Home » David Tracy Lives In A Bubble + Join Our Discord: Tales From The Slack

David Tracy Lives In A Bubble + Join Our Discord: Tales From The Slack

David Tmd
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Ben
Ben
1 year ago

Anyone with even a passing interest in RVs has heard of toy haulers. Anyone without a passing interest in RVs is probably not clicking on an article about an RV conversion no matter what you put in the title.

Well, maybe if the title were “One weird trick to transport your Smart car”. 😉

TOSSABL
TOSSABL
1 year ago

Now I have to ask my parents about toy haulers. They are Retired Ivory-Tower Academics ™, so that should be a decent bench mark

TOSSABL
TOSSABL
1 year ago
Reply to  TOSSABL

FWIW, while my English professor Mom hadn’t heard the term, she guessed it immediately-because it was me asking. I should have given her the headline and see if she understood the reference. This is how polls can include unintended bias.

Phantom Pedal Syndrome
Phantom Pedal Syndrome
1 year ago

I love that David is worried about the term “toy hauler” being a little too “inside-baseball” here, but the very next article on the site is an aerospace engineer teaching us about car aerodynamics, thermodynamics and the Bernoulli Principle.
As a layperson I appreciate the juxtaposition.

Stef Schrader
Stef Schrader
1 year ago

I mean, IS there a car tie-in with those weird early-hour German broadcasts that are just pretty music over pretty scenery? Those are like, a whole vibe, man.

Gubbin
Gubbin
1 year ago

I am aware of toy haulers and I kinda wish I weren’t because they just make me irrationally grumpy about how people spend their money and time.

Stef Schrader
Stef Schrader
1 year ago
Reply to  Gubbin

Ha! I have a friend trying to sell his. He did a whole Everyone Racers podcast on camping at the track, and went into all the ways it just ended up being more of a pain than it was worth.

I’m more of a “toss a tent in the towpig” kinda person myself. The dream rig is a Cayenne with a roof tent, but alas, I still gotta wait for that. :'(

Phantom Pedal Syndrome
Phantom Pedal Syndrome
1 year ago
Reply to  Stef Schrader

Roof tents are terrible if you’re over the age of say.. 40. They make me giggle though.
I picture them as a hammock tied 7’ above the ground unnecessarily.

Acrimonious Mofo
Acrimonious Mofo
1 year ago

So I can’t rightly say that I was or was not aware of the specific term “toy hauler” prior to reading this, however the concept is pretty straight forward and not at all confusing–it is pretty much what it says it is. What is confusing is David’s notions about Quantum Leap, Steve Martin, and that the target audience is “lay people” and what he seems to think they would or would not understand–especially given this site’s propensity for going into extremely technical deep dives (often from David, come to think of it) that would induce catatonia in the average “lay person”. For what it’s worth I tend to find those deep dives interesting and informative, but not particularly engaging, and just wee bit over my head having zero engineering in my background.
I hate to break it to you David, but you are kind of hopelessly out of touch. It’s endearing–don’t change, but you may want to defer to your colleagues when it comes to the zeitgeist.

Also, Ms. Streeter: damn that clip was dope!

Phantom Pedal Syndrome
Phantom Pedal Syndrome
1 year ago

I would love to read David’s reviews of y’all’s favorite driving songs.
That’s gold Thomas!

Phantom Pedal Syndrome
Phantom Pedal Syndrome
1 year ago

https://youtu.be/Ame5i5ud67Y

My favorite driving song.

Last edited 1 year ago by Phantom Pedal Syndrome
Trust Doesn't Rust
Trust Doesn't Rust
1 year ago

DT: “I mean, the song is good but I don’t think anyone knows who this Led Zeppelin is.”

SlowCarFast
SlowCarFast
1 year ago

Answer to poll:
C: I did not know Quantum Leap existed until Scott Bakula went back in time to alter history to allow it to happen.

Crank Shaft
Crank Shaft
1 year ago

WTF? Did David somehow miss all the hype around Only Murders?

Steve Martin is not out of the game. And yeah, Toy Hauler is a now so well known as to have become a generic term. Like, you couldn’t trademark it.

Last edited 1 year ago by Crank Shaft
David Tracy
David Tracy
1 year ago
Reply to  Crank Shaft

Never heard of Only Murders…

Stef Schrader
Stef Schrader
1 year ago
Reply to  David Tracy

(^5 it’s cozy in this hole)

Crank Shaft
Crank Shaft
1 year ago
Reply to  David Tracy

Well now you have heard of Only Murders in the Building and you’re welcome. 99% on Rotten Tomatoes. Wait, have you heard of Rotten Tomatoes?

I’m guessing you don’t watch too much TV, but it is a truly glorious show.

Mr Sarcastic
Mr Sarcastic
1 year ago
Reply to  David Tracy

Me neither but i think i know every episode of the old Quantum Leap. Not a fan of the new version. I cant believe they refer to their Black Admiral as Magic. I get the salute to the early version but really black magic?

Mr Sarcastic
Mr Sarcastic
1 year ago

Frankly i think you guys are even better inter squabbling. Need to post that all the time.
But remember if you are in NYC you have the accent not them.

Beer-light Guidance
Beer-light Guidance
1 year ago

I think we can clear this up.
Things that David gets an opinion about:

  • Jeeps
  • cooling systems
  • rust

Things David never should never be consulted about

  • Pop culture from any point in history
Toecutter
Toecutter
1 year ago

I love the color and look of rust. Gives the vehicle a sort of quality worthy of a post-apocalyptic aesthetic. I plan to paint my microcar that color, even though the body is non-metallic.

