(EXPANDED 9/13/2022)
Ate Up With Motor has long been one of the best sources of automotive history among the web-only media outlets. However, this website also illustrates the challenges of small-scale publishing.
Publisher and sole writer Aaron Severson has posted few new stories since mid-2014. A few years ago he stated that he might shut down Ate Up With Motor (2020a). Fortunately, Severson (2020b) has kept the website online and more recently has posted some new articles (go here).
Despite the relative lack of new content, Ate Up With Motor is still a valuable resource about a broad range of makes, types of cars and time periods.
The factual and analytical quality of Severson’s writing is top notch. Of course, it helps that he never jumped on the 24/7 posting treadmill (go here for further discussion).
Ate Up With Motor‘s comment sections have been among the most thoughtful on the web. He often joins the discussions — and adds new layers to the original posting.
A tenacious researcher willing to revise his views
Severson’s knowledge of the auto industry is both broad and deep. He has also shown an unusual willingness to revise his views when presented with new evidence. For example, Severson (2010) walked readers through the two-steps-forward, one-step-backwards process for nailing down the origins of the automatic transmission.
Severson deserves credit for his publishing ethics. As a case in point, he has been unusually careful about getting permission before posting copyrighted content. I continue to be surprised by the casualness that some other major websites display in this department.
Also see ‘What would happen to auto history media if they outlawed clickbait?‘
Ate Up With Motor is also one of the few auto history websites that lists its sources of information. Unfortunately, they are posted as one massive paragraph — which makes them exceedingly difficult to read. The website would also benefit from a more magazine-style format that allows Severson to highlight a mix of newer and older content.
I would like to give Severson a shout out for his collaborativeness. I reached out to him a few years ago with a few backshop questions and he was generous in sharing his knowledge. Severson clearly gets that small-scale publishers will have a better chance of survival when they work together rather than compete with each other.
Ate Up With Motor
- Free access, donations requested
RE:SOURCES
- Severson, Aaron; 2010. “Private Investigations: Oscar Banker, the Automatic Safety Transmission, and the Art of Research.” Ate Up With Motor. Posted July 11; accessed Nov. 1, 2014.
- ——; 2020a. “Whatever Happened to Ate Up With Motor?” Ate Up With Motor. Posted January 10; accessed January 25.
- ——; 2020b. “Update.” Ate Up With Motor. Posted February 17; accessed February 20.
This review was originally posted January 24, 2018, expanded on June 26, 2020 and again on Sept. 13, 2022.
Be the first to comment