Grosse Pointe Bilk?
As the aptly named Cerberus (in Greek mythology, the "demon of the pit," "hound of Hades" ) picks over the corpse of Chrysler, it's a good time to reflect on the complete disconnect between auto industry CEO compensation and auto industry CEO performance.While Chrysler was bleeding white to the tune of $1.6 billion (in 2006), corporate honcho Tom Lasorda raked in $5.2 million in salary. While Chrysler's earnings were plummeting, the pay of its chief officer was skyrocketing. How does that make sense, exactly?
GM's Rick Wagoner, meanwhile, got $10.2 million in 2006 - the same year GM lost more than $2 billion.
Retro Review: 1948 Tucker Torpedo
The word on Preston Tucker is that he was either a hopelessly naive dreamer or a little bit shady. Maybe a combination of both. His dream of playing ball with GM, Ford and Chrysler never panned out, in any case - and his "car of the future" was only built for one year, 1948. Creditors quickly closed in and that was it for Preston Tucker - and the Tucker Torpedo he created. He died a broken man less than eight years later, on December 26, 1956 at the age of 53.Still, the 50 or so '48 Tuckers actually built were truly something special - and in several key respects, a harbinger of things to come, especially as regards safety equipment.
Factory GPS - Today's 8-Track Tape Player?
Some options are worth more than others - at least, when it comes to re-sale value. And you might be surprised to learn which ones raise your car's down-the-road value - vs. those that may not.For example, factory installed, in-car GPS navigation systems. These are typically big-ticket items on the front end - adding as much as $2,000 to the purchase price of a new car. It would be reasonable to assume that such a big-ticket extra would add to the car's future re-sale/trade-in value. But according to the Automotive Leasing Guide (which publishes data on the residual value of new cars at the end of their leases, etc.) a factory GPS system actually lowers the value of a vehicle so-equipped by about 1 percent.
Four Doors And Furious: 2007 Dodge Charger SRT-8
A late '60s vintage Hemi Charger in mint condition can easily cost you six figures, doesn't come with air conditioning or heated seats - and will only do 0-60 in around 6-7 seconds.It's also prone to overheating, handles like an overloaded cement mixer and slurps gas like a wino draining his MD 20/20.
Buy an '07 Charger SRT-8, on the other hand, and you'll get even more engine than the classic-era Charger boasted - a 6.1 liter modern-day Hemi belting out 425 horsepower that can deliver 0-60 runs in the low five-second range - along with climate control AC, a great stereo and the ability to run as comfortably cross-country (or take a fast corner) as deftly as it flies down the quarter mile.
