One of the reasons we started Auto Spies, was because we couldn't stand the fact that 99% of all the auto publications we all read, were directly and indirectly 'on the take' from the manufacturers.
They don't take funds directly (that we can prove) but GOD forbid if they say something that offends a major company. Or, they let some news out of the bag that the company doesn't want them to talk about.
If they do, advertising dollars mysteriously fly up into the air and they stop getting invited to the lavish press junkets around the world.
It's kind of like point shaving in sports...you're not ACTUALLY throwing the game, you're just deciding not to win or lose by more than so many points.
You're at the five yard line and you know you can score but you end up just taking a knee so you don't screw the point spread.
So in your mind, you're not doing anything wrong.
Got our point?
Case in point...this article from Forbes columnist Dan Lienert.
Here's a guy who really knows his stuff yet he throws a real cream puff here...
Showroom Showdown
Mercedes-Benz G-Class Vs. Porsche Cayenne
Full article here
Before we pick on Dan, we could have picked a hundred different writers who do the same thing, so this is nothing personal. Dan just happened to do an article that we read that was the straw that broke the camel's back.
First of all, does ANYONE on earth actually think the comparison is fair between the G55 and the Cayenne Turbo?
They are two TOTALLY different vehicles with entirely different missions.
So the entire premise of the article is ridiculous to begin with.
But that's not what bothers me...
What bothers me are THESE two sentences:
"News reports say Mercedes' owner DaimlerChrysler wants to overhaul its G-Class SUV soon. In a recent phone interview, a company spokesperson declined to comment on the arrival time or projected volume of the redesigned car."
"Mercedes, if it is planning to redo the G-Class" clearly wants to be a player in the high-performance SUV market."
Dan, you of anyone, should KNOW MB is redesigning the G-Class.
Auto Spies and other websites have had spy pics of the next G-class for OVER a year, that you MUST have seen.
And if you don't know they are or haven't seen the spy photos, then you have a wonderful future in the hospitality business.
WE will give you then benefit of the doubt that you DO know...you just 'took a knee at the five' here.
And that's what REALLY sucks about the mags and newspapers we are all reading today.
People can really see through this and you guys are digging your own graves...That's why mags like Forbes are a quarter of the size they used to be.
By the way, thanks to our good friend Brenda Priddy, here are the best shots so far of the next G-Class...just in case DAN has not seen them.
