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America’s automotive cup
is half full...
Courtesy of:
Hawaii Motorbeat Monthly
By
Paul Maddox
Well, maybe 1/10th full, but I’m an
eternal optimist. The current state of affairs in the US auto
industry really does suck; but, from this mess, it can only get
better. Case in point: Roger Penske.
It was recently announced the business
and racing "Captain" has bought GM’s youngest brand ~ Saturn. Not
the most exciting company for racing enthusiasts; but one that
started with the concept of being “A Different Kind of Company” and
was headed that way, until GM’s beancounters decided they knew
better and pulled it back into the corporate morass that led to
their ultimate undoing.
But Roger knows a good thing when he
sees it, and he has the guts and determination to make it the first
American success story that slogs its way out of this mess. Why?
Basically because he loves cars ~ something that US corporate car
manufacturer leaders have totally lacked in the last few decades.
OK, except Bill Ford, who drives a Mustang and has direct lineage
back to “the ol’ Man’ who built the company on passion,
performance and orneriness.
That’s the holy trinity that’s been
missing at the top level of Chrysler and GM the last couple of
decades. But Penske isn’t taking Saturn racing ~ at least not yet.
He’s going shopping. His plan is to build on a strong dealership
base and start looking for vehicles worldwide that he can bring in
to excite customers and build sales. He’s also shopping for
manufacturers that can deliver quality materials and eventually set
up manufacturing in the USA. Like Toyota, Honda, etc., have done
after creating a huge sales margin.
It’s exciting, visionary leaders like
Roger Penske who will re-build our decimated auto industry. And
they’ll do it because they have a passion for cars.
I’d love to see the day when some
enthusiast buys the grand old Pontiac name and brings the “Tin
Indian” back to the unique brand it was before GM morphed it into a
gussied up Chevy.
But it probably won’t be ‘nostalgia’
nameplates that bring US automotive manufacturing back to life. It
will be all-new names like Tesla and ones we haven’t even heard of
yet. New companies built by new leaders who want to create something
new, special and very personal. Cars and trucks they’ll be proud to
put their names on ~ like Walter P. Chrysler, the Dodge brothers and
Henry Ford. Their cups were empty when they started and they filled
them ~ with ingenuity, style and a love of the business that,
ultimately, also led to profit. That’s the proper order... and
American way.
Also in
HawaiiMotorbeat.com
July 2009 issue...
Another look back at the Hawai‘i Raceway Park drag racing scene in
1967-’68. Three pages of action shots of the Lum brother’s rail, Mel
Pestana, James Suemoto, Paul Keola, Rapera & Sons, Darryl Freeman,
James Kamanu, and more. Plus ‘Then & Now’ photos of Elmer ‘Unsprung’
Snyder and his gas dragsters. Still racing after all these years!
Also, SCCA solo event photos and
results from the Hilo raceway and a fun page titled; “Top 10 Most
Expensive Car Wrecks”, featuring mangled multi-million dollar
carnage of Ferraris, Bugatts, McLarens & more. All this and you the
car you’ll never own ~ the Mercedes Benz Maybach
Mahalo folks! ~ PM
More from Paul Maddox at:
www.hawaiimotorbeat.com
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