The "Slow Reveals" Need To Stop

Derek Kreindler
by Derek Kreindler

As a “glass-half-empty” kind of guy, I would need a minute to think about the most fascinating story I’ve ever written, but could easily tell you about the most infuriating. That dubious honor goes to the Facebook launch campaign for the 2012 Ford Explorer.

Starting in June of 2010, Ford released a series of “teaser images” of wilderness or other scenes with an Explorer barely visible. The process went on for roughly a month, and I was responsible for writing blog posts about the new images, which proved to be trying. By the time the 2012 Explorer launched, I was sick of hearing about it, and didn’t care whatsoever about any of the new technologies or improvements.

The Explorer is far from the only car to get this treatment; most notably, the Chevrolet Camaro and Scion FR-S/Subaru BRZ underwent this excruciatingly uninteresting method of endless concept cars and leaked details. Other vehicles, like the Dodge Dart get social media soft launches where little teaser photographs are dribbled out bit by bit.

The car companies feel that this builds buzz for the “brand”, but most importantly, it’s great for the auto bloggers. Every new photo or piece of information can generate a new post, which can generate an all-important “click” (see also: Top 10 lists, slideshows, reporting on social unrest and natural disasters). It’s a symbiotic relationship between the OEM and the media that’s unlikely to change, given the dysfunctional economics of blogging, that rewards speed, sensationalism and superficial content (which generate clicks) over the kind of slow, measured, in-depth work that the foundations of real in-depth journalism are built on. The kind of content that takes time and money to produce, bores many readers because it’s over 800 words long and often gets displaced in the article hierarchy because a new Toyonda Camcord Juicy Couture Special Edition was released and if we’re not first at re-hashing the press release and stock photos, we’ll be rendered irrelevant. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a new Ferrari teaser photo to write about.

Derek Kreindler
Derek Kreindler

More by Derek Kreindler

Comments
Join the conversation
4 of 20 comments
  • WRohrl WRohrl on Feb 24, 2012

    No, no, no, Derek, in my opinion the most infuriating story you ever wrote were the total of 13 words on the California gas prices topping $5 (including the headline in that word count).... :-) Jim

    • MrGreenMan MrGreenMan on Feb 24, 2012

      That story was a great day for reading comprehension among the commentariate. We learned that the phrase "Crest above $5/gal" was open to criticism for cherry picking the highest value instead of the average for the "crest", or highest, value. I hear an H3 fuel economy can crest at 25 mpg when oriented downhill on a mountain running at idle operating only under downward pull of gravity.

  • Obbop Obbop on Feb 25, 2012

    "superficial content" That describes my blogs. Ryoku75: "Slow reveals are nothing new" The gals at the blue-collar, social club/beer drinking/pool-playing place had one or two skimpy bikini-clad young cuties (legal age) who, at times, removed their top (legally) when they felt like it but was done in a friendly way and all within were jovial and I never witnessed hostility or bad behavior and the gals always were respected and actually most within did not devote much attention to the gal's presence. The place was so "all-American" Bruce Springsteen or John Cougar/Mellencamp could have written a song about the place. Located in what some would have labeled the "bad part" of town it was, in actuality, the blue-collar light industrial area where I felt safer than many parts of town. And semi-rusted out but still well-running Chevy and Ford pick-ups and Harley "scooters" were common parked out front, along with the occasional "bob tail" semi. Alas, that bar-type has become increasingly rare as the factories have been abandoned and the front gates locked with chain and padlock with a weathered "for sale" sale sign and a large asphalt parking lot with a bounty of weeds growing through the cracks. Common across the "rust belt." It was a sad sight that became increasingly common as I shifted through ten gears and passed what was so often the outer edges of mid-sized and smaller towns in too many states. And when those arterial non-Interstate roads did not bypass the burghs, running instead through the town I often saw the local effects of the plant's closure in the too-many empty store fronts, lack of local activity and "for sale" signs on houses. Sigh......................

    • Ryoku75 Ryoku75 on Feb 25, 2012

      I've taken strolls through areas with plenty of "For Sale" signs on the buildings myself, it is a bit depressing to look around and think "Dang, this place really used to be something". Sad thing is instead of fine women, more men are into "un-boxing videos", a youtube phenomenon where someone slowly opens up whatever the latest game is.

  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
  • Jalop1991 what, no Turbo trim?
Next