I have an upcoming artist feature in the relatively new Benchrace Magazine, an online publication geared toward the hot rod community, and loaded with absolutely killer feature articles each month, and I’m pretty stoked, as this is really the first online ‘zine to include my work.
Cover of Benchrace #9
Weighing in at nine issues (when the new one hits, anyway), the magazine has already nailed some killer content, including stuff from guys like Jim “Jake” Jacobs, Tom Fritz, our good pal Jimmy Smith, Dan Picasso and more! Hell, it’s even had the great Reverend Billy Gibbons on the pages! Good times indeed!
Suffice to say, it was cool when Robert threw the idea out there to feature my art… I’m always stoked when anyone takes notice of my stuff, and it was a good experience! As part of the fun, I was asked to offer up a print as part of his monthly prize drawing, and I’ve obliged, offering up on of my signed/numbered and limited-edition pieces, the Mahi Mah-T:
Show rod artwork by Problem Child Kustoms Studio-- Win it!
Add to that (by golly, it just gets better and better, huh?) the chance to win a free set of wheels, compliments of Real Rodders Wheels, just for subscribing (it’s FREE, by the way), and the icing is on the cake:
Win a set of Real Rodders Wheels by registering at Benchrace Magazine!
If you get a chance, check it out… I think you’ll enjoy it.
Got into a great conversation with a friend recently over a few donuts and some coffee, and talk turned to historical cars that offer inspiration from a variety of standpoints…. and it tied in perfectly with what’s going on in the automotive industry… especially with American companies folding. This kills me, as there seems to be absolutely NO RESPECT for the advances made by American car companies, or their impact on technology and the economy at large.
As you may already know, I have a deep fascination with all things Ferrari. The sheer elegance of design, combined with the amazing heritage and utter lust for performance that these machines elicit in one’s mind… hell, one’s soul, even, is the stuff of legend. Yet, surprisingly, for a guy who talks a lot, I’ve never touched on another great car to come from not Italy (although we’ll touch on that later), but from right here in the US, the mighty Duesenberg.
How can one deny the sheer excitement of any of the company’s offerings? Hell, even the history of the marque is filled with the stuff of legend. Two brothers, both self-taught engineers (think about it, isn’t every hot rodder somewhat of a self-taught engineer?) set out to build sports cars. August and Fred built cars in the ’20’s that had features you might find on today’s cars: four valves per cylinder, dual overhead cams, and even juice brakes!
Anyway, the history of the marque is readily available with some minimal research skills, so we won’t waste time on chronology here. What interested me most about the Brothers Duesenberg, was their use of superchargers and other go-fast goodies that seems, well, kind of strange, given the years in question. We’re talking cars in the late ’20’s that had 140 MPH capability! An American, coach-built car (hell, by the time a wealthy owner got done, these things weighed tons!) that could run 0-60 times in roughly eight seconds! Again, that’s PRE-1930! If that’s not engineering and hot rodding at its finest, well, grab some stronger coffee, sir, and wake up.
Moving along, an interesting point was brought up regarding the partnership of one Virgil Exner and Fritz Duesenberg (son of August) on the Stutz Bearcat…. here was the prime example of Chrysler design, working with the heir of the genius that was Duesenberg. Sadly, this was a doomed marque (but sure made creative use of domestic offerings from Delta 88’s to Grand Prix’s!) One begins to wonder what may have been, had this partnership been at a more opportune time. In a way, there’s a lot of inspiration to be found in there…. the use of existing, perhaps not-so-inspirational cars to begin with, to create a coach-built car with performance, all while giving a nod to this golden age.
Sadly, we’re at a point where the political agendas and underlying turmoil have destroyed the industry, and are stripping the historical significance of our storied past, and leaving with it a revised version, loaded with controversy. At it’s most basic level, this is an industry that is dynamic, exciting and loaded with great stories of great men and innovation, and to not be inspired by any of it leaves one to consider anyone’s dedication to it in a much brighter light.
