Swap Blog

Buick..the brand once referred too as the death car as the average age of the buyer was 76 and was seen as the car you bought before you died…has killed off another one. This time it is it’s contract with Tiger Woods. (story here). The move will save Buick $7 million a year and it will let Tiger get away from the brand / company before it dies and before his name / contract is drug through the DC muck regarding the expenses of the big three. In the end both sides win, but man Buick - the brand labeled “the doctors car” at one point - really is a brand that needs some medical attention at this point as their old motto - “When better cars are made Buick will make them” - really does not hold true in the eyes of the buying public any longer. Regardless of how good Buicks may be, or how much they have improved in the last years, car buyers are just not attracted to the brand or the models any longer. The decline in Buick’s sales (445K cars in 1999 to 185K cars in 2007) really says it all.

As anyone who cares already knows 24 Redemption - a 2 hr mini bridge season of 24 - is on Fox tonight at 8 to 10PM EST. Simply put it sounds great, it has reviewed great and I am hoping Bauer is BACK!! I am already looking forward to Jan and the full season.

National Briefing - Space and Technology - Tool Bag Is Lost During Spacewalk - NYTimes.com

Now this is a bit embarrassing.  Sounds like something that would happen to me / that I would do. 

Yahoo!’s Five Biggest Mistakes - Forbes.com

Found this on a feed and wanted to share.

The 20 Dumbest Band Names of All Time - SPIKE

Found this at Spike and want to share.  Classic. 

Allknox.com – First Annual Knoxville Overground Startup Awards

Though I will not be able to attend I greatly respect the spirit and ideals by behind this event.  Startup’s are the life blood of the new economy and future expansion within the area.

It came out today in a interview that Lance Armstong is a bit concerned about his personal security when he returns to the roads of France of the 2009 Tour De France in July. Armstrong says that he is motivated and working hard - much like he was in 1999 - though and is already doing training camps. Hopefully the first (security issues0 will be resolved. The second (a motivated and training Armstong) should scare / bother his competition. Story here.

Still at 37, a Tour win for Armstrong would be AMAZING!!, has he is already the oldest modern Tour winner. I really don’t expect a win from LA, but I do think a podium is EXTREMELY possible. Astana with three riders (Alberto Contador (2008 Giro and Veulta winner), Levi Leipheimer, and Lance Armstrong) capable of winning the Tour will be a hard team to beat in 2009. Astana could take all three Grand Tour this year and could do with with three different riders.

The Knoxville New Sent. has had two stories in the last two days covering two possibly related and unsolved murders from the late 60’s and early 70’s in Knoxville. The first is about the urder of Rose Busch (a well known Knoxvillian and wife of a successful business owner Harry Busch who was having an affair Hazel Davidson - well known Knoxville “playgirl” and later madam) in 1968. The second is about the possibly related murder of Oscar Hugh “Buck” Willman (a local man known to work carnivals and who was involved in pornography and whose wife Henrietta Willman / “Cindy Ogle” was a local madam) in 1972. These two stories when combined read like a story line for a top rated TV drama or blockbuster movie / book. Heck there is premeditation, violence, questionable relationships, affairs, possible dirty cops and hired gunmen. Give them a read if you missed them in the local paper or if you are not from the Knoxville area.