I’m periodically reminded that we don’t always do a great job of letting people know what you can get for being a member. A lot of you all signed up when we made it official that we were removing display ads and video overlays for members. That’s awesome. It’s amazing that so many people saw the value in what we are doing and thought it was worth paying to see it without those kinds of ads. I’m eternally grateful and in awe of this community, as are many of our peers. If you haven’t become a member yet and would like to, click this link and consider signing up.
All that being said, there is stuff to be had for members at every level! One of the most important requirements that Beau, Jason, and David put on this when we started was that people who are members should feel like they’re getting a crazy good value. You’re willing to fork over hard-earned money for blogs and, while the blogs are great, we decided there has to be more than that. This means that our margins aren’t as high as other member-based businesses, but in our view, it’s totally worth it.
I’m going to go through each level and talk about what you get, with a link to each plan. Also, if you weren’t aware, you can gift annual memberships, so I’ll include that as well.
Cloth Membership ($50 annual, $7 a month)
This is our entry-level plan, and the annual version of the plan is our second-most popular. If you’re curious about the price difference between annual and monthly, it’s because we get charged a fee for every transaction, making a monthly plan more expensive for us.
What do you get for Cloth?
- No pop-over video player, no display/banner ads
- A member-only email newsletter (just today, we revealed more about our next project)
- Access to member-only posts like Tales from the Slack
- Special access within the Autopian Discord
Vinyl Membership ($100 annual, $10 a month)
It’s our most popular plan, and that’s because you get physical stuff in the mail! Specifically, you get the following.
- All the stuff mentioned in Cloth.
- An awesome bumper sticker.
- A sweet new custom t-shirt (and a new one every year if you renew).
- Special renewal gifts (lately we’ve been sending people pins).
Velour Membership ($250 annual, $25 a month)
It’s wild to me that there are Velour members, but there are a lot of you!
- All the stuff mentioned in Cloth and Vinyl, plus:
- An awesome grille badge for your car
- A special member drawing for a car that will come eventually, and then after the first year, an Apple II-generated piece of art from Jason.
Rich Corinthian Leather Membership ($1,000 annual)
This was a suggestion from our friends at Defector, who mentioned that there are people who will probably do it. This is a surprise to us every time, but it’s a wonderful surprise. As an RCL we have to make it extra worthwhile, so in addition to all the above, you get:
- A private tour of cars in the Galpin collection and, honestly, the random cars David keeps hidden at various Galpin offices.
- Random merch drops (btw, RCL members, keep an eye out for a package in the next 2-3 weeks, we just ordered something bonkers).
- Sometimes David will send you rust from his cars in a little vial!
Obviously, not everyone can support at this level or can afford to support at all. We totally understand that, and the goal is to make this place accessible to everyone forever. But supporting us through membership makes it a lot easier to make decisions about hiring people, paying for more freelance work you love, and otherwise keeping this place amazing.
Is this a long post? It’s feeling a little long. If you use the coupon code thatwaslong at checkout, I’ll give you another $5.33 off any plan (or upgrade, or reactivation). Thank you for reading and thank you for your support!
I recently upgraded and I really enjoy the site, and what I’m not into, I ignore. I’d love if you started selling merch. Specifically, I want one (well, three) of those license plate frames. Even more than that, I want to be able to log in without having to receive an emailed code. All in all, great work across the board!
You can’t fool me Matt! I know that the autopian branded swag is made by alien lizards that will implant your brain with a chip that will occasionally inject obscure car knowledge to distract you from the fact that they are hunting the wherewolves into extinction.
Better luck next time.
Does the member area have actual, true opinions in the vehicle reviews?
The ones in the free area seem tainted with the “If I rag on this car, they won’t send us anymore” vibe.
You’re nearing “Consumer Reports” levels of subscription cost. I’m going to want to see more than, “It was a nice car” as a review.
My favorite thing about car reviews (and it’s been this way since the 1980s from multiple outlets and writers) is the review of the vehicle which replaces the one which had such incredible, glowing reviews when it was new – but now here’s a list of all the things they hated about the old one and never wrote anything about (and sometimes it was a lot)
Because what we didn’t learn until much, much later was that some manufacturers literally cut off advertising dollars, access to the press pool and all-you-can-eat-shrimp-cocktail because writers wrote bad reviews.
But hey: There’s hardly any new cars to review anymore anyway!
And the shrimp are thriving.
Great idea any way I can get the 215 notifications erased from my account? I can’t click on them they just ring the bell.
Same, but I can see them by logging in on my laptop. That might help.
I certainly enjoy the membership experience, although I’m still waiting for David Tracy to send me a box of rusty parts and Torch hasn’t gotten back to me about whether or not he’s willing to be my sexual advisor. All in all still 9.5/10, I do recommend.
Torch was unimpressed by your 10mm rating. Lol
*looks at topshot*
Woohoo, a hover-Citroën!!
I’ve always wanted one of those 🙂
More specifically, a rocket-hover Citroen.
I’m suddenly wonder what became of the one in the Muller Museum?