NOBODY CALLED THE POLICE

2011-11-11T07:13:00.000-08:00

Just a note for now regarding the previous blog about my thoughts on the Joe Paterno situation.

I ran across this piece at www.menshealth.com/health/why-joe-paterno-didnt-call-police as to why Paterno and others did not take more action at the time of the 2002 incident on the Penn State campus.

It goes to the point I was trying to make that although we all may say now that we could have reported the incident to the police or even stepped in to stop Jerry Sandusky, as I have heard some say they would, that is based on the result and outcome.

You would like to think that is what you would have done and perhaps now you would in the future because of this tragic experience.

But looking at it in the context of the time does make it different.

SIMPLY PUT, JOE HAD TO GO

2011-11-10T12:29:00.000-08:00

Probably like you, I have had many thoughts and reactions as the scandal at Penn State has unfolded. I have been trying to organize them in my mind in some coherent fashion, but so far have been able to do so.

So here they are, in random order.

First, a caveat. I’m going to ignore my journalistic experience here and not give a lot of background and details on the case. There a couple of reasons for this, No. 1 being that something new seems to be coming out of this every day and in some cases every hour.

No. 2, if you aren’t familiar with the story behind former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky’s alleged child abuse and the subsequent release of more details involving longtime coach Joe Paterno’s actions and inactions, you probably don’t care to read any further any way.

So here goes my random thoughts:

1. It’s obvious now that Joe Paterno (and others, for that matter) should have done more than simply tell his boss when a grad assistant came in and told him he had seen something going on in the locker room involving Sandusky and a young boy. Even Paterno acknowledges that -- now.

I have heard numerous commentators on both TV and radio state how they would have done things differently. Given the advantage of looking back at the way things have turned out, I have no doubt they would have. Knowing what I know now, I certainly would have called the cops, too.

But looking at it in the context of the time, I have to wonder.

Say someone you know, a coworker you have known for a couple of years, comes in and says he or she has seen someone you have known and trusted for 30 years or more doing something like Sandusky was accused of.

Do you immediately call the police? After all, you haven’t seen it yourself. Or do you talk to the accused first and accept his explanation because this is a person you have known for such a big part of your life? Or maybe you do what Paterno did, which was call his boss.

I’m not saying that makes what Paterno did right. And yeah, when his boss took no action, he (and the grad assistant as well) should have investigated further.

I’m just saying that when you don’t have the benefit of hindsight, you have a slightly different perspective on things and maybe that affects what you would have actually decided to do. There are many things in my life I would like do-overs on.

I’m not defending Paterno here at all, just taking issue with the smugness and self-assurance that some of the critics display when saying that they would have done things much differently. Maybe they would have. I would have hoped I would have. But maybe they wouldn’t have either.

2. Was it right to fire Paterno?

Yes, it was. End of discussion.

3. But Paterno has done such good over the years. Doesn’t he deserve the right to determine how he goes out?

When it comes to on-the-field stuff, sure, I believe he had the right to determine how he went out. I didn’t like the way Bobby Bowden was kind of unceremoniously shown the door at Florida State.

In fact, Paterno apparently did have that right because one of the reports I heard mentioned that after Paterno had a couple of losing seasons recently, he was asked if it wasn’t time for him to step aside, and he said no, that he would pick the time. And he wasn’t forced out, like Bowden was.

The Nittany Lions are 8-1 this year and though some of that was because of a somewhat soft schedule -- the toughest game so far was against Alabama, and they lost that one, and they nearly lost to Temple as well -- it would seem the program was far from a shambles on the field.

But this went far beyond a won-lost record or even routine collegiate scandals involving recruiting or extra benefits like free tattoos (Ohio State), relationships with agents (North Carolina), and nightclub entertainment (Miami).

This wasn’t an NCAA issue. This is a human issue, and Paterno and others in the administration failed tragically when it came to doing the right thing.

So, yeah, Joe had to go, and not necessarily on his terms.

4. About Joe Paterno. Joe had reached iconic status, not just at Penn State but in college football period. He even had a nickname, JoePa, recognize around the country, and the image of being not just a father figure but more a grandfather, or even, considering his age (84), a great-grandfather.

As reports have mentioned, he did a lot more for the university than simply win football games. He raised money for academics and supported non-athletic functions at the university as well. So he did a lot, tons even, of good.

But a couple of comments he has made in the last day or two I think show another side. They reveal that maybe, just maybe, Paterno was a bit more concerned about himself and wasn’t the 100 percent altruistic person his image projected.

One was his resignation statement issued earlier in the day of his firing. He stated he was resigning effective at the end of the season and now the Board of Trustees could move on to “far more important matters.” Far more important matters? Um, Joe, you were one of the important matters the board had to deal with.

