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I love Entourage.  Though my favorite show right now is Mad Men, I love Entourage because it’s simple and I don’t have to think.  One of my good frriends would succinctly describe the show to a neophyte as “a show about problems men wish they had.”  Another good description I’ve heard is “Sex and the City” for twenty-something males.  Whatever, I’m sold.  Men are much different than women in that we have to be cool and act indifferent regarding how vain us men actually are.  And Entourage is the only show that I know that strikes a chord just right that allows us to laugh at ourselves about it.  

I also love it for the product placements, specifically the collection of fine automobiles.  ’Vince’ is the golden boy of the entourage.  He wouldn’t hesitate at dropping a quarter of a million on a Ferrari California for his driving component, Turtle, on his birthday.  (Whom we see pulling up to a stop light next to 50 Cent moments later in that particular episode.)

And “E” (Eric) has been under the generous favor of Vincent to be cruising around L.A. in a brand new convertible Aston Martin (DB9 Volante to be precise).  And he’s paired with a grown up but still kind of lil’ Bow-Wow.

And everyone knows the black classic convertible which Johnny Drama drives.  You know what it looks like, but you may not know that it’s a 1965 triple black Lincoln Continental Convertible with the most distinguishing characteristic: the suicide doors.  I mean who else drives this thing?  When someone mentions Entourage I bounce the opening theme song through my head with a camera rising over the Lincoln as the foursome step out into the L.A night.  Timeless.

Ari Gold.  The insensitive, callous, no-nonsense, Loyd-get-out-of-my-way agent who every man wants to become.  Ari walks with the East Coast authoritative swagger, darting his eyes around his agency looking for any excuse to berate anyone in order to shape the company into what he wants it to be.  And Ari drives home in either a brand new Lexus LS or the Mercedez S class.  (That’s gotta be some magical product placement arrangement to allow him to switch back and forth as often as he does.)  

In previous season’s the foursome were ferried around in the ostentatious (but lustful) yellow Hummer H2, driven nearly exclusively by Turtle.  But now the chauffeuring is done in the standard “Black Raven” Cadillac Escalade.  (FYI: Escalade is actually an English noun that means an ascent or climb over protected or craggy walls.)  I think the Escalade has served it’s time and needs to be replaced.  Though at first I didn’t like it, Entourage would be a perfect springboard for the Porsche Panamera.  (The industry was aghast when Porsche announced this 4-door sedan.)  With a car like this, the public will hate it until the manufacturer convinces them that they actually love it.  And this is most easily done by meticulous product placement.  Whatever the price-tag, Porsche needs to become good friends with the producers of Entourage and then have the foursome cruising around in L.A.  After that this car will officially be hot.  

Why is that Ashley girl on the show?  She looks like she’s 14 and it’s creepy.  Get E a new girl.

I took my driving exam on July 20.  My birthday is June 1st.  I was sixteen for nearly two months without my license.  While my friends had made Driver’s Education their numero uno priority during junior year of high school, I had to defer until summer vacation because I was busy trying to distinguish myself academically by taking the extra college prep courses.  Did it pay off?  TBD.  Though I did finish college…eventually.  

But during those six weeks before my driving exam I was dialed in on acing that test and it was nearly all I could think about.  I think a good visual would be major leaguer Gary Sheffield up to bat, with his bat oscillating viciously behind him ready to unwind an immense force guided by those characteristic beady eyes that led one to believe that he was always on some psycho-stimulant.  My instrument would be a red 1999 Dodge Stratus (stick shift).  I am still proud to say that I aced both the practice and actual exam.  I was the only one in my class to accomplish this.

But things really hit home the day after I picked up my license.  I’m sure my parents were dreading it but I got in the car and drove down the driveway…by myself.  After a few miles I glanced at the empty passenger seat and truly went berserk.  It was a chaotic episode of expletives, gasps, and forehead slaps.  The next step in the evolution was to blast some Lenny Kravitz (”Fly Away”), roll down all the windows, and don my Foakleys.  I had arrived.  I was in complete control of over 3,000 lbs of metal on four wheels and it would go in any direction that I commanded.  

Unfortunately somewhere along the road of life driving loses it’s thrill to the drudgery of routine and responsibility.  But it doesn’t have to stay that way!  Driving can still be fun.  It just takes some planning and a positive attitude for a more serene and mature experience.  We live in a society nearly crazed on competition and it would suggest that the only way to have fun driving again is to go racing.  But what I’m talking about is a genuine and refined experience that can be cherished as a cultural pastime.  Something that a couple or a father and a son can enjoy together.  I then officially beckon for the revival of the leisure drive or Sunday driving.  And to help America get this back, I am highlighting a road that is under-appreciated and prime for such enjoyment.

I was recently in Rhode Island.  It’s the tiniest state in the U.S. and 30 miles south of the capital Providence is an island with a town called Newport.  This was the summer destination for the upper crust during the Gilded Age.  The fabulously wealthy needed summer homes so mansions were built on incredibly grand scales along the shore.  The main roadway for the southern coast of Newport is Ocean Drive.  

Ocean Drive is a fantastic road.  A speed limit of 25 mph prevents the scenery from flying by too quickly.  Though the gentle curves and hills still allow for gentle sensations of speed.  On a clear day you can start with a view of the two mile long Newport Bridge straddling Narragansett Bay which is usually teeming with sailboats of all sizes and configuration.  The rocky coastline is a favorite for recreational fisherman and their curious and canine best friends.  The waves crashing against the crags sends the unmistakable aroma of sea salt wafting over Ocean Drive.  (Constantly reminding me of my favorite flavor of potato chips.)

