2013 Nissan Sentra and a spoonful of sugar: Motoramic Drives

In the 1800s, among America's numerous internal wars bloomed the promotion of the unregulated and untested category of pills, tinctures, creams, drops, powders, liniments and ointments known as patent medicines. These nostrums had been around since ancient times, but with the rise of cheap newsprint, paid advertising and a gullible populace seeking refuge from industrial existence, their advertisement found a frantic foothold, erupting in newspapers, almanacs and at sponsored Medicine Shows, claiming to cure everything from melancholy to syphilis.

Most contained the same impactful (if addictive, and decidedly off-label) active ingredients: grain alcohol, cocaine, novocaine, and/or opiates. So to differentiate themselves, these elixirs played up the inclusion of exotic additives like radon and cresyl phosphate, or mild to useless herbs like baobab, cayenne, and camphor. And they initiated an early form of branding, repeating their names (Bayer! Luden's! Vicks!) ad-infinitum until they became household names, associated permanently with specific, if at times arcane, benefits.

This same phenomenon can been seen today among compact cars -- although, sadly, with less cocaine.

At the recent launch of the all-new 2013 Nissan Sentra, in addition to banners touting requisite claims of best-in-class legroom, two-score highway mileage and a list of amenities that would shame a mid-90s Mercedes E-Class, was a billboard-sized placard. On it was emblazoned the shiny schnoz and (standard!) L.E.Dazzled headlamps of the new Sentra, along with smaller and less flattering images of its archrivals from Honda, Toyota, and Hyundai. After we got over our surprise that the Corolla is still being made (we think of it as the Bil Keane of cars, and assumed it had finally died with him) we read this claim: "The 2013 Sentra has a new grille with more chrome and paint than any other category competitor."