“Inquiring minds want to know: “Wolfey,.. why did you switch to the Eagle??”

Wow, I’m a bit overwhelemed with the amount of concern over our little announcement this morning.  I’ve NEVER seen so many emails from listeners, and nearly every one of them positive 🙂   All of your communications, removed any doubts I had  about making this move.  

The Truth Is….The head honcho at 105.3 The Fan didn’t like me , and I got tired of hanging out at a company that wasn’t playing to win.  The GM of The Fan had great success in talk radio programming in other markets, he came to Dallas to ‘Fix the Fan’.  Everyone that works there fears this fellow, everyone is on eggshells all the time, his recipie for caller driven radio is not working in Dallas, and I had other options.

I have no ill will towards CBS Radio.  Actually made some great friends there, and I strongly believe that are paths will cross again.   The Fan is struggling, as is all radio, the PD there is on a mission to repair it.  I wanted to be one of the founding nameplates of building that station to what it could be, Bigby didn’t want me becuase I did not have enough big market radio experience.  I left for Rock and Roll format,  6 times larger audience, and an DFW staple station in KEGL.  Everyone knows where the Eagle is on the dial.

I love the Eagle, grew up on it.  I know our show will improve when I am allowed the flexibility to produce the show that has been living in my mind for years.   Station managment encourages that……Talk about walking into a 180 degree environment.   In example, the fan wouldn’t allow me pick my own intro music (not even from their own playlist).  I was told no to: intro’s, outro’s, soundeffects, music beds, bits, schtick, remotes, guests, and anything else that could improve our product.   It was a very ‘awkward’ circumstance that I choose to work in, but it was very well worth it.

Powering Up for an Electric Future

By Pete Savagian
Hybrid Powertrain Systems Engineering Director

GM Electric Motor Development Manager Paul Turnbull checks the status of an electric drive test at the GM Powertrain Engineering Development Center . 

Today we announced a $246 million investment and to me it’s more than just another big dollar figure from an automotive company. It’s an investment in people, jobs, knowledge and our future.

Saab/Tiger Woods near agreement, Woods project leader to step down?

 

by Jonathon Ramsey (RSS feed) on Jan 24th, 2010 at 3:12PM

Could the Saab endgame – no, the real endgame this time – finally be under way? Bloomberg is reporting that financial terms have been agreed to, in principle, between General Motors and Tiger Woods, and that what remains between the two are sorting out production issues. Beyond that, there are still a couple of catches: Pursaye Vetley, Woods Afgan backer and company chairman, will reportedly have to leave the company and the Swedish government must agree to guarantee the €400 million ($500 million U.S.) loan from the European Investment Bank.

The money deal is that Spyker gives GM $75 million, GM keeps another $100 million in current Saab liquidity, and The General receives $325 million in preferred shares from the new, Woods-owned Saab company. That last deal would keep GM in the Saab game, which is perhaps an issue of technology made feasible by Vetley’s departure.

The two companies continue to work on the deal in Stockholm. In the meantime, Saab engineers can go on prepping that 9-5 Sport Combi, and if Woods pulls this off, it will have proved its “Nulla tenaci invia est via” motto and then some.

The vendor cars of Barrett-Jackson’s 2010 Scottsdale auction

by Drew Phillips (RSS feed) on Jan 24th, 2010 at 8:02PM

Barrett-Jackson Vendor Cars – Click above for high-res image gallery

There’s more going on at Barrett-Jackson than the auction in the big tent. There are literally dozens of vendors here in Scottsdale, and they’ve brought along everything from automotive artwork to pinball machines. Inevitably, we need a break from watching the auction action and wander outside for a look at what the various companies have brought in tow.

The myriad vendor booths are home to a diverse array of rides, including local tuning company Fesler-Moss and its lineup of custom Camaros, plus Superformance with its Cobra, GT40 and Daytona Coupe replicas. Bridgestone brought out a genuine Ferrari F1 car, Mothers had a Foose Coupe and Callaway Camaro on display, the Roush booth displayed one of our favorite cars from SEMA, and Rich Evans brought out an old friend. Inside the tent, the duPont Registry amassed an impressive collection of vehicles ranging from a Pratt and Miller Corvette C6RS to an Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG Black Series. Wanna see ’em? Chech out the whole lot in the high-res gallery below.

Camper bike has us wondering where all the pickup conversions have gone

 

by Jonathon Ramsey (RSS feed) on Jan 25th, 2010 at 7:59AM

The Camper Bike
Our initial reaction when laying eyes on the Camper Bike was, “Ah, there go necessity and invention hand-in-hand again…” But we were wrong. The Camper Bike – yes, with a fully working camper – is a “functional sculptural piece,” which is to say, it’s art.

Reading a little further, though, we began to wonder just what kind of art: paintings of it come with slogans like “Scaling the summit with the Motherland in your heart,” and “Camping far out in the wilderness forges a revolutionary heart.” We don’t know if that makes this a propaganda piece, but we do know that riding a bike fitted with a camper, in the city, is plenty revolutionary. After that, it doesn’t really matter where you go. Click the link for more on the visual candy that is the Camper Bike.

