Type of site | Automotive |
---|---|
Owner | VerticalScope |
URL | www |
Commercial | Yes |
Registration | Optional |
Launched | November 14, 2001 |
Current status | Online |
The Truth About Cars (TTAC) is a blog covering automobiles, automotive products and the auto industry, begun in 2002 [1] featuring a mix of automotive reviews, editorials and news. It is home to the annual Ten Worst Automobiles awards, [2] which are nominated and selected by the readers. It also featured multiple series predicting the demise of domestic automakers, namely GM and Ford “Death Watch” and Chrysler "Suicide Watch" series.
Time magazine [3] called TTAC one of the 25 "Best Blogs of 2011". Forbes magazine listed TTAC as a “Best of the Web” automotive blog as far back as 2005. [4] PC Magazine listed TTAC as one of its "100 Favorite Blogs" in 2007. [5]
Founded by Robert Farago in 2002, The Truth About Cars publicised itself as an independent voice in the automotive media, at a time when many outlets were coming under fire for their close ties with advertisers, particularly auto manufacturers. TTAC adopted an adversarial tone, particularly with regard to the Big Three domestic auto makers. This was exacerbated by Farago's "GM Death Watch" series, which correctly predicted the bankruptcy of General Motors over a 200+ part series. [6] In 2012, TTAC revived the "Death Watch" series, when contributing author Mark Stevenson correctly predicted the demise of Suzuki's North American auto sales arm. [7]
TTAC's review comparing the grille of the Subaru B9 Tribeca to a vagina [8] [6] caused BMW to officially stop providing review cars. [9]
After being acquired by VerticalScope, a Canadian online media firm, Farago departed, and Ed Niedermeyer became Editor-In-Chief in 2010.
A 2013 article titled "Small SUV Crashopalooza: Detroit Loses, Dykes Win" [10] resulted in a falling-out among senior contributors [11] and eventually changes in the managing staff. [12]
In 2013, Jack Baruth posted an article announcing that Bertel Schmitt had left the blog and that he (Baruth) and Derek Kreindler would be taking over. Baruth promised a "reboot" with previously banned commenters being welcomed back. [13]
After Kreindler left the blog in April 2015, the Editor In Chief role was transitioned to a team at AutoGuide while Mark Stevenson became the Managing Editor. [14] Stevenson remained the Managing Editor until that role was taken over by Tim Healey in August 2017. [15] Jack Baruth left the blog in 2018. [16]
The automotive industry comprises a wide range of companies and organizations involved in the design, development, manufacturing, marketing, selling, repairing, and modification of motor vehicles. It is one of the world's largest industries by revenue.
The Subaru B9 Scrambler is an open two-seat concept sports car from Subaru featuring classic styling. It is 4.2 metres (165.4 in) long and powered by a 140 hp (104 kW) gasoline-electric hybrid engine. It was designed by Andreas Zapatinas.
David Evan Davis Jr. was an American automotive journalist and magazine publisher widely known as a contributing writer, editor and publisher at Car and Driver magazine and as the founder of Automobile magazine.
Automobile was an American automobile magazine published by the Motor Trend Group. A group of former employees of Car and Driver led by David E. Davis founded Automobile in 1986 with support from Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, using the credo No Boring Cars.Automobile distinguished itself as more of a lifestyle magazine than the other automotive publications, an editorial theme that Davis greatly expanded upon from his tenure as the editor of Car and Driver, though it was a sister publication to Motor Trend.
Malcolm N. Bricklin is an American businessman, widely known for an unorthodox career spanning more than six decades with numerous prominent failures and successes—primarily manufacturing or importing automobiles to the United States, ultimately starting over thirty companies.
The Chicago Auto Show is held annually in February at Chicago's McCormick Place convention center. It is the largest auto show in North America.
Richard Arthur "Dick" Teague was an American industrial designer in the North American automotive industry. He held automotive design positions at General Motors, Packard, and Chrysler before becoming Vice President of Design for American Motors Corporation (AMC), and designed several notable show cars and production vehicles, including AMC's Pacer, Gremlin, and Hornet models, as well as the Jeep Cherokee XJ and either designed or assisted in the designing of later cars for Chrysler such as the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Neon after American Motors' buyout.