By stating the board could now move on, Paterno in effect was trying to protect his own backside. He had to know he was done at that point, or he wouldn’t have resigned in the first place. But here he was still trying to dictate the terms of his leaving.

The other was a comment he made late in the night after the trustees’ press conference. Because of the time, you might have missed it.

As students and others gathered outside his house, Paterno came out for a brief moment around midnight and told the students basically to go back home and get some sleep. And that was about it.

He had to know that with group growing in size around the house, and with the emotions as raw as they were, this was headed for trouble, and it was.

Later, according to reports, students rioted and “overturned a TV news van, toppled street lights, shook stop signs, and threw toilet paper” -- according to the story in the Philadelphia Daily News -- all while yelling profanities and demanding the reinstatement of JoePa.

Yeah, right. That’s a good way to get the board to reconsider.

Frankly, I could see this coming as well. So why didn’t JoePa, the guy who says he loves Penn State so much, say something to the crowd outside his house like, “I appreciate your support and and love you all, but you need to go on home. Rioting isn’t going to help anything and hurts Penn State. And if you hurt Penn State, you’re hurting me. So again, thank you for your support, but we must move on.”

Okay, it might not have done that much good. This was a crowd that apparently wanted blood. But it would have been the right thing for Paterno to do.

Instead, he said and did nothing of consequence. Just as he had done nine years earlier when that young grad assistant told him something bad was going on in the locker room involving one of his longtime friends and a small boy.

NOTHING TO SEE HERE, MOVE ALONG, NOTHING TO SEE

2011-11-08T22:09:00.001-08:00

I had a 2012 Nissan Versa to drive this week and was planning on taking some pictures, as usual, and giving you loyal readers my opinion of this inexpensive entry-level sedan that the Japanese automaker has packed with numerous standard features for its class.

The operative words here are “had a 2012 Nissan Versa” and “was planning.”

To explain, I was on my usual Tuesday routine of heading to the University of Miami football press conference where coach Al Golden would feed us the usual B.S., er, I mean give us insights into the upcoming opponent for the Hurricanes, in this case Florida State this Saturday in Tallahassee.

As I tooled along expressway a couple of minutes behind schedule, I debated whether I should take my usual back way or take the expressway all the way out to Dixie Highway. Dixie Highway (U.S. 1) could be quicker, unless I ran into heavy traffic, always a possibility, if not a likelihood at noon time.

My usual back way didn’t have such a risk with traffic. So I decided that’s what I would do.

Wrong choice.

I eased off the expressway and as I sailed down the ramp I saw to my good fortune that the light at the bottom had just turned green. Sometimes Providence smiles on people in a hurry.

In this case, though, Providence was playing a mean trick.

For though I saw one car to my left on the cross street at the bottom of the ramp had stopped, my view of the closer lane was blocked by the roadway itself.

Just as I reached the street, I saw a Chrysler Town & Country to my left, and it wasn’t stopping. Though my foot was already on the brake to slow it, stomping on it didn’t get the Versa stopped in tie and the minivan clipped its front end.

No, I wasn’t hurt, obviously, or I likely wouldn’t be writing this now, and neither was the other driver. His vehicle came to a stop on down the street and he got out and ran back to check on me.

I told him I was okay, and we both pulled our vehicles off the right-of-way. I don’t know how it is where you live, but that’s what you do down here when nobody at the scene is hurt.

I called the press fleet manager to inform him of the accident, and while on the phone the other driver came up to me with an unusual request. He wanted to get his girlfriend, who owned the minivan and lived just minutes away, to come over before the police arrived so she could say she was driving.

Why?

Because, he explained somewhat nervously, he didn’t have a driver’s license. And he was here illegally and had been for six years.

Imagine running across an illegal alien who doesn’t have a driver’s license in Miami. What are the odds?

But it wasn’t a triple play. Thanks to his girlfriend, he did have insurance. Not that that mattered to me. One of the great advantages of driving a press fleet car is that when something like this does happen, the company pretty much takes care of everything.

Not that I have a lot of experience in such matters.

The remarkable thing is that the police didn’t take too long to arrive to take down the report, and the tow truck he called arrived rather quickly as well. He was only a safety officer and doesn’t have arrest power, but he did talk with privately with the other driver and his girl, who had come over anyway. What was said I don’t know.

The officer just took my papers and I explained to him that it was a press fleet vehicle and owned by the manufacturer. He didn’t even ask me what had happened or how the accident had occurred, which, looking back on it, seems odd now.

I had expected a long wait for both really, but maybe there wasn’t going on around the county at the time. My wife had barely gotten there to pick me up before the tow truck arrived.

One of the guys in the tow truck took the info on where to drop the car, the other threw the front fascia, which had been ripped off, into the backseat, and they jacked up the car and were gone in minutes.

