Last week at an after-party during the New York Auto Show, a long-time automaker PR professional uttered a maxim of automotive spin I've heard so often it feels like a Tantric mantra: "The cars are the stars." Every time I hear it, I shake my head — because if there's one phrase that sets us apart from every other automotive outlet — that's it. At Jalopnik, we've always believed that the cars aren't as important as the stories about the good people who love them, build them, buy them and drive them. You are the stars.
But there are some people in the business who do get it. For a time, I wasn't sure if Jim Farley, Ford's global head of marketing, was one of those people. I mean, come on, the guy came from Toyota! In fact, it wasn't until we reported his F-bomb shot over 8 Mile at GM last year that I even started to warm up to Ford's marketing maven.
Then this happened.
Last week a friend — and Ford employee (he was a friend since before he was a Ford employee) — sent me the above video he took at Farley's behest during the New York Auto Show.
In the short video, Farley says he reads us every day (which we appreciate). But then he relates a touching story about his mother (that we appreciate even more), who is sick with cancer, and how she got a laugh out of a video on the site. Farley could have talked about a classic car he owns (the type of crap other publications have written about), but instead he gave us a story that made my shriveled little heart grow two sizes (my father died of lung cancer just over ten years ago).
The story proves Farley's one of us — one of you — one of the millions who read this site specifically because they understand the concept that cars are not the stars. It's the people.
So, Jalopnik commenters, in honor of Jim Farley and his story about his mom, give us your own personal stories about Jalopnik and your love of cars in the comments below.
While they're doing that — Jim Farley, meet me over here at camera three for a second: Now that it's just the two of us — I hear this video was birthed out of a particularly unimpressive live-chat. Let's talk about that. You know how to reach me.
(Hat tip to Craig!)