The Autopian Is For Everyone, And I Made A Mistake, So Let’s Make This Right

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Earlier today – or, crap, now that I look at the time, yesterday – we ran a post about the design of the Rivian R3X. It was a rant, really, and while the post had plenty of interesting arguments and some very satisfyingly cathartic ranting, it also contained some actual insults and a tone that I should have realized is not in keeping with what we want the Autopian to be about. I hope you’ll let me apologize and explain how we wish to move forward.

The post was from our design expert Adrian Clarke, and I adore Adrian. He’s an absolute sweetheart and a very talented designer. He also has a sort of designer persona that is expressed in articles he writes for us, and I find it to be generally cutting and funny and insightful. And while this post absolutely had those elements, I think there were definitely places where the powerful currents of a cathartic rant pulled him too far, and as I was the one to edit this post, I should have perceived that and made appropriate changes.

Sadly, I didn’t. Sure, I added a few editor’s notes here and there, but I made the mistake of assuming my knowledge of an author’s tone and intent would carry through, as if by magic, to every reader, and that was certainly not the case. There were parts that were frankly insulting, and there’s no excuse for that. We’re not here to insult anyone. Ever.

We can have strong opinions, unpopular takes, but we can’t just attack people because we’re caught up in the callow pleasure of a rant. We’re not here to gatekeep; while we value expert opinions – and I definitely consider Adrian a qualified expert – we don’t ever want those experts to make others feel like their opinions aren’t welcome. We can disagree, absolutely, but we will never discount anyone’s right to voice how they feel about anything automotive.

We’re all here for one reason: we love cars. That love can take many, many forms, and one of those forms is definitely spirited, vigorous debate. But it should never even appear like there’s a lack of respect from our side to yours; you readers mean everything to us. You’ve been loyal, you’ve hung out with us at meetups, and you’ve even supported us by becoming members. We owe you our very best efforts, and only our very best. And this wasn’t that.

Everyone is welcome here at The Autopian, no matter how miserable I or any of our writers may feel your opinion on some car or whatever is. Or how miserable you feel my opinions are. It just doesn’t matter. If you’re at the Autopian, you will be treated with respect and dignity. Sure, there may be some teasing or joking or poking, but within boundaries.

And this time, those boundaries were crossed, and I don’t intend to see that repeated.

So please accept my apologies here; this is on me, I should have perceived the magnitude and intensity of the words we published and their full implications, and I didn’t. I’ll do my best to try and improve, to repaint those lines we won’t cross in a more vivid hue, so I don’t allow them to be stepped over again. I’ll likely make plenty more mistakes in the future, but I hope this will no longer be one of them.

I sincerely hope you’ll forgive my failings here, and I look forward to the chance to fuck up in bold, new, and more exciting ways in the future. All of us at the Autopian appreciate you so very much, and I deeply hope you’ll chose to continue to explore the grand, absurd, complex, and beautiful automotive world with us.

As repentance, I offer you a sketch of an alternate universe Fiat 500 where Italy achieved energy independence via the development of powerful pasto-anti-pasto reactor systems, which harnesses the incredible energy released when these two oppositely-charged foodstuffs react in a controlled environment:

Fiat Pasto Antipasto

About the Author

Mercedes Streeter

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207 thoughts on “The Autopian Is For Everyone, And I Made A Mistake, So Let’s Make This Right”

  1. I have little to add to the encompassing and thoughtful comments of my fellow Autopians on the matter, except these observations.

    The Autopian doesn’t just provide a platform for its staff, we the readers are equally empowered and encouraged to engage on every topic. Lord knows I do. We are heard and that matters.

    While I have seen occasional complaints voiced in the comments regarding language, expression, and opinions, the general tone is genial and overwhelmingly positive. If you love what you read, say so; if you’re offended, say so – then get on with your lives.

    I enjoyed a back and forth with The Bishop about his post yesterday and though our viewpoints were somewhat in opposition, that didn’t detract at all from my appreciation of his work or opinions.

    I engaged in the comments in Adrian’s post yesterday, too, a long rant of my own. I hope it offended no one, but I’ve lived long enough to know that’s not possible. The risk of offense is the price of speaking out, and if we are deterred from speech out of fear of offending, we have already lost the battle.

    I didn’t personally find any of Adrian’s post to be mean-spirited, but some did. Sarcastic, sure; a bit caustic, maybe, but also funny and insightful. It’s a balance I can live with.

    I applaud The Autopian endeavors to bring a diversity of voices and opinions to all things cars and to tactfully discourage incendiary comment on the politics, religions, race or orientations of all peoples. There are other forums for that rot.

