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When I announced the return of Doug DeMuro and the addition of Blake Z. Rong, I mentioned that there was more news to come. And now that everything is in place, I’m happy to announce the return of another TTAC veteran.
Starting this week, Alex Dykes will be back, delivering his signature reviews. We’ve also re-launched the TTAC video channel as well. Stay tuned this week for Alex’s first review and be sure to subscribe to the new TTAC YouTube channel here.
74 Comments on “Housekeeping: The Third Musketeer...”
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Well done. Mr. Dykes must be the hardest working guy in the review business.
As an added bonus, Melody Lee will be able to rest easier now that a certain poster around here will have someone else to complain about.
+1. I give this news an “A”!
+1
Doug DeMuro is my hands down favorite automatic journalist, and Alex Dykes makes incredible content.
Who’s your favorite manual journalist?
Thank you, iOS autocorrect.
+1
Welcome back Alex
Welcome back Alex!
Yay!
Huzzah!!!
Welcome (back) aboard! :)
That is fantastic news. On a side note, will Alex on Autos continue, or will it be rebranded to TTAC?
Good news! I’m glad that whatever caused all the differences behind the scenes you’ve been able to straighten them out
That is fantastic news. It doesn’t make much of a difference to me, as I am already subscribed to AoA. Alex’s videos are probably the most detailed in the industry.
when is bigtruckseriesreview getting on the payroll?
Don’t even joke about that.
“Never” is the only acceptable answer.
Agreed — bigtruckseries seems like the Warren Sapp of wannabe street racers
Would it not be beneficial for a man who is literally an expert on every topic – in the *entire* world – to become a staff member? Think of the opinion pieces!
BTSR doesn’t have opinions, he has THE TRUTH.
I got very nervous as I was scrolling down this particular thread, waiting for a confirmation that BTSR was being hired.
Alex’s reviews really buck the trend of auto journalism: He aims to inform rather than just entertain.
I like it. Welcome back Alex.
Count me in as one who likes Alex’s reviews. More so when I was actually shopping for a new car.
Alex seems a little light in the loafers…not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Then why did you mention it?
@Lie2me,
He might be like you, a “cute” man! ;)
Alex is openly gay, you know, like you’re openly dumb
@Lie2me,
So, using the word dumb? You obviously feel threatened.
Look at most of your input here on TTAC. It’s trash and smart ass retorts of little value to the debate, like the one above.
Alex might be gay, but you’ve gone one step further ;)
Insecure is my assessment judging by the way you comment. Learn a little psychology.
I just don’t care. I put out what I think the truth is, as I don’t view TTAC as Facebook or a social media site.
Oh, you “ain’t” dumb, I would never go that far. As I’ve witnessed you do make “cute” and clever remarks.
But like most of your remarks they are of little value and of no technical content regarding the auto industry and area you little knowledge of.
You are like a rodent or cockroach. You’ve found a nice and secure “abode” to reside in. It’s called TTAC.
There are some Thai sites that might help you out a little. They will “love” your little “quirky and cute” retorts ;)
“So, using the word dumb? You obviously feel threatened.”
Threatened? Only if dumb is contagious
Really? Then why does he always wear sneakers with his ill fitting sport jackets!?!
Seriously, Alex, stop doing that.
Big Al, please stop. You’re embarrassing yourself.
@Signal11,
Sorry, but this guy a jerk. His input when directed at me is of little value.
Maybe I’ll ignore him and the few other jerks.
This entire exchange is entirely inappropriate.
Seriously? What has Alex’s sexuality got to do with anything about car reviews?
Are his reviews well-written and presented? Do his reviews offer an alternative in the field of automotive reviews? That’s ALL that matters here. Alex, and his reviews, should be as welcome here as any other contributors, and not defined by his sexuality.
Grow up. It’s 2015, not 1975.
BAFO, your contributions are of little value.
You have to have some kind of mental disease to continue to whine about the same thing with every post, namely the automotive and trade policies of the United States.
You don’t own property, buy vehicles or vote in the United States so what we do here is none of your business. I think your country should throw Gina Rinehart in jail, put her on a low-calorie diet and start preparing for the post mining-boom but sure as hell ain’t my business.
If you’d rather pay $42k for a lousy Chinese pick-up truck based off a 20 year old Hilux in the name of “choice” rather than $28k for a F-150 because of efficient, then you live in the right country and that’s your choice. But we didn’t elect you to make policy and nobody cares about your petulant, effete criticisms about our cars.