We’re in an age now (in the hot rodding hobby) where we have talented builders following on this original path, and creating incredible cars from almost nothing. While it’s exciting to witness, it just seems altogether more interesting when compared to a historical reference point, and one draws out some inspiration from two brothers who simply wanted to build fast cars… Ahh, the good old days.
In an age when everything is either “inspired by” or “derived from”, or “created in partnership” via some “creative commons licensing agreement”, it gets to a point where we have to celebrate the nearly mundane when it finally produces an original thought. (consider U2 ripping the Escape Club, who ripped Elvis Costello and so on…) This, as you can imagine, pisses me off. Hell, if you know me, kittens can piss me off, so this isn’t really much of a stretch.
Anyway… While discussing the van culture of the ’70’s recently, I stumbled across a video for an old movie “The Van” (not to be confused with the mode of transport your creepy neighbor who works at the chloroform plant is always hauling candy and rags in)… and instantly recognized a similarity between 1974 and the present day (beyond bad acting, terrible haircuts and really shitty cinematography).
This clip:
Is eerily close to any reveal on “Pimp My Ride”…. (pardon the video– not much out there to choose from) :
Odd…certainly. Creepy as all hell… why yes it is.
Considering the two, I think I’ll take vannin’. Less chance of having to listen to rap music and deal with some douchebag with a fauxhawk… and my Converse All-Stars will still be in style. Keep on vannin’, or whatever.
…that said, I got nothin’ else. Enjoy the mind-blowing-ness that is modern entertainment versus van movies.
…or at least the dust left behind by this monster:
I think I could handle this buzzing around in my garage...
When the AMC Hornets were new, the ads read with slogans like “If you think it looks good, wait’ll you feel it perform!”, “It’s not our strong guarantee that makes our Hornet a tough little car”, and “It’s beautiful when you fill it up”… Taking those sales pitches waaaaayyyy out of context bred the bright yellow beast above.
Right out of the box, I wanted to play up the automaker’s legacy, by using some references to Wisconsin, naturally, and then just say “screw convention”, and mess aound with a largely forgotten car… Thus, we have an AMC, some Green Bay colors, and, uh, well… that’s about it, aside from the crappy “cheese” line at the start.
Moving along, I’ve had this sick road racing-inspired ride “buzzing” in my head for about two years, and have played with the drawing on and off over that time span. I had watched The Man With the Golden Gun some time back, and it re-kindled a love affair with all things AMC (even if it would have been better had they used Alice Cooper’s song of the same name… but that’s another story for another time). When the master, Steve Stanford played with some AMC concepts last year, it re-kindled my interest in the idea, and after seeing just how dedicated the AMC guys are, I finally got all of the sketches into one place.
The concept: A ‘74 Hornet built with a nod to the Mulholland road-race crowd of the ’70’s. A tube chassis with a 9-inch center section IRS and Corvette-based front suspension allows the car to sit right on the ground, and the full ‘cage helps everyone insode feel safe as the world rushes by in a blur.
Speaking of “rushing by”, motivational power would be via a twin turbo 360, backed by a six speed… no LS-motors or otherwise… this baby would be an AMC through-and-through.
Body-wise, a late-model Challenger hood would donate its center, while retaining the stock Hornet hood peak and emblem recess, as it looks almost natural that way. The factory parking lamps would hit the swap meet, and air inlets installed to feed the mighty engine. While we’re up front, let’s drill out the heavy front bumper, add some driving lights, and then lightly tuck it to the body, and rework the fenders for a flush-fit look. A chin spoiler and splitters further play up the idea, and help to cut through the night air.
Side-exit exhaust just looked so damn cool, and sitting as low as this thing does, it made sense, too. Out back, I’m seeing a pair of ‘89 Mustang LX tail lights (nothing personal, just never liked the stock units), and a notched rear bumper to show off the rear belly pan.
