autowriters.com newsletter

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may 2012 newsletter

We have a lot to cover so grab the appropriate beverage for your time zone and settle in for a read.....

the road ahead

FAR AHEAD – New York to L.A. in 45 minutes and New York to China in two hours are feasible travel times according to an article in the May issue of the Club of Amsterdam Journal. Titled "ETT Skyrocketing speed trains and cars" the unsigned piece describes Evacuated Tube Technologies now in the prototype stage. The ETT idea is "to install fast, clean, cheap and safe travel on earth needing only a 50th of the energy of the transportation means used whether it be train or car."

Evacuated Tube Technologies

Invented and directed by Daryl Oyster, an American scientist who graduated in mechanical engineering and worked on aeronautical and marine design and certifications, the evacuated tube transport system consists of using travel tubes eliminating all possible frictions due to speed thus permitting the means of transportation to travel faster and safer once it is set in motion.

The airless vacuum tubes could be made of any one of several possible materials and would be one quarter the cost per mile of a freeway and one tenth the cost of a high-speed railway. Capsules containing four to six persons would zip along a tube's magnetic tracks at speeds up to 6,400 kilometers per hour but with only 1g acceleration. To learn more: Click here.

NOT SO FAR AHEAD - Scrolling down to the blogs in the same May issue (#148) of the Club Amsterdam Journal is one titled: "Platform Strategy Shaping the Future of Automotive OEMS." It predicts 45-47% of passenger cars will use one of top 20 platforms by 2015. And, by 2020, the 10 major OEMs (General Motors, Volkswagen, Toyota, Ford, Nissan, PSA Peugeot Citroen, Honda, Renault, Fiat, and Daimler) will reduce their platforms by about a third from over 175 platforms in 2010, and will concentrate mass production across a few key core platforms. This will come about through partnerships and consolidations so the OEMS can achieve economies of scale and this will lead to the Nissan V (formerly B) platform, Volkswagen's MOB platform and Toyota's MC platform becoming dominant platforms worldwide, according to the article.

This prediction is based on the belief that China, South Asia and South America, with their different vehicle needs and preferences, as compared to the U.S., will account for more than half of the global light vehicle production by 2015. All this consolidation of platforms can mean lower returns and greater risks for manufacturers. The article provides some interesting logic on what will be the near future for the worldwide auto industry.

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road signs

Facebook's problems with its IPO and General Motors' decision to not include the social medium in its current ad plans may stem from the same problem: "Marketers and social marketing agencies told us that social media cannot reach critical mass in the same way that paid broadcast media can, and it would defeat the uniqueness of the channel," according to Tracy Stokes, an analyst with Forrester media research firm, as quoted by Gavin O'Malley in his piece, "Social's Limited Marketing Might" in Online Media Daily. . . . . Joe Mandese describes another reason in his column for the same publication: media fragmentation. He quotes Patrick Quinn, founder and CEO of PQ Media, referring to media platforms available to advertisers, "In the 1970s there were eight choices. Today there are more than 100, and 17 from mobile alone." Mandese wrote, "Among other things, he (Quinn) noted, many of those platforms have entirely different ways of thinking about and estimating how consumers are exposed to their medium." . . . . But it's not all bad news for Facebook. Eric Sass, writing for MediaPost's Social Graf, covers a new study published in the journal Psychological Science that revealed, "reactions to social media deprivation – were often indistinguishable from addicts deprived of a fairly powerful habit-forming drug, with subjects using language like 'frantically craving, very anxious, extremely antsy, miserable, jittery, crazy.' " And, Facebook's attempt to wrest the breaking news crown from Twitter appears to be growing. Tech Crunch's Joe Constine writes that Facebook has announced thousands of journalists now use its asymmetrical Subscribe feature, the company's answer to Twitter's "stranglehold" on breaking news.