And unlike your bogan island, whose only use seems to be providing blondes to fuck minority American guys like me, we’ve gotten over judging people by their sexual orientation a long time ago.
Before you criticize other people for their knowledge of the automotive industry, get some for yourself. You think Australian cars are so awesome when they couldn’t even survive in their home market. And don’t blame America when Toyota and Mitsubishi even packed up and left. Then to add insult to injury, you openly cheer the demise of the industry and your fellow countrymen losing their jobs.
You’re just an insecure guy mad that his country can’t build a car on their own, that you have to pay more to get a worse car in your country that we can, and like Tony Abbott, deluding yourself that Australia is more important than it really is. It really should be more important though, it’s a good source of girls with loose morals.
I’m going to read housekeeping as open post
Al,
I don’t mind your opinions and I think you’re often more correct than the people you argue with but why are you so antagonistic? You’re worse than 101 in that regard. It is only a stupid motoring site. There is no reason to get so worked up.
I’m going to extend this to the rest of you old farts and say. ITS A FUCKING CAR SITE. You might have strong opinions but please realise you’re not special, what you think doesn’t matter, winning on the internet equals losing in real life.
Welcome back Alex, I really appreciate the thoroughness and detail in your reviews and it will be great to see them back on this site.
Great news, I for one, would not dream of buying a new car w/o carefully watching Alex do a review on it.
Minivans don’t need V6 engines. Minivans need 4 cylinder turbo diesels.
AoA has the most detailed reviews available anywhere and he is very focused on providing content that the viewers ask for. Welcome back sir.
The Best and Brightest Rejoice!
Derek, you really are getting the band back together. Doug and Alex, plus we recently saw something from Brendan for the first time in about a year. Welcome back to all of you!
Absolutely – if these are the three musketeers, then Brendan McAleer is D’Artagnan. I think he’s an excellent writer, and he’s published many great articles on autos.ca and elsewhere. I love reading his work, even when it is about vehicles which don’t interest me. I hope he becomes a regular contributor.
Agreed. Great to see these contributors returning. Doug can be hilarious, Alex’s videos are outstanding, and Brendan is one of TTAC’s best writers.
Glad to see this. Alex does fantastic reviews.
I think this is fantastic news. Alex’s reviews are thorough, comparative, and well-reasoned. Thanks to Derek for fixing whatever was broken and bringing Alex back.
Fantastic news!
Would love to see Karesh back and his car reviews, always enjoyed them.
Second the call for Karesh to come back. I know I know things change, but one can always ask.
Both him and Alex have finetuned their styles in isolation. There is less implicit exchange and, at least in Karesh’ case, interaction with a diverse audience. I believe this has made both less enticing reviewers for me, even if they may have gotten better for people who need to buy a particular car.
Glad to hear it!
I just watched a recent review by Alex to help me with a potential buying decision in the future. It was very detailed, thoughtful, honest, and well-delivered.
And it was lengthy – not a two-minute rehash of the mfr’s talking points. It was a solid 23 minutes of good information, a real standout in the cacophony of auto review videos.
Thanks, Derek!
Excellent!
Good to have Alex back. Now, where is Steve Lang….
I would indeed second that question
Kudos Derek for getting Alex and Doug back! They are the best at what they do. Alex’s reviews are the most thorough in the business. I watch his channel every week. Doug ofcourse is a hoot!
Good news for sure. I always liked his reviews.
Good stuff. Nobody is as detailed as Alex. If you want to know whether those 24″ and 26″ roller bags are going to fit, there is ONE MAN and ONE MAN ONLY who has the answer.
Not like i missed Alex at all since I subscribe to his YouTube channel – best reviews in the business. His reviews and articles can only improve TTAC.
We could keep up with Alex’s content on youtube, but browsing the comments is something that keeps us at TTAC. TTAC comments > youtube comments.
Alex was the only auto-journo I knew who had the honesty to say that the Jeep Patroit was a decent little off road machine. Most in his profession could only focus on the shortcomings.
The fact that new patriots can be had for under $14,000 at the mile of cars forgives a LOT of shortcomings.
It will be a sad day when it goes away.
