TheTruthaboutcar.com googlerank seven

I doubt if they attract as large an audience in a month what TTAC attracts in a day. I believe TTAC is possibly in the top 25000 websites which is phenomenal.

TTAC is already the 800 pound gorilla that cannot be ignored. (Although they might pretend to ignore TTAC)

It would not totally surprise me if Mr. Moses’ attack is simply a proxy for others who feel their meal ticket is perhaps being threatened.

I spent a few minutes trying to read them. Wow, his stuff is simply horrid. Typical of the manufacturer friendly pablum you find in the “Drive” advertorial sections of the weekend newspaper. And the writing, damn it’s bad. I need to go read some Calvin and Hobbes strips to cleanse the mind.

And TTAC does it with the flair and daring wordplay the other reviews won’t (mostly because you can’t copy and paste ‘flying vagina’ if it doesn’t appear in the manufacturer’s press release). Mr. Moses seems to think that auto reviews should be nothing more than lists of numbers and available features. Any moron can do that. It takes real writing to write to people who actually seek out the ‘good technical information’ for themselves and know how a car stacks up on paper against the competition.

And WTF is a Clog?

I do hate when that happens. OTOH, NCTD considers the Journey “a crossover SUV with big utility” and “with intelligent cabin design and the availability of family friendly entertainment features. For the young family on the go, the Journey will offer a pleasant ride, plenty of room, and enough storage and entertainment options to keep the kids occupied.” Yet TTAC calls it cheap, forgettable, and doomed to failure (paraphrasing), alleged annoying ad notwithstanding. So I guess I’m not getting the joke Moses finds so funny.

Keep up the good work.

And count me among those who do not come here looking for car stats. I come here already knowing all that shit. I come here because I want your take on all the subjective stuff.

-Matt

You must be doing something right guys, keep it up.

*fetching the popcorns*

And to think that Bill and I used to wonder why the Texas Auto Writers Association jilted us on several occasions. Same song, different tune.

The first paragraph of this site’s FAQs hits the nail on the head. Status quos be damned.

If you judge a man by the quality of his enemies…
I think I’m embarrassed. If TTAC’s enemies are powerful then by the reasoning of this maxim, TTAC would be a worthy publication. But since Sam Moses is our enemy… uh, are we really this pathetic?

Well, now that you’ve pointed that out you’re our enemy, restoring our lost honor. Just kidding. Your ed’s in the queue.

And if you’re going to publish The Truth about Anything, be prepared for the slings and arrows. Truth is a rare commodity these days.

We are situationally aware and combat ready. I printed this piece because it’s important to define TTAC as much as for what it ISN’T as what it is.

And if you’re going to publish The Truth about Anything, be prepared for the slings and arrows. Truth is a rare commodity these days.

Lets face it, TTAC does a great job of making their reporting entertaining for the reader, regardless of whether you agree with the underlying premise or following conclusions. But that type of writing doesnt generally lend itself well to objectivity.

- Most “reviews” are warmed over press releases
- If they actually test drove the car they feel obligated to marginalize the negative aspects and pimp the “positive” aspects – no matter the car.

After all the dealers of those cars are their one of their biggest revenue streams (come on – you didn’t the 60pt “Sunday Sunday Sunday” heading on the back of the sports section was cheap did you?)

Hence Sam I Am’s “modest interior materials and build quality” comment regarding the Compass.

Saying the Compass has “modest interior materials” is like saying I am modestly tall (I am 5′6″). Sammy, short is short and cheap is cheap.

I love the fact that the guy who wrote this article on the Chevy Aveo which spends this entire paragraph pimping the Aveo’s safety

Aveo aced the Federal frontal crash test with five stars for both driver and passenger. The body structure is designed to provide as much crash protection as possible. The cabin is built like a steel cage, with steel members running vertically from the door hinge up the A-pillars to the roofline, then back to reinforced B- and C-pillars, and down to the rocker panels. Each of the four doors contains a side-impact beam which when hit directs energy up through the side rails to a large front longitudinal member, then through a flat crossmember to the front axle and wheelhouse and finally down to the fender-door support.

Conveniently left out the IIHS scores for the Aveo, including its Marginal side impact test results.

At best it is a horrible omission at worst it is misleading.

Sam – where is the truth in that?

That’s probably the cruelest, most entertaining sentence I’ve read all month. Not bad for an idiot.

C’mon, how would you take it if someone walks into a room, points at your buddy/brother/friend and exclaims “What an idiot!” It’s childish, cowardly, and if you take it apart, flimsy.

Oh wait am I describing the attack on Frank Williams or Sam Moses’ car reviews?

The irony of course is that the “truth” is being tossed around so many times in Sam Moses’ article. Truth? Please. I’d love to see if he has any more biting words when confronted.

I have no problem getting information from an engineer, if you have an engineering question or want to know something about the development of the vehicle. However, I do have a problem with an engineer (or anyone else with a vested interested in seeing that the car gets a good review) accompanying a reviewer on a test drive — unless of course, the vehicle is either so shoddy you need someone along to put it back together as it falls apart or is so complicated it takes someone who designed it to explain how it works. If that makes me an “aggressively ignorant” “idiot,” then so be it.

For examples of how a “better journalist” who recognizes “the threat of corporate media and non-critical reporting in pursuit of revenue” writes a review, may I direct your attention to Mr. Moses’ reviews of the 2008 Jeep Compass, 2008 Dodge Durango or 2007 Cadillac XLR.

I can. I was looking at a Sebring at a Hyundai dealership one time, and the salesman said, and I’m not kidding, “This is one of the best cars you can buy.” So, because I had time to waste, and I really wanted to see how bad the Sebring was, I took it for a little test drive. Well, it was an 05, and it rattled and squeaked like a 10 year old rental car, among other things. So, when I got back, the salesman asked me how I liked it. I said, “That’s the worst car I’ve ever driven.” And left.