Hooniverse Asks: What would you like to talk about?

Jeff Glucker

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Comments

It’s hard to find a subject to talk about this morning. My brain is fogged up by a whole lot of negativity that exists in the world. Maybe yours is too. So instead of me posing a specific question today, I’d love to just hear about anything you want to talk about. Literally any subject at all.

That image above? It was the first one ever posted to this website back in September of 2009 (the link says October, but we started in Sept). Tim Odell, my friend and Hooniverse co-founder, kicked it all off with the Bricklin SV-1. And we’ve been mostly rolling ever since. You could talk about that if you’d like.

Maybe you want to talk about how the Celtics are about to make a good push and knock the heat out of the Eastern Conference Finals here shortly.

Or you can even talk about what happened yesterday. We don’t get political on these pages… but if you want to in the comments on this post, I’m going to allow it. Say what you want to say.

About

Jeff Glucker

Jeff Glucker

Jeff Glucker is the co-founder and Executive Editor of Hooniverse.com. He’s often seen getting passed as he hustles a 1991 Mitsubishi Montero up the 405 Freeway. IG: @HooniverseJeff

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37 responses to “Hooniverse Asks: What would you like to talk about?”

  1. GTXcellent Avatar
    GTXcellent

    Biggest weekend in motorsports coming up: Monaco, Indy, Charlotte.

    Reply
    1. Jeff Glucker Avatar
      Jeff Glucker

      Excellent topics

      Reply
    2. mdharrell Avatar
      mdharrell

      Also the 24 Hours of Lemons at Thunderhill, including, I understand, a certain Ranchero…

      Reply
      1. Jeff Glucker Avatar
        Jeff Glucker

        Yep, Tim will be there – and they are down a driver (not counting me, I couldn’t make this one sadly) so the team is just 3 strong for the weekend!!

        Reply
        1. mdharrell Avatar
          mdharrell

          I won’t be there, either, as we still have one more week of classes ahead of us before finals, thanks to the timing of the quarter system. Best wishes to the team.

          Reply
  2. Sjalabais Avatar
    Sjalabais

    It seems like traffic here is way down from the heyday of the Craigslist Crapshoot and Robert Emslie’s daily Hooniverse Asks – has some of it migrated to other platforms?

    Anyway, you guys are still churning out a lot of interesting, well done content here. Nothing wrong with the Hooniverse.

    Feeling down with what is currently happening in the US, but really is a long way coming, is very much understandable. Observed with empathy and interest from afar, there’s a lot I just don’t understand with US politics. But that’s a really deep hole to fall in.

    Reply
    1. Jeff Glucker Avatar
      Jeff Glucker

      To be completely honest, it’s very hard to keep this thing going at the moment… (not this specific moment in time, re: the state of the world but in general).

      Traffic is down certainly. Also, when we did the redesign, a lot of older articles and photos were lost in the shuffle, which hurt traffic too. As that was all search-indexed stuff that drew in visitors on random posts. Yes, we absolutely miss Rob’s daily contributions (and simply his great voice which fits the site perfectly).

      I have day job stuff. The site’s not large enough to pay for contributors consistently. And it’s been a long road keeping it afloat, but that’s where the site sits today. I have no plans to retire it. But yeah, it could certainly use a proper shot in the arm to jump it up… I don’t know what that is outside of an active, aggressive push for more content – but I want that content to be relevant and appropriate for this site.

      Always happy to be open and clear with the current status of the site. Less clear, on purpose, about the current status of the Wombat…

      Reply
      1. Sjalabais Avatar
        Sjalabais

        Certainly true with the redesign, I lost quite a lot of reference posts I would spread all over Reddit, Facebook etc. at opportune moments, too.

        A quality threshhold for content is certainly the way to go, as opposed to just churning out more. That’s what keeps me coming back and I’m sure others agree.

        As to the Wombat…I feel you. Tomorrow, I’m going to the first proper spring motor club meet since 2019. I tried to be strong and told my mechanic months ago that this event would be my cutoff for patience. Today, 14 months in on the day, he told me that the Centennial would be ready…in – at the most – two months time. It breaks my car heart, but he’s a good guy and I don’t have real options. So – any timeline on the Wombat?

        Reply
      2. Bryan Avatar
        Bryan

        Agree. What sets this site alert from others is its its simplicity and sincerity. Stop doing videos and return to actual journalism. That’s what’s missing in todays car culture. Writing. About Cars. Not mobility tools or whatever they call EVs nowadays

        Reply
  3. mdharrell Avatar
    mdharrell

    Wow. Thirteen years later and that SV-1 hasn’t aged a day.

