#Housekeeping

Hey all,

As per usual, we’re going mostly silent for the next few days so that we can stuff our faces with turkey and watch a lot of (bad) football.

It’s Labo(u)r Day on both sides of the border on Monday, so us hard-working bloggers/writers/editors are taking it easy peasy until Tuesday.

You may have noticed a bit of text at the end of our posts lately asking you to sign up for our newsletter.

It’s about time to celebrate America’s independence.

Which means fireworks, booze (don’t drink and drive), and barbecues.

Hi there. Your friendly Managing Editor here. I am checking in with you out there in B and B land to give you a quick update on what’s going on over here on this side of the computer/phone/tablet screen, over here in TTAC country.

Monday marks Memorial Day in America, and therefore, TTAC is taking a break.

Yes, like many of you, we will be off Monday.

No, not the current POTUS. Or the previous one, or the one before that, or the one before that…

We’re taking Monday off to celebrate two long-dead presidents who shaped American history. Thanks to a revised holiday schedule from our corporate masters in … Toronto.

Hey gang, the boss here.

Thanks to a directive from our corporate masters, we’re off on Monday.

I don’t have much to say — you already know we’re on a light schedule until Monday. So I will keep this short.

The hellfire of a year that 2020 has been is almost over, and while 2021 likely won’t be a picnic — especially at first, as we wait for the pandemic to abate as vaccines are rolled out — I don’t think too many people are going to miss this year.

Yeah, it’s that time of year again. Except this year, it won’t be normal.

I, Jason R. Sakurai, literally grew up in a dealership, with a father that nurtured my automotive interests. Following grad school, I was recruited by General Motors, leaving Phoenix for the Motor City.

Managing 21 dealerships in GM’s San Francisco Zone, I later moved to Nissan, and then Mazda. Eschewing corporate life, I sold ad space for Four Wheeler Magazine, then did TV for the National Hot Rod Association as Director of Sales. ESPN’s buyback of my inventory prompted me to start Roadhouse Marketing, a marketing, advertising, and PR firm dedicated to the automotive aftermarket and outdoor industries.

It’s taken a bit longer than planned, but we have our newest news contributor all settled in and raring to go. Please Welcome Jason Sakurai to our little, weird corner of the car Internet. He’ll be our next newshound, stepping into the role Steph Willems vacated.

When I got hired on at TTAC, I checked with our news team about what we were expected to disclose when it came to considerations from automakers. Steph told me that unlike with some other outlets, there was no need to disclose how the press-car system works, since y’all knew the deal.

As you saw last week, our news chief Steph Willems left the daily news grind behind to pursue an opportunity outside of automotive journalism. That leaves us looking for our next news guru.