Well shucks, looks like non paying haters don’t get to see me talk shit about certain grotesque so called automotive journalists. Or pretty much everything else that exists that I hate.
In my more cringeworthy moments, usually after getting over-involved in fiction, I daydream about publicly challenging all my detractors, anon and otherwise, to trial by combat, they can pick the weapons from Space Invaders to Russian Roulette with three chambers loaded. But then I remember how they all got together and begged the PR people not to let me come to press events because they didn't feel safe. If you're scared of a 50 year old cripple you aren't going to accept any challenges of any sort.
As someone who tends to get lost in the comments section, it’ll be interesting to hear others’ takes on my insipid opinions. Hopefully it gets more to join up. More money, more racecars, more problems, more stories. I’m all in.
I do so hope that you can get another moonbat commie liberal progress wingnut to write again about how fantastic the plan is going. Bonus points if they are part of academia….More importantly how everyone that disagrees with their worldview is a lover of tiny mustached man. Or even how we are holding back the ascension of the country into Utopia despite really turning into a lawless 2 tier criminal Justice hologram memory of a country that once existed.
Lastly, how wonderful cities are to live in with their rivers of fecal matter, piles of trash, rampant homeless, accepted corruption, grifting, propaganda, violent crime and now poisonous water that is largely due to white supremacy (somehow)…. Or how Memphis was not an anti-white murder spree last week….
I doubt we will see David Sanborn any time soon; like most unrecognized Super Geniuses, he is locked in a deadly battle against the idiots in his own family who refuse to pay him the proper deference due to someone who can cut and paste a CNN opinion column link.
Elana Scherr did some pretty decent stuff for Hot Rod magazine a while back. I got the vibe that she legit liked cars and knew a bit about them. However, I'm horribly biased towards the old Mopars that she seemed to be a fan of so I'm sure someone will come let me know why she's horrible in the replies.
I watched her drop the ball on some really basic stuff over the years, all while expecting to be treated like a cross between Joan Didion and Tom Wolfe.
Had to Google as well. I should have been as wise as you and remained ignorant. But it does seem I timed out and stopped reading any outlet she may have contributed prior to her appearance. Don’t know that I missed much but will give an article or two a shot. Just to say I gave it the college try. The article about AI and feelings was too cringeworthy so will pass on that one.
In her bio she calls jokingly calls herself a sleeper agent, but then I look at her recent pieces and wonder. One on how wonderful the community of people with home chargers is, another asking 'experts' if AI cars have feelings. All written in this aw shucksy way while Trojan Horsening in these major issues as if they've already been settled and if you proffer an objection, well you're just being mean to poor little Elana, not the senior editor of a major car magazine.
I don't know anyone who has gotten more second chances than Elana. Everybody in the business seems to have a story about how she failed to deliver something for which she'd already been paid. For the "Never Stop Driving" book, she was supposed to cover Lemons and cheap-car racing. I gave her a full outline, all the contacts to call, everything but the actual words in the paragraphs. She waited six months then admitted she had nothing. And while I can't say for sure, I'm pretty sure she cashed the $9,000 check for the job anyway.
Failed to deliver or drove a good bargain? I think it all depends on how you look at things Jack. $9000 without lifting a finger would be the envy of any Rockefeller or Carnegie.
Is there a way to search for content? I occasionally like to refer back to an old article. Today I was trying to find the one where Rodney very politely asked a Somali woman if she could let his car go through.
I was on the phone when I gave the earlier response. Here's a more thorough one: click the "Avoidable Contact Forever" at the top of the page. You'll be taken to the wrapup page with one article on top. Below that you'll see "NEW -- TOP -- COMMUNITY -- (magnifying glass)". Click on the magnifying glass and you'll be able to search by term.
Huzzah! Before ACF I was contemplating my pistol accumulation and had remembered something you wrote about the Bren 10, but was unable to find it on RG. Now at least I found something you wrote about the article on TTAG that they have memory holed.
Did that article also involve a payday loan establishment and a Jaguar XJ6?
The Bren Ten article was removed at my request because a coalition of autowriterw were trying to use it to harass the Hagerty board about hiring a "gun nut".
For the record, any article I wrote about payday loans would likely include an HK USP.
Every time I hear you talk about “only” owning so many $600 shirts or other such nonsense I have to fight competing waves of anger and jealousy, as I fight to reconcile my own six figure salary with my seeming inability to get through a single back-to-school season without using credit to buy my kids (who simply refuse to stop growing) a basic assortment of Thai and Vietnamese threads to wear to school for another season.
But hey, at least you’ve given me something to, uh, aspire to.
Having four children is a wealth infinitely greater than having bespoke shirts. If my first wife's health had permitted it, I would be wearing Brooks Brothers as I bullied my four sons through a Jackson 5 style music-misery childhood!
The only way to convert is to drive one yourself or have her drive one where she has to load and unload things. Any sensible person appreciates the ability to open doors and have room to do things.
If this is any consolation: I'm trying to find some freelance tech work to keep the lights on while I look for a permanent gig. In 1999 I could easily get $50 an hour. Today that same work pays $60 an hour, if I'm lucky -- and it's infinitely more miserable, degrading, dehumanizing, and "optimized".
THAT'S why software sucks? Inexperience on the part of the developers?
