I also wonder similarly what makes him speaking on camera a worthwhile thing, or a good idea, but, here we are. He can't even hold a steering wheel like actual drivers do, but he knows everything there is about driving
I read this earlier today and all I could think is that it read like one of your parody or “What If?” articles. He seemed like a character, not a real person, and the story read like satire from start to finish.
It's beyond depressing. Had I known things would get this bad, I would have spent more time re-reading various magazines back 15 - 30 years ago. It's like a desert out there, and not just in review/magazine terms.
My biggest problem with car reviews, other than the complete and utter irrelevance to my real-world life they represent, is that no matter how expensive a car is, it's always a bargain.
I confess. I ushered Lieberman into existence by re-writing his prose for TTAC. And by re-writing I mean there were articles were there wasn’t a single sentence left unmodified. Not one. Guys I was desperate for content.
And then something bizarre happened. Johnny wrote a perfect article. Seriously. I forget the car but he used the phrase “like a tornado eating an hurricane.” Or some such nonsense. It really was good.
And then it was back to the Gallactica, metaphorically speaking. I lost track of Johnny, until I saw him review a car on YouTube.
I can’t imagine a piece of automotive “journalism” more antithetical to the TTAC ethos. There are entire French bakeries who couldn’t begin to match that puff piece. It made me sad.
As for JL’s lack of humility or self-awareness or anything approaching shame, same as it ever was.
But I’ll give him this much: Mr. Lieberman understood from the beginning that being successful in the field meant jettisoning all ethical considerations. He has proven that talent plays second fiddle to obsequiousness in a world where he who pays the piper calls the tune.
When he was writing at TTAC I was completely convinced that Jonny Lieberman was a pen name used by the editors to slap on articles no real person wanted to be associated with.
Not entirely certain why AM particularly cares what the fuck Lieberman has to say about their car. Surely nobody purchasing such a car consults his opinion. Are they so concerned about the PR angle on the lower end models that they bend over backwards for a guy who writes like a 5th grader for a magazine presumably purchased by bored airport customers and 11 year olds getting it in the Giant Eagle Check-Out line.
Tom Brady drives one because of a sponsorship deal, is he an “impressive person”?
As a related but tangential aside, maybe a column idea; is it weird that I don’t have any “heroes” aside from my dad and my maternal grandfather? I have people who I respect and admire, but I couldn’t name a single man I look up to as a hero. I’m not sure if this is ignorance, arrogance, or rational maturity. But I think it’s a subject worth exploring.
Boys need heros. Men need leaders and hopefully should know the difference. If you're still into watching sportsball and have another man's name on your back, you're NGMI. Just invite him over to bang your wife and be done with it.
That's a bit ironic as my Purim costume earlier this week was a "Detroit Tigers 3rd base coach" (it worked better last year, before I lost 40 lbs), with an authentic Detroit Tigers jersey, only the name on my back is my own surname. John Schreiber is a Detroit area young man who was drafted by the Tigers in the 15th round. He was moving up in their minor league organization and the Tigers were so bad that he was bound to be called up to the Show in September after making it to AAA. My last name isn't common, there's been like one other MLB player with it, so I decided that if he'd make it to the big leagues, I'd buy an authentic jersey of his, and that's exactly what happened. Fortunately those as-game-worn replicas were on sale at the time so it 'only' cost me a bit over $200. He's with the Red Sox now (and had a great year in 2022 as a set up and closing reliever).
When young you need heroes. Part of the becoming an adult thing is losing the idols and finding mentors instead. Someone who can show you aspects of the path ahead. For that they are respected rather than worshiped.
Same way. I don’t have heroes except for my parents and grandparents. Not weird at all.
When you see the world, how people act, and them take the fact that your dad and maternal grandfather could have done anything they wanted yet were examples to you makes them worthy.
There are people I admire for what they have done. Armstrong and Glenn are people I admire but the examples my parents and grandparents set and the time they spent helping me become who I am are what I admire more and make them my heroes. Never understood people who look up to celebrities and athletes as heroes.
Thank you for the reminder. I need to read the book but met him at the Centennial Of Flight in Kitty Hawk in 2003. He was very entertaining and engaging, but his ego is still on the moon. He was a character and was holding court that night.
The stories at the dinner and mixer put on by the law firm afterwards were great. I imagine the stories they told when we were in smaller groups were highly edited as well. Those guys got away with a ton and really lived.
He's the guy who makes it look easy. Spends all his range time shooting the shit.
In the final round of the masters he won back in 92 he flopped one onto the green then turned around and scooped a ball out of the water. To 14 year old me that was the coolest shit ever. Still is.
One of my favorite stories about Mulvihill was that he was eating dinner with his family, discussing the property he'd just bought that would become Action Park, when his daughter asked what they'd do if anyone got hurt on a ride.
