Integrity of our local auto journalists?

[Tailhook]

Is it just me guys or do you also find it peculiar, to put it rather politely, that our local auto journalists never ever seem to review a 'bad car'? If they dont like an aspect of a car, say the ergonomics or the engine, they would always manage to describe it in words which are very polite - like 'the instrument cluster could have been done a little better as the radio buttons and the climate controls are confusing and hard to reach...etc. or something like i'm not saying that the engine is bad, its just that it doesnt fare well in comparison to the competition or something like the engine is a bit noisy and underpowered, but on the other hand, it has decent economy and for this price range, one does not expect top notch refinement...

Could it be then that their lot unlike other types of journalists are not held to to a higher ethical standards? Because I find it also peculiar that most of the time when they review a car, they also seem to get a 'free' overnight or two day stay or even a three day stay in some nice hotel or resort in tagaytay, baguio, boracay or some other faraway vacation place, plus free meals and other various perks.

Come on, a 'regular' journalist would lose his credibility or even get reprimanded/sanctioned by his employer if ever they receive a price or anything of value from other companies, especially from those which they had investigated. It would seem though that these auto journalists dont get bothered by the apparent conflict of interest or to maintain the image of impartiality that they even seem to delight in giving the minute details of the perks they received when they review a car like the hotel were we were billeted, free of course from **** company (thanks to Mr. ** of ** company, the handsome P.R.O. or president or VP for Marketing),had nice rooms and an amazing buffet. We were even given free complimentary shirts/shades/lotion and a free city tour, courtesy of course of *** company.

Could it be then that these auto journalists give out 'polite' or even biased car reviews out of fear of being 'out of the loop' or being out of favor from the car companies and therefore might not be given in the future the chance to review other cars of such companies and/or given such perks when they test drive cars?

Just thinking aloud. What do you think?
BTW, most reviews I have the chance to read are from broadsheets, specifically the one we read allegedly 'from cover to cover'.

[Memphis Raines]

This is going to be very interesting.

Post away!

.

[tidus1203]

We have to admit too that they rely heavily on advertising from yep the same automakers that make the cars they are reviewing. So its only natural to lighten the criticisms... Ultimately you are the best reviewer so test drive. Their opinions are valuable, but yours is the most valuable.

[Gen. Miting]

how did they review the chery?

[Altis6453]

Well, the way these automotive journalists write about their expensive junkets (read: paid for by the car companies whose vehicles they are reviewing), they're better off writing about what they did during their summer vacation than giving an honest-to-goodness review about the car.

In fact, this was what prompted me to stop buying a certain car mag because I couldn't understand why the articles had to digress and describe the places they go to rather than tell the reader about what they like and did not like about the car. Suffice it to say, I was better off buying a travel mag than read about that s#it.

[Tailhook]

This is going to be very interesting.

Post away!

.

i hope so. its been bothering me for quite some time now and its the same old thing every week when I read the 'motoring section'. always 'superb car' or 'decent car' but never ever a bad car. then, they would mention of how beautiful a certain hotel or place where they were billeted and paid for by the car company of the car they are reviewing. goodness me.

another: ever notice that it will always be a positive review of a particular vehicle which was the subject of a 'fun run' or 'long drive' consisting of a convoy of the same vehicle from one place to another. Of course, all expenses for the trip paid for by the car company.

nagmumukha tuloy na parang mga spinmeisters/PR men sila ng mga car companies.

in fact, one of the 'respected' and 'old guards' of the auto journalists would devote half or even 3/4 of his column to thanking the various bigwigs/hotshots of the car companies. Sometimes kahit birthday lang greet nya pa. Para bang thank you page/acknowledgement page ang column nya. then, irritatingly, the names of these top honchos are in bold faced font. para bang palaging nagyayabang na kakilala nya personally itong mga taong ito. and to think that the newspaper is devoting its valuable space for this cr*p.

[uls]

What do you expect?

parang Jeremy Clarkson?

pag panget, sasabihin panget talaga?

our motoring journalists are nothing more but salesmen for the cars they write about

[Tailhook]

What do you expect?

parang Jeremy Clarkson?

pag panget, sasabihin panget talaga?

our motoring journalists are nothing more but salesmen for the cars they write about

I thought I was being frank and straightforward enough. But you don't mince words do you? hehehehe

[uls]

hehe

[ghosthunter]

Could it be then that these auto journalists give out 'polite' or even biased car reviews out of fear of being 'out of the loop' or being out of favor from the car companies and therefore might not be given in the future the chance to review other cars of such companies and/or given such perks when they test drive cars?

You're hitting the nail right on the head.

Any local professional motoring journalist who publishes a bad review of a car would suddenly find himself/herself without invites to sponsored motoring events and no company vehicles (from that certain car company) to test drive for the foreseeable professional future.

It is a case of "you scratch my back and I will scratch your's" kind of thing in the local motoring industry. Those who are used to motoring shows like Top Gear UK or Fifth Gear where they independently review and tell the good and bad about certain cars will be greatly disappointed with local equivalents.