Wooden Horse News asks if a move by Out Magazine is an isolated incident or a new business model. The magazine let go its entire staff but Wooden Horse says Editor-In-Chief Aaron Hicklin plans to hire most of them back as contracted freelancers. While they'll lose a full-time paycheck and benefits, Hicklin points out they'll have "flexible hours," and the opportunity to work on other projects for his new editorial agency. . . . David Carr writes in The New York Times that a Council on Ethical Blogging and Aggregation has been formed to establish some standards for aggregating material on the web authored by others. He quotes the council's Instigator, Simon Dumenco, "This is not an anti-aggregation group, we are pro-aggregation. We want some simple, common-sense rules. There should be some kind of variation of the Golden Rule here, which is that you should aggregate others as you would wish to be aggregated yourself." Response has been, well, interesting see: We Don't Need No Stinking Seal of Approval From the Blog Police.

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passing scene

Investing in good writing works – if The Atlantic is any example. A recent report in Mashable Business by Lauren Indvik says the magazine's web audience has "catapulted from approximately 500,000 to 13.4 million monthly visitors since taking down its paywall in early 2008." While the growth is not all due to hiring good writers Indvik says the magazine has adapted its editorial strategy "to capitalize on the growing importance of social networks, rather than search engines, as sources of traffic." She quotes Scott Havens, a senior vice president of The Atlantic Media Company, "Truly [our writers] are not really thinking about SEO anymore. Now it's about how we can spin a story so that it goes viral." Bob Cohn, editor of The Atlantic Digital, adds, "We're no longer writing to get the attention of Google algorithms. We're writing to get you to share it, to Digg it."

Here is a recent Quote of the Week from Great Britain's Media Digest: "The big idea is dead. There are no more big ideas. Creative leaders should go for getting lots and lots of small ideas out there. Stop beating yourself up searching for the one big idea. Get lots of ideas out there and then let the people you interact with feed those ideas and they will make it big." - Ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide's CEO Kevin Roberts who says marketing, strategy and management, as we know them, are all dead. (As reported in The Drum.) . . . . However, in efforts to go viral be sure your claims are true and your ideas yours. Wooden Horse News reports: "Bloggers beware! A federal judge in Oregon has ruled that a Montana blogger is not covered by the shield law that protects journalists." In his ruling, Judge Marco Hernandez wrote, "Although defendant is a self-proclaimed 'investigative blogger' and defines herself as 'media,' the record fails to show that she is affiliated with any newspaper, magazine, periodical, book, pamphlet, news service, wire service, news of feature syndicate, broadcast station or network, or cable television system. Thus, she is not entitled to the protections of the law."

Wendy Davis, writing for Online Media Daily, reports, "IMM Interactive has agreed to pay more than $1.3 million to settle charges that it duped consumers by creating fake news sites touting acai berry as a weight-loss supplement." In the same article the FTC was said to have settled with a total of seven other online marketers it sued for using fake news sites. . . . The AP is seeking redress from Meltwater, a paid clipping service, for aggregating its product for profit, Davis reports in another article for Online Media Daily. The wire service's complaint, says, in part: that "online aggregators are partly responsible for the financial problems facing newspapers today by taking subscriptions, licensing revenue and advertising dollars away from traditional news organizations and wire services, leaving the news content providers unable to continue bearing their high costs of creating content." This, too, has implications for all aggregators of web content.

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autowriters spotlight

Carroll Shelby Remembered

Life was a poker game for Carroll Shelby and he played to win with the end justifying the means - as long as you stayed legal, didn't exaggerate beyond what the listener should know better than to believe and you were reasonably kind to women, children and dumb animals. Holding his cards close to his chest and almost always with an ace in the hole, he was a fierce, determined and unrelenting competitor.

He looked and mostly dressed the part he played - a tall, self-reliant Texas cowpoke ready to take on the world. When he walked on the set of a TV spot he shot for Chrysler, the director said, "He's the perfect Carroll Shelby."

