Some Housekeeping Items

Some Housekeeping Items

Hello dear readers! A few housekeeping items. First and most importantly: I’ve now posted a list of my favorite columns through a link the header. I’ve noticed that the people who come here from Jalopnik don’t always realize I write for TTAC, and the people who come from TTAC don’t realize I write for Jalopnik, so I decided to post the very best stuff from both places right here in an ongoing effort to make you think that all my writing is that good.

The columns are, at the moment:

Sports Cars Don’t Really Attract Women – May 24, 2013 [Jalopnik]
I Think Honda LaneWatch Is Awesome – May 14, 2013 [The Truth About Cars]
Doug’s Comparison: Nissan LEAF vs. Honda Fit – April 25, 2013 [The Truth About Cars]
What It’s Like to Own an E63 AMG Wagon – April 20, 2013 [Jalopnik]
The Worst Drivers Are In ZipCars – April 11, 2013 [The Truth About Cars]
Lincoln Can and Will Come Back – April 10, 2013 [The Truth About Cars]
Doug’s Review: 1995 Range Rover Classic – March 26, 2013 [The Truth About Cars]
Land Rover and JD Power – February 26, 2013 [The Truth About Cars]
Exotic Cars and Montana Plates – February 22, 2013 [The Truth About Cars]
North American International Auto Show Wrap-Up – January 17, 2013 [The Truth About Cars]

Second: I’ve now joined Twitter. I did this because everyone else is on Twitter, and if everyone else jumped off a bridge, yes, I would probably jump off the bridge also, because it would be lonely to live in a world where there aren’t any other people. (This is the kind of humorous anecdote you will find on my Twitter.) For those who have not joined Twitter, for God’s sake, do not join. Keep fighting the good fight. For those who have, I’m @dougdemuro.

Finally: I’m writing a book. Two, actually. Of course, these will be e-Books, since no publisher in their right mind would accept my work. I’m shooting for a mid-July release date, so for God’s sake block off a few nights this summer that you can devote to a) buying the books, which will be unbelievably cheap, and b) falling asleep while reading them.

Also: once the books come out, I promise this site will become more exciting and, more importantly, will be updated more frequently. To everyone who is reading: thanks for all the kind words over the last few months! And now, back to cars.

21 Responses to “ “Some Housekeeping Items”

  1. Atumtheswaggerman says:

    You’re awesome and funny Doug! Keep on writing! I’ve learned a lot of stuff that I never knew before, such as the fact that the Cayenne was available with a spare tire on the liftgate. Those books sound cool, even though I don’t have an e-reader (something I’d actually be interested in reading, though). Even better, you’re a Georgia resident like me!

  2. WhatDaFunk says:

    The links to your other articles is a good feature, I thoroughly enjoy your writing wherever you do it.

    On a side note, I read your article on Jalopnik about sports cars not attracting women, the comments there were pretty good, on topic, well written, no trolls and the tone was very congenial.

    Read your article on TTAC about lane watch and the very first comment is someone complaining about how liberals are ruining cars. This (among other reasons) is why I don’t read TTAC anymore.

    • Doug DeMuro says:

      Some of the folks on TTAC are very political, but I’ve found the commenters there, in general, are a GREAT group of car guys. They can be unbelievably pedantic from time to time, but it’s usually for the sake of making sure everything is accurate and precise. I never really visited that site until I started writing there, and now I’m very impressed by the breadth of knowledge that the commenters possess. You just have to ignore the bad ones.

  3. Equinox says:

    Good luck with the books! I would be interested in reading them.

  4. because first zip car says:

    Just read your zip car article. I think it’s great, and I couldn’t agree more that zip cars and zip car drivers completely suck at motoring.

    The article reminded me of a time, while a college student in the northeast, I was going somewhere with a broke liberal student friend who suggested we utilize their zip car membership to rent out a Prius, instead of wreaking further havoc on the ozone layer after I recently returned from a track day weekend with my BMW (and after the mid rpm clutch dump I did in front of greenpeace protesters during their prior experience as a passenger in the BMW).

    It was right around the time of the whole unintended acceleration debacle, which, combined with the left-foot braking exercises I was instructed to practice through Big Bend at Lime Rock, giddily inspired me to conduct an experiment that compelled me to actually get behind the wheel of a Prius (pre-recall). The friend stupidly relented, and the ensuing experiment was extremely boring, at best.

    I drove the Prius on a loop through Boston, Charlestown, and Cambridge – at FULL THROTTLE THE ENTIRE TIME. Speed was modulated simply by varying braking pressure. The throttle was essentially used as a right footrest/dead pedal. Because the Prius is so underpowered, it took careful concentration to notice that the throttle was in fact NOT cut off when the brake was applied. Again, since the Prius is so underpowered, I did not notice any brake fade.

    At this point, I realized the US congress was most likely perpetrating an incredible smear campaign against Toyota in a desperate attempt to save face after deciding to invest in GM and Chrysler.

    • Doug DeMuro says:

      This is hilarious and possibly worth an attempt, an article, and then disinvitation to every single Toyota press event ever again. Although it’s really a positive story about the Prius, save for the whole “so underpowered” bit.