    Just remember, when it comes to cars, the gloves are off.

  2. (text translated by google)
    I appreciate the apology and clarification.
    I’m excited to find a place where cars are celebrated, even the most incomprehensible ones (Chevrolet Agile, I’m looking at you).

    I dropped a few hope points, due to the other article by the same “author/designer” about lambo (and his flatulent opinion about Mr. Pagani)

    Anyway… this was my “rant”
    And to sound cheesy. I love you “the Autopian”.

  3. I didn’t mention this earlier, but in the wilds of the internet any kind of hot take or criticism can get an unexpected backlash. Our own David got fucking threats from people when he ripped into the AMC 360 V8 for having a poorly designed oil pump. That was over an inanimate object which hasn’t been produced in decades, and was designed by people who are almost certainly dead by now.

  5. This kind of integrity and accountability is a great quality of the Autopian, I quite liked Adrian’s take but also really appreciate the editorial staff working to make things right and own up to it whenever things go awry. I know I can count on y’all to write entertaining, informative, unbiased work (with the exception of clearly labeled opinion pieces), even sometimes enlightening me to my own bias against certain brands or market segments.

    Keep on keeping on.

  7. It’s great that the site has editorial integrity and is able to admit mistakes, and correct them.

    I want to say that I love Adrian’s rants and passion for design. I have no problem with scathing, vulgar (as long as its clever) rants, brutal teardowns of others opinions/points. Some of the best automotive journalism ever was filled with similar prose. It’s okay to be offensive, too (as long as it’s clever).

    But childlish personal attacks and insults against people have no place in any kind of journalism, IMO.

    I noticed some viewers of the Autopian seem to think that not blatantly insulting and personally attacking people is “watering down” an article. You can be edgy, you can have spicy, divisive writing that’s mildly offensive without directly personally attacking people. Good writers know where the line is.

    1. This. When I read the article, I was not offended but just a little put off. The personal attacks made me think of some of writers and influencers (ugh) who call out by name other writers and influencers (again, ugh) with the hope of attracting attention from the attacked person and starting a flame war (even more, ugh). Then later they get together for a publicized reckoning that all feels like it was done to increase the clicks and likes. I can use less of all that in my life thank you very much.

  10. Here to say I didn’t find anything whatsoever offensive about Adrian’s rant.

    My only question was how in the world does one get so worked up about an ugly-ass EV that is frankly one small step past ‘theoretical’?

  11. Ok, I am no snowflake, but I do have empathy, and when I read Adrian’s “Going Full Adrian” comments, I had to admit that I thought someone could get offended. His argument was well-reasoned, but perhaps spicier than needed for full flavour.

    That said, I respect Adrian’s knowledge and credentials — no design expert, I — but find at times that I don’t agree with him. And that is fine! I don’t see Golf in the Rivian, but I do see some of the Lancia and the Niva (Ladia?) . He thinks the design briefs are different. That is also fine. We can agree to disagree. But I do like it, and think it could be a big hit. It is new yet familiar, which is not a bad thing.

    I also respect and admire the mea culpa from Jason. I am a firm believer in the kind of personal accountability that is often lacking in modern society/discourse, so I applaud you taking one on the chin.

    As a publication aiming to attract a wide audience, there is a line one has to draw. Perhaps for Adrian, that line could be drawn in black, with enough thickness that he can stand with his toes right at the edge.

  12. Great job on the transparency in whatever forms you all undertake; all too few people realize just how much work it entails to be an editor especially when one is committed to fostering an environment of inclusivity which all too many websites are lacking. So kudos to you all (Jason, David, et al) for all your hard work as editors (& writers) in the course of maintaining aforementioned environment. And mea culpas as a form of transparency are always good, especially if they’re accompanied by great mashups of vintage air-cooled VWs and Caspar David Friedrich 🙂

  13. I received that article as a scorching editorial but I learned a lot from it and even changed some of my own opinions based on it. I get not wanting to exclude anybody from the community but I hope this doesn’t restrict Adrian from speaking his mind in the future. Maybe just slap a “Snooty Designer” warning on the next article.

  14. I’m having trouble figuring out why this was an issues, because we *expect* Adrian to have salty definitive views on design. That’s the whole point. If I want watered down content, I’ll go back to the woke hellscape of <that> site.

    2. If you use the word woke unironically, you should be forced to diagnose late 1970s British Leyland electrical gremlins unto eternity

      1. I’ve done worse than that — ATC system that wasn’t installed *quite* right with a 1200 pair unlabeled cable bundle into the tower. Lucas was for amateurs.