His looks, easy laugh and smile and his unpretentious "good old boy" guise, coupled with his racecar driver-builder fame made him welcome in throne rooms, board rooms, bedrooms and with his eponymous brand of chili seasonings and corn bread mix, even the kitchen. It might have included the bathroom if his Carroll Shelby Pit Stop deodorant had sold.

Carroll Shelby RIP

On the golf course his dissembling took the form of "playing just well enough to win," according to an old friend. Disingenuous or not, it belied the substance behind the warning of lesser, perhaps envious mortals, "Be sure to count your fingers after you shake hands with Shelby." For the unaware, that warning meant being "slickered "by Shelby. More often it was a case of their slickering themselves.

The good old boy had a computer behind his engaging grin. He listened, observed and quickly calculated how a situation affected his interests and how to best respond - without revealing what related irons he had in the fire or what he knew about the other fellow and his proposition.

He let people talk themselves in or out of a deal. Deals that, financially or ego-wise, he didn't need to make - except when others were making money on his name. If money was going to be made on his "brand" he felt he deserved a cut. If nothing satisfactory was forthcoming or he felt his name and brand were being tarnished, he went to court. So often that one journalist complained, "when is it going to end?" It has.

And, he worked to win - a factor often overlooked when limning the story of Carroll Shelby as amplified and embellished by three generations of auto enthusiasts. More importantly, he didn't rest on his laurels. If he didn't have three or four projects going that would make news, it was a bad week. What he could conceive, he had the energy and will to achieve, despite a congenital heart condition. He did not like excuses.

Working with him for 14 years as the 8th or 9th "PR man" of his career was like chasing after the man humorist Stephen Leacock described as, "mounting his horse and riding off madly in all directions." There was lots of fun, particularly since Carroll by that time didn't need a PR man - the automotive writers and an impressive numbers of news, feature, sports and general interest writers he'd met over the years knew and liked him. They could always count on "old Shel" for a good quote, a colorful anecdote or apt homespun analogy. What he needed was a gatekeeper to filter the opportunities, the media and appearance requests that flowed his way - constantly. At least two different bio films came his way but have yet to materialize.

He was the "Ali" of autodom- bold, irreverent and confident. He enjoyed stealing the spotlight by doing or saying the unexpected. Like Ali, he had fans around the world. A thousand or more named one of their newborns, "Shelby." His star rose higher and shone brighter than many of the talented, dedicated people he attracted to his projects. But, as one associate observed, "He made a lot of Southern California mechanics rich. " As the years went by Carroll tried to acknowledge and make amends to those who felt their contributions had been lost in his shadow.

A decade after Carroll left the automotive scene, Lee Iacocca re-introduced him at Chrysler as "The Mr. Excitement of the auto industry." The times and the circumstances that made him so may never return.

If there were a "Hall of Fame for those who got the last drop out of living," Carroll Shelby would have a special niche. Certainly not with the saints or scholars or those born to power or riches - far from it. In fact, he might have to do a little penance in purgatory before ascending to his perch. But you can bet he'll make it.

# # #

The Petersen Museum is honoring Carroll Shelby with a brief display of Shelby cars, including the first Cobra. It will open Wednesday, May 30 and close in early June. A private invitation-only Shelby memorial service is scheduled at the Museum the evening of May 30th.

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grand stand

Here is an unranked listing of new auto reading and viewing available for the summer months. Wall Wyss, who started with Motor Trend in the '60s and has been a freelance author, feature and script writer on the West Coast since the '70s has condensed some of his car magazine adventures into a novel entitled: Ferrari Hunters. It is available through www.albaco.com. His Shelby bio was optioned by Hollywood two years ago but, he says, is a long way from production. . . . Barron's wrote May 5 that American Icon, an inside look at the Ford turnaround by Detroit News reporter Bryce Hoffman is a well-researched and lucidly written book covering the company's saga so-far under CEO Alan Mulally. It is available at Crown Business: http://www.randomhouse.com/crown/crownbusiness

