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After a decade-plus of being TTAC’s foremost expert in Panther-bodied Fords, as well as the go-to Texan for any of your questions about OBD II or old-car designs, Sajeev is moving on.
He’s found a full-time home with another outlet, and we wish him well. He’ll be missed.
I’ve always found Piston Slap and Vellum Venom to be interesting reads, and not just because of Sanjeev’s Sajeev’s writing style. His in-depth technical knowledge has helped millions hundreds of TTAC readers with their problems. Problems ranging from how to handle an oil leak in an aging Mercury Sable to rev-hanging issues with an MR2 to how the rise of EVs will affect the repair market.
Our traffic numbers and the number of comments on each post suggest you have, too.
Technical advice columns are sometimes written in fairly dry tones, so Sajeev’s wit has been appreciated, along with his wisdom.
Alas, nothing lasts forever, and with Sajeev moving into another role elsewhere, we bid a fond farewell to both him and the Piston Slap column.
Will Piston Slap and/or Vellum Venom return with a new author, perhaps under another name? Maybe. All I can say at this point is stay tuned. We cannot, after all, comment on future product.
Fourteen years is a hell of a run. If you’ve ever had a vexing problem solved by Sajeev’s advice, or if you simply liked to spend part of your Fridays reading about Panther Love, raise a toast and wish him well in his next venture.
[Images: Sajeev Mehta]
Never appreciated Panthers nearly as much as Sajeev, but always appreciated Sajeev’s enthusiasm, for Panthers and everything.
I’m a big (big as in Galaxie, LTD etc.) Ford car fan i.e. One can argue that the Panther is just an evolution of that line.
My first car was a ’65 Galaxie. It’s all in the bloodlines.
Sajeev – best of luck at your new gig. Your writing made my life better. I shall miss your humor and advice, and I thank you for it.
I am glad to hear I enriched your life. That means a lot to me, for sure.
His style, wit and experience will be missed. And his undying love for Ford products.
Gotta be true to your brand!
Jack and now Sajeev’…whose next?
Best of luck Sajeev. You’ve done well here and will be missed.
I will still be reading and lurking/commenting here and there. That’s for sure.
Bon voyage, best of luck .
The future looks bright ahead .
-Nate
Thank you Nate, and thank you for being here all these years!
I’ve really enjoyed Sajeev’s knowledge and humor. Sorry to see him go, best of luck.
I will still be reading, lurking and commenting when I have the time.
Love your stuff man, and hoping that a search engine will lead me to your new writing home.
I will be easily Googlable, I assume!
One of the best contributors, a real OG. Will be googling around to find your writing wherever you land!
Google is amazing like that!
I’ve always enjoyed reading your work, Sajeev! Here’s wishing you best of luck!
Arrivederci, bye-bye, cheerio, sayonara, so long, adieu, adios, au revoir, auf wiedersehen, & finally, Hasta la vista, baby! LOL!! :-)
I will still be lurking I am sure. :-)
Is he taking his evil twin Sanjeev with him?
NO HE IS ALL YOURS
So long, Sajeev, you and your articles will be missed :(
Thank you, and thanks for always contributing to my discussions.
Time for a TTAC Death Watch?
Hey now! If I still will be reading TTAC there’s no need for that!
Is Sanjeev leaving, too? because that would be even worse.
He is not coming with me!
Not a few minutes before I visited was I thinking of how I havent heard about Panthers around here for a while, and likely wont with Sajeev leaving. His Piston Slaps will be missed along with their usually productive comments as opposed towgat we have today.
Its rare that I ever comment here anymore myself, too political and too bitter. Just a few days ago someone spoke of “idiots who deserve to die” or something insane like that.I’m not here for Trump or death notes, I’m just here for cars.
Piston Slap was always intended to have some sort of positive spin…even if you hate Panthers. Thanks for joining me on the ride all these years!
Best of luck in new job.
Thank you kindly!
And the last vestiges of what made TTAC into a great place…are now gone.
There’s still plenty to love about TTAC, hence why I will still be reading and maybe even commenting.
Thank you Sajeev.
Your accessiblity was always appreciated. I am grateful you put a bug in (Ed) Niedermeyer’s ear to publish my little paean to the Panther on the last day of assembly back in 2011 (2011! Yikes).
Your passion was always in great evidence. You taught us all way more hip-hop slang than we could ever hope to repay in dad jokes.
As a fellow lifer, I wish you au revoir but not adieu.
Ryan Paradis
Thank you for your years of loyalty/readership! That means a lot to me!
Too bad for TTAC fans… Good job Sajeev and best of luck !
Thank you for your support!
You will be missed Sajeev. Guess your new employer’s getting a great deal, you AND Sanjeev!
I’d like to think they got a real asset too, LOL
But Sanjeev is staying here :-)
Please come back occasionally to keep the Panther Love Alive!
I’ll be reading regularly and will likely comment a fair bit…especially if N E 1 QUESHTONS PANTHER LOVE
To this day, “DLO FAIL” is a permanent part of my vocabulary. For that alone, Sajeev will remain one of my favorite bloggers. Thanks for all the great pieces you wrote.
Same here! Loved the Vellum Venom articles, not many people are blogging about car design these days other then to complain about it. I love little styling details, they are the type of thing you only notice when waxing your own car.
