If you’d like to read this fascinating tale of a petty, long-term grudge and other spilled tea of the seedy automotive journalism underbelly, please consider becoming an Autopian member. Thank you!
If you’d like to read this fascinating tale of a petty, long-term grudge and other spilled tea of the seedy automotive journalism underbelly, please consider becoming an Autopian member. Thank you!
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I was sure this would be about the far-right Putinist fan-boi and auto-journo hack Jack Baruth. Oh well, maybe next time.
I can’t wait to see him publicly dragged for being an insufferable fascist so toxic even the folks at Hagerty couldn’t tolerate him. That said, the most crushing review I’ve yet read from one artist towards another is when the great Pat Metheny weighed in with withering criticism on the lightweight Kenny G: inspired words!
https://ontherecord.co/2020/05/30/pat-metheny-has-a-few-thoughts-about-the-music-of-kenny-g/
Damn, that’s some thin skin. Guy’s either had it very easy or been completely broken by what he’s been through. Or maybe it was both (some people are just plain weak). I’ve tended to scare people too much for them to confront me directly and now I think the situation you were in might have been fun for me. I read recently that part of having ADHD is that I tend to forget about people when they’re not around (I had thought it was just misanthropy), so I never considered that there might be people out there who hold a grudge against me, but surely there must be. Probably that guy I went to elementary school with who is serving time for holding some woman hostage in his apartment and torturing her (this was after I stopped talking to him because he was a weird creep), but he likely has a long list of people to hold grudges against, so I can’t imagine I’d be preeminent.
I never put much value in reviewers who review everything according to some absolute standard they’ve determined is the highest rather than what that thing they’re reviewing is (that goes for anything, not just cars). Is it reasonably decent for the price? How does it stack up against closest competitors by value and in terms of feel—more sporting, more comfortable, etc.? Some people just want a predictable cost they can budget that comes with a warranty and comparing to a whole different class or purpose makes no sense. Maybe if they’re dumb, it’s too much mental work to figure out what each thing they’re reviewing really is, but then there are other careers.
Isn’t the dude in question from Santa Barbara? If so, that tracks with my one-and-only experience taking in a concert at the Santa Barbara Bowl. The show was Natalie Merchant in her prime. It was about 12 years ago. But the audience? Entitled buffoons. Drink a lot and talk the whole time? Why not? It’s not as if people PAID to be here to LISTEN TO a concert.
Anyway, it feels good to get that off my chest. Also, little cars are A-OK.
Well maybe he has saddle chap due to the general decline of car related print media. I maintain my car mag subscriptions out of some sense of likely displace loyalty, but more than once I have pointed to a story on this site and thought, THIS is the sort of stuff you guys need to put in your magazine if you want to be around in a few years.
Ah yes, the Sultan of Luxuristan. I remember this well (especially as a Mirage defender, lol).
I am an expert in grudge-keeping, trust me. I cast more curses than an entire Etsy of witches. But lol, chill dude. Torch vehemently disagreed about the expectations put upon a cheap hatchback. He didn’t fuck your mom (at least… I don’t think?).
Ah I think I know which one and it was about the Mitsubishi Mirage.
Yeah some journalists ARE elitist and classist.
And for that guy to hold a grudge over THIS for that long???
That guy definitely has an issue with taking himself waaaaay too seriously.
The guy sounds like he’s a complete douche.
A colleague of mine at a dealer group at the time, who is now a respected auto journalist, borrowed one of these for a week after that jerk-ass review to prove it was a good car, and wrote extensively on it. I guess what I’m saying is this guy probably holds a grudge against half of the industry because he was so wrong. He should reflect on that and become a better person.
Actions like Jason described say a lot about a person.
So I looked him up.
I’m getting weird incel vibes from that guy.
No wonder he needed a Go-Fund-Me to pay his HOA fees.
Sad.
Wait, is that what that was for?
Man, I *do not understand* holding grudges like that. Life is too short to put up with assholes, and it’s too short to devote that much energy to a grudge.
I’ve subscribed to the NYT for over 25 years and read it for about 40. Like The Autopian, it’s a publication I consider worth supporting with my wallet. Albeit for different reasons – I don’t read it for the car reviews.
