There was a time when I could just email Elon Musk. It didn’t seem weird to me then, as he wasn’t yet the richest man in the world or the owner of one of the most influential social media platforms. He was just a Silicon Valley guy trying to build an electric car company in America.
I didn’t take advantage of this at the time as my powers of prognostication are quite limited. I distinctly remember Musk sitting around, looking kinda bored, on the floor of some auto show at the end of a press day in… probably 2008. In retrospect, I should have tried to have a long conversation with him. Instead, I just briefly said hi and moved on to track down, like, a Mitsubishi exec or do something else totally pointless.
I think I communicated with his then-assistant, Mary Beth Brown, more than I ever did with her boss. Musk soon brought on a series of traditional professional PR people and he stopped returning my emails. I didn’t remember any of his PR people lasting very long and, eventually, Musk just got rid of his comms department altogether. It seems to have worked out for him, but now it appears that Tesla is going to try and fix this.
While I was not able to predict the sudden rise of Elon Musk, I did predict the fall of Carlos Tavares, albeit not the speed with which it happened. Thanks to some good reporting, I can do at least one more Morning Dump story about Tavares explaining why it was so abrupt.
Ford had another great month of hybrid sales, which isn’t a surprise, though it also moved a lot of electric cars. Is this fear over Trump killing the EV tax credit? Will GM kill its hybrid plans because of Trump’s threats to relax emissions regulations? There’s a lot to consider this morning, so let’s just jump into this together.
Tesla Listed A ‘Vehicle Communications Manager’ Job On LinkedIn
If I have a big question, or sometimes even a small one, I’ll reach out to a PR person from an automaker. This happens all the time. Sometimes it’s a formal email. If it’s an automaker I have a better relationship with it might be a call or a text. This week Thomas reached out to two different people to confirm details on Toyota’s new paint color.
With Tesla there’s no one to talk to so I don’t even try anymore. Whereas before I could email Rachel or Khobi or Keely, now I don’t even have an email address. This all happened in 2020 when Tesla admitted it dissolved its PR team with no intention of replacing them.
[Ed Note: I recall, after I wrote the article “Tesla Model 3 Teardown By Engineering Firm Reveals Quality Flaws Like ‘A Kia In The ’90s‘,” Keely called me up and tried yelling at me, asking why I didn’t call her before writing that article, and lamenting how she’s now a week late to respond to the bad press (the answer is that Munro is a trusted engineering firm, and their analysis stands on its own; also, a PR person should have their head on a swivel — to be a week late isn’t my fault). I eventually had to end the conversation with: “This conversation is over.” That’s not usually my style, but I’m not going to be yelled at by anyone (unless I deserve it). But this was the Tesla approach towards the end, though I think it was largely driven by stress, so I feel for Keely. -DT].
Since then the company has become even more valuable and sold millions of cars. Musk has a bit of P.T. Barnum in him and, via Twitter (which he bought and turned into X), he was able to communicate directly with journalists or whomever he wanted to whenever that was something he wanted to do. Plus, it wasn’t like press relations completely dried up.
If you were a Wall Street Journal or a friendly magazine like MotorTrend there was always someone to communicate with if you wanted a car or a quote. Mostly, Musk just got rid of the kind of interim PR people who dealt with annoying automotive journalists and smaller newspapers. By harnessing an army of Tesla stans Musk did an end-run around the traditional media apparatus and it’s had no obvious impact on the company, at least not a detrimental one.
Is this changing? Someone pointed me to this listing for a “Vehicle Communications Manager” and the job description is interesting.
As the Vehicle Communications Manager, you will be responsible for managing all external data communication relating to vehicle programs and coordinating efforts with external media. This includes closely collaborating with technical staff on vehicle metrics, managing external vehicle data to achieve consistency and accuracy, approving website content and enabling external media access to assess product. Your work will include advising on new product target setting and assessing program developments as an early customer-ambassador. You will work closely with a wide spectrum of technical and business teams in addition to Vehicle Program Managers, Vehicle Technical Leaders and company executives to align on public facing data and help the world appreciate the impact of Tesla products.
Huh, that sure sounds like exactly the kind of role the company abandoned a few years ago.