[niky]

What can you do? Our local industry is so small that local journalists are often begging for test units, and if one manufacturer blacklists you... sayonara not only to junkets, but to advertising money (which our site doesn't have to worry about) and to content.

Some guys actually have to resort to private units to get testers... some manufacturers don't recognize us and don't send us units... one of them is still probably pissed about an Alterra review by mbt a few years back.

At least some manufacturers are "okay" with a bad review. Toyota is one of them... they're of the "What you see is what you get" variety, which is very nice... and honestly, while they have some so-so cars, they make some great ones (Corolla, Camry RAV4... too bad the RAV is so expensive).

But even overseas, it's only the really big boys who get a free pass with criticisms. Smaller media outlets can get blacklisted for scathing reviews.... can't remember if that was "The Truth About Cars" or "Jalopnik"... but c'mon... how can you call the "Big Boys" completely unbiased, either? When Motor Trend awards "Car of the Year" to the likes of the new Camry (seriously, it's not THAT good) and the Ford Thunderbird (overweight poseur and abysmal sales flop)...

Clarkson gets away with it because Top Gear is pure entertainment, and the manufacturers know it. Actually, much of what he says is pure crap... but it's funny crap, so I still watch his show, anyway. Have you ever read a Clarkson car review? It's two paragraphs on how the granny driving in front of him reminds him of the weather, two paragraphs on how global warming is a crock, and just one about the car... "Oh, by the way, it's utter rubbish"... :hysterical:

And there's the other side of the coin. When is criticism deserved, and when is it over-the-top? I know Clarkson would probably ram a Picanto into a parked Mercedes, have them erupt in an artful fireball, and step out and wheel the Picanto's carcass away and not show a scratch on the Mercedes, but is that really truthful? Different markets, different needs, different standards. Just read the Innova review at "The Truth About Cars"... ( read it here ) they thoroughly ream it... but locally, compared to the competition, the Innova is at or near the top of its class.

And therein lies another problem... perspective. If you grew up driving owner-type jeeps and jeepneys, Cimarrons and Ford Fieros, even the cruddiest Chinese car will seem like an immense luxury to you. One fond saying of some auto-journalists is: "There are no bad cars, anymore"... yeah, if you're comparing them to what else is on the road in the Philippines... ...but you've got to compare them to what else is for sale.

-----

We've got to remember that autojournalism isn't investigative journalism... it's product review... and just like restaurant reviews or gadget reviews, there are those who do nothing but parrot spec sheets, or those who write about nothing but the ambiance and food... but there are some who take the job very seriously.

Not getting invited to junkets hurts... (the Lighthouse in Subic is a fantastic place to spend a few nights )... and sometimes we have to soften our punches so as not to get beaten up (ref. Vernon vs Nexus), but not all journalists are PR machines... Andy Sevilla can be very up-front about his criticisms, for one... you just have to know where to look for unbiased opinions. ;)

[Memphis Raines]

*Niky. Tumpak! A review is never complete without the cons. Otherwise, why make one at all?

Pinoy na pinoy talaga ang suhol in journalism. An envelope with perks is indeed very tempting especially during these times. Thank God there are still a bunch out there who tells it the way it is.

Another factor is being 'pikon'. Trait natin yang mga pinoy. By nature, we don't take criticism lightly. Ray Butch "the Elvis look" Gamboa always has nice things to say about the brand whenever in a dinner or event hosted by the company. It's either that or he don't to run Sunshine TV with the Ads that he solicits from the honchos.

Pacholo "Grandpa" Ramirez spearheads that fuel efficiency run (with pay of course) - "1,400kms on ONE FULL TANK! What a fuel!' - My 15 year old nephew candidly comments, "It's not the fuel. It's the freakin' car!"





ok moving on...

.

[tsupermario]

car salesmen masquerading as writers?

btw that innova review was fantastic!

[tidus1203]

Ey niky since you are with the industry if you don't mind at all... Pero can you share which manufacturers are pikon?

[uls]

ya...

sino ang mga bully?

hehe

[Tailhook]

Ey niky since you are with the industry if you don't mind at all... Pero can you share which manufacturers are pikon?

if he does that, he'll be permanently blacklisted by the pikons. no more unbiased reviews from niky of cars from ***, **** and ***. hehehe


i remember reading online a negative review of of Isuzu Crosswind. I just dont recall the name of the writer but I'm quite sure he's a fellow tsikoteer. Reading that unbiased and factual review, sans the usual crap about how good the trip/hotel/VP of ** motors was, was like a breath of fresh air. At least here was a guy just busting his ass off for his readers to have accurate and reliable info about a car which they might be looking forward to purchasing.

He even described the crosswind as too outdated and lacking refinement. <------ Now that's a review.

[Majongero]

I think a car mag once invited local literary figures to review cars. Ayun, syempre wala naman sila alam sa oto, so puro palabok lang ang naisulat. But it was fun. They were great writers.

I read car mags just to check out the specs of cars. Pero di ako naniniwala sa reviews lalo na kapag alam mong pangit yung oto.