But CCC isn’t the only car-centric show Seinfeld’s worked on — in fact, his 1990s hit sitcom featured some pretty interesting vehicles as well.
That’s right. While you might not think of Seinfeld as a show for car nerds, more than a dozen episodes build their plots around vehicles.
Jerry Seinfeld himself is a massive car enthusiast, with a particular penchant for Porsche products. Seinfeld has owned some important race cars and street cars from the brand’s history, and continues to collect them to this day.
There are a slew of cool cars in the show: Newman’s NSX; the Maestro’s Ferrari; Kramer’s various rides; Frank Costanza’s GTO; yadda yadda yadda.
Like four clueless New Yorkers hunting for their vehicle in a parking garage, we looked for the best car-related Seinfeld episodes. Luckily we didn’t get arrested for public urination.
“The Parking Space”
[embedded content]
After scoring a new hat at the flea market, George is feeling good, and starts bragging to Elaine about his parking prowess. He shows off by attempting to parallel park in front of Jerry’s apartment, only to have his spot taken away from him by somebody in a ’69 Buick trying to nose it in headfirst. George and Elaine were headed to Jerry’s apartment to watch a boxing match, but now George must instead duke it out with “Mike” (who also wants to watch the fight at Jerry’s) over the spot.
Eventually, the entire neighbourhood gets involved in the debate between George and Mike. In the end, they both miss the fight on TV.
George’s declaration “I wish you could make a living parallel parking” is ironic, considering he did as much a few episodes earlier. “The Parking Space” was actually shot outdoors; bleachers were brought in for the studio audience to watch, although they couldn’t hear the dialogue very well. The incident was inspired by a story by writer Greg Daniels’ father.
“The Dealership”
Jerry is looking to buy a new Saab 900 NG Convertible from Elaine’s boyfriend Puddy, who has been promoted to salesman. George goes with Jerry to make sure he doesn’t get the bad end of a deal, as he’s skeptical of car dealers and their wicked ways.
While Jerry deals with Puddy, Kramer and a salesperson test a demo model to see how far they can go before running out of gas, since he hates filling up the tank when he borrows Jerry’s car. Jerry’s sweet deal on his new car is soured when Elaine and Puddy break up over his obsession with giving high fives. A long list of extra charges are tacked onto Jerry’s bill, including changing the Saab’s colour from black to yellow.
The overcharging proves George was right about dealerships, but George only cares about getting a Twix bar after a mechanic got the last two from the machine. The episode references Thelma and Louise when the car salesman and Kramer hold hands at the end.
“The Bottle Deposit”
[embedded content]
Jerry has some problems with his Saab after Kramer and Newman borrow it and use the engine bay as grocery storage. Jerry takes the car to Tony, a car-care-obsessed mechanic who thinks Jerry has been slacking off on maintenance. When Tony becomes infatuated about the vehicle, Jerry decides to take it to somebody else to have it repaired, but Tony runs away with the vehicle instead.
Kramer and Newman devise a scheme to drive a mail truck full of empty bottles to Michigan when Newman discovers they can be refunded for 10 cents per bottle instead of five. The bottle return plot is foiled when Kramer spots Jerry’s stolen Saab on the highway and intercepts Tony after dumping the weight of the bottles (and Newman) off the truck.
“The Wig Master”
Kramer parks his 1973 Chevrolet Impala in a cheap lot George recommended, but when the lot loses his keys, he’s forced to borrow a fancy pink Cadillac. George becomes upset when he finds a used condom in his vehicle after parking it in the same lot, accusing the lot attendant of loaning the vehicles out for prostitution.
The wig-master staying with George lends Kramer the coat from the production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat he’s working on, which, with the pink Cadillac, gives Kramer a pimpin’ new look.
Like many other episodes, this one is inspired by true events that happened to writers for the show. Spike Feresten’s girlfriend at the time had a wig-master friend stay with them; he also had a parking lot attendant lose his car’s keys, and found discarded condoms in the vehicle when he finally got it open.
“The Little Kicks”
Elaine tells a co-worker named Anna to stay away from George, leading Anna to wonder whether George is some kind of “bad boy.” George, obviously intrigued by this thought, proves he’s a tough guy by borrowing his father’s 1967 Pontiac GTO. George’s mystique is only heightened when Elaine shows up in a cab to take Anna away from him and the car.
It’s not possible to have a more badass a car than the 1967 Pontiac GTO. The stacked headlights and Torq Thrust wheels on Frank Constanza’s example make for a perfect “bad boy” muscle car. Elaine’s bad dancing in the episode was inspired by Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels, who has been seen dancing “as if he’d never seen another human being dance before,” according to writer Spike Feresten, who used to be a receptionist for SNL‘s afterparties.