Strategically, I think this makes sense. Tesla is a mass market company, and it’s not difficult to get your hands on Tesla products. While we weren’t the first to get a Cybertruck, it didn’t take us long to find one to review. When the company’s products were a bit more limited then Tesla could play the access game, but now, actually, Tesla is in a compromised position because it can’t control the cars that journalists get.
Even if an automaker isn’t a fan of a particular journalist, it’s better for the PR department to provide a carefully curated experience and vehicle than it is to let a journalist get a random car off Turo. With Tesla’s sales starting to come back down to earth, it probably behooves them to reestablish some kind of normal relationship with journalists to get them cars.
Plus, Tesla’s vehicles are generally fantastic, and getting more people driving them is unlikely to reflect poorly on Tesla.
Is this some sort of trick? Is Musk playing 9-dimensional chess in order to get us to write about this? Maybe. I do not play 9-dimensional chess. I used to play a game called Race For The Galaxy that I’m guessing Musk would enjoy, but since having a kid I’ve been playing a game called Butts On Things. It’s a fun game, you shouldn’t judge.
If this is real do I think we’ll suddenly be getting a bunch of press cars? I’m not sure, but it would be nice to reestablish normal relationships with arguably the most important car company in the world.
The Stellantis Board Agrees With Us
Hey! On the topic of press access, it’s quite possible that all of my stupid Jon Lovitz jokes about Carlos Tavares, not pictured above, may have cost us access to certain Stellantis events. I am not at all mad about this. If I were a PR person at an automaker I wouldn’t want to have to try to explain that joke, or explain why I was inviting a journalist whose publication repeatedly said that the CEO was picking too many fights with people and had no good plan for a post-pandemic environment.
Obviously, Tavares is out, having “resigned” abruptly last Sunday. Little explanation for what happened was given, but we now have some info via Reuters, which reports that the board was mad that he didn’t seem to have a good plan for a post-pandemic environment and was picking too many fights with people. ORLY?
Let’s snag some quotes here that make this website look very prescient:
When board members started asking more specific questions about the executive’s strategies, the person said, “Tavares’ reaction was: ‘You do not interfere with my job – that is not your business.'”
That’s a good start.
Board members, irritated, continued pressing Tavares, the source said. They were unsettled by what they viewed as the CEO’s relentless but narrow focus on cost-cutting, which had caused supply disruptions and angered dealers. Those problems had been overlooked in previous years, when Stellantis was hitting double-digit profit margins.
Cool. Cool. Cool.
Now those and other issues were causing angst across the sprawling company, as Tavares tangled with dealers, unions, suppliers and governments – and now board members.“You cannot make enemies with everybody,” the person said.
There’s so much in here. Ok, one more, then you’ll have to read the article for the rest:
Tavares, the source said, sometimes viewed suppliers as expendable in his cost-cutting drive, while board members worried that replacing trusted parts makers was not quick and caused disruptions.“You cannot just say ‘you’re out'” to longtime suppliers, the source said. “That puts at risk your very capacity to produce cars.”
Tavares, a protégé of Carlos Ghosn, thought the deal would result in “roughly $20 [billion] to $25 billion in value creation.” And for a while — thanks largely to a global pandemic that interrupted supplies, flooded markets with stimulus funds and supercharged automaker profits — Tavares looked as though he could do no wrong.
But when conditions normalized and the smoke from the pandemic cleared, what Tavares had actually created was an unwieldy global portfolio of weak, investment-starved brands, a portfolio of products that are too expensive for their customers and a group of investors and creditors with no patience for anything but record profitability. He had promised billions in synergies to feed investor returns, but instead created a company held hostage by parochial and nationalistic concerns, with torched supplier relations and even less remaining goodwill from its dealers.
Ford Sold A Lot of EVs And Hybrids
Ford continues to lose money on electric vehicles as it plans to skip ahead to something affordable to compete with Chinese automakers. Still, the company’s November EV sales were up 20.8% y-o-y in November according to its latest sales report. Over that same time period, hybrid sales were up 18.% and internal combustion vehicles were up 13.4%.
Price cuts are surely helping this growth, which were driven by Mach-E and E-Transit sales, with F-150 Lightning sales down a bit in November (though still up on the year). I tend to think some of this probably has to do with the threat of killing the tax credit on EVs, though most automakers were probably up in November. It’ll be fun to watch EV sales over the next few months.
