It’s been a long week. We’ve had some folks out, my wife and I have been caring for crying newborn and moving homes at the same time, I had to drive a Vector M12 yesterday because I’d be a fool to pass that up, I’ve been trying to help edit a book, and that’s all on top of my job as editor. But now it’s Friday, and it’s time to take a few minutes to reflect — not just on this week, but on the site overall and on our future. So, dear Autopian readers, let’s talk!
I always enjoy our “let’s chat’ sessions in which you not only tell us how you’re liking (or not liking) The Autopian, but also just generally talk about what’s going on in your car-worlds. Consider the comments section here a great place for both feedback and car-related discussion with fellow Autopians.
I’m about to drive to U-Haul to pick up a 6ft x 12ft trailer to tow with my 1989 Chevy K1500 because I’m too cheap to get the box truck (which has a per-mile fee) and also too cheap to hire movers. This weekend is going to be rough. I’m still trying to figure out how to transition from “single dude who did everything himself” to “married dad who hires things out.” The number of projects at this new house – plus all the cars I own (though I’ll whittle that down soon) — means I’m going to have to fundamentally change my mindset should I want to spend time with baby-Delmar (and I do; that’s my #1 priority).
So that’s what’s on my mind right now. What’s on yours?
The Autopian is now over three years old. We’ve gone from being literally just an idea into a site that outperformed The Drive back in March. That’s wild! And we have you to thank for it. As we look ahead at ways we can not only improve (we just cut autoplay videos for paying members!), but expand in different directions, we’re keeping our ears open to you, dear readers. How are we doing? How are you doing?
At a certain point, the decisions will be made for you about what you DIY and what you pay someone to do. I.e. you have no time or are just too old to play the part of beast of burden. I often have conversations with a buddy of mine who is 7 years older than I am for a preview of what I the things I will be paying someone else to do in the near future. Good luck with the move.
While I thought I learned this lesson from cars, a house really drilled into me that there are things that aren’t worth doing yourself and others that aren’t worth paying someone else to do. Also, finding someone competent and reasonable to do the things that aren’t worth doing is difficult. I got a quote for $18k to paint a pretty simple 900 sq ft space and small bathroom! That was one of those things that was worth doing myself.
That’s the hard part . . . finding someone competent to do the work without destroying your finances. I’m in a good spot right now – the guy who painted my house (subcontracted w/a big local outfit) is now out on his own and does all kinds of work and sometimes we’ll do things together that require two sets of hands.
$18k! I’d expect to pay less than that to paint the outside of my 1700sq ft single story house. If not, I’ve got an airless sprayer that has never had a proper workout.
That’s nuts – I’ve charged less than 1/3 that to paint house interiors twice as big, and here in SoCal labor is far from cheap…
We paid a lot less than that to paint the whole exterior of our last house and so some wood work. They weren’t the best, but good enough. It was an obscenely ridiculous quote at the end of an expensive renovation (done by different people). I had just finished building/rebuilding about 18′ (there’s that number again) of built-in cabinet/shelving that had a missing center that the original builders had left open for a giant old projection TVs (house was built in the early ’90s). I built a new matching center so that the span was seamless and updated the whole look of it, so I taught myself to make (10 large) shaker doors. Anyway, after that (and a new kitchen and full bath), we wanted the room done, so got the quote. Instead, I spent maybe $500 (including some other minor stuff) and a few hours after work for a week to paint it myself. I’ve got paint experience (part of that is knowing cheap paint is false economy), so it came out really nice, but with a little prep, it’s pretty hard not hard to do a passable job for someone who’s green.
As someone who followed you guys for about a decade on Ye Olde Website, I think you’ve been doing great!
As far as what more I want to see in terms of content: I guess I’d like to see some more articles on the weekends, as long as it isn’t a bunch of “Does [X]/Here’s Why/Here’s What/Here Are/These Are” spam by/for AI.
As far as the website experience is concerned: I’d like to see a dark theme added (preferably one that automatically detects my browser/OS setting) so that I don’t have to switch to my browser’s reader mode to read articles at night.
