Jalopnik gets better — but for how long?

(EXPANDED FROM 9/18/2020)

A few years ago I starting reading Jalopnik again after a long lapse because its content appeared to have improved. However, I still don’t check out the website daily because there’s too much clickbait. And while Jalopnik’s still fairly new corporate overlord does not appear to have tampered too much with this pioneering automotive blog, I wonder what will happen once a recession hits.

We’ll talk about the private-equity firm that acquired Jalopnik in a moment. But first, about that clickbait. To be fair, all 24/7 auto buff websites have a fair amount of it (as discussed here, this is driven by economics). I just don’t find many of Jalopnik’s party tricks all that interesting.

That said, Jalopnik’s news coverage is decent for a car buff site — although its analysis is usually rather “lite.”

When I last updated this review in 2020 I gave two examples. David Tracy’s (2020) take on the 2021 Grand Wagoneer offered a useful critique of the concept car’s bland styling but didn’t get what made the original Wagoneer so iconic from a functional standpoint, such as its much nimbler size than a Chevrolet Suburban or International Travelall.

Meanwhile, Jalopnik’s coverage of an infamous Elon Musk interview where he smoked pot was amusing but vapid. Jason Torchinsky (2018a) presented a caption-writing contest for photos of Musk toking (go here for our take).

Things don’t appear to have improved over the last three years. For example, today’s front page has a clickity story on an upcoming Gran Turismo movie and another one asks about readers’ favorite car rap songs.

Once in a while Jalopnik can get admirably serious

To its credit, Jalopnik sprinkles serious journalism amidst all the clickbait. As a case in point, Andy Kalmowitz (2023) explored why younger car owners are falling behind in car loans. And Erin Marquis (2020) criticized the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for not doing enough to combat rising pedestrian fatalities.

Two of my favorite Jalopnik stories in recent years have been from the now-departed Torchinsky (2012, 2018b), who repeatedly lamented the lack of real bumpers on contemporary cars. This is an important topic in light of rising repair costs (go here for further discussion).

Also see ‘Mike Spinelli: How Jalopnik got its name’

In addition, Jalopnik’s comment threads tend to be more erudite and entertaining than the “best and brightest” of The Truth About Cars or the cranky backbenchers who usually dominated Automotive News’ website-based comment threads before they were discontinued in 2021 (go here for further discussion).

I also appreciate Jalopnik’s posted ethics policies. For example, staff are barred from accepting gifts of $50 or more and a “wall exists between the business side of the company and the editorial side” (Jalopnik, 2023). I wish other auto media would follow suit.

Jalopnik started strong but went corporate

Jalopnik was created by Gawker Media in 2004. I began reading it a few years later, when it was still run by founding editor Mike Spinelli. At that point it was a terrific automotive blog.

Am I viewing Jalopnik through rose-tinted glasses when saying that it once possessed the irreverence and literary flair of Car and Driver in its glory days? Perhaps, but I still think it is fair to argue that Jalopnik was a leader in the rise of web-based auto buff media outlets. This wave helped to shake at least some of the complacency from print-based magazines — all of whom had grown terribly stale by the dawn of the 21st Century.

But then Spinelli left and Jalopnik got more “corporate.” For example, comment moderation became high schoolish and too much emphasis was placed on filler stories imported from sister websites. That’s when I drifted away.

At some point Jalopnik adopted the slogan, “Drive Free or Die.” It epitomized how the auto buff media can treat cars like adolescent toys that must be defended in knee-jerk fashion against evil parental regulators. The slogan was more recently changed to “the cult of cars, racing and everything that moves you.” That’s an improvement, but why would I want to be part of a cult? Oh, right — that’s what advertisers want.

Will private-equity firm eventually gut the website?

When Gawker went bankrupt in 2016, most of its media properties were sold to Univision Communications Inc. Then, in 2019, the private-equity firm Great Hills Partners took control (Fuller, 2019).

In general, private-equity firms have had a tendency to squeeze media outlets of their assets and then discard them. Susan Kalaf (2020), a former managing editor of a sister website of Jalopnik, wrote a story in the Columbia Journalism Review that raised questions about GHP’s initial management moves.

But at least for now, Jalopnik continues to continue. Along the way the website has produced some of the best serious journalism in the car buff media. Alas, the endless clickbait and “cult” schtick suggest that Jalopnik is conflicted — a part of it wants to grow up and another part of it doesn’t. Which side will prevail?

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RE:SOURCES

• Fuller, Melynda; 2019. “Gizmodo Media Group, The Onion Inc. Sold To Great Hills Partners.” MediaPost. Posted April 2.
• Jalopnik; 2023. “Editorial and Ethics Policies.” Accessed July 13.
• Hernandez, Freddy “Tavarish”; 2015. “Mike Spinelli: Peanut Butter Guts! — Part 2.” Offtrack. Posted May 21.
• Kalaf, Susan; 2020. “Dead and spun: a story in three meetings.” Columbia Journalism Review. Posted Jan. 22.
• Kalmowitz, Andy; 2023. “Millennials And Gen Z Can’t Afford Their Auto Loans, And It’s Only Getting Worse.” Jalopnik. Posted July 13.
• Torchinsky, Jason; 2012. “Why Bumpers Are Broken.” Jalopnik. Posted March 5.
• ——; 2018a. “It’s Time for the Elon Musk Smoking Weed Contest.” Jalopnik. Posted Sept. 7.
• ——; 2018b. “Reminder: Cars Don’t Have Bumpers Anymore and That Sucks.” Jalopnik. Posted Nov. 25.
• Tracy, David; 2020. “The New Jeep Grand Wagoneer Isn’t Beautiful Enough For Its Name.” Jalopnik. Posted Sept. 4.

This review was originally posted on January 12, 2018 and expanded on Sept. 18, 2020 and on July 13, 2023.