“The Smelly Car”
In season four, Jerry drove a BMW instead of a Saab — but only until it turned sour. When Seinfeld has his car returned from the valet, he and Elaine notice it stinks of body odour, which rubs off on anybody that comes in contact with it. Elaine’s boyfriend tells her to go home after smelling her hair, and Kramer gets the smell on him after borrowing Jerry’s jacket. Jerry brings the car back to the valet to make him smell the car and pay for a cleaning. It doesn’t work out.
Eventually, Jerry calls the vehicle a total loss, dropping the keys in front of a street hoodlum in hopes they will take it. They get overwhelmed by the same smell that has plagued the car the whole episode.
The idea for the episode came from a friend of writer Peter Mehlman, who had been complaining about the smell of his own vehicle. Mehlman’s friend would continually pitch terrible ideas for the show only to have them rejected, but his own complaining turned out to be good enough for a plot.
“The Parking Garage”
[embedded content]
Jerry, Kramer, Elaine and George are lost in the parking garage of a shopping mall in New Jersey trying to find their space after Kramer purchases an air conditioner. Kramer sets the unit down and forgets about it; Elaine begs people to help them find their car; Jerry gets in trouble for public urination; and George is pressed to meet his parents for anniversary dinner.
This episode posed significant challenges for the crew, as renting an entire parking garage for a few days was too expensive. They were forced to take down the apartment sets and build their own parking garage from scratch, using mirrors to make the garage look massive. Shooting the episode was physically exhausting for the crew and actors, especially for Michael Richards as Kramer, who requested he be given a real air conditioner to lug around because it would look more realistic.
They eventually do find the car. The gang was supposed to drive away and the end of the episode, but an unscripted moment of the car failing to start proved to be a much better ending.
“The Cadillac”
Jerry is making a pretty good living as a comedian, and decides to buy his father a brand-new Cadillac Fleetwood. His father rejects it for being too extravagant a gift. The Cadillac proves problematic when Morty Seinfeld runs for re-election as president of his condominium board, and Jack Klompus accuses Morty of embezzling condo fees to buy the car.
Nothing says “I love you” like a Cadillac, unless you’re Jerry’s dad, in which case it says the complete opposite. A Cadillac to an old man is like something shiny to a magpie — they won’t be able to keep away from it.
The plot for this episode came from a true story that happened to Larry David, who bought a Lexus for his father, who was the president of his condominium in Florida.
“The Fusilli Jerry”
[embedded content]
Kramer goes to the DMV to renew the licence plates for his vehicle, but is instead given plates that read “ASSMAN”. Although initially upset, Kramer eventually realizes he can use them to park in a space marked “doctors only” and try to pass himself off as a proctologist. The plate also scores Kramer a date with a big-bottomed woman named Sally, plus catcalls when driving down the street.
Kramer’s car is a 1973 Chevrolet Impala, and perfectly fits with his “hipster doofus” vibe. In the 1990s, a ’73 Impala wasn’t really considered a classic vehicle, and would have been a cheap option for somebody like Kramer — who doesn’t have a steady job.
Although it wasn’t that special at the time, Kramer’s Impala was actually an extremely rare experimental vehicle from GM, one of only 1,000 fitted with airbags as standard from the factory. The tech is visible in the center of the steering wheel when he “stops short” with George’s mother.
“The Mom & Pop Store”
George is conflicted about which used car to buy: a reliable 1989 Volvo, or a Chrysler LeBaron. His decision is swayed toward the LeBaron when the salesman tell him it may have been formerly owned by actor Jon Voight. Jerry is skeptical when he uncovers ownership papers listing a John-with-an-h Voight having had the car, not Jon the actor.
When Kramer spots Jon Voight on the streets of New York, he approaches him, only to have Voight bite his arm and run away. George attempts to find a dentist who can match the bite marks on Kramer’s arm to ones on a pencil he found in the glovebox of his new car, to see if it was really owned by Voight. (Spoiler: it was not.)
The episode was once again inspired by the writers. Tom Gammill bragged to Seinfeld his car had been owned by Jon Voight, and Jerry insisted he turn it into an episode. The conversation between Jerry and George matches the conversation Gammill had with fellow writer Max Pross almost verbatim, including the owner’s manual reading “John.”
The actual Chrysler LeBaron that Gammill had bought was used in the episode, and when Jon Voight showed up on set to film his scene, he confirmed he had never owned the car.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Artificial intelligence‘s recent rise to the forefront of business has left most office workers wondering how often they should use the technology and whether a computer will eventually replace them.