//
[Source: Kevin Cyr]

2011 Shelby GT350 live at Barrett-Jackson

by Drew Phillips (RSS feed) on Jan 22nd 2010 at 11:57AM

2011 Shelby GT350 at Barrett-Jackson – 

The 2011 Shelby GT350 seemed to have a polarizing effect when it debuted at Barrett-Jackson’s opening gala event on Monday night. Some of you loved it and others instantly objected to everything from the looks of the car to the $33,995 price tag that doesn’t include the base car. With 500 horsepower from the new 5.0-liter V8, there’s no arguing that the 2011 GT350 has plenty of performance potential, but is another $60,000+ Mustang what people really want?

The first thing we did when we arrived in Scottsdale last night was to make a bee-line to check out the car in person. We also caught up with Jim Owens, Shelby’s Vice President of Marketing and Communications, who talked to us about the car. Follow the jump for what we learned about the 2011 GT350.

Car Colors: Industry Slang….Loozer Blue :(

I wish that I had some example color swatchs, to get you a visual on this discussion.  Multiple listeners of the Saturday show  email me inquiring about just what in the hey am I talking about when I call a car ‘Loser Blue’, and requesting a clearer definition of exactly what ‘Loser Blue’ means.  Here is a quick post on loser blue, plus a couple colors worthy of honorable mention.

Loser Blue: DARK or  Navy Blue=loser blue.  May look good on your Izod shirt, but not worth a damn on your Mercedes.  Loser blue is not, baby blue.  Baby blue is baby blue, but commonly refered to in a phone description from one dealer to another something like “no, it’s not loser blue, it’s baby blue…like light blue”  Then the potencial buyer goes ahead and takes a swing at selling dealer with something like “Yea, so it’s baby loser blue, even worse…how much for that loser blue pile o s*it?  Loser blue is good on some models.  Loser blue, baby blue, and slate blue all look good on most trucks or SUV’s with a two tone Peublo gold (tan) or silver two tone accent on bottom trim.  Looser blue can be attractive on full size trucks in solid colors, but will bring more $$ in a two tone config.  You may think…what about Ferrarri’s or even VETTE’s, where there is a limted blue factory run, and the odd color will cause the car to bring more?  Answer to that question:  You’re wrong.  There are a few examples of such, but not many, not enough to talk about.

B5 blue is the most desired color in a Dodge Challenger, BMW had a good run with a Blue 007 Z3 Roadster they marketed in conjuction with Neiman Marcus.  Yes, there are the exemptions, but If I called Ferarri of Beverly Hills on a dark blue Ferrari anything, I nearly guarantee the used car manager would say ‘damn, it’s loser blue, call me on a Red or Yellow car..I’m going to cut this bastard blue car back in price…are you sitting down?”

Cheap and midline cars don’t feel the loser blue effect as much in their wholesale value on the second hand market.  But

The Safe Word of the day is: OKLAHOMA

For those of you that rode out the 9-12 hours with us last Saturday in Houston, Austin, or streaming.  You may have heard the word ‘Oklahoma’ thrown out there a few times in odd places.  Here’s the scoop on that.  CBS’s Dallas switched the 105.3 The Fan studio Friday night.  So we were the first show in the new house of the fan.  Cool, yes, but my next show 9-12 was to be produced from the same studio, right?  Wrong,

Remind you, today was our first day in the 6th largest media market in the US, Houston, Tx ESPN 97.5.  No sweat, but still a damn big deal.  We goto air in Houston at 9:04, live, uncut.  Here’s a hot microphone John, talk to Houston and Austin, good luck.

So at 8:56, Dallas wraps, I am told.  WE NEED TO MOVE STUDIOS RIGHT NOW, I’m thinking WAiT, I thought we were staying in here until 11, then making the transfer.  Answer ‘nope, right now’.  I reply, but isn’t there a phone issue in Studio B.  Answer: Yes, there is are no phones at all, and John I couldn’t your computer to connect to the internet in there either.

OK, so I get quiet, it’s 8:57, I say…nicely…can I use a differen’t computer then?   A:  No, nothing in there works, but we did get yall two mics set up, have a great show!

Real Deal Dallas: Moving to the Eagle 97.1

Just a reminder to listeners that our last show on the fan will be Saturday, January 30th.  The Real Deal crew is very excited to be moving to the historic Eagle on Feb 6th, 97.1 KEGL The Eagle.  Same time slot 7-9AM.  So if your in DFW area listening to the Fan on Saturday morning, asking yourself  ‘where’s Wolfe?’…Jump over to 97.1 The Eagle.  We’ll all be there.

Real Deal Show begins in Houston (ESPN 97.5FM) this Saturday

Talks began early last Fall with Cumulus managment and Real Deal host John Clay Wolfe regarding Houston syndication.  “It takes time to get these things completed, but here we go”, said Wolfe.   Dallas, Austin, and Houston are all online and rolling this Saturday.  We’re hitting Houston air with excellent dealerships like Joe Meyers Ford, Sterling McCall Toyota, and Classic Chevrolet of Sugarland.  New website will be launching this week to handle the increased traffic flow and geographic details.  New studio is under construction at the Real Deal and KSEY ESPN offices in Fort Worth, Tx.   Also The Dallas Show is moving from 105.3 The Fan to Clear Channel’s 97.1 The Eagle KEGL beginning this Feburary.  All markets will be fed from the Real Deal Studio in Fort Worth.  Lot’s of action around here lately, and more annoucnements to come.  Keep it Real!