Whoring Myself for an Apple

So, Autoblog, a site that has helped me pass many an afternoon at the office, is going to give a brand new iPod Nano to the person who gives them the funniest/hippest/strangest (who the hell knows) props by posting their favorite 10 links from Autoblog.

I've always been partial to free stuff and figured, why not; I won't win, I don't really have the humor to make this thing work right, nor the time, nor do I even have any idea what my 10 favorite posts were (hey at least I'm honest and don't link the first 10 I come to). Autoblog gives me an insight into the automobile industry that I have never had before. Sure, I've read a lot of auto mags in my time, but I never have time to sit down and flip through all the stories. However, by presenting information in nice ADD sized chunks (i.e. 1 paragraph), I can chose if I want to look into something further. Ok, I really didn't want this to be a fluff piece for Autoblog, but I figured for my regular readers (all 1.5 of them) I should at least introduce the site that I am shilling for.

Right about now, you're probably saying, "but wait, he doesn't even know his favorite 10 post." You, my friend, are correct. The problem is that I read the posts throughout the day, or at night, or on the weekend, and then I forget them. Many of the posts have made me laugh hysterically, although none have made me cry. I am going to go back over Autoblog to refresh my memory of my favorite posts…

Well, here are my 10 favorite posts in absolutely no particular order.

3 dead in Duesenberg accident: The tragedy of this is that the owner spent so much time and money into restoring this thing, only to have it kill him (and some of his family) in the end. I would not have come across this post elsewhere and for that am truly appreciative.

Stretched Mini Spied: I love the old Minis, and especially so the old Clubman. One used to live in the same parking lot as my car and it always pained me to climb into my econobox when such a classic (and classy) car was parked right next door. It has since left, I hope it's still alive and not in some junk yard - I would have loved to buy it. Anyway, I like the new Minis, but they are so numerous here (France) that you'd have thought they were rabbits. However, I hope that the new Clubman will have the same allure about it, while being just rare enough that every Tom, Dick and Jane don't own one.

Ask Autoblog: Should I get a new Audi A3? Or Certified Pre-Owned A4?: As an unavowed Europhile when it comes to cars, my interest is always piqued by anything related to European cars. Currently, I'm not really in the market for an A3 or A4, but in the next few years I will to be. Posts like this truly help me understand the pros and cons of new versus certified used programs.

SUV City - the film: The best thing about the blog factor of Autoblog is that it allows for all the wackos to come out of the woodwork and have their 10 seconds to scream in posts. Nothing brings this out more then posts like this one that links to a SUV (and SUV-owner) critical short film. I'm glad the post was there for the film, but it's so much more fun to read the comments from the wackjobs on both sides of the aisle.

Tom Waits sues GM over Opel radio ads: I had already seen this story, but this is my favorite post this month for one simple reason: "Apparently the highest compliment our culture grants artists nowadays is to be in an ad — ideally naked and purring on the hood of a new car. I have adamantly and repeatedly refused this dubious honor..."

The mandatory “car tips to improve your mileage!” post: The irony of Chrysler, the maker of Jeep and Hemi brand products, teaching us average joes about "fuel economy" just cracked me up - plus the post has some pretty funny parts.

Smaller and Cheaper Maserati: It gave me the opportunity to totally bollux up a beautiful Maserati in Photoshop!

What's Going on with Mazda?: The Mazda 3 is one of my favorite contemporary cars. As David Thomas talks about, what the hell is Mazda thinking, contemplating changes to this product? Doesn't make me regret the move away from the US I made a few years back. I know the Mazda 3 is going to stay the same in the EU.

Ethanol vs Gasoline: This is only one link related to the whole ethanol issue, but Autoblog does not pull any punches and doesn't seem to be under the influence of the corn farmers who want ethanol to work. They tell what passes for the truth these days and they don't have an agenda (ok, they do, they want to do silly contests to get people link to their site - still better than trying to sell me a car that I don't want).

Simpsons Criticized for not Wearing Their Seatbelts: Anything that combines two loves of mine, the Simpsons and motorized vehicles, into one post is perfect. As I explored a bit more in another post on my site, no one seems to have a problem that Homer can get Tom and Jerry-esque smacks to the head and not go down, but that when the Simpsons don't do something that "needs" to be socially engineered into humans, people start to complain.