Those were among the highlights of a recent study conducted by the workplace communications platform Slack. After conducting in-depth interviews with 5,000 desktop workers, Slack concluded there are five types of AI personalities in the workplace: “The Maximalist” who regularly uses AI on their jobs; “The Underground” who covertly uses AI; “The Rebel,” who abhors AI; “The Superfan” who is excited about AI but still hasn’t used it; and “The Observer” who is taking a wait-and-see approach.
Only 50% of the respondents fell under the Maximalist or Underground categories, posing a challenge for businesses that want their workers to embrace AI technology. The Associated Press recently discussed the excitement and tension surrounding AI at work with Christina Janzer, Slack’s senior vice president of research and analytics.
Q: What do you make about the wide range of perceptions about AI at work?
A: It shows people are experiencing AI in very different ways, so they have very different emotions about it. Understanding those emotions will help understand what is going to drive usage of AI. If people are feeling guilty or nervous about it, they are not going to use it. So we have to understand where people are, then point them toward learning to value this new technology.
Q: The Maximalist and The Underground both seem to be early adopters of AI at work, but what is different about their attitudes?
A: Maximalists are all in on AI. They are getting value out of it, they are excited about it, and they are actively sharing that they are using it, which is a really big driver for usage among others.
The Underground is the one that is really interesting to me because they are using it, but they are hiding it. There are different reasons for that. They are worried they are going to be seen as incompetent. They are worried that AI is going to be seen as cheating. And so with them, we have an opportunity to provide clear guidelines to help them know that AI usage is celebrated and encouraged. But right now they don’t have guidelines from their companies and they don’t feel particularly encouraged to use it.
Overall, there is more excitement about AI than not, so I think that’s great We just need to figure out how to harness that.
Q: What about the 19% of workers who fell under the Rebel description in Slack’s study?
A: Rebels tend to be women, which is really interesting. Three out of five rebels are women, which I obviously don’t like to see. Also, rebels tend to be older. At a high level, men are adopting the technology at higher rates than women.
Q: Why do you think more women than men are resisting AI?
A: Women are more likely to see AI as a threat, more likely to worry that AI is going to take over their jobs. To me, that points to women not feeling as trusted in the workplace as men do. If you feel trusted by your manager, you are more likely to experiment with AI. Women are reluctant to adopt a technology that might be seen as a replacement for them whereas men may have more confidence that isn’t going to happen because they feel more trusted.
Q: What are some of the things employers should be doing if they want their workers to embrace AI on the job?
A: We are seeing three out of five desk workers don’t even have clear guidelines with AI, because their companies just aren’t telling them anything, so that’s a huge opportunity.
Another opportunity to encourage AI usage in the open. If we can create a culture where it’s celebrated, where people can see the way people are using it, then they can know that it’s accepted and celebrated. Then they can be inspired.
The third thing is we have to create a culture of experimentation where people feel comfortable trying it out, testing it, getting comfortable with it because a lot of people just don’t know where to start. The reality is you can start small, you don’t have to completely change your job. Having AI write an email or summarize content is a great place to start so you can start to understand what this technology can do.
Q: Do you think the fears about people losing their jobs because of AI are warranted?
A: People with AI are going to replace people without AI.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration said Tuesday that it would provide up to $325 million to Hemlock Semiconductor for a new factory, a move that could help give Democrats a political edge in the swing state of Michigan ahead of election day.
The funding would support 180 manufacturing jobs in Saginaw County, where Republicans and Democrats were neck-in-neck for the past two presidential elections. There would also be construction jobs tied to the factory that would produce hyper-pure polysilicon, a building block for electronics and solar panels, among other technologies.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on a call with reporters that the funding came from the CHIPS and Science Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law in 2022. It’s part of a broader industrial strategy that the campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, supports, while Republican nominee Donald Trump, the former president, sees tariff hikes and income tax cuts as better to support manufacturing.
“What we’ve been able to do with the CHIPS Act is not just build a few new factories, but fundamentally revitalize the semiconductor ecosystem in our country with American workers,” Raimondo said. “All of this is because of the vision of the Biden-Harris administration.”
A senior administration official said the timing of the announcement reflected the negotiating process for reaching terms on the grant, rather than any political considerations. The official insisted on anonymity to discuss the process.
After site work, Hemlock Semiconductor plans to begin construction in 2026 and then start production in 2028, the official said.
Running in 2016, Trump narrowly won Saginaw County and Michigan as a whole. But in 2020 against Biden, both Saginaw County and Michigan flipped to the Democrats.