China (Guangzhou) International Automobile Exhibition, also called Guangzhou International Motor Show or Auto Guangzhou, is an auto show held by Guangzhou Zhanlian Exhibition Service Co., Ltd, in November and December every year in the Guangzhou International Convention and Exhibition Center, China. It is not a recognized international show by the Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d'Automobiles.
Andreas Zapatinas is a Greek automobile designer and industrial designer.
Yang Rong, also known as Yung Yeung and Benjamin Yeung is an exiled Chinese tycoon. He was born in Shanghai in 1957. Only a year after the magazine Forbes proclaimed him China's third richest businessman in 2001, Yang fled to the US following a dispute with the Chinese government.
The Subaru SRD-1 was a luxury sports wagon concept car that was never put into production.
Beijing Automotive Group Co., Ltd. (BAIC) is a Chinese state-owned automobile manufacturer headquartered in Shunyi, Beijing. Founded in 1958, it is the sixth largest automobile manufacturer in China, with 1.723 million sales in 2021.
Subaru is the automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate Subaru Corporation, the twenty-first largest automaker by production worldwide in 2017.
Automotive News is a weekly newspaper, established 1925, written for the automotive industry, predominantly individuals corresponding with automobile manufacturers and automotive suppliers. Based in Detroit and owned by Crain Communications Inc., Automotive News is considered the newspaper of record for the automotive industry. The brand has a team of more than 55 editors and reporters globally.
The automotive industry in Japan is one of the most prominent and largest industries in the world. Japan has been in the top three of the countries with the most cars manufactured since the 1960s, surpassing Germany. The automotive industry in Japan rapidly increased from the 1970s to the 1990s and in the 1980s and 1990s, overtook the U.S. as the production leader with up to 13 million cars per year manufactured and significant exports. After massive ramp-up by China in the 2000s and fluctuating U.S. output, Japan is currently the third largest automotive producer in the world with an annual production of 9.9 million automobiles in 2012. Japanese investments helped grow the auto industry in many countries throughout the last few decades.
The Subaru Tribeca is a mid-size crossover SUV made from 2005 to 2014. Released in some markets, including Canada, as the Subaru B9 Tribeca, the car derives its name from the Tribeca neighborhood of New York City. Built on the Subaru Legacy platform and sold in five- and seven-seat configurations, the Tribeca was intended to be sold alongside a slightly revised version known as the Saab 9-6X. Saab, at the time a subsidiary of General Motors (GM), abandoned the 9-6X program just prior to its release subsequent to GM's 2005 divestiture of its 20 percent stake in FHI.
The Subaru VIZIV is a series of hybrid concept sports SUVs designed and built by Subaru, the first of which was unveiled at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show. The VIZIV series included several signature Subaru design features, such as the use of horizontally-opposed engines and all-wheel drive, and built on prior Subaru hybrid concepts such as the B9SC, B5-TPH, and Hybrid Tourer by using a three-motor layout. Since 2016, the VIZIV concept cars have previewed styling for upcoming production automobiles, and the hybrid powertrain has been dropped in favor of a conventional gasoline engine and all-wheel-drive.
Jack Baruth is an automotive journalist and race car driver. He is a former professional BMX racer, cycling instructor, and cycling journalist, perhaps best known for writing the "One Racer's Perspective" and "BMX Basics" columns for the National Bicycle League, for his regular contributions to The Truth About Cars and for maintaining the now defunct BMX Basics website under his pen name Jim Boswell. As of 2013, Jack Baruth is now a contributor to Road and Track magazine. On July 12, 2013, he became the temporary editor-in-chief of The Truth About Cars.
The Subaru B5-TPH was a concept shooting-brake coupe with a Turbo Parallel Hybrid (TPH) powertrain made by Fuji Heavy Industries (FHI), introduced at the 2005 Tokyo Motor Show.
The Subaru Global Platform (スバルグローバルプラットフォーム), abbreviated as SGP, is the modular unibody automobile platform for nearly all models manufactured by Subaru, starting with the fifth-generation Subaru Impreza in 2016. The primary dynamic benefits of SGP compared to prior Subaru platforms were improved strength, increased rigidity, and a lowered center of gravity. In addition, moving to a common platform made production more flexible and efficient; existing production lines could shift to meet demand by producing different models without significant reconfiguration, and common parts could be reused between models.