As far as how I’m doing personally: a recent injury has left me unable to drive a stickshift for at least a couple of months, so I’m seriously considering buying a new hybrid, or maybe even an EV, sooner than I originally planned. My main gripe is that the new cars I’m most interested in are being launched/updated late this year or sometime next year, and I’m not sure what tariffs and pricing are going to look like by then. Seems like I should just jump on a Civic ST hatchback or Camry XLE as soon as I’ve healed.
When’s our next SWG piece coming already? There’s only so much EV pickup truck stuff or criticism of whatever Subaru is offering that I can take before I needs me a dose of resurrecting a decrepit Cavalier Z24 convertible or some other bit of proper motoring!
This. I see SWG posting stuff on the Insta, but it’s not here.☹️
There’s only room for one handsome talented bastard on this site and it’s me.
You can only pick two of the three…
But they’re all true.
Yeah but you gotta up the selfie game then I think. If you’re not going to give us stuff like staring angrily at a passing new Capri, I feel we’re not getting the full effect.
I think I have only seen one on the road, thank god.
The rest made it home.
Oh, the Humility!
I’m also anxious to see it! He’s got a “real” job, but I’ll take all the SWG I can get.
Between him and Jason they have to do something with the taxi, don’t they?
I just want to say thank you to Mercedes for her stellar article on how to choose the right tow vehicle for what you’re towing. It was long but it needed to be. She hit every angle and explained everything so well!
Thanks Mercedes! You rock!
Yes, a very well written article!
You’re welcome! I had great fun writing it! 🙂
I’m fine, thanks for asking.
Site is fine, thanks for asking.
I bet if you did a shout-out here that you need help moving, your place would be swarming with people who will help. Not me, as I am busy, but you only need a few out of a few thousand. You might want to get background checks, but other than that…
Precedent indicates that a pinky-swear not to appropriate organs and sell them is sufficient. 🙂
I’ve been in a real pickle lately, actually. I have a final year (2011) Saab 9-5ng that gets about 2k miles per year. It’s a fine car and does everything except self-drive and all of that stuff, but I yearn for a classic 900 Turbo (I used to have one, so they’re a known quantity to me). For the few miles that I drive per year, do I lean into a cool enthusiast car? Or for those few miles, do I lean into the comfort and safety of something with a million airbags and a wonderful ride quality?
As a segue, is there anything that y’all can do about how long a click on the comments-count on the top of articles take to…scroll down the page? It oughta be instantaneous, I’m not sure what’s causing it to feel like a full page load but it’s pretty painful!
Keep the 9-5 for when you want comfort, and take as long as needed to search for the perfect 900 for fun. That way, you have the best of both worlds, and you can get dirt-cheap classic car insurance on the 900, as long as you keep normal insurance on the 9-5.
I’m happy it’s not just me. I swear that my computer and phone used to jump to the comments immediately. Now it takes maybe 6 seconds? I’m just going to blame Kinja.
Man, I’ve been married 14 years, have 4 kids, and still can’t bring myself to pay people to do projects for me. No shame in renting a trailer and doing it yourself.
That’s what the kids are for.
Free labor! Okay, not really, but at least they can pay back a small part of the money they cost you.
Respect
…your back. I’m not much older than you, but I did too many things myself, and that put me out for about 4 years of 24/7 pain that resulted in a very expensive surgery this week, a whole week off work, and 6-8 of rehab.
Doing something myself also sent me to the hospital 20 years ago.
I learned a ton of skills, and yeah I probably saved $100k (home repairs are expensive). But I wish I’d spent an extra $25k instead and avoid this whole situation.
Hire. Out.
You have nothing to prove. ENHRN and your kiddo don’t need you to impress them by saving a buck if you’re going to be away for 4 hours and come home sore and stinky.
Hire out!
In my eighth decade, I don’t intend on moving again. I find it very unpleasant and tiring even when I was younger. Since college, I’ve moved 6 times, including once across the continental US. I know that isn’t much compared to others.
It is important to try to have a good place to live when raising a child. I am not a parent, so I suggest to new parents that they consider sending their children to boarding school in Switzerland until they are old enough to support themselves. 😉
I followed Jason to this website and have since been reading just about every contributor and enjoying it all. Keep up the great spirit and comradery.
We’re happy you’re here!
