I've always been a fan of Michael Moore — the "Me" in "Roger and Me" and creator of many other documentaries over the years — for tackling controversial topics. However, many of his points have to be put in better context. To wit: his latest Top 10 list for EcoWatch regarding the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. […]
Traditional car shoppers are moving away from small sedans and toward compact crossovers. That's the conventional wisdom used to explain the slowing sales we see in some models. But could there be another reason? Could it simply be a lack of focus and attention to the compact segment? There is one model that's seen a meteoric rise in […]
When is a Gregorian calendar not a calendar? When December 2015 ends on January 4, 2016. AutoNation CEO Mike Jackson brought greater attention to the subject of the unnecessarily convoluted auto sales calendar when, in a conversation with Automotive News reporter Amy Wilson, Jackson said, "It's ridiculous that I have to get on the air and […]
This year's Super Bowl ad for the new Ridgeline is an indication that somebody at RPA, Honda's U.S. ad agency, has clearly been smoking doobs while binge-watching Shaun the Sheep, ultimately asking himself, "Bro, what if these animated sheep were like, real? And in America?"
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In the clip, which touts the redesigned pickup's in-bed sound system—it uses in-bed exciters!—a group of sheep sing Queen's "Somebody to Love" from 1976's A Day at the Races. In the fashion of Aardman's wordless claymation farm comedy, the flock only bursts into song when the farmer's away.
The spot was directed by Bryan Buckley, veteran of more than 40 Super Bowl commercials. And while it hits the right "Hey! We spent a lotta coin on this!" notes—Freddie Mercury, Brian May, and Roger Taylor's ornately layered vocals are practically tailor-tracked to back a spectacle of spectacles, after all—the 60-second clip seems to be about 30 seconds too long. It's not a wholly unpleasant half-minute—it is Queen, after all—but it seems like Honda could've made the same impact and saved a number of doubloons in the process.
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Or it could've just given us 60 seconds of Shaun the Sheep. Which would've been rad. Honda, is it too late for a re-edit?
Few people get dressed up for a test drive, but I had to be convincing and look respectable. I was an occasional college student at the time, somewhere between my freshman and sophomore years on the 10-year plan. I walked into the local Subaru dealer and waited to be approached. I can't tell you how […]
Joey writes: Hello Sajeev, I've been a reader of yours for years and greatly enjoy your style. (Woot! —SM) My question is about my '97 Mazda 626, with a hair over 215,000 miles on it, that's been in my family for its entire life. It's reliable, economical, and generally in good condition. However, I am up for […]
