When I first saw one on the road with all that plastic cladding on the side, I laughed. Who are they targeting with this vehicle—my seven-year-old son? Why would they name a truck after a natural disaster? While I wasn't in the market for a truck at that time, these were my first impressions of the Chevrolet Avalanche.

Some time had passed since these first impressions, and in 2004, I was in the market for a truck. I wanted something with a comfortable, car-like ride, enough room for a family of five, and the versatility to haul and tow a variety of things. I started researching online at the auto specialty sites, which recommended the same competitive set: Ford F-150, Nissan Titan, Dodge Ram, Chevy Silverado, and Toyota Tundra. So, I went to the local dealerships and test-drove each one. Frankly, I liked them all, but not one of them stood out above the rest.

The Chevy Avalanche was never included on the list of "other vehicles to consider" on the Web sites I visited. It wasn't until I was flipping through an Intellichoice magazine that the Chevy Avalanche showed up as a model to consider in this particular truck segment. Then it all came back to me—the ugly cladding, the natural disaster, even the change-for-a-dollar commercials. Remember those? If only they got rid of that cladding, I'd consider it.

An auto-enthusiast friend of mine told me that General Motors was now offering the Avalanche without the cladding, so I decided to check it out.

The Avalanche I test drove was charcoal grey with no cladding on the side. There was some functional cladding on the surface of the bed deck cover and roll bar, but it matched the paint color, which gave it a very clean look. These features, coupled with the car-like drive, reasonable price, and truly unique folding mid-gate design, sold me on the truck.

Unlike many other models, the Avalanche's back seats fold down without having to pull or push latches. The mid-gate folds down with ease, and the rear window can be removed and tucked behind a protective sleeve in the mid-gate—all within 30 seconds. This action transforms the 5-ft.-long by 4-ft.-wide bed to 8 feet, allowing for sheets of plywood and drywall to lay flat inside and protected from adverse weather.

I have leveraged this truck in every configuration imaginable, and often loaded it beyond its specs. From pallets of blocks and concrete mix, to dozens of 20-ft. long PVC pipes, the abuse has been excessive. It also regularly towed a 23-foot-long Sailfish boat, as well as a 10,000-lb. Bobcat loader. When fully transformed, it can also carry more than a dozen snot-nosed kids down to the field below my property for their annual Easter egg hunt. And, of course, it is the perfect hauler for those ridiculous Costco, Sam's Club or other mega-shopping runs, and the groceries can be locked up in case you need to make additional stops.

Is it environmentally friendly? Nope.
Does it get good gas mileage? It's no better or worse than any other truck of this size.

Did I ruin the transmission after all this abuse? Yes, at 53,000 miles, costing me $1,800 for a rebuilt one. But this was a wash, since the truck was originally priced below the competition by about that amount.

Would I switch to a different truck for my next purchase? Not a chance—unless the competition offered a folding mid-gate, which no other truck in this class offers today, except for GM's ultra-luxury version, the Escalade EXT, which is too pretty to abuse.

12:10 | Permalink | Comments (1)

I want to be brutally honest. I hate hybrids. I give the majority of hybrids a thumbs down for acceleration and handling. Sure, it's nice to get that additional five to 10 miles per gallon, but where's the driving excitement? Just because a carmaker wants to boast about products that are "environmentally friendly" doesn't mean these hybrid models have to be ugly. When I say ugly, I'm referring to the styling and performance of these vehicles. In a manner of speaking, it's like the attractive cheerleader in high school who becomes "all bohemian" in college. I understand that hybrids provide temporary relief to our rising consumption of fossil fuel, but there can, and should, be some showmanship and style as well.

I remain hopeful that one or more of these auto manufacturers may produce a hybrid that is a true road monster. Recently, I saw a ray of light in regard to the future of hybrids while traveling on the San Diego Freeway in Los Angeles. I noticed a nice looking sedan that I didn't immediately recognize. I sped up to get a closer view and, to my surprise, it was the Nissan Altima Hybrid.

