"BLANDTASTIC HUGGABLE SMILEY CARS WITH NO POINT OF VIEW"

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Autoextremist Peter M. DeLorenzo has posted a "must read" column on the slow death of Pontiac and it's potential rebirth as a targeted niche brand.

Ford's Glass House Gang and Obama's green crew of "appliance motoring" car czars would be well advised to meditate over the following excerpts (if not the whole column):

It's hard to believe this now but at one point during its glory days in the '60s Pontiac was the hottest car company in the country, breathing down Ford's neck in third place in sales. If ever a car company defined "swagger" - Pontiac was it. Pontiac was GM's "pirate" division, and if they could have raised a "skull and crossbones" flag over its headquarters in its heyday, they would have. . . . More than any other American car company, Pontiac delivered cars to the market bristling with a maverick, rebel attitude, edgy appeal and genuine soul - a commodity so far removed from most of Detroit's products today it's appalling.

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Today it’s allegedly all different, with consumers shying away from blatant design statements and instead focusing on “inner-directed” qualities in their transportation. Listen to enough of these so-called marketing “experts” and maybe they’ll start to convince you that the automotive era is dead and buried and that the industry will never recover. That the future of transportation will be made up of blandtastic huggable smiley cars with no point of view whatsoever, perfectly in keeping with the doom-and-gloom mindset that’s permeating every facet of our society these days.

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Well, I’m not buying it in the least.

Amen, Peter!

Now what if Ford was really making similar "bold moves" with SVT or even Mercury . . . .

What if we were looking forward to some "right-sized" EcoBoost V8s (with variable valve timing and cylinder deactivation), RWD sedans, or even a DOHC Boss V8?

What if Dearborn was taking the lead with high performance hybrids?

What if a cheaper, decontented Mustang V8 with forged, power-adder-ready internals was offered to the legion of Ford performance buyers who'll never be able to buy a limited-edition $35,000-$75,000 "Super-stang"

What if that "Pirate Flag" could credibly be raised over the Glass House?