The daily digest of Twin Cities culture | Secrets of the City

With all the carnage being reported about cars these days, I'd like to call your attention to the best ad on TV AND the sorriest car company of late (without good reason). The ad is done by Kraft for Velveeta cheese. I can't seem to track it down, but it shows a Mom in a supermarket cutting stuff in half with a saw. This ad is good. I know good when I see it.

Like summer is upon us and will be gone faster than Flo Rida will be hot. With this in mind, I have to make a confession. I love women in convertibles (primarily) who shift their own cars. I want the summer streets filled with them.

So.

Here are my top three picks for the best mix of chicks and sticks forever.

With all the focus on small footprint cars these days, you'd think smart brands like Nissan would send us all their candy.

The "us" I am referring to would be, of course, the middle-aged lotharios that long for their youth. And few cars say "younger than you should be" than the Nissan Micra—arguably the cutest little button of a car ever made.

The first thing I do is research the customer service program of the company that makes that new car I have my eyes on. The last thing I want to do is buy a product that makes one go to the dealer and pay $100 to ask a question. The Internet and all its frauds has also taught me that I don't want an 800 number thrown at me with someone on the other end who is struggling with my language and knows nothing about the environment my car and I live in—mostly near zero many months of the year.