I think that’s a part of aging, really. Or should be at least.
It’s one of more than a few things that rubs me VERY wrong in the current political climate. There are perhaps no living politicians off the top of my head worth even liking very much, let along worthy of hero worship. Without getting into any of the substantive politics of it because I don’t have the energy, it’s what I find to be the grossest part of the Trump Cult. It’s just… goddamn that guy of all people is your hero? It’s fucking weird!
The only person that comes to mind off the top of my head Id consider heroic is maybe John Brown, and looking even an inch deep into that man’s life BEYOND the desire to eradicate slavery (a heroic notion if there ever was one) tells ya he was a reeeeaaaal sonofabtich to most of the people in his life.
For the reasons states most people are not heroes and I am more than aware of the shortcomings of my parents. But I’ve always tried to take with they’ve given me and fix any faults that I find. Any problems are mine and mine alone. I take responsibility for them, but I appreciate what they’ve given me and all the opportunities. What I do with it is up to me.
Additionally, with politics, it seems to be more about money until money is out of it, and people are in it for the shaping of society, and moving us forward we are in trouble. I don’t see a way to fix it even if you could repeal Citizens United and companies are no longer people, get rid of PAC’s and all donations need to be disclosed. Current interests are too entrenched.
See my other post. Trump made some of the right noises but was unable to deliver.
It's evident that a segment of America is hungry for a real leader against the establishment, that's why he frightened the powers that be and was crushed as he was.
If the universe has the sense of humor I think it does, there is a J-sixer in the Capitol's oubliette writing about his struggle right now.
You have a good point. Other than a few legitimately successful people I know who drive exotics or quasi-exotics (Sherman McCoy is included in this group) most people I know driving stuff like that are pretty unimpressive. Like, guy I know from my hometown who has an Aventador: dumbass heir to timber fortune who bought & sold crypto at the exact right time, invested it in the markets, and has a nepo baby job as a school teacher in the district where his father was the longtime and notoriously corrupt superintendent. He probably *would* watch Lieberman, Cammisa, et al.
Every once in a while you run into someone who may not have the most talent, but they understand the GAME. They know how to make it pay. They know how to make it pay in ways that the rest of us never even thought about.
He’s like a chef that can’t make a grilled cheese sandwich.
Seriously, wouldn’t the average person at least try to get better at their craft in their chosen field? It’s ridiculous that he gets to give opinions about a product he doesn’t understand.
I think that the mistake many of us make is in assuming that competence matters, when, in fact the exact opposite is true. I won't go into it in great detail, but for variety of reasons over the last several decades, the society has slowly, but certainly declared the war on competence. Competence used to be admired, and aspired to. Today, it will make you a target. There are *so many* incompetent people around, and they cannot stand the contrast a competent person brings up. Thus, the war it is.
Competent people are a necessary evil. They are treated like toilets. Just expected to swallow endless loads of shit so that society can continue without being drowned in its own filth. Proving yourself capable is rewarded with more duties from other people who can't or won't do them. Learned that one the hard way.
Lieberman annoys me to no end. In his own mind he is never wrong, yet never has anything substantive to say as a retort. He just says things like “what the fuck bill” or some stupid emoji implying he can’t be bothered to engage with the hoi polloi in his comments section. His complete meltdowns he experiences whilst trying to argue against some downsides to EV’s are at least entertaining from and outside perspective.
I stopped loving Motor Trend when they fired Tony Swan as editor. His was an odd time at MT, because he actually said things. I do recall a short stint with C Van Tune (great name for an auto journalist) at the helm, but he was likely doing too good a job, so they axed him also. Btw, whatever happened to C Van Tune anyway?
I don't give a flying fuck about JL. That's all I'll say about that.
But, I am saddened by what passes for Aston Martin nowadays. They were once purveyors of lousy but character filled cars. Bad cars but great experiences. They did nothing better then anyone else, but they were special. Now, they still do nothing better then anyone else, and they aren't special anymore. Aston hasn't produced a car in the last 20 years that wasn't been comprehensively, at dramatically lower prices, beaten by the Corvette of the day.
I once suggested to the Aston Martin Owners Club that Aston should dump everything they were doing and buy the IP and tooling for the C7 instead. Even though I'm sure they'd build it worse, and have better paint, great smelling leather and poorer reliability then what the boys and girls at Bowling Green produce, it would be far and away better then anything Aston could produce on their own. Oddly, that suggestion didn't go over too well.
i mean there has to be a few screws loose at aston to let the valkyrie happen. I get it that its a tracktoy for people who like track toys in their living room, but at least it sounds kinda neat with a cosworth NA V12 in the current era
Modern Astons are dreadful; they're bad takes on front engined Ferraris and the proportions are painfully generic. They're supposed to be fast road transportation for the landed gentry, not Dubai trinkets.
