The Truth About Cars

There's a sort of "auto blog" I visit frequently called The Truth About Cars. It is a compilation of reviews of new cars and editorials about the consumer-level automobile industry. The writing (mostly by founder Robert Farago) is fun and well constructed. In some ways, I prefer Robert's review style over Jeremy Clarkson's florid and highly British reviews which, entertaining and astute as they are, are sometimes too editorial. (Here's a sample: "...we [Europe] have Lotus, Ferrari, Maserati and Aston Martin. And they [America] have the Ford F-150 Lightning pick-up truck: 0-60mph in a millionth of a second. Enough space in the back for a dead bear. And on a challenging road about as much fun as a wasabi enema." This in a post about the new Ford Mustang GT, which isn't even mentioned until page 2.)

What I really love about The Truth About Cars is that Farago isn't afraid to dish out The Truth. If the Subaru B9 Tribeca looks like it's got a flying vagina on its front fascia, then Farago is one person who wouldn't be afraid to point that out. That very review, in fact, got Farago canceled from the SF Chronicle, which is a shame. For reviews to be worth something, they really have to be reviews, not advertisements. A threat from Subaru should have not affected the review in anyway, lest journalistic integrity be compromised. And who compromises journalistic integrity these days? Psssh, I mean come on, right?

Farago's editorials (of which there are many) are also insightful. His thoughts on the impending doom of GM has constituted an entire series of editorials (called, appropriately, GM Deathwatch) which are all worthy reading material, even if you don't know what's going on right now with cars in America. They're examples of well thought out and constructed viewpoints articulated in a clear and engaging manner. They are worth a read even if you don't care about cars.

But what am I thinking. Who doesn't like cars?