I assumed it was because programmers are deeply dysfunctional people who equate complexity with capability and view the learning curve necessary to master that complexity as fun.
That was true from 1955 to 2005. Today software is a cut-and-paste product of normies from low-wage countries who treat it with all the passion and interest I used to show while cleaning the dumpster at Rax.
Better than that, actually. One of my favorite hookups in the 2010s also slept with Terence Trent D'Arby, of "Wishing Well" fame. Apparently there is at least one area where I have his approximate level of talent, and it isn't singing.
I suspect the vast majority of readers of this substack have time for your writing because we feel that the majority of “competing” content has become (or rather become less secretive about being) a shill for automakers, or even worse, a shill for the current “public enemy #1” of cars and car people - the democratic party.
I just... don't read anything else that doesn't come from a book, outside of stuff directly related to my job; with Gray Mirror as the only noteworthy exception, now and then, when I have the patience for it.
I only read authors that I can trust and/or verify.
I used to read 4-5+ sites, now I just look at pictures of cats and read ACF. So if Jack and his handpicked contributors can put out 4-5 sites worth of content that would be great.
If you had a clone of facebook marketplace then I'd really never need to go anywhere else. Only problem would be that I bet most of the other guys around here have stuff that's way too nice for me to afford.
Do you know what happened with RADforsale? It seemed like the DWA crew had a decent sized following and could have kept that site going for longer than they did. I assume it is dead now since there have been no new listings since January of this year.
They're too busy counting their cash. Not only did Hagerty pay a reported 2.3 million for Radwood (I can't say for sure, I was removed from those discussions when I repeatedly criticized the mere idea of it) I've been told they just bought the DWA podcast for serious money.
The RADforsale platform itself was apparently mostly ignored by potential sellers because it overlapped with BaT and Cars and Bids, both of which serve exactly the same audience with more credibility.
Speaking for myself, I make the time because I enjoy Jack's writing. But yeah, you're absolutely correct about the competition, especially Road Car Trend and their EV fetish.
I didn't think that Kroger, at least in their Hy-Vee and Fred Meyer incarnations, had any reading material available anymore other than the backs of cereal boxes....
The more I hear about your hosts at Substack, the more I respect them. They are demonstrating a commitment to free speech. They also seem to be thus far resistant to acquisition.
Outshine Webster’s magazine? You mean the magazine nobody reads or is even aware of?
Webster’s poor behavior reminds me of the bosses I used to work for. Extremely loyal to themselves, would suck off anyone above them on the food chain, and dismissive of anyone who worked for them.
I just saw that noted automotive ___________ Emilia Hartford is featured in a Hagerty video. That made me laugh. I’m sure she will be in The Magazine soon. I’m guessing an article heavy on photos and light on words. Maybe she can write the captions for the photos. Or someone can help her write them.
He has had some nice articles about teaching his kids about cars, which is admirable, but I guess helping people younger than him only applies if your last name is Webster.
Everyone has had bosses like this because a not insignificant portion of the population are sociopaths that LOVE empowering themselves in any organization.
I believe leadership is a natural talent, a particular combination of charisma, gregariousness, extroversion and empathy.
The military and corporate America, on the other hand, think leadership is a learnable skill, like doing a brake job or an oil change.
But the military and corporate America are hierarchical organizations that need MANAGEMENT at each level. They recognize that very few people are natural leaders, but they need managers, so they deliberately conflate the two.
And that's why the military and corporate America are shot through with bad bosses.
The leadership vs management debate is an old one. I agree with you that the two are separate skills, but I think leadership, like any talent, requires development.
One reason that I think both the military and the government have such awful leaders is that they are both very hierarchical but neglect to develop many of the natural leaders. That means the people who are willing to push their way to the top and work to get their managers' attention are the ones who rise, while people who work well with others, build consensus, and guide the process in a more gentle, behind-the-scenes manner are much harder for managers to identify. And if you aren't identified, you can't be selected for advancement.
I think it is especially problematic for people from the working class. We are taught to keep quiet, do our best and let our work speak for us. And that works when you build brick walls, wire houses, fix cars, etc, because they are physical objects and people can actually see the quality. It doesn't work in an office environment where ideas are the product. Ideas are ephemeral. They get passed around and reworked and unless you have a team that is constantly saying "Ice Age had this great idea. He's so smart." you never get the recognition you deserve.
The upper classes, I think, have been taught subtle ways to blow their own horns and get credit for work in office environments. Either that or they weren't raised with the idea that highlighting one's own effort is a bad thing. Maybe the other little kids in their elementary schools didn't beat up the know-it-alls or something. Whatever the case, they can do something I am unable to bring myself to do. That means that even thought I can work my up to their level through brains and effort, once I get there the rules of the game are so different that I am unable to compete on an equal footing.
To address your comment about the upper classes blowing their own horns, one trait that absolutely ALL self-made men share is that they're shameless self-promoters.
The common man, on the other hand, is raised & socialized to resent and detest "braggarts."
What I meant was that you either have the ability to be a leader or you don't. If it's there, you can develop it. If it's not, then there's nothing to refine. My objection is to the common belief that ANYONE can become a leader, regardless of actual ability.
"Extremely loyal to themselves, would suck off anyone above them on the food chain, and dismissive of anyone who worked for them." Very well put. Even more offensive because they have the same amount of skin in the game as you do but their brains tell them they're 'owners'.
