The Truth About Cars » Housekeeping

Housekeeping: TTAC’s Comment Policy

Edward Niedermeyer — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 06:01:18 +0000

As TTAC moves into its next chapter, it’s important that we revisit a topic that has long been a defining factor in our site’s success: our comment moderation policy. TTAC strives to provide the very best discussion on all things automotive, and in order to maintain decorum and high-quality online discourse, we’ve always moderated comments. [...]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RF!

Frank Williams — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:30:05 +0000

The inmates are running the asylum today while our fearless leader takes the day off to celebrate the BIG FIVE-OH. We all wish Robert a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Editorial: Star Search

Jack Baruth — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 17:02:39 +0000

Let's get one thing straight: There are very few inanimate objects which inspire my personal distaste, contempt, and revulsion as much as the Toyota Prius does. It's a sad, sick, suppository-shaped little plastic box which exists for the sole purpose of letting spoiled, faux-progressive Americans feel virtuous as they continue to consume the lion's share of the world's finite resources. I will go to my grave believing that the Japanese Government subsidized its development for the purposes of economic warfare on the United States, and that the Prius lost money for years in a way that no automotive nameplate that does not begin with "Aston" would consider even vaguely defensible. Sometimes, the Prius even kills its own assembly-line workers. In my perfect world, it would extend the same service to its smug, open-mouthed, emo-glasses-wearing, lane-blocking owners.

TTAC Housekeeping: Belated Spring Cleaning Edition

Jeff Puthuff — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 23:58:04 +0000

Now is the time to clear out the cobwebs, dust off the servers, tidy up the code, and polish the site. The frenzy of breaking (bad) news, sales and takeovers, and flamewars has somewhat subsided and we take this time now to vet some ideas we've been kicking around. First, are you, our loyal readers, satisfied with the number and time of postings? More specifically, do you prefer the way we do it now with a bunch of postings made early in the morning, a few an hour until around noon PST, and then a posting or three in the afternoon; or, would you prefer we schedule the posts to publish every hour throughout the day? Does the current method give you enough time to read the article and participate in the comments?

Why I Posted Jack Baruth’s Maximum Street Speed Editorials

Robert Farago — Thu, 21 May 2009 18:16:02 +0000

Now that Jack Baruth's editorial series "Maximum Street Speed Explained" has hit the servers, more than a few of TTAC's Best and Brightest have hit the roof. A few of them felt so strongly about the inadvisability of the rants' publication that they've followed Elvis' example and left the building. I can understand that. Road safety is an emotional issue. As Lord Humongous said, "We've all lost someone we love." Or worry about same. But, in this case, my empathy does not extend to self-censorship. In other words, I stand by my decision to publish Jack's editorials. Before I present my case, I want to get a few things out of the way . . .

Editorial: Grammar Patrol: How Shall We Denote Engine Output?

Jeff Puthuff — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 14:00:28 +0000

The Truth About Cars presents news and opinion in an informal, conversational manner. As the site's freshly anointed copy editor, preserving this style without being too anal retentive is a real challenge. I keep telling myself not to adhere to the rules of formal writing (Strunk & White be damned). This is a new age. The old styles aren't always appropriate for Web 2.x (and beyond). This internal struggle informs my desire to write the official TTAC style guide. I'm trying to reconcile our contributors' literary voices with necessary structure and, this is the important bit, community consensus. I want to give TTAC a distinctive, consistent voice in the autoblogosphere, during a time of uncertainty and change. I need your help.

Time to Bash TTAC

Robert Farago — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 17:50:23 +0000

Well, you know how it is. Every now and then we turn our anti-flaming rules off so that we can debate our editorial stance-- or, more precisely, stances. In other words, if you wish to slam the site, this is the time and place to do it. That said, I will delete comments that stray over the line between you suck and here's why and you suck you NSFW NSFW NSFW. To get things started, I've republished an email from a "fan" after the jump, with my answers to his main points. In any case, thanks for all your comments, which help make TTAC an island of semi-sensible discussion in a sea of inchoate insults.

Muscle Car Writing Contest #3: Jarad Petroske Says Rocky You Met Your Match

Robert Farago — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 13:45:51 +0000

The first time I met an American muscle car, my friend Ben was encouraging me to carve the donut in the Sears parking lot just a little tighter and give it just a little more gas. He wanted to hear the 1977 Chevy Malibu's big block snarl like he knew it could when you pressed the pedal all the way to the floor boards.

Muscle Car Writing Contest Finalist #2: Don Gammil Wants You to Color Him Gone

Robert Farago — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 13:25:40 +0000

Sounding every bit as superficial as the redneck poseur he portrayed, the expression on actor Warren Oates’ face as he uttered those words in the 1971 cult classic “Two-Lane Blacktop” spoke volumes about what a muscle car was and what it was built for.

