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Category Archives: Five Favorites
Five (More) Favorite “Forbidden Fruit” Experiences
Tweet 2012 Chevrolet Orlando Photo (c)2011 General Motors Canada There are times when I truly enjoy stepping back and consider the possibilities. Our universe is one where it can be done – even if you’re asleep in your own comfortable … Continue reading
Posted in Alternative Fuels and Propulsion, Automobile Lifestyle, Five Favorites, Road Trips
Tagged Alfa Romeo, Chevrolet, Ford, Skoda, Toyota
2 Comments
V&R in 2012 – A Look Ahead
The question remains: What would make this site completely awesome?
This year already yielded some huge advances for the site. Through new connections, a wider social media presence and some leaps and an expansion of outlets for my writing, the groundwork has been laid for an extraordinary 2012.
That is, of course, if the economy would be of help on my end.
If, perchance, that the economy is indeed improving and I am able to gain traction through this phase of economic recovery, there are a lot of plans for V&R. All it takes is some hard work, some opportunities and some miracles thrown in.
Sometimes, it’s good to make some plans for the upcoming year. What vehicles would be reviewed on this site (and Lavender Magazine)? What events should I attend for coverage in V&R and Lavender? What crazy ideas I might have to bring you closer to these two outlets (and more)? Continue reading
Five Stories of Lessons Learned
Even as adults, we always have lessons to learn.
These life lessons include living with automobiles. Rather, how we integrate our lives with our vehicles. We often blur the lines between our automobiles and ourselves.
We also think that our vehicles are capable of doing things that may not necessarily possible. Often we hear stories and legends of these crazy stunts and other hard-to-believe moments that our minds often go into “what if” mode.
All of this is part of the romanticism that we place upon our automobiles. Our vehicles may be our heroes…or our villains.
To understand this notion is to look at my own lessons that needed to be learned behind the wheel. Stories filled with wrong decisions fueled by the overarching understanding that I can do anything with an automobile. Keeping in theme of V&R – I picked, of course, five of them to tell. Continue reading
Five (+2) Favorite Vehicles of 2011
I get asked questions. I’ll bet you know which ones I get asked the most.
On some level, Victory & Reseda provides some form of consumer information for the weary automobile shopper. At least I try to advise the interested car buyer whether a specific vehicle reviewed on here is worth cutting a check or not. It is not the main reason why I do this site, but it is something that is a byproduct of the work I put into this spot on the interwebs.
Yet, I am still asked which vehicle I would buy if I had the money right now to do so. The answer is a trick one. If I had a definitive vehicle I’d buy, this site would be almost meaningless. There would be a bias lurking in every word I post here. I try to avoid such things.
However, a particular vehicle could be influential on some level when I’m examining a competitor or, rather, something else from the same manufacturer. There would be one vehicle that stood out amongst the rest to say “that is the best vehicle I drove this year!”
Is there such a thing? If there were such a vehicle, would I have my integrity and objectivity threatened if I popped out an answer assuredly?
Over the past seven years, I had to dig deep as to which vehicles were amongst the best ever covered by me, whether you’d call it Victory & Reseda, MotorGeek or Lavender. This year alone had its highlights – a lot of them.
This certainly calls for a year-end Five Favorites post based on the best seven (yes, seven!) automobiles I’ve driven this year. There is a twist – let’s try automotive experiences with these vehicles. For all the vehicles I’ve driven, there were some moments. Which ones stood out the most? Continue reading
Posted in Five Favorites
Tagged Buick, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Fiat, GM.Cadillac, Lexus, Saab, Toyota
1 Comment
Five Storied Drives
The holiday season is a time for family. It is also peak travel season for any of us who seek family anywhere humanly possible. The roads are jammed with vehicles full of people and the presents they’ll give to one another. The lyric is right when they describe this as “the most wonderful time of the year.”
When families gather around, they’re on the road involved in an epic drive to their destination. Or, they’re sitting down for a story or two. Of course, I am reminded that things have changed since I was a kid. Television and video games have replaced stories of Santa, the birth of Jesus and the oil lamp at the temple in Jerusalem. Forza 4 and Gran Turismo 5 yield to no religious tradition or fable of a magical chubby bearded fella in a red velour suit.
So, let me tell you some stories… Continue reading
Posted in Automobile Writing, Five Favorites, Travel Writing, Vehicle of The Year Award
Tagged Buick, California, Chevrolet, Ford, GM, Iowa, Mazda, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin
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Five Favorite Gifts with a Big Red Bow on Top
Tweet All photos by Randy Stern This was a year full of firsts for Victory & Reseda – or, rather, my automotive writing. I could do a full “year in review” and attempt to recall everything that happened this year, … Continue reading
Five Favorites from Santa’s CGI-Rendered Three-Pointed Starred Garage
Let’s answer this question: “Is Santa Claus real?”
