That the “short list” was most of the world, or that the term ultimately devolved into an insult, seems unsurprising in retrospect.

It was an insult to the public as well, and a sad example of the state of American democracy five weeks before the election.

It wasn’t the insults or shouting that put the markets into a risk-off mood.

“Streamlining,” wrote Technical Editor Kevin Cameron in a February, 2002, piece about the star of the 2001 Tokyo Show, “would just be an insult to the air-crushing power of the supercharged engine.”

Adding insult to injury, my coworkers and I were offered only a pittance of severance to tide us over through this incredible time of uncertainty.