Watch for Scratches

ON THE WARD'S AUTOWORLD COVER IN June, I find it curious that the GM associate working underhood of the Chevy Volt had her watch on the outside of her wristband.

We are required to wear ring and watch guards to prevent CSD (aka Chip, Scratch and Deforms) to the vehicle body. It's interesting that this associate would be allowed to work this way, as it certainly would not fly here. Even with the precautions, we have a fair amount of costly body damage.

We're suggesting that GM try to prevent CSDs in their facility, especially on such a high-visibility vehicle as the Volt. Thanks for your excellent magazine.

H. Franklin Nelson, Jr.
Lincoln, AL

Editor's note: A spokesman for General Motors' Detroit/Hamtramck plant says employees are required to wear watch, ring and belt protectors to cover any metal they may be wearing that could scratch the car. “Unfortunately our team member was not following our PPE (Personal Protection Equipment) policy that day by allowing her wrist-watch to be exposed.”

Seeking Small Pickup

I HAVE BEEN IN THE MARKET FOR a small fuel-efficient pickup truck for some time now. Like most pickup users, I need the truck to haul the occasional load. Most of the time the bed is empty.

Twenty years ago, there were several small trucks on the market. I once owned one and liked it. Unfortunately over the years, those trucks have grown and are no longer small or fuel efficient.

I don't need a $60,000, 400-hp Supermegabehemoth truck with a center of gravity so high it is unusable without electronic stability control and a tailgate so far off the ground you need a step ladder to get into the bed.

What I would like is a basic, small, 40-mpg (5.8 L/100 km) pickup, perhaps powered by a small turbocharged diesel engine, or maybe a plug-in diesel hybrid. Manual transmission would be just fine. I find it hard to believe there would not be a sizable market for such a truck. Sometimes I feel like a market of one.

After the advent of $4/gallon gas and the near demise of the auto companies, I thought for sure they would offer such a vehicle if they got through that crisis. No such luck. Sadly, it looks like my next “pickup” will be a small fuel-efficient car with an aluminum utility trailer.

So, auto companies, get ready for the next 2008. It's closer than you think!

Phil Quenzi PE
Atlantic Mine, MI

Editor's note: Unfortunately you are stuck. There just does not seem to be a market for small pickups, even with high gas prices.

Audi Grilled for Design

THE A7 IS INDEED QUITE HANDSOME overall (see WAW — July '11, pp.35). However, I personally still have problems with Audi's current front grill design. First, with the exception of the R8, it is too large in scale for the vehicle.

Secondly, the grill acts as a giant picture frame for, of all things, the front license plate — the least attractive element of any frontal design.

I see it as akin to placing a gold-leaf Florentine picture frame around the thermostat housing in one's home. The narrower U.S. and Japanese license plates seem to exacerbate this illusion.

James Kraus
Los Angeles

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