If you become an Autopian Member, doing so means that a bunch of the ad experiences on the website just go away. The banner ads? Gone! The little pop-up video player? Bye-bye. The auto-play in the post? No video is going to play unless you press the button. And even better, use the code “byebyeads” at checkout (or follow this link) and I’ll give you our biggest discount ever: 21% off. That’s less than $3.33 a month for a year of Cloth Annual! Just $79 for Vinyl!
Why are we doing this? I’ve written about it before, but relying on pure traffic and eyeballs for most of our revenue puts us in a precarious position. We have one of the largest reaches of any automotive site, and it’s mostly made up of people who actually like cars. However, to survive, some of our competition is tricking major platforms and search engines into sending them traffic with content that, if not AI slop, feels like AI slop. We don’t want to do that.
We don’t ever want you to wonder if one of our articles is AI. This place will never be a bunch of writers you’ve never heard of, who work for third-party consulting firms, propping up the value and traffic of this place by thirsting for clicks with stories like “She Went To A Dealer For An Oil Change, But She Didn’t Expect What Happened Next” or, maybe, “Here Are 15 Random Reviews Of Air Freshners.”
If you read a website that’s posting crap like that, it’s not because they want to, it’s because they have to; membership isn’t an option for sites that don’t build communities and put their loyal readers first. We do. We’d be grateful if you supported our website, but only because you think it’s great and you love the writing. We want to create something valuable, including a sense of community.
We believe in it so much that we’re willing to sacrifice the money we’d make from ads if you become a member. It just makes sense to us. So if you’ve ever thought about becoming a member, now is the time to do it. It’s never been cheaper, and it may never be again.
Photo: DepositPhotos.com
I came here, questioning ads, what ads… Then I remembered oh yes, I’m a member.
I should potentially upgrade. Do you think we can see if there are replies to comments we make? I know there is a bell, but I can’t click it, it has a number but it doesn’t do anything.
Otherwise I love you guys! Also Mercedes’s long form content is amazing.
Just fix the damn comments section ordering and I’ll upgrade from cloth.
BTW, cloth is more comfortable than vinyl. Vinyl is the worst. At least in the summer and winter.
Another plus is spotting fellow members in the wild by their Autopian shirts. It’s like being in the Illuminati or Masons and throwing a knowing glance.
I ran into a number of other folks at IMSA at Road America this year that recognized the “Weird is Good” shirt and had their own member shirts.
As long as you never post a link for a story that has the obviously wrong photo to go with it. Pretty much guessing that’s either AI or just automated .
Do it
I don’t mind all the pop up ads.
Just some random feedback: If you frequently use a device where you can’t stay logged in (i.e. company policy on browser history), you have to email a login code every single time you visit the site. It’s super annoying compared to typing a password, so I rarely bother to login at all.
Kinda dampens the benefits of a membership knowing that I’d rarely actually see them. I might buy one eventually anyway but for my use case it’s largely supporting the site and not much else.
I would second this. I’m a member, I’m happy to support the site. But I mostly read it on my tablet, a device that doesn’t have access to my email accounts. This makes taking advantage of my membership benefits a chore. I often find myself reading logged out, losing all the benefits of my membership, simply because there isn’t a way to log in that doesn’t require pulling in some other device.
I use it mostly on desktop and it still never stays logged in. And the login process is completely incompatible with my password manager so logging is is a huge PITA. Probably the main reason I almost never engage 🙁
Hey this is a good offer but I still would be e okay with occasionally seeing a few relevant ads when I come here.
1. A discount on tires.
2. A discount on oil
3. Discount on Copart membership or parts.
4. Discount on car parts purchased at a national auto parts store.
Ads are a good idea if they are relevant to the readership. Selling out your readership for boner pill ads and cemetery plots is a different story. However boner pills are not exactly a no go. I have a friend who could use them so he might join.
Dear Autopians of the world: On the fence about membership? I have not regretted becoming one at all. Whether its the free swag, the peek behind the curtain, the built-in community, or just plain good content, we all win with the subscription model.
Whenever I read content here, I’m not just being informed – I’m watching the good guys win in a sea of competition that has become more and more watered down. I’m watching things snowball and I see a future where the brains and personalities here become the go-to for anyone looking for mainstream expertise and guidance from real people with tons of knowledge.
I get sucked into the comment section here all the time and I can’t say enough about the community that’s been built here. These aren’t comments. These are friends talking to friends they didn’t know they had.
So please: Subscribe. Let’s take one bit of stress off the table and ensure this perfect corner of our automotive universe outlasts Toyota Camrys.
True despite the humbleness of the leadership here it is the best car journalism site available bar none.
It’s worth it.
That topshot really Thais the room together.