After a weird glitch, I finally got the summer tires in for my 2023 Ford Maverick. The OEM Continental Procontact all-seasons had about 55,000 miles, minus whatever mileage was done during winter with Blizzaks. The trucklet is now rocking a Toyo Proxes ST III, which were listed for “Street Trucks” on Tire Rack. I blame fellow Autopian Nick for convincing me to go with the silly choice, but they should be fun, even on the hybrid.
The A/C crapped out on the ’97 Mustang GT convertible ahead of an hour trip back to my home town to swap vehicles and take the dog to a session of training. Thankfully, even though it rained, it dropped the temperature and humidity from what it was. It doesn’t seem to be low on refrigerant, but the low-pressure switch didn’t return any continuity on the multimeter. It is dead easy to remove and only a $20 part, so if that’s all that’s wrong, that would be great. Still waiting for a stretch of comfortable weather and free time to dive into the Saab 9-2X project car, but I’m hoping to fix it up and then put it in the Mustang’s storage unit so the convertible can be at home this summer.
As for general life, I’m still settling in with the new job over at a slightly competing outlet, but it’s a third-person writing style, so more news coverage/feature than personal experiences, so maybe we’re not direct “rivals.” Michigan is having its first warm and humid week, so I’ve been tracking down A/C units to use in the house that was built over 100 years ago. The quote I got for central air was $5,000, and so far, I’ve gotten a portable unit and a window unit for $200 and discovered another window unit in the cellar. I’ve done a few rounds of deep cleaning, and at least two of the three should work well. The other window unit came from a smoking household, and I can’t get the smell out (despite using AC foaming cleaner, bleach cleaner, multi-surface cleaner, dish soap, and white vinegar – it did get a ton of tar out though), so I might donate it or sell it for cheap.
Next week, I head to Orlando for the press preview of Epic Universe on Tuesday and Wednesday. I then hope to catch up with my friend and fellow massive Star Wars nerd who work at Disney to hit up Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom to say goodbye to Muppets 3D and the Dinosaur dark ride. Forecast calls for 95° and sun, so I’m probably going to melt faster than a Scandinavian snowman.
Multi-zone mini splits – cheaper than central, more effective than window AC, they double as heaters, and you only need to run the ones you want. I have a 3-head unit, one that gets run during the day in the downstairs living area and two that run in the bedrooms upstairs at night.
Just double checked the quote and it was $4,100, which isn’t bad. Looking at a comparable Mr. Cool or Pioneer mini-split, it’s coming out to roughly $3,000 or more. If this was just a one room project, I’d be all over the heating pump solution. But in this instance, and knowing the quality of my workmanship (haha), I think it’s probably a better investment to pay the extra grand and have a 10 year warranty. However, that can come after we replace a sagging wood beam in the house with a steel one. Thanks to the recent “spike in costs for materials” that no one could have ever foresaw, that job is probably going to hurt.
Retain this crew, contributors and staff!!! Don’t accidentally lose anyone. It’s the writers, their particular views and voices, and their personal stories as shared that makes this car site so special to follow.
(Meanwhile, someone please remind Jason to use there are for multiples. I cringe at each “there’s many…” etc.)
That error is my grammatical Achilles’ heel. I am absolutely blind to it. I can make no promises I won’t do it again, but I’ll try!
I give up, grammar is hard.
People paid me to mash buttons until words came out for more than a decade, and a couple tics (mainly coming up with a clever phrase and being so proud of myself I’d use it again like 3 sentences later) were still getting me yelled at by editors from day one to day I Quit. Don’t stress it, we all love you regardless!
“there’s a Shitload of” works.
Problem solved!
Absolutely agree with this.
The writers here are amazing, and The Autopian is now the #1 car website that I read.
As a Brit I’d like to recommend Richard Porter as a potential writer for you. Unless Adrian objects to another writer from these fair isles.
WHAT. DO YOU WANT TO GO ON THE LIST?
Jason literally cannot stop. We’ve tried everything!
The cattle prod didn’t work?!?
Using an electric cattle prod on Torch is counterproductive. I’d tell you how he responds to it, but this is a family site.