If this older overweight, bearded, jolly and somehow magical gentleman is indeed real, then explain how every mall across the universe has to dress up like him? What kind of reality are we selling here?
If you’re child, my apologies if I’ve blown the cover of that mythical person who lives somewhere past the Arctic Circle.
Yet, the marketing folks love to portray the mythology of Santa (Saint Nicholas, from what I gather is his name…rather, Kris Kringle…or, something else) and the fact that we give gifts like the Magi did upon the birth of the baby Jesus. Lexus places a big red bow to put upon every gift of a car. Love the spots or not, it’s a tradition of theirs that speaks volumes about how they perceive their products during this time of year. Mercedes-Benz this year went with a CGI-coded garage depicting the most expensive garage any Christmastime icon should have – “reindeer” included.
I’ll admit that the Mercedes-Benz Santa spot was intriguing. After all, the mythical Santa could afford to own such a fleet. Continue reading
Five Favorite….Captive Imports?
Captive imports…and why did they exist anyway?
At a time when the call was to tune down the horsepower and prepare for an oil crisis, a recession and a never ending war overseas, domestic automakers figured it was high time to build another round of compact cars. By going smaller, there were two routes to take: Build them domestically or import them from a global partner somewhere. Three out of the four North American automakers chose the latter.
Chrysler had been selling Simcas and Sunbeams alongside Barracudas and Imperials through the 1960s. Simca and Sunbeam were a part of growing European operation for the Pentastar. In turn, Chrysler looked high and low to match the incoming compacts from General Motors, Ford and American Motors. They went across both the Atlantic and Pacific for their answers. Ford sold some European products at their dealerships in the past – the Cortina was the most popular and the Capri was a mainstay at Lincoln-Mercury dealerships. GM sold Opels at Buick dealers, but would soon play the captive import game as early as 1976.
You could also stretch the captive import involvement to AMC – that is if you include the subcompact Metropolitan that was jointly developed between Nash and Austin. They actually sold Metropolitans with the Hudson badge for a bit. At one time, Mitsubishi imported the Hyundai Excel for some of its dealers in the USA. Continue reading
Five Favorites from Auto Show Seasons Past
Next year will mark ten years since I covered my first auto show. No, seriously…
It is a momentous occasion since working press at an auto show has evolved from covering what’s new on the scene as a place
Yet, sometime within the last month or so, someone on Twitter called press days at an auto show as sort of a “circle jerk.” I get his frustration, as covering the industry certainly has changed over time. Traditional media has been threatened by the likes of myself…and we’re being threatened by outlets that can distill the news even quicker.
Still, there is room at the table for all of us – and we’re networking with each other all the time. In fact, the industry and the press are interconnected in ways unimaginable when it was strictly the traditional media covering the industry.
In retort to that Tweet that called auto show press days a “circle jerk,” I still believe that we need a day to meet with our industry counterparts, enjoy the excitement of vehicle launches and provide varying perspectives on the industry back to you – the readership.
Since the first major USA show is coming up at the Los Angeles Convention Center; this actually calls for a Five Faves post! This posting revolves a single question: What five vehicles made my auto show press coverage experience worth the effort?
That would mean logging back top the 2002 Chicago Auto Show – the one I covered with Midwest Ursine/Tillery Publications along with current Windy City Banner publisher Tom Wray.
I did come up with five vehicles over the past ten years. Here they are… Continue reading
Posted in Auto Show Coverage, Automobile Writing, Automotive Industry, Five Favorites
Tagged BMW, Buick, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, GM, Mercedes-Benz, Mercury, MINI, SRT
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Five (Not So) Favorite Vehicles I Ever Experienced
I try to be a positive person when it comes to the automobile. But, sometimes, you end up getting a heap of scrap. What can an automotive person do after experiencing a piece of…garbage?
We drove them once in our lives. Vehicles that gave us fits, drain our pocketbooks and put us in arrears with our creditors. These were vehicles where even the dealer you bought it from would refuse to take back – even under a Lemon Law.
Trust me, I feel your pain. I had my share of automobile nightmares. Maybe I had more than the usual motorist – if not the same. In my time, I’ve experienced suicidal radiators, suicidal valve heads, suicidal gaskets, suicidal power steering pumps, over-torqued wheel bolts – and so forth.
And, one wonders why I do not own a vehicle. Continue reading
Posted in Automobile History, Automobile Lifestyle, Five Favorites
Tagged Cadillac, Cheverolet, Ford, GM, Suzuki, Volkswagen
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