My predecessor at The Truth About Cars, the notoriously dildo-obsessed and frankly perverse Bertel Schmitt, is currently running around Facebook trying to shop some “numbers” that prove that his reign of error at the site was some sort of statistical high point. Obviously, that’s incorrect.
Someday, when I’m no longer actively writing about cars and/or automotive journalism, I’ll sit down, go through my notes on Mr. Schmitt and his various misbehaviors/misadventures, and share them with you. Trust me; if you knew what I know about this guy, you’d treat everything he wrote like it was dipped in bloody vomit. The only reason I haven’t done it yet is simple: what I’ve shared with some people whom I respect in the business is so repellent to them that I’ve been told not even to be associated with it as the chronicler of said misdeeds. I also want to get far enough away in time from the various attacks he’s made on me and my reputation to ensure that my own personal distaste for “Herr Konigsdildo” doesn’t shine through.
“BS” and I were once the best of friends. Unfortunately, that situation came to a crashing halt when he was involved in a physical altercation with two women, one of whom was my girlfriend of the time, at a strip club in Nashville, TN. I’m happy to say that the girls handled his aggression without my help; he’s a bit of a “manlet” and V. McB, at a robust 5’6″ and 120lbs, had no trouble putting him in his place. Unfortunately, from the moment that said incident happened, and he knew I was aware of it, he went on a crusade to eliminate me from TTAC. Also unfortunately, for him at least, before he could accomplish this goal he was himself eliminated for a veritable cornucopia of public statements that verged from the merely homophobic to the frankly insane.
Mr. Schmitt’s site does about the same amount of traffic as this one does — which is to say, not much. But it seems worth the effort to categorically refute his assertions: From the numbers and stats that I have available to me, Mr. Schmitt’s tenure at the site caused it to hit its lowest point in years, a decline that we have fully reversed since his departure. It was hard work getting the trust of the readers back, and hard work giving them reasons to give us a second chance, but it was worth it, and, as Corinne says, I’d do it all again.
Jack,
obviously I don’t know near as much as you do about B.S. I just thought he was a petty jerk (much like me, looking back I’m probably one of the shittiest commenters TTAC has had in recent history) but man, now I want to know. probably borne from resentment; there were certain things about the industry Bertel had insights into but it was mostly lost in character assassination and “MQB uber alles!.”
that said I’m sorry for crapping up the comments at TTAC.
Haters gonna hate.
BS threw up the kanban that he was stuck in the past with the Wikipedia debacle - don’t lose sleep over that goofball.
Try the only marginally-useful Daily Mail article published in the last 4 years and recognize TTAC won and the Daily Inventory Control Sign lost.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2637949/How-beat-STRESS-Its-modern-epidemic-wrecks-lives-relationships-This-major-series-shows-conquer-stress-using-mindfulness-new-calming-technique-EVERYONE-talking-about.html
Personally, I find Farago much more intriguing than Bertel.
I guess I came late to the party but I’ll listen to the forthcoming stories….
TTAC is a really great site , it teaches me daily and I like that .
-Nate
I pretty much abandoned TTAC during the last year or two of that little bozo’s reign. I am happy to visit TTAC now, and it seems to be doing much better these days. I’m glad.
I do think it’s hilarious you can’t comment on his “new and improved” site. It would take him all day to delete all the comments that weren’t complimentary…
At the end of the day, both Bertel and Ed misunderstand the Internet. They see it as a one-way communication channel, like a newspaper that doesn’t print letters to the editor.
They aren’t comfortable with dialogue because they know their opinions and analyses don’t have enough research or insight behind them.
so how on earth did he get to be EIC in the first place?
It was supposed to be temporary. Ed ran off to work for a variety of Republican campaigns, and Bertel was supposed to be minding the store in the interim.
The problem was that Ed became extremely self-important during his year away and he wanted more power and money than anybody wanted to pay him.
Thus, the Schmitt era, which persisted due to benign neglect on the part of our owners. It wasn’t until Bertel really fucked the dog and he’d managed to achieve universal laughingstock status in the business that anything got done.
well I’m glad he set up Daily Kanban so we can point and laugh at him from afar.
Jack -
The best put-down in the History of the Universe, and probably even before the Big Bang itself, was written by Ayn Rand in “The Fountainhead”:
“Toohey: “Mr. Roark, we’re alone here. Why don’t you tell me what you think of me? In any words you wish. No one will hear us.”
Roark: “But I don’t think of you.”
[ SOURCE ] http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/316798-toohey-mr-roark-we-re-alone-here-why-don-t-you-tell
May I humbly submit that you inflict that same ultimate FU, and neither think nor write about said person.
Regards,
Steve
What Bertel does not know about the interwebs, and why no one will buy his China site no matter how many places he tries to shop it to, could fill the liquor cabinet in the bowling suite at Hard Rock Vegas.
Bertel was far too Inside-Baseball with his obsession of the Chinese and Japanese markets. He lacked any sense of sarcasm or irony. Was completely humorless, both in his personality and his writing. Bristled at the slightest criticism (and if you’re going to write opinion pieces on the interwebs, you’ve got to make like a duck’s back during a downpour — further proving he doesn’t “get” the internet). He also came across as a pervert and a misogynist. Toward the end of his TTAC days, his pieces, and the direction of the site, led me to believe that he may in fact have been suffering a psychological break of some sort.
Anyway, I look forward to your memoirs, Jack, and the chapter on BS. Followed by a chapter on Lieberman. And then, Farago.
Some photos of VMcB would also be greatly appreciated.
How’s this:
That’s quite the, um, speaker cabinet there. Looks like an impressive pair of 15s. How’s, the, erm, response? ; )
It varies!