Auto News 5

As soon as Joachim Winkelhock burst out of the pits and toward Hatzenbach, it was clear that this was not going to be one of those tame exercises where a racing driver leads a procession of journalists at a funereal pace around the track, trying to familiarize them with every corner and desired racing line in a boring game of follow-the-leader. There was no time for such formalities, since the Nordschleife was booked and we were squeezing our drives into someone's lunch hour. Not to mention the fact that the 'Ring has some seventy-three turns and is thirteen miles around. Winkelhock's voice came crackling over the two-way radio with these simple instructions: "Try to stay close to me and follow my line as best you can." And with that, I followed Winkelhock's Opel Insignia OPC performance sedan out onto the track in a four-cylinder Buick.

No offense to CNBC junkies, but the people who love cars - and most car buyers - don't really care about exploiting synergies, maximizing verticals, or any of the other corporate jargon that comes from the business side of the car business. At best, all consumers want to know is: Is it well-engineered? Is it screwed together tightly? And is it wrapped in some I-gotta-have-it sheetmetal?