This is an impressive car, from the outside. The body styling is aggressive, in line with Nissan's design themes. Performance seemed to be better than other hybrids as I watched it maneuver through traffic. In Southern California, acceleration is a must, especially to get through stop-and-go traffic. I was so impressed by this car that when I returned home that evening I looked up the Altima Hybrid's specs. While it's not going to set any track records, it appears to be the first mainstream hybrid to fill the gap between most unexciting hybrids and conventionally-powered performance models.

I still have a general dislike of hybrids, but this encounter on the freeway has placed me on the road to accepting hybrids. I may even consider buying a hybrid once the manufacturers are able to mesh an exciting driving experience with hybrid technology.

11:26 | Permalink | Comments (1)

As long as you didn't wake up from your summer hibernation today (I know, most animals hibernate in the winter, but it's better than the old living under a rock cliche'), you probably have noticed that Mattel had yet another toy recall last week, their third well-publicized recall in the past few months.

My first and most immediate action was to head into my daughter's room and round up all her Barbie dolls. My second thought was: if these recalls are becoming so prominent in something as seemingly innocuous (and reasonably uncomplicated) as toys, what's going to happen when the U.S. starts receiving cars made in China?

The U.S. is expected to receive cars from Chinese automakers as early as 2008, according to some recall. No matter who makes it to market first, whether it's Chinese manufacturer Geely or Chery (perhaps with the Dodge Hornet, which has a green light according to this article) or some other company's joint-venture car, will consumers really trust the manufacturing process—or for that matter, the company?

Some might equate this to the 1970s, when the Japanese began major sales efforts in the U.S., or to when the Koreans arrived in the late 80s/early 90s. Certainly there were similar concerns with those market entries, but how much of that was xenophobia? Mattel's recalls could give consumers reason to have genuine concern.

Certainly there will be a segment of the population (read: college students) that sees a car for under $10,000 and decides that a new car HAS to be better than a 10-year-old junker.

Are we simply in for another market entry like the Yugo? And have you watched the crash tests?

I'm as intrigued as the next guy about China's impact on the global economy. But it's one thing to manufacture toys at a cheaper margin. It's entirely different when you have to drive that cheaply-manufactured product in LA traffic.

16:02 | Permalink | Comments (0)

One summer day in the early 1970s, my brother and I meandered through the pits at Donnybrook Speedway in Brainerd, Minn. before one of the races on the Trans-American (Trans Am) Championship Circuit. While taking in the rows of cars and crews, I spotted a young guy with dark hair and a beard sitting in a director's chair, flanked by two mechanics—one balding guy who resembled driver A.J. Foyt and the other showing off his tanned torso to racetrack groupies.

With Nikkormat in hand, I looked like a photographer rather than a student, and the dark-haired guy wearing a Nomex (flame-resistant) driver's suit, kerchief and Sperry Top Siders (at that time racing was not as technically sophisticated) walked up and offered me a pose and a soda. I accepted, and we struck up a conversation.

The driver, who owned his own car, had a famous last name and lived in Litchfield, Connecticut, a town peppered with classic Jaguar C- and D-Types and even a Rolls-Royce Touring Car with wicker seats and rattan gun mounts for elephant hunting in Africa. He told me that his Ford Mustang's engine (306 cu. in.) had blown and the car would be loaded up on its way back to the shop in Waterbury, Connecticut.

I told the driver, Paul, that I had a photo assignment for a local racing magazine and mentioned how I had helped my brother, who accompanied me to the race, drop a 383-cu. in. engine in his red Dodge Dart. Paul laughed and asked my brother and me to join him at the next Trans Am race in Elkhardt Lake, Wisconsin. He offered us pit passes. We accepted.

