I Owe David An Apology, And Let’s Remember There Would Be No Autopian Without David Tracy

So on Friday I wrote one of our Tales From The Slack posts, where we reveal a bit about the inner workings, behind-the-scenes dirt about our site. It’s a members-only post, so perhaps you didn’t see it (also this is a good opportunity to really take a moment and consider becoming a member) but the gist of it is that David and I were arguing the relative importance of the visuals of the site, and then afterwards I noticed an unedited screenshot he had in a post that had a huge ad in it that said something about six months of unexplained diarrhea. I thought it was a funny post that poked fun at David good-naturedly, but based on some of the comments, I think I may have gone too far, and I’d like to use today’s Cold Start to just make a few things clear.

Also, I’m going to throw in a few pictures of cars, too, and maybe a line or two about them, because, for the moment at least, we’re a car site and not an apology site. That honor goes to our sister site we’ll be launching soon, Atonepian.

We do tend to make fun of David a fair amount here, because, well, it is a lot of fun. And he has been generous with providing us with material to have fun with, from classics like the shower spaghetti to his impressively limited, near-Amish-levels of exposure to most of pop culture. There’s a lot to work with there. But as much fun as all the teasing we do is, I’m afraid it’s causing some unwanted side effects, specifically that it’s overshadowing all that David does and is capable of doing.

Also, here’s some interesting old Renaults: a Dauphine, up top, and below, based on the Dauphine’s rear-engine design, the 1959 concept Project 900, which looks like a wagon until you realize it’s backwards.

I know there is something that drives David absolutely bonkers, and that’s the way people tend to perceive those who are a little goofy, or are willing to laugh at themselves and have the courage to let themselves not be taken so seriously all the damn time. Often, the assumption is that such people aren’t capable of important things or just capable in general, and this idea is, of course, idiotic. Some of the smartest and most capable people in human history have also been incredible goofballs, and I feel like the trap of not realizing this is a genuine problem.

So with that in mind, let me make a few things absolutely clear, just so we’re all on the same page: the would be no Autopian without David. Period. That’s just how it is. David is the big wet pulsating brain in the re-animated cadaver that is this website, and it is David who dictates and defines our editorial standards, which, I believe, are the best in the industry.

Before we founded the Autopian, I had an offer – a good offer – to go from the Old Site to Another Car Site. I decided against it, because I knew any future automotive journalism venture I may undertake would have to involve David as my partner, because I trust his ability, talent, and judgement more than anyone else. That may have seemed like a gamble, but the truth is it wasn’t. Deciding to throw the future of my career in with David was the easiest decision I could make.

Do you understand how incredible it is to have an actual automotive engineer as Editor-in-Chief of a website? It’s amazing. There’s a reason David’s technical deep dives are unmatched in the space; he has an actual, genuine engineer’s understanding of what makes cars work, and the rare ability to translate that in a form more engineering-impaired folks can comprehend.

With that in mind, here’s a nice image of an engine:

That’s a 1963 Austin engine. I think a diesel one?

David designed the cooling system of the current-generation Jeep Wrangler. What other major automotive publication around today can say that their editor-in-chief was behind a crucial technical system of cars that are being sold right at this moment? The more you think about that, the more incredible it is.

The editorial standards and practices David has set for the site are the key to our success, and we will cleave to them as long as we can, because the results are worth it. David is the moral compass of our site, too; where my own moral compass is a de-magnetized, imprecise thing, David’s true and unyielding, and that goes for life as well as on the pages of this site.

David holds himself to standards of behavior, and he sticks to those standards with a truly impressive tenacity. If your job was to lure David into violating his moral code, perhaps hired by some rival publication or perhaps a cabal of Freemasons and corrupt auto executives, you’d find that job nearly impossible.

David is wildly generous – he’s given me two entire motor vehicles since we’ve started this site – and when he’s generous, you can see it’s just an innate part of his character, completely unforced and natural. I’ve seen it so many times, in so many ways, I feel like I don’t even notice it anymore. But I should.

When I joke about David getting in moods and wanting to get as much published as possible or whatever, I feel like it’s worth clarifying why that happens: because David is laser-focused on making this site a success. In that Tales From The Slack post, I think I gave an impression of David sort of manically wanting stories and content to get up, and while that worked for the context of my narrative, it’s worth noting in more detail what is really going on. He’s just trying to make the site the best it can be for all of you who read it, and that goal drives him, and if we do end up being successful long-term, that will be at the root of why it happened.

If he has decided we need stories up at a particular time, that comes from a lot of careful thought and evaluation of metrics, numbers, and instinct. There are reasons behind these decisions, and they’re all in service of making this site work.

That’s a Ford Model T chassis; David was once seriously considering buying a Model T and trying to use it as a daily driver, something I still hope happens, just so he can offer to drive someone somewhere and just tell them he’s outside in a “black Ford” and then see their faces when they see that rattly Model T bouncing towards them.

I’m writing this because it’s become clear that some scales have swung out of balance, and there needs to be some re-calibration here. I doubt we’ll ever quit teasing David, publicly or privately, about any number of things. We do that because we love David, but the price of that privilege is that maybe every so often the actual reality needs to be restated: David is the engine of this site, the chassis rails that keep the vehicle strong, and the fuel that keeps it running.

This is indisputable, and remains so regardless of arguments we may have regarding image standards or how he has no idea what entire genres of pop culture are about or how much of his blood is rust or anything like that. The point here is that David, whom I feel I am guilty of mocking just bit too much without proper context, is one of the most determined and capable people I know, and I simply could not do any of this without him.

There are plenty of funny things about David, and I have the luxury of calling those out because I know they’re supported by one of the smartest, kindest, and most worthwhile people I’ve ever met, and someone without whom this site would simply not exist.

I still think the diarrhea thing was funny, though.