AND SO, WE PRESS ON.

Editor's Note: This week, Peter addresses the need to move on in his Rant, knowing full well it's all "easier said than done." In On The Table, Peter slams the fan boys in the media over their gushing reviews of the new Rivian products allegedly coming in 2026, even though there is serious doubt that they'll ever see the light of day. We take another look at the stunning 1953 Corvette show car from Kindig-It Design, the 2024 Ridler Award winner. And our AE Song of the Week is "Man On The Moon" by R.E.M. In Fumes, we bring you Part VIII of Peter's riveting motorsports series, "The Muscle Boys." And finally, in The Line, we have coverage of the INDYCAR season opener from St. Petersburg, F1 from Saudi Arabia and the MotoGP opener from Qatar. Onward. -WG

By Peter M. DeLorenzo

Detroit. After the last two weeks, when my columns – “The United States of Mediocrity” and “Stick to Cars” – landed with a crash on the hard deck of reality, complete with much hand-wringing and recriminations, I thought it would be a good idea to move on to other things, if at all possible.

And yes, it actually is, at least to a degree. I, for one, however, can never fully get away from the swirling maelstrom that defines this industry and “life its own self” as Dan Jenkins – one of my favorite authors – so ably once put it.

This just in: Life is hard. And complicated. Yes, I know, no great revelation here, but it’s a reminder that with the current state of constant, oppressive technology we’re dealing with on a 24/7 basis, our lives have been simply overwhelmed. And the uproar of life as we know it is unlike any other time in human history.

On the one hand, at times I personally love the technology at our fingertips. The instant access to knowledge. The ability to communicate far and wide at the push of a button. The ability to go, and do, and see things that we’d never be able to do otherwise. I find the images of other parts of the world to be endlessly fascinating, and if any of you follow me on X and other social media channels, you know I repost those kinds of photos often. The access to all genres of music of course is simply phenomenal. And it goes without saying, for car enthusiasts it has been a cornucopia of delights.

The one thing that I don’t think gets talked about enough with our modern communication platforms is the access to history and historical perspective, something so clearly lacking among too many. Yes, I know every new generation thinks that they invented it all and it has never been done before until they did it, but if you’ve been ambulatory long enough on this planet you know that is simply not true. An appreciation of what has come before us is critically important in order to gain the perspective that is essential to go forward. As I’ve often said over the years of writing this column, we need to know where we’ve been before we can understand where we want to go.

I could go on and on about the bountiful opportunities of life-enhancing experiences available to us on our myriad communication platforms but suffice to say we have a lot to be thankful for when it comes to our ability to savor the richness of life. When it all works as intended, it can indeed be a wonderful thing.

On the other hand, we know that the Internet and other associated communication platforms have let millions of malevolent genies out of the bottle. We are constantly bombarded with verbal and visual squalor, and constantly exposed to the darkest and most malicious minds, because the access that works so wonderfully well for us on the positive side of the ledger is used to unleash the most virulent and reprehensible hate bombs on the electronic landscape. Terrible, disgusting and disgraceful stuff that we would prefer to pretend doesn’t exist but is brought to the fore on a relentless basis. It is like the anthill from Hell has been turned over and the most vicious, mutant killer ants from outer space are coming for us all. Needless to say, the Dark Side of our communication platforms has unleashed a malignant fury that we are forced to contend with every single day.

And the ugly thing is, none of this bad stuff can be put back in the bottle. Instead, we’re forced to navigate our lives picking and choosing what we access, how we access it and most important... why, and when. As I mentioned previously over the last couple of weeks, this requires a level of critical thinking that decidedly seems lacking with too large a percentage of our fellow citizens. This is when the degradation of our educational system over the last several decades really starts rearing its ugly head. When people can’t sort through the debris generated by malevolent interests, the result is rampant disinformation that corrodes the citizenry at an alarming rate. This result is a “dumbing down” of the populace because too many are simply incapable of finding or even understanding what an honest perspective should look and sound like.

Needless to say, it’s a giant bowl of Not Good.

I’m often asked this: So, what can be done about this? Modern life is daunting, to say the least. We’re forced to fight and claw for sanity in insane times. And unfortunately, all of what I’m about to say falls under the category of “easier said than done.”

We need to do our part when possible to make things a little better or a little brighter, even if it’s just in our small circle of friends and family. Will this make a difference? Yes, it will make a difference and besides, every little bit does count.

And we need to focus on what matters, in whatever spectrum of life we’re living in. We need to savor life whenever we can, and let go of the stuff that makes it unwieldy and tedious whenever we’re afforded the opportunity.

Again, easier said than done, right?

The truth is there are no quick fixes or easy solutions. A switch can’t be flipped that will make it all better. We must exist in a world of constant consternation filled with global concerns and worries, as well as deal with the fraught landscape and day-to-day challenges in our own communities and with our country overall.

When we tally up this kaleidoscope of life, we’re all dealing with our own issues large and small and even petty. It’s who we are and it’s what we do. All we can do right now is to try and make things better somehow and in some way.

And so, we press on.

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

Editor's Note: Click on "Next 1 Entries" at the bottom of this page to see previous issues. - WG