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The AE Quote of the Century: Everybody loves The High-Octane Truth. Until they don't. -WG
Editor-in-Chief's Note: Carlos Tavares, the CEO of Stellantis, has resigned, effective immediately. Formerly known as one of the "I'm a genius just ask me" auto executives who are far too prevalent in this business, Tavares - who dined on his press clippings on a daily basis - took the "cash cow" US market for granted, and by the time he finally started paying attention to what was happening here - ignoring months and months of dire warnings from its dealers in the process - it was far too late. So, Stellantis will be trying to find its way yet again with a new leader in a market environment with little room for error. It's really hard to be optimistic about the prospects for Stellantis' survival going forward; in fact, the clock is ticking, loudly. - PMD
The Formula Libre Buenos Aires Grand Prix on 30 January 1955 would mark the first race for this car, chassis number 00009/54, fitted with an open-wheel monoposto body and piloted by Juan Manuel Fangio. Fangio earned pole position and eventually proved victorious in an unusual race conducted over two heats, capturing the win in number 00009/54 on its competition debut. By 1955, Italy's Monza circuit had been rebuilt with a new high-speed bank that has since become legendary in motorsport. For the Italian Grand Prix, it was decided that chassis number 00009/54 should be fitted with the streamliner body for the first time in the 1955 season, and the man charged with taking the wheel would be Stirling Moss. Fangio secured pole position in a similar car, with Moss 2nd on the grid at the start. Moss took the lead from Fangio in the ninth lap of the race, but would eventually finish 7th after encountering some mechanical difficulties. Significantly, the Englishman registered the fastest lap of the race in chassis number 00009/54, clocking a time of 2:46.900 at an average speed of 215.7 km/h. At the conclusion of the 1955 Formula One season, Fangio captured his second straight Drivers' Championship, with Moss finishing 2nd, sealing the W 196 R's legend in the process.
In two seasons, the W 196 model family—which included its sports car variant, the two-seat W 196 S 300 SLR—had won three championships in two different racing series. In 12 appearances at Formula One points events, the W 196 R had won a commanding nine times, and it won two additional non-points races, totaling 11 victories in 14 starts.
In 1964 chassis number 00009/54 was earmarked to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum and was officially donated to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Foundation on Sunday, 30 May 1965. For almost six decades, the W 196 R has been fastidiously stored and maintained by the IMS Museum, occasionally being invited to attend important exhibitions, such as the 1996 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance, the 2003 Canadian International Auto Show, and the grand re-opening of the redesigned Petersen Automotive Museum in December 2015. Although the car has appeared at prestigious shows, including most recently as part of the Mercedes-Benz display at the 2024 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, the car has never been submitted for judging at concours events.
Chassis number 00009/54 represents only the second W 196 R ever offered for private ownership, and the first example offered with the magnificent Streamliner coachwork. It is presented in its proper Monza livery from the 1955 Italian Grand Prix, and documented with a trove of period materials.
For more information on RM Sotheby's collaboration with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the vehicles available for auction, click here.
(Mercedes-Benz)
The Mercedes-Benz 196R at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1955.
(Mercedes-Benz)
Mercedes-Benz F1 technicians "walk" a lightweight 196R body to the assembly department in 1954.
(Mercedes-Benz)
Editor-in-Chief's Note: Our new segment - The Farley Follies - in honor of CEO Jim "Electric Boy" Farley and his chronic mismanagement of Ford, has proven to be quite popular with our readers. (Please scroll down for updates. -WG) The recurring question we get asked is, "Why is he still there?" The latest evidence of Farley's rumblin' bumblin' and stumblin' was Ford's recent financial report, which has the company's third-quarter net income falling 26 percent. Now, this was largely attributed to Ford delaying some of its EVs - (Cue Johny Carson: "Gee, I did not know that." -WG), but it resulted in the company also lowering its full-year adjusted EBIT to “around $10 billion” after previously saying it could earn as much as $12 billion. But wait! Farley Apologist-in-Chief - CFO John Lawler - said it was all good, because the company's total adjusted earnings - before interest and taxes - rose 16 percent to $2.6 billion, with a revenue increase of 5 percent to $46 billion. Huzzah! “It’s a good proof point of our product strategy and our overall Ford+ strategy,” Lawler said on a call with reporters Oct. 28, as reported by Automotive News. “We grew the top line, we grew the bottom line, our balance sheet’s in great shape, so it was a solid quarter.” Really, John? That's all you got? Lawler went on to say that Ford has cut $2 billion in costs this year, but those reductions are being offset by inflation and higher warranty expenses. (Italics mine.) “We’ve got a great strategy, but cost is holding us back,” Lawler said. “It’s an opportunity for us to really unlock the full potential of Ford, and that’s why we’re focused on improving costs not only this focus but every quarter.” Lawler, without specifying an exact dollar amount, according to AN, said Ford’s warranty costs were slightly lower than at the same point a year earlier. That follows an $800 million year-over-year increase in the second quarter. This is Farley speak writ large. Pay no attention to that ol' bugaboo behind the curtain! Ford's abject failure to deal with its crushing warranty costs, which Farley promised to get a handle on from Day One, has permanently scarred the company, and that's directly due to Jimbo's serial incompetence. The Bottom Line for Ford? The Farley Follies continue unabated, and it is wreaking havoc on any of