Steve Parker Motoring / The Car Nut

OUR NEIGHBORHOOD BIKER ON LARRY KING LIVE; WAS COLOMBIAN REBEL CAPTIVE

Glen Heggstad is a "neighbor" of ours, a fellow resident of Southern California's Coachella Valley, where the Colorado Desert landscape reaches 118 degrees and more from Memorial Day weekend through mid-October. The weather between November and late April is some of the best in the world, and the Valley, home to Palm Springs and other well-known resorts, draws nearly 5 million visitors from around the world every year, many of them among the planet's wealthiest. (This photo is from a National Geographic special on Heggstad's capture, captivity and release, and in it, Heggstad is held prisoner).

Known locally as the Striking Viking, a name Heggstad coined to describe his appearance, his motorcycle trips around the world were fairly uneventful until he came to Colombia in 2001.

When the producers of CNN's Larry King Live show were planning their first program since three American hostages were returned to a military base in Texas following a complicated rescue operation called "impeccable" by one of those released, they tried, through e-mail, to contact Heggstad, and they found him in Mazatlan, Mexico. It was early on July 3rd, and after finding Heggstad near the US after getting his e-mail reply, CNN flew him to Phoenix to be a part of that first post-release show, guest-hosted by CNN White House correspondent John King. (In the middle of that group of camels you'll find Heggstad and his trusty BMW motorcycle).

Even in a Valley where General George Patton lived while training his over-100,000-strong WW II tank corps in the nearby desert, which has certainly had more than its share of interesting history and characters, with residents and visitors ranging from Walt Disney, Frank Sinatra and Bob Hope to Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles, US Presidents Dwight David Eisenhower and Gerald Ford, Sidney Sheldon and Barry Manilow, all the Marx Brothers and their families, US Ambassadors Mr. and Mrs. Walter Annenberg, every great in women's and men's professional golf and tennis, Merv Griffin and President John F. Kennedy, who was greeted at Palm Springs Airport in 1961 by, among others, the town's first mayor, Frank Bogert, who, now in his 90s, still rides horseback every day, Glen Heggstad is a stand-out.

Heggstad was kidnapped and held captive for five weeks in Colombia shortly after the devastating and coordinated attacks on the US on 9-11-01. On the King show, during his segment, Heggstad first took a moment to congratulate Colombia's President Carlos Uribe and the forces which effected the release of 15 long-term hostages, including former Colombian presidential candidate and Colombian/French national Ingrid Betancourt, and three Americans, Keith Stansell, Marc Gonsalves and Thomas Howes. The Americans' small plane, reportedly being used for observation of coca fields, had crashed or may have been shot down by FARC forces over five years ago. Another American on the plane was shot dead by rebels after they found the crash site. All were "civilian contractors" for the US government, and according to the Los Angeles Times, they were directly employed by Northrop Grumman Corporation. (FARC stands for Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia).

When King asked Heggstad, "Did the kidnappers beat you, do anything physical, try to somehow intimidate you?" Heggstad answered, "All of the above." (Heggstad and Bimmer reached the Kremlin).

He told a chilling story of being stopped on a jungle road by rebel forces of the ELN, not FARC. Heggstad described being forces to stand in a circle twice a day for an hour at a time, while anti-American radio broadcasts were being played, and Heggstad was forced to "confess" to certain crimes while his young, armed captors surrounded him. He said he was chained to a tree every night to prevent him from escaping and said that never, in the course of his five-weeks of captivity, was he kept in the same place more than two nights in a row.

PAUL NEWMAN REPORTEDLY RECEIVING TREATMENT FOR LUNG CANCER

Paul Newman, 83-year-old film director, Oscar-winning actor, championship race car driver and successful race team owner, has reportedly been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and is receiving outpatient treatment at a NYC hospital. The actor is said to have been diagnosed at New York's Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, where he is currently receiving outpatient treatment and is under the care of a leading New York oncologist. Rumors of the actor's grave condition grew after he canceled several recent appearances. (Photo - PN on a TV GUIDE cover sometime in the Nixon era).

He had also pulled out of his latest project which was to have directed a screen-adaptation of John Steinbeck's classic, 'Of Mice And Men.'

Newman and his Oscar-winning wife were frequently seen at race tracks all over the world, though his wife would not go to races where Newman was a participant; his sports car racing brought him national honors in Sports Car Club of America competitions and in other racing organizations. Newman often said that he was acting only to pay for his very expensive hobby: auto racing. (And please remember that you can double-click on any and all photos to see them in a larger format).

We'll let other websites talk about him as an actor, husband, father, etc. The usual stuff. But let's get into this guy's racing career; he's one of the best race car drivers in the world. If he didn't act and focused full-time on motor racing, who knows how that career might have gone? (Photo - This 1968 film, now a video available online, featured Newman and acting/racing co-horts including Kirk Douglas, Glenn Ford and James Garner, along with drivers Mario Andretti, Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, and others).

The first time I met Paul Newman, I also spoke with him for a few minutes. It was at Riverside Raceway,  which is now a shopping mall, in Southern California, and Newman was there to campaign his Datsun in a major road racing event. I don't remember much of what he said, and my questions were no doubt ill-conceived and dumb, given my lack of experience talking with "stars" of any kind and the natural nervousness which comes with those talks.

But I do remember hanging around outside his team's garage, in the very hot and bright sun, and looking inside to try and spot him and ask for an interview. Everyone in the garage was busy working on the various race cars, prepping them for the next event, when a figure leaning over one car's engine bay stood up, straight and tall and looked my way ... And those bright, laser-like blue eyes of his stared at me as if they were considering tearing my soul out of my body. You don't forget a moment like that. About 35 years later, I still clearly remember, as if it had happened earlier today.

Paul Newman first became interested in motorsports while training for and filming Winning, a forgettable 1969 film. The film might not have had any great influence on society, but it changed Newman's life, and his wife's, forever. (Photo - Newman and wife Joanne Woodward --- America's acting royalty; they've been married 50 years).

And throughout the course of his racing career, Newman made it clear through his participation, that racing cars and competing in other sports was not only possible for people above retirement age, but those people could even win.

Newman's first professional racing event was in 1972, in Thompson, Connecticut at Lime Rock Park raceway, near his long-time home in Westport, CT. He ran the 24 Hours of Le Mans once in 1979 and finished second in a Porsche 935 owned by Dick Barbour. (Photo - Newman smoking; supposedly he was a heavy smoker at one time, but gave it up; unfortunately, it appears that the cigarettes did damage to his lungs which can't be undone).

The film studios were not thrilled with Newman's participation in auto racing; he was usually the lead character in whatever movie he was in, and the companies which insured his films put clauses in contracts which were supposed to keep him away from race tracks. Newman continued to race though, often signing-in to the events under a different name, or merely as "PL Newman".

Click below to read and see more about Paul Newman and his careers ... One on-screen, one in a race car.

SIMON COWELL BUYS BUGATTI VEYRON, ROLLER DROPHEAD COUPE, MCLAREN SLR TO ADD TO HIS COLLECTION

Rolls-Royce has calculated that there are 85,400 people in the world who have the necessary disposable income to buy their cars. The company-aims to do business with 1 per cent of them every year. Simon Cowell already had one (or two) but a few weekends ago in Los Angeles bought one of the first Roller Phantom Drophead Coupes ... and a Bugatti Veyron. (Photo --- Cowell and girlfriend Terri Seymour in a Bugatti Veyron, perhaps a "test-drive loaner;" Cowell took home an all-black model).

American Idol's Simon Cowell, 49, the (creator/producer/) judge on that FOX-TV smash hit which viewers most love to hate, did what untold millions of other transplanted Southern Californians have done before --- Hit a few car lots, kicked a few tires and considered making a purchase or two, perhaps wanting to bring something special home for the girlfriend, so she can make a run to the market when their stock of eggs dwindles.

When his weekend shopping jaunt was over (he had some spare time to shop because the Rugby World Cup precluded taping of his UK TV show, X Factor), the garage at Cowell's a-building Beverly Hills manse was populated by two new models (of cars, that is, not fashion): A Bugatti Veyron and a Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe. Cowell dropped somewhere well north of $2 million (with factory options) for the two engines, eight wheels, AM radios and all else which comes with these machines (the ego boost alone has got to be phenomenal ... and worth it).

He's got the cash; no one need hold a benefit dinner for The Young Mr. Cowell. More than two years ago, Cowell signed a "golden handcuffs" deal worth £20 million-a-year (currently USD$39,037,284) with the UK's ITV, making him the highest paid British TV star of all time (quick, name two other highly-paid UK TV stars ... Ha ha! Got you on that one!). (Photo --- Last week, for Mother's Day in Los Angeles, Simon Cowell took his mom to the star-heavy Ivy restaurant on Robertson Boulevard in West Hollywood, which is directly across the street from a business office which we've frequented for many years ... So I can attest that the street is always a 'scene', with star-sightings as guaranteed as anywhere in La-La Land. And Cedars-Sinai Hospital is barely 100 yards around the corner from the famed eatery, which is where celebrities have their kids; they die of old age at St. John's in Santa Monica. Anyway, Cowell and Mum enjoyed arriving in son's nearly-new Rolls-Royce Phantom Limousine, purchased near New Year's, 2008, and equipped with that most showbizzy of optional extras - mirrored privacy glass).

Turns out that Cowell already had quite an auto collection. Cowell's is not in the "Jay Leno mode," that is, a grouping of classics and collectibles kept in a plain-Jane industrial area near the Burbank (CA) Airport. Leno visits "his garage" almost every day, sometimes twice a day, tuning and working on the cars and motorcycles himself aided by a small crew; no, Cowell's collection is probably more closely-related to what the average Car Nut would purchase if they found themselves on the winning end of the Super Lotto. They're generally stock from the factory, they're new, they have warranties and Cowell doesn't have to employ a full-time gang of wrenches to do upkeep on the the fleet.

He says, "I've got lots of nice cars... six, in fact. It's completely over the top! I absolutely love them. I could have 100 cars and I'd still want more. I love staring at them. I love driving them too. I've got two Rolls-Royce Phantoms, a Range Rover, a Jaguar XKR, an Aston Martin DB9 convertible and a very hot Mini Cooper which I drive more than anything else."

In addition to the newly-acquired Veyron and Roller, Cowell has recently taken-delivery on one of the last of a small run of McLaren SLR coupes, what many call "the ultimate Mercedes-Benz sports car". The USD$683,052 McLaren, as all of Cowell's cars, has instant credibility, inherent high value and immediate cachet. This is not only because of their low production numbers which translates into exclusivity, but also their celebrity connection. In fact, in years to come, Cowell's stable will do very well either at auction or in private sales because the cars are so stock ... We'd expect that all the numbers will "match". (Photo --- Cowell in the Veyron which he now calls his own; fewer than 200 of the cars have been built since production began in 2005).

The style and comfort of the Bugatti Veyron coupe deserves a whooping price-tag. Built by Volkswagen, the car comes with more than 1,000 horsepower being produced by its 16-cylinder engine and a top speed of 253.81 mph (408.47 km/h). The Bugatti concept car at the 1999 Tokyo Motor Show actually had 18 cylinders. Cowell's Bugatti Veyron is truly a stud car. With an excess of 1,000 horsepower, the Veyron - built by Volkswagen, which also owns the Bentley, Audi and Lamborghini car brands - has a top speed of 253.81 mph (408.47 km/h). The car lists for $1,480,584 in US dollars.

