Like most children of the 80’s, I grew up on a steady diet of television. Mister Rogers. Voltron. Star Blazers, He-Man, GI Joe, and of course Transformers. To me, this was and will always be the golden era of kids’ television. I know, I know, I’m sure there are plenty of 19-20 year olds out there who will no doubt say the same about Barney, the Power Rangers or Pokemon, and Nolan’ll probably grow up with a similar sentimental attachment to Sid the Science Kid and Martha the Talking Dog.
But through it all, Sesame Street has been a constant.
Or so I thought.
Every morning, Nolan and I take to the couch, him with his waffle, banana, and whatever drink I can scrounge up, and me with life-giving coffee, and we watch TV. Sometimes I’m lucky enough to watch the previous night’s Tonight Show or somesuch other show on the DVR. When I’m not, we turn on Sesame Street.
When Nolan was born, this was exactly the sort of thing I was looking forward to as a parent. Watching Sesame Street with the kiddo. But as I watched, I started noticing things. Changes. This wasn’t the Sesame Street I’d grown up with. Read the rest of this entry »
GM’s bankruptcy has been dominating headlines of late. Their past (and present) missteps have been examined in excruciating detail, and schadenfruede is in the air.
But one thing that’s often gone unremarked is how good some of their cars have been getting lately. The Chevy Malibu and Cadillac CTS are both very competitive in their respective categories. The new Camaro is a critical darling and a sales success. And the next-generation Chevy Equinox and Cadillac SRX look like they have the stuff to go up against segment leaders, if only buyers can be persuaded to take a look at them.
But one of the best vehicles GM has brought out in the past few years is undoubtedly the Pontiac G8. It’s a performance bargain that, according to several reviews, out M5s the mighty BMW M5 at a fraction of the price. And it’s a handsome car, too, eschewing the affinity Pontiacs past displayed for garish body cladding and a proliferation of hood vents.
Pontiac G8 GXP
It was also slated for extinction along with the rest of the Pontiac brand.
A few weeks ago, GM CEO Fritz Henderson squashed speculation that the G8 would be brought under the Chevrolet umbrella, because, as he said, “I’m not a fan of rebadging”.
First of all…what? GM is the king of rebadging. They’ve gotten a lot better about it in recent years, and actually gone to lengths to differentiate products across their brands, but they still rebadge like crazy. Just look at the Chevy Traverse/GMC Acadia/Saturn Outlook/Buick Enclave. It’s basically the same vehicle dressed in different clothes.
Second…is it rebadging if the brand in question is being killed off?
Fortunately for anybody who actually likes to drive, GM realized the absurdity of killing off the G8 and today announced that it will in fact stick around as the all-new Chevy Caprice. In the words of Bob Lutz, “it’s kinda too great to waste”.
The Volkswagen Routan is about as cynical a vehicle as they come. Beneath the massaged sheetmetal, it’s basically a rebadged Chrysler Town & Country. Same platform, same crappy engine.
Psst...it's just a Town & Country
I wrote about the Routan a year ago, and my opinion still stands. Volkswagen had a chance to really shake things up with their Microbus concept, and instead they took the lazy way out and foisted this warmed over, uninspired box on the buying public.
And the buying public smelled a rat. Despite a Brooke Shields-heavy ad campaign, the Routan never lit up the sales charts, never posed a serious threat to the Honda Odyssey or even the Kia Sedona.
So when Chrysler entered bankruptcy, I figured the Routan was a goner.
Despite all the negative reviews, I actually enjoyed Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. It was a big, dumb, fun movie, but it certainly could have been improved upon. Here are ten ways I think Bay and co. could have made a better film:
10 – Slow Down the Fights
In the first Transformers, the fight scenes were often a jumbled whirlwind of spinning metal, shot in such a way that it was hard to tell what was going on. Revenge of the Fallen really improved on the first movie by pulling back and, you know, actually showing the robots fighting.
But it was still hard to tell what was going on because the fights moved too damn fast. Well, except for the Matrix-style super-slow-mo money shots.
If they’d just slowed the fights down by 15-20%, it would have been much easier to follow what was going on.
I read a stat a few years ago that BMW was not only the most searched auto brand, but also the most actively avoided.
It makes sense.
On the one hand, BMWs largely live up to the brand promise of the “ultimate driving machine”. But they also have a stigma about them (if you’ve ever heard the joke about the difference between a BMW and a porcupine, you know what I mean). The same’s true for Lexus, Cadillac, Lincoln. Luxury brands tend to be polarizing. They attract partisans.
Four or five years ago, GSD&M pitched the Kia account, and I got to do a deep dive into the Korean automaker and its sister brand, Hyundai. At the time they were just starting to show potential. The Kia Sorento was a solid little SUV, and the Hyundai Sonata was starting to grab some attention. But for the most part their lineup was…lacking. Questionable styling, tacky faux wood trimmed interiors. Despite an honest attempt, their cars for the most part just didn’t measure up.