Now that the new Ranger is for sale, Maverick sales have started to come back to Earth, with November sales down 33.5% and Ranger sales up 2,346%. Ford did announce that hybrid Maverick sales were still up year-over-year, which I take as a good sign.
GM CFO Says GM Could Cut Hybrids And EVs In The Future
And while we’re talking about the potential changes to the government’s strategy on electrification, the possibility that the administration might relax emissions could lead to carmakers like GM reconsidering their mix of powertrains.
General Motors is prepared to shift its all-electric strategy, including its plan to bring plug-in hybrid technology to certain models in North America in 2027, if the Trump administration eases environmental regulations on new vehicles.
GM CFO Paul Jacobson said Wednesday that the automaker still maintains its long-term goal to offer an all-electric lineup in the next decade, but depending on regulatory changes by a new White House, the automaker may tweak its portfolio of products in the near term.
“In a world where compliance is eased, you could see where you don’t necessarily need as much plug-in, you might not need as much (battery electric vehicles) as well,” Jacobson said. “But we’ll cross that bridge.”
Jacobson went on to add that the company is likely to be the second biggest EV automaker in the United States this year, besting Ford, and that the company expects to make $2-$4 billion in profits next year from its electric vehicle program. How much of that number depends on tax credits is an open question.
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
Would you like to see the year-end-review playlists from some of your favorite Autopian contributors today? That’s something I might do. In order to not give you any hints, let me pick something that wasn’t on my replay list. My wife listened to this song a lot, but I did not. Still, “Birds of a Feather” from Billie Eilish is pretty good.
The Big Question
Are you planning to drive or fly anywhere for Christmas?
Are you planning to drive or fly anywhere for Christmas?
Gonna see some friends and check out some Julemarkeds next week is all.
My GF and I are planning on skipping Xmas this year, we’re just over it. Every year it seems to be more of a PITA, we just have no patience left for it.
The War on Christmas has finally been won. Happy Yule, may your days get brighter.
My family stopped doing Christmas decades ago, other than a big meal, and we don’t even do that as a family anymore now that my mother and I moved to FL – we have dinner with friends.
We all had everything already, no need to buy anything for anyone just because.
We skipped Thanksgiving this year (no one likes turkey) and went travelling instead, which leaves me with the bandwidth to look forward to Yuletide.
Re Mr. not pictured above: The Board of Directors should have fired him 12+ months and $40 million ago. Over a year ago the board knew he was full of shit, but they were sufficiently drunk and happy on the high margins that just could not last. Then, he started messing with the dealers, suppliers, unions, manufacturing, pointing fingers and firing US management, blaming regional marketing, and on and on. He knew he was a dead man walking, didn’t even have “concepts of a plan”, and now in 2024 he tells the board to eff off saying that his job is none of their business.
Too bad they kept him as long as they did, and good riddance now that he’s gone. Hopefully, someone more competent and in touch with the North American market will be chosen, and Elkann doesn’t screw things up further in the interim.
This is exactly what is wrong with the world today.
Kind of like going to the grocery store as well.
Kind of like everything everywhere these days. I can’t recall a time when people were so insanely focused on money so much.
Thanks to a fresh set of snow tires and newly replaced fancy magnetic dampers, the V-Sport is ready for a comfortable uneventful trip to Ohio for the Holidays.
You forgot that Tesla started to respond to journalist questions with a turd emoji.
Many took offence and it shows in their reporting. If I lived in California and applied for the job I would want a lot of money to do it, and a huge smoosh account…
I know this isn’t a sports ball site, but I would want Shohei Ohtani money. Fully guaranteed.
There are probably enough fanbois out there that would PAY Tesla to be their PR team.
Ain’t no probably about it lol.
And the most glistening of golden parachutes for when His Lord Highness Musk has a snit and fires the whole PR staff again.
There is not enough money in the world for me to work for that asshole.
Whatever the reason for adding a PR person is, i’m sure it will articificially inflate Tesla’s stock price somehow.
Are you planning to drive or fly anywhere for Christmas?
Nope!
We’ve hosted for as long as we’ve had a place we could. I’d rather cook and clean and deal with my uncle’s weird blind dog than have to go out on the roads during that time, and that’s before the weather possibly becomes a factor.
I cannot imagine a worse work environment, than being a direct report to Elon Musk.
Maybe 1600 Pennsylvania Ave?