I had a very similar thought after I bought my Jaguar, while driving it 1300 miles home.
It has the straight like speed of a C5 Z06 or C6 Corvette, but is infinitely more comfortable and less fatiguing. Other than styling, I can't see anywhere where a 2 door GT car would outshine it.
I'd actually been trolling craiglist for an X150, but the XJ was very nearly perfectly specced, and the price was right. Being a 2014, it was also the first full year with the updated timing chains on the 5.0
But that isn't a new thing. A Mercedes 6.9 in the 70s, or even a 450 SE or SEL would likely have been just as fast, point to point, if not faster, and definitely more reliable, then any hot GT car of the 70s. Immensely more comfortable too. But, an Aston V8, Jensen Interceptor or even a Lamborghini Espada had dramatically more style. And, they were just plain more fun. Plus, what's the point of being rich, if you can't flaunt your money by not driving the same brand as the cab drivers do.
On the road, a W116 was very fast. The 450 SEL could cruise all day at 130 mph. Something I doubt an Aston would do. While a 6.9 would do an easy 150. The automatic V8s were at best 145 mph cars. The manuals adding a possible 10 mph to that. Now, that was if the Aston was running right. Which it more often then not wasn't.
If I HAD to do a run from London to Monte Carlo in 1977, I'd easily choose the 6.9 or anything more exotic. However, if I was going for fun, and just to show off, I'd take an Aston.
I had gotten to that point in my life when I chose to make my automotive dream come true. That being, to buy an Aston. I started driving them with purpose, and was shocked by how disappointing they were. My favourite of the lot was the DB7. While far from the best car of the group, it still had a bit of the old hand made Aston magic. But the Vanquish was awful, the V8 and DB9 just mediocre. Though, the Aston V12 does make an incredible howl. Much better then two Tauri at full throttle.
I’ll concur with this. Modern Aston reminds me much of the 911-esque constant refinement in design. Much the same I tend to be drawn towards the understated ones more but boy do they have a road presence with a very masculine yet distilled language.
I don’t follow them closely enough to confirm my usual suspicions of them having an interior that doesn’t quite suit the exterior. They tend to come off as luxury kit cars or something - or at least have in the past. I’ll have to revisit the most recent.
I love the DB7 and sometimes, when I see the $35K-ish pricetags on some of them, I dream of owning one and just putting it in front of my house and staring at it because I doubt I could keep it running. Better than a garden gnome, right?
I liked the V12 Vanquish, and I thought that everything that's come out since has been a bit derivative (still relatively pretty, but derivative nonetheless). I guess at a certain point you run out of creative steam and just show up and play the old hits like you think everyone wants you to.
I was visiting a car guy of sorts whom I used to hang out with now and then, and bought three cars from before I realized that he never bothered to transfer titles on cars that he bought. One of his sons had bought a 1956 Bel Air with no engine or transmission, and had run an extension cord from the house so he could sit in it and listen to music.
I agree. To my eyes they’re beautiful shapely beasts. I’d never buy one though. I’ve read enough Peter Egan to know that purchasing anything manufactured in the UK is a risky proposition
Marek Reichman has been in charge for more then a decade, and has taken Aston styling from one low point to another. I can't imagine why they keep him on, as the styling he has produced has been pretty universally panned. And the sales went in the toilet with each revision.
I mean it was never "the" car. Even when new you could spend a fraction of the money and just get an E-Type. They built 1059 DB5s, then Goldfinger came out and on the back of that they managed to sell every new DB6... all 1788 of them.
Their Mustang-lookalikes in the 80s were the same, cool look, but you needed to spend money on them (like a certain Mr. Atkinson) to get any sort of performance or (heavens) track ability.
I saw the DBX testing on the Nürburgring way before it somehow got promoted to F1 medical car, and let me tell you that thing was smoking its brakes not even halfway into the lap. Way too heavy, way too reliant on the electronics to keep it straight, and I'm pretty sure last year on the Bahrain GP the driver almost flipped it _hitting_a_curb_. That's designed for F1 cars.
I knew there would be something on here about JL after seeing his typically substandard article about almost crashing an Aston. The real tragedy in all of this is that it appears the deuchbag reproduced. This is why there is little hope for the world's future. Morons raising morons.
So he is the one (or one of) with the uh, interesting relationship that I wouldn't be interested in recreating with my significant other? And the linked "circus freak" is the main attraction?
I like to understand others, what butters their bread, climb into their skin and walk around in it, more than the next guy. But no thank you here.
