We need to save car culture. We need to save it from the appliances. We need to save it from the commuters. We need your help. Jalopnik is launching a full-blown YouTube experience to bring you some ammo in this war. Today is the day we fight back.
People are buying cars. People are buying a lot of cars. The idea that people would stop buying cars was nonsense. But owning a car doesn’t make one a part of car culture. It doesn’t make someone care. Now, more than ever, we need to make clear what car culture is and what car culture isn’t.
I said we’re launching a YouTube channel because you deserve more, but I want to be careful here to not say that you deserve better. There’s a lot of great automotive video content on the web already, from our friends and colleagues at places like XCar and /DRIVE and MotorTrend and Petrolicious. I’ve linked all of their accounts so you can follow them, because you should follow them.
I don’t buy the cynical and easily disproven zero sum belief some in the industry have that says people will only watch one video about the new Miata or read one review of the new Mustang. That’s bullshit. If you believe that you’ve already admitted defeat.
We are not defeated.
Our goals with this channel are the same goals we have for the website:
- Don’t just cater or pander to car enthusiasts, but convert people into car enthusiasts.
- Don’t do what everyone else is doing. Do what they can’t or won’t do.
- Provide a service to the reader with everything we do.
Ambitious goals? Absolutely. Will we fail? Often. But we have to try. There’s too much at stake and we’re all willing to make enough mistakes to get it right.
These days when a new car comes out you get nearly a dozen nearly indistinguishable and almost universally tedious reviews. You like the Nissan Maxima’s new seats? Cool, I guess. Oh, you got a Mustang and now the first thing you’re going to do is get a Camaro to compare it to? Congrats, you’re the first person to think of that.
At least there, I think, by doing something different we can do something better.
What this looks like is a first season (lasting the third quarter) with three new episodes of three new shows every week for the next three months with some other videos thrown in for good measure. Those shows will be:
Neat Stuff In Cool Cars
As the title suggest, we will be doing neat stuff in cool cars. We are not the world’s greatest drivers or the world’s most eloquent people. We are car enthusiasts, like you. We are lucky enough to have these jobs and we want to do what you would do.
What Car Should You Buy?
May the great Lord Koenigsegg forgive us, we gave Doug DeMuro a show. Shot in Doug’s mom’s fake basement, we’ll take all the discussions car people have online and bring them into real life, using your comments.
Truck Yeah!
Truck Yeah! What’s not to get?
Blip!
We’re not just going to wait until the next episode slot to bring you important news or strange videos, so a Blip! can happen at any time.
We’re also working on plenty of other shows, including some you’ve seen clips of above.
It’s going to be fun and it’s going to start next Tuesday with the first new episode of Neat Stuff In Cool Cars. All you need to do is watch and, if you think it’s good, share with your friends. Share with your family. If it makes you care about car culture maybe it’ll make them care and maybe we won’t end up in giving a part of our heritage and our future to little biege boxes.
I believe in us and we believe in you.
The song, if you were curious, is “Sometimes” by Heems.
Contact the author at matt@jalopnik.com.