Lately I have come across two overseas auto history sources that you might find worth taking a look at if you haven’t already. The first one, AROnline, focuses on British cars. The second source is a Russian writer who goes by the name DL24.
AROnline appears to be a professional-quality website that is funded through advertising. The depth of the writing reminds me of Ate Up With Motor, but the website has evolved well beyond being a solo effort (AROnline, 2022). For example, a Jaguar XK-E story by Ian Nicholls (2019) offers useful background about why a direct successor was not built. Meanwhile, Chris Cowin (2020) and Nicholls present a deep data dive into why the British automobile industry struggled to achieve profitability.
The only reason I know about AROnline is because a commentator in that website linked to an Indie Auto story (which shows up in my WordPress readership data). Thank you for offering the link, Nate.
A sophisticated take on American cars from a Russian
Recently Indie Auto has had some visitors from drive2.ru and dzen.ru. However, in this case the writer of the stories, DL24, included content from Indie Auto. While it is flattering to see my arguments presented elsewhere, I am not pleased that DL24 republished my charts and photos without permission — and often without appropriate citations. That’s both journalistically unethical and illegal.
It’s unfortunate that DL24 plays fast and loose with copyright law because he offers admirably detailed historical analysis about American cars from a Russian perspective. For example, DL24’s (2022b) story about the downsized 1962 Dodge and Plymouth ranks right there with any American writer in its thoroughness and analytical sophistication. He also offers a fascinating take on how Packard influenced Soviet car design (DL24, 2022a).
Also see ‘Driven To Write offers European take on a noncommercial auto website’
Note that to read these websites you need to be fluent in Russian or use a Google translator (look for a button in the page’s top-right corner). The translated prose is rather choppy but you can get the basic idea of what he is trying to say.
DL24 strikes me as having a terrific future as an automotive historian. He displays strong engineering chops, business savvy, and a good eye for styling. Perhaps most importantly, he doesn’t just phone in his analysis like all-too-many prominent American auto history writers.
I just wish that DL24 would start to follow some pretty basic rules about copyright law. He clearly has the talent to develop an international following, so why undercut it?
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RE:SOURCES
- AROnline; 2022. “About this site.” Accessed Dec. 8.
- Cowin, Chris; 2019. “Essay : The bottom line.” AROnline. posted Aug. 8.
- DL24; 2202a. “The 1955-56 Packard was a copy no less than the Soviet ZIL and Chaika.” dzen.ru. Posted Sept. 21.
- ——; 2022b. “Early Chrysler B-body: Failure or Missed Opportunity?” drive2.ru. Posted Oct. 31.
- Nicholls; 2019. “The cars : Jaguar E-type development story.” AROnline. posted Jan. 19.
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