Date:         Sun, 9 Sep 2007 14:49:34 -0400
Reply-To:     Wesley Pegden <wes@CS.UCHICAGO.EDU>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Wesley Pegden <wes@CS.UCHICAGO.EDU>
Subject:      Re: 50 worst cars, and the vanagon isn't one of them
Comments: To: Jim Felder <jim.felder@GMAIL.COM>
In-Reply-To:  <4d1b79350709090857j6816f36bwabb19400ec9f8b1d@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

I do like his bit on the hummer:

2003 Hummer H2
One struggles to think of a worse vehicle at a worse time. Introduced
shortly after 9/11 — an event whose causes were tangled in America's
unquenchable thirst for oil — the Hummer H2 sent all the wrong signals.
It was/is arrogantly huge, overtly militaristic, openly scornful of the
common good. As a vehicle choice, the H2 was a spiteful reactionary
riposte to notions that, you know, maybe we all shouldn't be driving
tanks that get 10 miles per gallon. Not surprisingly, the green-niks
struck back. A Hummer dealership was torched in Southern California. The
H2 was also a PR catastrophe for GM, who happened to be repossessing and
crushing the few EV1 electric cars at the time. It all contributed to
GM's emerging image as the Dick Cheney of car companies.

Jim Felder wrote:
> CNN's site has a Time magazine report on the 50 worst cars of all
> time. Most of them are right on the money, but the list should have
> been about four times longer to get all--or even most--of the pieces
> of crap that have been sold to the public. A quick scan for the word
> "Vanagon" out of the way, I enjoyed reading the article.
>
> Notice how the 1980s has a disproportionate number of loser cars.
>
> <http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1658545_1657686,00.html?cnn=yes>
>
> Jim
>
>