MARCH 19, 2025

The original - and still our favorite - Autoextremist logo. 

The AE Quote of the Century: Everybody loves The High-Octane Truth. Until they don't. -WG 

Editor-in-Chief's Note: Accountability comes to Detroit? Well, kinda, sort of, not really. Ford CEO Jim "I'm a genius just ask me" Farley and other company leaders took a hit in their total compensation for 2024 from the previous year because the company failed to hit performance objectives, especially quality improvement targets, etc. But Farley ain't starving; his total compensation in 2024 was $24,861,866, which was down from $26,470,033 in 2023. -PMD 

Editor's Note: Speaking of "genius" moves, Ford announced Friday that it has hired Michael Aragon, a former executive from the Lululemon clothing company, to run its integrated services division. “The heart of the Ford+ plan is to match our iconic and trusted vehicles with incredible services and experiences that will improve the lives of our customers and help businesses succeed,” Ford CEO Jim Farley explained. Aragon, "has a proven track record of helping great hardware companies create valuable digital ecosystems," Farley continued. Aragon added, "We can spark new in-cabin experiences and services that feel seamless and contextual for our customers.” Well, alrighty then! If this seems like pure folly, see below. -WG  

Editor-in-Chief's Note: If this feels like it has the desperate air about it of chasing windmills, you're right. That Farley is flat-out delusional about Ford's role in the connected world has been well documented. He actually believes that one day Ford will be more than a car company, which would be laughable if it wasn't so pathetic. Instead of worrying about "seamless" and "contextual" in-cabin experiences, Farley and Co. should be focused on eliminating product recalls and improving Ford's constant quality issues first. -PMD

(Mercedes-Benz images)

Mercedes-Benz is calling its new CLA "the most emotional, efficient, intuitive and intelligent Mercedes-Benz ever." (Yeah, that's a lot, even for M-B's dedicated PR minions.) Mercedes promises that "The new CLA offers more to customers in every dimension: more space, more refinement, more comfort, more intelligence and more efficiency compared to its predecessor." It is the "most intelligent" Mercedes-Benz model to date and the first in a completely new family of vehicles from Mercedes-Benz. Each new model will be available with both all-electric and high-tech hybrid powertrains, but for its U.S. intro, it will be exclusively a BEV at first. At launch, the CLA portfolio comprises the CLA 250+ with EQ Technology and CLA 350 4MATIC with EQ Technology. The 268HP CLA 250+ with EQ Technology offers a range of up to 792 kilometers according to the WLTP cycle. The CLA 350 4MATIC with EQ Technology has 349HP and is positioned as the performance variant at the top of the model range. 800-volt electric architecture for fast charging is part of the package. The CLA 250+ with EQ Technology can be charged to a range of up to 325 kilometers in as little as ten minutes. DC fast charging up to 320 kW is also possible. Editor-in-Chief's Note: The press release for the new CLA was the longest we've ever seen, but thankfully - (I mean, it was just unbelievable -WG) - we're sparing our readers from that slog. if you're interested in the price, it wasn't mentioned. And when it will arrive here wasn't mentioned either. So there. -PMD

(Audi images)

Audi of America has announced the technical details for the all-new A6 and S6 Sportback e-tron. Expected to arrive at U.S. dealerships this summer, the all-new model is the most aerodynamic and longest-range BEV within the Audi line-up. The 2025 A6 Sportback e-tron with available ultra® package achieves an EPA-estimated 392 miles of range, thanks to an aerodynamic 0.23 Cd. The 270kW DC fast charging can charge the battery from 10-80% in 21 minutes. The 543HP S6 Sportback e-tron receives standard sport adaptive air suspension and is capable of 3.7 seconds 0-60 mph acceleration. How much? EVs aren't getting any cheaper, especially from Germany. Prices range from $65,900 (2025 A6 Sportback e-tron Premium, 375HP) to $84,600 (2025 S6 Sportback e-tron Prestige, 543HP).

