Drive under 80 mph or die

"ihm96" (ihm96) 05/14/2020 at 19:16 • Filed to: None

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The new slogan for Bradley brownwell of jalopnik. I miss when the writers enjoyed actual discussion.

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Wacko > ihm96 05/14/2020 at 19:26

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So he’s the new ballaban. 

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > ihm96 05/14/2020 at 19:29

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illegal for companies to sell cars that exceed 80 mph

We need an NRA style organization for cars. Its my constitutional right to plow into a crowd of people at 90mph.

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > ihm96 05/14/2020 at 19:30

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Well, they are not gonna be big sellers in West Texas where we’ve already got 85MPH speed limits... and those are “guideline-ish”...

TheRealBicycleBuck > ihm96 05/14/2020 at 19:31

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“A nd I’ve since amended my position to it should be illegal for companies to sell cars that exceed 80 mph.”

 Why not sell cars that can go the speed limit? In some places, that’s 85 mph.

Tim (Fractal Footwork) > ihm96 05/14/2020 at 19:31

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I don’t stray to the FP that much anymore. This is quite strange. I mean I understood positions (though I may not have agreed with them) of cross- posters from Jezebel or where ever, but what a thing for a writer of a car enthusiast publication to write.

Is now a good time to ask what internet publications yall are frequenting as of late? I like R&T, but their website format sucks; just wish it was a traditional chronological blog.

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 05/14/2020 at 19:37

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I like what PG is doing over at The Drive.
And, I feel far more engaged via Oppo where people seem genuinely interested in cars and aviation. I should be more interested in DriveTribe, but you can tell The Lads aren’t into it.

As for the FP? I have no idea.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > ihm96 05/14/2020 at 19:37

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Bradley Brownell is such a fucking bowl of cold oatmeal in the comments. He is far more petty and sniping than any of the other authors. And not in some “Oh gee, I guess I better not comment” way but a “Oh, gee, I better not even read his articles” kind of way.

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > Wacko 05/14/2020 at 19:38

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That’s very astute...  Yeah, he’s very different since that switch-up.

Tim (Fractal Footwork) > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish 05/14/2020 at 19:40

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I’ve been wrapped into long form Youtube videos lately: Harry’s Garage, Carfection. Autocar is my quick motoring news check in. R&T for more in depth stuff. I wish DriveTribe Youtube kept it up, but after they fired Jethro and Henry it kinda went downhill fast and I don’t really get what it is now.

not for canada - australian in disguise > ihm96 05/14/2020 at 19:40

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Times like this I kinda miss Justin Westbrook calling us all assholes.

The Ghost of Oppo > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 05/14/2020 at 19:43

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It’s in the Declaration of The Star Spangle Rights! 

ranwhenparked > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 05/14/2020 at 19:46

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They’re based in New York and hire New York writers, some of them are surprisingly insulated from mainstream  car culture.

It would be like if the NRA moved their magazine division to San Francisco and restaffed it with a bunch of local talent who maybe went skeet shooting on a cruise ship once and kind of liked it, and one or two of them have an old revolver buried away somewhere at home that a grandparent left to them.

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > Tim (Fractal Footwork) 05/14/2020 at 20:00

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I like Harry and he does some wonderful travel videos...  His collection is of such a rarefied state that I feel he’s a little hard to relate to.  Although that vid of him trying to fit a bicycle into a Ferrari in Monaco was funny...

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > ranwhenparked 05/14/2020 at 20:06

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Oh, this is such an exquisite analogy. Yeah, clearly everybody on staff seems to know a brake pedal from a clutch... but you get the sense they don’t really ENJOY using either.

And, presumably to torture your analogy some more, they know one end of a Browning 12GA from the other... but you wouldn’t really enjoy a hunting trip with ‘em.

I will give a special shout-out to David Tracy, who is the sole hold-out of a guy who knows cars, loves cars, appreciates cars and gets his hands dirty on them.  He’s the lone shining light though.

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > ihm96 05/14/2020 at 20:08

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BTW, not to be paranoid, but if OPPO gets shut down at some point (which, if I’m honest, seems inevitable eventually) is there a place to go?

blacktruck18 > ihm96 05/14/2020 at 20:09

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I rarely go to the FP anymore, between hot takes , snark, grammatical errors (yes i t’s free, that doesn’t mean the writers shouldn’t h ave pride in their writing), and car hating it’s turned into a shit show and waste of time.

The new editor could probably fire everyone except T orch, Tom, David, and Rob and let random Oppo regulars post on the FP and Jalopnik would be 83,000% (+/- 3%) better.

Urambo Tauro > TheRealBicycleBuck 05/14/2020 at 20:21

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And in some places...

RallyWrench > ihm96 05/14/2020 at 20:21

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I could not help but notice that the other guy said he’d never seen Ballaban throw a tantrum.  Must not have been around long. 

Discerning > ihm96 05/14/2020 at 20:35

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This isn’t the first time I’ve seen him reply and wondered why a staff member is replying in that way.