The Trans-Am Series, created in 1966 by the Sports Car Club of America, was for stock cars—where mainly factory teams competed. But, there were a few independent racers like Paul, bleeding money to buy a car, who lured friends to help as mechanics and crew. The reason my new friend Paul was in the series was because he had raced at Lime Rock in his home state of Connecticut, and wanted to try out with the Big Boys. Trans Am was open to production models—muscle cars. The series was famous enough that a Pontiac Model—the Trans Am—was named for it.

Attending and participating in Trans Am races allowed me to meet and observe famous drivers and team leaders like Roger Penske. The movers in the Series were the Chevy Camaros and AMC Javelins driven by Mark Donahue, and the Bud Moore Boss 302 Mustangs—driven by Parnelli Jones and George Follmer. And there was my personal favorite—because I owned one—the Plymouth 'Cuda team with Dan Gurney and Swede Savage.

That summer, my love of fast cars gave me a chance to attend three major races and work with Paul and his buddies on his white Mustang. I got to watch No. 45 qualify and see the car finish. Attending that race in Brainerd gave me an opportunity to crew at Elkhardt Lake. I recall removing my sandals so I could move fast to refuel Paul's Mustang as he scooted in to the pit. I managed to jab the nozzle of the white gas can into the tank and fill before two other factory entries finished. I also remember the voice over the P.A. system asking for the barefoot blond to get off the asphalt. Rules were less rigid in those days and I wasn't thrown out.

Although the original Trans Am series hasn't been around for several decades, many of those Mustangs, Camaros, Cudas, Javelins and Challengers have been preserved or restored and are still racing in vintage events today. However, I wonder—since Ford's stylish retro Mustang has been a hit and the new Camaro and Challenger are returning—perhaps there could be a new Trans Am Series. No plans have been announced, but there's always a chance. It's a great marketing opportunity for the domestic automakers. And I'll be one of the first spectators.

11:15 | Permalink | Comments (0)

My husband drives a sporty Infiniti M35 to work and I commute in a Ford Escape. But when both of us want to have fun and think green, we ride my husband's 2003 silver Honda ST1300 Sport Touring motorcycle, powered by a 1261-cc V4 engine, which is mounted on a light aluminum frame. The ST1300 is called the Pan European across the pond. Some reasons why we like riding a motorcycle are:

• It makes "green" sense and saves cents. On our recent Labor Day road trip up the Pacific Coast Highway and the 101 to Arroyo Grande, the bike averaged 71 mpg.


• It eliminates traffic hassles, especially in heavy holiday traffic because we can ride in the carpool lane or straddle between congested lines of stopped traffic when necessary.


• It's pure open air pleasure, and there's comaraderie with other motorcycle riders—sport and bullet bike riders, and even the Harley Hogster mavens, which makes riding more fun.

On our recent 200-mile Labor Day excursion up the California coast, we encountered lines of vacation traffic and decided to detour through Santa Barbara and stop for dinner. Parking is easier with a bike because it takes up less space—even in tourist-swamped Santa Barbara.

The day of our road trip it was hot—in the 90s—as we headed north and inland. But even wearing our protective motorcycle gear, we were able to stay cool, thanks to the wind breaking off the Pacific. While cruising, I sat back against the mounted trunk that my husband ordered from Honda in Europe and enjoyed the winding roads and mountain foothills through Santa Maria and San Luis Obispo.

In addition to factors that make motorcycle travel fun and fuel efficient, here are a few tips for riders, taken from our experience as novice travelers:

1) Make sure the bike has cruise control—available from a variety of aftermarket suppliers (my husband added it to our sport bike). ABS is a good safety option, as well.

2) Purchase a trunk if your motorcycle doesn't have one. We bought a matching removable trunk from a European Honda outlet. They aren’t sold in the U.S., but they make a wonderful back rest for the passenger. And they add storage space—especially handy when stowing two helmets and safety gear.

3) Pack your clothes in plastic bags that can be vacuum-sealed and folded tight—it takes up much less space, and your clothes will be ready to hang when you reach your destination.