 

The AE Song of the Week:

Everybody is doin' a brand-new dance, now
(Come on, baby, do the Loco-motion)
I know you'll get to like it if you give it a chance, now
(Come on, baby, do the Loco-motion)

My little baby sister can do it with ease
It's easier than learning your A-B-Cs
So come on, come on, do the Loco-motion with me

You gotta swing your hips now
Come on, baby
Jump up, jump back
Well, I think you've got the knack

Whoa-whoa
Now that you can do it, let's make a chain now
(Come on, baby, do the Loco-motion)
A chug-a chug-a motion like a railroad train now
(Come on, baby, do the Loco-motion)

Do it nice and easy, now, don't lose control
A little bit of rhythm and a lot of soul
Come on, come on, do the Loco-motion with me

Yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah

Move around the floor in a Loco-motion
(Come on, baby, do the Loco-motion)
Do it holding hands if you get the notion
(Come on, baby, do the Loco-motion)

There's never been a dance that's so easy to do
It even makes you happy when you're feeling blue
So come on, come on, do the Loco-motion with me

(Come on, do the locomotion) you gotta swing your hips, now
(Come on, do the locomotion) that's right
You're doing fine
(Come on, do the locomotion)
Come on, baby
(Come on, do the locomotion) mmh, jump up
(Come on, do the locomotion) jump back, you're looking good

"The Loco-Motion" by Little Eva, from the album "LLLLLoco-Motion" (1962).* Written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin. Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC. Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind. Watch Little Eva perform "Loco-Motion" on "Shindig" here. 

*The husband-and-wife songwriting team of Carole King and Gerry Goffin wrote this song. Little Eva was Eva Boyd, the babysitter - actually more of a nanny - being paid $35/week to watch their daughter Louise and clean the house. They were all young: Eva was 17, King 19 and Goffin 22. One day King came up with a melody that Goffin thought sounded like a locomotive, and when he saw Eva dancing with their daughter to the tune, he got the idea to make the song about a brand-new dance - The Loco-Motion. He wrote the lyrics and they brought Eva to the studio and had her record the song as a demo, but they were hoping Dee Dee Sharp would sing it. Their producer Don Kirshner thought Eva's vocal was just fine, so they named her Little Eva and had her record the song. The only downside for King and Goffin was losing their nanny: When the song became a million-seller, Eva was able to buy a place of her own.

Gerry Goffin had actually had this song idea in the back of his mind for a couple of years, but had never found the right moment to bring it out. When he sat down to write it at last, he defended it to Carole: "This is going to sound stupid, but what the hell." Don't all the biggest fads start out that way?

That saxophone solo was performed by Artie Kaplan, who was also the contractor for the recording session. Kaplan was a song plugger in Aldon Music's publishing department and also Aldon's Music Contractor. Among many other things, he was the one who discovered Tony Orlando while eating lunch at the diner across the street from the Brill Building. As songwriter Barry Mann's roommate, he was there to see the beginning of Mann's relationship to songwriter Cynthia Weil.

Describing the sessions for this song, Kaplan told Songfacts: "I contracted the 'Loco-Motion' recording session and cast the two other musicians who I thought would be right for the date, namely Buddy Saltzman on drums and Charlie Macey on guitar and bass. I played five saxophone overdubs on baritone sax and tenor sax plus the solo part on the session to fill out the feel of a larger orchestra. Carole King played piano on the date and also wrote the arrangement, while she and The Cookies (a female R&B group that recorded for Aldon) added their brilliant vocal backgrounds. And of course there was the wonderful vocal by Eva Boyd, all under the direction of Gerry Goffin and a most able sound engineer Ron Johnson at Dick Charles Recording studios in New York City.

In those days demos were recorded in mono. Meaning that every time the musicians played a different orchestral part or the singers sang an added harmony, the engineer had to bounce the original track to a second machine while balancing the preceding part along with it. This process, known as overdubbing, was quite common in the early days among songwriters seeking inexpensive studios in which to record their songs to audition for music producers and music publishers.

When the demo of this song was completed, Artie Kaplan took it to Cameo-Parkway, but Cameo producer Bernie Lowe listened to the opening for all of sixty seconds before squeaking the needle off the record and saying "I didn't hear the hook," turning it down cold. Kaplan just shrugged and took it back to Aldon. Lowe's exact facial expression, upon hearing this song come out of the radio later as a #1 hit by July of '62, is forever lost to history but we're pretty sure it must have been memorable. And that's how this song became the first single put out by the newly-formed Dimension Records, spawned from Aldon Music.

In 1974, this became an unlikely #1 U.S. hit for Grand Funk, who did a rock version of the song. It was just the second time a song hit #1 for two different artists - the first was "Go Away Little Girl" by Steve Lawrence in 1962 and Donny Osmond in 1971. That song was also written by King and Goffin. (Knowledge courtesy of Songfacts.com) 

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