Although no one likes a know-it-all, they dominate the Internet.
The Internet began as a vast repository of information. It quickly became a breeding ground for self-proclaimed experts seeking what most people desire: recognition and money.
Today, anyone with an Internet connection and some typing skills can position themselves, regardless of their education or experience, as a subject matter expert (SME). From relationship advice, career coaching, and health and nutrition tips to citizen journalists practicing pseudo-journalism, the Internet is awash with individuals—Internet talking heads—sharing their “insights,” which are, in large part, essentially educated guesses without the education or experience.
The Internet has become a 24/7/365 sitcom where armchair experts think they’re the star.
Not long ago, years, sometimes decades, of dedicated work and acquiring education in one’s field was once required to be recognized as an expert. The knowledge and opinions of doctors, scientists, historians, et al. were respected due to their education and experience. Today, a social media account and a knack for hyperbole are all it takes to present oneself as an “expert” to achieve Internet fame that can be monetized.
On the Internet, nearly every piece of content is self-serving in some way.
The line between actual expertise and self-professed knowledge has become blurry as an out-of-focus selfie. Inadvertently, social media platforms have created an informal degree program where likes and shares are equivalent to degrees. After reading selective articles, they’ve found via and watching some TikTok videos, a person can post a video claiming they’re an herbal medicine expert. Their new “knowledge,” which their followers will absorb, claims that Panda dung tea—one of the most expensive teas in the world and isn’t what its name implies—cures everything from hypertension to existential crisis. Meanwhile, registered dietitians are shaking their heads, wondering how to compete against all the misinformation their clients are exposed to.
More disturbing are individuals obsessed with evangelizing their beliefs or conspiracy theories. These people write in-depth blog posts, such as Elvis Is Alive and the Moon Landings Were Staged, with links to obscure YouTube videos, websites, social media accounts, and blogs. Regardless of your beliefs, someone or a group on the Internet shares them, thus confirming your beliefs.
Misinformation is the Internet’s currency used to get likes, shares, and engagement; thus, it often spreads like a cosmic joke. Consider the prevalence of clickbait headlines:
You Won’t Believe What Taylor Swift Says About Climate Change!
This Bedtime Drink Melts Belly Fat While You Sleep!
In One Week, I Turned $10 Into $1 Million!
Titles that make outrageous claims are how the content creator gets reads and views, which generates revenue via affiliate marketing, product placement, and pay-per-click (PPC) ads. Clickbait headlines are how you end up watching a TikTok video by a purported nutrition expert adamantly asserting you can lose belly fat while you sleep by drinking, for 14 consecutive days, a concoction of raw eggs, cinnamon, and apple cider vinegar 15 minutes before going to bed.
Our constant search for answers that’ll explain our convoluted world and our desire for shortcuts to success is how Internet talking heads achieve influencer status. Because we tend to seek low-hanging fruits, we listen to those with little experience or knowledge of the topics they discuss yet are astute enough to know what most people want to hear.
There’s a trend, more disturbing than spreading misinformation, that needs to be called out: individuals who’ve never achieved significant wealth or traded stocks giving how-to-make-easy-money advice, the appeal of which is undeniable. Several people I know have lost substantial money by following the “advice” of Internet talking heads.
Anyone on social media claiming to have a foolproof money-making strategy is lying. They wouldn’t be peddling their money-making strategy if they could make easy money.
Successful people tend to be secretive.
Social media companies design their respective algorithms to serve their advertisers—their source of revenue—interest; hence, content from Internet talking heads appears most prominent in your feeds. When a video of a self-professed expert goes viral, likely because it pressed an emotional button, the more people see it, the more engagement it receives, such as likes, shares and comments, creating a cycle akin to a tornado.
Imagine scrolling through your TikTok feed and stumbling upon a “scientist” who claims they can predict the weather using only aluminum foil, copper wire, sea salt and baking soda. You chuckle, but you notice his video got over 7,000 likes, has been shared over 600 times and received over 400 comments. You think to yourself, “Maybe this guy is onto something.” What started as a quest to achieve Internet fame evolved into an Internet-wide belief that weather forecasting can be as easy as DIY crafts.
Since anyone can call themselves “an expert,” you must cultivate critical thinking skills to distinguish genuine expertise from self-professed experts’ self-promoting nonsense. While the absurdity of the Internet can be entertaining, misinformation has serious consequences. The next time you read a headline that sounds too good to be true, it’s probably an Internet talking head making an educated guess; without the education seeking Internet fame, they can monetize.