Hah! We always used to joke about managers who acted like money to pay us was coming out of their wallets. The diversity hire bosses were the worst. They actually thought that they had skills.
In fairness to Larry, he went through a lot to get me on the team, both at R&T and Hagerty. My old business partner, Uncle Ron the dope king, used to tell me two things:
"You can't want something for someone that they don't want for themselves," and
"You can't expect that other people will share your own code, or your own standards." I'd have quit the company before I let them fire Larry -- or Grace, or Jeff, or any number of other people. But that's me, and I'm an idiot.
Oh, wait. Ron told me one more thing.
"YOUNG stupid bitches... grow up to be OLD stupid bitches."
Most of them are a simple cotton broadcloth, woven or printed into a pattern.
T&A has a few "Exclusive" fabrics that in my experience wear like iron. I'm still getting good use out of an Exclusive I bought in 1999. A $600 (or $250, for ready to wear) shirt isn't a bad value if you can wear it for two decades or more.
I'm in agreement Jack. I recently switched my entire wardrobe to wool. The hardest part was finding wool dress shirts, which is why asked about material. I've found some and they were $120 a piece, which is T&A money for me, but I bought three of them because they're critical in my opinion.
Spending that much on a shirt would be wasted for me as I invariably get stains on my dress shirts.
BTW, when did dry cleaning get so expensive? The weather forecast for the Detroit concours is in the high 80s and I haven't decided if I'm going to wear seersucker or linen (yeah, I know it's after Labor Day, so call me a non-conformist) so I took them both in along with my dress suit so it's clean for Rosh HaShana. The tab was $50 for the three suits.
My lunches wage war on my gray pants. Every pair of gray pants I own has had burritos or stroganoff or lasagna or the turkey-goat cheese-spicy raspberry sauce sandwich innards dropped on them at some point. Sometimes I wonder if I should just go full camo, fit in with the hunters up here and hide all my careless stains. Amazingly, my shirts all fare just fine, and my brown/earth tone pants are all okay...
So I had the opportunity to buy a T&A tie (probably just a branding exercise) while in London about 20 years ago which was damaged during a ruckus in a deposition recently. Never get within arms reach of a pompous associate trying to bill who is wielding a fountain pen. The hearings after that were interesting. Took the high road but did earmark some money after the verdict to buy my first few shirts and a suit once I get the opportunity to make it back. Looking at having the tie “restored” for sentimental reasons.
Let me know of you have ever had shoes made. I have considered but the Allen Edmonds work well, are American made, have been resolved several times and fit my size 15 hooves.
I think I should send a photo to the fine gentleman not to rub it in but to thank him for providing the means to upgrade my wardrobe. Will probably wait until the tie is restored to inform his lasting impression was not indelible.
If you find good writers that interest you then that will be more than enough for us. We are simple folk ya know.
Nearly 10 years ago, I was a junior cog in the sizable investment banking division of a very large commercial bank. I happened to find myself alone in the elevator with a man destined for corporate greatness (he is now one level below the C suite of the entire edifice). I had a little bit of familiarity with him, because I had begun my career working for an old nemesis of his; he had prevailed in a power struggle over my first boss, and I shared his sentiments about my former master’s abilities. He dropped by on my first day to regale me with stories of their shared history.
Years later, we entered the elevator together and rode up to my floor; he was - naturally - headed for the uppermost of our firm’s floors. We both noticed at the same time that we happened to be wearing the same tie - a fetching slate blue Ferragamo number with dove gray seahorses in a repeating pattern. I said “nice tie,” to which he responded quickly: “Do not ever wear that fucking tie again.” Noted.
Upon returning to my desk, I removed the tie and placed it on the back of my cubicle, just as a temporarily absent-minded peer who sat behind me was struggling with an ink pen (she favored purple ink, but probably not in emulation of Enzo). She somehow purpurated that tie, ruining it. She felt so badly about it that she offered to replace it. I am so complaisant that I assented, although I suggested selecting a different pattern. She salvaged the ruined tie into a headband.
As for your hunt for footwear: I have always preferred Alden to the comparable Allen Edmonds option. I have a good friend who once worked for the PE firm that, ahem, harvested value from the once-venerable Wisconsin brand. I also like Carmina, a Spanish shoemaker that makes better Gucci loafers than does Gucci (at ~40% of the price, as well). I cannot vouch for size 15 selections at either, however.
Hate that whole tough guy dick measuring contest thing. It's especially common with the former SEC frat boy types that are the bosses for a lot of our customers. I'm trying to do better at dealing with it in a way that doesn't feel like me being a loser and doesn't get me fired. I don't deal with the bosses much but it's enough to be annoying.
The only time I've handled it well was when I was an intern and I went drinking with some of the electricians at my old job. They didn't believe I used to wrestle so I wrestled 2 of them and went 1-1 and handled myself reasonably well. In their minds I went from "pussy engineer" to "slightly less of a puss but still doesn't know anything". I may have misinterpreted it but it seemed to help my working relationship with those guys.
From his point of view it was probably above my station as an analyst (someone making ~$150K / year in his early 20s) to wear a ~$200 tie. He went to a top liberal arts college and then HBS before returning home to Atlanta after spending a few years at a bulge bracket in NYC.