If you still would like a review, I must say I was impressed with the way the damage was confined to the front end, though that was more due to the way the accident occurred. The airbags didn’t even go off.

It wasn’t until later in the evening that I got to thinking that if I had been just a tenth of a second or so quicker into that intersection, the guy in the Town & Country would have T-boned me. I’m not sure how the Versa would have held up to that, and I’m glad I didn’t have the opportunity to find out.

As for this damage from this incident, my guess, considering the car’s low cost, would be that this particular Versa would have been totaled and headed for the crusher even if it wasn’t a pre-production prototype, which this one was.

And as for the press conference, I missed it in person but watched a replay later on the athletic department’s website. Golden said the Hurricanes were excited with the opportunity to play Florida State but that it would be a great test.

I didn’t need any more tests this day.

ONE BAD PUN, THREE GOOD SUVs

2011-11-03T14:38:00.000-07:00

As the farmer said as he stomped on the tomato, it’s catch-up time!

Hope I didn’t lose you there. Never could resist a bad pun, which is a redundant term if I ever heard one.

The aim today is to cover three vehicles that I have driven over the last couple of months which, to keep it simple, I will call SUVs, ignoring whether they are the more trendy crossovers or trucks.

I’m not really sure how many people know the difference or care. To many, if it sits upright and has a liftgate at the rear instead of a trunk, it’s an SUV. Doesn’t matter if it can handle the Rubicon Trail or just a gravel parking lot, it’s still an SUV in common parlance.

So I’m going to treat the BMW X3, the Cadillac SRX, and the Dodge Durango all at once. One wouldn’t necessarily group those particular three together, though they are pretty much in the same price range (from mid-$30s to mid-$40s, plus options).

And this is my blog, and I’m not only the writer, but the editor as well.

So here goes.

The Cadillac SRX hasn’t gotten the attention over the years that its big brother, the Escalade, has, mostly because it didn’t catch on right away with the hip hop music crowd. But apparently it has caught on with someone because it has become one of the company’s big sellers.

It’s easy to see why.

It has gotten some significant upgrades from the previous generation models and now features a 3.6-liter V6 engine with a six-speed automatic transmission with “Eco” mode. When you want the advantage of its fuel saving ability, you simply leave it in Drive.

If you want performance, you shift the console lever over to Sport. You can then select gears manually if you want, but you don’t have to. It still operates as an automatic but with different shift points.

The government rates the fuel mileage for the SRX at 17 city, 24 highway, and Cadillac says Eco mode can improve those figures about a mile per gallon.

I’ve always kind of wondered why if an “Eco” mode is promoted as a fuel saver that testing isn’t done separately to give us two sets of numbers, but it isn’t. Probably not worth the effort.

Any way, the SRX delivers enough performance (308 horsepower, 265 pound-feet of torque) to satisfy most drivers in the genre.

The SRX’s strength is in its interior. The quality of materials used in the cabin is of the highest grade, and placement of controls is very user-friendly.

On models equipped with navigation (optional in Luxury trim, standard in Performance and Premium), many of the functions operate off a touch screen that rises from the center stack and can be lowered with the push of a button.

As one who is constantly flitting about the radio dial from Satellite to FM to even AM (there has to be somebody listening to it, and I’m the guy), I find the audio controls on GM models to be very nicely arranged and easy to operate. Since I usually have a car for just a week, I sometimes don’t bother to program presets on the dial, which probably would help ease the operation even more.

If it’s performance you want in addition to the capability of handling five adults plus luggage, then you need to take a look at the X3. As BMW is known for, this is a vehicle that gives you immediate response when you hit the accelerator.

That was the thing I noticed right off, and I was in the xDrive28i, which is the non-turbocharged version of the 3.0-liter inline-6 engine. It pumps out 240 hp and 221 lb.-ft. of torque to all four wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission. I can imagine what the turbo xDrive35i with its 300 hp and 300 lb.-ft. of torque must be like.

Yet fuel economy checks in a slightly better than the SRX with figures of 19/25 in the xDrive28i and 19/26 for the xDrive35. There are other factors involved in that, but one is the difference in weight. Curb weight for the X3 is 4,112 pounds and for the SRX it’s 4,277.

The X3, too, has gone through some refining since it was introduced for the 2004 model year. That shouldn’t come as a surprise because that’s what engineers and designers are paid to do -- take a product forward, not backward. (As I sit in on presentations where improvements on a new model are extolled to the detriment of the preceding generation, one thought keeps going through my mind: Is this the car that you will be calling a piece of crap in five years?)

Frankly, I don’t remember ever driving the X3 seven years ago (I’ve slept since then) and even if I had, I still probably wouldn’t remember it unless it was exceptionally bad. So I can’t do a direct comparison.

What I can say is that the ride in the X3 is extremely comfortable and smooth, and, as noted earlier, the engine’s response is exceptional.