Just wanted to share one of the little “side” projects that always seem to be floating around the Studio, and show a little love to the hard-core AMC crowd. Hope you dig it.�..
And you know, that song has been stuck in my head for weeks. It’s been years since I first heard the Kinks’ song “Do It Again”, and it kind of slid its way into the soundtrack of my life… What made me bring this up is the recent train of thought I’ve been on, with respect to my work, art and life in general. It seems that as things drift closer and closer to the absurd, I’m finding my inspiration in the very stuff that got me into this in the first place, which, as it turns out, is just absolutely beautiful.
Consider a few things, if you’ll humor me (on what has become a long-ass post):
Like anything you find an interest in, eventually you move forward from that original starting point, and hopefully improve upon it, build your skills, and in some instances, find new inspiration someplace else. For me, my interest in art started with comic books, the MAD Magazine and CARtoons Magazine, finally leaping to fine art, namely surrealist paintings and Op-Art. While attending college, I majored in Fine Art, painting and drawing, and was thankfully exposed to a number of different styles, techniques, approaches… and I’d say that just about 90% of it was shit. Somewhere, it seems, craftsmanship was replaced by some rote technique, and “trendy” found a home in the one place it should have never been allowed.
My answer to that? I drew cars again. With the art world pandering to any two-bit hack with a brush, there was a certain peace in sketching hot rods and customs. I moved along with the times, bringing the digital tools into my work, and have continued to push the combinations of organic and electric. But every now and then, I slip into a comfortable routine, and just hit “auto pilot” for a bit… Yeah, I feel kind of guilty about that. I become the very thing that makes me rebel in the first place… And you know what? It’s good. It brings about some good, I should say!
What’s truly unique about this particular moment is that I have, for the first time, combined a lot of those early influences into my work at the same time. It’s been amazing, and only getting better! The point here, though, isn’t so much about what has BEEN inspired, but more WHAT has inspired.
I looked back at my more artsy roots, and recall the first time I saw Victor Vasarely’s work “Vega-Nor”, an Op-Art (“optical art”) piece at the Albright-Knox.
Op-Art at its finest. Photo taken @ Albright-Knox Art Gallery, ca. 2002
This painting warped my young brain… not surprising, as that was its intent… After all, the point of Op-Art is to toy with one’s perception, using color and line. I really learned more about using line quality from that piece than anywhere else! It was later in life, while working on a rendering that I stopped to consider just how much depth you could create on paper just with line pressure… up until then, I had a pretty good idea, but the process and idea just seemed, well, natural. Vasarely, mind you, was well ahead of his time. Granted, this whole Op-Art movement was set in motion by the German mathematician (and artist!) Josef Albers, who experimented in the ’30’s with color, working to create spatial effects, but Vasarely moved it forward, working to create work that all could enjoy and take part in… kind of an anti-agenda, if you will… and as for being ahead of his time? Consider that in 1953, the man stated that “In the future, we will attend projected exhibits by contemporary artists. Two days will suffice to send a large show by envelope to any point in the globe. And in the attached letter, as in some sort of partition, in cyphers and terminology, the artist will present the initial and true conditions of his creation.”
Holy (expletive) premonition!!
Continuing this thought, he added that “from now on, the new technologies are here to diffuse art instantaneously to the masses.” Ponder this…. the man essentially predicted email, and the use of a means to reach millions in moments, using art coupled with technology. Thinking about this over the past few weeks, it hit me that truly, I was, like the Kinks song mentioned earlier, getting back to where I started! (definitely “lost between tomorrow and yesterday, between now and then”!) Here I am, playing with technology, and bringing in the old techniques. How cool is THAT??! (of course, to keep my cred with the artsy camp, I could point out the irony of using a pop band to illustrate an awakening based in art itself… that should buy some time and sound deep, too)
Over on the opposite side of this note, we have the unseen forces that make it all happen… Beyond the lines and colors and techniques, we have the almost intangible combinations of things that inspire a work to begin with. It’s that collection of inspirations that bring us to grab a pencil to begin with… all of those thoughts and items that begin to form a mental image. Each piece, no matter how insignificant on its own adds to the total. By concentrating on these smallest parts, a bigger picture forms… On that thought, I suppose that this is why I’ve always held a certain disdain for the Nihilistic approach, as it make no sense at all. Everything has some value, it has to. Victor Hugo made the point that “There is no such thing as nothingness, and zero does not exist. Everything is something. Nothing is nothing.”
