By Chris Hennecy
08/21/2012
Well, the centerpiece was touch and go: First, we thought BMW AG would be displaying two special cars, the Zagato Concept Coupe Z4 that first appeared at Villa d’Este in May and the legendary BMW M8—legendary because after it was built as a prototype by M GmbH and presented to the BMW Board of Management, it was banished to the bowels of M, not to be seen again by outsiders for twenty years or so.
By Chris Hennecy
08/13/2012
Pity the automotive designer: Whatever she comes up with, people carp. If the car is luxurious, the complaints from the ranks of enthusiasts are dully predictable: “Too heavy. Numb steering. Luxobarge.” If the car is athletic and dipped in track-ready minimalism, the objections come from the other 99% of the car-buying population—yes, here and only here, I am of the 1%: “Too noisy. Ride’s too harsh. No cup-holders.”
By Chris Hennecy
08/07/2012
Thick skin has never been anything that I can boast about—quite the opposite, actually. Almost like a reed in the wind, I can bend—or break—at just about any sort of snide remark or feedback. I’ve always been this way; I suppose it could be that my mother hated me and my father was never there (wah wah wah, sob story).
By Chris Hennecy
07/30/2012
Okay, so you’re in London for the Olympics. It’s a zoo, of course, and it sounds like the ticket process and the security are magnificently screwed up, and all the cabbies are mad because the Olympic Committee (I am not making this up) has managed to wangle a bunch of “Olympic Officials Only” traffic lanes, in a city that was desperately short of lanes in the first place.
By Chris Hennecy
07/24/2012
Okay, I probably can’t really claim victory in the Should We Or Shouldn’t We showdown. Last week writer Chris Wright took me to task for my draconian censure of a fine image of Jennifer Tetrick sitting in a BMW—with a cell phone in her hand (not to mention her 11:00 o’clock–1:00 o’clock hand position. Eeeew).
