Hiya, Mike! First, let me establish that , as a
Generic (sorry, couldn't help that one!) general-
rule, I despise imported cars.
You might be an old-fart, like me (53), but if you are, I DON'T have to
remind you of the GLORIOUS Car-Wars that occurred during the 50's-60's
(during our "formative-youth"--ah, what times--but I DO digress).
You may well be a Chebbie (that's Spanglish
for yu-kno-wat) fan, but talking about mutually-exclusive-'set'-theory,
or the chemical properties of oil & water, dogs-&-cats,
Hatfields/McCoys, Michigan/Ohio State, Raiders & Yankees/ANYBODY,
Ferds/
Chebbies--some associations are just NOT NATURAL.
The peculiar thing about MoPars (OK: SLOW-Pars) is their position as
number-3 in the pantheon of American automobile industry
(@ least,prior to Bobbie Eaton's "engineered"
corporate SELL-OUT; may he rot in hell).
There HAVE been reports of ONE-person (married couples, with
differing-car-tastes DON'T count, here!!) owning F's AND C's, @ the
SAME time, but I'd sooner experience a full-solar-eclipse on a cloudy
day, than meet a
F'n-C owner!!
So, you ask ME, about my personal demons/prejudices?? Who ain't got
them, about something?
Oh, yeah, about MoPars--"we've" always been perceived as the red-headed
stepchild (doesn't-fit-in) of the "Big-2", and not 'much' of a threat,
to them, (THEY SAY), so it's OK for those-car-owners also to own a
MoPar, or 10.
So do "we" go around, w/a 'chip'-on-our-fender?
You BETCHA
Especially, considering the ENGINEERING
advantages, which has always been the credo
of the (former) corp. Body/fit/finish (after 1956--well, nobody accuses
'us' of having "Body-by-Fishes"
Now, for STYLING, the most subjective/contro-
versial/OBVIOUS aspect of any car (see: Honda-virus (rare-earth Elephant
& Pontiac-ack
Azt-ack) Chryslers (since 1955, really) have led the industry (not
always suck-cessfully: '61- '62
efforts), but the FWDLK'ers prompted the "general" to go to
"General-Quarters", in re-designing their '58-'60 models.
I BELIEVE (sue me) that Gee-'em , thereafter, amended their corporate
By-laws, to state that NEVER shall they create styling which is
industry-leading, innovative, or GOD-FORBID
"CONTROVERSIAL"--They realized that "middle-ground/conservative": SELLS;
they knew that their market- position/share was such that they
did/should NOT "experiment" with a successful marketing-plan, that was
providing
a LOT of people/organizations with 'dependable'-reliable corporate
DIVIDENDS.
So, to return to your question, as to why I appear to delight in
trashing Generic Motors: they're such an EASY target ("Cheap shots"? :
TRUTH is an absolute legal-defense , in slander/libel disputes.
Finally, in Re: GM's "styling", since WHEN?:
1975? has been 'unusually' conservative--even for them.
Mr. Robert Lutz is trying, 'now' to infuze some modicum of excitement
into Grannie-Motors'
line-up, & he, himself, has admitted in-print, that SOMETHING needs to
be done, now, to try to maintain their market-share, & get the attention
of entry-level buyers (something that DEADLER-Chrysler has completely
FORSAKEN, with the execution of Plymouth [RIP] ).
Lutz saw that Gramma's best short-term 'performance' hopes lay in
importing the Australian Holden (shows you precisely how hopeless their
corporate-plight is) , but Lutz's conscience would NOT allow him to
affix a Pontiac logo, anywhere on that car, but he figgered that GTO was
an Italian-term, anyway, & they had to call it SOMETHING, so why-not?
Now, Mr. Lutz is no fool; he knows an OOGLIE
car, when he sees it, and that Holden makes a Chebbie-ANYTHING look
exciting, so "they" decided to try to sell the "image/concept" of the
car, instead of its "actuality".
BTW, AFAIK, there is NO truth to the scurrilous
rumors, that the Azt-ack was designed to promote the high-school "DARE"
program's
theme:
"This is your car, designed, on drugs!!"
Neil
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