TTAC Heads To Detroit

I didn’t plan on attending the North American International Auto Show this year… I really didn’t. TTAC generally avoids the expense and hoopla of the major auto shows, focused as we are on analysis more than “check out this new hotness” reportage. But this year things are a little different. After my third New York Times op-eds in the last year or so, I’ve been asked by the PBS NewsHour to appear in their piece on the recovery (or, as we like to say here at TTAC, not) of the American auto industry… so in a few hours I will be hopping a plane to Motown for my first-ever NAIAS. While we’re in Motown (and that’s not the editorial “we”… my beautiful and long-suffering life partner has taken the time off work to come support me and take in the sights of Detroit in January) we’ll be stopping in at the UAW protest, reporting on the new launches and reveals, and rubbing elbows with industry reps as well as meeting with TTAC’s staff and our owners from VerticalScope. But there’s another reason we’re headed to Detroit: it’s time to do a little PR work of our own.

Just as every PR flack in the business is descending on Detroit with an agenda to push, we’re going to spread the good news about TTAC’s success and to push the industry to embrace our unique brand of truth-telling. Over the last year or so, TTAC’s writers and opinions have been featured in mainstream media outlets as diverse as CNN, Fox News, Fox Business, The NY Times, Reuters, the BBC World Service and MSN Money. Over the same period, I’ve personally been mocked by the White House press secretary and been compared to everyone from Rush Limbaugh to Tom Friedman (and hey, I fall somewhere in the middle of the two). In short, and like it or not, TTAC has assumed a fairly prominent role in the national discourse about an industry that is deeply tied to the course of American events (for a blog, anyway). And we’ve done so while simultaneously entertaining and informing our readers with top-notch reviews, explorations of the history of the automobile, entertaining narratives and in-depth looks at all aspects of the car industry and automotive culture. It’s time for the industry to stop labeling TTAC as “haters” or “bashers” and accept that there is an important market for hard-hitting, pull-no-punches news and analysis about cars. TTAC is not another compliant buff-book clone, nor should we have to be to get access to new products and important stories.

TTAC does what it does in order to serve you, our readers… the consumers and enthusiasts who make the entire auto industry possible. And in that spirit, we would be remiss if we didn’t take the opportunity to meet up with you as well. So next Tuesday evening, myself and as many of TTAC’s writers that can make it will make ourselves available to anyone who wishes to come chat about cars, the car industry and TTAC. We have not yet determined an exact time and location for this meet-up, but it will almost certainly be somewhere in the downtown Detroit area. Look for an announcement here at TTAC by the end of the weekend… and if you have suggestions for a good location, do let us know at our contact form.

Thank you to all our readers for appreciating (if not always agreeing with) TTAC’s unique take on all things automotive. I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible in Motown next week!