For much more on Simon Cowell and his cars, click below!

HONDA'S ASIMO ROBOT TO LEAD DETROIT SYMPHONY; WE FIRST MET HIM WHEN HE (IT) COULD BARELY WALK!

Here's a press release we recently received from Honda: Honda Motor Co.'s remarkable robot Asimo will conduct the Detroit Symphony Orchestra at a special performance for young people on May 13 that will feature superstar cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Asimo will open the evening by conducting the orchestra in a performance of the song, "The Impossible Dream." (Editor's note: Impossible Dream, like Andy Williams' rendition of Moon River, are both much-loved by the Japanese public, apparently fraught with all sorts of deep meanings which a drunk Japanese recognizes more easily than his or her drunken American friends. It's not unusual to hear either song being sung, always loudly and usually badly, on Japan's late-night streets and in restaurants, and, of course, in the estimated 50 million karaoke bars throughout the country).

The 4-foot robot, able to speak English and Japanese, is the latest generation in a line of Asimo robots developed in 2000 by the Japanese automaker.

Honda has teamed up with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra to offer music lessons to students in Detroit and has provided more than $1 million to create The Power of Dreams Music Education Fund.

As part of the program, Paris-born cellist Yo-Yo Ma will teach a master class on May 14 for a group of students selected from the Detroit School of Arts. (Photo --- Guest-starring in a corporate video seen at the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show, Asimo demonstrates features of the company's "FCX Clarity" hydrogen fuel cell family sedan).

"Honda hopes Asimo's appearance will draw attention to the Detroit Symphony Orchestra's nationally acclaimed youth music programs, and particularly Detroit Symphony Orchestra's effort to encourage and support involvement of children in Detroit," Honda said in a statement.

Asimo, which stands for Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility, made his first appearance in the United States on Feb. 14, 2007, when he rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange. (End of Honda press release).

Asimo is conducting ... in Detroit?! Boy, those folks at Honda really know how to rub it in, don't they? Other recent Asimo happenings:

"Honda demonstrated its unique robot, ASIMO, at the Kennedy Center JAPAN! culture + hyperculture festival in Washington D.C. from Thursday, February 7 - Sunday, February 17, 2008.

The robot performed live (?) 15-minute demonstrations several times daily throughout the festival. Visitors will experience the most sophisticated robotics technology and see how robots like ASIMO will someday assist people. The free demonstrations will be held in the Nations Gallery at the Kennedy Center."

And ...

"Honda Motor Co., Ltd. has further advanced intelligence technologies enabling its advanced humanoid robot ASIMO to act autonomously and perform uninterrupted service to office guests. (Photo Below --- If Asimo replaces hostesses at Japanese companies, what will the women working there do? Gosh, maybe they'll let them have real jobs!)

Honda developed an intelligence technology that enhances smooth movement by enabling ASIMO to choose between stepping back and yielding the right-of-way or continuing to walk based on the predicted movement of oncoming people ("Out of the way, Asimo!", "Yes, master," or, "Hai, sensei." At least we hope that's what happens ... Just imagine the other possibilities). Honda also developed a new intelligence technology related to ASIMO's ability to perform tasks such as carrying a tray and pushing a cart. In addition, a newly added function enables ASIMO to automatically charge its battery when its remaining battery level falls below a certain level. Furthermore, a new comprehensive system was developed so that multiple ASIMOs can share tasks by adjusting to the situation and work together in coordination to provide uninterrupted service. For example, if one ASIMO is idled while recharging, other ASIMO robots will step in and perform assigned tasks.

Honda will begin test operations of two ASIMOs equipped with these newly developed technologies December 12, at the second floor lobby of Honda's Aoyama, Japan headquarters."

If human beings suddenly start flying out the windows of the upper stories of Honda's HQ, then we'll know ASIMO may have a problem or two ... But plugging-itself in when the battery gets low? Working in conjunction with other robots? Serious stuff, my friends (as John McCain might say, just like the used car salesman he is).

Hey, Uncle Car Nut, tell us about the time you first saw Honda's robot, Asimo, climb down a flight of stairs! (Photo --- Asimo at rest. It shrinks quite a bit when "off;" gaining height as it powers-up. Latest-generation Asimo is now four feet tall).

Well, sure kids ... Now gather round! And in spite of Honda's efforts (and who can blame them) to have  everyone anthropomorphize Asimo, like a favorite, gentle pet, let's keep in mind that "he" ( or "she" --- and who decides? Mrs. Asimo?) is quite literally a bucket of bolts. Very smart bolts and all the rest, but bolts nonetheless.

It was a cool, wet afternoon at Honda's Research and Development Center on Tochigi, Japan, about 50 miles north of Tokyo, in the lowlands surrounding the mountains where, if you cared to drive up, one would find the Twin Ring Motegi Race Track. Honda, at the time, had some 5,000 engineers working at the Tochigi R&D Center, none of them, they told us, over 40 years old. I bet a like-number of them were women, too, but I digress, kids ... You have to remember, "When in Rome, Do as the Romans Do" ...

Click below to read more about Honda's car-building, orchestra-conducting, and potentially union-bashing robot, Asimo!

GM's BOB LUTZ: GLOBAL WARMING IS "A TOTAL CROCK OF SHIT"

Bob Lutz, a Vice President of General Motors in charge of North American products, told a group of reporters recently that global warming "is a total crock of shit". Yes, mothers, get your daughters in the house, because Lutz, in his seeming never-ending attempts to become at least as quotable as Lido A. Iacocca, was either just kidding around --- as he is wont to do, and in which case the media would give him a break, as they (we) have done so many times  --- or he really meant it. Now, we find that not only did he absolutely mean it, but he meant it in a way so ethereal and universal in scale that most of us mere mortals simply would not understand.

If any of you ever thought, "Well, you know, this guy Lutz ... He seems really smart, and he says he has balls made of iron ... But does he, you know, 'get it'?"

Well, the official answer is in: No, he doesn't. Lutz,  somewhere north of 74 years of age, wrote a book called "Guts", spends his off-hours collecting, restoring and driving vintage cars, which is to be expected, and he also does the same with vintage fighter jets (no kidding) and has also, by the way, been in-charge and the force behind all of General Motors North American product planning for the past few years and some of that actual product, too.

EVEL KNIEVEL MAKES COME BACK! (WELL, ACTUALLY IT'S JUST A REPLICA OF HIS BIKE ...

Think of the phrase "Evel Knievel's motorcycle", and what bike comes to mind? For me, it's the "All-American" Harley-Davidson. Knievel was often photographed astride his trusty Harley, and it kind of "went without saying" that Harley was the only bike that this American icon would ride, direct from Harley's home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. But the truth is that Knievel played no favorites; he put the Harley name on his bikes as long as Harley was supplying the machines and kicking-in a goodly sum of dollars ... American dollars, to be exact. But there were other machines in Knievel's large stable, and one of them in particular still carries with it the hopes and aspirations of anyone who has ever ridden a "Made-in-the-UK" Triumph motorcycle. Now, a well-known motorcycle parts and service hard site and Website presence in the UK is turning out what they call "Knievel Commemorative Editions" of modern Triumphs. Triumph motorcycles are designed, developed, and built at the factory in Hinckley, England.

Originally intended as a tribute to the 40th anniversary of Evel Knievel's unforgettable Caesar's Palace jump, UK bike dealer Jack Lilley has created a special edition of Triumph's on-and-off-road Scrambler. The choice of motorcycle makes sense because that original jump some 40 years ago was done aboard a Triumph T120 Bonneville. Although the project was started before Knievel's recent death, it has taken on new meaning now that the legendary stunt-man has passed and is a tribute to more than just that one jump.

According to the Jack Lilley company, the bike "is based on a Scrambler and has a superb paint job along with short front mudguard, Thruxton seat and hump, chrome engine cases, red cam cover and other small details." The one-off tribute bike will be sold with a signed picture of the man himself in mid-jump and will command a few thousand extra over the base price of the Scrambler.

The bike sells for UK8,250-pounds, which translates into USD$12,068.26. But who's counting, right?

IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, IT'S ALWAYS A CAR THING: IS PARIS HILTON GETTING SCREWED? YEAH, WE KNOW ... OF COURSE SHE IS ... BUT THIS TIME BY THE COURT?

Because we've been covering the auto scene in southern California for 35 years, it's only right that we weigh-in on the Paris Hilton story, right? Also, we might as well get her name asociated with our BLOG to try and capture a few more hits, like every other BLOG in the universe ... right? And after all, Ms. Hilton does drive some great cars!

Tim Rutten, in his always-enlightening "Regarding Media" column in today's LOS ANGELES TIMES (May 12), suggests that those involved in reporting the news take a few minutes to do something different when it comes to this week's ongoing fascination with the 45-day prison term given Paris Hilton by a judge in downtown Los Angeles. Rutten says that maybe someone out there, whether in the "real" media or the "celebrity" media (and the line between the two is barely visible these days) take some time to perhaps call the judge's office and check-out his record when it comes to handing out sentences for similar driving crimes.  (Photo - Paris driving her tasteful Bentley).

Rutten correctly points out that with most all editors and producers working on the "real" news (say, NBC as opposed to MSNBC, or the NEW YORK TIMES as opposed to, say, the NEW YORK POST) absolutely blinded by their daily desperate attempts to garner "website hits", there is no difference between the mainstream media and the celebrity media. Rutten points out that the LOS ANGELES TIMES is itself in the process of hiring a journalist (we assume) to cover the "celebrity justice beat", whatever that may be. In fact, with the NATIONAL ENQUIRER, since breaking many stories during the OJ trial which proved true, now considered as "real" as almost any other major news outlet, some industry observers think that only by combining the best elements of traditional journalism with the worst of celebrity gossip, can any media outlet hope to bring readers/viewers in the preferred advertiser demographic (18-49 years) to their publications, whether traditional print or electronic.

And what did Rutten find out, by doing a little old-fashioned "gumshoe journalism" on the Paris case?

"Had such questions (about the time given Hilton) been asked, the reporters would have found that (Judge) Sauer's sentence was unusually harsh for a defendant who had behaved as Hilton had. It was far more typical of the kind of sanction a judge might have imposed on somebody who had violated probation by drinking and driving again, which she did not do. (In that context, it's also interesting that no one bothered to debunk early reports that Hilton also had failed to enroll, as her probation required, in a program to discourage alcohol abuse. In fact, she's close to completing such a program.)"

Pretty interesting, isn't it? We'd imagine a solid majority of "Paris-watchers" think she was being sentenced for at least having been caught again for driving under the influence. As Rutten point out, of course that was not the case.

Rutten also goes on to write: "The harshness of the sentence ought to have loomed larger, when put together with Sauer's unusual ruling forbidding Hilton from paying to go into one of the private jails usually open to suitable defendants with sufficient financial means." Rutten goes on to (correctly) state that these "private jails" springing up around the country (and out of the country, but those are run by the CIA) raise serious and real questions of how criminals are treated in America, and whether the amount of cash they have in the bank has an effect on their overall experience with the justice system (and of course it does ... see above, re: "OJ"). (Photo - An absolutely reasonable amount of media greet Paris Hilton as she leaves court).

So, bottom line, Rutten opines that it appears Hilton was being singled-out by this jurist for her celebrity and wealth, in other words, the judge was using the defendant's social stance "to make an example of her".