Detroit writer Lillie Guyer's Outrage, the book she has been working on for a year with co-author Maryland megadealer Tammy Darvish, is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. The full title includes How Detroit and the Wall Street Car Czars Killed the American Dream. Based on interviews, court documents, interviews and thousands of emails, the book "represents the thousands who had their lives shattered and dreams destroyed when the "Detroit Two" (General Motors and Chrysler) collapsed in the economic upheaval of 2009." . . . Car Spy, written by Jim Dunne whom The Detroit Bureau labeled without much argument "the undisputed king of automotive spy photographers" is available at http://www.amazon.com/Car-Spy-Industrys-Notorious-Photographer/dp/1934709816. It tells some of his adventures and secrets while getting unauthorized advance photos of new model cars.

David Bull is pleased to announce that Michael Argetsinger's Formula One at Watkins Glen: 20 Years of the United States Grand Prix, 1961-1980, has been recognized for excellence in the 2012 Independent Publisher Book Awards. The book won the Gold Medal in the Transportation category . . . With the Indy 500 still fresh he wants to remind race fans that he has four books by or about famous names in Indy history: Mario Andretti, Mark Donohue, Bobby Rahal and Dan Gurney. For more information, check www.bullpublishing.com. . . . Video coverage of the Road Racing Drivers Club Evening with Jim Hall presented by Firestone, with support from Honda and Chevrolet, that was held before the running of the 2012 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach (Calif.), can be viewed at www.rrdc.org. Also available at the site are 32 video clips of interviews with Carroll Shelby. . . . Lance Lambert, producer-host of the "Vintage Vehicle Show" advises that he has taped five new shows: the Mullins Museum, San Diego Automotive Museum, Harry Clark Collection, Lew Webb Collection and the 91 Car Shoe. For more information contact him at: vintagevehicle@gmail.com.

For those interested in more technical matters, Todd Cooperider reports that he has added an article on Rotary Compounding to his collection of how-to articles at Detailed Images. http://www.detailedimage.com. . . . Or you can check out what other owners have experienced while driving and maintaining your model car or one you are thinking of buying by going to Michael Karesh's redesigned web site, www.TrueDelta.com.

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regional news

WEST COAST

Bill Pollack, who drove an Allard J2 in 1952 to a victory at the first Golden Gate Park Road Races in San Francisco, has been named Grand Marshal of the third annual Sonoma Historic Motorsports Festival at Infineon Raceway June 2-3. For more information about the festival and schedule of events, contact: http://www.ticketmaster.com/artist/1129796 or by phone at 800-870-RACE. . . . The September 15 road rally that precedes the Palos Verdes Concours d'Elegance the following day has been named the d'Plaisir Road Rallye in honor of the 2012 Concours' theme "French Curves." The featured marque at the Concours on Sunday, Sept. 16 will be the Delahaye. A number of other famed European coach builders are expected to compete. Media contact is Nissen Davis at avroy@aol.com or 310-729-6510. . . .Thirteen paintings from highly-regarded automotive artist François Bruére are on display through November 4,2012. at the Petersen Museum on Wilshire Blvd. in Los Angeles. Opening at the Museum June 10 will be a yearlong exhibit titled Aerodynamics From Art To Science. It offers a visual overview of the auto industry's landmarks of aerodynamic designs.

MID ATLANTIC

WAPA has revamped its Facebook page (Facebook.comWashAutoPress) with the new timeline features and is committed to posting member news every day. The organization also added a Twitter feed: Twitter.com/WashAutoPress and welcomes links to member news and interviews. . . . A lineup that reads like industry heavyweights is slated for a June 18 through 20 forum in D.C. on Next Generation Engines and Fuels. The focus will be on the new Cafe and Tier 3 standards. It looks like the audience will be heavy too, at least in their wallets as the standard fee for the three-day event is $1295.00 No word on press prices. Contact Sandra Gonzales for more information at registration@infocastnetwork.com

Lighter fare and a better price (free) - is the "Summertime Ride and Rhythms" in D.C. June 9 celebrating Automotive Rhythms' 10th Anniversary co-sponsored by Volkswagen. It offers test drives of new models, music, light refreshments and beverage, prizes and gift bags. Also, interview opportunities for media. For more information, contact Automotive_Rhythms@mail.vresp.com.