What I can’t figure out is why German engineers are so intent on putting in technology that doesn’t make life all that much simpler but complicates it. I’m not talking about iDrive here, which has been modified so that it doesn’t take an instruction sheet to operate it any more. I got the hang of the knob on the X3’s center console right off the bat, though about the only thing I used it for was to change radio stations.

But take turn signals. Whoever came up with the idea of having a lever stick out from the left side of the steering came up with something that really needed no further embellishment. You want to turn left, you flick it down and after you make your turn, it clicks back into place. Turn right, tap it up and again, when the turn is completed, it snaps back into place.

For whatever reason, BMW now has it so that when you tug (or push) on the stalk, it snaps immediately back into place. Oh, the lights in front and back continue to blink just as before, but the thing is, if you don’t move the stalk past the first click, it gives the lights just three blips, which is for changing lanes. To keep the signal on until you complete your turn, you have to push or pull the lever all the way down (or up).

Now I’m not saying that’s all that complicated because it’s not. It’s not nearly as bothersome as what BMW’s fellow Teutonic countryman, Mercdes-Benz, does by putting the cruise control lever high up on the steering wheel column so it gets in the way of the turn signal.

I’m just asking here: What’s the point?

BMW engineers have fiddled with turn signals that work perfectly fine just because they can? That would be my guess.

The same thing goes with the way the gear shift lever in the console works, too. It took me a minute to figure out that to shift our of park, I had to hold the button on the side of the knob while making the shift, not just press it and let go.

Those are not complete turnoffs, by the way. The X3 is still a solid vehicle.

Now we come to the Dodge Durango.

In the past, the Durango never would have fit into any piece about SUVs that started off with an SRX and X3.

But Dodge has taken the Durango to a new level -- you’ve probably seen the ads on TV heralding its return after a one-year production hiatus -- and now this is a vehicle worthy of consideration for those who usually do their shopping in higher climes.

The first thing I noticed about it was its upgraded interior. Gone are the hard, cheap plastics from prior Durango models, replaced by soft-to-the-touch materials typical of more expensive vehicles.

The cabin is roomy and functional, and, unlike the SRX and X3, offers third-row seating. And it doesn’t take a contortionist to get back there either. The third and second row seats also easily fold to provide up to 85 cubic feet of cargo capacity.

With a towing package as well, the Durango is a workhorse that looks like a thoroughbred.

It runs well, too. I’d place it between the SRX and X3 in straight-line speed, but its handling was good.

Dodge offers several different power-train combinations on the Durango. The Crew version I drove had a 3.6-liter V6 under the hood mated with a five-speed automatic transmission with rear-wheel drive. That is rated at 290 hp and 260 lb.-ft. of torque with fuel mileage at 16/23.

You also can get versions of the Durango with power supplied by a 3.6-liter V8 with hp and torque power figures of 360 and 390, respectively, and EPA ratings of 16/22. Also available on some of the five trim levels is all-wheel or four-wheel drive.

I mentioned price earlier, putting all three of the vehicles mentioned in the mid-$30K to mid-$40K levels. The Durango is a bit less expensive than the other two with the Express trim starting at under $30,000.

When you start adding optional equipment, though, the price of the Duango gets up there pretty quick.

The Crew starts at $33,195, but adding such items as navigation, rear-seat DVD entertainment, a technology group that includes forward collusion and blind-spot warning systems, and navigation and rear-view camera ran the final price up to $43,825.

The X3, which did not have navigation but did have a cold weather package (for Yankees), checked in at $43,875, and the SRX, which did have navigation and a dual-screen entertainment system, carried an MSRP of $46,295.

Of the three, the SRX was a 2012 model, the X3 and Durango 201ls.

There. Now I’m not completely caught up, but I’m better off than that tomato.

CARDINALS TOP OFF GREAT WEEK

2011-10-29T11:23:00.000-07:00

This is auto show week, which means not just the opportunity to look over a field of great new vehicles but also to enjoy many residual benefits as well.

There probably is not a better example of how overprivileged automotive media can be than the week of the South Florida International Auto Show in Miami Beach.

Many PR folks from auto manufacturers are in town with their expense accounts aching to be emptied.

So it was dinner with Mazda poolside at the Raleigh Hotel in Miami Beach on Wednesday night.

Lunch with Subaru at Smith & Wollensky in South Beach with a preview of the company’s new Impreza on Thursday.

Dinner on Thursday night with Mark Fields, president of Ford of the Americas, at Morton’s in Miami Beach. I should rephrase that. It makes it sounds as if Mark and I were the only ones there. There were 15-20 or so in attendance, though I didn’t count and a few at the table were Ford folks.

