- Part 175

Ghosts Along the Assembly Line: The East Bay Edition

February 21, 2012 by Randy Stern

A product of Fremont, California. Photo by Randy Stern

California was the land of great opportunity a century ago. After the Gold Rush, people sought their fortunes through finding new ways to ensure the wealth of a state that promised almost perfect weather year round.

Many opportunities presented themselves for the newly-minted Californian. Oil, railroads and financial houses formed the backbone of the economy before the San Francisco Earthquake in 1906. It continued in various forms throughout the century – through two world wars and the Great Depression.

It is clear there are three economies driving my home state: A well-balanced Southern California, the agricultural Central Valley and the Bay Area. Unlike its suntanned rival in the south, San Francisco and Oakland bore the work that off-loaded boats from the Pacific and built everything and anything in its bowels. This went on until the Summer of Love changed at least one part of the Bay Area.

While San Francisco saw battles between longshoreman and the city's government, the entire East Bay puts nose to the grindstone. The railroads ended effectively in Oakland giving industry and commerce a place to grow. The automotive industry saw opportunities for another part of their West Coast distribution strategy to build their cars in the East Bay.

In the heart of it all was Oakland – the bicep that pulled the entire Bay Area’s weight. Tucked away on the other side of San Francisco Bay, Oakland was the center of industry and home of Kaiser and Clorox. From Richmond to Milpitas, the Big Three had their plants positioned to feed into the railroad hub at what is now called Jack London Square.

Let's take a tour from San Pablo Bay down the East Bay corridor – and a little surprise just over the Altamont Pass.

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Historiography: 100 Years of Turning the Key

April 10, 2014 by Randy Stern

6889474737_3270e60328_z — Photo (c)2012 General Motors

It was a century ago that the most important piece of automotive necessity was introduced.

Imagine a time when you had to use physical force to start a car. No matter the weather or the conditions, you took a doglegged piece of metal, stuck it into a hole underneath the radiator and rotated the bent stick so quickly in hopes that the starter/magneto/electric thingy would wake up the sleeping car for the drive. It is not as easy as one think it would be…

It took great strength to get it started the first time. Think about when you had to start your lawn mower. You pulled the starter rope to get it going, right? It is the same principle, but compared to starting a car with a crank, your mower was easy to start up.

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Five Favorite Motorsport Events for 2012

February 15, 2012 by Randy Stern

Photo by Randy Stern

So, the New York Giants won Super Bowl XLVI a week-and-a-half ago. That's nice.

Remember sometime last month when I discussed how motorsport had started to become a sport I'd follow rather than the ones I used to love? Sure, there's serious money behind motorsport, but there is also a beauty in watching certain series that does not have the taint of ridiculously inflated salaries, performance enhancing substance use, over the top swagger and other forms of douchebaggery.

You could argue that most of that exists in some forms of motorsport. Formula One and NASCAR’s Sprint Cup are all about ego. Less so in IndyCar, but you can tell there's plenty of ambition to compete where the money is on the level of Derek Jeter or Kobe Bryant.

Unfortunately, I have never attended a motorsport event. I wanted to. My mother was not keen on having me attend the Long Beach Grand Prix – even during the days of Formula One. It would have been nice, though, to get the experience of loud engines and fast action.

If I did, where would I want to go? Where would I start? Where should you go? How about a Five Favorites-formatted guide to suggestions and ideas as to motorsport events that would be of my interest…and, perhaps, yours?

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Ghosts Along the Assembly Line – The Hometown Edition

May 23, 2020 by Randy Stern

TweetGrowing up in Southern California, I was blessed with reminders that I did live in a form of paradise. Paradise is a relative term. Normally, that would mean perfect weather year-round, leisure opportunities within minutes of your doorstep and an infinite quantity of sustenance. For me, it meant that I lived in a city just …

Chicago 2012: A Little Perspective

March 5, 2012 by Randy Stern

All photos by Randy Stern

Every year, there is an attempt to capture more of an event than ever. As an automotive writer/journalist/whatever-the-hell-you-want-to-call-me, these attempts can either be beneficial for you, dear reader. Or, it would a complete waste of bandwidth full of saccharine and moose turd.

