Author: paladin1787

Lutz race proves CTS-V

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The 2009 Cadillac CTS-V on display at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in 2008. (Flickr creative commons photo from joeross)

I sent out a Facebook update a few days ago about a cool marketing concept: Bob Lutz, a famous General Motors executive, challenged his competitors to a race.

“May the best car win,” the GM ads now proclaim, a genius marketing strategy for the situation if I ever saw one. Lutz’ race was the logical extension of it.

The premise was that Lutz would drive the Cadillac CTS-V, claiming there’s no other production, stock, sedan in the world that can win against the model.

(For those of you who don’t know, “production” means you can buy it and drive it on the road, “stock” means it’s not modified after you buy it, and “sedan” means 4-door.)

The race featured engineers, journalists, “normal” people and Lutz. Looks like Mercedes-Benz opted out of the race, but BMW, Audi and Jag sent their emissaries. And got slaughtered.

I’m happy to see GM doing so well with its new advertising campaign and money-back guarantee. They’re making great cars nowadays, even if they are among the most socially- and environmentally-irresponsible car companies. I probably wouldn’t buy from them because of that, but I love the CTS-V’s design, and I can’t help but feel some odd nationalistic pride for one of America’s car companies.

If only they’d buy Aptera and adapt other parts of their company to follow its standards of operation.

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The Aptera Typ-1e. (Flickr Creative Commons photo from Ho0n)

(P.S. — Happy birthday to my little sister Christin, who turns 22 Sunday!)

Best of 101 Cookbooks (plus Grandma Young’s Springerlies)

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Course one // Grilled kabobs slathered in middle-eastern muhammara sauce [tofu, lemon, mushroom, red onion]

Course two // Heather’s quinoa with a twist [corn, kale, pan-seared chicken with pesto and roasted cherry tomatoes] / Big Sur Bakery rolls [flax, sesame, oat, sunflower, amaranth]

Course three //Mini buttermilk berry milkshakes / Grandma Young’s Springerlies [ageed German anise cookies]

Lovely international reporting

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Students in a Chinese classroom seem happy to learn English, or at least happy to be together. (Creative Commons-licensed photo by yewenyi)

Yesterday the New York Times featured an informative and fun-to-read story about outlandish edicts put forth by China’s legions of untrained local officials.

Sharon LaFraniere did a great job reporting on a nation-wide phenomenon by using lots of local examples. And it’s a balanced story, fair to all sides. While the news peg (“communism doesn’t work so well in this instance”) falls to one side, the actual story visits both and treats them with equal standing.

This is an important historical archive in the development of the largest country in the world. (Which is, in case you didn’t know, soon to be surpassed by India.)

A 101 Cookbooks Thankgiving

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This is three vegetarian courses, all served family style, all from 101cookbooks.com, one of my all-time favorite websites.

Course one // Thai-spiced pumpkin soup / firecracker cornbread [corn kernels, red pepper flakes]

Course two // Hazelnut and chard ravioli salad [“Plump raviolis tossed with toasted hazelnuts, sauteed ribbons of chard, and caramelized onions … finished off wit ha dusting of cheese, snipped chives and lemon zest.”]

Course three // Vanilla mashed sweet potatoes [vanilla beans and organic cream]

(P.S. – this website may be experiencing some down time in the next few days while I switch hosts. I’ll try to minimize the down time; it’ll be better for everyone in the long run.)

World Traveler

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Course one // Dubai: Sesame seed-coated falafel with tahini yogurt dip

Course two // Thailand: Thai-spiced grilled salmon [Salmon wild, sustainable-fished, from Alaska] / complimentary literature about sustainable fishing

Course three // Grand Cayman: Griddled pineapple and mango on toasted panettone [sweet bread] with homemade Chantilly cream [organic cream]

(For those of you following this, there are only two more menus to go…)

Clout City

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Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley speaks at a celebration for a building’s LEED certification. (Creative Commons-licensed photo from the Flickr account of the Center for Neighborhood Technology)

Move over, Tribune, there’s another watchdog in town. No one seems to follow the mayor’s corruption (yes, I said it) more intently than Mick Dumke of the Reader.

If you haven’t already read the cover story he wrote with Ben Joravsky, Chicagoans, it’ll blow your mind. And get you hooked on Dumke’s blog. And give you a reason to object when your friends say “I vote for Daley ’cause I don’t know why I wouldn’t…”

I wish I had done work like this at the two papers I’ve written for in years past. No regrets, though. After reading this article and archives of the blog “Clout City,” I’ve armed myself for next time: with source gumption and due persistence.

Maybe someday I’ll do my part to help edge representative democracy back into Chicago.