On Friday, we had our own media association (Southern Automotive Media Association) luncheon the auto show, attended by more than a hundred members, media, and others there for the media day events, which were capped off by not just one but two cocktail receptions later that afternoon.

And tonight there is another awards presentation and reception hosted by the company of SAMA members Tony and Woodie Lesesne, also at the Miami Beach Convention.

But what really set the week apart from past auto show weeks, for me any way, was the Cardinals’ victory in the World Series.

I didn’t think the baseball playoffs could top the way the regular season ended, with four teams (among them the Cardinals) contending for the last two playoff spots. But the way this World Series went may have matched that (but maybe not if you’re not even a Cardinal fan).

That thing that baseball’s World Series week has over the Super Bowl is that the week is one full of games, especially if the Series goes seven games as this one did. Super Bowl week, for all the hoopla, is 80 percent talk, much of it meaningless or over-analyzation, and 20 percent action.

Baseball has it over both the NBA and NHL championship weeks as well because of the game itself.

Consider Game 6 of the Series. The Cardinals went into the last of the ninth inning down two runs and needing a win to stay alive. They were down to their last strike when David Freese tripled in those two runs to tie it.

They were down two runs again in the last of the 10th inning and again were down to their last strike when Lance Berkman singled in the tying run.

Then Freese won it with a home run in the last of the 11th.

That kind of drama is hard for other sports, run on a clock, to match. There comes a point when there simply isn’t enough time for the trailing team to overcome a deficit of more than one score. That just isn’t so in baseball. With a time limit, the Rangers would have won in six games.

The Cardinals were down to one strike not once but twice when facing a two-run deficit and still won. (Some team in the regular season overcame a nine-run deficit in the last inning, but I don’t remember which one.)

It’s a cliche, but it’s true. The game isn’t over until the last man is out, not when time is out.

The only thing about the Cardinal win is that I felt for both ex-pitching great Nolan Ryan, the Rangers president and owner, and Rangers manager Ron Washington. They deserve a title, too. Ryan has been one of baseball’s good guys, and Washington was fun to watch.

I hope they can get to a third consecutive World Series and win next year.

Unless they are playing the Cardinals of course.

WHEN THE SCHICK HITS THE FAN

2011-10-21T19:10:00.000-07:00

As I was shaving the other day, I got to thinking about, well, shaving.

Never say I don’t take on the big issues of the times.

Any way, what I was thinking was that I didn’t think this electric razor was really doing its job. There still seemed to be quite a lot of stubble under my chin and on my cheeks no matter how many times I went over them.

Which led to the thought that perhaps it was time to replace the workings inside the razor. But I wasn’t what store, if any, carried this particular model, which would mean I would have to search the Internet, which is what I think I did the last time I replaced the little round clippers inside, which was a long time ago.

Which probably explains their dullness.

So then I thought: Maybe I should go back to a razor and shaving cream.

I used to use one of the little disposable razors and shaving cream, but I got away from them because I didn’t like it when I nicked myself. I didn’t do it all that often, only when I was in a hurry.

But a razor and shaving cream would do a better job than this electric, no doubt.

But do they allow razors through security at the airport these days? And what about the shaving cream can. Does it have to be less than three ounces to pass inspection? I don’t know. I suppose so, but one never knows for sure with the government.

A lot of guys aren’t concerned with these issues because they don’t shave. They have beards, like “The Most Interesting Man in the World” in the Dos Equis ads.

Some time back I saw a picture of an old friend who I grew up with way back when. (No, not before there were electric razors.) He has a full beard now and I wouldn’t recognize him if he walked up to my front door. From the picture I saw, his beard is pure white and covers all his face, like whipped cream.

Which is appropriate because when we were growing up his dad owned the best bakery in town.

I’ve been thinking I should call him up and invite him to go to Key West for Hemingway Days. Of course, our wives would have to go as well. You don’t want to go to Key West with another guy. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I’m just saying.

Back to beards.

I don’t think I could stand a beard, even if I could grow one, which I probably couldn’t. If I go a day or two without shaving, I get uncomfortable. My face itches,even though there’s not that much there to itch.

I don’t have much in the way of facial hair, and what is there has always been very light in color. I was what they call a “towhead” when I was little, though I didn’t stay that way.

One time when I was first married, I decided I would grow a mustache. I should say, “try to” because I couldn’t get much going.

“You should go wash your face,” my wife said.

All the other guys in the office then decided they would grow mustaches, too, and pretty soon they all had Tom Selleck-like growths above their lips while I was sitting there looking like I had just drunk a glass of milk, and not even chocolate milk at that.

Between my lip and my nose, pretty much nothing. Except on occasion an itch.

So a beard would be out of the question today, even if I could stand it.

But I’ve got to do something about this electric razor.

Do they still make those Bic disposables?