However, this year's Chicago Auto Show became more of another steppingstone towards building a career out of talking about the automobile. I chose this path to create more beneficial material that is entertaining, informative and worth clicking on this site (or the Lavender magazine site). To do so, you set the stage through collaboration and relationships in order to deliver the goods.

The core tasks of working these shows is to find the right mix of vehicle launches, follow-ups from prior introductions and review subjects throughout the year, connecting with industry folks and fellow scribes/photographers and establishing a plan for the upcoming year. Compared to last year, this Chicago Auto Show yielded more than I ever expected in this work. I wished I had more time to accomplish a lot more than what has already been published.

There were some highlights from the two days at McCormick Place.

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Chicago 2012: The Picks of The Show

February 19, 2012 by Randy Stern

In case you’re wondering, yes, I do have some favorites amongst what I have experienced at the 2012 Chicago Auto Show.

I am certain that this would turn into another Five Favorites article where I bold the names of five specific automobiles; go into a brief explanation why they’re significant and so forth. No. There were many vehicles I spend time checking out inside and out that only four stood out amongst the multitude in the North and South Halls of McCormick Place.

Chicago 2012: Plenty of Catching Up To Do…

February 9, 2012 by Randy Stern

Consider how large the Chicago Auto Show's exhibition space is. That is 1.2 million square feet of space that has everything and anything you will need to navigate through the automotive world. Couple that with in-show experiences – ride-alongs, an area celebrating the United States Army, fun areas for the kids, vendors, and so forth – then you understand why one would come to McCormick Place in mid-February.

Between the two auto shows I attend annually, Chicago offers more bang for the buck. The First Look for Charity is considered one of the top events to do for the socially mobile in the Chicagoland Area. The show attracts an entire region to McCormick Place with new vehicles that are currently on sale or coming soon to a dealer near you.

As a member of the working automotive media corps, if I was unable not attend the shows in Los Angeles, Detroit, New York, Houston, Washington, or anyplace we are welcome, Chicago is a great place to catch up on what I missed throughout the calendar.

Let’s do some catching up, shall we?

Chicago 2012: What's New at McCormick Place

February 9, 2012 by Randy Stern

Chicago Auto Show is still considered one of the major exhibitions of the automobile in the USA. Being one of the "majors" on the USA auto show circuit, manufacturers are given the opportunity to debut brand new or revised models to their lineups. Chicago continues to provide this opportunity for the automotive world to see what’s new and different for the upcoming model year.

In recent times, manufacturers are no longer tied to the auto shows to create debut events. Also, the number of opportunities for these debuts are being consolidated or reduced for various different reasons. At one time, the Chicago Auto Show organizers were planning to consolidate their press conference schedule into one day. Luckily, they did not do so this year. Who is to say whether they will do this in the future?

Still, there are some debuts to be discussed. Here’s the best ones that showed up at McCormick Place…

Chicago 2012: A Preview

February 6, 2012 by Randy Stern

Tweet A scene from the 2011 Chicago Auto Show. Photo by Randy Stern The North American International Auto Show inspired a lot of optimism amongst all of us working in and around the automotive industry. The show recently held in Detroit hosted a slew of major introductions on the floor of Cobo Hall amid an …

Commentary: The Story Continues…

February 4, 2012 by Randy Stern

Today is Super Bowl Sunday…for most of us.

For me, it is just another Sunday. Actually, this date is a historic one normally marked annually by some magical event that occurred at dawn on this date 48 years ago.

Somewhere along the Ventura Freeway at a hospital on Balboa Boulevard in Encino, California, a baby boy was born to a Barbara Jean Stern and her husband Sheldon. He was a healthy infant – a bit chubby, but no signs of immediate health issues. They brought him home…and the rest is, well, history.

There is a tinge of embarrassment in telling this story. I'm getting to an age where birthdays become somewhat meaningless. Don't get me wrong, I have no qualms about celebrating it. It's just that it doesn’t have the cache as it once had.

Of course, I'll say this now and my 50th comes up in two years…black balloons, coffin cakes and all.

I still believe in trying to do something special on this day.