Historiography: The Fine Car Era
For starters, your definition may be different than the next person’s. Luxury is subjective to the beholder. How you define it depends on your expectations of what luxury means to you. Also, how luxury feels to you.
Tag: Cadillac
Commentary: Is Cadillac Still The "Standard of The World?"
"Standard of the world" dictated a level of luxury one expects from the crest of the Cadillac family as applied to each automobile since 1903. Some would argue that its level of luxury would only be eclipsed by a chosen few – Rolls-Royce, Duesenberg, Pierce-Arrow, Marmon, to name some of the few. It had its contemporaries, such as Packard and Lincoln. Even Chrysler’s Imperial would match Cadillac's level of luxury during its time as the top model in the company’s lineup.
Quickies: Vehicles Published Elsewhere – Round 3 for 2019
Here we go again! Round 3 of this year’s roundup of vehicles that I worked with but appear elsewhere in the mediasphere. Sometimes, it is hard to track which vehicles were published where. However, CarSoup.com has been getting the lion’s share of my work lately. It is with intention, as they try to build traffic for vehicle reviews before site visitors select which vehicles they should choose from. It works that simply. But, hey, at least V&R gets some traffic on here for our (er, my) reviews. You’ve read them, right?
Commentary: Going Back To Its Roots
Tweet Photo by Randy Stern This was a move that should not have happened in the first place. When Johan De Nysschen was named the head of General Motors' Cadillac brand, those of us who knew of his work with Audi and Infiniti knew what he could do to the "Standard of The World." He …
Commentary: A Change at Cadillac House
Tweet Photo by Randy Stern It is true…Johan De Nysschen is out at Cadillac! This past week, General Motors made a very important decision regarding the future of Cadillac. They essentially replaced De Nysschen with Steve Carlisle, who ran GM Canada until recently. Reports cite that this personnel move was due to slow sales in …
Historiography: The "X" Factor
TweetIn 1975, Cadillac took an important step to reclaim lost sales of their larger, more iconic automobiles. They introduced the Seville. The Seville represented a new kind of Cadillac – trim, small, but had every inch of Cadillac luxury inside and out. A 5.7-liter V8 powered this trim new Cadillac, even in the face of …
Historiography: The Misapplication of Issigonis' Engineering Breakthrough
TweetThe first application of Sir Alec Issigonis' engineering breakthrough – All Photos by Randy Stern, except otherwise noted Remember Sir Alec Issigonis? The innovation he created by switching the orientation of the engine, changing the traditional transmission to a transaxle and sending power to the front wheels was a magnificent idea! The Austin/Morris Mini was …
My Favorites From My Birth Year
TweetWhat was so good about the year I was born? The Beatles, The Supremes, Muscle and Pony Cars…am I missing anything else? Here’s an idea: Shove an engine from one of the full-sized models into a smaller one. Before you do, you have to upgrade the transmission, driveline, final drive ratio, suspension, tires, wheels, brakes …
Chicago 2016: Playing Catch Up
TweetAfter seven Media Days, The Chicago Auto Show still serves up good opportunities to catch debuts of new products, watch revisions of current ones and catch up on vehicles seen at prior auto shows. The latter is important, since it seemed that everyone else had their chance to put their paws on it while I …
My Favorite Vehicles of 2015
TweetIn a busy year full of adventures with car clubs, cruises, big events, media junkets and auto shows, where do I have enough time to explore those vehicles that made this year special? Somehow I did. Not just for V&R, but for the other outlets I write for. Somewhere, someone has seen what I thought …