Autoextremist Saves Autojournalism, Pats Self On Back

Oh, Sweet Peet D. When we were first starting out in automotive journalism, we read you religiously. You were indeed one of the few guys at the time who called it like you saw it, while we were caught in a mishmash hell of parts payola that only got worse the more we attempted to tell it like it was. And then you left to work for DCX. And then you were back! But in the meantime, the world had changed. Nick Denton and Jason Calacanis had launched blogs, which you sneeze at somewhat derisively.

"If imitation is in fact the sincerest form of flattery, then I indeed feel blessed, but what gets lost on the imitators and others of their ilk is that there's no satisfying substitute for an original concept — or the experience that's behind it — and I'll leave it at that."

Oh man, moded, corroded, our booty just completely exploded, Peet. Seriously, dude. The self-aggrandizing nature of this column intro; the continuing republishing of your mission statement; well, it's all getting a little tired, man. When other venues of access pop up, you need to step up. There's no substitute for the original? That's the kind of thinking that got GM into the mess they're in today. Now stop acting petulant (but feel free to continue with the self-righteousness; that's part of why we love you) and go come up with some new catchphrases. But leave the H sker D references alone. That's our territory. Regardless, Happy Birthday, sir.

The Bare-Knuckled, Unvarnished, High-Octane Truth – Seven Years Later. [Autoextremist]

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