the good will accrued by Bill Ford and his fabulous resurrection of the Michigan Central station. And now, an ugly reality is looming for Bill Ford, because he has no succession plan for After Farley, which should be much sooner rather than later. I would like to point out to our readers that Jimbo "has plenty of money" as he took it upon himself to tell me repeatedly. (Yeah, he's a card-carrying Unctuous Prick, in case you were wondering.) So, there's no reason to fret about his future After Ford. He'll just retreat to California and spend money like water on his vintage racing habit. In closing, in thinking about the consistently underwhelming performance by Farley, I'm reminded of the exceptional - and memorable - quote by Joe Pesci in Casino when describing an underperforming wise guy: "He could fuck-up a cup of coffee." That's an apt and painfully accurate description of Farley. -PMD Editor's Note (11/6): As if right on cue, Ford announced on Halloween that it would idle its F-150 Lightning EV plant in mid-November for the rest of the year. How's that EV thing working out, "Electric Boy"? - WG Editor-in-Chief's Note (11/15): Ford has agreed to pay a fine of up to $165 million — the second-largest civil fine ever levied by NHTSA — for failing to comply with federal recall requirements, according to Automotive News. NHTSA determined that Ford failed to recall vehicles with defective rearview cameras in a timely manner and failed to provide accurate and complete recall information. Just a reminder: Ford has led the auto industry in U.S. recalls for three consecutive years. It is leading the industry again this year with 58 recalls, tied with Stellantis. Ford executives in October cited cost concerns, especially warranties, as a main reason for lowered earnings expectations. And the hits to the bottom line just keep on comin' under Electric Boy's watch. -PMD Editor-in-Chief's Note (11/27) For Bill Ford, the pressing question is: How long is this sustainable? I will answer that question – it simply isn’t. Recalls are seriously impacting Ford’s bottom line, and this situation has not improved one iota since Farley was handed the reins of the company in 2020. Ford’s performance in this area has been below mediocre, shockingly so, in fact. And now the next question for Bill Ford becomes: What price mediocrity? And, the answer, apparently, is what Farley has been paid since becoming CEO, which is approaching a jaw-dropping $100 million. This just in: The clock is ticking on Farley’s reign. -PMD-PMD
C'mon and hold me
Just like you told me
Then show me
What I want to know
Why don't we steal away
Why don't we steal away
Into the night
I know it ain't right
Tease me, why don't you please me
Then show me
What you came here for
Why don't we steal away
Why don't we steal away
Into the night
I know it ain't right
Into the night babe
Make it tonight ooohh
I caught you glancing my way
And I know what you're after (no second chances tonight)
Why don't we steal away
Why don't we steal away
Why don't we steal away
Why don't we steal away
Into the night
I know it ain't right
Into the night
I know it ain't right
Why don't we steal away
I know it ain't right
Into the night, babe
Why don't we steal away
Make it tonight
Why don't we steal away
"Steal Away" by Robbie Dupree from the album "Robbie Dupree" (1980).* Written by Rick Chudacoff, Robert Dupuis. Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc. Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind. Listen to it here.
*In the 1976 Bob Seger hit "Night Moves," he sings about a young love:
We'd steal away every chance we could
To the backroom, to the alley or the trusty woods
Dupree's song is more of a proposition, as he is asking a girl to steal away into the night with him after he catches her sneaking a glance. No word on if she took him up on the offer. The lyric doesn't have any special meaning to Dupree, who says it's not about anyone in particular. "It was a very simple rhyme song that was not anything meant to be heavy," he said in The Yacht Rock Book: The Oral History of the Soft, Smooth Sounds of the '70s and '80s. "It was a song where the words and the melody fit together, and they were cool. I thought it was nice." Robbie Dupree didn't have a record deal when he recorded this song; he included it on a five-song demo that he shopped to record companies, but he found no takers. Short on cash, he took a job loading carpet on trucks. A few months later, he finally got an offer after the brother of the drummer on his demo played it for an executive at Elektra, who wasn't impressed with "Steal Away" but liked another song on the tape.
"Steal Away" was the first single; it was a substantial hit, climbing to #6 in the US, but it had incredible staying power, getting constant airplay even generations later. Dupree's next single, "Hot Road Hearts," went to #15. Elektra dropped Dupree in the middle of recording his third album, as they felt his West Coast sound was outdated. "Like all lame corporate companies," he later commented to Rock United. "They chased the New Wave."
Robbie Dupree started singing on Brooklyn street corners in the early 1960s. He spent the early part of the 1970s playing with a number of bands, including The Striders, Small Fortune, and New World Rising, which also featured Nile Rodgers, who went on to form Chic and become one of the most successful producers of his time. Like many Yacht Rock stars, he got his big break after years of toil. Dupree performs this song from time to time with the Yacht Rock Revue, which is exactly what you think: a yacht rock cover band. The group is a full-time job for the seven members, who have found a way to have fun with the act while showing a reverence for the music, which is why Dupree is comfortable sharing the stage with them.
Yacht rock is sometimes passed off as weightless music from a bygone era, but decades after its heyday in the '70s and '80s, many listeners have come to appreciate the genre and understand how complex the musicianship is on these songs. To the ears of Nicholas Niespodziani of the Yacht Rock Revue, "Steal Away," is the best of the bunch. "This song has the best vibrations ever," he told Songfacts. (Knowledge courtesy of Songfacts.com)
Editor's Note: You can access previous issues of AE by clicking on "Next 1 Entries" below. - WG