STUPID IS AS STUPID SAYS

2011-10-14T11:40:00.001-07:00

This will be a short blog today because I am overwhelmed with sports assignments this week. In addition to the usual football stuff, I have due next week 22 college basketball previews.

I really want to get to the reviews on vehicles I have driven recently. They are the Dodge Durango, the Cadillac SRX, and the Chevy Camaro SS 45th Anniversary Special Edition Package. Pretty nice vehicles all in their own way.

I want to have time and not skimp on them, though.

But I have had one question that has been going through my mind recently, and it bumps up against my previews vow not to get political in this blog.

I just can’t help it. Try to look at it in a non-political way.

The question is this:

Is Nancy Pelosi really as dumb as she seems?

I mean, she keeps getting elected and elected again and again (of course, in California, which explains a lot) so she can’t be a complete moron, can she?

Yet, every time she opens her mouth out comes something really stupid. Today because they voted against having abortions paid for by Obamacare, she said Republicans want women to die on the floor.

Ummm, Nancy. From reports I have seen, a dozen or so Democrats also voted against the bill.

She may have had said this before the vote was actually taken -- it’s a bit unclear -- but either way, it is a stupid thing to say.

I’d put it right up there behind the we-have-to-pass-this-bill-to-find-out-what’s-in-it comment she made when lobbying for the healthcare bill.

Yes, she is just stupid.

THERE IS NO SUNSHINE IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL

2011-10-09T21:04:00.000-07:00

I don't know how many of you follow college football all that closely, but something really remarkable happened Sunday.

Yes, Sunday. The day after all the games.

The Associated Press poll came out and no team from the state of Florida was ranked in the Top 25.

None. Nada. Zilch.

This the first time since December 6, 1982, that that has happened. That was the last poll of the regular season. In the poll following the 1982 bowl games, Florida State popped in at No. 13.

Thus began a streak of 472 consecutive weeks of rankings that included at least one of the state’s traditional Big Three.

Over that span, the state that produced 10 AP/BCS national champions (Miami five, Florida three, and Florida State two). Going back to 1999, when Florida State won its second title, Miami has won one and should have won another, and Florida has won two.

After Miami won the 2001 BCS championship, I was asked to do a piece for some publication about the dominance of Florida football.

I don’t remember my exact words, but my general theme was this: “Get used to it. One of the state’s Big Three is going to be in the title picture pretty much every year.”

And now not one of them can even make the Top 25.

Get me rewrite on the phone.

So, what the hell happened here?

A lot.

Start with coaching changes.

Not one of the coaches who won those titles is on the field this year at a Florida School. Urban Meyer, who won twice at Florida, is analyzing college football for ESPN.

Bobby Bowden, who won two titles at Florida State, is enjoying retirement. (I hope.)

And Larry Coker, who won the 2001 championship at Miami and was fired after the 2006 season, has started the football program at Texas-San Antonio.

Will Muschamp is in his first year at Florida and has just seen his Gators lose big the last two weeks to Alabama and LSU, which kind of indicates how far the recruiting fell off at Florida in Meyer’s last couple of years.

Jimbo Fisher is in just his second year at Florida State and just saw his Seminoles lose to traditional ACC doormat Wake Forest. He was around in Bobby Bowden’s last season as the head-coach-in-waiting, so he still bears some of the responsibility for whatever the dropoff in talent level has been.

Miami is on its second coach since it fired Coker, Randy Shannon having been let go after last season. His replacement, Al Golden, nearly saw his Hurricanes win at Virginia Tech last Saturday but is off to a 2-3 start in his first year.

Maybe better things will be in the future for all three, but it will take some work.

Besides the coaching changes, the other big difference since the 1980s and 1990s is that the state’s traditional Big Three aren’t the only kids on the recruiting block.

Sure, other schools from up north have always come to Florida to harvest the fertile recruiting ground in the state.

But more recently, South Florida (USF) and Central Florida (UCF) have been competing for the homegrown talent as well as the Gators, Seminoles, and Hurricanes. They don’t get the numbers when it comes to top prospects, but if they get one or two, that depletes the rosters of the Big Three.

And they will get those one or two or even three or four or more.

USF is in Tampa and in the last three years has notched wins over Florida State and Miami and started off this year with a win at Notre Dame. That gets the attention of kids who weren’t around when Howard Schnellenberger said he was roping of the “state of South Florida” and keeping in Miami area recruits for the U. (Well, he never really said the U. That is a recent thing.)

USF also has a charismatic and talkative coach at the helm in Skip Holtz, son of Lou. That’s a big help in attracting attention.

UCF is Orlando and doesn’t have a win over Miami, Florida, or Florida State, but it did beat Georgia last year in a bowl game to get in the final AP rankings for the first time, and the Knights could be in the mix to join the Big East Conference.

Both USF and UCF are also huge universities with relatively new facilities.

