Archive for August 11th, 2010

Auto sales are booming … or are they ?

August 11, 2010

The initial headlines were that US auto sales were up big in July.

Not so fast.

Yeah, they were up versus July 2009, but …

  • Industrywide deliveries dropped to an 11.1 million pace
  •  GM’s sales rose 1.5% … they were expected to rise 10%.
    Ford’s sales fell 0.7 %, trailing analysts’ estimates for a 10% gain.
    Chrysler sales gained 1.1%, versus a 2.2% expectation
    Toyota and Nissan sales dropped, but topped expectations.

The results show GM’s turnaround efforts may be slowing after last year’s bankruptcy.

Bloomberg, GM, Ford and Chrysler Sales All Lag Estimates,  Aug 3, 2010 Aug. 3
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-03/gm-s-july-u-s-auto-sales-rise-5-4-falling-short-of-analysts-estimates.html

‘Hawaii Five-O’ is now ‘Hawaii Five-0’ … uh oh !

August 11, 2010

Excerpted from WSJ: Book ‘Em (Again), Danno, August 6, 2010

CBS will launch its updated version of “Hawaii Five-O,” called “Hawaii Five-0,” on Sept. 20.

Note the distinction: the “oh” (five-oh is for the 50th state; it’s now become slang for police) looked like a letter in the old show, but in the new one, it’s a number.

In the original “Hawaii Five-O,” which aired  for 12 years, Jack Lord’s Steve McGarrett is an elite detective — and a bit of a straight arrow. 

He’s too busy solving crimes to have much of a personal life.

For the new version of the cop show, McGarrett is a third-generation military man armed with high-tech weapons to fight international terrorism.

McGarrett owns a Mercury Marquis Brougham, the same model as in the original, but he wears unbuttoned shirts over undershirts.

When “Hawaii Five-O” premiered in 1968, the state still had a mystical allure. Today, after “Magnum, P.I.,” “Lost” and “Survivor,” exotic locales are less exotic.

The new “Hawaii Five-0” will feature the old show’s famous theme music but opens with tanks, a helicopter and high-tech explosions, a decidedly un-analog opening—in South Korea.

The new version will dive deeper into the main characters’ personal lives, while still maintaining closed-end stories rather than run-on serialization.

And, of course, McGarrett  will still give partner Det. Danny “Danno” Williams those iconic instructions: “Book ’em, Danno.”

Full article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704017904575409730624410338.html?mod=WSJ_hps_MIDDLESixthNews