At the same time I had TWO Porsche 911s (993 Carrera, 997 GT3), and I had to leave one of them at work at all times because I only had one parking spot at my apartment. Analysts usually arrive at work relatively late (9 to 9:30 would be early, 9:30 to 10:00 would be acceptable most days) because they work well past midnight on most weeknights (I worked all night dozens of times over my years as a grunt). Because of this tendency toward late arrival, we would have to go all the way to the top of the parking deck to find a spot. I would just park whichever of my 911s I happened to be driving in visitor parking up front, confident that the building would not tow a Porsche 911 from visitor parking (I would later move my car to another spot, usually around lunch).
This was an investment bank, so most junior employees dressed like I was on that day. In my group alone there was another analyst with a 911, and a senior guy with a dozen Porsches who races at the Monterey Historics annually. It was par for the course, but the BSD wanted to gate keep.
People get really weird about the whole "pecking order" thing. I would have thought that the banking world cares more about how you can make them money than who's ego is stroked.
I'm glad is more of a "show up, fix this, go home" type deal. Seems like I side step a lot of that stuff by moving around a lot.
What gets me is that there's no such thing as professionalism. It's a myth. And the way you can tell is the sheer number of supposedly educated men who'll throw tantrums and swear like truckers to get what they want from their subordinates.
It seems like a dude can be as much of a dickhead as your work product lets him be. I'm still new at my job so it behooves me to sit down and shut up, but the guy who can fix anything can do what he wants.
It exists, but it's endangered because it isn't effective in the corporate environment. Squeaky wheels are greased. Bullies are promoted. The reward for quiet competence is the chance to do the work you did last year, plus twenty percent, for no raise.
It is amazing how I like some people are. Appreciate the point out to Carmina. My feet may be too big, but but my son saw them and he is in luck and can fit so that is a win!
really liked the piece about the compressor. that kind of engineering fascinates me. a silver lining of the long emergency / great unwinding may prove to be that the gumption (is that the word?) of early generations to make more from less may return to our world. also, at the risk of sounding misogynist (as in, "wow, a girl turning a wrench!"), i genuinely appreciate a woman's perspective on engineering topics plus now i know what a balayage bob is...
Grace is a once-in-a-generation talent. My intention was to promote her to my job before she turned 35, so the department could have a young leader who was also a writer first and foremost. I don't suffer from the typical Boomer/Xer "HURR DURR I WANT TO PROMOTE WOMEN SO I'M THE LAST WHITE MAN IN THE JOB" -- had she been born a man I'd be of the same opinion. Maybe more so, I can't help being a caveman.
I've always admired her writing, but since automotive journalism is dead, and Hagerty is such a niche site, where does someone with her talents go to have a successful career? I do not mean to pigeon-hole her as just an automotive writer, since I'd bet she could write well about any subject that interested her.
She's also a very good editor and more often than not she improves my work. Writers are supposed to complain about editors but I can't really complain about most of her edits other than the time I referenced the Beatles' and Rolling Stones' 1964 appearances on the Ed Sullivan variety show and she made it into a talk show on NBC. Her parents were probably not even alive then, so I'll attribute it to her youth.
Her piece on driving a 1973 BMW 3.0 CSL was outstanding.
If it's of interest to YOU, it's probably of interest to ME.
If you're not sure, send me a one-paragraph description and we can decide based on that.
Well shucks, looks like non paying haters don’t get to see me talk shit about certain grotesque so called automotive journalists. Or pretty much everything else that exists that I hate.
They can still read me doing it, though.
Will there be a Playa Hater's Ball at some point??
Silly jc. You know Playa Haters don’t have Balls.
In my more cringeworthy moments, usually after getting over-involved in fiction, I daydream about publicly challenging all my detractors, anon and otherwise, to trial by combat, they can pick the weapons from Space Invaders to Russian Roulette with three chambers loaded. But then I remember how they all got together and begged the PR people not to let me come to press events because they didn't feel safe. If you're scared of a 50 year old cripple you aren't going to accept any challenges of any sort.
It's a reference to an old Dave Chapelle show episode lol
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKIwj1TQmFs
Which in turn is a reference to a real thing!
Best Chappelle show skit ever
Either that or Charlie Murphy's True Hollywood stories.
"Would you fellas like some grapes?."
"...if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go home and put some water in Buc Nasty's momma's dish. Good evening."
As someone who tends to get lost in the comments section, it’ll be interesting to hear others’ takes on my insipid opinions. Hopefully it gets more to join up. More money, more racecars, more problems, more stories. I’m all in.
I do so hope that you can get another moonbat commie liberal progress wingnut to write again about how fantastic the plan is going. Bonus points if they are part of academia….More importantly how everyone that disagrees with their worldview is a lover of tiny mustached man. Or even how we are holding back the ascension of the country into Utopia despite really turning into a lawless 2 tier criminal Justice hologram memory of a country that once existed.
Lastly, how wonderful cities are to live in with their rivers of fecal matter, piles of trash, rampant homeless, accepted corruption, grifting, propaganda, violent crime and now poisonous water that is largely due to white supremacy (somehow)…. Or how Memphis was not an anti-white murder spree last week….
Just for the interactions in the comments.
I doubt we will see David Sanborn any time soon; like most unrecognized Super Geniuses, he is locked in a deadly battle against the idiots in his own family who refuse to pay him the proper deference due to someone who can cut and paste a CNN opinion column link.