I also disagree with Brad somewhat

A LOT of Porsche’s that were raced stay in their race spec and many of them continue to be raced.

It seems that is even what likely happened with this particular car.

Lots of classic Porsche’s get raced and they typically change hands between other racers as opposed to collectors.

The collectors will typically look for the clean examples with tepid history.

Urambo Tauro > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 05/14/2020 at 20:37

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Now that you mention it, a gun analogy kinda helps here, I think. Giving Brad the benefit of the doubt and assuming that he briefly forgot that 85mph speed limits are a thing, I can see how “excessively fast” cars could be thought of along the same lines as assault weapons...

interstate366, now In The Industry > ihm96 05/14/2020 at 20:40

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I don’t miss PG or Ballaban at all, but even they wouldn’t say something that cringe.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > Urambo Tauro 05/14/2020 at 20:43

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Yeah, speed limits and mag limits jumped to my mind

shop-teacher > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 05/14/2020 at 20:46

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Its called SEMA.

Exage03040 @ opposite-lock.com > ihm96 05/14/2020 at 20:49

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J ust be like me and stop clicking on both the slanted and TMZ shit posts and anything from the associated authors.  It’s futile, they won’t change as i t’s obvious the directive is to go tabloid and gossip with a heavy   leftist bias .

T he Jalopnik you used to know and enjoy is likely forever gone. It’s proven that they don’t respect greater outside or insider knowledge unless it’s in alignment. B y doing that they don’t deserve it anymore.

Once Collins and Tracy depart and Torch gets told to pump mostly gossip there will be close to zero point in visiting.

shop-teacher > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 05/14/2020 at 20:51

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I think Justin Westbrook (I think that’s his name, I can’t be bothered to look it up ), is way worse than Bradley. He'll put you in the greys if you look at his article funny . I don’t particularly care for either of them though. And I did a little happy dance when Elizabeth Blackwell left. Her racing “analysis” was atrocious.

These days, if it wasn’t written by Torch or David Tracy, I don’t bother.

Urambo Tauro > ihm96 05/14/2020 at 20:57

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It’s a bold statement. I think he chose his words pretty carefully ( e xcept for that “80 mph” figure that doesn’t quite meet the speed limit in certain areas) . I hope I’m not going too far putting words in his mouth, but it sounds like he’s just  saying that excessive speed shouldn’t be so readily accessible in cars’ stock form. Of course this leaves the door open for aftermarket modifications...

Exage03040 @ opposite-lock.com > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish 05/14/2020 at 20:58

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Tracy knows how to write pieces for everyone to enjoy, even people not so fond of Jeeps.

I think Collins deserves some credit too. Since his accident he’s unfortunately been a down on posts but I’ve always enjoyed his writing, attitude, and interactions in the comment section.

ranwhenparked > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish 05/14/2020 at 21:03

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Yeah, it isn’t a hatred or hostility to cars, exactly, but there’s not really an evident love of them, either. I’d say, more of an ambivalence combined with  an inability to really understand the culture as much as they think they do. Tracy is a standout, as is Jason Torchinsky. 

Chariotoflove > ihm96 05/14/2020 at 21:04

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You told me to do journalism, failing to understand that I am not a journalist. I have never been under the delusion that what I do is Big J . I’m as honest as I can be at all times, try to chase the truth, and try to inform when I can, but I’m an entertainment writer.

I wish all the FP writers would have this tattooed on their forearms, because they sure do seem to forget it when they post a “news” story.

What we have anymore is college kids putting on the air of “journalist ” and reporting stories, when they really are opinion pieces with a bare minimum of fact checking. They want to have both legitimate press credentials but not be held to the same standards as journalists.

Regardless of whether you are writing to inform or to entertain, I think that when you write something and publish it with your name on it, especially for a salary, you should be the person who knows the most about it. To have your commenters show you up should embarrass you.

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > Exage03040 @ opposite-lock.com 05/14/2020 at 21:05

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Sigh.  Yeah I actually thought Andrew had left...  oops.  My bad.

Chariotoflove > ranwhenparked 05/14/2020 at 21:06

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And yet someone like Stef  who actually loves car and racing them sits at home without a job. What a world.

Chariotoflove > Exage03040 @ opposite-lock.com 05/14/2020 at 21:07

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Yeah, they are old enough I think to abstain mostly from moralizing and finger-wagging at the readership and just keep a positive attitude about what they do.

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > Exage03040 @ opposite-lock.com 05/14/2020 at 21:08

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The old adage was “breeze through the post” but dig into the comments. Some of the funniest things I’d ever read were down in the comments every day.

It’s been a long time since I’ve thought that

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > shop-teacher 05/14/2020 at 21:11

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And, everybody’s on pins-and-needles here in CA since the Kevin Hart (which was clearly automotive malpractice...) thing. Nobody’s sure how hard the The Republik of Kalifornio will come down on the custom car world... but it could be bad. CARB is hard enough.

SEMA is fighting a good fight, but one Chemtrail Spray in Sacramento and it could be lights out...

fintail > ihm96 05/14/2020 at 21:11

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LOL where do they find these “writers”, low standards indeed.   It’s almost like an inverse relationship between knowledge/ability and power.

