Most liked posts in thread: The Autoextremist Brand Image Meter

I read The Autoextremist regularly too. THought I don't always agree with Peter's rantings, I have great respect for his point of view and his willingness to discuss. He has answered emails I have made to him regarding some of his writings and I have found some of my ideas we have discussed find their way into his writings with his own opinion of said topic. For that, he has gained my respect and continued readership.

 

:deadhorse::deadhorse::deadhorse::deadhorse::deadhorse::deadhorse:opcorn:opcorn:opcorn:opcorn:opcorn:opcorn:opcorn:opcorn:
:smilewinkgrin::smilewinkgrin::smilewinkgrin::smilewinkgrin::smilewinkgrin:

 

:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

 

Given that this is the 2013 version of the Brand Meter, it's highly unlikely that the reference is to a seven-years-old Gen 1 /Gen 2 "thing." More likely the foray from the various hardtop iterations into the very un-MINI like R60 world.

Could the Paceman end up being the first clear vestige of "the mistake?" Gadzooks, look at the May sales figures. :frown2:

 

As with any car model, as the years pass there is always "preferred years" to own... Seems as of now that is the last couple of years of 1st Gen cars... Granted that could change down the rode depending on how "good" the next Gen model MINI is, and the next etc etc...

 

Yup - 2002 R53 with 161,000 miles, build date July 2002 bought brand new from the dealer and going strong. Bought it for the Mini heritage and for the promise of a modernized fun little hatchback - MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

 

Peter DeLorenzo and Jack Baruth are just about the only automotive writers I put any stock into (i.e., they don't have their mouths stuffed full of P.R. 'offerings').

 

Most of the time DeLorenzo gets it right. In the past few years he's been overly loose with his lambasting, showing his bitterness and saturation in the industry a bit too much. I can relate; sometimes it seems the automakers *try* to screw things up and/or are so incompetent and myopic that you wonder how they even got to their office that morning to begin with. So, if you're able to read DeLorenzo through the appropriate filter, he makes sense. Taken at face value, the things he writes (versus what he means to say) makes him sound like a raving lunatic.

But you do have to take a step back and remember that we're all human, and by the wise words of George Carlin:

As such, the probability of a stupid decision being made is quite high, and it's easy to focus on those decisions and assume you'd make a better one in the exact same circumstance. Not to be an apologist here, because some of us *would* make better decisions, but it's an academic argument anyway so it doesn't really matter.


As for his current opinion of MINI, I think he's basically right. There are the MINI loyalists and the brands tightly walled off niche, that's all that matters to the company.

 

^Fair enough^, I'll give him another try. Cynicism breeds cynicism, and I try to avoid automotive cynics, because it's a razor's edge for me. I still have fleeting moments of genuine car thrill, but after the better part of two decades as a car professional, there's a little loss of luster. The thrill comes with shared enthusiasm: when C. Harris waxes poetic about a car that I could conceivably afford, or Singer makes a Targa (Targa!) that is so beautiful that I need to spend some alone time with its images, I still love cars.

 

I agree totally. It's why I don't read DeLorenzo with any real seriousness, knowing how much of an ass he is. I do agree that the passion added by Chris Harris is intoxicating and a wonderful addition to car culture.

 

Meh. DeLorenzo is an egotistical SOB. I've never met a good PR guy/gal who wasn't.

He hates Dan Akerson ("Captain Queeg" he calls him) for good reason. Anybody who loves automobiles should hate him as well. DeLorenzo is an 'Old School' GM loyalist, raised in the GM culture. I'm not ("By no means") a GM loyalist of any stripe, but I was a PR guy for some short time. I appreciate PR professionals who scream that the emperor has no clothes... without doing it on behalf of another emperor.

 

I'll say this, he writes about what none of the other publications dare to here in Detroit. The local journalists just take what they're fed. I don't always agree with everything he writes, but it is good to see a different slant, not biased by advertising dollars.