Elana Scherr did some pretty decent stuff for Hot Rod magazine a while back. I got the vibe that she legit liked cars and knew a bit about them. However, I'm horribly biased towards the old Mopars that she seemed to be a fan of so I'm sure someone will come let me know why she's horrible in the replies.
I watched her drop the ball on some really basic stuff over the years, all while expecting to be treated like a cross between Joan Didion and Tom Wolfe.
Woman moment
I don’t know who Elena Scherr is, and I think I’m going to keep it that way.
Had to Google as well. I should have been as wise as you and remained ignorant. But it does seem I timed out and stopped reading any outlet she may have contributed prior to her appearance. Don’t know that I missed much but will give an article or two a shot. Just to say I gave it the college try. The article about AI and feelings was too cringeworthy so will pass on that one.
That's complete nonsense, Jack. We all know Hannah Elliot and Magnus Walker are the modern day Joan Didion and Tom Wolfe.
In her bio she calls jokingly calls herself a sleeper agent, but then I look at her recent pieces and wonder. One on how wonderful the community of people with home chargers is, another asking 'experts' if AI cars have feelings. All written in this aw shucksy way while Trojan Horsening in these major issues as if they've already been settled and if you proffer an objection, well you're just being mean to poor little Elana, not the senior editor of a major car magazine.
I don't know anyone who has gotten more second chances than Elana. Everybody in the business seems to have a story about how she failed to deliver something for which she'd already been paid. For the "Never Stop Driving" book, she was supposed to cover Lemons and cheap-car racing. I gave her a full outline, all the contacts to call, everything but the actual words in the paragraphs. She waited six months then admitted she had nothing. And while I can't say for sure, I'm pretty sure she cashed the $9,000 check for the job anyway.
Failed to deliver or drove a good bargain? I think it all depends on how you look at things Jack. $9000 without lifting a finger would be the envy of any Rockefeller or Carnegie.
And yet, look at her clothes.
Hahaha!
I eagerly await the next update on your Radicals. And all your latest exploits!
Sir, I'll be YOUR competitor at NCM, in the Super Unlimited class! Just let me know whom I need to block so you can take the championship.
Is there a way to search for content? I occasionally like to refer back to an old article. Today I was trying to find the one where Rodney very politely asked a Somali woman if she could let his car go through.
There's a search function in the Archive page.
I was on the phone when I gave the earlier response. Here's a more thorough one: click the "Avoidable Contact Forever" at the top of the page. You'll be taken to the wrapup page with one article on top. Below that you'll see "NEW -- TOP -- COMMUNITY -- (magnifying glass)". Click on the magnifying glass and you'll be able to search by term.
Typing "Rodney Somali" will get you this article!
https://avoidablecontact.substack.com/p/rewind-trackday-diaries-have-to-see-a-man-about-a-dog
Found it. Thanks! I'd love to read more Rodney stories.
Huzzah! Before ACF I was contemplating my pistol accumulation and had remembered something you wrote about the Bren 10, but was unable to find it on RG. Now at least I found something you wrote about the article on TTAG that they have memory holed.
Did that article also involve a payday loan establishment and a Jaguar XJ6?
The Bren Ten article was removed at my request because a coalition of autowriterw were trying to use it to harass the Hagerty board about hiring a "gun nut".
For the record, any article I wrote about payday loans would likely include an HK USP.
I hope we eventually get to find out who these lowlife auto writers are.
Every time I hear you talk about “only” owning so many $600 shirts or other such nonsense I have to fight competing waves of anger and jealousy, as I fight to reconcile my own six figure salary with my seeming inability to get through a single back-to-school season without using credit to buy my kids (who simply refuse to stop growing) a basic assortment of Thai and Vietnamese threads to wear to school for another season.
But hey, at least you’ve given me something to, uh, aspire to.
Maybe you won't die in a ditch flat broke like I'm going to!
At my age, I'm starting to feel like my life will serve as a cautionary tale.
Buddy, you and I are in a similar boat only mine are much younger! Feels like they're in new clothes every f---ing week.
Yeah we have four, from age 15 to 6. They’re all growing like weeds!
At least the older ones can generally pass clothes down to a younger sibling.
Having four children is a wealth infinitely greater than having bespoke shirts. If my first wife's health had permitted it, I would be wearing Brooks Brothers as I bullied my four sons through a Jackson 5 style music-misery childhood!
We're at 2 and, God willing, will see a third and then whatever happens, happens.
I will say, my wife is coming around to the minivan idea I floated to her before the firstborn arrived on scene. Ho-ho-ho.
The only way to convert is to drive one yourself or have her drive one where she has to load and unload things. Any sensible person appreciates the ability to open doors and have room to do things.
I had her test drive minivans and haul out the child seat when she was pregnant. She was still off them, unbelievable I tell you!
The way I see it, I'm making really good money - for 1992.
If this is any consolation: I'm trying to find some freelance tech work to keep the lights on while I look for a permanent gig. In 1999 I could easily get $50 an hour. Today that same work pays $60 an hour, if I'm lucky -- and it's infinitely more miserable, degrading, dehumanizing, and "optimized".
THAT'S why software sucks? Inexperience on the part of the developers?
I assumed it was because programmers are deeply dysfunctional people who equate complexity with capability and view the learning curve necessary to master that complexity as fun.