Muscle Car Writing Contest Finalist 1: Frank Rodgers Calls You a Nimrod

Robert Farago — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 13:12:16 +0000

Yes, you little nimrods! The American muscle car does have a future! Detroit simply needs to stick to a few basic principles. The first thing it mustn’t forget is that any muscle car worth building will have a V-8, expensive fuel or no. To any camel admirers ready to start preaching the gospel of turbonium and other unnatural elements, I’ll just say that no other amount of cylinders or configuration can match the distinctive presence of a V-8 - especially a good ol’ American one. Sound MATTERS. Nothing brings out the hairy chested, knuckle dragging Neanderthal in me faster than a carnivorous sounding V-8. If it's cammed up, it's all over. I'd be ready to run the Mille Miglia after a vasectomy.

Not Goodbye, Just Au Revoir

Frank Williams — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:22:24 +0000

Today marks my final day as Managing Editor of The Truth About Cars. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that when I forwarded a snarky letter I'd written to Car and Driver complaining about their lack of editorial direction to some guy at a web site I'd just discovered, it would lead to this. It's been a wild roller coaster of a ride, occasionally aggravating, usually entertaining and always educational - but never boring. I'm going to miss it. A lot.

TTAC Needs YOU! How Do We Add Forums?

Robert Farago — Sat, 10 May 2008 12:16:26 +0000

All hail Frank Williams. TTAC’s Managing Editor spent the best part of last week speccing-out our new website. Every current and future link, every button, every function, every everything. Frank’s road map contains the kind of “granularity” that code writers adore, that I consider “grit,” whose creation requires true grit. In the course of this odyssey, Frank and I made a lot of strategic decisions. Most were easy (a strong brand makes it so). While I’m completely confident the new TTAC will leapfrog the competition (no Volt comparisons please), there’s an 800-pound feature in the room that we need to discuss: forums.

Is The Truth About Cars Unfair, Anti-American, Both or Neither?

Robert Farago — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 19:08:30 +0000

A couple of days ago, we published an editorial taking English auto scribe James May to task for flaming American cars. For this, we were flamed. Despite TTAC’s blanket ban on comments that diss the website, and our ban on [off topic] comments questioning our editorial stance or style, many of you cried foul. How could Mr. Swanson accuse a British writer of an anti-American car bias when TTAC [obviously] shared this same prejudice? After damping down the flames of perceived hypocrisy, I promised to provide offended readers a place to fire at will. And here it is.

TTAC Site Tweaks: the Return of the Classic Format, Chat and Downtime

Robert Farago — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 03:36:21 +0000

When Frank Williams and I launched TTAC’s news blog, we envisioned an editorial gestalt somewhere between Autoblog (dull but worthy) and Jalopnik (wild but wacky). I reckon we nailed it. We’re cranking-out far more (and timelier) hard news than Neff’s product-crazed army, and creating more pithy posts than Spinelli’s electric cool aid acid test troops. In another sense, thanks to our excellent commentators and snarky bloggers, we’ve established our own unique mindspace. Unfortunately, the feature's done sweet FA for our site stats.

If News Blogging is Wrong, Does TTAC Want to be Right?

Robert Farago — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 13:09:18 +0000

The Truth About Cars (TTAC) news blog started on Wednesday. By Friday, we were in trouble. That’s when I posted an item about illegal immigrants getting driver’s licenses in Maine that they could use to purchase a firearm. Some commentators cried flame bait! Others were dismayed that TTAC was wading into political waters. And a few wondered why TTAC was news blogging anyway. In response to the troll accusations, I changed the picture (from a firearm to a gun store) and toned down the text. As for the other questions, well, let’s talk.

TTAC to Become a Social Networking Site

Robert Farago — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 14:50:15 +0000

For over two years, we’ve been telling Detroit to wake-up and smell the homily: everything either grows or dies. We’ve admonished them to adapt and evolve. This they haven’t done. The Truth About Cars (TTAC) will continue to chronicle this slow motion train wreck until the last car derails, and beyond. Meanwhile, we’d be hypocritical if we didn’t follow our own advice. The truth is: we’re not growing. So we’re about to shake things up. Again.

TTAC and TrueDelta: Ready for Takeoff

Robert Farago — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 18:47:20 +0000

Welcome to the next step in the The Truth About Cars’ evolution: TrueDelta spec and pricing data. (If you don’t see a button marked “Get Nissan SE-R Spec V Pricing” above the SE-R review, click on “Classic” in the header, and then click on “Improved” in the top right corner of the header.) From now on, visitors can use TrueDelta data to check vehicle specifications, get new car prices and make an “apples to apples” price comparison to other models. It’s part of TTAC’s ongoing commitment to provide the web’s most trustworthy automotive content.