4) Make sure to wear top-line helmets for comfort and protection. We happen to have Shoei helmets, which receive the second-highest satisfaction score in the J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Motorcycle Helmet Satisfaction Study.^SM Pick the helmet that offers the best comfort and fit for you.

5) Purchase an intercom device such as the Scala Rider BlueTooth device that can attach to your helmets so driver and passenger can talk to each other during the journey. It's fun to ogle Ferraris, Bentleys and Lamborghinis that you pass, along with vintage collector's cars. It also helps with safety considerations. Four eyes are better than two.

My final advice is simply to have fun, ride safely, and appreciate the vistas and geography—knowing that you are being more responsible to the earth. Taking a trip on a motorcycle is more fuel efficient, and a 4-cylinder engine’s exhaust may not add as many smog-producing emissions to our environment. Of course, if you really want to be green, ride a tandem bicycle. We also enjoy that sport as well!

15:21 | Permalink | Comments (1)

I often travel to both the New York City metro area and to upstate New York, so I get to see the mix of vehicles in these two regions. When I return home, I mentally compare the vehicles that people are driving in New York City and upstate with the vehicle mix here in the Detroit metro area. The difference is like night and day. Here in Detroit, you might see five Buick Rendezvous crossovers while driving in a span of just ten minutes. In either upstate New York or the New York City area, you might not see a Buick Rendezvous for a week, or maybe even two weeks!

Other examples: in upstate New York (which is not even part of the East Coast/West Coast urban areas, which are dominated by imports), I see dozens of Toyota Tacomas and just an occasional Ford Ranger or Chevrolet Colorado, while in Detroit, Tacomas are few and far between. In New York City, you can walk an entire block and every parked car will be an import. In the second block you might see an old Ford Taurus. Also in the New York City area, you won't see the "newer" domestic models (i.e., GMC Acadia , Chevrolet Silverado, Dodge Caliber, Lincoln MKZ, etc.) at all, while they are all over the place in southern Michigan. If I spend several days in New York City, I might not see any Chevrolet Cobalts at all for a week and then, when I do see one, I have to remind myself what it is.

The people working at General Motors, Ford and Chrysler need to travel to places in other parts of the country to see the vehicle mixes outside of Detroit. Not that they should just see the difference, but they need to be required to be vehicle observers. When the employees of the domestic automakers find that many of the cars and light trucks they make are few and far between outside southern Michigan, they may get a greater sense of urgency about their products, and any remaining smugness may dissipate. With this in mind, I think the former head of Ford Motor Co., Jacques Nasser, made at least one terrific decision: he moved Ford’s Lincoln-Mercury division from Dearborn, Michigan to Irvine, California. This has forced Lincoln-Mercury employees to see—and deal with—the real world, not the artificial environment of Detroit. Nasser may have made some decisions and choices that were not on track, but I think this move was a great one. Will any of the current CEOs of the domestic automakers have the strength/guts to force their employees out of the Detroit cocoon?

14:36 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Last month, I attended the annual Hot Import Nights auto show in Los Angeles. The event is a road show that annually tours major cities in the United States. The show presents a forum to local car tuners who have modified their Asian or European import and some domestic vehicles. Aftermarket automotive parts companies display their products at the show. Also, there is entertainment geared to attract young adult attendees and tuners. The cars are impressive, and the music, which features many hip-hop and rap performers, is loud.

This year's Los Angeles event drew hundreds of display vehicles, ranging from the entry compact sedan Nissan Sentra to the ultra-luxury Ferrari F430. All vehicles on display were modified with custom parts. Although the show is dominated by imports, it was interesting to see numerous Ford Mustangs. Some of the local talent also exhibited custom interiors showing off designer fabrics. Others had engine bays so cramped that you could not tell where the factory parts ended and the performance parts began. The exteriors of these vehicles were so drastically changed that they no longer resembled the vehicle's initial factory design.