I really like what you’re doing. And I really like what the folks over at Defector are doing (Defector is to Deadspin as Autopian is to Jalopnik, for the uninitiated). There probably isn’t enough crossover between members to do a joint subscription, but maybe a cross post when it makes sense for the audience of each site? Helps promote both, and gives you a smidge more content. There’s probably some common ground around auto racing, or bizarre vehicles in sports (like the old helmet-shaped carts that would come out when someone was hurt at a football game, or the Philly Phanatic’s ride through the years. Just spitballin’ here…
They actually posted one of our articles recently! We should do more though, you’re right.
Congrats (?) On the move! Good to see youve got the right priorities, DT. You guys are doing awesome- the community here is great, articles are awesome, and you can tell all the writers really like what theyre writing. Be proud. And let Torch be unleashed sometimes!
Doin good here- hopefully joining you on the moving train soon! But on a sadder side, my dads putting his property on the market so Ill be losing my storage/workshop/lift access. And selling the 69 chevelle (on cars and bids soon!). But I might take some of those profits and buy something silly… maybe a jdm car or corvair.
I appreciate your cross-shopping taste.
Spending a few weeks in Barcelona. Aside from the pastries on every block, it’s good to have some detox from the US car scene, especially the Silicon Valley version.
Real talk: I just got rejected for a job on the basis of a technical project that I put my heart and soul into and I’m feeling lost. I’m 16 months without work and my house is on the line.
Sorry.
What kind of engineer are you?
Software test
I’m willing to do a resume/CV review & mock interview to see if your visibility & hit rate can be increased. Provide a way to contact.
I’m slammed, but I can make some time.
It’s really tough out there right now, and know you’re far from the only dev in your exact situation.
I swear this is not a joke: apparently Crowdstrike is hiring like gangbusters for testers right now.
Bar is crazy high everywhere though, and it’s even tougher at a company that likely has equity as part of comp.
I’ve a customer that’s a no-name company doing no-name non-tech things in suburban PA and they had to pull down a senior dev listing after two days because they got 1500 legit applications, where 20%+ were former FAANGers willing to do anything.
I had a friend be all high and mighty until after nine FINAL interviews — including some boiler room processes that spanned 30-40 hours of effort to get to that point — he woke up and listened to me that it’s very much a buyer’s market right now. I coached him into yessir’ing his way into SOMETHING. He’s salty, but he accepted it’s reality.
There’s at least 400K+ unemployed people in software dev and IT right now, and they’re all competing for the same jobs.
I’m so sorry to hear this, but hopeful your luck will change. Would it brighten your spirits if I let you pick a subject for a Cold Start this coming week? Anything you’d like to see that might brighten things a bit?
Goodness. That would be really nice actually.
I’m happy to do it! Pick whatever you think will be fun and I’ll do my best! Just email me at jason [at] autopian.com and put Cold Start Request in the subject so I don’t miss it!
Many of us have said it before, but it’s time to say it again. Jason, you’re a mensch.
Mechjaz: I’m so sorry to hear about this. The stress and uncertainty alone are excruciating, I know. I’ve been there, as I’m sure have most of the folks out here. We’re all rooting for you.
David’s story about Jason having been his and “Elise’s” matchmaker really brought that home.
Mechjaz: Good luck, as someone who started in a one-page-application type job and worked my way up in the same company I don’t know how I’d even start an open professional job search.
Funny thing is that David left out the part of the story where I was also there on the date. It was Elise, her friend, David, Jason, and myself as the designated driver. That was a great night! I think Thomas was at a party or something.
Sorry to hear that man.
Sorry to hear it and hope things turn around fast. The fact that you approached it the way you did certainly shows that you nailed everything that was within your control; it was the externals that bedeviled things. But that also means when the externals are positive in the future, you’re set, b/c you’ve done the truly hard part already.
My Honda Life arrives at port in less than a week!! I’m so excited! I’m going to pick it up using a truck that’s way too big for the task. 🙂
Are you gonna throw the car in the back of the pick up truck like DT and JT did with the Chang Lee?
I’m going to bring a trailer. In hindsight, putting it in the bed would have been hilarious.
Next time…
Which port?
Baltimore!
“Bawlamore, hon!”
Bodymore.
Also that. I recall seeing shirts with “Bodymore, Murderland” but may have fever-dreamed them.