So, I suppose, it’s remotely odd that I’d look fondly upon Op-Art and Surrealism so fondly, when either could, at any moment fall over the edge into Nihilism, and eat itself. Perhaps that is what makes it so damn fascinating to me in the first place” Walking that very fine line, and doing its’ own thing for shits and giggles. It’s the same reason that I enjoy the whole “Theater of the Absurd” movement (and its relevance to modern life)… it takes something so necessary for communication (language), and places complete distrust in it, opting for an alternative to illustrate a point…
It’s no different than customizing a car, really. You simply have to look beyond what was placed in front of you (the stock car), and find a new way to express an alternate form from it. Consider that, in linguistic terms, having the same car as everyone else would be, by nature, a cliche’. While the Theater of the Absurd attempted to show an audience through an onslaught of cliche’s, overly-technical jargon and essentially unconventional speech that they could elevate their communication by seeking more authentic means, and thus communication more clearly, customizing a car communicates non-verbally, and far more effectively that we are all individuals. It goes light years beyond the spoken or written word (which is why, most likely, that the photos in car magazines are so big compared to the text!) And perhaps that’s a scientific explanation of why a mild custom works so well… there is beauty in simplicity, and by golly, when applied to a car, it transcends art.
What’s also neat about this whole Theater of the Absurd/Op-Art/Brian’s listening to the Kinks again deal is how there really is no conflict when done right… much like designing a kick-ass custom. Flow is everything! Consider this video (a visual version of “Bulbous Bouffant” by the Vestibules, a long-time favorite of mine)… Consider the communication… odd, not a lot of sense, but it entertains, and finds a rhythm:
Like any good design, it drags you along for the ride, enjoying the flow, and really not asking for a hell of a lot in return. And that, my friend, is a magical thing… When you can combine a couple of things, and just make it “happen”, it’s icing on the cake. Here’s hoping you’ll stay tuned and enjoy the ride! To say the least, I’m pretty stoked about where its all heading now, and the clients I’ve been fortunate enough to have are right along on this ride, making it even more fun. Like the song at the start of this entry says, “day after day I get up and I say I better do it again”, and that takes us, literally, back to where we started…
…after months of long days, longer nights, and nothing short of extreme dedication from some absolutely remarkable, talented and great friends, Resilience hit the floor of building 5 of the 60th Annual Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona! Erik and Paul Hansen’s “Strange Buick” more than lived up to its name, and stuck it out through what looked to be some bleak times in the past few weeks, and pulled off a strong finish! I’ll spare the heavy details for after the show, but wanted to put up a few words and photos to share he excitement with you. If you can, grab a copy of the new Rod and Custom Magazine, and check out the original rendering for the car…
At the 60th Grand National Roadster Show
One-off wheels
The mighty copper-colored Buick will be in Sacramento this weekend at the Autorama… stop by and say hello if you’re in the area… and stop by the website at www.problemchildkustoms.com for more on the car, as well as the Hall of Fame Luncheon videos!
About a year ago at the Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona, I met with Tim Strange and the Hansens, Erik and Paul, to discuss a project that we had been kicking around. I was absolutely floored by the way we all just meshed with ideas… the creativity that morning just flowed, and there was an incredible amount of collaboration. It foreshadowed the great time we’ve all had on the project… Tim’s incredibly long days and nights notwithstanding.
