EXACTLY. Thanks Formula for having and defending some ethics on this! You're one of the few I see doing it. It definitely DOES hurt a carmaker's success with a new model, to have leaks and gradual awareness come about instead of a big splash. This is the case now with the 05 Mustang too. How many here sincerely believe, Ford shrugged its shoulders at the pix of the white 05 in someone's garage with the blurred background that appeared a few months ago? Why do you suppose the taker/poster was anonymous, and blurred the background? Because they were worried, you better believe, and we all know why. There are many MILLIONS of $$ of development and sales at stake with a new model intro. Its disappointing to read all the rationalizations for distribution of embargoed material here... just another example of moral decay as far as I'm concerned. As for C&D and Motor Trend, it might help them avoid major and unexpected ad revenue loss from GM if they would quickly find and FIRE the cheating loser that leaked the page-scans.

 

with a thread title like that, how could ANYONE think that you're whining?

 

Brandon, it's not a personal attack at all, it's that your choice of words, blatant arrogance at times, and inflated self-importance to the world really knock you down a peg on more than one persons respect meter.

Like morb|d said.... look at the title of this very thread. It says "cocky arrogant glory hound" rather than "frustrated professional".

 

Branden, I'm glad you realize your websites position in all of this. You are correct that the "big boys" will be able to get away w/ stuff that you would not, and I'm glad for you for taking the stance that you have (even though you know that by posting your stuff early, your official insider info would dry up....not a very difficult choice). Someone else said it best, all of this stuff is the business of information, SOMEONE will leak it. I remember finding pix of the 50th Anniversary C5, and a GM buddy of mine flipped (pix were early).

But like the other poster said...keep in mind that GM had C6 out in the open, in the daylight, poised on the top deck of a carrier..not exactly black ops here. They may get bent at the individual websites that leak this stuff, but is anyone actually not going to buy C6 because they happened to see a picture of the car 2 weeks before GM wanted them to? I think not.

Also, interesting thing at work. I work w/ a group of people that I would call enthusiasts, we've got a few SS's, a C5, couple of BMW M's, 2 Z28's, and various other stuff, and we make a habit of passing along any and all magazines at our disposal. These people are certainly interested. But when I tell them about what I'm reading on the net about C6, GTO, ect...instead of wanting to link up themselves, they're content to "I'll look forward to reading it in next months issue of C&D". They're quite content to get their info from print, and they don't hang on every website every day looking for the latest scoop (that would be me ).

I don't know what percentage of buyers are into gaining information the way we are here. Lets face it, we're on the front lines of public knowledge of current and future product from GM. Hell we know more than any dealer I've ever been to. So we shouldn't forget that for probably a great majority out there, all these embargoed pix being released don't mean a whole lot to them. They'll just check em out in the rags in a month or 2, and be perfectly happy w/ that. That's the attitude where I work anyway, and as suprised as I am at it, I guess it's just a reminder that most people are content w/ the traditional media, and wouldn't look at a website even if they could see pix of the C6.

 

OK....my 2 cents.....

Branden.....you did the right thing. Honor is something that is becoming rarer and rarer these days...esp. within the internet world.
C & D was wrong to break the embargo date.

(for those of you who perhaps didn't know this..we -- along with all manufacturers have used embargo dates for years.....after all, it takes a LOT of time to set up a magazine and then go to print...thus the embargo. It wasn't a big deal prior to the internet......now, it seems it's 'every man/woman for himself/herself.....

As to what GM will do to C & D? Don't know....... but I can imagine that there are more than just me upset at them. It's a matter of trust.

As to the pics of the red corvette in San Fran? Yup we WERE upset...go back and look at the pic.......the pics posted were of the Red 2005 Vette on the transport carrier, not the carrier you see in the commercial......GM/ Campbell/Ewald was very careful not to make the car visible while shooting the commercial. (trick photography......) However, when the car was being loaded back onto the carrier, someone got a picture. I can tell you that there was a lot of finger pointing afterward..........

Branden......be honorable........no one should ever fault you for that. (but I would change the thread title.........)

 

Put better than I could have done.

Not make the car visible??? In downtown San Francisco??? In broad daylight??? With surronding office buildings???

I've been on the set of a few commercials shot of cars that were yet to be introduced (San Fran & San Diego seem to be favorites). The vehicles are usually kept covered until the commercial's actually being shot, or the car is being moved on or off the transport.

Even only a couple minutes uncovered at a time, that C6 was a sitting duck. From what little I've seen or experienced so far with things like this, I'd say GM isn't too bent over the buzz just a couple of weeks before preview.