Sadly, this is a business lesson that often used as examples of failures. But, should we consider them failures? Perhaps another lesson from the music industry would be apt here – if you had a one-hit wonder and continues to have airplay and downloads, you are not a failure.
It began in Marin County, California and ended in Northern Virginia. In-between was a series of discoveries with the automobile as a key factor along the way.
As a writer that focuses on the automobile, this is the question I hate being asked. First of all, it may expose a bias or preference of one brand over another. I’d like to keep biases out of my work as much as possible, unless something rubbed me the wrong way. It also frees up any brand loyalty that would spark major debates with other motorheads as to defend said brand even though I know the arguments against them.
You can imagine how many contenders were for each year. Selecting one was tough, but I also did not want to repeat myself year-after-year with the same vehicle or brand. That was how the last list was set up.
I know, this theme is getting old. But, consider the entire story of Honda’s luxury brand. Where it started some 35 years ago with two models – the Integra and Legend. The path where it showed the Europeans and Americans that you can deliver on the promise of offering something special and backing it up with a great dealer network and dedicated staff from the Acura division.
Obviously, the most popular lists on this website revolve around the vehicles I had worked with. My Favorite Vehicles of [insert year here] are ones that fulfill your questions year after year. And, every year, you have opinions on it.
In the meantime, the automotive retail business has been working overtime to reinvent itself. They are hungry for inventory, while production is ramping up under safer conditions along the assembly lines. Used cars are becoming scarce, with some auction facilities laying off personnel. However, the rental car companies are trying to reduce excess fleet in the pall of financial issues due to a reduction in travel.
One of them will be the year of "thinning the herd," which, sadly, can be taken many ways. However, this term is apt for something that have been a trend in the North American automotive market – the elimination of models from their respective lineups.
However, some of those vehicles no longer exist. Brands that have been erased from recent memory. Certain models no longer offered due to market conditions. Entire segments of automobiles withered away into dust.
Let me set the stage here. First of all, I mentioned that Wichita was not on the original plan for this road trip. A friend of mine asked about having me make a stop in there. After seeing that I could, I added the extra miles and the overnight stop to the trip.