January 29, 2006

Gretchen Morgenson column welcomes probability that trial of former top Enron executives Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling will also drag former Enron directors back into spotlight; holds shareholders are too far removed from boardrooms and that Enron case is reminder of why they need to agitate for power in director elections; explores question of why corporate directors are welcomed back to boardrooms after being involved in notorious corporate debacles; photo (M)

TESTED: 2006 Mitsubishi Raider DuroCross WHAT IS IT? Midsize extended-cab pickup. WHAT MAKES IT RUN? 4.7-liter V-8 (230 horsepower); 5-speed automatic; part-time four-wheel drive. (Full-time system available.) HOW MUCH? $31,080 as tested including $1,845 high-output audio system. Base Raider LS is $19,825 with V-6 and rear drive. IS IT THIRSTY? E.P.A. rating 14/19 m.p.g. ALTERNATIVES: Chevrolet Colorado Z71 4x4 Extended Cab $22,570; Nissan Frontier Nismo King Cab $24,605; Toyota Tacoma X-Runner Access Cab $24,150. LIKE lonely settlers in Montana, truck sellers have long sought solace and servitude with mail-order brides. In the 1970's, the Big Three looked overseas for the small pickups of their dreams. Remember the Chevy LUV (from Isuzu), the Ford Courier (made by Mazda) or the Plymouth Arrow (borrowed from Mitsubishi)?

Garrison Keillor reviews book American Vertigo: Traveling America in the Footsteps of Tocqueville by Bernard-Henri Levy; photos (M)

Playwright and director David Mamet will tackle prime time television with new CBS drama The Unit, which will star Dennis Haysbert and Scott Foley; Mamet is known for his use of colorful language, so network restrictions may present challenge; photos (M)

eBay users are challenging eBay's stance that it has no responsibility for fakes because it is nothing more than marketplace to connect sellers and buyers; Tiffany & Co is suing eBay for facilitating trade of counterfeit Tiffany items on site; win by Tiffany would endanger eBay's business model, because it could never police site with 180 million members; Tiffany secretly purchased about 200 items from eBay in 2004 and found that three out of four were fake; photo (L)