Hello! It's Steph Coombes and I have news.

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A few weeks ago you gave me your email address off the back of my rambly Instagram story. Thanks for your trust and/or questionable judgement. I’m finally ready to share what I’ve been working on.  

It’s a website called The Car Pit.

If you’re not a motoring fan, please don’t block me just yet.

First, I’d like you to consider this question. Do you not like car stuff because it’s actually boring? Or has it just been fed to you in a way that’s dry, inaccessible, and totally humourless?

I’m on a mission. It’s to write about motoring in a way that’s fun.

Trust me. Cars are great. They can be frivolous and absurd. They can be beautiful feats of engineering. They can be emotional. They can be heaps of shit. I’m here for all of it.  

Just give me a chance and I think you’ll be entertained. And that’s all I want.

To be totally honest with you, this website has been a huge undertaking. I’m writing everything solo and illustrating the whole thing as well. But the plan is to give this a good whack for at least six months.

So, for the next 26 weeks (unless you unsubscribe) on a Monday you’ll get an email from me with highlights from the website. Think of it as procrastination fodder. Don’t read whatever dumb email your boss sent you Sunday night. As an act of rebellion, read some car stuff instead. 

With that all said, what’s on The Car Pit this week? 

Well, a couple of months ago I took a Volkswagen Tiguan All Space for a spin. It’s a 7-seater monster that drives just fine, but it did throw me into a bit of a tailspin about my personal life. You can read about my mini existential crisis here. 

There’s also been a fair bit in the news regarding the Tesla Cybertruck. It’s fresh off the construction line and has been spotted in the wild a few times in America. But what I want to know, is why no one’s talking about the fact it looks like Lara Croft’s polygon boobs in the first Tomb Raider game. 

The full article is here, but maybe don’t bother because I’ve just given away the best gag.

And finally, there’s a rumour in the car world I’ve always thought was funny. The story goes that in the 1980s Mitsubishi accidentally named their car the ‘Starion’ instead of ‘Stallion’ due to a mistranslation. Is there truth to the tale? I spent a feverish weekend investigating, found some wonderful nostalgia along the way, and came up with a reasonable conclusion.

There’s plenty of other articles, so have a bit of a peruse and tell me what you think.

Finally, if you like what I’ve written or believe in this project on any level, please send an article onto a mate, or badger someone you know to subscribe to this newsletter. 

To help this thing grow, if you send me a direct message to the Car Pit’s Instagram with proof you’ve forwarded this email or an article onto a mate, I’ll draw you something. I promise it will be both personalised and stupid. 

Enjoy your Monday and don’t work too hard. 

Steph Coombes