A question concerning car reviews

A

Aebous

Elite
 Okinawa
So I was wondering....

I like driving quite a bit. 11 years and even if i'm behind the wheel of a POS at least i'm driving. So my question is thus.....

How does one get to the point where he's driving cars and getting to write reviews on them?

I do like writing and when I get the burr up my posterior can write the hell out of something. Though i'd kinda like to be like the track guy on 5th gear (top speed whichever it is) who doesn't interview/commentary he just pushes whatever car to it's limit around a track. I'm guessing that guy involves at least the track/racing certification. Using 5th gear as a reference I know from reading here that the 3 fellers that normally do the driving/commentary are ex professional drivers would imply that i'd have to become a professional as well.....so where would I start is I reckon basically what i'm asking.
 
There are numerous routes. In the UK, they like you to know how to drive - seriously drive. Most of their writers seem to be ex-pros or people that wanted to go pro, didn't make it, but can write well.

In the US, they like you to know cars - either Car & Driver or Road & Track (maybe both) want you to have a degree in auto design or automotive engineering, so that you can write intelligently about cars and talk with car makers with intelligently. Automobile magazine seems the same.

Specialist magazines in the US about one marque or one aspect of car ownerships (classics or racing) are more lenient about credentials. One of the frequent contributors for Excellence is a participant on the Pelican Parts forum for Porsches, and got his start by writing about other forum participants' cars after reading some interesting restoration and mod stories there. Having been on Pelican for years, it's rare to see a car in Excellence I don't know from there or Rennlist.

From the amateur side there are two entries:

First, you can write for a club publication. BMWCCA regional newsletters are so starved for material they'll pretty much give anyone a column if he's willing to give them 500 words or so once a month - check with your region. From there, you can create a backlog of clippings that can get you gigs writing for The Roundel, other club publications, and various small papers and specialist mags (though it might still take a while to get to writing in big car magazines).

Second, there's also the internet version of self-publishing. If you can write well, you can start a blog and write about cars, maybe snag some rides in some nice metal, and write about the experiences. Most any car company's press dept will give an established web-blog writer rides - you won't be flown to Spain for any launches, mind, but further into the model run you can likely get a car - weeks and months after the big boys have had their turns. As you gain sponsors/advertisers, notoriety, and can provide credible website hit statistics, you can clamber up the food chain and get actual press credentials. Richard Porter, a columnist for Evo magazine in the UK, was discovered through his blog "Sniff Petrol." James Berardelli, a professional movie critic now, started out writing reviews for his own web site online as a hobby - he went pro after Roger Ebert mentioned liking his work in a column.

The tough part is not just writing well, but being interesting and finding a new take. You can't take sixspeed's car and write:

Andy Cohen bought a Z4 M coupe. He added CSL wheels, a carbon fiber roof, some other bits, and now he races it occasionally. It looks nice.
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A better opening would be:

"So, you hate the Bangle BMWs, and you hate the Z4 most of all - it has all the accents and excesses of Chris Bangle's design philosophy with the added disadvantages of a harsh ride, cramped cabin, lousy cargo space, and poor fuel economy. You're going to feel really stupid after we show you Andy Cohen's Z4 M Coupe. Read on."
Click to expand...
 
WLH said:
epbrown, so it look like you are writer... :)
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Not a real one. I wanted to be one when I was younger, and in my early 20s I dropped out of school to write the Great American Novel ("The Cain Principle") - 2 years later, I was flat broke and living in a buddy's basement, had only had a couple of short stories published, and had written 2 more novels no one wanted to publish. It was a blast, actually.

Now I have a regular middle-management job, though I'm infamous for my memos, one of which started: "You're volunteering on the international space station when the shuttle that was supposed to return you to Earth has a booster failure. It crashes into the space station, taking out the communications array and cracking the hull. You can't call for help, you're losing oxygen, and the station's trajectory has been altered by the crash, meaning you'll be entering the Earth's atmosphere in under 2 hours. We all know your first thought: How do I let my department know I'll be late for work?"
 
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