Phantom Pedal Syndrome
Phantom Pedal Syndrome
1 year ago
Reply to  Toecutter

A car body with a patinated copper shell would be pretty cool looking.

Mr Sarcastic
Mr Sarcastic
1 year ago

No his opinion is it is just surface rust.

LTDScott
LTDScott
1 year ago

I think we need to start calling David “Principal Skinner.”

https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/645/713/888.jpg

TXJeepGuy
TXJeepGuy
1 year ago
Reply to  LTDScott

I bet he doesnt even get the steamed hams reference

David Tracy
David Tracy
1 year ago
Reply to  TXJeepGuy

Acrimonious Mofo
Acrimonious Mofo
1 year ago
Reply to  TXJeepGuy

At this time of the day, in this part of the country?

Unlikely.

Drew
Drew
1 year ago
Reply to  LTDScott

Can we call Jason “Super Nintendo Chalmers,” then?

Laurence Rogers
Laurence Rogers
1 year ago
Reply to  Drew

I’d say that Super Nintendo Chalmers would be Hardigree, trying to keep this thing on the rails

Mark Tucker
Mark Tucker
1 year ago

We’re learnding!

Phantom Pedal Syndrome
Phantom Pedal Syndrome
1 year ago
Reply to  Mark Tucker

My cats exhaust smells like cat exhaust.

Last edited 1 year ago by Phantom Pedal Syndrome
notoriousDUG
notoriousDUG
1 year ago

How has an automotive journalist not heard the term ‘toy hauler?’

And how does anyone not know who Steve Martin is? Or not think he, the guy with a current hit show, is not relevant?

David Tracy
David Tracy
1 year ago
Reply to  notoriousDUG

I’ve heard “Toy Hauler,” but we write for the layperson!

Stef Schrader
Stef Schrader
1 year ago
Reply to  David Tracy

LAY PEOPLE HAVE TOYS!

Crank Shaft
Crank Shaft
1 year ago
Reply to  Stef Schrader

I’m guessing the vast majority of toy owners are indeed lay people.

notoriousDUG
notoriousDUG
1 year ago
Reply to  David Tracy

My mom knows what it is.
Like almost everyone knows and it is easy to figure out based on context if you do not.
And with a good lead picture finding out will drive people who might not otherwise to read it…

Chronometric
Chronometric
1 year ago
Reply to  David Tracy

You keep saying that but yet Autopian is by design a niche car site. Which, by the way, is why we are all here.

A. Barth
A. Barth
1 year ago
Reply to  notoriousDUG

Steve Martin has a show?

David Tracy
David Tracy
1 year ago
Reply to  A. Barth

Right!?

notoriousDUG
notoriousDUG
1 year ago
Reply to  David Tracy

Both y’all are kidding me, right?

Jb996
Jb996
1 year ago
Reply to  A. Barth

Yes, and a highly rated one.
With Martin Short and Selena Gomez. Does David know who they are?

Phantom Pedal Syndrome
Phantom Pedal Syndrome
1 year ago
Reply to  notoriousDUG

Steve Martin is definitely still relevant.
He’s infamous, which means he’s more than famous.

Dodsworth
Dodsworth
1 year ago

Hi. We’re not really Mexicans.

Drew
Drew
1 year ago

Even my mother knows what a toy hauler is, and she is the most sheltered person I have ever known. I think she is also aware of Quantum Leap, but that might be a result of her weird kid.

A few common things she has not known include:
“Edibles” means weed, not just anything edible (She was asked, when WA legalized, whether it was now legal to mail edibles within the state. She answered something along the lines of being able to mail certain edibles, like cookies, but not others, like fish. The little old lady asking the question had to educate her.)
Anything about how police operate, so she believed the local cops when they complained that probable cause was too much to ask before use of force.
Rocky Horror Picture Show (just no idea what it was)
The Postal Service (band…she became aware of them at a USPS onboarding when someone younger than her snickered when they called the USPS the Postal Service)
What See You Next Tuesday meant (she asked me after my sister made a Facebook post and would not explain)
Almost anything about alcoholic drinks (and when she started drinking wine, she wanted guidance over the phone)
Basically anything about computers (she once called me to ask how to send an email she composed…I directed her to the send button, clearly visible)

And somehow David seems to be even more sheltered.

Outofstep
Outofstep
1 year ago

Jimmy, I mean David is our special bubble vato

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hE3rZoyvOw

Phantom Pedal Syndrome
Phantom Pedal Syndrome
1 year ago
Reply to  Outofstep

A: He’s a bubble boy.
B: A bubble boy?
A: Yes, a bubble boy.
C: What’s a bubble boy?
A: He lives in a bubble.
B: Boy.

A. Barth
A. Barth
1 year ago

Weird Al’s live shows are fantastic!

<popular_culture_reference>

Also the “toy hauler” was clearly a modified EM-50.

</popular_culture_reference>

A. Barth
A. Barth
1 year ago
Reply to  A. Barth

POINT OF ODOR: ROOTWYRM SMELLS 🙂

You’re right, of course. He and the band are incredibly talented.

Just because, here is the video he did for The Hamilton Polka:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNEdEDbhTQw

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