As someone who doesn't follow social media, the strapline and top photo had me immediately fear he injured someone in traffic. I'm glad it was on a racetrack.
i don't know jack about auto-journalism but i do know a thing or two about quincy. q is a good arranger but he is a great hustler. everything that comes out of his mouth is part of a hustle and i don't believe a word of it. what he lacks is taste. everything including his michael jackson tracks are overdone. as to the fabs, it's true that their main talent was was composition but it was far from their only talent. yes, ringo doesn't write and he sings like a frog but he can actually play the drums. perfect rhythm and interesting tasteful fills without the bombast of solos.
Yeah I agree that Q's opinion of himself is pretty substantial.
I judge the technical ability of guitarists and bassists like so: "Can I sight-read their performances?" If so then it's simple stuff. In the case of the Beatles I can do it first time through.
While reading this I was half watching a YouTube compilation of 1978 Midnight Special performances. Cutting off Ted Nugent mid lick I back buttoned my way to the Motor Trend video of the Valkyrie that I had already skipped past.
Jonny's facial expression perfectly matched the expression on my face caught on VHS while I was dangling from a Cessna wing strut in the midst of a static line jump wondering what I did to put myself there.
His upper signature claims he's a Manufacturer so naturally I wondered what he manufactures, so far no one seems to know, odd as he's apparently well known .
Jack, the fact that you were willing to subject yourself to the ravings of the Motor Trend social media comment sections in order to bring us this story is why I'll always be a subscriber.
I refuse to believe that deep down, Lieberman et al don't realize how bad they are, how poorly they're respected, and how little their chosen career "matters" to anyone else's life. Hell, I struggle with self-doubt in a career 10x as valuable to the public. To believe they are ignorant of those feelings would shake my faith in human nature too deeply to contemplate.
Jack probably knows JL better than most (having been an insider in the autojourno game for so long), so I’m pretty sure he knows how close this post has the guy to doing his wife’s sword trick with a Mossberg (although if I had to guess the gun, it’d probably be a Beretta).
When I read Lieberman’s stuff I just can’t help wondering what made him go into *writing*, of all things, and think he could actually do it.
And yet…there he is.
I also wonder similarly what makes him speaking on camera a worthwhile thing, or a good idea, but, here we are. He can't even hold a steering wheel like actual drivers do, but he knows everything there is about driving
I read this earlier today and all I could think is that it read like one of your parody or “What If?” articles. He seemed like a character, not a real person, and the story read like satire from start to finish.
But…it wasn’t. It was REAL!
"Spaniel Felson."
I absolutely cannot read any car reviews, magazines, etc. anymore. Was it better when I thought the Matrix was real?
It's beyond depressing. Had I known things would get this bad, I would have spent more time re-reading various magazines back 15 - 30 years ago. It's like a desert out there, and not just in review/magazine terms.
My biggest problem with car reviews, other than the complete and utter irrelevance to my real-world life they represent, is that no matter how expensive a car is, it's always a bargain.
I confess. I ushered Lieberman into existence by re-writing his prose for TTAC. And by re-writing I mean there were articles were there wasn’t a single sentence left unmodified. Not one. Guys I was desperate for content.
And then something bizarre happened. Johnny wrote a perfect article. Seriously. I forget the car but he used the phrase “like a tornado eating an hurricane.” Or some such nonsense. It really was good.
And then it was back to the Gallactica, metaphorically speaking. I lost track of Johnny, until I saw him review a car on YouTube.
I can’t imagine a piece of automotive “journalism” more antithetical to the TTAC ethos. There are entire French bakeries who couldn’t begin to match that puff piece. It made me sad.
As for JL’s lack of humility or self-awareness or anything approaching shame, same as it ever was.
But I’ll give him this much: Mr. Lieberman understood from the beginning that being successful in the field meant jettisoning all ethical considerations. He has proven that talent plays second fiddle to obsequiousness in a world where he who pays the piper calls the tune.
And all this time I thought you had an eye for talent.
When he was writing at TTAC I was completely convinced that Jonny Lieberman was a pen name used by the editors to slap on articles no real person wanted to be associated with.
Not entirely certain why AM particularly cares what the fuck Lieberman has to say about their car. Surely nobody purchasing such a car consults his opinion. Are they so concerned about the PR angle on the lower end models that they bend over backwards for a guy who writes like a 5th grader for a magazine presumably purchased by bored airport customers and 11 year olds getting it in the Giant Eagle Check-Out line.
An unfortunate but accurate observation.
A car named Valkyrie should look a lot more like this:
https://search.brave.com/images?q=cyber+formula+gpx+cars&source=web&img=51
Tom Brady drives one because of a sponsorship deal, is he an “impressive person”?
As a related but tangential aside, maybe a column idea; is it weird that I don’t have any “heroes” aside from my dad and my maternal grandfather? I have people who I respect and admire, but I couldn’t name a single man I look up to as a hero. I’m not sure if this is ignorance, arrogance, or rational maturity. But I think it’s a subject worth exploring.