    Reply
  4. Neight428 Avatar
    Neight428

    We’re not that serious around here, and purposefully so, but I think we all identify a particular concentration of what is Good, Real and True (GR&T) about our peculiar enthusiasms here on this site not found elsewhere in this digital universe. The fizzling appreciation for the GR&T weighs heavily across everyone paying attention to goings on, but I must remind myself that there’s are compelling reasons to believe that Better, Realer and Truer is out there and that it is transcendent. I advise all to look into that with an open heart.

    All the best fellow Hoons, looking forward to the impending manual swap into the Trans Am.

    Reply
  5. George G Avatar
    George G

    Honestly I’m kind of tired of the EV thing. As this website has published more and more EV stuff, I’ve kind of stopped checking in. To be honest that’s not just this car website, but all car websites. It just holds no interest for me. I’m sure I’ll get called names or worse, but I just can’t get excited about electric cars. This place was once a really fun location for oddball mechanical stuff, it’s just not anymore. The same thing happened to Motorcyclist when Boehm left and Catterson took over. Every cover was Electric, Ducati, Electric, Ducati, Electric, Ducati, etc, on and on. I canceled my subscription after 15 years (plus the whole helmet test debacle). Jeff, I’ve always really enjoyed your reviews, and hope you continue to do more. But, the online car website massive push into EV’s has just left me bored and disinterested.

    Reply
    1. Jeff Glucker Avatar
      Jeff Glucker

      I will always mix in gas-powered cool shit – plus I need to post some video updates on my own fleet.

      Reply
      1. crank_case Avatar
        crank_case

        The flipside of this – living in Europe (and I think Sjalabais will concur), is we’re already living where the US will probably be in 10-20 years short of an epic u-turn on ICEs and perhaps some quantum leap in affordable synthetic fuels or hydrogen combustion.

        This means that reviews of new ICEs cars are about as relevant to us as a road test of putting a saddle on a velociraptor, especially if it’s some crossover/sedan and not something super enthusiast oriented. If things were different, I might feel differently, but pretty much every new gasoline car now is rapidly becoming not something you might feasibly aim to attain even used. Whether I like it or not, EVs are the only game in town, and what I’m interested in is, can someone make a genuinely affordable one? ..and ideally an affordable, but properly fun (and not just fast) one.

        Reply
        1. crank_case Avatar
          crank_case

          ..Obviously I like my older ICE cars, it’s just new stuff that’s not relevant. I suspect US readers might change their tune once it finally clicks that EVs are the way it’s going. You can either dig your heels in and scream into the void or try make the best of it.

          Reply
        2. Sjalastic Avatar
          Sjalastic

          Definitely, Norway is about 90% BEV sales now, but I wouldn’t say that us few Urobeans should dictate what’s being tested here. And EVs are well represented, just a bit late compared to Euro-blogs and press.

          I really like the diversity here, and don’t quite understand the whole “tired of EVs”-attitude – but I’m a why not both-kind of person in life anyway. To me, the joy of cars comes mostly from driving and looking at them, as I suck as a mechanic. So if the car moves neatly by small explosions, a battery, or dragon farts – I don’t care. Just make them behave well, is all.

          Reply
  6. alex hofstetter Avatar
    alex hofstetter

    I think George G has nailed it. I don’t give a crap about EV’s. I also don’t give a crap about SUV’s, Jeeps and off-roading.

    I have been around Hooniverse for a long time. In fact, I sent you the design that you used on your first T-shirt!

    You need content.

    Reply
    1. Jeff Glucker Avatar
      Jeff Glucker

      100%

      Reply
  7. OA5599 Avatar
    OA5599

    I don’t know if something else happened yesterday, but, since Jeff said yesterday was appropriate for discussion: my dad died.

    Here is my prize-winning entry about him in the Hooniverse Father’s Day contest,

    Contest: Tell us a story about your father…because we've got some sweet swag from Meguiar's for the best ones

    Reply
    1. TeleArrow Avatar
      TeleArrow

      Very sorry for your loss. He sounded like an amazing man. My best to you and your family.

      Reply
    2. nanoop Avatar
      nanoop

      That’s a great story to remember for us, surely only a facet of _your_ life with him.
      I never quite understood the meaning of “godspeed” (what would God have to do with speed, or are you driving so fast so you can see him?) but I believe it fits as a farewell to a car person: Godspeed, OA5599’s dad!