Now, around every April 15th (tax day), it seems the Internal Revenue Service makes some huge bust of some rich celebrity involving tax charges. No one ever says that the IRS is making an example of whoever this "victim" might be, but the implicit warning is that "If a big celebrity can go to jail for not paying taxes, then you, Joe Public, had better pays yours!" The reality is that practically no one ever goes to prison for non-payment of taxes, but the IRS would rather you didn't know have bit of information.

Rutten correctly points out that ours is a land of laws and a series punishments created to fit the breaking of those laws. In other words, no citizen in America is to be made an example of by any jurist. Here's what Rutten said:

"... it's troubling that none of the mainstream print or broadcast journalists commenting on the case pointed out that the American criminal justice system does not make examples of people. It penalizes people for specific individual acts and punishes them according to the law. We do not punish one person to instruct others. We rely on the public administration of disinterested and dispassionate justice to educate and deter." (Photo - Paris drives some more).

To view Rutten's complete column, simply click here: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et- rutten12may12,1,7389668.column and Enjoy!

And if your idea of entertainment is to wait for Paris crying her eyes out on Larry King this coming week (almost a sure thing), then you need to spend more time reading real newspapers than watching CNN. Hey ... I've been a guest on THE LARRY KING SHOW, twice in fact ... Take it from me: For a guy who brags that he never reads the books his guests are promoting on his show, he sure has done well for himself. In fact, King, who amazingly is celebrating 50 years interviewing anyone and everyone with his famous softball questions, is probably the world's first true nexus of news and entertainment. And how a near-80 year old Jewish guy from Brooklyn can live happily married with a bleached-blond Mormon is, well ... All we can say is: Good for him! (Photo - This is what Larry looks like under the make-up and hair color --- Kind of snake-like, wouldn't you say?).

And just be glad YOU are not the person some judge (or Larry King's producer) decides to make an example of ... At least not yet! And, yes, we do appreciate Paris' taste in cars, too.

...AND SOME NEWSPAPERS DO GOOD! LOS ANGELES TIMES EXPOSES GEORGE BARRIS!

For decades, George Barris has held sway in the automotive world as creator, builder and owner of many, many of the msot famous of Hollywood's TV and movie cars. From the Monkeemobile to the Batmobile to the General Lee to many others before, after and in-between, Barris' name is the one bandied about when it comes to the best and most memorable vehicles modified for use in movies and on TV shows.

Recently, Barris even had a section of road in front of his North Hollywood, CA office/studio renamed in his honor.

But an article in the LOS ANGELES TIMES by staff writer Bob Pool calls into question not only Barris' claims of creation and ownership of many of these world-famous cars and trucks, but also Barris' entire past. In fact, after reading the devastating piece, many might say that Barris started "creating" his own history many years ago, and together with Hollywood publicist Ed Lozzi, has simply been around so long making so many claims that antire generations of car enthusiasts simply accrpt Barris at his word.

Well, those of us in the auto journo have known for many years that Barris wasn't even the original owner, much less the designer and builder, of many of the cars and trucks he claimed in his stable. Why don't the 'enthusiast mags' write about it? Because none of the car magazines would attack Barris, his name is so revered and "his" cars and trucks on a cover still sells magazines off the rack ... And you definitely can't take that away from him. Also, any of the new auto journos writing for magazines, BLOGS and the new websites, simply do not know the real Barris story.

Thanksfully, the LA TIMES has fulfilled at least one of its newspaper duties ("To afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted") with a great piece on Barris, calling into question many of his claims, and quoting many people in the industry who have waited years to tell their versions of the Barris story. Give the TIMES' story and read then revisit this site to read our take on it. The LA TIMES story can be found at:

http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/news/local/~3/114067592/la-me-custom4may04,1,7419406.story.

LUTZ: BUSH SAYS "LET REAR DRIVE DIE!!!"

Well, there he goes again! Just a few days after claiming that the Bush  Administration's attempts to increase fuel economy will cost anywhere from $5,000 to $6,000 per vehicle, at least as far as the company's Product Maven Bob Lutz and GM are apparently concerned, (Lutz is seen in photo introducing his first major sales loser for GM, the Australian-made Pontiac GTO), he now says things are worse than he first thought! Yes, the President's proposals will not only raise the price of GM vehicles way out of proportion to their competition's models, but will also KILL ... you hear me: KILL ... GM's much-vaunted rear wheel drive efforts, starting, perhaps, with the all-new CAMARO!!! (The car which more males with mullet haircuts want more than anything else in the world, as reported in a recent CNN poll).

Here's a quick wrap-up of Jim Mateja's ChiTrib column and the basics from it ...

General Motor’s rear-drive initiative is in trouble. While the next Camaro is still moving forward (but who knows, really, right? - SP) , car czar Bob Lutz has indicated that “…anything after that is questionable or on the bubble.” That shocking bit of news means that the Chevrolet Impala, Monte Carlo, and even any Camaro derivatives (Pontiac Firebird, etc.) are all a big question mark. So too, is a replacement for Buick’s Lucerne, and a sub-CTS-sized Cadillac.

According to Lutz (in photo intro'ing Chevy Volt concept car at this week's NY Auto Show), the problem is that the company’s planned rear-drivers are all larger and heavier, which exacts a heavy toll on fuel economy. President George Bush’s new Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards, if enacted, would make it very tough for GM to be compliant with these new cars. Says Lutz: “We don’t know how to get 30 percent better mileage” [from these cars]. Lutz says that GM will decide the fate of these models when the government figures out how to proceed on CO(-2) levels and updated CAFE standards.

Could this all be a bit more of Lutz screaming that the "sky is falling", when what really is falling are GM's mpg numbers?  Are Lutz' words  (pray no!) designed to discourage Washington from enacting tougher emissions and fuel-economy standards? Of course they are. Or are a good portion of GM’s future vehicles now well-and-truly on the ropes? What say YOU?

Let's see --- First Lutz says earlier this week that improving mpg in GM cars and trucks will cost consumers many thousands per vehicles ... Now he says GM's rear-drive initiative might be dead in the water because of the Prez ... Hmmm ... Seems to us if Lutz really does not know how to improve mileage by 30% in those vehicles, he ought to be looking for a new job (or at least enjoy his retirement flying his old fighter jets). Here's an idea: Hey Bobby! Try putting HYBRID powerplants in those cars!

To read Mateja's complete column, simply click anywhere on this line.

'GM SAVIOR' BOB LUTZ INSULTS AMERICA, AGAIN --- "BUSH'S PROPOSALS TO COST $5,000 PER CAR!"

We're listing this under "personalities" because, when it comes down to it, that's what Bob Lutz, 72 or so, really is at this point in his long, checkered career. Younger auto journos just love Lutz (see photo, left, taken after Lutz intro'd some Chevy minicar concepts at this week NY Auto Show); he's always good for a great "quote", and he stays away from talking about anything deep or important or crucial by telling them great industry stories from 40 or 50 years ago, which the young scribes naturally eat up. Lutz is a former Marine who collects race cars and fighter jets. He's the next best thing to Carroll Shelby for uninformed and inexperienced industry writers and plays his "curmudgeonly old man of the industry" to the hilt. He has had no major mass-production successes to crow about since taking the job as the top person at "GM North American Cars and Trucks", his given goal being to develop vehicles Americans "really want to buy". Some point to the Pontiac Solstice (photo below) as having Lutz' handiwork all over it, but a two-seat sports car is not going to move the 400,000 units annually GM needs at least one of their new cars to sell. But with Lutz now spending a good amount of time trying to scare American consumers into believing that fuel economy = higher vehicle costs and that Americans still have a god-given right to buy as many Hummers as they want, Lutz is taking on a new persona: He is playing the Dick Cheney role to GM chieftain Rick Wagoner's George Bush. Look at it this way: Wagoner was busy this past week glad-handing the President at the White House during a "showcase" of US-made alternative fuel vehicles. Wagoner was there along with Bill Mulally of Ford (who's now being criticized for making over $28 million in his first four months with FoMoCo, as that company  lost $12.7 billion in 2006; we criticized Mulally and the company the day he was hired and his planned compensation was announced) and Tom LaSorda from that great American company, Chrysler. Well, it might be an American company (again) in the next 72 hours or so. By the way, Toyota and Honda, leaders in alt fuels, were not invited to the White House, and neither was Mercedes-Benz, which is touting their Bluetec diesel system which will make diesel-powered cars and trucks widely available in the US for the first time in decades. So see the connection: While Bush and Wagoner hang-out at The Big House, Cheney and Lutz bad-mouth their respective enemies and let their bosses relax and bask in the wonderful, warm glow of power. By the way, as far as fuel economy = higher vehicle costs: Our Toyota Prius, which we bought 4 years ago, cost us $20,500 fully-loaded brand new, and is worth as much as $5,000 MORE than that now. With over 48,000 miles on the car, apart from regular maintenance and front tires wearing out faster than we'd like, NOTHING on the car has broken. Nothing. So here's Lutz take on America's car companies being bale to reach even Bush's meager targets for fuel economy --- Take our word for it, it's pretty shocking and graphic, as well as the usual Detroit BS. What's also bothersome is that Lutz falls back on the sure-thing of the midwest --- Ethanol! And ethanol made from corn. There are so many problems with this product, which we have covered in this BLOG and will continue to as they develop, starting with nations and huge nation/corporations now wanting to chop down whatever rainforest and protected land might be left so they can plant corn and sell it to the US for processing into ethanol ... But don't get us started!

(Detroit News) General Motors Corp. Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said President Bush's proposed fuel efficiency increases could add more than $5,000 to the price of a new car. (Photo - Heads of the former Big Three meet in the Oval Office with President Bush earlier this year).

A Bush administration analysis of its proposal for a 4 percent average annual fuel economy increase would cost the automotive industry $114 billion between 2010 and 2017. That included a $40 billion estimate of GM' costs -- a figure the automaker has called "probably low."

The Bush administration wants to reduce the country's gasoline usage by 20 percent a year by 2017, with 5 percent of the reduction coming from improved required fuel efficiency standards for passenger cars and light trucks.

Meeting those mandates could require making nearly every vehicle a hybrid and other expensive steps. That is an "unaffordable solution," Lutz said. "This technology does not come for free."

A better way to reduce oil dependence is to dramatically boost the availability of ethanol-based fuels, like E85, said Lutz said. Improving access to E85 is key, since there are only about 1,100 E85 pumps out of 170,000 nationwide.

Lutz's comments at the New York International Auto Show came in the wake of the Supreme Court's 5-4  ruling Monday that the Environmental Protection Agency has the express authority to regulate carbon dioxide emissions under the Clean Air Act. The rising level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has been linked to the warming of the earth.

Lutz said it wasn't yet clear whether the Supreme Court determination would hurt or help the auto industry. "We're still studying the decision," he said.

Dave McCurdy, top lobbyist for automakers (the job Bush's former Chief of Staff, Andrew Card, had before he entered public service in the White House --- Our CAR NUT BLOG comment, not the Detroit News'), said in an interview the Supreme Court decision helps pre-empt individual state efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The industry wants a national policy that spreads the burden across industries.