      • because first zip car says:

        Definitely not worth it, if only for the reason that it would absolutely be quite a boring endeavor. I also would not risk the chance of potentially being invited to a place like Moab to drive a new Land Cruiser or something, and hopefully old fj60s and 40s and other cool Land Cruisers, or to a place like Suzuka to drive something like the LF-A.

  5. O.H. says:

    Doug,
    Your writing is fantastic and it helps me pass the hours of insomnia. I used to be a car geek, but that has faded some over the last decade. Your writing has rekindled some of my passion for the little odd things that make cars so interesting. Thank you.

    p.s. I am really excited about your upcoming books.

  6. Matt says:

    I know you write at TTAC Doug……but that site has successfully flushed itself down the toilet. I only go there to read your articles. Like I said in a comment that got deleted by an angry editor in chief, you are the best writer TTAC has. Funny and not childish. You are way too good for them…

    • Doug DeMuro says:

      I understand the issues with TTAC, but I will suggest that it does have some of the very best commenters in existence. Several of the writers are also pretty good as well. In a world of increasing animated GIFs and videos, TTAC does provide some quality pieces and a good group of folks to discuss them.

      Either way – I very much appreciate the kind words and I will (hopefully) continue posting on both Jalopnik and TTAC as time permits!

  7. CTSV Jim says:

    Doug…I own a 13′ CTS-V Wagon, 6sp Tremec, Recaro’s, sunroof, yellow calipers…Go to D3 in Signal Hill CA.THEY are the most involved w/ Caddy upgrades.
    I have added a pulley, spacer for the Supercharger, and exhaust system (my wife thought the wagon was too quiet). It now runs at about 630HP and ft lbs torque. Waiting on a diff cooler and larger capacity heat exchanger/pump…I live in Las Vegas…112 today.
    What to do with it…run the Silver State or any other closed course street runs, run the Cadillac Challenge (go to d3 Cadillac site), do a road trip of many miles, do not attempt to compute fuel economy (an oxymoron), enjoy the most subtle, Q-Car short of early domestic muscle cars (when they 1st came out not in retrospect), realize you are driving the last of the LS2 Caddy’s.

    • Doug DeMuro says:

      Jim – thanks for the input and congrats on your Caddy (WITH the six-speed!). I’m going to try to do most of what you’ve suggested, though I’ll stay away from mods. (If I was owning it longer, maybe) I’m eager to get a chance to know and love this thing – I think it’ll be a tremendous car to drive around for six months or so.

  8. because i had $5.98 says:

    Can you please add two sections to this website:
    1. Portfolio of, or link to, all of your Jalopnik articles, to be updated live
    2. Portfolio of, or link to, all of your TTAC articles, to be updated live

    Observation which I request a “Feature Fail” article about:
    1. I have noticed, in recent years, a surprising number of Lexus, Acura and certain Toyota vehicles driving around at night and in severe weather conditions without their headlights on. I believe this is attributable to (a) a perverse reliance on auto headlights and/or confusion that headlights are on because daytime running lights are on; (b) confusion that headlights are on because of back-lit dashboards that are always back-lit, even when headlights are off; (c) poor design and placement of headlight switch on a steering wheel stalk; and (d) clueless people, which is a given.

    I have noticed that the B8 Audi A4 has a daytime back-lit dashboard. Audi has solved problem (b) by gradually dimming their dashboard’s back-light in a linear relationship to ambient light when the headlights are switched off, so that at night, the dashboard is not back-lit unless the lights are switched on. Audi, like most German car companies, install the headlight switch on the left side of the dashboard, away from the steering column with a more intuitive layout and operation.

    It’s worrying when you’re driving in a downpour, or on a dark road, and you suddenly, nearly sight unseen, bear down on something like a Lexus RX with only its daytime running lights on. No tailights. Very dangerous.

    Also similarly annoying (but not as dangerous) are the meatheads driving Land Rovers, Mercedes, Audis and Jaguars with their rear foglights on during the day or a perfectly clear evening. Ironically, Audi has solved this issue too with certain of its new models, with fog lights being actuated by light sensors or cameras.

    • because i had $5.98 says:

      Apologies to all the meathead Porsche drivers – I forgot about you. You put your rear fogs on too at inappropriate times.

    • Doug DeMuro says:

      I have noticed this too, and I completely 100% attribute it to your “B.” You’ll note the cars you see it with MOST are the 06-10 Honda Civic, the 04-10 Lexus RX, and the Nissan Murano, all three of which have a) daytime running lights (that are bright enough to trick you into being lights at night) and b) extremely brightly lit gauges, so you’d never know the lights aren’t on. This is a GREAT post and i’ll probably write it up soon, though maybe on TTAC/Jalopnik because it’s always irked me too. Great idea.

      Rear fog lights are a whole other thing – once they’re on, in the US anyway, they’re staying on, because the driver has no idea how to turn them off.

      I do need to link to my TTAC and Jalopnik columns in real time. Realizing that more and more now…

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