I believe that was from The Wire. The best show ever made as long as you ask anyone that isn’t my wife </borat>.
I remember seeing a hardcore band’s shirt in my youth (Dystopia, maybe?) that said ‘Welcome to Baltimore, Duck Mother__cker’.
When are you coming? I’m 2 hours away, it’s tempting to come meet up.
I honestly have no idea. The ship arrives on the 22nd and in theory, my car could be ready that Monday. But it’s also a major holiday weekend, so who knows.
(Sings) Good morning, Baltimore! There’s the flasher that lives next door…
Why east coast? I can see avoiding LA/Long Beach so that David wouldn’t fall in love with it on the drive from the docks to the Galpin lot, but there’s SF/Oakland and the PNW ports.
I chose the cheapest port close enough to home. I’m not really interested in driving to Long Beach (2,000+ miles one way) but Baltimore is an easy drive. Besides, I can see my wife’s childhood home while I’m out there!
Sounds like it’s time for an Autopian meet in Baltimore!
That’s a great idea! I’m hoping my car’s clearance falls on a day that would make a meetup feasible.
Ah just hang out for a couple days haha
We’re all saying prayers that the ship doesn’t…um, never mind. Don’t wanna jinx it. 🙂
tcp 22
Also, I hope you’re making progress with the old Plymouth. That car is too cool to let it sit.
I think I’m just a points fiddling away from having it run! Then I’ll need to replace the radiator, but at least it’ll be running!
It’d be funnier if the Life fit in the Plymouth’s trunk. Not plausible, but funny.
I wanna drive a Vector!!! That was my favorite poster car on my wall of poster cars!!!
https://cdn2.adrianflux.co.uk/wp-fluxposure/uploads/2020/10/19090756/Screenshot-2024-12-19-at-08.59.24.png
Vector! Not Vectra! I was so hoping for something sweet 🙂
Sorry,
https://am-s3-bucket-assets.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/silverstone/prod/lot_images/xlarge/RECC31848-1/RECC31848-1_2.jpg.webp
You are doing very well. The site is pretty good too. I am doing fine, the newly reboileded Fowler is going for it’s first proper outing tomorrow, a local village fete twenty miles away, so three hours. And back in the evening, lots of fun. ( a neighbour is going to follow me with a Thorneycroft Antar, we will se who gives who a tow!)
My goodness what a beast! Thank you for leading me down a fun rabbit-hole.
Torch, what’s the story with the pickles and mustard that Adrian was talking about?
Have you tried it? It’s good!
I have not yet, but I’m willing! What kind of pickles? What kind of mustard?
I’m fond of half-sours and basic yellow mustard, but I think many variations can work
So it’s just mustard on a pickle? Or is there something a bit more to it?
Best with Guss’ pickles (lower east side NYC) and while you are there, you should pick up some smoked white fish at Russ and Daughters. I miss that being on the other coast for 40+ years.
Go with the half-sours.
mmm man I love some smoked whitefish
Knowing where Jason’s from I’d have thought to err toward Mt. Olive. (I always thought Mt. Olive pickles should have a sister brand of Mt. Pickle olives.)
This stuff is damn good:
https://sprecherbrewery.com/products/root-beer-mustard
Would this be more a sweet pickle or a dill pickle mustard?
Darn right it is. They’re all philistines Jason. They’re don’t get us.
Take an extra suitcase to France and fill it with this. I can’t find anything like it in the USA.
https://world.openfoodfacts.org/product/3168930164579/lay-s-saveur-moutarde-pickles
Europe gets all the cool stuff.
I got a camp spot on white rim trail for September super excited. Dreamed of a Moab trip for decades. Assuming nothing goes wrong I’ll wake up on my 50th bday in the middle of nowhere with some of the greatest scenery I could imagine
Happy birthday!
Still early but thanks
Epic!!
Always wanted to do that!
Do it if you can or something else you enjoy. We only get one life
Deciding to spend a couple of bucks to hire movers is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Moving already sucks enough, professional movers make things much less awful.
I am a cheap bastard in a lot of ways, but I agree it’s worth paying for a mover.
I’ll happily pay for movers and roofers.