But McCurdy, who heads the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers -- a trade group that represents General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co., DaimlerChrysler AG, Toyota and other manufacturers -- agreed that the decision has boosted momentum for Congress to take some action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

CARLOS GHOSN "GOIN' HOME" --- HE'S NOW THE 'FORMER NISSAN CHIEF' AND SHOULD HAVE STAYED QUIET, AND IN LOS ANGELES

Carlos Ghosn (photo) was nothing short of "the savior" of Nissan, we were all told. As the head man at Renault when that French company took a controlling interest in Japan's then-and-still- teetering Nissan (an industry first, we must add), Ghosn's moves in Japan made him something of a national hero (or at least a national curiousity; in that way that it is "cute" for 'gaijin' [foreigners, literally barbarians] to do certain things in Japan, as long as they eventually leave the country). He closed factories, laid-off workers, canceled new models and demanded more and better new ones --- and the Japanese public seemed to love it --- A westerner daring to take on Japanese industry and culture, much like Mark Fields, now VP of Ford, had done when he was running Mazda for FoMoCo several years ago. Now comes word that the Renault Board of Directors has evidently had enough of Ghosn playing the automotive superstar, moving him back to France to run Renault --- only.

Here's how AUTOMOTIVE NEWS reported it:

"Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Nissan Motor Co., is swapping some of his duties as part of a broad annual management shuffle at the Japanese carmaker.

Ghosn, 53, who also is CEO of Renault SA, no longer will have direct oversight of Nissan's operations in North and South America. But he will take over responsibilities for the treasury department from COO Toshiyuki Shiga, 53.

Nissan does not have a CFO, and financial duties likely will soak up any freed-up time Ghosn might gain by dropping direct responsibilities for the Americas.

Hiroto Saikawa, 53, will replace Ghosn as chairman of Nissan's management committee for the Americas. Saikawa currently is Nissan's executive vice president for purchasing.

The changes will take effect April 1.

"The priority for our new management team is to act decisively on the multiple challenges facing Nissan and to boost our overall performance in 2007," Ghosn said in a written statement.

Dropping oversight for the United States and the rest of the Americas should save Ghosn considerable travel time. Officially, as CEO of both companies, he splits his time between Nissan and Renault. But he spends about one week a month in the United States. (Photo - One of the first Nissans, modeled after UK Morris cars which had been imported to Japan in boxes and later assembled in Japan; known as "knock-down kits").

Ghosn won't be in America monthly now, but "don't expect he won't be visiting the U.S. anymore," says Nissan spokesman Simon Sproule.

The task at hand in the United States is enormous. Nissan has fallen far short of its previous bold predictions of double-digit monthly sales growth since October. Saikawa, who has a reputation inside Nissan as a taskmaster, is expected to crack the whip in the United States."

OK, that's the official version. Here's what is really happening:

The corporate folks have had it with Ghosn and his (loud and numerous) proclamations. They are not even leaving him in the US long enough to enjoy the soon-to-come sales boost for Nissan from their all-new Altima hybrid and especially the fantastic new two-door (2008 model year) Sentra coupe and much-anticipated high-performance/low-cost Sentra SE-R sedan models (all designed in the US at Nissan Design International in La Jolla, CA).

First, Ghosn should have kept his mouth in-check when talking about hybrids and other alt-fuel vehicles. For years he has taken every opportunity to attack them, specifically gas-electric hybrids, while competitor Toyota was selling them faster than they could make them, especially for the US market. So what happens? To no one's surprise, Nissan licenses (buys) the Toyota technology for their own hybrid and voila ... At the LA Auto Show this year, the "all-new Nissan Altima Hybrid" is introduced, using Toyota technology. Not good for Carlos. (Photo - Nissan Altima hybrid).

Then, what's become known in the So Cal area simply as "the move". After more than 40 years of being located in southern California, generally recognized as the "hotbed" of automotive development for the world (there's a reason every major auto company in the world has a design studio, at the least, within 75 miles of downtown Los Angeles, but this must have somehow escaped Ghosn ... Oh, wait ... The Nissan Design studio in La Jolla will remain --- for now), was just too expensive for Ghosn to justify, we guess.

So he moved all the execs to ... Nashville, TN, that other hotbed of automotive styling, design and performance ... If you have a more than passing interest in how Bobby Geneene and her boy, Lucas Kyle, think the new GM pickups should look like ... The move will gain Nissan a bunch of cash --- They own literally acres of buildings throughout Los Angeles and Orange Counties --- But already the company has lost well over 50% of the men and women who developed Nissan into the brand and brand-name it has become (not to mention making the American public forget the name DATSUN, no small feat in itself). Most of the employees chose to stay in LA without a job, rather than move to Nashville (huh?) with one, and a promised pay raise for everyone who did make the move.

Just the latest not in Ghosn's great favor: Nissan announced just this past week that they will not put effort or dollars into developing a "Heavy Duty" version of their already-pretty-heavy-duty but poor-selling Titan. Nissan did announce, also this week, that they have completed an off-road test track at their Japanese test facility. Maybe now they have little reason to ever use it, other than to show it off to visiting journalists. And that's not to mention the minivan, the Quest, which has never caught-on with buyers and is being completely reworked for its next iteration, which will be out in 2008 or before (in other words, as fast as Nissan execs can approve it and get it built). (Photo - New Nissan Sentra SE-R).

There's more, including Ghosn's obviously brusque manner which managed to rub everybody the wrong way, Japanese, Euros, Americans ... you name the group, he angered or embarrassed them, or both.

What's next? It's probably impossible to hope that Nissan returns to So Cal, but they haven't sold their buildings yet, as far as we know, so nothing is really impossible at this point.  Perhaps the new Sentras and Altima hybrid will produce enough cash for Nissan to bring the company back to Los Angeles. Or perhaps not.

BUSH APPEARING NOW IN "SORCERER'S APPRENTICE"

Scroll down to see the Mark Fields Ford corporate jet story, but hey, we had this funny photo of George W., so why not run it?  The big shots have these economic summits in Southeast Asia every year (the group is called ASEAN; pretty neat how they always work out those titles, huh?) and apparently force the visiting leaders to wear silly-looking local outfits, the sillier (to us in the west) the better. This shot is from a summit in Vietnam in 2006, scene of another American military disaster engineered by politicians. W should have felt right at home. That's Vladimir ("I looked in his eyes and he's a good man") Putin in the middle and on the left, the current incumbent military dictator of China. And boy, do these guys get along, or what? Our only complaint --- How come the other guys look so good in their outfits, while W's bullet-proof (we guess) vest sticks out all over the place? Can't W's staff of valets and tailors do a better job of hiding those unsightly bulges? (Be sure to click on the photo to see the large version).

FORD EXEC MARK FIELDS BOOTED OFF COMPANY JET

We told you some months ago about how, in the midst of cost- cutting, laying-off tens of thousands of workers and generally "cutting back", along with hiring a new CEO, Alan Mulally, of Boeing, after Bill Ford admitted he couldn't handle the job --- We told you how Mark Fields, who had worked for FoMoCo in Asia and made Mazda something of a roaring success, becoming a household word in Japan on his way to becoming essentially the Number Two man at Ford worldwide was using the company jet at least once a week to visit his home in Florida, commuting from the office in Dearborn. We told you how stupid, arrogant and ridiculous it was for the Ford Board of Directors to allow this kind of thing when they were giving many of their employees nine weeks to decide whether they would leave their jobs or hope and pray their factories remained open. Well, Fields didn't stop using the jet in spite of a very loud public outcry, and Mulally didn't make him stop. But word out today is that Fields can try cooling his hush-puppies (in First Class, at least) on commercial airliners for awhile, just like Hillary Clinton and the  rest of us. A news report said today that Ford was budgeting over $214,000 for Field's use of the company jet for the 4th quarter of 2006 alone. How much did any of you pay for airplane tickets this past quarter? (Photo above - A semi-greasy Mark Fields, feeling good after using company jet. Hey Mark! The wethead is dead! Or maybe word hasn't gotten to Dearborn yet ... Is a mullet next?).

Here's FoMoCo's official bio of Fields:

Mark Fields is executive vice president, Ford Motor Company, and president, The Americas, a position he assumed in October 2005. In this role, Fields is responsible for all operations involved in the development, manufacturing, marketing and sales of Ford, Mercury and Lincoln vehicles in the United States, Canada, Mexico and South America.

Formerly, Fields served as executive vice president, Ford of Europe and Premier Automotive Group (PAG), where he led all activities for Ford's premium vehicle business group, and for Ford-brand vehicles manufactured and sold in European countries. Prior to that, Fields was chairman and chief executive officer of PAG. (Is it just me, or does Fields appear in photos as if he really likes himself...? Well, if I was using the corporate jet without restraint, I'd feel pretty damn good about myself, too ...).

Fields joined Ford Motor Company in 1989. From 2000-2002, he was President and CEO of Mazda Motor Company, leading the company through a period of significant transformation. He previously held a number of positions in both South and North America, including Managing Director of Ford Argentina.

And, here's how AUTOMOTIVE NEWS reported the apparent sudden decision by Fields to fly with the rest of us riff-raff:

Ford Motor Co. executive Mark Fields will stop using the company plane to fly home to Florida on the weekends, the automaker confirmed today.

Fields, Ford’s president of the Americas, told employees about the change in an internal Web cast this morning.

“He said he has made a decision to stop using the company aircraft for his personal use,” Ford spokesman Tom Hoyt said. “He doesn’t want this or any other issue to distract the team from its main mission, which is to deliver the Way Forward plan and return our North American business to profitability.”

Starting this weekend, Fields will fly commercial, and the company will cover that cost, Hoyt said.

Fields began commuting from Florida on company jets after being named in September 2005 to lead  Ford’s North American turnaround. The perk was part of his employment contract.

A Ford proxy statement tallied the cost of the perk as $214,479 for three months in 2005. Ford hasn’t reported the 2006 cost, but it would approach an estimated $900,000, using Ford’s 2005 numbers.

The commuting deal has triggered significant backlash in recent weeks.

On Jan. 3, CEO Alan Mulally responded to concerns about the Fields commute in a broadcast to dealers. He told them Ford would continue to honor that commitment to Fields and his family “because you want to acquire the best talent you can around the world, and Mark is one of the very best.”

Mulally noted that he would continue to evaluate the situation.

Ford spokesman Hoyt said today that Fields, not Mulally, made the decision to stop using the company plane for the commute. (Photo above --- Very Light Jet (VLJ) being marketed by Honda to companies in need of private transit; cost is under $5 million, holds 4-7 people, range is about 1,200 miles; Honda has orders for over 100 of them. Perhaps Fields could smooth-talk Ford into buying one of THESE Hondas --- You know, for R&D purposes only).

MICKEY THOMPSON MURDER TRIAL BEGINS

The trial to determine who caused the murders of Mickey and Trudy Thompson has begun in the Los Angeles area. The defendant, Michael Goodwin, who is being represented by a public defender and has been in prison for the past five years, still claims his innocence. Yet more than 18 years after the gruesome gangland-style murders in the driveway of MT's luxury estate, thousands of hours of police work and who knows how many phone calls and in-person interviews, there is no other suspect.  Repeat: There is no other suspect.

We've been looking forward to this trial since the day of the murders. I worked for Mickey, assisted in the PR and marketing for the very first OFF-ROAD CHAMPIONSHIP GRAND PRIX at the Los Angeles Coliseum. In fact, I named the event and got a $1,000 bonus from Mickey for doing so. (Photo - Older shot of MT and Trudy, enjoying themselves Southwest-style).

