GM and Ford keep falling down the top 10 table

It’s bittersweet to get news of the Chevrolet Corvette from what’s left of GM here in New Zealand, now a specialist importer of cars that are unlikely to sell in any great number. And we’re not unique, as the Sino-American firm pulls out of entire regions, and manufactures basically in China, North America, and South […]

Read More… from GM and Ford keep falling down the top 10 table



One more COVID-19 post: graphing and animating the data

Russell Brown linked this COVID-19 trend page by Aatish Bhatia on his Twitter recently, and it’s another way to visualize the data. There are two axes: new confirmed cases (over the past week) on the y and total confirmed cases on the x. It’s very useful to see how countries are performing over time as […]

Read More… from One more COVID-19 post: graphing and animating the data



The team approach

At the end of the last century, the National Government announced its Bright Future programme. Their research had identified that one thing holding back our national competitiveness was our devotion to the team rather than the individual, when in fact there have been many times New Zealand individuals have made immeasurable contributions and had not […]

Read More… from The team approach



Flip-flop again: GM deems Chevrolet Europe strategy a failure

GM has changed its mind again: Chevrolet will not be its global brand.    The strategy, where Daewoo was rebadged Chevrolet in western Europe at the beginning of the century, has been deemed a failure, and GM will withdraw its core Korean-made models such as the Spark, Aveo, Cruze and Malibu, by 2015. It will […]

Read More… from Flip-flop again: GM deems Chevrolet Europe strategy a failure



How brands fool us

The Google experience over the last week—and I can say ‘week’ because there were still a few browsers showing blocks yesterday—reminds me of how brands can be resilient.    First, I know it’s hard for most people to believe that Google is so incompetent—or even downright corrupt, when it came to its bypassing Safari users’ […]

Read More… from How brands fool us



Chevrolet’s new Malibu might still look like a Daewoo

I took a few digs at the forthcoming Chevrolet Malibu on my Facebook yesterday.    First: a few things GM got right.    It’s right to put this on a global platform—in this case, the Opel Insignia‘s. It’s also right to make it a world car of sorts, where it can be sold globally with […]

Read More… from Chevrolet’s new Malibu might still look like a Daewoo



How will Chevrolet go down in Korea?

Last week, GM announced it would drop the Daewoo marque, as it has done through Europe, in its native Korea, in favour of Chevrolet.    The company will also be renamed GM Korea, a name it once had nearly four decades ago.    While most will think this makes sense, so GM can concentrate on […]

Read More… from How will Chevrolet go down in Korea?



Opel is not a snob brand

Arthur Daley, Opel’s last New Zealand spokesman: ‘Never mind the Capri, Tel: I sell Opels now.’ In the Fairfax Press, General Motors has apparently confirmed it will bring in Opel-branded cars to sell alongside Holden-branded ones.    It’s an obvious move. For years, a good part of Holden’s range was Opel-designed. Like Vauxhall, the model […]

Read More… from Opel is not a snob brand



Retrograde steps for our cellphones

Last week, our company’s Nokia 2730 Classics arrived as part of a contract with Telstra Clear, of whom we’ve been a customer since the 1980s. They are a reminder of how technology is regressing.    Remember that scene in Life on Mars, where Sam Tyler, or Samuel Santos in La chica de ayer, tells Annie […]

Read More… from Retrograde steps for our cellphones



Autocade grows to 1,100 models: slowly but surely

Some weeks ago, as we neared this milestone, I planned to write a small blog post on reaching 1,100 cars at the Autocade site. And to show that these milestones are not rigged, we wound up with a fairly ghastly motor at that 1,100 mark. Nissan Cherry (E10/KPE10). 1970–4 (prod. unknown). 2- and 4-door sedan, […]

Read More… from Autocade grows to 1,100 models: slowly but surely