Win On Sunday, Sell On Monday?

NASCAR is a joke, too bad Detroit hasn't realized it yet. Read on...

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Detroit's NASCAR Infatuation. In an engaging interview with Mike
Mulhern in last Friday's Winston-Salem Journal, Herb Fishel, the former
longtime chief of GM Racing, let it hang out with his ongoing
displeasure with NASCAR. Fishel told Mulhern that NASCAR is stuck "on a
plateau" and that, "For the first time in recent memory there is no big
story, no big direction. There has always been something that the world
couldn't wait to hear more about. I don't remember a time of silence
like we've got now. Tony Stewart, as unlikely as that is, is the
biggest story they've got. Beyond that, what's the story?" But Fishel
reserved his most biting comments for Detroit's relationship with
NASCAR. Echoing the longstanding position of The Autoextremist himself,
Fishel suggested that the old "win on Sunday, sell on Monday" axiom was
obsolete and didn't apply anymore. "It's not translating to showroom
success," Fishel said. "If it were, Ford and GM would be on top of the
world right now. Ask yourself - does Toyota need NASCAR to be
successful? Does Honda?" The official Autoextremist position is that
Detroit's infatuation with all things NASCAR is not only a waste of
time and financial resources, it's contributing to its market share
decline. The Chrysler Group, Ford and General Motors are collectively
spending $450 million+ in NASCAR and for what, exactly? The modern-day
NASCAR "stock" car is a Neanderthal racing machine that is made up of
restrictive body templates that are the same for each manufacturer and
"yester-tech" technology rooted in the '60s that pales in comparison to
the technology available in modern-day production cars. With no visible
connection to the so-called "production" versions of the participating
manufacturers' cars other than the decals indicating the headlights and
the shapes of the front grille work, and a racing series that places
its entire emphasis on the "cult of personality" of the drivers and the
needs and wants of its sponsors and marketing partners before the
manufacturers - "Detroit" collectively plays the role of NASCAR's Side
Show Bob. It takes what NASCAR gives them and says, "Thank you, Sir,
may I have another?" instead of demanding that NASCAR change its series
to become more relevant to their needs. It's flat-out embarrassing that
the Detroit-based car companies continue to subsidize NASCAR's
"racertainment" thinking that it's somehow benefiting them. When you're
getting hammered in the showrooms from all sides and your market share
continues to erode in the face of withering competition from the
imports, and when you can't make money in North America selling your
core products - why continue to participate in a series that has no
relevance to what you're attempting to do in the market? Detroit needs
to go out and compete against their import competition in the
showrooms, as well as on the race track for credibility. And there are
plenty of racing series out there that will allow them to do just that.
We're still waiting for someone - anyone - at one of the Detroit car
companies to grow some cojones and realign and reprioritize their
entire motorsports involvement, top to bottom. NASCAR is a circus that
exists for and unto itself, and the France family ultimately couldn't
care less about what would be beneficial for Detroit. And the sooner
Detroit realizes this and redirects its motorsports energies
accordingly - the better off they'll be.

http://autoextremist.com/page6.shtml#table
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Patrick
'93 Cobra

I agree... they went too far in trying to level the playing field for
Chevy... this date back to the 80's when the Tbird ran away from the pack
aerodynamically.

So what do they do? Allow Chevy to run the Lumina replica.
(But it gave me lots of kicks going into Chebby showrooms and asking for a
car just like Earnhardt's..then I'd walk out in disgust when I raised the
hood. "Guess I'll go buy me a TBird, then!")

Time for Nascar to either go BACK to stock chassis or to just forget the
branding.

Note there's not even a duelling 'head mfr' race anymore.

At the LEAST they should throw the engine tech open. Nascar could issue a
"NASCAR" throttle body to all teams, everything else is up to the teams..
including mixture, curves..the whole thing.

wrote in news:1125528117.792728.322340
@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

> NASCAR is a joke, too bad Detroit hasn't realized it yet. Read on...
>