Mickey was one-of-a-kind, the automotive world's PT Barnum of the 20th century, a guy so self-confident (and egotistical) that he would set his personal airplane in 'autopilot', set an alarm, and take a nap while at the controls, until the alarm woke him up before landing. He had immense amounts of energy, a man with 'an unquiet mind' constantly thinking and on-the-go, sleeping for only 2-3 hours a night. Unlike one of his contemporaries, Carroll Shelby, MT was not only a great race car driver like Carroll, he was also a self-taught mechanical and engineering genius, developer of the first 'rail dragsters' still in use today.

His wife, Trudy, made sure that Mickey got all the monies which had been coming to him for decades from Mobil Oil, General Motors, and scores of other sponsors, many of which had short-changed Mickey all his working life. Thanks to Trudy, Mickey became the multi-millionaire he had always been --- But he had never counted the money and really known his personal worth until Trudy got his accounts in order. They were really made for each other, the strengths of each compensating for their own weaknesses.

When it came to drag racing, Indy racing and off-road racing, MT was a pioneer who never stopped developing new products. His use of water-filled barrels at the LA Coliseum as safety devices was a first, and their use continues to this day (the development of those kinds of safety barrels was also done contemporaneously by the legendary Mercedes-Benz racer and safety engineer, John Fitch). Mick developed the first huge swing arm rear suspension systems used throughout off-roading today, around the world, from Baja to Dakar. He'd fire-up his buggy and then blast through the canyons which backed right up to his home to test his latest inventions and developments. In his home were thousands of feet of raw film of almost every off-road race he had ever been in --- Off-road and drag-racing legends such as poster artist Tom Hunnicutt worked there, too, some of them involved in creating a feature-length film worthy of MT's imprint and style ... which was WFO (which was what I wanted to call the film --- "The WFO World of Mickey's Thompson". By the way, WFO = "Wide Fucking Open", which is where Mick kept the throttle on anything he was doing.

Mick was instrumental in creating SEMA, SCORE and even the NHRA to an extent.

I also knew Michael Goodwin fairly well. I'll say a lot more about him as the trial unfolds. Suffice to say that from the first moment I heard about the murders, about 4 hours after they occurred, I never suspected anyone but Goodwin as they person behind them. (Photo - Michael Goodwin).

On the trial's first day (11-6), the prosecutors laid out a terrible, horrible tale of revenge and murder, detailing the execution-style blood-thirsty murders of Mickey and Trudy Thompson. Goodwin's attorney seemed to be planning to attack the police and their focus on only one suspect (in spite of the fact that only one suspect was ever in their crosshairs). The trial's second day (11-7), Goodwin's chauffer at the time of the murders and his own cousin testified against him.

Someone I met through work turned out to be one of the only witnesses to the actual crime itself. Can not say much more, but Mickey was a powerful bear of a man, and If there had been any possibility that he could have saved Trudy's life, even if not his own, it would have happened.

The murderers themselves were probably killed that same day, most likely by the same person who had planned and executed the entire horror.

The murders resulted in one positive. Mickey's sister, Colleen Campbell, founded what were among the very first "Victim's Right's" groups in the country. Colleen became politically active and mayor of San Juan Capistrano, CA. Her personal efforts resulted in MT's murder case staying open for all these years, and the creation of victim's rights groups around the nation and the world. Colleen's own son had been murdered, and when it happened to her brother, her favorite person in the world, she had to do something --- And, thankfully, she did! All the energy she has put into this entire affair may soon bear the results for which many of us have been hoping.

(Photo - MT in one of his 1960s-era dragsters). Stand-by for coverage of the trial here, including my own comments as things unfold, from my own very personal and unusual 'insiders' perspective.

THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT...

Does anyone out there still think celebrities are treated anything like we more-normal folks? Those naive few of you just need to read the following post to understand that while freedom, liberty and the Bill of Rights are all great things to have and flash-around when bragging to (or threatening) other countries, simple CELEBRITY and/or MONEY are the best things to have in-hand for certain situations, like when you switch jobs, when you need to rent an apartment or when you get popped for DUI (and we're not talking about you-know-who, his own anti-Semitic self).

First, the hiring of Alan Mulally at FoMoCo as their new chief executive decision-maker. We think in the long run this could be a good thing for Ford and all their employees and for we as consumers, too. But did you read about the compensation package Bill Ford arranged for his buddy Alan? The package which went into effect September 1, 2006, a full week before his hiring was even announced (and Ford's stepping down revealed).  Ford was working free-of-charge; his family's stock ownership in the company (and scores of others, certainly) had already made him a millionaire hundreds of times over the second he was born. His great-great-grandfather Henry founded the company, after all. Handy Trivia Factoid: FoMoCo lost $7.32 million EVERY DAY Bill Ford was chairman.

Here's Mulally's package, evidently approved quickly (and quietly) by FoMoCo's Board of Directors from the NY TIMES: As Ford Motor Co.'s new chief executive, Alan Mulally is staring down a long road as he seeks to turn around the ailing auto giant. But two weeks into the job, he'll be able to bank the lion's share of the $20.5 million he will receive in the first year.

That amounts to $56,164.38 for each day of the year. Mulally, who spent 36 years at Boeing Co., will draw a base pay of $2 million a year in his new job. In the first year, he will receive a $7.5-million signing bonus and a lump sum of $11 million to offset bonuses and stock options he forfeited by quitting his job as head of Boeing's commercial aircraft division.

The 61-year-old executive's pay was disclosed Friday, September 8, 2006,  in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing by Ford.

World at an end yet?

OK, try this one on for size:

Rupert Murdoch, the Australian who was granted US citizenship by, literally, an Act of Congress (it's good to have friends) and the man behind News Corp, which means all the FOX networks and much of the delivery systems for NASCAR, had to find a living space while his $44 million apartment/palace in Manhattan was being upgraded. Never one to shortchange the boss, the company has been paying $50,000 A MONTH for Murdoch's make-do domicile, also in NYC.  Murdoch, in a briefing filed with the USA's Security and Exchange Commission, the $50K/month comes on top of other compensation worth $25.7 million --- $4.5 million in salary and another $21.2 million in bonuses.

And Murdoch doesn't live just 'anywhere', no, he is temporarily ensconced in a penthouse in a Trump Park Avenue building on Manhattan's Upper East Side (near to Lincoln Center, the Time Warner building, etc.). Incidentally, Roger Ailes, who runs FOX NEWS and FOX TV Stations for Murdoch, gets $8.3 million annually in salary, $77,243 for personal security and $124,020 for a car and personal driver.

Crazy yet? Imagine --- Mulally at Ford makes over $56,000 a day! Does anyone have any right at all to make THAT MUCH MONEY? I guess so, but you'd have to prove it pretty strongly to me, when plenty of homeless and hungry in NYC and Los Angeles (where our next crime takes place) make their residences a cardboard box, if they are lucky. Food and health care? Fuhggedabuttit!

Last, and certainly least, but not if you're under 25 years old and are into our Culture of Celebrity, Paris Hilton gets arrested for Driving Under the Influence in Los Angeles. Her press flack, Elliot Mintz, who worked for decades for John Lennon and Yoko Ono (my how he has fallen ... this George Hamilton-wannabe --- check his tan and '50s clothing and affectations --- tells the breathless media outside the LAPD station (Hollywood Division, natch) that Paris had not eaten all day and was weak from hunger. Puuu-ll-ease! Unless you are diabetic, I can not imagine losing control because of being hungry! In a tough, in-depth, hard-hitting interview the next morning with Ryan Seacrest (another no-talent celeb) on KIIS-FM radio, Paris was sobered up, evidently, and told Ryan she WAS NOT ARRESTED! I guess a misdemeanor dopes not count to Ryan and his audience of 15-year-old squealing teeny-boppers, because she certainly was arrested, booked and released on 'her own recognizance.

She also told Seacrest (can you imagine the IQ level with these two in a room? They wouldn't be able to find the door knob between the two of them!) that she had just left a dinner meeting with her sister when she got pulled-over by the cops. DINNER APPOINTMENT?!?! Wasn't she and her flack telling the world she had NOT EATEN all day?

And what did Paris tell Ryan's listening audience she was doing that car? She was "looking for an 'In-N-Out'", the legendary (and rightfully so) hamburger drive-throughs located in So Cal, Arizona and Nevada ONLY. Paris forgot, we guess, that she spent more than a year recently pimping "Carl's Jr" hamburgers!

Ryan needs to learn to ask a question or two, and now that his teenaged listeners figure it is COOL to drive around LA drunk, he needs to apologize to the public, too.

End of world, soon.

DEADLY SERIOUS BUT ULTRA-COOL: PRESIDENTIAL AND 'VIP' LIMOUSINES

Take a gander...check it out. YOU paid for both of them (if you pay taxes to Uncle Sam!). In our last post (just scroll down a bit) we took a good, long look at a Mercury Mariner Hybrid SUV which is being presented to President Bill Clinton by the Ford Motor Company ... And using our knowledge of Presidential vehicles and the requirements of the Secret Service, we stated our opinion of whether or not Our Main Man Bill will be as comfortable or as safe as he needs to be in a gussied-up and way-overweight All-Wheel Drive Ford Escape with a throbbing 145 horsepower. Now, in this posting, let's concentrate on the Cadillac DTS limousine with which we're all somewhat familiar. Looking more like a tank than a car, the new DeVille limo has drawn some criticism for its "militaristic" look. Used by President Bush for the first time in his Inaugural Parade, the ominous-looking Caddy conversion looks very capable and frightening at the same time. All we know is that every time the car appears in the press anywhere in the world, the Caddy execs get a BIG kick out of it!

"Functional" is probably an understatement! The car is the first in a series to fill the White House fleet, though the actual number of cars ordered is a secret.

Parade cars of all kinds have unique needs. They must be able to idle for very long times and drive at very low speeds for long periods of time without overheating, not an easy thing in a vehicle this size and weight. The powerful V8 engine is probably based on the General Motors 502 cubic inch marine engine block. It's the largest Presidential limo ever built, both inside and out.

President Clinton did say that the work space in the rear of this limo was huge and much more comfortable than the previous model. This limo was delivered to the White House fleet about a week before President Bush took office, so President Clinton got to road test it for a few days (at least he didn't take it with him when he left Washington!). And whether he took any White House interns out for some late-night joy-riding is not known. But we would not bet against it ... that dog!

The last limos were delivered for White House use by Cadillac in 1993. Those three vehicles delivered are estimated to have cost a total of near $10 million. We can guess some of the defensive and offensive items on-board. Run-flat, bullet-proof tires. Bullet-proof and shatter-proof glass all around. Layers of kevlar and other high-strength, blast- and bullet-proof materials under all of the car's sheetmetal from roof to under-carriage. Gun ports. Tear gas cannons. Redundant state-of-the-art communications systems. We do know there are TVs, VCRs and CD players in the rear for the passengers' enjoyment. (Photo: Pres. Clinton washing the limousine ... really!).

The "retired" cars from the White House fleet are sent to US government stations around the nation and the world for use by ambassadors and other VIP's and dignitaries as they are replaced by new models. Cars from the 1960s are still in use by the US government around the world. We can guess there are two of these new limos in the White House motor pool. One is kept in DC, and another is flown ahead to wherever the President is traveling in a military C5A transport plane, arriving just before Air Force One.

