Automotive pundit Peter DeLorenzo (2023a) likes to needle industry executives such as Ford’s Jim Farley, whom he has dubbed the “I’m a genius just ask me” CEO. Thus, I was struck by how he presented his own legacy in celebrating the 24th birthday of Auto Extremist.
DeLorenzo (2023b) painted in stark terms how his website “challenged every single convention and blew the lid off of the excuse-making machines that the car company PR functions had become, and turned this business on its ear, which was, in reality, much harder to do than it sounds now.”
You see, once upon a time there was “no news or opinion of any substance, just rote regurgitation of auto company press releases with an occasional ‘tough’ question thrown in for good measure.” But then Auto Extremist came to town.
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DeLorenzo insisted that industry public relations people became so fearful of his coverage that that it “kept them awake at night” and they would pray, “I hope he stops. Or starts writing about somebody else. Or gets hit by a truck, whichever comes first, Dear Lord.”
But DeLorenzo kept hammering away — and “changed the tone and tenor of the media coverage of this business once and for all.”
Sounds heroic. But is it true?
Was DeLorenzo Detroit’s toughest critic?
One of the more objective sources we can draw upon is the late Glenn F. Campbell, who published an auto media criticism blog called Autowriters.com. Campbell (2008) judged DeLorenzo to be among the three finalists for his “I told you so” award for predicting General Motors’ collapse. However, he gave top honors to Robert Farago of The Truth About Cars and also acknowledged Dan Neil, who then wrote for the Los Angeles Times.
Campbell noted that DeLorenzo had “extensive insider contacts” as well as “a ton of experience in marketing cars and a serious understanding of how cars are made and perform.” Even so, DeLorenzo was judged to have functioned as the “loyal opposition” to GM management. “In return, he has been neither challenged nor shunned.” Campbell added that DeLorenzo may also have been “used by GM to leak and thereby condition the public at a much slower pace to the inevitable blows that came rapidly once the company turned to Washington for help.”
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One can disagree with Campbell’s ranking and still conclude that DeLorenzo did not single-handedly change the media conversation about Detroit automakers. By the same token, even if you reject the scenario where DeLorenzo was used by GM as a leaker, he still showed signs of succumbing to the dangers of “access journalism.” This played out in a number of ways, such as his sometimes rabid defense of GM (go here for further discussion).
More curiously, if DeLorenzo was so unconcerned about his reputation with industry leaders, why did he used to run a banner headline on the front page of his website stating that specific executives read Auto Extremist?
Why can’t DeLorenzo see himself as part of a team?
I would suggest that a reasonable person can raise legitimate questions about whether DeLorenzo is overstating his significance to the American automotive media. But even if that were not the case, his narrative would still give me pause.
Automotive media — like auto history — is a team sport. No matter how good you are, no scribe can be effective if they operate in isolation from the rest of their field. Yet DeLorenzo presents himself as the lone hero.
Also see ‘Does Auto Extremist’s Peter DeLorenzo have conflicts of interest?’
Why? Auto Extremist appears to be self funded, so he presumably doesn’t need to sell his publication to potential subscribers or advertisers. Does DeLorenzo feel so insecure about his own legacy that he feels the need to build himself up at the expense of others? If so, that strikes me as worth some self reflection.
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RE:SOURCES
- Campbell, Glenn F.; 2008. “I Told You So.” Autowriters.com. published December.
- DeLorenzo, Peter; 2023. “A Giant Blue Oval of Not Good.” Auto Extremist. Posted Feb. 5.
- ——; 2023. “Twenty-Four Years of the High-Octane Truth.” Auto Extremist. Posted May 28.
Reading his opinion of himself, I was reminded, rightly or wrongly, of David Davis.