Since everyone knows the who/what/when/where/why but not everyone can read the original review, here’s a gift link:
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/25/automobiles/autoreviews/its-cheap-but-is-it-overpriced.html?unlocked_article_code=1.LFA.59L8.2ZQfbzF8W562&smid=url-share
Also, since other scorching reviews have been brought up (in particular the Pete Wells review), here is another famous one:
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/north-1994
This has been a very entertaining post and comment thread.
Are you serious? Right in front of the salad (or the charcuterie)?
I’ll admit that I’ve skipped many a work lunch because of who would be attending…but that was because I just didn’t want to be around those people. No grudges, I just didn’t want to be exposed to the sight or sound (or smell, in one case) of them during what should be a relaxing part of my day. But this guy flounces during the opening course over something that happened twelve years ago??? Now that’s something special.
(And who the heck walks out on free charcuterie? Maybe I could understand that if the venue had skimped on cheap deli meat packs from the local grocery store.)
JPH has the appearance and demeanor of a side character on ‘Portlandia’ who is disgruntled Boomer butch lesbian named Meredith (don’t you DARE call her Merry) who has had a virtual stick stuck up you-know-where essentially her entire life and hasn’t kept up well with the times. She’s stubborn, bitter, surly, and her not inconsiderable professional accomplishments are completely overshadowed by her “shrieking blue jay angry that you stole its food cache a dozen years ago/wolverine with its peen caught in a Chinese finger trap” personality.
I think its time for ‘Meredith’ to retire from the industry with what little dignity she still has after this unprofessional, childish and frankly ridiculous incident.
Closing thought:
was, perhaps, Huff’s ostensible professionalism and his talent, merely a… Mirage? *smirk*
lololol
All I can say is that there is a reason I am paying for this site and not any others. (now to scour the comments for the OG post).
This is elite Adrian levels of pissing someone off and I am here for it. I’ve only been in this business fir a shirt while but it’s clear to me some people take it all far to seriously and are incredibly thin skinned with it.
There’s a couple of people in particular that have taken offence at things I’ve written in the worst way possible. I have my insults ready should we ever meet in person.
That’s a big part of why I love this site so much. All of you clearly love cars, and you do take delivering quality content seriously, but you’re not up your own asses about it. You can laugh at yourselves, and that gives us permission to laugh along with you.
“ I have my insults ready should we ever meet in person.”
You could probably sell tickets to an event like that!
LOL
I don’t know how someone who was thin-skinned would survive design school, then journalism with public comments.
I’m glad I grew up in dysfunction. If I were thin-skinned, I wouldn’t have survived and if I held grudges for every slight disagreement, I wouldn’t have the strength to hold anything else. I once had someone apologize to me once for something I didn’t even remember. I appreciated it, though.
One of the ‘journalists’ in question unequivocally did not survive car design school.
Ah, well, there you go.
A few times during my life, I’ve discovered after-the-fact that I pissed someone off and they didn’t say anything about it at the time. Generally, it was in a work environment and I’ll admit that I’ve always had a Type A personality and talk too fast sometimes, in an effort to stay on top of some the truly staggering wunderkind workloads I had in my 20s. A few(er) other times, I’ve even learned that some lady or other had a bit of a crush on me, and per usual, I had absolutely no idea at the time and am surprised/dumbfounded when I hear of it: I’m no Adonis, and there’s that Type A thing which only appeals to a small segment of women, so being at least as oblivious as the average man, I never had a clue.
When I’ve learned that I’ve rubbed a coworker or colleague the wrong way, I tend to politely/sincerely/professionally apologize, even if objectively, I did nothing wrong whatsoever. I did this not out of guilt, but simply to try to get along with them as best I can from that point on. With women, on that rare occassion that I find out they liked me way back when, it’s more moot, since it was years ago, and their feelings have long since passed (aka, they’ve regained their senses). It’s nice enough that some still email me once in a while or send the occasional Christmas card.
You know of course that you can’t control what others feel about you. All you can do is try your best to be considerate of others, and do good work, and hope for the best. I’m older now, and semi-retired, and I don’t think or talk nearly as fast as I used to, so I hope that I’m rubbing fewer folks the wrong way, but really, what do I know? Maybe they all hate me, and I’m just ignorant of the fact.
