Tweet 2012 Nissan Versa SV sedan. All photos by Randy Stern A Victory & Reseda review of the 2012 Nissan Versa Sedan Not all subcompacts are created equal. For consumers looking for an inexpensive and efficient mode of transport, we are often taken down a path where 40MPG is the main, if not the only, …
And, what is this supposed to be?
This is a question that challenged my soul during my time in graduate school. A year ago, I completed my Master's Degree in Arts and Cultural Management at Saint Mary's University of Minnesota. Supposedly, it was to be an entry into the management ranks of arts and cultural organizations in the Twin Cities and across the country. Instead, I became a fully-fledged automotive journalist with an unrelated contract position at a healthcare firm.
My time at Saint Mary's was spent understanding the idea of art. From the arguments over Mapplethorpe's exhibitions to working with a choral group whose performances challenges audiences to think while listening, the definition of art can be concluded as a moving target where appreciation and comprehension fluctuates with the moment.
I will argue that the same ideal should be applied to automobile design. When concepts and new production vehicles debut, the arguments fly whether the design was right for the era or the segment. In supercars and GT coupes, we excuse the design by carrozeria's efforts to create a masterpiece with signature elements denoting both brand and design house. For volume vehicles, it is a completely different story.
How does a person who is supposed to work in an arts organization explain the Nissan Juke?
An old friend has returned for a visit.
We all have this friend that you love to have stay the week with you. One forged from a friendship by chance or circumstance that have run through the tides of mutual ups and downs. When you two do get together, it’s about having fun and letting loose the stress of your individual lives.
When the friend visits, you put him or her up at your place – not at some hotel miles away. You cook breakfast for that friend, take in a movie or a museum, laugh over mutual losers over coffee – even share recent love interests (that is, of course, if you’re single). The fun you have with said friend is supposed to be drama-free – until an ex pops up and acts all slimy and so forth.
It is true that we often view automobiles as extensions of our lives. Perhaps this notion of a “returning old friend” is apt when I welcomed the return of a familiar steed to the V&R Garage recently – the Nissan Rogue.
Tweet Ralph Gilles kissing another "baby." Photo courtesy of Chrysler Group LLC Watching Twitter during an auto show is like a whirling dervish. As intoxicating the tweets, impressions and links of posting and photos, it is all dizzying. That was my feeling after reviewing a day's tweets and Facebook updates from the New York International …
Tweet Photo courtesy of Mercedes-Benz USA Not all auto shows this year will be cause for celebration. As Palexpo opens up for the annual auto show in Geneva, a pall of uncertainly looms across Europe. Debt crises, currency concerns, political gamesmanship and higher than allowable unemployment are not making things easier across the Atlantic. Some …
No, I was not there this year.
If you read my Twitter, you'd probably wondered if I were to show up at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Unfortunately, the stars did not align properly. Yet, I was asked by fellow journalists, media relations people and other industry support people whether I would make the trek to the Motor City for this very important exhibition of the automobile. Not this year. I will someday.
Because of the speed of information available online and the ability to see video and images from the show readily, I was able to ascertain the big debuts and the most curious appearances at Cobo Hall. This helped in my coverage last year from my home in the Twin Cities.
Of course, there's nothing like being there. You get to see and touch these new products ahead of consumer sale. You get to see whether you'd feel comfortable behind the wheel of one. That’s why we go to auto shows, right?
Without further ado, here are my picks from NAIAS…
The annual sales figures are in! I could recount which vehicles were the best sellers in the nation, but I’d rather concentrate on how last year’s main vehicle review subjects fared in 2011. Also, I try to analyze how each vehicle could fare in the coming year.
In May on V&R (and in October in Lavender), there was an article looking at the corporate view of the interconnection between the automotive industry and the LGBT community. It spurred plenty of discussion offline on how this information either helped both sides of the question – or, whether it truly mattered at all.
As an update to these articles, the Human Rights Campaign just released their 2012 Corporate Equality Index.
The list can go on forever, but I will concentrate on the most important thing overall: Graduating high school. As I realize today that I am indeed on the latter side of my forties, remembering every moment of that year seems a bit difficult these days.
Tweet 2013 Lexus GS by Five Axis. Photo courtesy of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Remember the IAA in Frankfurt? Of course you did. Any automotive enthusiast that the September European auto show (alternating between Frankfurt and Paris) kicks off the global exhibition season. It also kicks off the season where manufacturers would debut their latest …