by Alan McPhee We walked into the Digital Age with the innocence of children. Nobody thought to ask about the unintended consequences of a ‘no holds barred’ communications universe. We are just now beginning to recognize the costs in terms of loss of privacy, government intrusion into our lives, harassment by marketers and even the […]
By Alan E. McPhee Jay Leno’s Garage personifies the passion that is associated with automotive history. It’s web site and video segments don’t look at history in an overly serious way. It uses contemporary media in a fun and engaging manner, exploring and discovering neat things that were invented and built decades ago. While the […]
by David Lamb Apple’s iBooks Author makes self publishing relatively easy – but it isn’t cheap. Here are the numbers based upon AUTOMANIA, which was posted to the iTunes store a few months back. This enhanced iBook is a light-hearted read of automotive history. It also features a Foreword by Bob Lutz which has helped […]
by David Lamb A few weeks back, the Lincoln Division of the Ford Motor Company announced it would bring attention to its storied past by incorporating its heritage in future advertising and marketing campaigns. Other automotive companies have featured their past achievements with great success, namely Mercedes-Benz and BMW. Mercedes not only has a superb […]
by Alan E. McPhee There have always been differing opinions about how the Jeep got its name. For years, during and after WWII, it was accepted that the name was derived from the term ‘General Purpose.‘ It’s easy to see how the slurring of the letters ‘GP’ could become Jeep. But there’s a problem. The […]
by David Lamb Step two in our digital journey focuses upon converting or modifying AUTOMANIA, the enhanced iBook into a Kindle version, specifically for the Kindle Fire HD. When Apple’s iBooks Author was launched, there was a storm of controversy as many concluded that a deal with Apple was a deal with the devil. They […]
by Alan E. McPhee Our worst fears were confirmed today (Nov.20, 2012) with the announcement that the Walter P. Chrysler Museum would close its doors to the public by year’s end. Brian Glowiak, president and CEO of the Walter P. Chrysler Foundation stated: “Our Museum has faced the same financial challenges that many other, even […]
By David Lamb In previous blogs we’ve praised Apple for the slick way it has organized the production process for generating and posting iBooks to the iBookstore. But creating the iBook is the easy part. Generating awareness, getting media reviews and leveraging social media, constitutes the real work. With an estimated 700,000 books in the iBookstore, […]
by Alan E. McPhee The question came up when I was writing AUTOMANIA. It was prompted when I came across a photograph of the Nissan Figaro, a ‘retro’ designed car built in 1991, but made to look like something from the 1950’s. Only 20,000 were produced, but it immediately found a following and ultimately became […]
Another in the series from AUTOMANIA by Alan E. McPhee In the mid-1950s, the Ford Motor Company was about to launch a new ‘intermediate’ sedan designed to slot in the gap between the Ford and Mercury brands. It was an ambitious project that was going to include many new, innovative ideas such as standard seatbelts, […]
Automania, the iBook 