Some of the conversion work is completed by O'Gara, Hess and Eisenhardt, a company which in various forms has been building VIP transportation for various governments and VIPs for almost 100 years. All the work is overseen by the Secret Service and no one without proper credentials gets too close to any of the cars.

When Clint Eastwood directed and starred in "IN THE LINE OF FIRE", a movie about a Secret Service agent, he tried to get the government to loan his production company one of the real limos for use in the film. The agency declined that request, though they did give much technical assistance to the production...but no one spends any time near the car other than officials. The agency does not want anyone getting too good a look at the vehicle's armoring, weapons and other systems.

But Eastwood did finally fool the government...turns out the company which built the actual Presidential limo keeps a look-alike model on-hand for their own use, trade shows and the like...and that's the car Eastwood used in the move, visually a double of the real thing! When the Secret Service agents helping with the filming saw the car on the set for the first time, they couldn't believe their eyes! They thought Eastwood had indeed gotten the actual Presidential limo for his film! It wasn't the real McCoy...but Eastwood fooled the Secret Service...and the rest of us, too! (Photo: Agent Clint).

Years ago, while working as a volunteer in election campaigns (I was about the only Democrat in Orange County, CA), I had the chance to ride in Secret Service motorcades twice. The Secret Service cars were, as they say, literally bristling with every kind of offensive weapon you can imagine which would fit into the trunk. I'll never forget being in the back seat of one of the cars and seeing an M16 rifle stuffed into the space between the front seat and the door! And realizing...it was loaded, and the guy sitting in front of me would use it in an instant!

And that's not even to mention the full-size four-wheel drive van with US government plates which contains an array of communications equipment that would make a TV station proud, which is part of every Presidential motorcade. And of course at the rear of any Presidential motorcade is a paramedic-equipped ambulance. (Photo: Canopies are often used to cover the area around VIPs as they enter or exit vehicles. Here W's limo heads for cover!).

And if you think this car is interesting as far as weaponry and other cool stuff, if you ever get a chance to see a Presidential motorcade, check out one of the Chevy Suburbans directly behind the President's car. Inside you'll see a group of very scary-looking guys dressed in scary-looking SWAT-like costumes, carrying a bunch of scary-looking weapons. One can only image the arsenal in those vehicles!

  Also on the C5 plane…the PRESIDENTIAL HELICOPTERS! Yep, they fly them in right in the belly of those planes! Always at least TWO, one for real use, one as a decoy. One are known as “Marine 1” when the President is on-board. That’s the answer to the 747 airplane’s coding of “Air Force 1” whenever the Prez is on-board…there is a lot of jealousy between the military services in this country. Everyone wants (and gets) a piece of the pie! Recently it appears that has been a third helicopter added when the President is in flight using "Marine 1". It's a larger ship, one of those "Jolly Green Giants", and it probably is used as a weapons platform as well as probably loaded with electronic countermeasures for the possibility of Stinger missiles, etc. (Photo: Air Force 1 used by the Presidential detail which visited Palm Springs, CA in 2006; Palm Springs AF1 and C5 photos by Carey Parker).

On a personal note, I always found the Secret Service agents to  be very friendly, surprisingly normal people with very difficult, VERY tiring jobs.

There are many, many dangers outside of possible assassins. On August 17, 1996, President Clinton  was vacationing in Jackson, WY. Just before 11pm, eight members of the Air Force and one Secret Service agent left the Jackson Hole airport in a C-130 plane carrying a variety of equipment that most of those close to the event described as "classified" or "items for national security." The airplance might have experienced engine problems and it appeared that it tried to return to the airport, turning east instead of south, which was the usual route out of the area. It creashed into a mountain peak and all abord were killed. The plane was headed to JFK Airport in NYC, which was the Presdient's next stop on that trip. (Photo: C5 cargo plane used by Presidential detail in Palm Springs, CA, 2006).

That plane included vehicles - Suburbans - designed for a President's motorcade, and was said to house sensitive military equipment for protection. One of the vehicles was ID'd as a large four-wheel drive van with "communications" equipment aboard. All the flights, with all the dangers that are very real, and accidents are unfortunately bound to happen.

1970 Presidential Limousine

                                          1989 Presidential Limousine

PRESIDENT CLINTON PUTS HIS MOUTH WHERE HIS CAR IS!

Who would have thought that Bill Clinton, who was once roundly booed by a huge NASCAR crowd a few years ago when he drove his own vintage Mustang around the track before a race (though NASCAR fans, recent surveys show, are no longer slavishly following George W. Bush --- They, too, are getting tired of their kids and themselves getting killed in wars all over the world) would be a MOTORING PERSONALITY?! Well, he has done a good, green deed and ordered-up a gas-electric hybrid Mercury Mariner SUV to be his "personal" vehicle! But is THIS the "right" vehicle for him? Come on! A gussied-up Ford Escape and Mazda Tribute! (Photo: Bill rocks out on the "Arsenio Hall Show" ... Remember HIM?).

President Clinton, say our friends at AUTOBLOG, will be the first U.S. President ever to use a hybrid outfitted for Presidential service thanks to Ford (not Gerald, but FoMoCo), which will be presenting our 42nd President with a Mercury Mariner Hybrid "Presidential Edition" at the Clinton Global Initiative conference later this month in New York City. The Mariner Hybrid has been modified to include LED interior lighting, a 110-volt outlet and a writing table. Everything else on the vehicle, including the hybrid powertrain that delivers 32 mpg in the city, is supposedly stock. (Photo: Mercury Mariner Hybrid, above, courtesy FoMoCo).

Here's what CONSUMER GUIDE has to say about the Mariner: Mariner is a luxury-trimmed version of the Ford Escape and Mazda Tribute. It comes in gasoline and gas/electric-hybrid models. Conventional gas-engine models are the 153-hp 4-cyl "Convenience" and the upscale "Luxury" and "Premier", which have a 200-hp V6. These come with a 4-speed automatic transmissions and front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive that lacks low-range gearing. The Hybrid model has AWD and teams a 4-cyl gas engine with a battery-powered electric motor for 155 hp (see photo, above right). It requires no plug-in charging and uses a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT). Mariner's hybrid system automatically runs on one or both power sources to balance acceleration and fuel economy. All Mariners include ABS; Hybrids and AWD V6s have 4-wheel disc brakes. Rear obstacle detection, front side airbags, and curtain side airbags with rollover deployment are standard on Premier, optional otherwise. Exclusive to the Hybrid is an optional navigation system with screen displays for power flow and fuel economy. Mariner's performance and accommodations mirror those of comparably equipped Escapes and Tributes.

And at 3,435 pounds, even with the extra get-up-and-go-torque which the electric motor in a gas-electric hybrid provides, Mariner is not exactly race-track fast or stable. Remember: We're talking only 145 horsepower here, and All-Wheel Drive! Add another 2,500 pounds (conservatively) for body and glass armoring, run-flat bulletproof tires on all four corners and who-knows-what-other-secret-stuff-they-put-on-it, if Clinton does find himself in any sort of serious trouble while in the Mariner, he'll probably find himself being transferred (quickly) to the Suburban SUV Battle Wagon which will be following him, and leave the Mariner to whatever may happen. (Photo: Mariner hybrid interior, above left).

The answer? We bet there might be a supercharger found on top of that hybrid engine in this particular Mariner. We just can't imagine the Secret Service SERIOUSLY allowing this former President (and quite possible future-First-Hubbie) being driven around town in such an overweight beast with little or no ability at the 'Stop Light Grand Prix'! Another problem is the CVT tranny in the Mariner Hybrid --- If you have driven any vehicle with one of these new-fangled gizmos, you know from experience that "acceleration" does not benefit at all from this fuel-saving feature.

The Suburban Battle Wagons, we would guess, might quite probably have the 505 horsepower, 7.0 liter (427 cubic inches) V8 which is found in the Corvette Z06. While GM says they don't have an automatic transmission which can handle the horsepower and torque of that monster race car engine (470 foot pounds, and the Z06 comes only with a six-speed slushbox) which would fit into the Corvette, they can probably come up with something "off the shelf" at GM's "Skunk Works" in Warren, MI, which would do okay in a 7.0 liter-equipped Suburban (plenty of room to shove that possible powertrain in there). (Photo: Mariner rear interior, above right).

And apart from the weight/horsepower/speed issue, what about roominess? We thoroughly tested a Ford Escape, and the back seat is small, not small-ish, but downright small. Bill Clinton is easily 6'4", if not more, and probably tips the scales at a good 225 or so ... He is not going to be traveling comfort in that Mariner, hybrid or not!

Our guess: President Clinton will use the Mariner between his home in Chappaqua, Westchester County, NY and his office in Harlem, a one-way trip of 35 miles or so. When he goes out-of-town, we're sure the Secret Service will be able to dig up one of their Suburbans for him, wherever he may roam.

(Photo, left: Mariner Hybrid on the assembly line).

Most Presidential vehicles are heavily modified with armor and other technologies to thwart assassination attempts of any possible kind. The LED interior lighting installed in Clinton's Mariner Hybrid suggests the window glass is either heavily tinted for privacy or has been replaced with a transparent armor similar to the kind used on President Bush's armored Cadillac DTS limo that's so thick it blocks natural sunlight. We'd guess the Mariner's glass can now stop a pretty heavy caliber projectile. (Photo: W's bad, bad ride, courtesy Cadillac, right).

FINALLY! A BOOK FROM J.D. POWER EXPLAINS CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

"J.D. Power and Associates revolutionized the automotive industry by advocating a seemingly simple premise—listen to your customers. It then went on to do the same thing throughout the entire business world. In Satisfaction, J.D. Power explains what it's learned over the years, using compelling anecdotes and irrefutable data. It's a lesson any business leader would do well to take to heart."

—Bill Ford, chairman and CEO,
Ford Motor Company (Photo: JD Power)

Maybe Bill Ford should have read this new book from Dave Power BEFORE he took on the CEO job of his eponymous company (that means it was named for him; well, not exactly him, but his relatives).

But here's a book we'll recommend to all our BLOG readers. It will give readers a rare look at the "insides" of how the auto industry has based its existence for over a decade on the "Customer Satisfaction Index", a polling method developed by J. David Power (yes, he really exists) which, for the first time, quantified the differences in quality between different makes and models.

J. D. Power is the person single-most responsible for the ongoing increase in quality among the major car companies worldwide. Like your car? Thank Dave Power should you ever meet him. We definitely do not mind giving him a free plug for his book, either. Here are some tidbits on the book from the Power website (www.jdpower.com):

J.D. Power and Associates began measuring customer satisfaction nearly four decades ago. What began as a small family run business has grown into a global marketing information firm that is universally recognized as the leader in customer satisfaction research and consulting services. After surveying literally tens of millions of consumers, J.D. Power and Associates is opening the vault on its vast database of information in its first book. In SATISFACTION: How Every Great Company Listens to the Voice of the Customer, readers are shown how to:

	Quantify the elusive link between customer satisfaction and profits;
	Find the sweet spot between spending too little and too much on customer satisfaction;
	Understand exactly how the customer experience determines brand image, and more importantly, consumer behavior;
	Illustrate the key operational differences that separate the customer satisfaction leaders from the also-rans;
	Provide the key do’s and don’ts for generating great customers satisfaction, and
	Learn how to maximize profits by creating your own “voice of the customer" infrastructure.