In any event, the big Buick project began moving forward, and true to its name, “Resilience”, it’s shaping up to be one amazing custom car, with a ton of classic and modern touches that reflect not only the golden age of the craft, but the personalities of everyone involved. I’m stoked about this car like none before it, and can’t say enough good about the way it has progressed from paper to steel, and hope you’ll enjoy it, too when it hits the floor at the Grand National Roadster Show.
You may recognize Tim’s name from, well, everywhere… and the Hansens from their 2005 AMBR-winning “Sedeuced”. While I can’t give away too much here, I did want to thank some of the great and talented folks involved so far in making the car come to reality, and share a sneak peek at the killer induction…
A Caddy mill for a Buick custom...
Thanks to Carrie Strange (keep sneaking the Rockstars in Tim’s soup!), Dave Neal, Shawn Ray, Jim Decrane, Chuck Heerde, Dan & Betty Strange, Jesse Greening (and his crew at Greening Auto Works), Mark Rolen, John Loveridge, Tucci Hot Rods, AutoRon’s, Classic Instruments, Air Ride Technologies, BF Goodrich, Dynamat, Flowmaster, Hot Hues by DuPont, Iwata Spray Guns, Kicker Car Audio, Motorhead Design House, Pearlcraft, Advanced Plating, and supportive families, significant others, and energy drink and coffee suppliers from IL to AZ to CA…
As a wide-eyed kid, I’d flip open the latest car magazines and drool over the works of my hot rod design heroes… Guys like Charlie Smith, Thom Taylor and Steve Stanford were (and still are!) the guys I looked up to, hoping to one day at least meet these giants among men. They, and other artists like them were my inspiration to head out and do what I love. Never did I dream that I’d be able to make a career of it, but the world works in an odd way… That, along with long days and longer nights paid off in allowing me to do something I love for a living.
Along the way, I have been beyond fortunate to have made great friends, and meet guys I read about in books as a kid, and all have played a great role in making those Math class dreams a reality. One such friend has been the immensely talented Dwayne Vance, a guy who cranks out work that continually makes my head spin, and who has contributed hours of enlightening and entertaining conversation over the years. When Dwayne called and asked for some samples of my work for a book project, I was floored… When he mentioned the names to appear in it, I was speechless… He rounded up Randy Ricklefs, John Bell, James Owens, Eric Brockmeyer, Michael Miernik, Max Grundy, Jimmy Smith, Justin Chin, Thom Taylor, Larry Wood and Steve Stanford! A veritable Who’s Who in our industry… and he had asked me to be a part of this… Amazing. Just amazing! To walk amongst giants like this, well… I still have no idea what to say, except “thank you, man”. Absolutely priceless.
A peek inside!
…and speaking of priceless, the book will be packaged with an instructional CD by Dwayne to accompany the outstanding look into how he does what he does! Hopefully it finds a spot on bookshelves all over the world, and becomes just what it should be: A valuable resource for countless wide-eyed kids drawing hot rods on folders in classrooms everywhere, gearing up for the day when we “old timers” can read THEIR incredible books.
The book is available for pre-order HERE, and after the official release, you may also order it on my site, as well as a number of other retail sites and stores… Thanks for checking it out.
…go ahead… say it out loud a few times… faster now. It just sorta rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?
I was beyond stoked to get the phone call from Denny Terzich regarding the latest bad-boy project getting underway at ProRides… It was an honor to talk with him and make a new friend to begin with, but even sweeter was that his call was the result of another referral… Nothing makes my day like knowing that a client thought enough of me to “tell a friend”! Suffice to say, it’s another drag car, and shares that killer stance and blistering performance we’ve come to expect after their 2007 Drag Week harbinger of speed ‘67 Camaro.
The rendering!
After accomplishing a major record in Hot Rod Magazine’s Drag Week 2007, ProRides is about to embark on a new level of performance never seen before.