Chariotoflove > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish 05/14/2020 at 21:11

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Couple of us were working on building an alternate site, but I don’t know how that’s coming now.

phenotyp > ihm96 05/14/2020 at 21:18

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What, exactly, are we fighting about, again?

Is this a comment war? 

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > shop-teacher 05/14/2020 at 21:30

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I have a grudge against westbrook since I bought some winter tires for my Fiesta ST from him. He quoted me a price, I paid it, and then he tried asking for more money AFTER  they had already been shipped. I politely but firmly told him no, but I still find that one odd that he tried to do that.

functionoverfashion > Chariotoflove 05/14/2020 at 21:54

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To have your commenters show you up should embarrass you.

Or, just say “good point, interesting point, didn’t think of that, do you have more information on that, maybe I’ll update my post with that, can you point me to a reliable source on that...” really anything but defending your position, then admitting that you didn’t do your homework, then defending that you don’t need to do homework because “it’s entertainment”

ihm96 > phenotyp 05/14/2020 at 22:04

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Not really a comment war. More like he posted an article about a Porsche drift car and said huh wonder where it is guess we’ll never know, probably restored in a garage.

when commenters then disagreed and said it’s prob still in race spec (which it is, found by an oppo) the author decided to just pull out the expert card and be a dick.

But he has also frequently mentioned in the comments that he thinks cars over 100 mph should be illegal. In my opinion that goes directly against the ethos of the site “Drive free or die”

He wants to enjoy his freedoms to go over 80 and 100 which I’m sure he does, but doesn’t think others should be able to. He’s also cool with some cannonball runs like Alex Roy’s but then others are jerks who “are possibly killing my grandma” (because driving cross country could give his grandma Covid, I guess, somehow)

ihm96 > not for canada - australian in disguise 05/14/2020 at 22:07

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Haha agreed. At least if everyone knows there an asshole it’s cool. I was definitely kind of a dick, but it was only in response to similar behavior, and I generally do my best to not be an asshole. I just hate seeing some commenters have enthusiasm and get shot down. Especially when his guess was spot on! And then Bradley misquoted him at the end to try and win the argument when the guys exact quote was my guess it’s in a warehouse somewhere still in race spec. Lo and behold an oppo finds it for sale with everything looking basically the exact same except small tweaks, not restored like Bradley demanded it would’ve been 

ihm96 > functionoverfashion 05/14/2020 at 22:09

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THIS. In the old days they would’ve said oh gee thanks and given him a hat tip.

Now we have brownwell doing his best con man and deliberately shooting down ideas and then later deliberately misquoting him to make it sound like the guys guess wasn’t spot fucking on

My bird IS the word > ihm96 05/14/2020 at 22:15

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Seriously, who writes for a car site and legit thinks cars shouldn’t go faster than 80. Burn the witch.

Chariotoflove > functionoverfashion 05/14/2020 at 22:16

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Yeah, that was my thought too after I posted.  It’s actually not that bad to not know everything about a subject. But keeping an air of humility about things goes a long way toward your credibility. 

shop-teacher > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 05/14/2020 at 23:05

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WTF!?!

functionoverfashion > Chariotoflove 05/15/2020 at 07:40

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But keeping an air of humility about things goes a long way toward your credibility.

Well said! This concept could be applied to just about any person speaking to any group on any subject. Especially in the Internet Age, claiming anything in absolute terms is practically an outright challenge to be proven wrong. 

haveacarortwoorthree2 > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 05/15/2020 at 08:33

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Ok, need more! Please! I beseech you.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > haveacarortwoorthree2 05/15/2020 at 09:42

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That’s it. It was one exchange and it was done. Just a really weird social exchange that I have never heard of anyone else having the balls to try. 

Chariotoflove > functionoverfashion 05/15/2020 at 10:10

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I’d like to think it’s a thing that comes with age, but it’s hard even then, especially on the internet.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Chariotoflove 05/15/2020 at 11:38

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Unfortunately she took the Gawker buyout in 2015 - not sure if you can get hired back after that, and I don’t think she’d work under the Herb anyway. At least she seems to be getting regular freelance work with The Drive, but she does need a full-time gig. 

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish 05/15/2020 at 11:55

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There was a big push last year to prepare for it all going down , but since things went back to status quo, they’ve kind of stalled.

https://oppositelock.com/

There is a Fb page (almost a separate group now) and a Twitter account that we can get the word out, if necessary.

https://twitter.com/oppositelock1

Chariotoflove > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 05/15/2020 at 14:55

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I don’t think I’d want to work for a Kinja blog right now either, but work is work.  Hopefully something will open up at a legitimate publication.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Chariotoflove 05/15/2020 at 17:00

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Probably a good thing that ex-Jalops are ending up elsewhere - hopefully those connections will bear fruit. 

Chariotoflove > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 05/15/2020 at 18:15

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Was thinking same. Building relationships in any business  is important.