Word: auto
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...crowd has gotten crankier in the face of the brash indifference to its fury. It seems that the mighty have been hit with some virulent strain of arrogance common to those told that they were Too Big to Fail. First the auto executives swooped into town in their Gulfstream IVs to ask for $25 billion; then Merrill Lynch superman John Thain spent $1,405 on a trash can and suggested he deserved a $40 million bonus for losing $15 billion in the fourth quarter. Even Tom Daschle, whose loyal Senate brethren were set to confirm him to the Cabinet, discovered...
...just might take a sideshow to draw wallet-wary fans to the track. The economic downturn is threatening to decimate high-cost motor sports. For example Formula One, the world's most popular auto-racing circuit, is facing its biggest crisis in 40 years, according to Max Mosley, president of the sport's governing body. He compares F1's status to the global housing and credit bubbles. And since Honda, which had spent about $300 million annually on Formula One, decided to pull out of the sport altogether, F1 has blown a tire. (See pictures of car art by Warhol...
NASCAR is also tethered to the U.S. auto industry, which has required a massive bailout to save it from destruction. The Detroit Three sponsor teams and races and offer engineering support for the drivers and their crews. General Motors and Ford are among NASCAR's biggest television advertisers. Even Toyota, which controversially entered stock-car racing two years ago, expects a nearly $3.9 billion full-year loss, its first since 1950. An auto failure would be catastrophic for the sport. "The uncertainty of it all is what keeps you up at night," says NASCAR chairman and CEO Brian France...
...into an eight-year, $4.5 billion television deal with Fox, ESPN/ABC and TNT. The steady TV revenue can help cushion sponsorship losses. NASCAR is still the second highest rated regular-season sport on television. Plus, the sport has even signed up some new partners, like Ask.com and O'Reilly Auto Parts. Companies such as Mars Inc. and DuPont renewed their deals. And still others want to get into the game. During the recent NASCAR media tour, France noted that 15 new teams had submitted chassis for approval...
When Grand Theft Auto IV: Liberty City came out on April 29 last year, it sold 3.6 million copies in one day. By the end of the week, sales were up to 6 million, for a total take of about $500 million. Which means, if you go by that number (and Guinness does), that Grand Theft Auto IV owns the biggest opening of any entertainment property in history. In comparison, Pirates of the Caribbean 3 took in a paltry $400 million during its first week...