Just the Run-of-the-Mill Rant
by Ben Dobson 1-3-01

It's time for a good old rant and this time, we begin with the problems over at Ford Motor Corporation. About a year ago I received a recall notice from Ford informing me that the back passenger side tire had a "tendency to fall off at high speeds" and that I should bring it in for a repair. I did that promptly, and naively assumed that Ford had taken care of the problem.

Wrong.

In late December, I received another recall notice... this time, it was a recall to fix a recall. The document reads, "Your Focus has already received repairs due to a possible rear wheel bearing condition caused by a manufacturing issue. However, it has recently come to our attention that the salt used on winter roadways may cause you rear wheel bearings to experience premature wear." It continues, "Although your vehicle has already been serviced, Ford has taken additional steps to help keep your wheel bearings in top shape -- even during rough weather. And to guarantee your driving satisfaction, we would like to make all necessary repairs to your Focus without delay."

It seems to me that the last line should have read "And to guarantee your continued long life, we would like to make all necessary repairs to your Focus without delay."

And this is the company still trying to dig itself out of the Bridgestone/Firestone tire debacle. Congratulations, Ford... I assure you that with this continued incompetency, your stock price will continue to flounder, and one of the Japenese auto makers will likely buy you out in the next couple years.

There was a murder in Worcester on Christmas Eve. It was the first homicide in the city since early May. The shooting happened in Great Brook Valley -- a low-income housing development that is riddled with crime. The victim was a 69-year-old man and his son called 911 after the shots were fired by an assailant during an apparent home invasion. The police arrived and promptly arrested the son. Not because he was involved in the murder in any way, but because he had an outstanding warrant for his arrest.

I guess they're gonna get you sooner or later!

To my delight, this story surfaced shortly after the Christmas day TV ratings came out. WPIX-TV (WB) broadcast a television program all morning long showing nothing but a yule log burning in a fireplace, accompanied by Christmas music! It brought in over 611,000 viewers and the closest television program to compete with it was WABC's "Good Morning America," and attracted 80,000 fewer people. It seems that this Yule Log show was a tradition for many years between 1966 and 1989. In other words, you could put an inanimate carbon rod on TV (as has been suggested by The Simpsons) and people will watch. I find it at once hysterical and scary: While the notion of a burning yule log beating every graphic, gimmik and punchy tease is hilarious (that'll show TV execs what the public thinks of the competing morning shows) it also does not bode well for those of us who have careers in broadcast journalism. As soon as an executive gets an idea in his or her head that the station could make more money by burning logs on TV all day rather than producing a local newscast, the future of TV news will have been sealed.