The Gearhead Ecosystem.

It’s Sunday, I’m inside. Traffic is intolerable when I’m not working, so if I don’t get out for an early drive, I’m not going. I’ll do chores, read, nap, play GT Sport- anything but drive. Heck, I’ll even watch TV, or at least television how it’s configured nowadays, with YouTube, Amazon and Netflix standing in for the traditional networks I grew up kinda watching, since there was a marked lack of motoring related coverage then. From 2005 until 2013, there was a network called ‘Speed Vision’, then ‘Speed Channel’, and finally, simply ‘Speed’, that offered all kinds of motorsports related coverage. If it was wheeled, winged or hulled, if it had an engine, it was covered on that channel.

Like so many things network, it was ultimately the victim of ratings. To read more about it, go here

There is an ecosystem for any enthusiast. To nurture an interest, to keep an interest going, to expand, to learn, to connect with others who share our interests, there is no better time than now. If I have a sudden need to learn about the evolution over time of the small-block Chevrolet V-8, there are countless pages and sites for that. Okay, I take back the “countless”. Google counted for me, and it was 16,000,200,000. Type in ‘Chevy small block history’, and you’ll get an equally staggering number.

There’s YouTube, where it seems every guy with a video camera and access to a car will make a channel. I follow a few myself- Jay Leno, the guy responsible for educating Americans on cars that carry nameplates other than from the Big Three. Doug DeMuro, because he’s enthusiastically nerdy and reviews some very interesting machines, and calls the things that boomers and gen X-ers like myself grew up with “quirks”. There’s Jason Fenske, of Engineering Explained, who gets seriously whiteboardy with engineering concepts as applied to automobiles. He’ll even go for a drive in certain vehicles as a way of illustrating these concepts. A newcomer, Andy, of ‘Big Car’, does well-researched and nicely produced histories of cars and marques from Britain and Europe, that run around 15-20 minutes apiece and are a great deal of fun for a guy like me to watch. There’s Tavarish, whose slogan, “Wrench Every Day” is a modest suggestion for a guy who tackles exotics that are crafted of aluminum and Dark Arts. There’s Regular Car Reviews, that you’ll simply have to watch, because it is just slightly off-kilter. There’s many, many more, some weekly, like Leno and DeMuro, while others stick to a less predictable schedule, like VisioRacer, who made some compelling videos that he narrated in English – a very strongly accented English. There’s others, like Uncle Tony’s Garage, where a chain smoking middle-aged guy who specializes in old Mopars holds forth.

On the blog side of things, there’s many as well, with Jalopnik being a daily stop for me. It reminds me very much of Car and Driver during the David E Davis era, what with young, snarky writers writing about cars, car culture and some racing thrown in for good measure. Japanese Nostalgic Car fills my 80’s and 90’s jones, with info about cars, personalities, meets and the like. Hemmings has a blog that lists interesting cars for sale, or are simply too cool not to feature. Petrolicious is a site that is pretty Eurocentric, with small feature films each week, as well as a lifestyle store. Did I mention Blipshift? Purveyors of sartorially excellent tees, they have a new design every week, with archived designs being brought back every now and then. Here’s me modeling a tee with the Lotus Seven, posing for a pic with the perfumer who runs BloodBath. The legend on the tee never fails to get a laugh when worn by a fellow of Falstaffian aspect as myself.

While writing this, I’m reminded of how deep and broad the gearhead ecosystem is, and how much fun it is to inhabit. See you soon.