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21-06-2005, 09:18 PM
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ĕm-bär'gō? 2016
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Motoring journos, freebies and discounts
Story: www.crikey.com.au
Journalism might be one of the world's least trusted professions but the ignominy does have its compensations. Just how good they are depends largely on the area in which you work - travel editors get good junkets, technology writers have plenty of gadgets; arts writers rarely have to pay to see a show.
But journalism is a jealous profession, and the gig everyone has always eyed-off with the deepest suspicion is that of the motoring writer. How is it that the motoring hacks always seem to have some shiny new and highly desirable vehicle in the staff car park, despite a salary that would struggle to pay for a flash push-bike? They can't all be "test cars" can they?
Well, now we know. The Age and the SMH today reported on a recent vehicle launch at which Hyundai's Australian boss offered the assembled journos half-price cars. The offer, which was made while the journos were being plied with "depth charges" (a mix of beer and whiskey) was quickly withdrawn after the broadsheets blew the whistle (perhaps because their more stringent freebies policies would've made it impossible for their staff to take part).
As one motoring hack points out there there are also plenty of over-the-top lunches and other freebies to trick journos out of doing their job, but despite the freebies Aussie motoring writers are known for going pretty hard on a car that's not up to scratch.
But Crikey's sources also say there's still the odd dodgy inducement here and there. For example at the Hyundai Sonata launch the journos weren't just offered cut-price cars - they were also given an MP3 player worth up to $400 just for turning up.
Crikey has also been told that the companies use what are known as "partner launches" to get publicity for a car that's not attracting much attention. There are usually a couple of trips a year and they involve fully-funded trips for journos and their partners. Saab once sent journos and their partners to Noosa to talk about a car that has less power and less equipment and Audi did a black tie dinner in Sydney which included flying partners there for the night.
Toyota and its luxury brand Lexus is also well known for going over the top attending to amazing details on launches, and a few years ago there were strong rumours that Toyota had put enough acid on ACP to ensure the then-new Camry would run on the cover of Wheels magazine. Fairfax did a story on it and ACP offered a veiled threat of legal action, which was never followed through.
The longest test car loan ever ... Peter Brewer writes:
These so-called "inducements" have been going on for decades, and the record for the longest test car loan still stands because the car was never returned. To explain: one of the more astonishing tales of greasing the palms of motoring journos dates back to the 1973 launch of the ill-fated Leyland P76, when "long term" loan cars were provided to selected journos on the basis that the vehicles should be returned "when you are finished with them." Well, in the case of one particular high profile motoring journo (who shall remain nameless), the weeks turned into months until finally - almost a year later - the car company sent someone around to the journo's place to collect the car. The journo feigned ignorance of the long term loan agreement, and told the representative that he thought the car was a gift. Turns out that after having driven the car around for a while, he sold it and used the funds to install an in-ground swimming pool in his backyard.
What the car company PR sees ... David Wolnizer writes:
Mota notas - that's what they are know as in the motor game. Inducements is not the word, demands is more to the point. I have been in the PR department of a major manufacturer on many occasions when "requests" have been made by well known mota notas. Going for a holiday in Queensland, how about a luxury vehicle? Going to the snow, how about a 4WD? Taking out a new bird, how about a sports car, convertible if possible? Notwithstanding the petrol money which is expected in the glove box, and so the list goes on. I know of one well known mota nota, retired now, who once dumped a luxury car just where it ran out of petrol, and never even bothered to tell the supplier. Not only that, but to add insult to injury there was never a write-up on the car. To some who know, some of the stuff that is written is just plain crap.
Life as a motoring writer in con city ... an anonymous contributor writes:
Having worked as a motoring journo in a previous life, I can tell you it is con city and I would pay little attention to any of the words written about any car. The best loan I have heard of is Paul Gover, who said he couldn't understand the iDrive on the 7-Series BMW - so they loaned him one for three months so he could understand. This is the same bloke who wouldn't fly economy class to Shanghai with the rest of the motorsport writers for the recent V8 Supercar round - instead he waited for Holden to fly him Business Class, which is much more appropriate for a man of his influence!
But it's not what it seems ... motoring journalist and broadcaster Will Hagon writes:
Numerous comments and arguments could be banged around in response to your story how to steer motoring journos in the right direction. To save time and boring detail, some general points about how the independence and honesty of motoring journos may or may not be influenced by their treatment at the hands of car companies. Just as some people in all fields of endeavour don't do the right thing, most people in most fields of endeavour have ethics, care, professional pride and honesty that leads them, most of the time, to do the right thing.
Like a lot of people in the motor industry, motoring journalists usually become so through a passion for cars. That usually means enjoying their job but perhaps also spending too much time doing it. Over nearly 40 years in the industry, I've seen the good, the bad and the ugly but generally the good have risen to the top. And those "good" have an impressive range of skills: able to test a wide range of vehicles up to a high level of performance without killing themselves, a knowledge of business, manufacturing and the many aspects of the technicalities of motor vehicles. Oh yes, and an ability to write.
Your story had a fair comment that is reflected internationally, that "Aussie motoring writers are known for going pretty hard on a car that's not up to scratch." They are also known for generally being more knowledgeable and skilled than most of their ilk from other countries.
Perhaps this can all be summarised by noting, while the moral high ground mob at The Age and the SMH have found another thing to twitch the hairs in their nostrils, that a very significant proportion of those papers' incomes come from motor industry advertising. Do they feel compromised, unable to be editorially free?
Story:
www.crikey.com.au
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