Not that you need defending, but even without knowing who this is or having met them, I know with whom I’d rather have a meal or a chat.
I really hope it isn’t someone whose writing I have admired. It’s always disappoints me when someone who has attributes I like, turns out to be a jerk.
I imagine the identity of the grudge-keeper will surface sooner or later.
As long as the menu’s not limited to funny-sounding seafood. There’s gotta be plenty of good bbq around where Torch lives.
I’d be fine with seafood or BBQ. Heck, even Burger King!
https://www.jalopnik.com/this-brutal-nyt-mirage-review-is-whats-wrong-with-cheap-1583123298/
went to check it out, the ads man, so many ads!
Thanks for the link. It cracks me up JT is still under his Trump-level thin skin and living rent-free in his head so many years later. C/D has had some great writers. He’s not one of them.
Yeah that kind of grudge would only be reasonable of Jason did something serious like fucking the guys wife/GF or burning down his house… AND combining that with criticizing the guys work.
LOL
I vote that you mail a toy replica of the car in question to him, with a nice little valentines card attached. Turn it into a running joke.
“Roses are red, violets are blue, Mirages are shitty, and so are you!”
“Roses are red, violets are blue, Mirages aren’t shitty, unlike you!”
Someone pissed on his cereal that morning geez. What a honor to be called that lol
Sounds like an insufferable prick. Perhaps he will be the final nail in the coffin over at C&D.
Sounds like he’s Rick James… and hasn’t met his Charlie Murphy yet.
He’s a habitual line-stepper.
There can’t be that much of an overlap here. I guess I’ve heard some cars described as missiles?
“Shitboxen” sounds vaguely German and therefore sends me to Google Translate with, after a few tries, this result: “Scheißkisten.” Oh I like that!
Not to be confused with “Fancykristen”. We like her as much, if not more than we like our shitboxen, but she’d never be caught dead in a Scheißkisten.
You know how they say people dont think about you nearly as much as you think?
This guy goes against the rule. You haunt his dreams. He puts uo a devastating review, but will it get a torch reaponse? Will he get that anger high off it? It keeps him up at night, wondering how this man can happily saw batteries while hes angry at the world of print because how dare somebody directly disagree! Hes tellin yall its sabotage. 12 years of stewing, and you appear in front if him. And you dont give him a second thought.
Thia guy could learn a lesson from coach lasso- be a goldfish.
What a weiner. The aussies have a great word for him thats currently being discussed on the discord, but ill leave the family friendlyness here.
Torch, you’ve lived in NC for a while. The appropriate response would have been, “Bless your heart.”
“Bless your little heart,” is Southern for “F*ck you!”
Can confirm! “Bless your heart” can be used in an affectionate context: “Aww, you stopped at the Krispy Kreme just for me!!! Well bless your heart!!”
“Bless your little heart,” on the other hand, means exactly what Huja Shaw says: “Oh, you don’t want me to park the ZJ in the front parking spots because you think it sends the wrong image about the company? Well bless your little heart.”
A couple of years ago I had my ZJ on a cross-country trek where it lived out west for 7 months. Towards the end of the journey, it was in SoCal awaiting my arrival (along with a barely drivable Rover SD1) for a return journey to the East Coast. A friend of a friend of a friend picked up the ZJ from LAX and drove it to their house for me…and his wife made him park it down the street in front of a hedge. I suppose they didn’t want oil from the rear-main seal to etch itself into their driveway, but I later heard it was an “Oh no, you are not parking that thing anywhere near my house” from his better half.
Also, “have a magical day” means the same thing and is also technically southern
Holding onto that grudge so hard he’s probably drafting an article right now condemning amber rear turn signals.
It’s tough to square with this article and the following comment section with “I hope he finds some peace, and I’d like to do whatever I can to help him achieve that.” If I’m being honest, it’s feels more like Torch chose violence LOLS.
More like Torch chose clicks, and we are all here for it
Wow. That makes me wonder how many people I’ve pissed off over the years. Needless to say, I don’t go to my high school reunions.
name checks out 🙂
Yeah, I can be a bit of an ass, myself.
Yeah, I can be a real ape too