It's evident after visiting this show that OEMs are beginning to use this venue to display their products. Some of the noticeable contributors at this year's event included General Motors, Mazda and Subaru. One of the first exhibits to catch a visitor's eye was Mazda's booth, which prominently displayed the Kabura and Hakaze concept vehicles. Subaru featured its Rally Impreza WRX at the show, and General Motors had a large area in which the automaker showcased GM Tuner products as well as the GXP Pontiac Solstice. With more performance-oriented vehicles on sale today, it will be interesting to see what products OEMs will include at future shows.

As for me, I enjoyed the show, and picked up a few ideas for my own vehicle—a recently-purchased Honda Civic LX Coupe. So, if you're looking for a night on the town and want to see some custom cars, Hot Import Nights has it all.

11:25 | Permalink | Comments (0)

When I'm not slaving over a hot stove at J.D. Power and Associates, I make my home in Phoenix, AZ (basically, this means that I'm almost always slaving over a hot something...but I digress). Everyone knows it can get a bit toasty in the valley of the sun in the summertime, and since I have four kids that need to be entertained, summers generally mean one thing: the Parker clan sees a boatload of movies.

Now I'm a guy, so I tend toward guy movies. You know the kind—car chases, gratuitous violence, loud music and attractive women. Since I'm also a bit of a car nut, I also pay pretty close attention to the "car stars" of the large number of movies I see, especially in the hot summer. Two movies I saw recently were particularly interesting to my "car guy" side because they received a notable amount of buzz about automotive product placements. One movie was "Transformers," the other was "The Bourne Ultimatum." Both were praised as fine examples of product placement. Uhhh, not exactly.

Let's start with "Transformers." Whether you liked the movie or not, I think you have to give General Motors credit for making their vehicles incredibly visible. Oh sure, some critics will whine that you can't even buy the new Camaro yet, but I'm betting that "Transformers" viewers are way more interested in when it comes out and how much it costs than the "Ratatouille" crowd from the next theatre over. Car companies overall, and GM in particular, need that kind of interest. Bottom line: the GM vehicles in "Transformers" were highly visible, the audience could tell what they were (mostly), and they were definitely the coolest cars and trucks in the movie (well, except maybe for that menacing Ford Mustang cop car. Not sure how GM let that slip in, but that's another story for another blog on another day).

Now, consider the "Bourne Ultimatum." Prototypical summer blockbuster. Lots of action, car chases, violence, guns, huge box office—another grand opportunity for product placement. Yeah, well, maybe so, but I think VW could learn a few things from GM in this instance. In case you didn't notice—and I'm betting a lot of you didn't—the "Bourne Ultimatum" featured the new VW Touareg 2. Unfortunately, the new T2 seemed to be on the screen for about three blinks of an eye, and for two of them, it looked like a metallic hairball that one of the Transformers hacked up on the rug. The Touareg 2 wasn't highly visible, the audience almost certainly had no idea what it was, and it certainly wasn't noticeably cool. In fact, I'll bet more people noticed the last-generation Audi A6 that Jason Bourne backed off of a parking structure cliff.

So there you have it—two examples of product placement. One that I think worked, and one that I bet didn't. Now did anybody else notice?

12:53 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Among the German offerings, my favorite is the BMW M3. My first experience with one was three years ago when my friend, who owns a dark blue 2003 M3 with 343 hp, took me with him to the market for a late-night grocery run one Sunday evening. On the way to the store, I peppered him with questions designed to persuade him to demonstrate the high-speed capability of his car. "Is it really that fast? What happens when you turn off the stability control?" All I got was short, curt answers, including "yes" to my first question and "nothing really" to my second.

Leaving the supermarket parking lot around midnight, his demeanor changed. He got in the car, started it up and began to rev the engine to over 8,000 rpm as if preparing for a drag race. He then proceeded calmly toward the parking lot exit. While only a few other people were in the lot at the time, all heads were fixed on us. That was just a taste of what was to come.