Heroes are for young men and they are necessary. Adult men should be less easily impressed.
Leo Fender is a personal hero of mine and my admiration of Jim Hall has only grown since my slot car days.
Adult men need inspirational figures too.
With today's technology, imagine what could be created if boys and young men were encouraged, rather than being treated like faulty females.
Boys need heros. Men need leaders and hopefully should know the difference. If you're still into watching sportsball and have another man's name on your back, you're NGMI. Just invite him over to bang your wife and be done with it.
That's a bit ironic as my Purim costume earlier this week was a "Detroit Tigers 3rd base coach" (it worked better last year, before I lost 40 lbs), with an authentic Detroit Tigers jersey, only the name on my back is my own surname. John Schreiber is a Detroit area young man who was drafted by the Tigers in the 15th round. He was moving up in their minor league organization and the Tigers were so bad that he was bound to be called up to the Show in September after making it to AAA. My last name isn't common, there's been like one other MLB player with it, so I decided that if he'd make it to the big leagues, I'd buy an authentic jersey of his, and that's exactly what happened. Fortunately those as-game-worn replicas were on sale at the time so it 'only' cost me a bit over $200. He's with the Red Sox now (and had a great year in 2022 as a set up and closing reliever).
When young you need heroes. Part of the becoming an adult thing is losing the idols and finding mentors instead. Someone who can show you aspects of the path ahead. For that they are respected rather than worshiped.
Agreed on all counts.
Boys should have heroes. Men should have villains.
In many cases I *am* the villain!
He does have a $300M? deal to be a sportscaster so not exactly unemployed. But yeah, I think he’s a weird dude.
Same way. I don’t have heroes except for my parents and grandparents. Not weird at all.
When you see the world, how people act, and them take the fact that your dad and maternal grandfather could have done anything they wanted yet were examples to you makes them worthy.
There are people I admire for what they have done. Armstrong and Glenn are people I admire but the examples my parents and grandparents set and the time they spent helping me become who I am are what I admire more and make them my heroes. Never understood people who look up to celebrities and athletes as heroes.
I admired John Glenn before he became a senator, anyway.
The only noteworthy contributions to society he made were before politics. For one of them he was just along for the ride.
Gene Cernan might be more your style, he was quite a character. I highly recommend his autobiography The Last Man on the Moon.
Thank you for the reminder. I need to read the book but met him at the Centennial Of Flight in Kitty Hawk in 2003. He was very entertaining and engaging, but his ego is still on the moon. He was a character and was holding court that night.
The stories at the dinner and mixer put on by the law firm afterwards were great. I imagine the stories they told when we were in smaller groups were highly edited as well. Those guys got away with a ton and really lived.
I agree, but I still want to be Fred Couples
Why? The talent?
Anyone who has ever played a round realizes the work it takes. Which for me would take the fun out of it.
He's the guy who makes it look easy. Spends all his range time shooting the shit.
In the final round of the masters he won back in 92 he flopped one onto the green then turned around and scooped a ball out of the water. To 14 year old me that was the coolest shit ever. Still is.
I have five heroes: Marvin Heemeyer, Billy Martin, C E Middlebrooks, David Hahn and Gene Mulvilhill.
Each one had a vision and did things his own way. It's amazing what you can do when you just can't get your head around the idea of asking permission.
Recognized the first two and had to google the rest.
Holy cow you weren’t kidding. They were doing it their way and while Sinatra sang about it they were doing it.
Ask permission later! Enjoyed reading about them.
One of my favorite stories about Mulvihill was that he was eating dinner with his family, discussing the property he'd just bought that would become Action Park, when his daughter asked what they'd do if anyone got hurt on a ride.
"Ski laws" was his answer.
Brady is an arrogant, lying, cheating asshole. Other than that, he’s great.
I think that’s a part of aging, really. Or should be at least.
It’s one of more than a few things that rubs me VERY wrong in the current political climate. There are perhaps no living politicians off the top of my head worth even liking very much, let along worthy of hero worship. Without getting into any of the substantive politics of it because I don’t have the energy, it’s what I find to be the grossest part of the Trump Cult. It’s just… goddamn that guy of all people is your hero? It’s fucking weird!
The only person that comes to mind off the top of my head Id consider heroic is maybe John Brown, and looking even an inch deep into that man’s life BEYOND the desire to eradicate slavery (a heroic notion if there ever was one) tells ya he was a reeeeaaaal sonofabtich to most of the people in his life.
For the reasons states most people are not heroes and I am more than aware of the shortcomings of my parents. But I’ve always tried to take with they’ve given me and fix any faults that I find. Any problems are mine and mine alone. I take responsibility for them, but I appreciate what they’ve given me and all the opportunities. What I do with it is up to me.