Yeah, that trumps pretty much anything.
hah-haa! I see what you did there!
I fully admit that I have the popcorn ready for the inevitable Trump vs. Musk fallout. If you had to define “toxic work environment,” gosh, that’d be the first entry — and both of them want to be the boss.
Perhaps between 2017-2021 and between 2025-2029.
First half of 2017 wasn’t that bad actually.
No one is really able to screw much up in the first 6 months of a job anyway. It takes time to break big things.
Some of the cabinet appointments were pretty good, actually.
They all bolted quickly, of course.
Bolted, fired, same thing. LOL. Yeah, at first I was optimistic about it, but that quickly eroded into terror.
Possibly, but that might be a lateral move in horribleness.
There’s a LONG list of truly awful jobs I’d take before working for either.
I think I would rather clean actual sewers. At least it’s honest work.
Oh, absolutely.
I’m not going anywhere for the holidays this year. We may have a small gathering at home for local(ish) relatives. I generally find travel a hassle this time of year. Driving in inclement weather isn’t fun and neither are airport delays and congestion.
Do we think Tesla bringing on a PR department might be a first step to admitting they are a car company and potentially embracing it for the future? I don’t dare to hope.
The Bolt EUV cancellation wasn’t dumb enough, we need to double down!
I once dated a woman who liked to play a game she called “Things in Butts;” I don’t think it’s the same game. Don’t judge.
The stories we could tell. Right?
While not well known Butts County GA is a fine destination with lots of things to do.
Things in Butts
1) Fingers, Zaxbys Chicken Fingers
2) Cars, Five Point Auto Sales
3) Poles, Eleve Dance Studio
4) Pasta, Lucky’s Italian
5) Shoes, Famous Footwear
I’m sure there are other things that you could do in Butts. Maybe someone from the area could jump in and share their favorite.
County slogan: You haven’t lived until you’ve tried things in Butts.
Cue rim shot.
I see what you did there.
My wife and I made the decision long ago, that we would not travel for Christmas. We’re close to most of my family, which is good. A good deal of her’s is down in NC. They traveled north back home for many years, but have now stopped. There seemed to be an expectation that we would eventually return that favor, but we argue that we never left home, and shouldn’t be obligated to travel for Christmas because they decided to leave.
I’m sure some people don’t mind it, but the few times I’ve had to travel on holidays, it ends up being a disaster. So we avoid it at all costs. Also, burning a pile of vacation time to be in the car travelling at a crappy time of year for travelling is a pretty bad value. How about we come visit in the spring?
As someone who does PR for a living (25+ years experience), I would be really hesitant to apply for a job where the whole department got cut for reasons unknown. Usually PR is the first thing to go when the company isn’t making enough money, but the Tesla move sounded like a whim.
Also, I’m accredited in PR – not going to step into any position unless I’m assured I’m allowed to communicate with full transparency and ethical conduct, even if the response has to be a tactful no-comment. I’m pretty amazed that any PR person (stressed out or not) would get short with a reporter asking a question or not respond promptly. That’s PR 101 stuff.
There’s a difference between a belligerent reporter with an agenda and a reporter who is just doing their job looking for an answer to a question. Both still deserve all the courtesy you can muster, even if the answer is a repeated “Sorry, I can’t provide that information at this time.”
The bottom line is that, when done properly, PR isn’t “spin.” Ever. It’s building relationships and providing timely information. It’s all about working with reporters to help them get content they actually need and not wasting their time just because you think a product is cool.
Hopefully Tesla reads this article and gleans some level of insight on what kind of service they need to provide to all the people who work hard trying to cover their stories.
Other points for Tesla to consider:
Musk spent $44bn on barrels of ink. I think he’s going to come out ahead (relatively speaking) no matter how good the reporting is.
ETA: this is not any kind of endorsement of Musk, just pointing out that there’s no criticism he can’t deflect with a few laughing emojis and then deranking your accounts and/or flagging links to your reporting as spam
Yet another excellent reason to nuke your Twitter account and quit posting there.
Mine just finished deleting all its posts and I couldn’t be happier about that. Call me if a grownup gets back in charge, I guess. I’m done opening that [metaphorical online] door only to see there’s a really intense circle jerk happening inside. You know there’s going to be furious wanking inside any time you approach that door. Why even walk over to it?
I left months ago. BlueSky is much more pleasant.