Not only did ProRides head to Drag Week with the intention of beating the old record (think mid-low 8 second 1/4 mile times!), but to finish the event, driving 1,000 miles while pulling a trailer. While the bets were being placed that the clean black Camaro wouldn’t even finish the week, the car shook the hot rod and race world by posting a first pass E.T. of 7.64. Truly the pass heard ’round the world! Granted, the ProRides team was as surprised as anyone, and the venture served to underscore the positive results that come from combining great companies and partnerships with a thorough process.
Chassis construction!
After talking to Rob Kinnan of Hot Rod Magazine at this year’s Drag Week, the ProRides crew had the idea of building a 6-second ET capable car to drive the grueling 1,000 mile Drag Week course. Imagine…. a 6 second ET vehicle driving 200-300 miles per day while pulling a trailer!!! Unheard of, and a true torture test for the components involved… While many have claimed they have a street car that is very fast and even some that state in the 6 second E.T. range, it’s obvious that anyone can idle around at a local car cruise or show. The true test is actually driving the car on the street. This is the reason why the “Fastest Street Car in America” can only be crowned at this event.
Coverage of the build will be inside of Hot Rod Magazine’s “Project Garage” section and on their website. ProRides is also working with Scott Killeen of the BuildBook series to document the entire build… and if you’ll be at the show, check out the rolling chassis at PRI, in the SunCoast Racecars Booth, # 363 South Hall. And of course, look for more updates, as well as that crazy grin plastered to my face…
Twenty years ago this week, the Edmonton Oilers traded Wayne “The Great One” Gretzky to the LA Kings, marking the day that Hockey stood still. August 9, 1988 is a date that still elicits a response in any Hockey fan, and for good reason. I’ll throw in another date: December 12, 2000, the day that GM announced that they were pulling the plug on Oldsmobile. Two very different events with very different outcomes… yet, they share a few key things in common, and a valuable lesson that a carmaker could have learned from a Hockey player.
Consider the impact that Gretzky had on the game (if not a community): 1851 points… 200+ points in each of four seasons… 92 goals in ONE season! (hell, being a Sabres fan, I have to point out that Alexander Mogilny came close once… at 70) Take a moment to fathom that, then, consider that his record has stood since being set in the ’81-’82 season. The man’s photo should appear in the dictionary under the word “Hockey”. I could spout off stats here, but you can find those easily enough… Suffice to say, he dominated the game on the ice. Yet, what he did OFF of the ice would forever change the game as well.
In 1988, the Great One was traded to the LA Kings.
The deal was monstrous to begin with, but the terms were astounding in their own right: The Oilers gave up the league’s reigning superstar for $15 million, three number one draft picks, Krushelnyski, McSorley, and negotiating rights to minor league defensemen, along with LA’s Jimmy Carson (a recent pick who just put up 55 goals).
Take a second to drink in that trade.
Not only was that big money in ’88, but it broke up a team that had “dynasty” written all over it… If you’re a Hockey fan, then you know all about the Oilers of that era, with Grant Fuhr, Jari Kurri, Mark Messier… Man, I remember collecting cards and stickers of those guys like they were gold (in some cases, they were… Remember the gold foil stickers?). To take Gretzky to LA?! What were they thinking?
Granted, number 99 in Los Angeles wasn’t the ticket to a cup victory (or a dynasty) on ice… But what the deal did for the sport itself?! Far-reaching and dynamic are two words that scratch the surface… Barely. Here was an uber-talent, wrapped in a marketing dream. Great personality, incredible with words, and a look that could move product. His assimilation into US pop culture was the stuff of legend. Consider: If, like me, you grew up in the ‘80’s, you knew Gretzky (even if not from Hockey) from ads for Campbell’s, Coke, Ford, American Express, an action figure, hell… the guy even had a Saturday morning cartoon with Bo Jackson and Michael Jordan! (remember “Pro Stars”?) Add to his clout an ambassador status, bringing the game to numerous new fans… A fact to ponder: When Gretzky hit US soil as a player, there were 15 franchises of the NHL in the US. Today, there are 24. Talk about opening a market!