EAST COAST

A panel on Autonomous Driving was convened by NEMPA at MIT the afternoon preceding the media association's annual meeting and awards dinner. Participating were representatives from: BMW, Continental, GM, Kia, Mercedes-Benz and MIT. The panel's conclusion, as reported by Peter C. T. Elsworth in the Providence Journal, "Automation likely will assist, not replace driver." And, by 2020, the congestion on the roads will make it necessary, even though the many technical aids and devices will represent a distraction challenge to the driver. The 2013 Ford Fusion was given the Ritvo Award for "Style and elegance" as voted by a panel of judges from the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and Larz Anderson Auto Museum in Brookline. The award honors the late car photographer, Gene Ritvo, respected among his NEMPA colleagues for the grace and style in his work. Another NEMPA award, the Yankee Cup for technology, went to Hyundai for its gas engine direct injection advances that reduce emissions and ups mileage to rival that of hybrid cars. All NEMPA officers were re-elected at the annual meeting.

SOUTHWEST

TAWA president Mike Herzing reports, "By resounding margins, TAWA's writers selected Nissan's 2013 GT-8 as the 2012 Car of Texas while Chrysler's 2012 Town & Country was named Family Car of Texas." Chrysler won seven additional class awards to lead the all manufacturers participating. Winners were selected from 58 models made available by OEMs for the 2012 TAWA Auto Roundup which was the most competitive yet in Herzing's opinion and, he said, "the best to date."

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awards honors and events

Awards

Autoline is celebrating its 15th Anniversary on June 21 at it new Detroit-adjacent Farmington Hills, Mich. studios. Host John McElroy started AutoLine on Detroit public television and the enterprise has since grown to include a variety of shows which, combined, reach audiences worldwide with new car test-drives, technology updates, news and trends in the auto industry and markets. John and co-host, Auto Extremist blogger Peter De Lorenzo will air their popular Autoline Afterhours TV show from 6pm to 7pm during the celebration.

Marty Schorr + John 'Bugsy' Lawler receive NEMPA awards.

Hyundai CEO, John Krafcik, won the NEMPA Silver Anniversary Executive Award presented to a native New Englander for achievements in the auto industry, while industry consultant Pierre Kanter got the group's Camel's Back Award that annually recognizes a person who cheerfully performs burdensome and untimely NEMPA requests that could be, "the straw that breaks the camel's back." And Marty Schorr (at right in photo) was recognized with the Charles E. Dole High Road Award for his service at a number of automakers and as a magazine editor and now, president of Performance Media Public Relations (PMPR) in Florida. John "Bugsy" Lawler (at left in photo) received the Founders Award "for his 25 years of unequaled service to members of NEMPA and to the automotive industry at large." Additional NEMPA awards are noted in the Regional News. (But not all of the five pages of awards at NEMPA's annual honors orgy).

Even longer is the schedule of events and list of leaders for the annual Management Briefing Seminars staged by the Center for Automotive Research at the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa. But they cover three days, August 6-9. For more information, go to www.cargroup.org or email: carregistration@cargroup.org. . . . The U.S. Senate has resolved that Collector Car Day is July 13th thanks to efforts by SEMA and two of its sub-groups. A number of states have passed similar resolutions. Laura Bergan, chairman of SEMA's Automotive Restoration Market Organization (ARMO) said, "We will again proudly partner with individuals, car clubs and business as they organize car cruises, club gatherings and other educational events to celebrate the day." SEMA is maintaining a list of events scheduled to commemorate the day. Those interested in publicizing their event can contact the SEMA ACTION NETWORK (SAM) at 909-978-8721 or san@sema.org.