      OA5599, take care of yourself, your family, and maybe some cars.

      Reply
    3. Jeff Glucker Avatar
      Jeff Glucker

      Sorry man

      Reply
    4. mdharrell Avatar
      mdharrell

      My condolences as well. It was, and still is, a good story.

      Reply
  8. I_Borgward Avatar
    I_Borgward

    What I’d like to see, in no particular order: The automotive fringe, from different angles. DIY stuff. Emerging vehicle tech. Interesting vintage cars and history. Repair and maintenance. Keeping our auto world fun, sane and affordable (for me, this would definitely include electrics). And, last but not least, a venue for us gearheads to shoot the $#@& and share our various car projects and adventures.

    Not really interested: Rides intended for 1%ers. Supercars. Overpowered SUVs. Overpriced accessories. Industry executive suite shenanigans. The same corporate PR hype duplicated by every other car site under the sun.

    Just one man’s opinion.

    From what I’m reading, we all get that it’s tough to keep the content flowing week in and week out. Know that we all appreciate your work keeping Hooniverse alive and kicking, still the only auto site I can say that I check daily. Thanks!

    Reply
    1. nanoop Avatar
      nanoop

      I think I can agree with most of your points, but when “Industry executive suite shenanigans” means: being smuggled out of Japan in a box – I want to hear about those shenanigans!

      Reply
      1. crank_case Avatar
        crank_case

        I’m waiting for the Fast and Furious movie where they overnight a CEO from Japan.

        Reply
    2. Sjalagreed Avatar
      Sjalagreed

      100% behind you, here, Mr. Borgward-who-actually-drives-a-Volvo. I’m also a big fan of the social side, especially with vintage cars – who bought them new, who drives them now, and what happens in between? Can a PT Cruiser be cool or will it forever be doomed? Is a TV show feature enough to make a dull car interesting? And who is even allowed to judge a car “dull” anyway? That kind of stuff.

      When it comes to our Irish representative’s Fast’n’Furious, I’m afraid that movie will contain flying tanks, diving trains, and just a limited slice of relatable driving. 😛

      Reply
    3. Avatar
      Anonymous

      All of your points, but don’t knock back a ride in a 1%er or Supercars if the opportunity comes up! the only thing I won’t read much of is the PR hype… but even then…

      And I’ll add to the list: I love car/motorcycle culture. Choppers, sport bikes, People with an affinity for odd makes. the less loved, the better. I liked Rory Reid on Top Gear because he explored car culture from around the world, from those light-show trucks in Japan to Lowriders and… I can’t remember them all and can’t access/stream the relevant episodes. Anyone or group of people with the passion to do… things to or with their vehicles I find interesting.

      Reply
      1. Troggy Avatar
        Troggy

        Arrggh didn’t mean to be anonymous… it was me!

        Reply
  9. Peter Tanshanomi Avatar
    Peter Tanshanomi

    I’ve been vacationing in Northern California the past two weeks. In a 3-hour period the other day on Hwy 1 north of Ft. Bragg, we saw four vintage Alfas and at least a dozen “real” (pre-930) 911s. One gentleman in a red Giulietta with 60s-era skinny tires appeared around a turn in a slight drift, going seriously fast.

    Reply
  10. mdharrell Avatar
    mdharrell

    For anyone actually wanting a Bricklin, this just turned up near Tacoma:

    https://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/cto/d/lakewood-1975-bricklin/7488966254.html

    Reply
    1. Sjalaboomer Avatar
      Sjalaboomer

      I never realized these cars were so big, they won’t even fit in a photo!

      Reply
      1. mdharrell Avatar
        mdharrell

        They’re noticeably larger than a Sonett, therefore yes, pretty much an overbloated land yacht.

        Reply
        1. Peter Tanshanomi Avatar
          Peter Tanshanomi

          I thought for a moment, “I could see having a Bricklin,” but as soon as you offer the Sonett as a comparator, that impulse evaporated.

          Reply
      2. Salguod Avatar
        Salguod

        Well, it would if you could stand the car on end, but that’s not particularly practical.

        Reply
        1. Sjalertical Avatar
          Sjalertical

          Sounds like a random episode pf something YouTube would recommend to me…and I’d watch it.

          Reply
  11. nanoop Avatar
    nanoop

    Thank you for your trust in us to be able to grasp a Sonett as a size reference. I take a weird kind of pride in actually getting it, too.

    Reply