In addition to sharing decades of research findings, we conducted in-depth investigations of some of the companies consistently recognized as customer satisfaction leaders. They found that companies such as Lexus, JetBlue Airlines, and Enterprise Rent-A-Car not only share many of the same operating philosophies with each other, but also share an uncanny resemblance to many small local companies that have built their reputations on quality and customer service.

Although J.D. Power and Associates employs hundreds of professional researchers and statisticians, SATISFACTION is written for the business professional, not the math major. We’ve kept the charts and graphs to a minimum, and there isn’t a single mathematical formula to be found. Instead, the book makes use of the real-world examples of our clients, along with numerous stories direct from consumers to bring the data to life. To see what we mean, just click on one of the links at the right of this page to read actual excerpts from the book.

THE BALLS OF A VW SALES MANAGER...

The J.D. Power CSI, the Customer Satisfaction Index, is vitally important to dealerships. While the results shown to the public and the media rate dealerships overall by make (for instance, ALL Buick dealerships average...), the survey numbers kept within the industry are dealer-by-dealer. Using Buick as an example again, the Buick Division of General Motors finds out through these surveys how each one of their 1,000-or-so dealers rate in the CSI, which surveys the overall experience the buyer has with the dealer for several years after they purchase a vehicle, including the buying and delivery "experience". A poor CSI may mean that a dealer will not get the "hot" models he needs to sell, or he/she may not be able to take part in some factory-to-dealer incentives. A good CSI means more cars, more money and a better dealer-factory relationship. Here's how Power describes their CSI: "Customer satisfaction with the overall experience within the dealership can considerably impact a dealer’s revenue gain per customer". So you can bet the "Home Office" keeps close tabs on each individual dealer's CSI. Here's what happened to me when I ran into the CSI at a VW dealer in Los Angeles about 15 years ago:

My sister-in-law at the time wanted to buy a new Volkswagen. She had spent a few days looking through the LA TIMES and other local papers, and found a dealer announcing they had "plenty to choose from" of the model she wanted, "with many at this price", which was the price she wanted to pay.

So we trooped down to the VW dealer, whose name I will not mention --- Except to say it was McKenna VW, which at the time had VW/Porsche dealerships in the LA area and they are still in business there and in Orange County --- In any event, the advertising turned out to be a classic "bait and switch". They had plenty of the VW model she wanted,  alright, but certainly NOT at the price advertised. They had "plenty" of them at about $3,500 more than they were advertising.

At the time I was fairly well-known in the LA area for my TV and radio work. I stayed in the background, listening, while salesman after salesman did everything but offer to send my sister-in-law's mother flowers in the rest home --- Only if she would buy the car RIGHT NOW.

We walked out and the next day I called some of my friends in the Public Relations office of Volkswagen. Realizing full well that the distributor (Volkswagen of America) has little if any control over how their dealers operate, I just stated our case and told a good friend of mine who was a rather high mucky-muck: "Listen, all she wants to do is buy the car for the advertised price. That's it".

We were DEFINITELY treated MUCH DIFFERENTLY than any "average" consumer, and some high-level phone calls were made.

We went back to McKenna that evening, greeted by the General Sales Manager, the Sales Manager, and who knows who-else. One of these jerks even gave us the classic line,  "Oh, the salesman who tried to rip you off yesterday was FIRED immediately after we found out!"... Right. Yeah.

Everything went very smoothly. I spoke not at all. She bought the car for the price they had advertised. Now comes the CSI part of the story.

Dealers have been known to pay customers to fill-out the CSI form favorably, take them to dinner, send them on a Las Vegas weekend --- Do just about ANYTHING to please the customer AFTER the purchase to get a good internal CSI number within the corporation. I should say that whether or not this was a J.D. Power CSI survey or one VW was running internally, I do not know. It does not matter, though.

After the sales papers were all signed and the keys handed over, the Sales Manager hands  my sister-in-law the CSI forms and says, and I quote directly, as I will never forget his cigarette-tainted words:

"Now, apart from the fact that we completely misrepresented ourselves, how would you rate your purchase experience?"

BALLS! REAL BALLS!

Welcome to Melibu! And Sid Grauman's (who was a Jew) Chinese Theater!

How much power does Mel Gibson have in Malibu? Check out this "Melibu" sign spotted on Pacific Coast Highway ... and it AIN'T no 'Photoshop' deal ... It's the REAL thang!

Meanwhile, at Sid Grauman's Chinese Theater, Mel's kind-hearted and many-pronged PR defensive takes shape as he offers cash and food to Hollywood's Jewish population. How could anyone resist the love? Everyone, said Mel, knows how much Jews LOVE Chinese food! Which begs the question: If you're a Chinese Jew, where do you go out for dinner?

MEL GIBSON: DUI, RESISTING ARREST AND ANTI-SEMITIC TIRADE; LA SHERIFF COVER-UP ALLEGED

8-3-06 - Latest On Gibson: LOS ANGELES TIMES (Tribune Corporation; they also own KTLA/TV5 in Los Angeles) and TMZ.com (which is owned by AOL Entertainment) both report that Gibson was traveling over twice the legal speed limit when he was stopped by the Sheriffs' officers (86mph in a 40 zone) and he had an OPEN BOTTLE OF TEQUILA with him in his Lexus LS430. (Photo: Mel after a tough night at "Moonshadows", a tourist hangout in Malibu --- "The Official Mugshot").

Anyone who has had any dealings with the LA County Sheriff knows that if it were 'you or me' stopped at 2am in Malibu doing twice the legal speed limit on PCH, extremely drunk and obnoxious to boot, and with open liquor bottle in the car, then calling a female Deputy "Sugar tits" at the station house: We would NOT have been freed on $5,000 bail that same evening! In fact, it would take you or me a week or so to recover from the BEATING we would have gotten! My latest prediction: Gibson (after completing "Celebrity Rehab") will soon visit either the Holocaust Museum in Los Angeles or Washington, DC, where he will write a large check, or Israel, to pray at the Western Wall to ask forgiveness. And he will still be full of shit. These guys never change ... Not at his age! I do feel some sympathy for Mel: Gibson's father needs to be held responsible for raising his son with these sick, disgusting concepts. Gibson needs to publicly reprimand his father for teaching him to hate the Jewish people. Then BOTH of them should retire to the shadows, where they belong, to meditate and pray about their sick, hate-filled lives. And, here's something I never thought I'd say (though I am a big fan of "People's Court"): Thank goodness for Harvey Levin, who exposed this entire episode! Latest from TMZ.com ... Gibson has been stopped by officers in Malibu at least two other times when he exhibited erratic driving, and both times was let go without receiving a ticket or being arrested. Also, Gibson was driven by the SHERIFF in a patrol car to the impound lot where his car was being held. And, finally, it was originally reported that Gibson was freed on $5,000 bail --- Turns out, he was released on OR (own recognizance) ... There was NO bail. Gibson has also been formally charged with two misdemeanors, including the open bottle of liquor in the car and driving above the alcohol breath limit of 0.08%. Why he has not yet been charged with speeding, reckless driving (typical in these cases) and attempt to escape is not yet known. (photo: Mel in make-up for his new film, "My Buddy Saddam").

(Saturday, July 29th): We all know Gibson's film, "Passion of the Christ", was one of the most filthy, disgusting and anti-Semitic pictures made before, during or since Hitler. We also know that Gibson (and his father, who is a world-known "Holocaust Denier"), belong to a Catholic "cult" which disavows any Pope they disagree with ... Such as Pope John Paul II, who ordered the church and its followers to stop any hatred towards the Jewish people, and made it clear that the Jewish population had nothing to do with Christ's death. Gibson's movie told another story, the same old story which Jew-haters have told for 2,100 years. This film was shown to literally millions of young, impressionable Christians around the world who now think that Gibson's view of Christ's death is the 'true' one.

Well, thanks to our tenacious and free American media, the entire world knows for certain and without question tonight that Mel Gibson is a dyed-in-the-wool, common, obnoxious, drunken Jew-hater who over the years lucked into enough money and financiers to tell his version of the "truth". Thank goodness he has been stopped before running for political office in our country.

And now, thanks to TV producer and reporter Harvey Levin and the website tmz.com, we get the REAL story of Gibson's arrest the other night: His attempted escape, his profane insults to the Sheriff's Deputies, the complete original and official on-scene report which the arresting officer was told to "re-do" by his superiors.

He also says in his mea culpa that he has battled alcoholism all his life (now there's a real shock, huh?), is ashamed of his "relapse" (yeah, like his first drink in years was this past Friday night ...) and said things he "does not believe to be true". I bet he'll be in rehab in Malibu (or somewhere else 'secret') by Monday, July 31st. Guaranteed. At the least, he should be taken off the streets.

Hollywood gave Gibson a huge "pass" on "Passion of the Christ", because he has made that industry SO much money over the years. Hollywood heavyweights figured the less anyone said about the film, the better, and it did come and go pretty quickly. With no awards or nominations.

Well, those 'accepting' days are officially over. Mel Gibson is 'persona non grata' for any decent person. And he does not get another chance. Let him love Jesus, retire to the church he has on his Malibu land and wait to go to heaven. That's a good plan for him, I think. (Photo: Mel Gibson in a calmer moment, or getting worked-over by the LA Sheriff).

Now where will Gibson get the money to finance any future productions? Will some Hollywood buddies use him as an actor in their films to someday (and soon) show how far Mel has come in his social "rehab"?

There is plenty of anti-Semitic money of all kinds in this world, so he can always find financiers; but will Gibson want to be publicly associated with those people? Well, I suppose it won't bother him too much: He IS one of "those people". Maybe he can get some Al Queda cash or get a taste from Hezbollah or the "Palestinians".

As Gibson's statements and actions and films have gone totally OVER the line, it's time for Mel to not bother apologizing --- Our world has ,sadly, seen his kind come and go with with a disgusting regularity. Just hope the DMV takes his license and gets him off the road permanently. Or out of the country. Anyone check his immigration papers lately?

And the less said about the LOS ANGELES COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT at this point, the better.

Mel Gibson: True American Scumbag! 

BENNY PARSONS, NASCAR CHAMP, NBC COMMENTATOR, RECEIVING LUNG CANCER TREATMENT

Sad news from the world of motorsports. Benny Parsons, NASCAR's 1973 driving champion, chosen as one of "NASCAR's FIFTY GREATEST DRIVERS" in 1998 and NBC's color commentator for their NASCAR broadcasts, is suffering from lung cancer. Treatment began Wednesday, July 19. Parsons is receiving chemo and radiation therapy; no surgery was announced nor talked about publicly, which may not be a good sign for Parsons, as it might mean the cancer is "inoperable". Parsons came to NASCAR after stints as a taxi driver in Detroit, a story which only adds to his legend.

Parsons, known as "BP" to almost everyone and humorously as "Buffet Benny", a nod to his large girth, says he'll continue with his NBC work as long as the treatments allow him to stay healthy enough to do so. Parsons is one of the most-honored NASCAR racers of all time, with a tough exterior belying the warm human being beneath the "wall" which is necessary of champions in almost any sport.

Though Parsons says he stopped smoking in 1978, his years of heavy cigarette smoking, second-hand smoke from friends in the garage area, and the fumes of the many chemicals, fuels, burning rubber and other expected parts of the "NASCAR racer's lifestyle", appear to have sadly done their damage. Looks like WINSTON has nailed another one.