That was true from 1955 to 2005. Today software is a cut-and-paste product of normies from low-wage countries who treat it with all the passion and interest I used to show while cleaning the dumpster at Rax.
My problem is that ever since I was 16, I've been stuck in an abusive relationship with the CONCEPT of employment.
From the Car Talk guys.
Ray: My brother has always said, “Don’t be afraid of work.”
Tom: Right. Make work afraid of YOU!
Ray: And he’s done such a good job at it, that work has avoided him all his life.
Jack
Congrats on being Eskimo brothers with King Charles III, tailor-wise.
That's all I was ever going to manage. I don't have the looks or charm of a Major Hewitt.
But you can lay claim to being an Eskimo brother-in-law to rock and roll royalty.
Better than that, actually. One of my favorite hookups in the 2010s also slept with Terence Trent D'Arby, of "Wishing Well" fame. Apparently there is at least one area where I have his approximate level of talent, and it isn't singing.
What - kissing like a bandit?
Ha!
And underneath a sycamore tree to boot!
It was actually hugging like a monkey-see, monkey-do!
I suspect the vast majority of readers of this substack have time for your writing because we feel that the majority of “competing” content has become (or rather become less secretive about being) a shill for automakers, or even worse, a shill for the current “public enemy #1” of cars and car people - the democratic party.
What this man says is the truth.
I just... don't read anything else that doesn't come from a book, outside of stuff directly related to my job; with Gray Mirror as the only noteworthy exception, now and then, when I have the patience for it.
I only read authors that I can trust and/or verify.
I used to read 4-5+ sites, now I just look at pictures of cats and read ACF. So if Jack and his handpicked contributors can put out 4-5 sites worth of content that would be great.
My barn has three kittens that somehow made their way in, so pretty soon we'll be able to serve ALL your needs here.
If you had a clone of facebook marketplace then I'd really never need to go anywhere else. Only problem would be that I bet most of the other guys around here have stuff that's way too nice for me to afford.
ACF Marketplace! Can't do any less traffic than RADforsale!
Do you know what happened with RADforsale? It seemed like the DWA crew had a decent sized following and could have kept that site going for longer than they did. I assume it is dead now since there have been no new listings since January of this year.
They're too busy counting their cash. Not only did Hagerty pay a reported 2.3 million for Radwood (I can't say for sure, I was removed from those discussions when I repeatedly criticized the mere idea of it) I've been told they just bought the DWA podcast for serious money.
The RADforsale platform itself was apparently mostly ignored by potential sellers because it overlapped with BaT and Cars and Bids, both of which serve exactly the same audience with more credibility.
Speaking for myself, I make the time because I enjoy Jack's writing. But yeah, you're absolutely correct about the competition, especially Road Car Trend and their EV fetish.
I didn't think that Kroger, at least in their Hy-Vee and Fred Meyer incarnations, had any reading material available anymore other than the backs of cereal boxes....
it actually didn't occur to me that jack's writing was especially lengthy until he mentioned it.
The more I hear about your hosts at Substack, the more I respect them. They are demonstrating a commitment to free speech. They also seem to be thus far resistant to acquisition.
Anything special to get to the website? I just read the emails, didn’t realize there was a site
You're on it now! Just click the "Avoidable Contact Forever" on top of the page to get the main page.
Outshine Webster’s magazine? You mean the magazine nobody reads or is even aware of?
Webster’s poor behavior reminds me of the bosses I used to work for. Extremely loyal to themselves, would suck off anyone above them on the food chain, and dismissive of anyone who worked for them.
I just saw that noted automotive ___________ Emilia Hartford is featured in a Hagerty video. That made me laugh. I’m sure she will be in The Magazine soon. I’m guessing an article heavy on photos and light on words. Maybe she can write the captions for the photos. Or someone can help her write them.
He has had some nice articles about teaching his kids about cars, which is admirable, but I guess helping people younger than him only applies if your last name is Webster.
Everyone has had bosses like this because a not insignificant portion of the population are sociopaths that LOVE empowering themselves in any organization.
I believe leadership is a natural talent, a particular combination of charisma, gregariousness, extroversion and empathy.
The military and corporate America, on the other hand, think leadership is a learnable skill, like doing a brake job or an oil change.
But the military and corporate America are hierarchical organizations that need MANAGEMENT at each level. They recognize that very few people are natural leaders, but they need managers, so they deliberately conflate the two.
And that's why the military and corporate America are shot through with bad bosses.
The leadership vs management debate is an old one. I agree with you that the two are separate skills, but I think leadership, like any talent, requires development.
One reason that I think both the military and the government have such awful leaders is that they are both very hierarchical but neglect to develop many of the natural leaders. That means the people who are willing to push their way to the top and work to get their managers' attention are the ones who rise, while people who work well with others, build consensus, and guide the process in a more gentle, behind-the-scenes manner are much harder for managers to identify. And if you aren't identified, you can't be selected for advancement.
I think it is especially problematic for people from the working class. We are taught to keep quiet, do our best and let our work speak for us. And that works when you build brick walls, wire houses, fix cars, etc, because they are physical objects and people can actually see the quality. It doesn't work in an office environment where ideas are the product. Ideas are ephemeral. They get passed around and reworked and unless you have a team that is constantly saying "Ice Age had this great idea. He's so smart." you never get the recognition you deserve.
