Automobiles frame the wheels which carry us around on the chariots of chrome and steel and glass that are our cars. Automobiles allow us to get around and expedite the human existence. We’re a culture built on roads; with the avenues and streets that intersect in our lives, unless you’re too young, infirmed, or live in a huge city with an excellent public transportation system, automobiles are an almost essential item for everyone.

Automobile reviews come in all the time from all fronts. Whether you’re talking about online journals that are an offshoot of a magazine or something as seemingly innocuous as someone’s myspace page where they rant and rave in equal measure about the things that affect their lives, almost prior to the announcement of the release date of a new automobile, there are throngs of the furious and fantastic who sing out in equal measure about their experience; real or imagined; with this as yet unreleased automobile. Many times the information ends up being bogus, heresy, or just plain imagined and the people are silenced before they’ve caused a stir. But just like “Snakes On a Plane” – the reviews of the few can light a firestorm beneath the people funding such a film and last second changes can be made before the product gets shipped off to market. It’s no different with automobiles – though a little more cumbersome than adding in a few expletives – the bottom line is that they’re making a product for people and the product they want to appeal to the masses.

Automobile comparisons and buying tips from particular dealers can also be found online in people’s personal web logs. If you’re searching for some advice, put in a particular search engine search and see what pops up beyond all the corporate sponsorship pages.

Automobile sales are something that should concern anyone who is a stock holder or who works for a particular company. But there’s a deeper motive at work as well. If a government, say the United States, has a brand of automobile, say Ford which represents the national image; the success or failure of such an iconic image as Ford holds a lot of sway in both national pride, resident’s outlook on the future, and international opinion of the strength or weakness of the country.

So while an automobile is just an automobile, there’s always a lot more at stake than at first meets the eye.