You don’t know how great it is to hear that DLO FAIL resonated with you!!!!
Thanks for the great writing Sajeev. You helped develop my love of car design tremendously. Best wishes on the road ahead.
That’s what I wanted to hear! Keep on looking at car design and being critical!
Bummer. There are a lot of auto scribes out there; unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of good ones. Sajeev is one of the few.
That means a LOT to me, thank you Featherston.
I enjoyed reading your articles over the years.
Congrats and good luck.
Thank you so much!
Sajeev, best of luck!! Vellum Venom was always a treat when it popped up in my rss reader!
I am glad to hear I had you reading my Vellums, thank you!
Good luck with your next adventure, Sajeev/Sanjeev! Can’t believe it’s been 14 years.
I’m still blown away by that fact, too.
Congratulations and best of luck! I think writers with his wit and appreciation of the 80s land boats will be appreciated as we enter the full size truck or electric car and nothing in-between era.
Fingers crossed on that!!!!!
I kind of like the Panther solely because of Sajeev. I will google him in a few weeks and find him, I bet.
You buy a Panther now in honor of ME AND SANJEEV!!!!
Where is he going? I’d like to keep reading his stuff.
You can google me, I will still be on the Interwebs :)
Best of luck, Sajeeve! Not only were your columns fun to read, but they were educational, too. Not something tbat can be said about every autojourno’s work.
Sorry if I can’t share your appreciation for Panthers. For me, they are just cockroach cars, still rolling as tbe metro DC taxicab fleet and — even — some low-rent law enforcement cars.
You dont have to like them at all, I’m just glad you like my writing! :-)
? What’s not to like about panthers ? .
I don’t want one but being part of a HUGE fleet of them made me respect them tremendously .
Yesterday a local Gendarme drove past me in a pristine balck and white one, I’d thought they were all salvaged out by now .
-Nate
1. They are awful to drive
2. They are enormous on the outside but tiny on the inside
3. They have the build quality of a cheap Chinese toy
4. The safety level is 1985 vintage
They are pretty much ideal for uncaring fleet usage. But I am not a fleet. The needs of a fleet use car are nearly irrelevant to my personal cars.
As I have long said, nobody should have to drive a Panther who isn’t wearing a uniform and getting paid to do so.
O.K., reality check here ;
#1 : I guess you want them to drive like Ferraris and be comfy as a Caddy limo then ? .
I’ve driven them and they drive just fine and depending on the suspension handle very well indeed for a large four door sedan .
#2: they don’t have much room in the back seat, if you need more space buy a different car like I did – don’t slam is for B.S. .
#3: that’s patently bullcrap ~ I don’t particularly like FoMoCo products but the Panthers are well designed, sturdy cars that were mostly well assembled .
$3: get real please ~ don’t just make up stuff out of thin air .
You sound like a perp or drunk who’s cranky because they rode in the back seat too often .
I prefer the old 1977 on Chevrolet Caprice fleet models but the Panthers were far less problematic , fact not wishful thinking based on real world hands on use / working on in actual heavy duty fleet use as well as the average grand ma sedans .
-Nate
But according to the Youtubes you can drop a blown 1000 HP Coyote in one without a ton of drama and vaporize rear tires and given how the thing gets beat on, not really make it any less reliable. That has to be worth something
FWIW, The Brown Victoria on here has me doing some serious thinking.
A newbie here, but have enjoyed your articles and the banter that goes on here. Good luck in your new endeavor.
Thanks a bunch, Randy! Really appreciate it!
Best wishes, Sajeev! I will miss your wit and knowledge.
Mathias’ Bitter Tears go with you ;)
..and thanks for all the fish!
No more tears! But thank you :-)
I hope Sajeev ends up making millions and going to SEMA and Monterrey because he’s a true car enthusiast who can appreciate the Panther platform for being the most bulletproof car ever built, and sees its strength in the execution of its focus on engineering and not fault it because of the compromises made for economic reasons. Most auto journalists would never invite questions involving the root cause of a problem, because cars are complex, and fixing them requires intelligence and knowledge often only acquired from actual work – things that scare most writers – but Sajeev has the street cred that few people ever achieve, because he’s a true car enthusiast.
You are too kind, Ryan. But yeah, being a Millionaire doing what I love certainly sounds good to me!
You’ll be missed, Sajeev.
Thank you Mike…I will still be lurking and reading, that’s for sure.
Darn. Sajeev is quite frankly irreplaceable. Not only talented, knowledgeable and enthusiastic, but also someone who comes across as a seriously nice person. Have always enjoyed our internet and e-mail interactions. All the best!
I’ve enjoyed our email conversations and your feedback. Thank you for your years of support.
Sajeev, I’ll be sure to seek you out at your new place. Hopefully there will be more project car updates (like the Sierra) posted somewhere?
That first picture – is that at a S.L.A.B. gathering? Somehow that thing hasn’t made it from Houston to Dallas.
I found the questions asked to be worthless and asked by people with no common sense. I won’t miss this feature at all. I’m sure Sajeev has better things to do than to try to save idiots from themselves.
So long, Sajeev and good luck in your new role.
I appreciate the time you answered my question. You did it quickly and gave me good advice.