Tesla has repeatedly done the opposite and their valuation is disgusting, so clearly it works to be divorced from reality for them. Can’t argue with the results… yet.
Full transparency and ethical conduct. Lol. At Tesla. I’m corporate legal and used to shudder thinking what it must be like to try to advise him. By this point I’m sure he’s surrounded solely by syncophants.
Glad you brought that up! I see it as part of my job to work closely with legal and be 100% fluent in what I’m allowed to say or not say. In PR you need to be as friendly with the attorneys as you are with the reporters if you want to get any information out there. And yeah, I’m sure Tesla’s legal department has a water cooler full of Pepto.
It’s PepTequila! Coats, soothes and relieves… the stomach, the conscience and the soul!
Well said. I suspect some of the replies reporters have gotten from Tesla were, uh, mandated from above, which is yet another reason why I’d never want to switch sides and work for them. It’s not worth putting my professional reputation on the line if the boss goes back to “you have to be jerks to these people” as a policy.
I appreciate the hell out of good PR people who get that we have a job to do that’s totally different than their job, and who keep that line of communication open even when we’re critical of their company. I have mad respect for those folks.
Also, if Stellantis WAS withholding event invites over The Autopian giving real, honest takes regarding its leadership, that’s short-sighted and self-defeating as hell. You have to get good will where you can create it, IMHO, and even I’ll admit that I tend to have a higher view of automakers whose PR folks are On It despite our criticism. Even if that higher view is just “hey, they’ve hired someone who’s really professional and great to work with in PR,” it’s still something, and I’m still more likely to reach out to them accordingly. Maintain that relationship!
I will be taking the one trip per year where I wish I had adaptive cruise control or self-driving that actually worked. Florida at Christmas holiday time.
Good luck go whomever Tesla hires, I know I’d have to be extremely, ludicrously, well compensated to even consider doing something like that at that company, and would probably want some sort of guaranteed severance package in the event the CEO wakes up in a bad mood one morning and decides to just fire the first name he thinks of via a social media post
It’s certainly not a job I’d be willing to relocate for, that’s for sure.
You mean the ‘college football coach’ severance package?
Yes, fully guaranteed, “pay me to sit at home” if things don’t work out kind of deal.
Tesla’s PR hire could be evidence that they’re realized Musk’s association with political candidates that hate electric cars might cause a PR problem.
If this position wasn’t authorized by Musk directly, how long until he finds out about it, cancels the posting, and fires everyone who even knew about it?
Do those firings include us?
I can see him trying.
Thanks to pets and boarding costs, I’m driving. The relatives know those pets well and are just fine with them visiting.
GM making a hasty product portfolio decision based on the winds blowing slightly harder to the east on the third Tuesday of the month? Impossible!
In all seriousness, I can see reducing the EV portfolio somewhat if the tax credit gets entirely eliminated because it’s clear GM is struggling to be profitable with EVs already, and de-facto price increase to consumers will cut demand. Cutting PHEV and Hybrids is a terrible plan given the growth in that segment seems to be driven in large parts independent of tax credits. Yes PHEVs get the lease credit, and it no doubt has some impact, but there are loads of people moving into PHEVs to dip their toes into the EV ownership pool without the rand anxiety.
I strongly suspect PHEV sales now will correlate with high conversion to EV sales in the next 5-10 years as those consumers are ready to move into a future generation EV platform.
There are a lot of good reasons GM should maintain their focus on EVs
1) They kept working on them after the credits ran out last time around and that put them in a good position when the new ones came around.
2) Maybe they can hope that CARB backs down on their requirements, but probably best to hedge your bets there
3) There are still a lot of state incentives out there on EVs and Plug-ins that can help move vehicles
But on the other hand, if they just cancel a few tens of millions of dollars in R&D spending from the budget the next couple of years, the execs get their bonuses regardless of what happens, so they’ll go with that.
I absolutely agree with that logic and reasoning, it’s clear that EV adoption going forward is unknown, and the growth rate could be high or low depending on a load of things, but it will get there at one point or another. What I think would be best however is not what I suspect GM would do given the appeal of a shorter term cashflow advantage and lowered R&D costs for a product line that will have an even longer payback period than Ultium, which as we know has been a thorn in their side for several years now.