The upper classes, I think, have been taught subtle ways to blow their own horns and get credit for work in office environments. Either that or they weren't raised with the idea that highlighting one's own effort is a bad thing. Maybe the other little kids in their elementary schools didn't beat up the know-it-alls or something. Whatever the case, they can do something I am unable to bring myself to do. That means that even thought I can work my up to their level through brains and effort, once I get there the rules of the game are so different that I am unable to compete on an equal footing.
To address your comment about the upper classes blowing their own horns, one trait that absolutely ALL self-made men share is that they're shameless self-promoters.
The common man, on the other hand, is raised & socialized to resent and detest "braggarts."
What I meant was that you either have the ability to be a leader or you don't. If it's there, you can develop it. If it's not, then there's nothing to refine. My objection is to the common belief that ANYONE can become a leader, regardless of actual ability.
Genuinely insightful, and it's one reason my brother always earns more than I do.
"Extremely loyal to themselves, would suck off anyone above them on the food chain, and dismissive of anyone who worked for them." Very well put. Even more offensive because they have the same amount of skin in the game as you do but their brains tell them they're 'owners'.
Hah! We always used to joke about managers who acted like money to pay us was coming out of their wallets. The diversity hire bosses were the worst. They actually thought that they had skills.
In fairness to Larry, he went through a lot to get me on the team, both at R&T and Hagerty. My old business partner, Uncle Ron the dope king, used to tell me two things:
"You can't want something for someone that they don't want for themselves," and
"You can't expect that other people will share your own code, or your own standards." I'd have quit the company before I let them fire Larry -- or Grace, or Jeff, or any number of other people. But that's me, and I'm an idiot.
Oh, wait. Ron told me one more thing.
"YOUNG stupid bitches... grow up to be OLD stupid bitches."
That's the truest thing a man will ever know.
That's good to hear about him. I just don't respond well to corporate BS.
Uncle Ron is a wise man.
Jack, what material are the shirts made from?
Still waiting on the Spinelli discussion.
Most of them are a simple cotton broadcloth, woven or printed into a pattern.
T&A has a few "Exclusive" fabrics that in my experience wear like iron. I'm still getting good use out of an Exclusive I bought in 1999. A $600 (or $250, for ready to wear) shirt isn't a bad value if you can wear it for two decades or more.
I'm in agreement Jack. I recently switched my entire wardrobe to wool. The hardest part was finding wool dress shirts, which is why asked about material. I've found some and they were $120 a piece, which is T&A money for me, but I bought three of them because they're critical in my opinion.
I had one wool button down long sleeve shirt that I adored wearing in a wide range of weather and which decided to fray apart at the elbows.
What maker did you find and, if I may ask, where was the product sewn?
Wool and Prince is the brand, and made in China unfortunately.
Proper Cloth makes wool dress shirts, in both OTR and MTM outputs.
Thanks for the heads up.
Spending that much on a shirt would be wasted for me as I invariably get stains on my dress shirts.
BTW, when did dry cleaning get so expensive? The weather forecast for the Detroit concours is in the high 80s and I haven't decided if I'm going to wear seersucker or linen (yeah, I know it's after Labor Day, so call me a non-conformist) so I took them both in along with my dress suit so it's clean for Rosh HaShana. The tab was $50 for the three suits.
My lunches wage war on my gray pants. Every pair of gray pants I own has had burritos or stroganoff or lasagna or the turkey-goat cheese-spicy raspberry sauce sandwich innards dropped on them at some point. Sometimes I wonder if I should just go full camo, fit in with the hunters up here and hide all my careless stains. Amazingly, my shirts all fare just fine, and my brown/earth tone pants are all okay...
To paraphrase the movie Armed and Dangerous:
"The police found suits in his apartment made of human hair."
"Well, bad taste is not a crime."
So I had the opportunity to buy a T&A tie (probably just a branding exercise) while in London about 20 years ago which was damaged during a ruckus in a deposition recently. Never get within arms reach of a pompous associate trying to bill who is wielding a fountain pen. The hearings after that were interesting. Took the high road but did earmark some money after the verdict to buy my first few shirts and a suit once I get the opportunity to make it back. Looking at having the tie “restored” for sentimental reasons.
Let me know of you have ever had shoes made. I have considered but the Allen Edmonds work well, are American made, have been resolved several times and fit my size 15 hooves.
I think I should send a photo to the fine gentleman not to rub it in but to thank him for providing the means to upgrade my wardrobe. Will probably wait until the tie is restored to inform his lasting impression was not indelible.
If you find good writers that interest you then that will be more than enough for us. We are simple folk ya know.
I've done two dozen custom A-E orders, but that was before private equity soaked the company to the bones.
My last 4 pairs of shoes were three sets of Edward Green and one set of Alden cordovan.
If you need to match an old tie, I have some contacts who might be of service at T&A.
I once lost a Ferragamo tie to a similar injury.
Nearly 10 years ago, I was a junior cog in the sizable investment banking division of a very large commercial bank. I happened to find myself alone in the elevator with a man destined for corporate greatness (he is now one level below the C suite of the entire edifice). I had a little bit of familiarity with him, because I had begun my career working for an old nemesis of his; he had prevailed in a power struggle over my first boss, and I shared his sentiments about my former master’s abilities. He dropped by on my first day to regale me with stories of their shared history.