    3. Thankfully as long as the Autopian retains the “Pro-Car” mantra, I don’t think we’ll have to be subjected to the histrionics of a car site that doesn’t actually like cars

  16. My Mom says Adrian must have been born with a stick and a burr (both) up his ass.
    As such, no harm no foul. After all he is a British Wanker. /s I fart in his general direction.

    All is forgiven.

  17. Jason, thanks for this post, and for your recognition about where Adrian’s post fell short of the site’s standards. Removing Adrian’s non sequiturs about critics of the R3X’s design doesn’t “water it down.” Quite the opposite: it focuses his post more acutely on its main purpose, and creates fewer distractions for the audience.

    Setting and keeping an editorial policy is deliberate and important, and starts with the people on the masthead. If The Autopian signals through its “staff” posts that insults directed at a person and their physicality are ok, it’s only a matter of time before some of the commentariat responds in kind … and intentionally or not, that becomes the vibe.

    It’s notable that this comes in the same week that Mercedes Streeter’s COTD post included a call for commenters to avoid transphobic language and characterizations in their posts. Is mis-gendering Dylan Mulvaney (to note a recent example on this site) on the same plane as Adrian describing a person as a “sh*t-witted wink tickler?” No. Do either of them have anything to do with cars or car culture? Also no.

    The concern for an editorial team is that while some people may call out a site when a post goes too far (and kudos to the Autopians who have), others may not feel as comfortable doing that. Maybe their views have been marginalized or silenced in the past, and maybe they’re exhausted by the thought of having to explain why they were offended, and so they just stop engaging, shrink into the background, and don’t renew their subscriptions. And for a still-nascent site dedicated to inclusivity, that’s a risk The Autopian can ill afford.

    I’m glad to subscribe to a site that owns up when it falls short and dedicates itself to doing right by its community. Well done.

    Now, let’s get back to cars.

    1. Removing Adrian’s non sequiturs about critics of the R3X’s design doesn’t “water it down.” Quite the opposite: it focuses his post more acutely on its main purpose, and creates fewer distractions for the audience.

      Well put. Insulting a person can certainly distract from the criticism of an idea, and focusing on the latter makes a stronger point.

  19. Adrian’s design critiques are one of my favorie parts of the site. As far as I know, no one else is doing this, and it really adds to the variety. I personally like the hilarious and unfiltered tone of Adrian’s writing, and it’s understandable that, like cars, building a website is hard. I don’t think any nip and tuck is going to fudamentally change the site, and I think that fact that you care shows a lot of character and one of the main reasons I love this site.

  20. You should have let the original article stand unedited.
    Why should I have to read it at archive.org?
    If you are so worried put a disclaimer on it. You know the stuff “This article reflects the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of The Autopian as a whole”.
    Opinions of a single writer are that of the writer or
    his chosen persona. Post editing by committee for the lowest common denominator is bull shit.
    I am offended and expect more from The Autopian.

    1. I’m offended at your offense.

      I re-read the rant after reading the original version last night. It’s still biting, acerbic, raises valid points. Adrian’s character still comes through. If not for this article and the added editorial preface, I wouldn’t have known the piece had been changed. DT and JT have to walk a tightrope were they keep the subversive edge of the site without tumbling into a toxic cesspit like some other sites.

        1. I don’t see the point in telling people to just “not be offended.” You don’t know what any other person is carrying around with them. I’m not saying we should walk on eggshells all the time. I, myself, am a sarcastic, opinionated asshole. But if someone tells me that something I said was hurtful to them, I feel bad and I apologize.

  22. For another perspective, I didn’t see the need for an apology as for me, the most important editorial standard was upheld – views can be offered, but they must also be open to discusson and rational debate.

    And not only did our excellent commentariat come through, but Adrian (as he always does) did so too…his track record of engaging us is well established, and he always tries to explain/justify what he’s said, rather than just tell us “because I said so.”

    For me anyway, it’s the model of how a free society should operate, and perhaps helps us build the strongest, best kind of community?

  23. Integrity: This site has it in spades! I really appreciate this site and its character.

    As a side note: Jason, I passed you a year (or so) ago on I-40 just outside of Durham. I was rolling up on a Ford with Farm Use plates and then saw you hunched over the wheel. I almost lost my shit, seeing a local celebrity. I didn’t honk or wave, as you’d just as likely assume it was just the regular jack-wad rolling through RTP. Anyway, I say that as someone who’s lucky enough to see that this site is made up of real people with real lives. I appreciate that you bring such a human element to your passion in Autopia. Thanks.

  25. Thanks Jason. I didn’t find the rant to be offending, but maybe some did? I hope this doesn’t mean Uncle Goth can’t do his British humor anymore?

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