Autobytel and Auto Pacific have announced the winners of their 2012 Vehicle Satisfaction Awards, based on their 48-point survey of 75,000 vehicle owners. The highest satisfaction premium brand for 2012 is Mercedes Benz and the highest satisfaction popular brand is Buick. For a complete list of the winners in 26 car and truck categories, contact: Dan Hall at dan,hall@autopacific.com . . . . The Automotive Journalism Society of North America has named "Talk About Cars" hosted and produced by Jeff Shade as the "Best Automotive Radio Program" for 2012. (Note: AWCom has Googled for the Automotive Journalism Society of North America and got "no results found" and a secondary reference under Insurance-automotive in Brookyln Park, Minn. )

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pit notes

Autowriters.com was chided for failing to comment on Frank Greve's Taking Readers For A Ride article last September in the American Journalism Review. It was an oversight. AW.Com's reaction: same story different quotes. It was a calmer dissing of auto journalism than the usual rants treating the obvious like an expose. Befitting its more scholarly outlet, there were more sources, a wider scope, including the role of the Internet and syndicates with the decline of newspaper auto reviewers. But the fact that sources and advertisers favor journalists and publishers who favor them is not news nor is it confined to coverage of the auto industry. It is a challenge to the profession. One of the better rejoinders AW.Com read among several prompted by Greve's piece was written by Aaron Gold in his About.Cars blog. Or if you are really offended by Greve's article, read Mitch McCullough's letter in the December AJR.

True Car Racing Team

True Car founder Scot Painter offers some business-school reasoning in explaining to Marketing Daily' Karl Greenberg why the company is sponsoring a stable of women race car drivers. He says it quicker when he quotes Katherine Legge, (one of TrueCar's racers) "when she gets behind the wheel, the car doesn't know she's a girl." The initial 2012 True Car Racing Team includes Legge on the Indy Car Circuit, Shannon McIntosh, who races in the USF2000 Series; Shea Holbrook for the Pirelli World Challenge Series; Ashley Freiberg in the Star Mazda Series; Emilee Tominovich in the Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup Series, and Verena Mei in the Rally America Series." But will Painter's team appeal to target female audience? Painter thinks so. So much so, Greenberg reports, "The company plans to have a car and sponsored driver in the IndyCar Series, and a Baja 1000 team for 2012, which will be made up entirely of women drivers. Also on tap is a driver development program to bring young women to auto racing at the karting level and support them up to premier racing series like IndyCar, the American Le Mans Series, the X-Games and Grand Am

Another woman driver making news is Road & Travel Magazine founder and editor-in-chief Courtney Caldwell who undertook a 3200-mile trip from east to west by herself in a 17-foot U-Haul truck. The purpose: to empower and inspire women with tips on how to keep safe, secure, and sane on the road alone, whether across town or across country, including how to avoid personal danger. It helps in Caldwell's case that she s a 15-year veteran black belt instructor in the Korean art of Taekwondo. The trip is being co-sponsored by Bridgestone Tires and U-Haul. It got underway May 19, with Caldwell blogging about the journey, providing additional safety tips along the route on the Road & Travel Blog and Earth, Wind & Power Blog, as well as on Facebook and Twitter each night from her hotel.

