I'm breaking a golden rule
Why I'm not following excellent advice I was gifted
Before I started The Car Pit I got some very good advice.
I lined up a chat with Tim Duggan, one of the founders of Junkee, for some pointers on running a website. Tim (who was very generous with his time) told me I should try to mask the fact that the Car Pit is a one-woman show.
No one wants to sponsor or read a blog, he rightly said. Better to create a website which looks like it has staff, authority, and credibility.
He’s right, of course. Unfortunately, I’m bad at following advice.
(Side note: this is probably why Tim has started and sold several businesses, written books, and is highly successful. Meanwhile, I’m still waiting for Nissan to return my emails).
I try to make the website look slick and professional, mostly so that car companies will lend me their things. It’s the glowing orb to my angler fish. But this self control lapses on the mailing list. You get the real story here.
So I’m sure it’s no surprise to you that I’m the only person behind the Car Pit. Yes, it’s a lot of work, but I’m having a blast muddling through it.
However, this does mean that when my parents do something selfish like move out of the family home of 34 years, the website languishes a little. Which is what happened this week.
But the good news is, while I’ve been disassembling the mausoleum to my childhood which is my old bedroom, I have found a few fun little nostalgic nuggets.
Young Stephanie loved a car. She also loved a sticker. Imagine her joy when those two things combined.
Unfortunately the above tribute to the 1992 Foster’s Aussie GP is stuck to the back of my cupboard and will have to remain with the house.
Hopefully the new owners will appreciate this tasteful bit of decor gifted to them by 4-year-old me.
I remember getting this signature from Peter Brock when I was around 11-year-old. He was generous with his fans, Brock. We’ll leave it at that.
And finally, how about this year two poetry book?
I recall that we got to decorate our notebooks in whatever manner we saw appropriate. And what says poetry more than a few V8s thrashing it? I’ll bet even Shelley would have stopped faffing on about clouds and whatnot if he’d been alive to watch Skaife and Ingall at Bathurst.
That’s it for this week! Thanks for supporting the Car Pit — just opening this email and having a read helps.
I’ll be back next Monday with more car news and content.
Steph