“I expect to win Olympic Gold, an Oscar, a Pulitzer, a Grammy, a Nobel prize, and a Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Award, but a few of them will require medical procedures not yet invented, which in itself may lead to my Sainthood (or martyrdom if things don’t work out as planned). And I’d make a run for office if not for all the skeletons (not necessarily all of them my own). I’m humble yet arrogant. Dumb and yet a genius. And I love and despise all people.” Vincent Capece’s self-description on Helium (the website, not the gas) helps us understand who Vince is deep down, rather than professionally. I leave the Google forensics to our Best and Brightest, and point you to Capece’s rant pronouncing automotive journalism DOA, killed by the Internet. “Before this computerized revolution, automotive journalism was a prime example of basic economic theory. There was a limited demand for automotive writers and a growing supply of people with basic automotive knowledge and the ability to pepper a sentence with choice adjectives. This imbalance led to continually declining wages for automotive journalists because many of these “kids” were willing to work for “free rides in cool cars.” Unfortunately, this oversupply of underachievers swallowed up the Ken Purdys and Tom McCahills of the world and allowed few David E. Davis’ and Beverly Rae Kimes to emerge… Unless we can find a way to pay “real writers” to write about cars, there is no future for automotive journalists. I’ve been fortunate enough to rub elbows with some of the greatest automotive writers of the past 30-40 years (this writer is not in their league) and sadly they are a, literally, dying breed. I can’t remember the last time I met someone who could fill their shoes.”
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Yes, there is an overflow of rubbish, but that also means that quality writing will stick out. Quality will be a selling-point. It’s a shift in systems, and the old kings see their fiefdoms shrink by the minute. It’s the same old saga of “internet downloading kills the music” Wich is a load of rubbish. It just means that musicians will have to find other ways to make an earning than of selling physical records. Musicians make music because that are what they do, money or not. And gearheads writing about cars is not a dying breed. Gearheads will always write about cars. I don’t know how much money TTAC makes, or how many people that can make a living on it, but I rather camp on this site than anywhere else. Quality sticks out, and the less money there is, the more you have to work to make a difference.
Yes, but under the old ad supported, firm embargo world, anyone who was ‘too honest’ quickly found themselves back to writing the police blotter article.
You only found out the flaws with any car when the new and improved one came out, when it was OK to criticize the older model’s “lame seats” or “loose shifter” or “er, quality issues with the transmissions”.
Motor Trend of the late 80s’ (no relation to today’s) was sales brochures re written. Car and Driver would occasionally make a hard comment, and Automobile was “we drive, we stop to eat, and have a few drinks after dinner” (fill in adjectives)
The kids of today will have no understanding of the top down force feeding that magazines and TV used to be able to perform…..
Robert – I think it is an economic issue and one of basic integrity. Car and Driver, and the remainder rely upon the automakers for free drives and advertising, so give up integrity to the point where it is difficult to find any real criticism. At least of the kind Dan Neil seems to get away with. And even for Mr. Neil, who I consider one of the best around these days in addition to yourself, I have no doubt he felt a great deal of heat over his G5 review (if my recollection is correct) which resulted in GM’s advertising embargo on the LA Times.
And, as you have seen, it is largely a thankless job to report on the facts surrounding GM in particular. Partisans scream that you “hate” GM, when in fact I suspect you would be standing on the table cheering if they made some good moves.
The Chevy Volt is an excellent case in point. First they spent years dissing the idea of a hybrid car, then brought out their own limp-wristed versions as a PR ploy while announcing they were going to make a game-changer. I forgive most of us for remembering all too well the “game-changing” Saturn which turned out not to be a Honda Civic.
For whatever reason, the kind of leadership offered by Lincoln, where he solicited advice from those who disagreed with him, has largely disappeared. We still do a few remarkable things, but the courage to do so is lacking. I suspect this happens because we simply place too large an emphasis on money and not enough on doing a good job.
Another death rattle from the Old Media. This guy reminds me of radio disc jockeys that can’t understand why people would rather load up a mp3 player than listen to their top 10 selections. If it wasn’t for those pesky “kids” and their newfangled Interweb, we’d be in charge. Good riddance. Long live the new flesh.
I would love to see the cream rise to the top. But unfortunately, the Dan Neils of the world (Ken Purdy Award, Pulitzer Prize) have been overrun by the [insert name here]s of the industry. Reading something written by Ken Purdy or Beverly Rae Kimes and then reading the drivel produced by most writers today just shows how watered down the field has become. You have to be REALLY dedicated to writing about cars to be an excellent writer and stay concentrating on cars because there’s just so much more money available to other areas.
And it isn’t entirely writing a critical article that makes you a better writer. There are many reasons why automotive writers cannot write a scathing article on a vehicle, but there are so few writers who can put down beautifully articulate explanations on why a car is good (or bad). I want to feel the rumble of the car through the words. I want to smell the leather. I want to laugh…I want to cry.
The only tears I shed are those for the state of the industry.