Years later, we entered the elevator together and rode up to my floor; he was - naturally - headed for the uppermost of our firm’s floors. We both noticed at the same time that we happened to be wearing the same tie - a fetching slate blue Ferragamo number with dove gray seahorses in a repeating pattern. I said “nice tie,” to which he responded quickly: “Do not ever wear that fucking tie again.” Noted.
Upon returning to my desk, I removed the tie and placed it on the back of my cubicle, just as a temporarily absent-minded peer who sat behind me was struggling with an ink pen (she favored purple ink, but probably not in emulation of Enzo). She somehow purpurated that tie, ruining it. She felt so badly about it that she offered to replace it. I am so complaisant that I assented, although I suggested selecting a different pattern. She salvaged the ruined tie into a headband.
As for your hunt for footwear: I have always preferred Alden to the comparable Allen Edmonds option. I have a good friend who once worked for the PE firm that, ahem, harvested value from the once-venerable Wisconsin brand. I also like Carmina, a Spanish shoemaker that makes better Gucci loafers than does Gucci (at ~40% of the price, as well). I cannot vouch for size 15 selections at either, however.
“Do not ever wear that fucking tie again.”
Hate that whole tough guy dick measuring contest thing. It's especially common with the former SEC frat boy types that are the bosses for a lot of our customers. I'm trying to do better at dealing with it in a way that doesn't feel like me being a loser and doesn't get me fired. I don't deal with the bosses much but it's enough to be annoying.
The only time I've handled it well was when I was an intern and I went drinking with some of the electricians at my old job. They didn't believe I used to wrestle so I wrestled 2 of them and went 1-1 and handled myself reasonably well. In their minds I went from "pussy engineer" to "slightly less of a puss but still doesn't know anything". I may have misinterpreted it but it seemed to help my working relationship with those guys.
From his point of view it was probably above my station as an analyst (someone making ~$150K / year in his early 20s) to wear a ~$200 tie. He went to a top liberal arts college and then HBS before returning home to Atlanta after spending a few years at a bulge bracket in NYC.
At the same time I had TWO Porsche 911s (993 Carrera, 997 GT3), and I had to leave one of them at work at all times because I only had one parking spot at my apartment. Analysts usually arrive at work relatively late (9 to 9:30 would be early, 9:30 to 10:00 would be acceptable most days) because they work well past midnight on most weeknights (I worked all night dozens of times over my years as a grunt). Because of this tendency toward late arrival, we would have to go all the way to the top of the parking deck to find a spot. I would just park whichever of my 911s I happened to be driving in visitor parking up front, confident that the building would not tow a Porsche 911 from visitor parking (I would later move my car to another spot, usually around lunch).
This was an investment bank, so most junior employees dressed like I was on that day. In my group alone there was another analyst with a 911, and a senior guy with a dozen Porsches who races at the Monterey Historics annually. It was par for the course, but the BSD wanted to gate keep.
People get really weird about the whole "pecking order" thing. I would have thought that the banking world cares more about how you can make them money than who's ego is stroked.
I'm glad is more of a "show up, fix this, go home" type deal. Seems like I side step a lot of that stuff by moving around a lot.
What gets me is that there's no such thing as professionalism. It's a myth. And the way you can tell is the sheer number of supposedly educated men who'll throw tantrums and swear like truckers to get what they want from their subordinates.
It seems like a dude can be as much of a dickhead as your work product lets him be. I'm still new at my job so it behooves me to sit down and shut up, but the guy who can fix anything can do what he wants.
It exists, but it's endangered because it isn't effective in the corporate environment. Squeaky wheels are greased. Bullies are promoted. The reward for quiet competence is the chance to do the work you did last year, plus twenty percent, for no raise.
It is amazing how I like some people are. Appreciate the point out to Carmina. My feet may be too big, but but my son saw them and he is in luck and can fit so that is a win!
I will second the nomination for Carmina.
really liked the piece about the compressor. that kind of engineering fascinates me. a silver lining of the long emergency / great unwinding may prove to be that the gumption (is that the word?) of early generations to make more from less may return to our world. also, at the risk of sounding misogynist (as in, "wow, a girl turning a wrench!"), i genuinely appreciate a woman's perspective on engineering topics plus now i know what a balayage bob is...
Grace is a once-in-a-generation talent. My intention was to promote her to my job before she turned 35, so the department could have a young leader who was also a writer first and foremost. I don't suffer from the typical Boomer/Xer "HURR DURR I WANT TO PROMOTE WOMEN SO I'M THE LAST WHITE MAN IN THE JOB" -- had she been born a man I'd be of the same opinion. Maybe more so, I can't help being a caveman.
I've always admired her writing, but since automotive journalism is dead, and Hagerty is such a niche site, where does someone with her talents go to have a successful career? I do not mean to pigeon-hole her as just an automotive writer, since I'd bet she could write well about any subject that interested her.
I'm working on an opportunity for me, and her, as we speak. Who knows if it will work out...
She's also a very good editor and more often than not she improves my work. Writers are supposed to complain about editors but I can't really complain about most of her edits other than the time I referenced the Beatles' and Rolling Stones' 1964 appearances on the Ed Sullivan variety show and she made it into a talk show on NBC. Her parents were probably not even alive then, so I'll attribute it to her youth.
Her piece on driving a 1973 BMW 3.0 CSL was outstanding.