There were three things I wanted to get at this year's Auto Show: photos, audio, and brochures.

It turns out they just give those things away.

It's part of my working though the marketing material and presentations; I'm hoping to mix photos of the brochures with those from the show itself in the slide show that's probably still a few weeks from completion. 

In addition to not being a driver, I'm also not really into the whole "Macho" thing. That gives me an especially good 'outsider' vantage for pickup truck ads. I also don't know enough about aluminum, since I had no idea that my bike must be made out of some wimpy civilian-only alloy.

Mercedes is being sued for the pollution levels from its diesel engines. 

Absolute safety.

It's a combination of computers and sensors that are smarter and more attentive than the driver, and a heavy steel cage just in case. 

The best or nothing. 

This is increasingly what it's coming down to. Maybe not quite the way that Mercedes-Benz® meant in their catalog, but on the other hand, maybe it is. Society is polarizing, so it shouldn't be surprising when conspicuous consumption is polarizing, too.

Sure, smaller cars are one option for people who want the art, culture, and simplicity of living in a denser urban centre.

They'll fit better when we narrow the 14- and 16-foot wide travel lanes down to ten or twelve feet, bringing down speeds, reducing collisions, reducing pollution, and making the roads safer for all of the people crossing from one arts and cultural place to another. It will also make it easier to park when on-street parking is largely replaced with space for bike lanes and wider sidewalks.

You know what other modern needs make great use of space, combine mobility with environmental awareness, for people who live in lively city centres? Decent public transit. Plus there's also those wider sidewalks and bike lanes that belong on city streets when we take them back from being the exclusive domain of cars.