Additionally, with politics, it seems to be more about money until money is out of it, and people are in it for the shaping of society, and moving us forward we are in trouble. I don’t see a way to fix it even if you could repeal Citizens United and companies are no longer people, get rid of PAC’s and all donations need to be disclosed. Current interests are too entrenched.
See my other post. Trump made some of the right noises but was unable to deliver.
It's evident that a segment of America is hungry for a real leader against the establishment, that's why he frightened the powers that be and was crushed as he was.
If the universe has the sense of humor I think it does, there is a J-sixer in the Capitol's oubliette writing about his struggle right now.
When I reviewed a couple of McLarens?
You have a good point. Other than a few legitimately successful people I know who drive exotics or quasi-exotics (Sherman McCoy is included in this group) most people I know driving stuff like that are pretty unimpressive. Like, guy I know from my hometown who has an Aventador: dumbass heir to timber fortune who bought & sold crypto at the exact right time, invested it in the markets, and has a nepo baby job as a school teacher in the district where his father was the longtime and notoriously corrupt superintendent. He probably *would* watch Lieberman, Cammisa, et al.
Every once in a while you run into someone who may not have the most talent, but they understand the GAME. They know how to make it pay. They know how to make it pay in ways that the rest of us never even thought about.
That comment was about Loh, not Johnny.
every company has people like that at the top
He’s like a chef that can’t make a grilled cheese sandwich.
Seriously, wouldn’t the average person at least try to get better at their craft in their chosen field? It’s ridiculous that he gets to give opinions about a product he doesn’t understand.
I think that the mistake many of us make is in assuming that competence matters, when, in fact the exact opposite is true. I won't go into it in great detail, but for variety of reasons over the last several decades, the society has slowly, but certainly declared the war on competence. Competence used to be admired, and aspired to. Today, it will make you a target. There are *so many* incompetent people around, and they cannot stand the contrast a competent person brings up. Thus, the war it is.
Competent people are a necessary evil. They are treated like toilets. Just expected to swallow endless loads of shit so that society can continue without being drowned in its own filth. Proving yourself capable is rewarded with more duties from other people who can't or won't do them. Learned that one the hard way.
Working tech in various major companies has led me to believe that the ratio of productive people to unproductive people is maybe 1 to 5 at best.
Hmmmn. Where have I seen that 20/80 figure before?
https://dlab.berkeley.edu/news/explaining-80-20-rule-pareto-distribution
https://dariusforoux.com/prices-law/
Good work is rewarded with more work.
Some reward.
Lieberman annoys me to no end. In his own mind he is never wrong, yet never has anything substantive to say as a retort. He just says things like “what the fuck bill” or some stupid emoji implying he can’t be bothered to engage with the hoi polloi in his comments section. His complete meltdowns he experiences whilst trying to argue against some downsides to EV’s are at least entertaining from and outside perspective.
Thin skin is a common factor in that West Coast crowd.
Must be all that sunshine.
We haven't seen the sun in months!
Motor Trend exists?? Next you'll be telling me they still print Car and Driver.
I stopped loving Motor Trend when they fired Tony Swan as editor. His was an odd time at MT, because he actually said things. I do recall a short stint with C Van Tune (great name for an auto journalist) at the helm, but he was likely doing too good a job, so they axed him also. Btw, whatever happened to C Van Tune anyway?
Sure does. It's just part of what I call "Road Car Trend."
The triune Auto Rag. The Three that are One.
I don't give a flying fuck about JL. That's all I'll say about that.
But, I am saddened by what passes for Aston Martin nowadays. They were once purveyors of lousy but character filled cars. Bad cars but great experiences. They did nothing better then anyone else, but they were special. Now, they still do nothing better then anyone else, and they aren't special anymore. Aston hasn't produced a car in the last 20 years that wasn't been comprehensively, at dramatically lower prices, beaten by the Corvette of the day.
I once suggested to the Aston Martin Owners Club that Aston should dump everything they were doing and buy the IP and tooling for the C7 instead. Even though I'm sure they'd build it worse, and have better paint, great smelling leather and poorer reliability then what the boys and girls at Bowling Green produce, it would be far and away better then anything Aston could produce on their own. Oddly, that suggestion didn't go over too well.
i mean there has to be a few screws loose at aston to let the valkyrie happen. I get it that its a tracktoy for people who like track toys in their living room, but at least it sounds kinda neat with a cosworth NA V12 in the current era
Modern Astons are dreadful; they're bad takes on front engined Ferraris and the proportions are painfully generic. They're supposed to be fast road transportation for the landed gentry, not Dubai trinkets.
