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6 Comments

As you may have noticed, there haven’t been any additional Ate Up With Motor articles since the end of April. Ate Up With Motor has never been a particularly lucrative venture (although it’s helped me get some other work), and over the course of the year, most of my other income has dried up as well, such that my survival, much less that of the site, is now very much in doubt. I don’t see any really viable ways of further monetizing the site: I can’t use Google Ads products, and there’s no longer enough traffic to interest other ad platforms, beyond which the use of intrusive online advertising has become both legally and ethically very dicey; the prospect of creating print or e-books has been sort of a chimera that presents a variety of practical problems I don’t know how to solve, and my efforts to obtain professional guidance on some of those things came to naught. The upkeep of the site is not particularly costly in monetary terms, but the work involved in creating new content is substantial, and since it doesn’t really translate into any significant financial return, it’s harder to find or justify the energy involved. I wish I could talk about exciting future plans, but the future of Ate Up With Motor is looking quite bleak.

6 Comments

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  1. Karl H

    Sad to hear. Enjoyed your research. Interesting to learn about the business and history behind the cars and the companies.

    Regards,

    Reply
  2. Andrew Buc

    I’m sorry to hear this. I’d quote Joni Mitchell and say, “You don’t know what you got ’til it’s gone,” but I think we knew what we had in AUWM. We’d have to have been pretty dense not to. There are a number of good gearhead sites, but none that I know of that are quite like this one.

    Aaron, I assume you’ll give us some advance notice if and when you pull the plug?

    Reply
  3. Jim Sykes

    This news is sad. Aaron impressed me as a professional journalist verifying texts.
    As a reader my only comment is Ate Up With Motor’s is kind of a strange title.
    However the content is absolutely excellent.

    Reply
  4. Chrono

    I hope your personal situation improves. AUWM is an incredible site, with history, photos, and commentary of the auto industry that needs to be preserved (and when life allows you again, expanded). Many truly appreciate what you have here. I hope, at the very least, you will always be able to preserve what you already have. Perhaps you should look into partnering with another website like The Truth About Cars for support and investment?

    Reply
  5. Al

    Just donated and I encourage others to do so as well (if they are able!) – frankly, it’s long overdue for me as I come back to the site often.

    Aaron, your work is simply some of the finest writing on the auto industry I’ve found. As a long time lurker I wanted to chime in and give my thanks and appreciation for all your efforts. Have you considered setting up a Patreon? Could be enough of a revenue stream to keep the site online im the near-term.

    Reply
  6. Lori Hille

    I love reading your articles, and the website is fabulous as it is even without new content. I would love to read these articles in book form, and even before I read this most recent post, the thought had occurred to me that I should start printing my favorites out. This is one site in particular that I re-read.

    From the reader’s standpoint, seems like everyone I read has Patreon or a subscription tier through Substack, etc. I can’t afford to support them all. I wish I could. I forgot where I first found AUWM… maybe Indie Auto or Dean’s Garage?

    Even if you’re not up to the extensive research it takes to keep creating new articles, the car community needs to know what a great resource you have created and hopefully we can drum up support to help you at least maintain Ate Up With Motor!

    Reply

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