As he approached the street entrance, he said, "watch this" and turned off the traction and stability control systems. He revved the engine again and whipped the wheel quickly to the right while flooring the gas pedal. In a split second, the back end of the car assumed a sideways attitude and I was afraid we would spin around completely.

His hands were moving violently around the steering wheel as he tried to keep the car from spinning. "I've done this before, don't worry," he said, as he frantically worked the gas, brake and steering wheel to prevent a collision with the center divider. In the end, he was able to regain control, but my blood pressure and heart rate took longer to regain their composure.

About a year later, another friend of mine bought an M3 and let me borrow it for an afternoon. Remembering my previous M3 experience, I revved the engine to 3500 rpm, dropped the clutch and left an empty mall parking lot partially sideways, tires spinning and screaming halfway up the mall exit road. What was surprising was how controllable the car felt, even in that smoking/sliding/skidding state. I guess the traction control and stability control really are helpful, especially when you enjoy automobiles like I do.

12:50 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Years ago, my father took my brother and I on epic cross-country road trips. Back then, we craved the regional differences that existed just beyond the interstate exit ramps. Mid-Atlantic states had the Piggly Wiggly, Southern California had the Alpha Beta, and Florida had the Publix—a name my brother and I used to endless humorous advantage. The crossroads of the desert southwest was Clines Corners, Coors beer was sold only west of the Mississippi, and Pennsylvania had seemingly cornered the market on Teaberry ice cream. Every exit held the potential for adventure, for cultural enrichment, for exploring new products and services, for meeting people completely unlike us. Cross-country travel—even on the interstates—was exciting, and I indulged in my love of the road for 20 years after receiving my driver's license.

Today, however, the U.S. landscape is littered with Targets and Best Buys, Burger Kings and McDonalds', Motel 6s and Courtyards by Marriott. Everything looks the same no matter where you go, especially in the cities. So I quit driving cross-country earlier this decade. What was the point? Endless traffic jams, construction zones, and four-lane strips of concrete split by grass medians and punctuated by overpasses simply cannot hold a traveler's interest, and unless big weather was occurring in the vast center of the country, I was bored stiff by the monotony.

Recently, my wife, Liz, and I were faced with an entire day to get from the eastern shore of Lake Michigan to the western shore of Lake Huron, a drive that would take no longer than four numbing hours on I-94 and I-69. We decided to take two-lane roads instead, exploring southern Michigan's small towns, passing through places I'd never been to despite growing up in Detroit's suburbs and going to school in Kalamazoo. We jumped into a rented Ford Focus SES sedan and headed out on the highway.

What a terrific drive. Michigan might be in trouble right now because of its dependence on the domestic auto industry, but it's a beautiful state with numerous lakes, dense forests, rolling pasturelands, and quaint towns. We discovered Randy's BBQ, off U.S. 12 in the Irish Hills—a shack that once might have been a single-wide residence but which now sells terrific pulled pork sandwiches and a succulent rack of ribs. We discovered the beautiful little towns of Jonesboro and Saline, as well as the vibrant and culturally rich downtown district of Ann Arbor. The beach we left in Bridgman was lined with soft dunes and boasted a nighttime view of the blinking antennae of Chicago's Sears Tower, and the beach at which we arrived just north of Port Huron had warm and gentle aqua waves lapping against the shore and a view of Canada. Best of all, the trip took only three extra hours to complete.

We'll be taking more road trips like this one. I've long suspected that the homogenization of America has taken place only along the nation's widest arteries and within the country's bigger cities. Off the beaten path, that sense of adventure, cultural enrichment, and reward for exploring that I loved as a kid still exists. It might take an extra few days, but my next cross-country trek will be on back roads where I might be able to get from sea to shining sea without seeing a single Outback Steakhouse, Panda Express or Starbucks. Can you imagine that?

09:30 | Permalink | Comments (0)