So, just like Miami, which is surrounded by top 100 prospects no more than a short drive away from the Coral Gables campus, both USF and UCF are going to have a shot at keeping some of the Tampa and Orlando kids at home to play for them in the future.

Plus, in addition to USF and UCF, there are two other schools in the South Florida area, Florida International and Florida Atlantic, that could siphon off a kid or two. FIU has a receiver and kick returner, T.Y. Hilton, who could probably play anywhere in the country.

And those two schools, as low as they are in the college football order of things, have something that their close neighbor, Miami, doesn’t have: An on-campus stadium.

So the absence of a Florida team from the national polls likely is going to be a temporary thing.

Florida will get back rather quickly if it can beat Auburn and Georgia in its next games.

Florida State has four games coming up it likely will win -- Duke, Maryland, North Carolina State, and Boston College.

Miami has a one-loss North Carolina team and an unbeaten Georgia Tech coming up, but if it plays like it did at Virginia Tech, could win both. That would get the Hurricanes back in the polls.

Then Miami and Florida State are set to play on Nov. 12 in Tallahassee. Florida State plays at Florida on Nov. 26.

I don’t look for any of these three to stay out of the polls for long. And my gut feeling is that one, or even two, of them will make a significant jump back to the top of the polls within the next couple of years.

But I have been wrong before. Like when I wrote college football fans better get used to seeing one of them competing for the national title every year.

CATCH A Z (NOT ZZZZZZ)

2011-10-06T16:43:00.000-07:00

When it was reintroduced to the U.S.market nearly 10 years ago after a six-year absence, Nissan’s 350Z represented one of the best bargains -- I would say best period, but don’t want to get into that debate here -- among sports cars available.

It offered everything you would want in a sports car -- looks, horsepower, handling, rear-wheel drive, big wheels, and plain ol’ fun behind the wheel in a two-passenger package -- and at an affordable price.

Two versions of the multi-tiered lineup for the 2003 model year started at under $30,000, one of them for under $27,000.

Two of its four chief competitors -- the BMW Z3 and the Honda S2000 -- started above the $30,000 mark. Two others -- Toyota’s MR2 and Mazda’s Miata -- cost less but their four-bangers didn’t match the power the Nissan Z got from its V6 engine.

Needless to say, the Z’s return was a welcome one.

Nearly a decade later, the Z costs a bit more and has grown from the 350 designation to the 370Z. But it still is a bargain and hasn’t lost any of the qualities that have made the Z an automotive icon since its unveiling as the Datsun 240Z more than 40 years ago.

The starting price for the base 2011 370Z in coupe form is less than $32,000, which gets you things like 18-inch wheels, cruise control, power windows, Nissan’s Intelligent Key system, cloth bucket sport seats, etc. The Touring and Nismo trims add fetures like leather and suede seats, Bluetooth, power seat adjustments and more but jack up the starting MSRP to the mid-$30,000 range (Touring) and just over $40,000 (Nismo).

My recent experience with the Z was the 2011 370Z roadster. It comes in two trims, the base, which starts at just over $38,000, and the Touring, with a starting price tag of just over $42,000.

Oh-oh. We’re not so much a bargain now, are we?

You may think not, until you look at the price of some of the high performers in the sports car segment. Then the Z still looks pretty good. (By the way, don’t bother looking for the Honda S2000 or the Toyota MR2. They’re available only on used car lots these days, and the Z3 is now the Z4. But you gotta love that Miata!)

Of course, it’s not just the fact that the Z is a bargain (in coupe or convertible form) that makes it special.

It would still be a good buy even if the price were jacked up, not into six-figure range but up there just below some of the offerings from Teutonic competitors. Not that I’m suggesting anything here. Just saying.

The Z comes with a 3.7-liter V6 under the hood that sends 332 horsepower and 270 pound-feet of torque to the rear wheels. Considering the curb weight is less than 3,500 pounds, that’s a pretty good power-to-weight ratio.

Two transmissions are offered, a six-speed manual (my choice) and a seven-speed automatic. With the optional Sport Package, the six-manual is available with Nissan’s SynchroRev Match. This system automatically controls and adjusts engine speed when shifting to the speed of the next gear selection. In other words, it automatically “blips” the throttle for you to smooth out shifts.

I’m not saying that’s good or bad, but hey, if you need something like that, why not just opt for the automatic? You can still select gears and up- and down-shift with steering wheel-mounted paddles or the shifter on the console.

All that combination of power, weight, and transmission delivers fuel economy ratings of 18 miles-per-gallon city, 26 highway for the coupe and 18/25 with the roadster. Premium fuel is recommended, and I wouldn’t use anything else.

That’s all nice, but what I really like about the Z is that it looks like a sports car inside and out. It has a firm, muscular stance with rounded lines up front and a hefty rear end. Sounds like a sports car, too, with the dual exhausts emitting a pleasant hum.

