Fabrizio for Car Czar

[Jasonik]

http://jalopnik.com/assets/resources/2007/12/mkiia.jpg (http://jalopnik.com/cars/jalopnik-fantasy-garage/continental-mk-ii-332815.php)

Step 1. Create a new aspirational prestige division dedicated to developing and manufacturing the highest quality automobile possible - state of the art and obsessive about detail in every way.
-- Step 1a. Build a division headquarters featuring the cutting edge architecture of the day and a state of the art assembly facility.

Step 2. Realize the division is unprofitable, and rather than flesh out the brand with profitable models, a premium sports car for example -- or let some of the features trickle down to lesser marques while keeping the ultra-premium loss-leader brand afloat -- abandon the division and roll it into a lesser division to burnish the lesser's image.

Step 3. Create a new lesser quality division to take over the state of the art headquarters and facility.
-- Step 3a. Confusingly price this new marque in competition with already successful and established brands of the parent company.

Step 4. Never learn the lesson.
-- Step 4a. Repeat.



"Let them fail; let everybody fail! I made my fortune when I had nothing to start with, by myself and my own ideas. Let other people do the same thing. If I lose everything in the collapse of our financial structure, I will start in at the beginning and build it up again."

- Henry Ford, February 11, 1934

[Fabrizio]

Big 3 Luxury Car Chamber of Horrors:

They went from those great Continentals, Eldorados, LeBarons... to THIS:

The Chevy Cavalier Cadillac Cimarron:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v33/ronaldo/1980-1989-cadillac-4.jpg

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The Lincoln Versailles.... Listen closely and you can hear the 8-track player:

"You see this cat Shaft is a bad mother ----- (Shut your mouth) But I'm talkin' about Shaft ..."

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v33/ronaldo/79VersaillesPostcard.jpg

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The Lincoln Continental with gold tooth and fedora:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v33/ronaldo/15.jpg

The optional Plato's Retreat interior package:

(A warning light comes on if you are not wearing a condom.)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v33/ronaldo/6.jpg

LOL:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v33/ronaldo/1980-1989-cadillac-13.jpg

Ouch!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v33/ronaldo/198842.jpg

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1978 Chrysler NewYorker interior... they went from Hemis to hemmeroids

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v33/ronaldo/oa.jpg

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Detroit served their luxury car market to Mercedes, BMW, Audi and Lexus on a plate.

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[195Broadway]

Don't forget that rich Corintian leather...

http://stadium.weblogsinc.com/autoblog/hirezpics/76cordoba_montalban.jpg

...and that hot Shelby :o
http://www.front-runners.net/files/magarticles/pics/hr1.jpg

[195Broadway]

The absolute rock bottom. What a piece of $hit.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v33/ronaldo/1980-1989-cadillac-4.jpg

I am scarred for life. This P.O.S., my wife's 83 Cavalier, and my mother's 1980 Pheonix.

They would have to GIVE me a car to make up for those.

[Jasonik]

From Dream Cars (http://wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3999):

My dream company would be called American Motors.

Its 1967. Im a billionare and start buying. This is the result.

The line-up in 2007:

Rambler (Toyota Camrey type car... plus.... with a cool early 70s Saab allure.)

Avanti (competes with BMW and Lexus)

Harley-Davidson ( motorcycles ...and cars that compete with Porsche)

Mack (pick-up trucks)

Airstream (suvs, crossovers)

( BTW: this year we are buying a piece of Lockheed Martin and will use the name for our new sports car)

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From Bye, bye Chrysler? (http://wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=19355&highlight=corvette):

Then if I were GM their Amrican line up would look like this : Cadillac, Chevrolet, Corvette (becoming it's own stand-alone luxury/performance brand...imagine BMW+Porsche), Jeep and Volt (electrics).

And that's it. All of those other names: Buick, Pontiac, Saturn... who cares?)

From World's coolest car company? (http://wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=19711&highlight=corvette):

GM and Ford once raced: Fiat still does with Ferrari and Maserati and it produces engineering benefits. Ferrari and Maserati create what Cadillac (the Standard of the World) and Lincoln (the Car of Presidents) once did for Ford and GM... or what the Corvette once did for Chevy... or the Thunderbird for Fords.

From Alternative Cars/Vehicles (http://wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17186&highlight=corvette):

What bugs me is that the jerk-offs at GM should be announcing an electric powered Corvette. Even if it's a concept... even a stock Corvette with an electric cord to nowhere. At least create excitement, some press, some good-will. GM could do a Tesla thing with some special Corvettes... why not?

In fact: while GM kills Pontiac and Saturn... they should make Corvette a seperate brand... have it all about high technology, research. Do some limited edition stratospherically priced electrics. Corvette is one GM brand whose name has not been ruined. They should run with it.

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What's a a Car Czar (http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/12/car-czar.html) to do?

[Fabrizio]

Hey is that you writing the blog linked above? Good job!

[Jasonik]

No. Jasonik (pronounced j-sonic) is a nickname I was given by DJ friends circa 2000 - my DJ name is - DJ Jasonik.

Jalopnik (http://jalopnik.com/) is a great website though. :cool:

[Ninjahedge]

Wow. I always thought you were Jason I. K. ;)