There is a little cheap bastard in all of us…
Wait. Sorry. That came out wrong. Especially with Cheap Bastard being a real person
I paid a fudgeton for movers when I left LA and ended up moving way more crap than I should have. Oh well.
The really strange thing about your move is that you bought A CAR YOU CAN POOP IN and haven’t done anything with it in 10 years. Except maybe use it as a storage shed?
Really you can do that in just about any car.
Technically Jason hasn’t explicitly said he hasn’t pooped in it.
Moving (like painting) always feel like one of those things I hate but, that’s just a tiny bit more expensive than I’m willing to pay.
Counterpoint: Not hiring movers is a great way of forcing you to decide if you really need/want to keep all the crap you’ve accumulated.
I got rid of so much junk when I moved with just a Uhaul, having to look at (and put out your back lifting) everything you own forces you to question all of your life choices.
The state of the site is pretty good if you ask me. It will stay like that as long as you maintain your independence and don’t allow “benefactors” to steer you in the wrong direction.
And don’t show everyone a wrestler’s dong. That seems to end with a site being lobotomized by private equity ghouls.
We have a pretty strict policy when it comes to dongs. Donks are fine, though.
What about Dongfengs?
“Oto-mo-biiile?” Sorry, thought I’d sneak a highly stereotypical quote from Long Duk Dong in here. It is car related.
Is there a Tales from the Slack where this policy is discussed?
(deletes post with Rik Flare’s junk on the hood of a Dauphine)
I thought that was in the “Autopian……Nights!” section?
That’s why you rejected my suggestion for a post about the anatomically incorrect painting of the Jerry Seinfeld bee from that cartoon movie on the hood of a Kia Stinger…
The key to remaining consistent is to establish (and write down) editorial standards, and we’ve done that. The Autopian will always be about “Double-E”: All stories must be Entertaining or Enlightening, ideally both.
Actually, the real key to consistency is to have a great team!
I am also too cheap to pay UHaul by the mile so for my in town moves I rent a van from Enterprise since you can pay by the day like a normal rental.
Also, are there no badges for subscribers to show off their support when they comment?
We’re working on member badges!
I’m at an Outback Steakhouse with real Australians right now. Will report back.
Will they ever forgive us Yanks for thinking Outback is authentically Australian?
They are very curious
Did they try the blooming onion?
Hell yeah we did.
Find out if they have those in Australia. Or if the non-Outback-Steakhouse steakhouses in Australia have things which are “bloomed”.
Ask if they have a chain of restaurants branded with one of our cultural tropes, like the “Branch Davidian Compound Steakhouses” or “Medical Bankruptcy Bistros”.
Is “School Shooting Sliders” too dark?
Certainly not. You need to get the inside to at least medium rare (if not much higher now that all the food inspectors have been fired) before giving the outside a nice char.
Thanks for reminding me about the America-themed Australian restaurant from The Good Place…
I once spent a week in the Australian Outback on an E&E exercise. Didn’t run across a single steakhouse (or cattle). Did find ants. Lots of big ass ants.
It’s been an hour, what happened?
Margaritas in the shape of a boomerang and a Fosters the size of an oil can.
I’ve been to bars with Aussies: I expected the margaritas to be in the shape of much, much larger margaritas.
Hiring movers is a key part of being an adult.
Do it once and you will understand why it is worth every single penny.
Amen! I’m as frugal (cheap) as Scrooge McDuck but there is one thing I will not hesitate to spend money on and that’s movers
And roofers. That’s a shit job.
Hired movers for our last move to bring the big stuff I didn’t want to/couldn’t wrangle. Broke a dresser and scratched some other stuff. It’s not like we were moving Tiffany lamps.
Agreed. I have done my share of self moves and honestly, I don’t think I can do anymore.
What ended up being wrong with the Chevy?
The Saginaw steering column was causing the ignition switch to deploy the starter motor, even when the engine was running!
Did you get a replacement from a company named after another town in Michigan, like Saugatuck or Ferndale?
Ah, yes, my favorite steering column, the Hell column.
That’s… Ridiculous.
There’s nothing like having one part of your car break a completely different part of it.
So it wasn’t overheating?
No!
WTAF that’s wild
I do recall you mentioning the steering column was a bit janky. What a wild thing to discover. How do you secure the column?