I’d argue their best course of action is to at a minimum maintain their development on the core technology, the batteries, motors, and support electronics, but move some of the vehicle integration money away from lower volume EVs that may not sell well, and shift them towards traditional Hybrids and most importantly PHEVs. That way you advance your tech at a reasonable rate, still gain supply chain advantages, economies of scale, and integration know-how, but can shift more units than if they were in a more hotly contested EV space.
I do think a next-gen Bolt will sell like hot cakes, regardless of tax credit status, so long as they can get the MSRP and range right. Oh and bring back Carplay. That alone would boost GM EV sales 10%.
The next-gen Bolt will be great if the price is right (which it should be, unless they price it to lure people into an EVquinox instead of pricing it to actually sell them). The Bolt EUV was the right size for a lot of people and an Ultium platform version with some added efficiencies will be a winner. My wife’s EVquinox feels a lot longer than my gas Equinox even though on paper it’s pretty close. She’d really like it to be a foot shorter (but probably not as small as the original Bolt).
“My wife’s EVquinox feels a lot longer than my gas Equinox even though on paper it’s pretty close.”
Well the turning circle of the EV is 39.7 ft vs. 37.4 ft for the gas version. Is the steering ratio slowertoo?
I haven’t driven it since we picked it up, but I wouldn’t say the steering feels notably different. The longer wheelbase is probably responsible for most of the difference in turning circle.
I’ve always kinda assumed that part of the reason for GM’s relative head start in EV research and production is that the switch gives them an opportunity to reestablish themselves as a market leader for the next generation of vehicles and buyers. There’s no way they’ll ever have a North American market share in the range of 60 percent (and barring consolidation triggered by an economic cataclysm, neither will anyone else), but they have a shot to overcome their negative reputation for product quality and innovation and better position themselves as an alternative to the Toyotas and Hondas the old folks are buying now. If they pull back too much, that’s toast, and I don’t think saying they need to see through what they’ve spent money doing (albeit extending the timeline out some) is a sunk cost fallacy viewpoint.
“Oh and bring back Carplay. That alone would boost GM EV sales 10%.”
Better yet design in a big double DIN+ hole in the dash for buyers to put in a whatever they want. Or nothing at all.
Based on the output of Stellantis over the existence of The Autopian, what did you really miss?
What, you don’t think an exclusive first look at a new 2025 special edition of the 2011 Durango or a new value priced entry trim package on the 2017 Pacifica is worth it?
Maybe it would be a problem if they miss out on the Lovitz edition Grand Wagoneer that has to be coming any day now.
We laugh at the latest Durango special edition, but then also laugh at the fact they stopped churning out Challenger and Charger special editions before a replacement was ready.
Not the special editions specifically, just the Charger and Challenger in general. It’s ridiculous that Stellantis North America is reduced to late stage Studebaker behavior, because they let the R&D pipeline run empty for so many years
“Profits are at record highs due to our $0 annual R&D budget!” This is why CFOs should not be made CEO.
Technically, Sergio Marchionne’s previous job before CEO of Fiat was as CEO of Société Générale de Surveillance, but he did have an accounting background and had been a CFO many years earlier at another company, so, point stands
I…I had to google who Jon Lovitz was.
I was really hoping to finish my ’71 Travelall project and drive it to my family party a couple hours away on Christmas Eve, but alas, life has gotten busy and that just isn’t in the cards.
Lol. Lmao even. GM continues to astound with their complete lack of connection to the real world. I understand scaling down EV plans, but how are you going to seriously look at how almost every single one of your competitors has hybrid vehicles they’re not able to sell fast enough and think, “Yeah, not for us.”?????
People aren’t buying hybrids because the feds are telling them to, you boneheads, they’re buying them because everything is expensive and you can save a ton of money on gas with one.
People who aren’t ready for BEV’s are still interested in electrified vehicles. Some coworkers who absolutely will never consider a BEV are interested in hybrids and/or electric bicycles. I was silently cheering hearing that. Don’t want to turn anyone against more environmentally friendly transportation by acting all EV stan.
Hybrids have become more and more “normal” the last (lets say) 10 years, and as people have gotten more used to them and accepting that they just drive like normal cars, smart automakers have jumped on that. How GM hasn’t figured that out, or how Ford has been wishy-washy on the hybrid Escape, I can’t understand.