Imagine how good the Patriot would have been if they hadn’t wasted money on it’s platform mate, the Compass. Okay, so they needed a small car for Dodge so I’ll almost forgive them the Caliber (though they should have made a 3rd gen Neon instead) but Trevor Creed’s idea that the Patriot was too hard edged for female consumers was embraced by management, so they made both the Patriot and the Compass. As I recall, most of the early Patriot reviews praised the “Trail Rated” versions as being actual, albeit light-duty, Jeeps.
I’ve wondered for quite a long time now, if a Jeep is Trail Rated, where can we find the ratings?
What happens if its Trail Rating shows it’s a lousy off-roader? Does it somehow get un-Rated?
I had a 4×4 manual transmission Patriot for a while. It was decent for what it was and more impressive in heavy off road stuff than most would assume. To what Ronnie said, my wife preferred the looks of the Patriot to the Compass.
Good for Alex, good for us.
Another thank you for the return of Alex – his reviews are by far the best in the business.
Bob
Alex FTW!
Darn near the only guy in the biz that mentions whether a folding rear seat actually goes flat, or just almost flat.
Real world reviews!
Alex does the most comprehensive automotive reviews of anyone that I’ve seen online. He does an outstanding, professional job. There is room at TTAC for a lot of approaches to reviewing and his objective style counterpoints well with the site’s more subjective, free form reviewers. I’m sure that Alex’s reviews are more useful to people considering purchases than mine are.
Ronnie,
You said it better than I could. Alex’ reviews are by far the most thorough anywhere. Very detailed, very specific, and applicable to a wide audience who will want to know various perspectives on cars tested.
I’ll second your comments, Ronnie. Alex’s reviews are what I seek out when car/truck shopping because what he covers in his reviews is what matters to the average buyer, plus, I appreciate his objectivity.
This is great news. Alex could use some more exposure. I think the best part about this reviews is the unexpected angle, which often comes linked to drivetrain lately. I would never know about the unique no-gearbox Accord hybrid, Fiesta SFE, or Sonata with DCT, if not for Alex. But I wonder sometimes, had he ever locked himself in a trunk with no way out?
Maybe he’ll comment on that for us, but I’m pretty sure he uses at least 1 camera man, so if he happens to lock himself in, his camera man should be able to let him out…as long as it’s not with his keys in a pocket and in a car without a push button trunk release/key fob! (Do they even make those anymore?)
Alex is a thorough reviewer and works hard, unlike dozens of lightweight reviewers who try to make themselves the center of the video, and some big names in the biz whose videos run just 4-5 minutes. I am going to weigh in on the gay thing though. I had noticed that despite his careful analysis of cars pros and cons, his personal vehicle preferences often did not reflect such careful point by point analysis. I happen to like one of those same brands he is a fan of and own one myself. But car buying is not always rational, and knowing everything about who he is might explain some of those choices. It’s PC to pretend we’re all computers who spit out logic, but we’re not. In this case, I would posit that a gay man might not be as motivated to buy his cars to impress chicks as a straight man. Or to feel macho.
Very, very good news. Alex is a terrific reviewer and his work is excellent. Plus he owns both a Jag XJ and a Saab 9-7x, gotta love that.
Welcome back!
So glad to see Alex’s reviews back on TTAC. I know that when I watch one of his reviews it’s time to get comfortable and pay attention because he’s going to do an in-depth review that will actually inform me about the vehicle.
For serious reviews, Alex is the only one to watch.
Some comments on this post have sunk to Bertel era levels. Pathetic. Take it to Kinja where it belongs, please.
I always enjoy Alex’s reviews, especially his Exclusive Trunk Comfort Index. Unforgettable stuff!
Welcome Alex! I absolutely love all of his youtube videos and I follow him on facebook as well. I love watching car reviews and hands down, Alex does the best job around. He is thorough, well informed, offers his advice and opinions but they are not over the top. I always loved reading his articles as well.
Honestly, maybe I am naive but I did not know that Alex was gay nor did I ever care. I’m not sure what his sexual orientation has anything to do with his writing or car reviews online, youtube, etc. People are so judgemental- it is disgusting. Alex, if you are here, I feel bad that your sexuality has come up in these comments. It really shouldn’t. It is a private thing, in my opinion and no one here or anywhere else should judge you on it. I for one will continue to enjoy seeing your updates on FB, watching your vids and reading your stuff.
Thank you for your great reviews and keep them coming!
Steve from MN.
In addition, Alex’s videos on 4×4 systems, including the one he did about Acura’s SH-AWD is hands down one of the best videos on youtube. Go check it out.