Our last installment of Our Two Cents certainly resonated with many folks in the Hagerty community, and for that everyone here at Hagerty media sincerely thanks you for your feedback. You are the reason why I have polled my co-workers on a regular basis. I am grateful for your comments, and I hope the following question entertains you:
What's the one story you wish you could write about for Hagerty? There are no budget/time constraints. If you wanted to interview Carl Benz on the moon, you just go ahead and say that. Shine on you crazy diamonds!
Senior Manager of Content Joe DeMatio takes us back to the days personal luxury, the days where power was down but safety and cleaner air was met with international flair.
"I would like to write about the development of the Chrysler Cordoba in the mid-1970s, specifically the design, which I believe was penned by a French-Canadian man who was not a career automotive designer. The car so clearly paid homage to Rolls-Royce and was one of many 'personal luxury' coupes of the period, all of which figured largely in my childhood imagination."
Executive Editor Eric Weiner wants to do something near and dear to my heart: taking a radical vehicle and finding parallels with something bigger in society.
"My dream has always been to road trip around Japan in an R32 Skyline, the archetypical JDM performance car. In my head it's a photo essay/travelogue in 36 parts, matching the artist Katsushika Hokusai's series, 36 Views of Mt. Fuji, which includes the iconic Great Wave off Kanagawa that's so ubiquitous today.
"The Great Wave is almost a parody of itself at this point. The story would be an exploration of how perspective from abroad provides only a particular view, and how the GT-R means so much more when understood in context, in the place where it was made, appreciated and understood for the audience that was intended.
"At the same time, when you make something great, it grows beyond those constraints, those borders. The changing meaning and significance is part of what makes something enduring, because enduring does not mean unchanging!"
Eric gave us another gem, another story from an interesting perspective. How would a catalytic converter feel about being so desirable? Is it a type of fame that's desirable, as in being a household name when things like EGR valves and smog pumps are easily forgotten? Or is it so toxic that it's more like celebrities who can no longer live their life?
Editor-at-Large Sam Smith wants to go even further, taking all the latitude I gave in my question. His idea has merit, as many of us also love aircraft, too.
"It's not cars, I know. But riding passenger in a Lockheed U-2 would be an epic act of storytelling. Yes, it's tangential to what we do here, but I suspect we could fudge the lines and run it anyway."
Which motivated Ben Woodworth, our Senior Video Lead, to add, "I want a ride in an SR-71 Blackbird, spending a year or two embedded with those pilots and that program."
Ben Woodworth had another great story idea, as Detroit and the oil and gas industry have deep roots:
"Maybe this has already been fully researched and done, but I'd love to do be able to go back in time to TRULY research Detroit's and the oil industry's influence and long-term impact on public transportation and electric vehicles. I mean, Henry Ford's wife drove an electric car for goodness sake!
"From what I already know from things I've read and a few documentaries I've watched, the influence was heavy and the corruption and anti-competitive behavior was rampant. It would be fun (and also super depressing) to learn what really happened in the back rooms and shadows."
Senior Editor Eddy Eckart wants to dig deep into one particular element of Paul Newman's racing career. While there is a movie about Newman's racing career, what about a discussion on a single season of racing?
"I'd like to have been embedded with the team that supported Paul Newman during one of his championship-winning seasons in the SCCA. What'd he do to prepare for the season? How'd he approach selecting the people he surrounded himself with for the effort? What was his pre-grid routine? Much of this story's been told before, but I've always wanted to be able to see what Newman was like through the context of the minutiae of a full schedule of racing."
Editor Kyle Smith, wants to dig deep into the Time Out, or Corner Doll. They are still popular at car shows, so I suspect several generations of enthusiasts would love to read Kyle's essay. He will answer questions like:
Managing Editor David Zenlea wants to write about something that few of us know firsthand, but most of us would love to experience.
"I want to write a story about a road trip around the world. I actually wouldn't want a nice car for it, because the story is better if stuff breaks and I have to find a working O2 sensor somewhere in Mongolia."
To which Eric added, the Mercedes W124 is your ride! Considering how many were sold globally, and how many are still on those roads, Eric is definitely on to something.
Steven Cole Smith, our Special Projects Editor, wants to cover a story so iconic that we know it will be a smash hit:
"I'd loved to have been at Kitty Hawk, or when Henry rolled the first car off his assembly line, but the immediate story that comes to mind would be to cover the Fords beating the Ferraris at Le Mans in 1966. That had to be the ultimate proud-to-be-an-American moment, and I think it's a tale my limited skillset could have really gotten behind."
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