CarSPIN

A short-but-sweet report by the AP today reported that:

German automaker BMW AG said Friday its 2006 sales in China rose 51.3 percent amid a luxury car boom.

Even more impressive, the same report recalled:

BMW’s Rolls Royce unit announced earlier that its China sales rose 60 percent last year, though it did not release the number of cars sold.

And we thought they all drove knock-off Hondas…

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Call me crazy, but I always thought that the previous-generation Volvo S40 was one of the most interesting cars in the world. Why? Because it was the ultimate illustration of globalization at work. Just think: A car from a Swedish company (Volvo), owned by an American company (Ford), with engineering and parts from a Japanese company (Mitsubishi) that was partially owned by a German company (DaimlerChrysler) that had purchased an American company (Chrysler).

NASCAR driver Dale Jarrett might just agree with me. Jarrett will soon be racing for Toyota - the first foreign make to race full-time in the NASCAR premier series. In a recent sit-down with NASCAR’s web site, Jarrett offered a few insights into the modern automotive industry:

“As far as Toyota, sure, the parent company is foreign,” Jarrett said. “We could get into the argument about where the Ford Fusion is built; every one of them are built in Mexico. The Monte Carlos are built in Canada.

So we could go through all that stuff and see who is right and who is wrong, but there are a lot of Toyotas that are built in the United States. They employ a lot of people.”

But, Dale, how about the American brands and all of that tradition? Shouldn’t we be psuhing our own stuff?

“But we have to be accepting of change. If we don’t, then you would still be watching 12-inch TV screens, and that’s not a lot of fun whenever you’ve got everything else that’s out there.”

Not sure what (if any) this move could have on domestic brands. Granted, I never knew how they sold ANY Chevy Monte Carlos for all those years until I found out that they raced them in NASCAR. (Hey, I’m a New Yorker, I had never even heard of Dale Jarrett before I caught this interview on the NASCAR site.) But he makes alot of sense. Why has NASCAR been stuck with the “Big Three?” Half of America doesn’t even buy domestic products!

And with that, I’ll sit down and my bowl of Sushi-Cloudberry-Wienerschnitzel Pie.

I’ve been to loads of auto shows; not just new car shows either, I’ve even spent some time with a press pass at a SEMA show. I’ve stood in the wake of massive introductions. I’ve touched the paint of cars that cost six figures while they were sitting on plush carpeting under fluorescent lights and raised ceilings. I’ve read about the cars, I’ve looked at the numbers, and I’m just dying to yell from the rooftops.

I’m bored!

No, I’m not begging for more outrageous concept cars, because they are more capable of causing an uncontrollable nap than an impromptu reading of Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome. I see the slashes, I see the 30″ alloys, I see all the gadgets and unconventional interior bits, and for half a second I’m excited. But then, I think about the waiting time it would take to see this car on the market. Sometimes concepts shown turn into cars several years later; often long enough that I’ve forgotten about them. I also get to thinking this car will never be sold in this guise. Just how can I get excited about a car that showcases the absolute best that a car company can do (which often amounts to nothing more than loud paint, large rims, tiny rearview mirrors), and goes into production looking nothing like the extravagant concept that was shown to the public? And that’s not even mentioning that all those cool gadgets and high quality interior bits are all gone, replaced by rationality and accounting practices.

So please, automakers, show me the car you’re going to sell. Keep your orange paint, keep your enormous wheels, and keep the wait time short. Don’t show me a car that no one is able to buy because it won’t ever get made. Don’t make me wait for the flying car before I can pick up a new coupe.

When I see a car at an autoshow, I want to see the car that is going to be sold. And I want it to be sold the next model year.

Is that so much to ask? Am I completely alone and angry?