Super short flight (~1 hr). I’m already regretting my choice. The flight cuts a few hours each direction, but planning gifts around what I can throw in my luggage is a little harder and now I’ll be renting a car to get around locally.
But it saves on the time away from home/work. I’ve got plenty of vacation time, but my partner can’t get away as easily.
“General Motors is prepared to shift its all-electric strategy, including its plan to bring plug-in hybrid technology to certain models in North America in 2027, if the Trump administration eases environmental regulations on new vehicles.”
Good thing GM has a history of making well-timed business decisions. I’m sure this won’t come back to bite them.
Normally my wife and I visit her family in Kansas City. I’m the pack-mule and load up everyone’s presents and make the 8 hour drive by myself (something that I look forward to). However, due to a realignment of holidays, I’ll be spending this Christmas at home with my folks.
Call me crazy, but this should be the norm.
This is what Consumer Reports does, basically. And a couple of others. It’s hard, it requires a lot of money to pull it off because otherwise, you’re borrowing cars from customers or dealers, which means that you get them for a limited time and with stricter limits on how you drive them/where you drive them.
Additionally, you’re always behind the people who do play along with automakers. If I had unlimited funds I’d just buy everything, but we don’t have unlimited funds.
My perhaps naive hope was that the membership based (and dealership-partnering) nature of the site would allow for more of the “Consumer Reports but from a enthusiast POV” strategy.
It remains my #1 hope going forward.
While I’m sure Mercedes would love the Autopian to buy RVs, planes, busses and trains to review I don’t see it happening.
OTOH the Autopian can probably afford a clapped out, salvage titled LEAF for Jason to chop up with a chainsaw.
I get it honestly. However I’ll say that I don’t think your click count is going to suffer if you’re a few days or even a few weeks behind others. Maybe some people are making purchase decisions before you can review a car in that position?
But for me, when I read a review of a car that’s been provided by the manufacturer, I can tell if the reviewer doesn’t like the vehicle. I’ve learned how to read between the lines. Even when the car is quite bad the reviewer is often being excessively polite about it when they know they need to stay in the good graces of the manufacturer.
This always bothers me a bit. I get that it is ultimately a business decision and being professional about something that is negative is the right way to go. But as a reader it means not being able to take any of the reviews at face value.
I’m probably overstating this point here but it is usually something in the back of my mind while reading reviews so having an independent source for vehicles does hold an appeal for me.
I think almost all of the readership here would way rather read a review of a base model Nissan Altima you got from the Alamo rental than a review unneccessarily felating some manufacturers halo model that almost no one will ever experience, and most of the people who purcahse won’t use to the extreme of the intended purpose (Bronco Raptor, any Ferrari product, etc).
I want to know if Big Altima Energy is transitive, like if we get David half a pack of Parliment Lights, a Monster Energy and some white Oakley sunglasses will he automatically do 90 in the inside lane or can he maintain the facade of an upright citizen who knows how to use a turn signal?
I envision a blog in “mission log” format, where each dated entry DT slowly loses himself to Big Altima Energy…
January 18th 2025:
I don’t know what’s been going on, but it’s been two weeks with the 2025 Nissan Altima and I feel… strange. I had this weird urge to tailgate the Prius in front of me, and when they pulled into a gas station, I flipped them off? I never do that! But as alarming as that was, I feel… powerful.
As I’m shifting in and out of the shoulder, weaving through rush hour traffic, I grabbed my vape out of the cup holder and took a… a vape? Where did this even come from? But it felt natural in my hands, like an old friend. Hitting my vape, and top speed of 95mph, I truly felt that nothing could stop me. It’s just me and my partially disconnected front bumper cover, versus the world.
Arriving at the office, I’m feeling a little paranoid because I’m on my 4th Monster and it’s only 10am. I have not opted to take my Oakleys off, despite being indoors. Every woman I encounter, I refer to as “BABE”.
What is happening to me?
BABE (not her real name) texts to remind me that we’re heading to Vegas this weekend to “git hitch’d”, so I need to run the Altima through the car wash with the windows open so it’s nice and pretty for the big day, inside ‘n’ out.
This is fantastic, COTD.
Ha, after writing that, I realized that I basically buried it at the bottom of a Morning Dump, and it would likely get flushed. Pretty surprised anyone saw it at all, lol.
Well, it got a hearty chuckle from me, cheers!