Back to Oldsmobile for a spell here… Consider that in 1897, the carmaker was forging ahead, pushing design and technical innovation to create a dynamic new car. It was to become GM’s shining star, the brand that pushed innovation for the corporation. Being GM’s “innovation brand” meant that other carmakers would often study their products, and attempt to mimic them. Not only was Oldsmobile the first mass-produced car (the 1901-1904 Curved Dash), but was the first with an automatic transmission (1940 – the Hydromatic), the first overhead valve V8 (’49 – also leading the way with a hardtop and wrap-around windshield that year!), the first turbocharged engine in an American car (’62!), the first front wheel drive car in America (the ’66 Toronado), and so on… Ponder this: in the 50’s and ‘60’s, makers like Mercedes would buy and dissect Oldsmobiles (and other GM cars) to see what made them tick. At the time, there was truly no substitute for an American car.
Oldsmobiles were the choice of the techie crowd… they had the advanced features, and appealed to the more technologically hip consumer. Olds and GM capitalized on this for a bit, but then lost the vision somewhere along the way. Rather than build on a success (see Gretzky above), GM stuttered, and down-graded the brand to compete with foreign cars on their own level. Rather than push the envelope, and allow Oldsmobile to bloom into the leader in technology and design for GM, they pulled funding from the coffers for projects like Saturn, among other things. (don’t get me wrong here— Saturn is a fine make, and having worked for Saturn, I am grateful for the food and shelter my career there provided… just still suffering the “WHY??!!” over pushing Saturn into Oldsmobile territory, and giving the little plastic-clad cars all of the cool advancements) GM dropped the ball, and took what should have been a bright Oldsmobile future, with great new cars that would have rivaled Lexus, BMW and their ilk, and let it slip into the old folks home of the corporation. One notable exception was the Aurora (I have a very soft spot for the first-generation units… Remember the first time you saw the ‘95’s… Man were those cool when new!), which led the way in innovation, and sat at the crossroads for a trek back to greatness… yet, sadly, it seems that the higher-ups were too busy looking into overpriced, oversized SUV’s to haul fat-ass suburbanites around the mini malls. By the time that last Alero rolled off the line on April 4, 2004, the fire was definitely gone. The rocket was more of a lawn dart, sadly…
Adding insult to injury, GM decided to kill off more jobs and cars with potential to concentrate on… Trucks.
At the start of a new environmental awareness, the good General concentrated on big old SUV’s, targeted at vacuous housewives who have no clue how to drive them. Another well thought out plan. Rather than attack the future and hold an upper hand, doing some good for the entire brand, they concentrated on one small niche, which ironically, has become the proverbial Achille’s heel of a car-making giant. Presently, they have no true marquee in brand that does what Olds once could. Who’s to say that Oldsmobile may have been the leverage point for GM in the escalating hybrid wars? I’d like to entertain that notion. Had they stayed on path, who knows? We may have seen George Clooney cruising a Cutlass versus a Prius.
Consider the effects of the Gretzky trade, when applied to the Oldsmobile (and subsequent GM) debacle: While Edmonton sacrificed a pillar of their team, they still managed winning seasons and a Cup victory, and gained a fairly stable ground (player-wise, not so much owner-wise) to build on. Bigger than that, Hockey itself won, big time. By allowing a great talent to continue down a road that he himself forged, great things happened all around. Had number 99 stayed in Edmonton, I have no doubts that we’d have seen a number of Oilers Stanley Cup years… it’s a given. Yet, what that trade accomplished for the future of the sport was incredible. Am I suggesting that had GM invested resources into allowing Oldsmobile to progress on the brand’s original course that it may have had a similar effect on the corporation at large? You bet your ass I am.
All told, I’ll bet that there will be a moment of silence this week as Edmonton fans and residents recall the day the Great One left the Great White North… and that, at the same time, a few tears will be shed by GM shareholders as they look back on the rocket ride that could have been…
