What I'm Trying To Do Here

Hi gang,

if you’re here, you’ve probably watched my Driven Car Reviews series on YouTube or read one of my articles for The New York Times. Welcome to the site. It’s definitely a work in progress. I’m a one-man operation and building this thing has become a personal quest somewhere between “fun hobby” and “why did I think I could do this myself?”

I love tinkering and figuring out how things work, and apparently that now includes web design. So far I’ve learned that websites are a lot like modern cars: wildly complicated, occasionally infuriating, and one wrong click away from needing an over-the-air update.

As a pragmatic Minnesota raised boy, I love writing about the automotive world and producing videos that look great, entertain, and maybe even teach you something useful. Unfortunately, most automotive sites have devolved into a series of guys yelling about tire shine or how to raise your T level. I’ve grown weary of websites that bombard visitors with ads, autoplay videos, pop-ups, requests to subscribe, cookie notices, newsletter prompts, and invitations to “smash that bell.” I have to believe you have too.

I'm trying to minimize all that here. There’s no advertising. I won’t hound you to subscribe. All data collection is at the minimum "necessary" settings. No tracking your every move like you’re a prototype Corvette testing at the Nürburgring. Feel free to roam around as the site grows and expands. It’s a safe space. Or at least as safe as something built by a guy who crawls under vehicles to get GoPro shots of drivetrain components. I'm just trying to do good work and share my wide access to everything automotive.

I've tried the "influencer" route promoting products. Being from the journalism side, it feels slimy. Forgoing that and eliminating all advertising does make me a fairly terrible businessman. Hosting this site costs real money, and Driven is more labor of love than gateway to private island ownership. If you’ve found my reviews useful, enjoy the video quality, or simply appreciate the dry humor, feel free to donate on Venmo: @Tom-Voelk. This will not make me rich. Covering expenses and buying coffee strong enough to survive editing deadlines would help though.

Theoretically, if each one of my YouTube subscribers donated $1 annually, I could shut off the ads there and still make twice as much money. Probably more. A guy can dream.

If you have story ideas, feel free to drop me a line. I really do try to respond to everyone, but sometimes the volume is overwhelming. So if you don’t hear back, my apologies in advance. My first priority is getting videos finished and producing work for The Times. The glamorous life of automotive video journalism mostly involves deadlines, rendering bars, and trying to remember where I left the key fob to the new vehicle that's in my driveway this week.

See you on down the road, TV