Write, Buy, Link: TTAC Needs You!

Robert Farago — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 12:15:15 +0000

Someday you’ll boast “I read TTAC before reading TTAC was cool.” Back when the website looked like a parked URL site. When reviewers had to pretend to be new car buyers. When the TTAC’s “take no prisoners” editorial stance was diss-missed as AWAKitude (Anyone With A Keyboard). Back before the site threw auto show Bacchanalia for its loyal readers paid for by firewalled advertising, branded merchandise and TTAC Buyer’s Club car sales. Rewind to now and you’ve got some work to do. Yes, you.

TTAC.COM: Back to the Future

Robert Farago — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 15:08:23 +0000

The Truth About Cars (TTAC) has consistently criticized domestic automakers for some pretty basic mistakes: lack of focus, glacial product cycles, bland design and poor customer communications. I would be a hypocrite if I didn’t admit that this website suffers from these problems. But it is my full intention to address ALL of these challenges, so that we can keep faith with our basic brand promise. So, here’s where we’ve screwed-up and here’s what we’re going to do about it. Provided, that is, you agree.

TTAC FAQ

Frank Williams — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 13:36:44 +0000

As you’ve no doubt noticed, things they are a-changin’ on The Truth About Cars. Our new look is evolving, several new writers have made the scene and a whole lot of new readers/commentators are joining us every day. With all that going on we thought we’d better answer a few of the questions we’ve been getting (and throw in a few more we just made up).

New TTAC Site Design: Your Comments Please

Robert Farago — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 02:11:08 +0000

OK, here it is. And it's already evolving. Our web gurus, Mark Madden and Kyle Morton, are on the case. We've increased the font size. They're going to decrease the column width within the Review pages (as already bitched about). The search box will be restricted to selecting makes (the current search engine is basically worthless). The stats and stars arrive tomorrow. There will be lots of tweaks in the days ahead, as we move towards integrating True Delta data and adding video and, well, stuff. Now, before you let rip, try to keep in mind our goal: to make the site user-friendly for mainstream car buyers while maintaining our full editorial and review mojo for the faithful. OK, the floor is yours.

Site Unseen: TTAC’s New Focus

Robert Farago — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 15:06:07 +0000

In the Brave New World of electronic automotive journalism, The Truth About Cars (TTAC) squares up against some heavy hitters: KBB, Edmunds, MSN Autos and more. Separately and together, the industry leaders generate more page views than Senator Mark Foley-- and us. In truth, there’s an exponential gap between their site traffic and ours. To take on these giants, to pay our writers real money, TTAC must change. Yes, we’ve broken our advertising cherry. But we need to break out of our e-ghetto. So here’s the plan.

Skin It Back

Robert Farago — Sun, 07 Jan 2007 02:25:26 +0000

When we added a comments section to The Truth About Cars, I was determined that TTAC would not become what Jalopnik’s Mike Spinelli called “a picnic over a cesspool.” To that end, TTAC instituted a zero tolerance policy towards comments that flame/insult the website, its authors or fellow commentators. I’ve sent dozens of emails to offenders, explaining why their comment(s) were edited or deleted. I’ve also permanently banned seventeen subscribers from posting. I believe this policy has been a success. But I want to give you a chance to publicly vent your feelings on our editorial policies without fear of retribution. And here it is.

TTAC Xmas SOS

Robert Farago — Sat, 16 Dec 2006 18:16:14 +0000

A blogger recently concluded that The Truth About Cars (TTAC) is the exact opposite of traditional blog. Our posts offer crazed and demented commentary-- which our readers counter with careful and well-reasoned analysis. Yes, well, TTAC is certainly home to the most intelligent and engaged readership in the biz. I am constantly astounded by our readers’ wisdom, passion and insight. While TTAC is dwarfed by the mainstream automotive media, this is the place where crucial ideas are stress tested by an informed audience. I can not thank you enough for your contribution to TTAC’s editorial development. Now click on the damn Michelin ad. And listen up: we need your help.

TTAC’s Ten Worst Automobiles Today (TWAT) Award: The Polls are Now Open!

Frank Williams — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 13:21:13 +0000

The Truth About Cars (TTAC) TWAT Award Selection Committee has convened. Fifteen members of our cadre of car critics and commentators carefully considered the full horror of your 131 nominations. They then selected 20 vehicles that deserve your consideration for the final 10 winners/losers. And so, now, we turn to you, our avid devotees and unshakeable critics, for your knowledge, passion, honesty and sarcasm. It’s time to VOTE for the ten vehicles which will be anointed TTAC’s top TWATs for 2006.