Audi Inspires Ladies’ Fashion
Have you noticed those Audi daytime running lights? The pattern of LED “bullets” that cleverly turn a plain daytime headlight display into a rolling brand identifier. Brilliant! And now, for the first time, an auto style influences fashion.
Mercedes-Benz E550 Cabriolet
In the 1950s, when Mercedes-Benz began to appear on the world scene, there was
Audi's unique running lights inspired eye-popping fashion (below right)
no car quite like it. Equal or better in quality than a Rolls Royce, the Mercedes was a durable, everyday car of good performance. There was no BMW, no Audi, no Japanese competition, and only the Americans bought Cadillacs. In the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s, all of those competitors appeared and grew. Mercedes got stronger too, and Cadillac weakened.
Cadillac had first felt competition from Mercedes-Benz in the late ’50s, and it would seem that it has never quite recovered. Mercedes has felt heat from BMW, Audi, Infinity, and Lexus, but it has recovered, though not without some lapses in 
product planning and quality in recent years. However, current Mercedes have all their bulletproof qualities back.
Driving the latest E550, one can appreciate the power, smooth drive train, rigid structure, and supple, controlled suspension. Quality of materials and finish is as high as you’d expect. All of this comes at a price; our loaded test-car stretched at $77,000.
Only one thing is missing—style. For this price, I want elegant design, not a Sebring look-alike. Mercedes’s German rivals, especially Audi, have clearly stolen the design crown. But it may look better to you; if so, this car would offer a rewarding ownership experience. (It’s also worth noting that the Mercedes-Benz navigation system was nowhere near as well designed and graphically clear as that in the Subaru reviewed here.)
Subaru Outback
I recently drove with my son on an Ann Arbor (Michigan)-Sausalito-Ann Arbor round-trip. We explored our customary two-lane “blue roads,” and covered nearly six thousand miles. I was reminded anew what a capable car his 2007 Subaru
The new Subaru Outback
Impreza is. Nothing spectacular; it just quietly does everything right regardless of speed, weather, or road surface. At fifty thousand miles, like most Japanese cars, it never has a problem. The most generous word to describe the interior finish of this three-and-a-half year old car is “adequate.” But it still looks as good as it did in ’07, and the seats are comfortable enough for seven hundred– to eight hundred–mile days. All in all, very impressive for a $17,000 car.
With that perspective, it was interesting to drive a “top-of-the-line” Subaru Outback. The test car was a loaded version with a $35,000 price tag, fully justified by the features, quality, abilities, and driving pleasure of this car. Subaru sales have bucked the industry trends: they’re way up, now exceeding even Volkswagen. The Outback shows why. This newest one is larger than its predecessors, but it’s still a reasonable size because it started out smaller than its rivals. Too many of the wagon/SUV vehicles have gained a lot of size and weight, not to their benefit. Not Subaru.
And while the lavishly equipped test car was a delight, perfectly adequate and well-equipped models are available from the mid-twenties. As in my son’s 2007 model, this Subaru is a well-balanced product that quietly and subtly seems to do everything just right. The makers of other sport utilities, regardless of price, should take notice because this is a truly superior automobile.
Piling On
Somewhere along the way, revenue got in the way of traffic safety. Make a “rolling” right turn on a red light, what you’d expect to be a $100 violation, can cost you $400 or $500. Here’s a typical calculation:
Fine $100
Penalty Assessment 220
State Court Construction 20
Night Court Fee 1
DMV Fee 10
Criminal Surcharge 20
Criminal Conviction Assessment 35
Court Security Fee 30
$436
Even worse is the trend to red-light cameras, so popular in San Francisco. Many studies have concluded that the cameras increase accidents because of the sudden action of drivers upon spotting them. No studies have reported a decrease in accidents.
What has increased is revenue. Under a typical deal, a city and a camera company enter into a revenue-sharing deal. More than a few cities have shortened the yellow light interval. Result: more revenue and more accidents. One small problem though: it’s illegal, and the word is out. In 2005, Union City, California, was caught reducing the yellow interval from the state mandated 4.3 seconds to 3.0 seconds. They had to refund over one million dollars to victimized drivers.
In Lubbock, Texas, a TV station launched an investigation into the same situation in its area. That forced a recalibration of the lights. With a proper yellow, camera revenue plummeted. The cameras were removed. Dallas was caught cheating, too, and the cameras were removed.
South Dakota courts recently ruled against a Sioux Falls camera deal. One wonders when San Francisco’s several dozen cameras, which electronically dispense $375 tickets, will be evaluated for factors other than revenue.
Detroit
Hard to believe, but the United Auto Workers (UAW) have recently vowed to recover all of their “give-backs.” Didn’t we just commit tens of billions to bail out the auto companies, who failed due to the UAW’s greed and the companies’ compliant management? The UAW, which had a membership of 1,500,000 just a few years ago, is down to 350,000. They’ve been unable to organize any of the new auto factories built in the Southeast. Do the workers in the South want to avoid the fate of UAW members?
When Ford pressed the UAW to grant the same concessions to them as they had to GM and Chrysler, the Union refused. And it’s not like the Detroit companies 
are back to health. What is this Union thinking?
Martin Swig is a former San Francisco new-car dealer who now presents the internationally-celebrated California Mille and other historic car events. As a free service to Gazette readers, he’ll offer suggestions on how to dispose of a cherished car. Call him at 415-479-9950.
