Killer Magician

--Madeleine Brand

Magician Bill Maloney

Nancy Farghalli, NPR

My life was threatened today.

By a magician.

This guy:

Bill Maloney has been hired by Ford to attract people to the Ford booth here at the Detroit auto show. He does magic tricks. He makes jokes -- "Do you drive a Ford? me: "No." Bill: "I can get you a good deal; I know some people!"

As he's performing, he drops Ford facts into his patter: "Pick a card, don't show me. The new Ford Fusion gets 40 miles per gallon. Is this your card?"

He told me he'd have to kill me if he if he told me how he turned a card in my hand into another card after snapping his fingers. I contemplated that for a second; I really wanted to know how he did it.

Then I asked him, is this really the message Ford wants to send -- having a magician perform tricks under the Ford logo? Does Ford really want people to think its new cars are nothing but sleight-of-hand versions of the old ones? His answer -- PR-y, but true: "The whole world needs a magic trick right now."

Tags: auto show | cars | hype | magic

11:58 AM ET | 01-13-2009 | permalink

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E-Mercedes?

 

--Madeleine Brand

This was my first time at the auto show, so I have nothing to compare it to. But the regulars tell me, I'm missing out. On the parties. There are no parties this year, as everyone is observing the new austerity. Everyone, that is, except Mercedes.

They held the only party the night before. And we couldn't get in. My producer Nancy and I weren't on the list. No amount of sweet talking, name dropping, or pretending we were BMW haters would get the clipboard lady to relent. I wondered why Mercedes wouldn't want to wine and dine us. After all, their sales were way off last year.

Mercedes Blue Zero E-Cell

Not that you'd know that at the auto show. They've created a cafe in their display area, with a working chef turning out beef medallions, shitake mushroom quiche, roquefort salad, beer and wine. Free to any journalist who manages to grab a seat. As I sipped my latte, I gazed at Mercedes' main attraction

The Blue Zero E-Cell, an all-electric concept car. Instantly, I could picture myself driving it. Eco, yet stylish. Alluring, yet attainable. Not a Prius, but not a Fisker.

Wait - did I say "attainable?" Who am I kidding? A Mercedes clipboard guy refused to tell me how much this car would cost. But I imagine, much like the press party, this is one car I'm not getting into. When I get back to L.A., this is the only Mercedes that will have me.

Photo by Gary Dauphin, NPR

Tags: Mercedes | automobiles | detroit auto show | electric car

11:38 AM ET | 01-12-2009 | permalink

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What Car Show Goers REALLY Want to See

--Steve Proffitt

Cadillac Escalade Hybrid

NPR Photo

 

Nissan's The Cube

NPR Photo

The LA Auto Show opens today. Yesterday, Madeleine and I took in a preview. We aired a story about it on today's show.

We sat in a gianormous Cadillac Escalade Hybrid, and in a cute little Nissan Cube.

We saw a lot of other cars, of course. There were all-electric vehicles, clean diesels, cars that run on ethanol and natural gas and even some cool electric bicycles. Some cars looked like the future. Others were very much of the past.

But down in the basement, where the "after-market" people show off their wares, we got a look at a completely ridiculous but oh-what-fun show car that was part of the display of stuff being shown by Galpin Auto Sports.

They are, among other things, the folks that do the cars for MTV's Pimp My Ride.

 

There was no one around to tell us WHAT this thing was. Here's what we could deduce. It's very blue. It has fur. And it features a vintage portable television below the dash.

NPR Photo

 

It's not environmentally friendly. We don't even know if it actually runs. But really, this is exactly the kind of thing that the kid in all of us actually wants to see when we go to a car show.

Tags: LA Auto Show | cars

12:47 PM ET | 11-21-2008 | permalink

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DOCP: Driving On Cell Phone

--Steve Proffitt

Last month, California joined the handful of states (Connecticut, DC, New Jersey, New York and Washington) that ban driving while holding a cell phone.

But everyday, on the drive home from work, I see at least a couple of people gabbing away on their handsets behind the wheel.

Earlier this month, the California Highway Patrol released preliminary figures that showed CHPs officers had already written some 7,000 citations for drivers who were caught with cells in hand. And the Orange County Register recently reported that officers in the OC have written more than 400 tickets.

I'll admit that I do occasionally answer the phone when it rings and I am driving, and I'll admit that I've yet to purchase a hands-free device. But I've really tried to stay off the thing while motoring.

What about you? If you live in a place where a cell phone ban has gone into effect, are you complying? Are you seeing other scofflaws?

Just do me a favor. Don't text in your comment while you're on the road. OK?

11:44 AM ET | 08-20-2008 | permalink

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