Still more about women drivers is the solicitation of entrants and destinations underway for the Northern Exposure and the race to Recover America's Missing Children. It begins Friday Sept. 21st in Independence, Ohio and ends Sept. 29 in Bangor Maine and already has entries from Long Beach Grand Prix winner Shea Holbrook, Pro Wakeboard Champion Tarah Mikacich and NHRA Super Comp drag racer Tina Stull, as well as World Champion Lumberjill "Timber Tina" Scheer seen on CBS's Survivor and ABC's Extreme Home Makeover. There's more to this event than AWCom can explain so those interested can email media@fireballrun.com or call David Hickman, EVP, Marketing 407.224.5403. . . . . Steve Purdy of Shunpiker Productions is seeking advice and sponsors for a planned Detroit Knows Cars Automobile Art Competition for 2013. It will be a juried competition with cash awards sufficient to draw entries from the best professional artists in the country. Contact him with your suggestions or for raising cash and recruiting sponsors at 517- 655-3591 or stevepurdy3@gmail.com. . . . Last, The Detroit Bureau reports the government has a new website calculator that makes it easy to estimate your fuel savings and figure out how long it will take to recover the added dollars you pay for a hybrid vehicle: www.fueleconomy.gov.

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new roads

A new road for writers is described in the following clip which, we believe came from Motorcyclist: "Dear readers: The freelance writer is a man who is paid per piece or per word or perhaps." This quote from famed American humorist, writer and Algonquin Round Table member, Robert Benchley, proves that not much has changed for freelancers in the 80 years since he said it.

"Pity the poor freelancer, coping with unpaid invoices, unanswered pitches and 1099 tax forms, trying to maintain some semblance of organization and still have time to actually write. But an LA startup company is attempting to make things easier. Meet Assignmint.com, a new pitch-to-payment cloud workflow system, with the optimistic tagline, 'We're going to fix freelancing.'

Designed to target the most frequent and pervasive issues, writers will be able to manage pitches, editorial calendars, contracts, assignments, invoices, payments and expenses. Co-founder and former New York Press editor Jeff Koyen says editor-side tools also will be built into the site, allowing them to "filter incoming pitches, issue assignments and then handle all related fulfillment right from their dashboard."

Plans are in the works to add a clip and algorithm service, capable of matching freelancers with potential new clients, and to offer a variety of premium and custom services. Initially the site will only serve writers and editors, but later in 2013 will expand to freelancers and employers in other fields such as IT, financial services, academia and fashion marketing. A private beta launch is planned for June, and anyone who is interested in taking the new system for a test drive can sign up at www.assignmint.com.

However, there may be some pot holes along the way because the road to cloud computing may not be as smooth or as promising as it seems. Earlier this month the Los Angeles Times reported, "when you save files to Google's new hard-drive folder in the cloud, the terms of service you are required to agree to gives Google worldwide license to use, host, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works, communicate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute (your) content as the company sees fit." David Sirota, writing for Salon says the proviso, according to Google, merely enables them to facilitate a cloud-user's sharing of files with others and that persons using tech companies to facilitate interpersonal communications and information management often have to sign a similar agreement. That, in Sirota's view, "can lead to serious shenanigans" because "nobody has any comprehensive idea of how tech companies are using these provisions in their secret business-to-business dealings. If they are already using your photos, what else are they doing behind their firewall? Are they selling your data? Are they mining your cloud files looking to preemptively appropriate the next great innovations? Nobody knows … well, except the tech companies themselves."

Bloomberg Pursuits is a new magazine targeting households with annual incomes of $450,000 and above. Wooden Horse News reports that it will include product reviews, destinations, advice, real estate, fashion, jewelry and automobiles. . . . , Motorcycle scrivner Todd Rafferty announced publication of MotoJones.com, a website devoted to motorcycle art in studio and action photography. Selected images from the MotorSports Media archive cover the span of motorcycle sport from the early 20th century to today. . . . Hot Rod Magazine is readying a re-launch this fall across all of its platforms. . . . Heavy Duty Trucking publisher B2B Newport Business Media, has been purchased by Bobit Business Media.