There are numerous beaches and some are highly exclusive.  The style of architecture for the residential properties run the gambit from old and awesome looking to modern and awesome looking.  On one bend in the road there is a parking area for people to stop and picnic or enjoy the scene.  Thanks to the consistent winds this spot is a favorite to fly kites.  And it is a unique thing to drive under dozens of kites.  I would rent a convertible just to accentuate this experience alone.

Finally at the end of Ocean Drive you make a right turn onto Bellevue Avenue which comprises the Bellevue Avenue Historic District.  The avenue has many of the mansions built by various captains of industry during the Gilded age (a period of unparalleled wealth and prosperity).  I’m not even going to begin to describe the grand scale of these mansions, but the aristocracy in the air is so palpable you could swear you had somehow wound up across the Atlantic in Versailles.

So there’s a lot of neat things to see that are sure to send an ordinary teenager’s eyes rolling from apathy.  Well America, it’s time to wake up and face our antipathy towards reality.  There are a lot of sources of influence out there that would rather have us watching TV all Saturday becoming aware of corporate America’s brands and products.  I was in Newport on Saturday and I went for a drive just for the pleasure of it.  My car wasn’t brand new, I didn’t look like Robert Redford, and I wasn’t trying to impress anyone.  I have a very pleasing image left in my mind of the sun setting behind a boat and an island that I know nothing about.  My imagination is still concocting fantastic anecdotes about who may have lived in one of the castles I saw.  And the sky was dotted with kites as I drove with the slightest of smiles.  That was my Saturday and I felt like I had arrived…again.

Tesla Motors is a small automobile startup company incorporated in 2003 and located in California.  Currently the sole end user product is the Roadster, a two seater all electric sports car with some very impressive performance numbers.  Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently made an appearance on David Letterman’s Late Show to showcase the Model S, a sedan due out in 2011 to compete with luxury/performance sedans (i.g. BMW 5 series).  And because this company is producing only electric cars environmentalists are lining up to give Tesla a hug, including Uncle Sam.  The United States federal government is demonstrating its affection by way of a low-interest $465 million loan distributed by the Advanced Technology Manufacturing Loan Program.  (While Tesla is still a private company, the list of investors is a who’s-who list of technology shakers and movers.)

Tesla’s founders set out to “build [an] electric car with zeros emissions [that] people would love to drive.”  After years of development the Roadster arrived (slightly delayed) in customers hands in March of 2008.  It’s an all electric car with an advertised range of 244 miles.  Forget your Prius or Insight, this is the precursor to the real solution of America’s addiction to foreign oil.

Every American needs to know about Tesla Motors and what exactly they are trying to accomplish.  This is not just about making a quick buck for hedge fund managers in Connecticut.  A company like this is led by charismatic business leaders driven by the impetus of ideology.  Tesla Motors has the potential to be a game changer.  (And not in the technology world sense that a new operating system will make our lives more vivacious.  Aside: I can’t wait for Windows 7… )  The electric motor is coming to personal transportation and I believe Tesla is the harbinger.  In only six years this company has gone through some rough roads of bad decisions but the general trend of the business evolution is solid.  In fact it has been exactly what it has needed to have been.  Here are my three points on what Tesla Motors has done exactly right to best position itself for future automotive innovation and to become the icon of the personal transportation revolution:

One:

The Roadster was the product of ideology and passionate engineering.  (The ideology stemming from environmental concerns and the implications of addiction to foreign oil.)  At some point in the last decade lithium ion batteries (which power the vast majority of laptops) reached a certain critical level of development which made an electric car viable with a huge block of these batteries smartly wired together.  (The anticipated charging times and driving ranges were deemed acceptable for everyday drivers.)  This intersection of ideology and passion for technology was huge, I cannot think of a better way to motivate a product of such importance.

Two:

Developing the Roadster sport car first was paramount.  When developing new technology, test and development needs to happen under the most harsh and demanding conditions.  Normally the automotive industry does this with Formula 1, Nascar, or in northern Sweden and then adopts the proven technology to the consumer car.  Tesla unleashed their engineers to research and develop capabilities for a sports car.  The more moderate models to follow will be a piece of cake to engineer and in all likelihood cost considerably less.  This top down approach to the market also solves the question of volume.  As a new car company, it is smart to exclude yourself to all but the most wealthy of customers.  It is then easy to leverage the demand to sell at premium prices.

Three:

Tesla outsourced a lot of conventional components including the chassis to Lotus Cars of England.  Basically the Tesla Roadster is a Lotus Elise with the conventional engine swapped out for an electric motor.  (The Elise frame is quite light at just over 2000 lbs and contributed towards performance numbers.)  The Elise is a very cool looking frame but not a particularly well known car here in the U.S.  After all the attention Tesla has been receiving the Roadster may have more brand awareness than the Elise and may eventually supplant the Lotus image.

What does the future hold for Tesla?  The Roadster will remain out of financial reach ($101,500) for most consumers but will continue to stand as a solid proof of concept.  The four door Model S is due out in 2011 with an estimated price of ($57,400) and a 300 mile range per charge.  (Expect some generous tax credits for electric cars to bring the sticker shock down a bit.)  Beyond that there is talk of a third model costing around $30,000 as Tesla Motors gradually wades into the market of the average consumer.  Between then and now I am confident that the price of oil will be back into the triple digits, but this time pushed by demand and not a crazed speculation bubble.  It will then be well apparent that this company has had the astute foresight to lead the personal transportation revolution… or let’s change that to the personal transportation metamorphosis because these cars look so damn sexy.

Mom, for Christmas I would like a Tesla Roadster.