NON, JE NE REGRETTE RIEN.
Monday, October 17, 2022 at 12:53PM By Peter M. DeLorenzo
Detroit. Not long after I began creating content for AE, there were some out there in WebVille – and in the industry, of course – who insisted that I would hang up my keyboard at any moment, that I would become bored with slaying dragons and run out of things to say.
Now, 23-1/2 years later, the tone and tenor of the criticism directed toward me has changed. There are some out there who insist that I have become irrelevant and have lost my edge, that the business has changed and no one really cares what I have to say. Yet, unremarkably enough, many of these same people read AE religiously, scouring the website weekly in the hopes of gleaning every morsel of my perspective and commentary.
One thing that hasn’t changed? The High-Octane Truth will never be about going along to get along or polishing the revered status quo. And after all this time, I don’t have to justify what I do here, and I certainly don’t have anything left to prove to anybody out there, especially to certain carpal-tunnel impaired scribes who wish I would just go away.
That AE is as relevant as ever is obvious, except to the critics out there who loathe me and everything about the AE website. I remind people that this publication has never been about being all things to all people, and I don’t have a compelling need to be liked, which pisses people off even more. In some respects, AE can be good for the mind, because we clear the air and provide a moment of clarity for the lost souls wandering around in the automotive wilderness, the ones who can’t seem to separate the real from the imagined, or the pipe dreams from what’s truly important.
I find most of the confusion lies with the unfortunates who have managed to create their own very special fantasies about their place in this motorized circus. Because some of you out there seem to get confused, or some of you let your self-appointed “insider” view – which is loosely based on a remarkable propensity for self-delusion when it comes to your place in the automotive world – get in the way. Which is inherently sad, because learning to live in world of disappointment must be a particularly tedious cross to bear, but I digress.
As I’ve said repeatedly, this business – and this website – aren’t for the faint of heart. And though it seems that there are legions of recalcitrant twerps, two-bit hacks and spineless weasels running around out there who add nothing of import to the discussion and who pump up their self-worth for reasons that remain a mystery, the real essence of the business remains unsullied.
What has changed about this business in almost two-and-one-half decades? Not much. Designing, engineering and building automobiles is still one of the most complicated endeavors on earth. And to do it properly takes vision, creativity and an unwavering passion that makes other pursuits seem positively ordinary.
What is AE about? In case you’ve forgotten, we expose the go-along-to-get-along, kick-the-can-down-the-road hordes on a regular basis, because the damage they cause can bring these companies to their knees in a heartbeat. Do you really need to be reminded of the devastating effects of this kind of behavior?
There is one point that I have relentlessly pounded into our readers from Day One, and it still resonates throughout the business to this day, and that is that mediocrity – in any way, shape or form – isn’t bliss. Instead, it’s an insidious disease that has not only decimated this industry at times, it has screwed up life as we used to know it too.
At some point this business – and American life – turned down the wrong path. Pushing the envelope, getting knocked down and picking yourself back up and going at it again, battling to the buzzer, and striving for achievement were part and parcel of the upward trajectory of the automobile business – and country – we used to live in. Achieving greatness wasn’t just a goal, it was an expectation to shoot for, because anything less would be, well, ordinary. And even worse, boring.
Fortunately, I can say that things are getting better. Fundamental accountability seems to be on the upswing. The days when everyone got a group hug and a trophy just for showing up seem to be waning, at least just a little, replaced by a burgeoning effort to strive to do better, punctuated by attempts to achieve actual greatness.
One extremely positive thing about this “Grand Transition” to EVs? The development is going at a furious pace. Every facet of this transition, from infrastructure and battery composition to vehicle design and execution is front and center. The True Believers are embracing this challenge, which means that there’s no room for abject mediocrity. The challenge is too great and the competition is far too tough.
And even though some of the issues with this “Grand Transition” seem daunting and too far off to become mainstream, there’s no denying that in the hands of the True Believers we will get there. You only have to look as far as the stellar machines of our day. We’re living in the golden age of automotive greatness, in case you haven’t noticed. These machines aren’t the product of “it’s good enough.” Instead, they bristle with the passion, vision and commitment of the men and women who created them, those “True Believers” who are now knee-deep in making this “Grand Transition” work. Let me be clear. if it weren’t for them, this business would be riding on the Last Train to Nowhere, next stop, Oblivion.
Railing against mediocrity and mediocrity “creep” has been an essential component of AE, and it has not been confined to the designing, engineering and building of automobiles. The marketers at these car companies can be wildly suspect as well, often taking the road frequently traveled rather than risk ruffling some feathers, even though their gut tells them the results will be well worth it. Are there exceptions and exceptional people involved in the marketing functions at these companies? Yes, absolutely. But too often repackaged tedium rises to the surface, and it stinks.
And let’s not forget the media, because I maintain a reservoir of intense loathing for certain journalists on the auto beat who blithely sleepwalk through their coverage, performing rote regurgitations spoon-fed from the company PR staffs and calling it news (or even worse, writing) because after all, going-along-to-get-along is a lot easier than having their oftentimes clueless editors field a phone call from an irate PR vice-president who is upset about a story.
Ever wonder why there’s a sameness to the coverage of the auto business? That you can plug and play stories from one publication to another and not see any difference? There’s a reason for it. It’s a lot easier to cover the auto companies the way they want you to, because going against the grain is difficult. And bad things happen to those who don't toe the line.
Thankfully, there’s no danger of that happening here. Going against the grain is our specialty, it’s what we do best and why you keep coming back. I don’t say what people want me to say, in fact, as much as the mediocrity-brandishing hordes (oh, you know who you are, the recalcitrant twerps, the self-important hacks clinging to their little piece of the pie – and their dubious titles – by their fingernails, hoping to get out before being exposed for the worthless parasites they truly are, and of course the spineless weasels who continue to wreak their particular brand of righteous intransigence and havoc to the detriment of companies everywhere. Yeah, you) who are so protective of their pathetic little fiefdoms want me to sit down and be quiet – for good – the likelihood of that happening is slim. And none.
For many, the kind of unflinching commentary that we specialize in is like a tonic for the soul in this swirling maelstrom of shit masquerading as the world we live in today.
And in case you’re wondering, after all this time, I regret nothing.
And that’s the High-Octane Truth for this week.
Editor’s Note: Edith Piaf sung it best. -WG