SAME AS IT EVER WAS.

By Peter M. DeLorenzo

Detroit. Today’s column will be, well, a little different and unexpected, because as long as we’re living in this automotive Twilight Zone between the end of the ICE era and the dawn of the BEV era, things are bound to be more than a little unsettled. Or boring. Or both. It seems like the entire industry is lost in that traditional mindset of "It won't be long now!" Translation? Give us another year and we'll be smokin'. In the meantime, have another SUV and you'll be fine. Or something like that. When even Mercedes-Benz creates an ugly-ass SUV and calls it a Maybach (see On The Table -WG), this industry is officially out of ideas. With that in mind then, I have a few questions for you (as inspired by one of my heroes, David Byrne) …

Go ahead and ask yourself
What am I doing?
Go ahead and ask yourself
And what is it for?
Go ahead and ask yourself
Am I going where I want to go?
Go ahead and ask yourself
Or am I just running in place?
 
Go ahead and ask yourself
Is this as good as it gets?
Go ahead and ask yourself
Or am I missing something?
Go ahead and ask yourself
Is this the life I signed up for?
Go ahead and ask yourself
Or am I going through the motions?
 
Go ahead and ask yourself
Am I spending my time asking why?
Go ahead and ask yourself
Or am I living for why not?
Go ahead and ask yourself
Do I have it finally figured out?
Go ahead and ask yourself
Or am I closer to where I started?
 
Go ahead and ask yourself
Have I stopped learning?
Go ahead and ask yourself
Or am I better than yesterday?
Go ahead and ask yourself
Are my regrets stifling my soul?
Go ahead and ask yourself
Or is my past fueling me forward?
 
You may ask yourself
Am I still writing chapters?
You may ask yourself
Or is it time for my next act?
You may ask yourself
Is this all there is?
You may ask yourself
Or am I good right here?
 
You may ask yourself
Is it time to run?
You may ask yourself
Or can I run but not hide?
You may ask yourself
Is this the best me?
You may ask yourself
Or a pathetic facsimile?
 
You may ask yourself
Am I ready for The Future?
You may ask yourself
Or am I mired in the way it used to be?
You may ask yourself
Will it really be all that new?
Or will it be the same as it ever was?

I’ll leave it to The Man himself, Mr. Byrne, to close things out:

You may ask yourself
What is that beautiful house?
You may ask yourself
Where does that highway go to?
And you may ask yourself
Am I right? Am I wrong?
And you may say yourself
"My God! What have I done?"

And that’s the High-Octane Truth for this week. 

Editor’s Note: Read more about David Byrne’s “Once In A Lifetime” in this week’s On The Table. -WG