This Automotive News article is about the increase in pedestrian deaths even given a decline in traffic deaths. The article states, “Auto safety experts say the growing number of drivers distracted by mobile devices is at least partly to blame.” However, near its end the article also reads, “38 percent of pedestrians killed had some alcohol in their systems.” Gee, do you think that at any given moment 38 percent of the adult US population in general has alcohol in their systems? <end sarcasm>
What is not discussed at all, either, is the increase in distracted pedestrians. On the History show “The Epic History Of Everyday Things” it is stated that 6,000 people die in this country every year because they are distracted by their devices. I don’t know whether or not that includes traffic accidents.
Like every other paradigm, “Don’t Blame The Victim” isn’t always appropriate even if it’s usually appropriate. A society that harps on that concept incentivizes some people to “want” to be a victim. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
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“To be, or not to be, that is the question:
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take Arms against a Sea of troubles,”
– Shakespeare
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My friend and mentor Bill James is ending his long association (17 years) with the Boston Red Sox. I wish him nothing but good health and good fortune.
In the early 1990s Bill wanted me to write an article for one of his baseball books. We agreed on the fee he would pay. About a month after I submitted the article he sent me a check for more than the amount to which we had agreed and a letter that read in part, “I only had to edit one word in your article and I defy you to find the change.”
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I have discussed my affinity for these cars before. Here is a picture of a 1990 Cadillac Allante taken this past weekend by yours truly:
I have to admit I think cars don’t look as good with the hoods up, but anyway…the failure of the Allante is sad to me. I think they look amazing. I mean the bodies were designed and built by Pininfarina, Ferrari’s coachbuilder.
Despite the fact that I receive a regular email newsletter from the national Allante/XLR club, I have never seriously considered purchasing an Allante. A ’90 Allante was offered for sale without reserve at Mecum’s Denver auction in 2018. The car hammered for $1,500; no, I did not leave out a zero. According to Hagerty the average value of a 1990 Allante is $5,900. When new, the MSRP of such a car was $51,500. Talk about falling to the bottom of the depreciation curve and staying there…
“The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” – Robert Burns
#PlentyOfBlameToGoAround
#Shakespeare
#BillJames
#1990CadillacAllante
#somanycarsjustonelife
#disaffectedmusings
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Disaffected Musings 
I, too, am a fan of the Allante and have seen them go for ridiculously low prices at Barrett-Jackson. I’m not tempted to buy one, but I sure like their styling and wonder why they were a marketing failure.
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The US market had undergone a sea-change in which many buyers refused to even consider buying a US car. Of course, much of that damage was self-inflicted. When introduced in 1987, the Allante was underpowered and fraught with quality issues. Like many GM cars of this period, the Allante was discontinued just as it was becoming a good car.
On the spur of the moment I nearly bid on a 1990 or 1991 Allante at the Barrett-Jackson auction in Connecticut in 2017. If the bidding had stayed below $5,000 I was going to try to swoop in at the last moment. For awhile it appeared as though that might be the case, but more bidding came in and the car hammered at $7,500/$8,250 all in. It all worked out because I am VERY happy with my 2016 Corvette Z06.
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Indeed, I moved to Nissan and now Toyota for my daily drivers. I know U.S. cars are more reliable than they were in the 80’s but after a series of unreliable new cars, I went somewhere that gave me reliable transportation. Who knows, I buy a new car every three years or so, maybe I’ll give a U.S. manufacturer another try… although I know the Toyota Avalon I drive is assembled in the U.S. and most domestic manufacturers have a high number of foreign parts.
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Thanks again, sir. Yes, the auto industry has morphed into one with fewer de facto borders. I doubt the industry will remain that way, though.
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