I had a very similar thought after I bought my Jaguar, while driving it 1300 miles home.
It has the straight like speed of a C5 Z06 or C6 Corvette, but is infinitely more comfortable and less fatiguing. Other than styling, I can't see anywhere where a 2 door GT car would outshine it.
I have an X351 XJ supercharged.
I'd actually been trolling craiglist for an X150, but the XJ was very nearly perfectly specced, and the price was right. Being a 2014, it was also the first full year with the updated timing chains on the 5.0
But that isn't a new thing. A Mercedes 6.9 in the 70s, or even a 450 SE or SEL would likely have been just as fast, point to point, if not faster, and definitely more reliable, then any hot GT car of the 70s. Immensely more comfortable too. But, an Aston V8, Jensen Interceptor or even a Lamborghini Espada had dramatically more style. And, they were just plain more fun. Plus, what's the point of being rich, if you can't flaunt your money by not driving the same brand as the cab drivers do.
On the road, a W116 was very fast. The 450 SEL could cruise all day at 130 mph. Something I doubt an Aston would do. While a 6.9 would do an easy 150. The automatic V8s were at best 145 mph cars. The manuals adding a possible 10 mph to that. Now, that was if the Aston was running right. Which it more often then not wasn't.
If I HAD to do a run from London to Monte Carlo in 1977, I'd easily choose the 6.9 or anything more exotic. However, if I was going for fun, and just to show off, I'd take an Aston.
I want a Jalpa. I don't care if they're Lotus Esprit-levels of Poorly Done.
Do you hear me? I DON'T CARE.
America as the land of road going psychopaths is an endorsement I'll take!
Are you dissing my man Ian Callum? Modern Astons may be dreadful, but they're gorgeous.
Yeah, but they are pretty average as cars. Surprisingly little that is special about them in the driving experience.
I had gotten to that point in my life when I chose to make my automotive dream come true. That being, to buy an Aston. I started driving them with purpose, and was shocked by how disappointing they were. My favourite of the lot was the DB7. While far from the best car of the group, it still had a bit of the old hand made Aston magic. But the Vanquish was awful, the V8 and DB9 just mediocre. Though, the Aston V12 does make an incredible howl. Much better then two Tauri at full throttle.
100% agree with you on not liking the new Benz powered cars
I’ll concur with this. Modern Aston reminds me much of the 911-esque constant refinement in design. Much the same I tend to be drawn towards the understated ones more but boy do they have a road presence with a very masculine yet distilled language.
I don’t follow them closely enough to confirm my usual suspicions of them having an interior that doesn’t quite suit the exterior. They tend to come off as luxury kit cars or something - or at least have in the past. I’ll have to revisit the most recent.
I love the DB7 and sometimes, when I see the $35K-ish pricetags on some of them, I dream of owning one and just putting it in front of my house and staring at it because I doubt I could keep it running. Better than a garden gnome, right?
I liked the V12 Vanquish, and I thought that everything that's come out since has been a bit derivative (still relatively pretty, but derivative nonetheless). I guess at a certain point you run out of creative steam and just show up and play the old hits like you think everyone wants you to.
You can't sit in a garden gnome and make vroom vroom noises.
I was visiting a car guy of sorts whom I used to hang out with now and then, and bought three cars from before I realized that he never bothered to transfer titles on cars that he bought. One of his sons had bought a 1956 Bel Air with no engine or transmission, and had run an extension cord from the house so he could sit in it and listen to music.
Ian Callum did some of his best work with Jaguar. The Vantage really doesn't look that good in person, the X150 XK is a more striking design imo.
The DB9 is beautiful, but the interior is somewhat underwhelming by modern standards. Ditto the performance.
The DBX is just wrong
I agree. To my eyes they’re beautiful shapely beasts. I’d never buy one though. I’ve read enough Peter Egan to know that purchasing anything manufactured in the UK is a risky proposition
Callum left Aston more then 20 years ago.
Marek Reichman has been in charge for more then a decade, and has taken Aston styling from one low point to another. I can't imagine why they keep him on, as the styling he has produced has been pretty universally panned. And the sales went in the toilet with each revision.
The past week has been the best week for Aston Martin since Goldfinger hit cinemas.
Fairytale debut in Bahrain over the weekend and then Valkyrie content from the same track on Monday.
But their cars still suck.
I mean it was never "the" car. Even when new you could spend a fraction of the money and just get an E-Type. They built 1059 DB5s, then Goldfinger came out and on the back of that they managed to sell every new DB6... all 1788 of them.
Their Mustang-lookalikes in the 80s were the same, cool look, but you needed to spend money on them (like a certain Mr. Atkinson) to get any sort of performance or (heavens) track ability.
