News emerged that one of the big buff books, Automobile, has made significant cuts to its staff and will be relocating a majority of its staff to be closer to Motor Trend. According to reports some "cherry picked" employees will be remaining in Michigan.
If you scroll around the web you'll see plenty of people clenching their fists and shouting "No, WHY NoooOooo," like you see in the movies. Many will say "It's a sad day for automotive journalism," and be introspective.
Aside from the poor souls that will be out of work, I don't think it's much of a surprise to anyone that actually knows a thing or two.
First off, aside from Ezra Dyer's words most of the content was par for the course. No true differentiation.
Secondly, while the team may know quite a bit about cars we don't think they ever grasped the 'net. Obviously in a world where print has lost substantial ground, the odds were stacked against them.
And lastly, the publication wasn't really operating in the best interest of its audience. To be straightforward, the buff books are given unfair advantages over other players in the space and it's pretty clear that there's bias. If the buff books were telling the truth all along, maybe two of the three Detroit automakers wouldn't have required taxpayer-funded bailouts. Yes, I am putting part of the blame of Detroit's failures on the auto rags who weren't really telling folks what was under the kimono.
For a group of individuals that are covering the space full-time, they've never done a particularly good job.
In the free market the strong survive and the weak die — or get bailed out, unfortunately. In this case it appears that self-entitled fat cats that didn't earn their keep got what was coming to them.
That said, you know what I am here to ask: Is today a SAD or GREAT day in the automotive world?