The roadster comes with a soft top, which is easy enough to operate, though it doesn’t look quite as good with the top up as it does down, which is usual with ragtops. I always did like topless models. (Rim shot!)

The Touring model comes with heated and cooling ventilated leather seats as standard, which also added to the ambiance of the one I drove. High-quality materials are used throughout the cabin, including faux suede inserts on the door panels. Nice touch.

I found the controls for the navigation system, A/C, and radio easy enough to operate. In fact, the only control I had trouble with was the button to open the trunk. It took me a while to find it. It is just above the license plate and kind of tucked under the trunk lid, and it wasn’t obvious to my touch the first time I tried to open it.

But then, there’s not a lot of room back there any way, what with the cloth top folding back and covered with a body-colored tonneau, an operation that takes about 20 seconds.

This is a sports car, remember. Not a U-Haul.

The Z corners quite nicely with no body roll to speak of. I didn’t get the opportunity to take it out on the track, but I did cut turns as sharply and quickly as I could just to see how it handled.

I love to make a quick turn and accelerate as rapidly as possible, then level off the power just at the speed limit to frustrate any cop who might be watching with ticket book in hand.

Overall, the 370Z has a lot more to offer than just its competitive pricing. It stands very well on its own merits against just about any challenger, save one of the Super Cars. For competing in that class, you need to call on another member of the Nissan family, the GT-R.

If you wonder what I mean by that, just check out www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDP7Pty8Qnw.

LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE

2011-10-04T20:47:00.000-07:00

My blog the other day on the new Mercedes-Benz CLS Coupe elicited a response from a good friend of mine, not so much about the car itself but about the discussion of what a “coupe” is.

I emailed David back and told him that he had just written my next blog, but it has taken me a couple more days to get around to it than I thought it would.

Here is what David, who knows more about cars and NASCAR than I could ever hope to learn in a couple more lifetimes, had to say about the subject:

The cars, and the vocabulary we use to discuss them, seem to be ever-evolving.

Originally, you recall, a coupe was a vehicle with a single bench seat -- technically not a two-seater, because three people could fit into the single bench if a couple of them were small enough -- and, usually, a rumble seat. (Wonder how many of today's twenty- or thirtysomethings know what the hell THAT is?)

In the late 1940s, there was the “business coupe” which was kind of like today's extended-cab pickup in that it had a very small storage space behind the single bench seat. (Unlike the typical extended-cab truck, the business coupe did NOT have largely useless “jump seats” crammed into the corners of the too-small space. Common sense was a whole lot more prevalent back in the day.)

Then, with the revolutionary new 1949 Ford, there was a two-door sedan and two-door coupe, both with a back seat but the sedan having much more legroom thanks to a longer roof and extended passenger compartment on the same wheelbase as the coupe.

Ah, then came the 1950s and the “hardtop” -- the moniker applied to those steel-top models with both two and four doors that did not have any B pillar (or “post,” as we hot-rodders called them).

The period 1960-69, I believe, was the last full decade in which cars were actually interesting in a traditional sense. It would be impossible for me to pick my all-time favorite car from that decade. Saw an immaculate 1967 GTO (red, which white interior, 421 and four-speed) in St. Charles that I really, badly wanted, and could have bought for $12,000; that one would be right up there at the top.

The ’70s were barely under way when first pollution control and then gas shortages ended the golden days of automobiles. Then the 20th century came to an ignominious end with NASCAR racing four-door models. Of course, they really didn't have ANY doors, and hadn't for some time, but that's a whole different discussion, I suppose.

Side note: Remember the scene in the movie “Bonnie and Clyde” when Bonnie asks C.W. Moss if he knows what kind of car she and Clyde are driving, and Moss answers, “A four-cylinder Ford coupe” (with the French pronunciation “koo-PAY”) and Bonnie corrects him -- “It's a STOLEN four-cylinder Ford coupe.” Both of them are wrong; it’s a roadster -- or cabriolet, as roadsters were also called. I loved that movie, but that particular gaffe always bugged me.

David mentions a rumble seat and whether anyone in the younger generations would have a clue as to what it is.

I’ll save a couple of thousand words here and just show you pictures.

When I was a kid I always wanted to ride in one and though my great-grandfather (yes, he was still alive when I was born) had a car that had a rumble seat, I never did. They still look like fun, but I can imagine what the safety gurus would think if they saw a kid riding around in one today.

The word apoplexy comes to mind.

As David mentioned, automotive terminology is an ever-evolving thing. A few years back, David and I both worked for a magazine editor who didn’t allow us to use the term “crossover vehicle” to describe the genre that was just coming into vogue. Now it’s pretty common.

Better they should have brought back rumble seats.