I saw the DBX testing on the Nürburgring way before it somehow got promoted to F1 medical car, and let me tell you that thing was smoking its brakes not even halfway into the lap. Way too heavy, way too reliant on the electronics to keep it straight, and I'm pretty sure last year on the Bahrain GP the driver almost flipped it _hitting_a_curb_. That's designed for F1 cars.
I have rarely been as unimpressed by a brand-new production car as I was with the DBX.
I knew there would be something on here about JL after seeing his typically substandard article about almost crashing an Aston. The real tragedy in all of this is that it appears the deuchbag reproduced. This is why there is little hope for the world's future. Morons raising morons.
He certainly watched it happen.
This is a woman whom I remember bragging on Facebook about her skill in getting a man's entire ball sack in her mouth.
Threw up in my mouth...ewww
I used to think I wanted to know everything. Now I know I don't.
So he is the one (or one of) with the uh, interesting relationship that I wouldn't be interested in recreating with my significant other? And the linked "circus freak" is the main attraction?
I like to understand others, what butters their bread, climb into their skin and walk around in it, more than the next guy. But no thank you here.
I also like to comma splice.
Well, in that link you provided she lists “sword swallowing” and “swallowing a 3 foot balloon” as skills.
The mind boggles.
You know something's happening
But you don't know what it is
Do you, Mr. Jones?
You drive up to PIkes Peak with your helmet in your hand
You see a Nissan Leaf ahead and you say "Who is that man"
You drive so slowly and you don't understand
Why it's the same pace you're both on
Because something is happening here but you don't know what it is
Do you, Mr. Jon?
We all like the jewels to be fondled but that sounds downright painful.
Right.
Damn, stop that!
"A little to the left. Watch the teeth."
As someone who doesn't follow social media, the strapline and top photo had me immediately fear he injured someone in traffic. I'm glad it was on a racetrack.
i don't know jack about auto-journalism but i do know a thing or two about quincy. q is a good arranger but he is a great hustler. everything that comes out of his mouth is part of a hustle and i don't believe a word of it. what he lacks is taste. everything including his michael jackson tracks are overdone. as to the fabs, it's true that their main talent was was composition but it was far from their only talent. yes, ringo doesn't write and he sings like a frog but he can actually play the drums. perfect rhythm and interesting tasteful fills without the bombast of solos.
I've never heard an actual drummer (well, except for Ginger Baker but he was a misanthrope) say less than complimentary things about Starr.
The old joke is "what do you call a bass player who is missing half his brain? A drummer"
Insert rim shot here (does this count as a pun).
Pairs well with "What do you call a bass player without a girlfriend? Homeless."
Yes, but bass players ALWAYS have a girlfriend
Source: I'm a bass player
Yeah I agree that Q's opinion of himself is pretty substantial.
I judge the technical ability of guitarists and bassists like so: "Can I sight-read their performances?" If so then it's simple stuff. In the case of the Beatles I can do it first time through.
Do you think Herbie Hancock makes Jones feel a bit inadequate?
While reading this I was half watching a YouTube compilation of 1978 Midnight Special performances. Cutting off Ted Nugent mid lick I back buttoned my way to the Motor Trend video of the Valkyrie that I had already skipped past.
Jonny's facial expression perfectly matched the expression on my face caught on VHS while I was dangling from a Cessna wing strut in the midst of a static line jump wondering what I did to put myself there.
I notice this essay is not behind the pay wall.
Your ability to drink your weight in beer will not impress The Nuge.
Hm ;
I read the hyperlinked article .
What does Mr. Lieberman "manufacture" ? .
I'd be askeert to touch much less drive any vehicle that expen$ive .
Maybe he writes for the dufus' who understand they're never ever going to be anywhere near this stuff in person .
-Nate
What does he manufacture?
Um, how about vehement dislike for his work?
=8-) .
His upper signature claims he's a Manufacturer so naturally I wondered what he manufactures, so far no one seems to know, odd as he's apparently well known .
-Nate
Jack, the fact that you were willing to subject yourself to the ravings of the Motor Trend social media comment sections in order to bring us this story is why I'll always be a subscriber.
I refuse to believe that deep down, Lieberman et al don't realize how bad they are, how poorly they're respected, and how little their chosen career "matters" to anyone else's life. Hell, I struggle with self-doubt in a career 10x as valuable to the public. To believe they are ignorant of those feelings would shake my faith in human nature too deeply to contemplate.
I’d bet they know exactly that, which is why these people act like children at even the smallest amounts of criticism.
The most buoyant thing in the world is a sociopath.
Yet they’re the easiest thing to take down.
Jack probably knows JL better than most (having been an insider in the autojourno game for so long), so I’m pretty sure he knows how close this post has the guy to doing his wife’s sword trick with a Mossberg (although if I had to guess the gun, it’d probably be a Beretta).