If you like Car Lust, you may also enjoy...
Who are your favorite online automobile writers? Besides us, I mean. Here are some of mine:
Clark Novak calls himself "The Studeblogger", and his website chronicles his restoration of a 1963 Studebaker Lark Standard sedan (pictured at right) affectionately named "Barney." Mr. Novak has written a very detailed narrative of the work he's been doing. He's been at it since September of 2006, and while Barney still has a ways to go, it's a journey well worth following along with. His blog postings explain the down 'n dirty intricacies of such tasks as rebuilding a Delco distributor, installing a new wiring harness, and refurbishing the "Climatizer" heater system. They're excellent tutorials for working on any car from the pre-microprocessor era.
Aaron Severson's "Ate Up With Motor" is a treasure trove of detailed, meticulously-researched, encyclopedia-quality essays on all manner of cars from Mercedes to Mercury, Vega to Valiant, and Plymouth to Packard. He also has a small library of posts on technical issues, such as what the correct definition of a "coupe" is and how horsepower ratings are figured. New articles appear weekly, and it's well worth reading the whole archive.
I'll finish with a couple of my favorite writers at the invaluable The Truth About Cars. Paul Neidermeyer's "Curbside Classics" are a series of essays about interesting cars found parked on the street in the author's hometown of Eugene, Oregon. He writes about the same sort of well-worn and well-loved cars we tend to gravitate toward here at Car Lust.
Fellow TTAC writer Sajheev Mehta's "Piston Slap" column answers reader questions about repair and maintenance issues with style and wit. To give you an idea of what Piston Slap is like, one recent article diagnosing problems with an OEM Toyota stereo system was entitled "Is There a Mouse in my Boombox?"
If you have some favorites of your own that I haven't mentioned here, please share them in the comments box.
--Cookie the Dog's Owner
That Car Guy on October 27, 2009 at 07:27 AM
Nice article, Cookie!
Hmmm... if the SAE defines a coupe as having 33 cubic feet or less in the back seat, does that make every small 4-door car a coupe?
I like the idea of calling every 2-door hardtop a coupe. Keeps things simple.
Chris Mallow on October 27, 2009 at 07:51 AM
I am a huge fan of Iowahawk. I started reading him for his hilarious, biting political satire, but was pleased to find out he is a SERIOUS motorhead, too. He has a determined bent toward all things hot rod, but also falls well into the Car Lust realm in that he loves things that are unusual or underappreciated within the auto/hot rod world. Even if you're not interested in his politics, go check out some of his auto-related posts. (I do recommend some of the politics, too, if only because they stand well on their own as comedy, much like SNL's work.)
Shawn on October 27, 2009 at 09:02 AM
This blog below will lead me into a future of financial ruin. I advise caution if you're an old German car fan because you'll want to buy nearly every car he finds for sale.
http://germancarsforsaleblog.com/
davidt on October 27, 2009 at 09:24 AM
Why didn't you mention Iowahawk?
bubba on October 27, 2009 at 01:18 PM
Not really focused on the writing aspect, though the copy can be amusing, I really love checking this everyday.
http://bringatrailer.com
Dwight on October 28, 2009 at 04:19 AM
Great article.
I read bringatrailer as well as TTAC everyday.
Can I also mention carsinpedia.com which is more pictorial based but has an extensive repository of car trivia as the car fact of the day and a large database of car related links in the link of the day section.
www.carsinpedia.com
Smoke_Jaguar4 on October 28, 2009 at 09:29 AM
I've just blown 1.5 workdays reading "Ate Up With Motor". My stars, this is a fabulous website for gearheads! The articles are book-quality material, thorough and extensively researched. Great find!
Theodore on October 30, 2009 at 05:27 PM
Mehta and Niedermayer are two bright spots in the sea of negativity that otherwise dominates TTAC.
A big thumbs-up for "Ate Up With Motor" and "Bring A Trailer."
One to recommend is "Dean's Garage," run by a former GM designer. http://deansgarage.com/
Tommy's Dad on October 31, 2009 at 01:00 AM
I've been looking very closely at buying an 88 Saab 900 Turbo (the same one I posted in the $2500 challenge, should I be worried it still hasn't sold?), and in doing some research on used Saabs in general I found this terrific website. It's an entertaining and informative look at the potential and perils of buying a (very cheap) used car- doesn't hurt either that their review of my own first-car 89 Nissan pickup is spot on ("note that the jump seats are useless for actual people; that doesn’t mean that I haven’t made my grandmother sit in one").
http://www.beaterreview.com/
Cookie the Dog's Owner on October 31, 2009 at 10:54 AM
Some good ones here in the comments, I'm especially impressed by beaterreview.com. Are we sure Mr. Hafner here isn't moonlighting?
Replying to Chris Mallow and davidt above: I am also a fan of Iowahawk, and considered it one of Car Lust's high points when we published his "Our cars" contribution. I didn't put him in this list partly because we'd already run his "Our Cars" piece, and partly because I'd consider him not so much an automotive writer as a political writer who also does automobiles.
J Smith on October 31, 2009 at 11:33 AM
I am conspicuously biased, but I like Autosavant. In-depth articles and good writing. Perhaps you should have a "most hated" car blog list. I can think of a few that I'll refrain from naming.
As an aside, Iowahawk? Are you serious? That is to political satire what the British are to dental care.
Joe Dennis on November 03, 2009 at 10:28 AM
Thank you for the referral for Ate Up With Motor. I am now as hooked on that as I am on this.
Jeffery L Blackwell on November 05, 2009 at 12:38 PM
Thanks for these great links! I enjoy Car Lust way too much.
Please check out my photos and car-related ramblings on my blog;
www.rubberattheroad.com
Cheers!
Jeff
Hunter on January 26, 2010 at 02:37 PM
Another great site is www.carsinpedia.com which has almost daily photo essay but check out the car fact of the day and the daily link...interesting stuff.