But that’s been changing. Nowadays, the Koreans that could are on a roll. Their vehicles are interesting. Their designs are dynamic, their handling and materials are either at parity or superior to a lot of their competitors. In short, their cars are creeping closer to my consideration set. Read the rest of this entry »
While this may be news to those who don’t follow tech news, Google announced yesterday that they’re developing a standalone operating system – Google Chrome OS. While a lot of details are still shrouded in mystery and speculation, the official announcement offers something of a glimpse into their intentions:
Speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS. We’re designing the OS to be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you onto the web in a few seconds. The user interface is minimal to stay out of your way, and most of the user experience takes place on the web. And as we did for the Google Chrome browser, we are going back to the basics and completely redesigning the underlying security architecture of the OS so that users don’t have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates. It should just work.
Honestly, this sounds great, especially for netbooks, which are mostly used for internet and a a few productivity tasks and not much else.
When I was a kid, they were everywhere. The domestics were unleashing their third generation Mustangs, Camaros, and Firebirds. Nissan had the 300ZX, Toyota the Supra, and Mazda their rotary-engined RX-7.
Then, around 1995, they started to vanish. The Japanese cars went too upmarket, got too expensive, and ultimately got discontinued. The domestics soldiered on, but in a sad state, their development neglected by the rise of the SUV. A few survived. The Mustang. The Miata. But for the most part the affordable sports car category was abandoned.
For the most part, I like Honda. My wife’s owned three, including our current Nolan Transport Device, a 2008 CR-V. I totally dig the Fit, to the point of considering it one of the two or three cars I’d opt for if I had to give up the Mini. And while I wish they’d give us the Euro-spec Civic hatchback, I really don’t dislike a single vehicle in their U.S. lineup (which is more than can be said for most of the car brands).
Jamie and I are off to see Transformers 2 tonight.
Yeah, I know the reviews haven’t exactly been kind, but you know what? I don’t care. It’s Transformers. As long as there’s a truck that transforms into a giant robot voiced by Peter Cullen, I’ll be there.
That said, pretty much every review I’ve read has come down really hard on two new Autobots who somehow manage to grab a bunch of screentime – Skids and Mudflap. The most damning – and, based on the clips I’ve seen, the most apt – description of them is “Car Car Binks”. In other words, annoying, borderline racist, and absolutely unnecessary characters.
You know, for the kids.
But seriously, what the hell? What’s the deal with including annoying, retarded characters “for the kids”? I was a kid once. I grew up on a steady diet of Transformers, Voltron, He-Man and GI Joe. And my favorite characters weren’t the comic relief sidekicks. They were the badass heroes and the completely awesome villains.
Kids don’t watch Star Wars and come away hero-worshipping C-3PO. They come away making lightsaber sounds and flying imaginary X-Wings down the Death Star trench and trying to use the Force.
But let’s assume for a moment that it’s important to have some non-badass robots for the kids to gravitate toward. Why do they have to be Kevin Federline-bots? The Gen 1 Transformers universe (i.e. the original Transformers from the mid-80s) is stuffed with non-retarded Autobots that would have made completely fitting sidekicks to Bumblebee, Sam, and Mikaela. Let’s review, shall we?
Though his bio states he transformed into a Porsche 924 Turbo, I’ll always remember Cliffjumper as basically the “red Bumblebee”. He was small, scrappy, and rash. Oh and he said things like “Decepti-creeps”. He’s the Autobot that would always rush into a situation, often against orders, and subsequently get spanked, which I guess was sort of a morality play for six-year-olds about the importance of listening to Optimus Prime.
Warpath was always one of my favorite lesser Autobots. First of all, he turnd into an M551 Sheridan light tank, which is awesome. Second, he was an overly excitable Autobot who spoke with a Texas drawl and had a tendency to blurt out crap like “KABLAAM!” in the middle of firefights. So, kind of like a George W Bush robot. Maybe he could give all the other Autobots stupid nicknames.
Ah, the Dinobots. They were like a perfect storm of awesomeness for a young boy. Transformers that turn into DINOSAURS. And their leader, Grimlock, started the whole trend of refering to oneself in the third person that Bob Dole and NBA players and rappers would capitalize on so well in the 90s. Of course, robots that transform into giant metal dinosaurs makes less sense than robots that transform into cars and trucks and planes and stuff, so I’m not really sure how Michael Bay could have shoehorned ol’ Grimmy in. Probably with explosions.
Hot Rod would have actually been a brilliant choice as a sidekick in Revenge of the Fallen. He was one of the new Transformers introduced in the animated Transformers movie from 1986 (which killed off a bunch of characters to make room for new ones…and their toys…and in so doing seared Transformers into the consciousness of a generation of boys with the death of Optimus Prime), and basically played the archetypal young punk who wants to be awesome but sucks, but then has adventures and proves himself and becomes the hero to the stirring lyrics of The Touch by Stan Bush:
Posted by Matt 
Posted by Matt 
Posted by Matt 
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