For a look at a really smooth road, click here http://www.flixxy.com/volkswagen-levitating-car.htm . . . Auto A Fondo has launched a new free download Ipad app for the digital version of its Spanish–language print Auto A Fondo magazine and segments of the Auto-A Fondo television shows. For more information contact: Claudia Lopez: (562) 608-8294 / claudialopez@autoafondo.com. . . . Also catering to the burgeoning Hispanic market, Decisive Media has launched an all-new website, www.decisivelatino.com, complimenting the quarterly magazines, Decisive Latino and Decisive Auto Latino. The all-new bilingual website features advice and tips from Latino experts on a variety of topics, from beauty to cars, with interactivity and more user friendliness. . . . . The re-launched National Speed Sport News has partnered with Fox Sports Radio's Race Day. The program will air every Sunday from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. ET and starting Memorial Day will be renamed, Speed Sport On Fox Sports Radio.

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lane changes

Nick Bunkley has moved from the Detroit Bureau of The New York Times to Automotive News where he will cover industry-wide issues. To reach him try nbunkley@crain.com. . . . Peter DuPre has resignedas editor-in-chief and art director of MC2-The Mini Magazine, a post he held for the past 4 1/2 years. He has re-joined the ever-expanding pool of freelance autowriters and welcomes assignments. He can be reached at autoword@netzero.net. Or 360-297-4413. . . .Jeff Holland has departed American Suzuki Motor Corporation where he was director of Social Media and Public Relations. Chris White, director of sales, will assume his duties. White can be reached at chris.white@suz.com. Holland can be reached at 562-640-1758 or ffejdanlloh@hotmail.com. No word on his future plans.

Canadian writer Jil McIntosh has moved from Autos.ca to Sympatico Autos where she will continue to Write features and reviews and maintain her personal website: www.WomonWheels.ca. Her email is jil@ca.inter.net . . . . Because he is the only person AW.com knows of who fights crime and writes about cars (if a joke occurs to you, send it along) we are glad to report that after 33 years of service Rob Rothwell is not stashing his pen along with his Vancouver, Canada police badge. He will continue to write for Auto123.com and serve as civilian manager of the department's sizeable fleet of 599 units.

Dave Pankew resigned from Performance Auto & Sound Magazine to run Autoblog's expansion site in Canada, www.ca.autoblog.com. It is localized for the Canadian market with specific pricing, release dates, spelling and metric data as our neighbors to the north require. The new contact at Performance Auto & Sound is Erickson@pasmag.com. . . . A real veteran, John Birchard, formerly auto editor of Voice of America and then freelance has shed his driving gloves and WAPA membership but has not retired. You can check out his CyberjazzToday show 24/7 at www.cyberjazztoday.com. . . . Also turning in her WAPA card after 17 years is Lorrie Gilbert who is retiring from BNA.

Dennis Cadorniga has changed the name of his site and blog from Cars In Context to Carsbrief.Com. His email is now Dennis.Cadorniga@carsbrief.com. . . . Angela Greiling Keane is on the regulatory team in Bloomberg News' D.C. office. She can be reached at agreilingkea@bloomberg.net. Telephone: 202-654-1287. . . . Joe Momber is the editor of Autobody News and can be reached at jmomber@autobodynews.com. . . . . Jamesha Lewis has given way to James Lewis - her father - as the contact at the Birmingham Times: Jlewis@birminghamtimes.com. . . . Minnesota auto scribe John Gilbert has a new email addresses: johngilbert@newcarpicks.com.

Those who want to get in touch with vintage car restorer/writer Jim Richardson can try jameshr106@gmail.com. . . . Lindsay Dechacco has departed AAA Arizona and email should be sent to highroads@arizona.aaa.com attention of Lacey. . . . Paul Choi is no longer at AOL Canada, having departed for The Toronto Star. His phone contacts remain the same and his new email is pchoi@thestar.ca. . . . Kari Hamanaka covers autos for the Orange County (Calif.) Business Journal. She can be reached at 949-833-8373x242 or hamanaka@ocbj.com. . . . The best way to send a release to the Orange Leader in Orange, Tex. is editorial@orangeleader.com . . . Freelancer Nina Padgett-Russin's new email is ninarussin@yahoo.com.