Here is the complete story courtesy Associated Press:

Benny Parsons has beaten the odds before, rising up from the foothills of North Carolina to a job driving taxis and then all the way to the top of NASCAR.

Now he'll try to win an even bigger battle - this time with cancer.

Parsons, the 1973 champion and current NASCAR commentator on NBC and TNT, was diagnosed with cancer in his left lung and began treatment Wednesday.

"It is winnable," said Parsons, affectionately known throughout NASCAR as "BP."

"But positive attitude is very important in this - you need to think you can win before you will win, and I will do it. I've got races to see won and champions to see crowned, and I've got granddaughters to see raised."

Parsons said he'd never really been sick before, but began having trouble breathing a few months ago. It led him to the family physician, who diagnosed the cancer two weeks ago.

"The first thing everyone asks me is, 'Are you a smoker?' The answer is that I smoked my last cigarette way back in 1978, and since then I've hated being around smoking. I don't even allow anyone in my foursome to smoke on the golf course."

The 65-year-old Parsons will undergo chemotherapy three days a week for three weeks, and also will receive radiation five days a week. He's seeing Dr. Steven Limenpani, who treated NASCAR car owner Rick Hendrick during his battle with leukemia in the late 1990s.

Parsons was in good spirits and said he felt fine after his first treatment on Wednesday.

"It's only in the left lung. It's not spread to any other organs. This is a small-cell cancer that is no place else," he said. "I am assuming these are all good things."

Parsons, who lives in Concord, plans to remain in the booth during his treatments.

"One of Benny's greatest qualities is how unconditionally supportive he is to the racing community," said Dick Ebersol, chairman of NBC Sports. "Now it's our turn to provide that support to him. I ask all of his friends and fans to put him in their prayers tonight."

Named one of NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers in 1998, Parsons made 526 starts from 1964 until his 1988 retirement. He won 21 races, including the 1975 Daytona 500, and 20 poles.

He also had 283 top-10 finishes, led at least one lap in 192 races and finished no lower than fifth in the points from 1972 to 1980 while earning more than $4 million. He also won back-to-back ARCA titles in 1968-69 when he lived in Detroit, before getting his shot at NASCAR.

Parsons said he's been overwhelmed by the outreach from the NASCAR community and fans, and had a short conversation earlier Wednesday with former chairman Bill France Jr., who had his own successful battle with cancer.

"We talked for five minutes and we never mentioned the word racing or NASCAR," Parsons said. "We talked about friendship and cancer."

NASCAR chairman Brian France, Bill's son, said the entire organization was praying for Parsons.

"As one who has seen this battle fought head-on in my own family, I am confident that with the support of his family and the entire NASCAR community, Benny will show all of us, once again, why he is a true champion," he said.

Parsons was born at his parents' rural home in Wilkes County and eventually moved to Detroit, where he worked at a gas station and a cab company owned by his father. After winning back-to-back ARCA titles in 1968-69, he returned to North Carolina in Ellerbe to become a full-time racer, often listing "taxicab driver" as his occupation on entry forms.

He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1994, and the National Motorsports Press Association's Stock Car Racing Hall of Fame in 1995.

Parsons began his broadcasting career in the 1980s as a pit reporter for ESPN and TBS, when he was still racing a partial schedule. He moved into the booth for good in 1989 for ESPN and won a Cable ACE Award for best sports analyst.

He said he hoped to remain in the booth for years to come.

On March 17, 2006, longtime NASCAR driver Bobby Hamilton Sr. announced that he had been diagnosed with neck cancer. On June 7, he finished his chemotherapy treatments and radiation. His son, Bobby Hamilton Jr,. has been filling-in in the driver's seat for his father until the Senior Hamilton recovers. (Photo: Bobby Hamilton at press conference announcing his neck cancer).

ASK DR. Z? WHY?

Only two car companies have ever gotten it right using their own executives as their on-camera TV spokespeople: Chrysler and Nissan. And we mean the old Chrysler, not the new-fangled German corporation called "DaimlerChrysler" (DCX). That all-American company called Chrysler did it first with their 'intrepid' leader, Lee Iacocca. At the time Lido (true first name) did the TV spots, he was already well on his way to becoming an industry and American icon. In those days, he had a book running for months at #1 position on every Best-Seller list, he was head of the commission raising funds to refurbish the Statue of Liberty and there was a serious movement to draft him to run for either the Democratic Senator from Michigan, or, if that didn't work, President of the United States of America. Nissan had a great spokesperson, too. Only thing was, as opposed to Lido, he didn't say anything.

Let's start with "Dr. Z".

"Dr. Z's" real name is Dieter Zetsche and he is on the "Board of Management" of DaimlerChrysler and also is President and CEO of that company's American division, The Chrysler Group. By the way, anyone who is anyone in Germany is at minimum "Dr". Or "Doctor Professor". They are addressed as "Herr Doctor Professor" ... I am not kidding. Most any automotive engineer you meet goes by that title. (Would you buy a new car from this man? "Dr. Z", above and below).

He is responsible for the worldwide operations of Chrysler, Jeep® and Dodge, as well as Mercedes-Benz USA, Canada and Mexico. Born in Istanbul, Turkey, and raised and educated in Frankfurt, Germany, he received his master's degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Karlsruhe in 1976 and was awarded his doctoral degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Paderborn Technical University in 1982.

Now he is starring in all the DCX ads on American TV. The problem? He has a TV presence which is exactly the opposite of Lee Iaccoca's, which we will get into below. You can call him "UN-TV", if that makes sense. He seems to have little of an outgoing personality; he comes across as cold, impersonal and even unfriendly. The spot he does with the little school kids is almost frightening! You're thinking one of the kids, at least, is going to call the cops any minute if this strange old guy doesn't leave them alone ...

He has little if any charisma, at least as far as the TV camera is concerned. This guy is probably a genius engineer and one of the most capable people in the world of automotive manufacturing, marketing and product planning; but none of that comes across your TV screen. He is very uninteresting and I find myself 'clicking' the remote as fast as possible when he comes on, now that I have seen his "act".

With "Dr. Z", there's nothing to "hang around" for; no reason to see if the latest spot is something new and interesting. Based on what we have all seen so far, we can't expect anything which might capture our attention and/or imagination.

And let's face it: With his stoic, Teutonic appearance and especially that accent (the reason more love songs are not written in German), dress him in a black leather coat, put a monocle over one eye and place him in a train car in a B-movie, and the next thing out of his mouth could easily be, "Ze papers, please? You have ze papers?"

Soon after Daimler bought Chrysler, a good friend of mine who worked "near the top" at Chrysler, said, "Let me tell about these Germans. Chrysler has been a pretty loose and fun company the past 20 years; that's how we've come up with all the great, new products! The Germans are different. To them, for example, in the company cafeteria on "Informal Friday", the German executives take note of the special day by sitting down to lunch and removing their sport coats. No Hawaiian shirts, no sandals, no fun, definitely no "no tie", nothing special ... 'Sans' sport coat is as "casual" as they can get!"

Now, "Mr. K" was Nissan's silent spokesperson (played by actor Dale Ishimoto, shown below, who was usually decked-out in a baseball cap and a small dog as an accessory). Those in-the-know understood that "Mr. K" was fashioned after Yutaka Katayama, the man who essentially started Nissan in the USA and put together the basis for their entire dealer network, starting in the 1950s. Katayama became more of an American than Japanese-style executive during his years away from Japan (which did not always sit well with his bosses in Tokyo).

In fact, Katayama became so American-ized, that after his tenure, most Japanese car companies insisted their executives would not stay in the US any more than 3-5 years, and their kids would attend special Japanese schools. Many of them live near each other on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, a luxury area overlooking the Pacific, in company-owned homes, not far from their company headquarters buildings in what is called the "South Bay" area of Los Angeles. No Beverly Hills or Hollywood for these guys (and their families!).

"Mr. K", as he was respectfully and lovingly known by his USA staff, fought the top Datsun/Nissan executives in Tokyo and won the fight; not only to bring the "Z" car to the USA in the early '70s, but also to change its name from what is was known as in its home market: "Fair Lady Z". Why "Fair Lady"? It was explained to me once in Japan by a top Datsun/Nissan executive: "One of our big bosses is an Audrey Hepburn fan". That actress starred in the popular movie "My Fair Lady" ... Interestingly, I once got the same answer when I asked a vice-president of Daihatsu why they named a car "Charade" ... So much for paying outside marketing firms millions of dollars to develop new names for cars, trucks and motorcycles ...

The "Mr. K" in the TV commercials would appear in a variety of situations, dressed sometimes like a baseball umpire (?), working at times in his "Dream Garage" (the name of the initial 2-minute long TV spot featuring the character) and never spoke a word. He was there, apparently, to impart some sort of Eastern-style wisdom (and directions on which car to buy).

These mid-'90s ads were strange and not successful (much like Nissan's other division, Infiniti, which ran their now-infamous "rocks and trees" ads when the division first started in 1990), but they did endear the "Mr. K" character to millions of American TV viewers. Ask any Car Nut who Mr. K was and they might know the entire story, but the will remember the ads. However, they might not remember which cars he was selling. (Photo: Original 1970 Datsun Fair Lady 240Z).

The real Mr. K had been "retired to a window office" in Japan by 1980, a Japan Inc. euphemism for being removed from decision-making. He was also given authority over one of Nissan's suppliers, another sign of forced retirement. Datsun/Nissan's products from 1980 through almost 1995 were, for the most part, quite lackluster and unexciting, reflecting to Nissan employees and enthusiasts how important and far-thinking Katayama had really been. He is over 90 now and still active; we attended his 80th birthday party at the Petersen Auto Museum in Los Angeles. I last spoke with him at the 2006 TOKYO MOTOR SHOW, when Katayama lamented Nissan's chief Carlos Ghosn's move of the company's USA headquarters from Gardena, in southern California to, of all places ... Nashville?!?

The Nissan buildings have over many years become beacons to southern California drivers, monuments and landmarks at the area surrounding the San Diego and Harbor Freeways, just blocks from the last location of the infamous Ascot Park race track. More than 40% of Nissan-USA's top people have already left the company, rather than make this move, which I predict will do terrible harm to the company's ability to "stay on top" of southern California and even Japanese automotive trends. (Photo: The REAL Yutaka Katayama presents the keys to the Datsun pace car to Parnelli Jones at Ontario Motor Speedway).

Lee Iaccoca, and "you gotta love 'em!",on the other hand, never shut up, and he had it all, everything the TV cameras demanded: Charisma, presence, power, projecting integrity and righteousness, when he said "Buy a car, get a check!", you damn well seriously thought about it!

By the way, those spots were done initially by Joe Garagiola, who once hosted "NBC's TONIGHT SHOW" one night when Johnny Carson was on vacation and the guests were John Lennon and Paul McCartney ... but THAT is another story. And also a great trivia question and topic!

Iaccoca literally invented car-buying incentives with those ads, something which will forever put Iaccoca in the hearts of consumers and on the sh*t-list of all other car-makers. Sales of Iaccoca's K-cars zoomed, the minivan continued on a hot streak, and Chrysler's PR office, which was the best the  auto industry had ever seen, continued pounding the drum for their "future products", which, when they appeared as the daring "LH" cars, sold like the proverbial hot cakes. (Photo: Iacocca on one of his several TIME covers).

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