ooooIYKYK, ISSUE #0009
Why does Spider-Man have no eyeballs? Okay, sure, Peter Parker has eyeballs but in costume he just has those large, black-framed white eyes. No doubt that’s a style issue, something Stan Lee or the like dreamed up to make him more spider-like, but it’s also ironic.
What’s that have to do with Joe Rogan or the rumored Audi R8 successor? Bear with me.
Biased media. Fake news. Agendas. This is a car enthusiast platform, not a political one. Even still, it is a media source and so in a week of headlines such as a potential R8 successor being canceled, it’s worth considering how a message gets shared works whether it’s shared by the media, celebrity entertainers such as Joe Rogan, and even politicians. It’s knowing the value of context to assess for oneself.
In today’s communications landscape, one doesn’t need to be NBC or the President of the United States to have a large and influential platform. Joe Rogan is a great example – a comedian and early adopter in the podcast field who appeared to be a major factor in the most recent election. The act of sitting down with Joe and other podcasts is attributed to carrying a lot of weight in the last election… even though Joe Rogan will typically be the first to tell you he’s “just a comedian” having a conversation… a move Jon Stewart has historically gone to as well during his earlier years at The Daily Show.
Back when Jon was doing it roundabout 2015, my business partner and I had just successfully sold our startup Vortex Media to TorStar. A friend at Hagerty had taken notice and asked me to come out to Traverse City and consult with their team as they prepared to upright some community of their own and that would eventually become Hagerty Driver’s Club. I was one of two speakers that day, and the other was an executive from Gawker who spoke about titles. In short, he shared how a title with a hook is all that really matters, only appearing to care about the click itself… which delivers the ad and thus the income. The rest wasn’t really his concern. Profitable his practice may have been, but holistic it was not. As a creative who sees the crafting of content as an art and journalist who sees reporting context as a responsibility, his idea left me feeling a bit cynical.
Now jump back to 2025. Podcasts and growth in other platforms have made for a lot more Jon Stewarts. Joe Rogan is probably the biggest, but far from the only individual with an enormous following who will chat about anything and everything while deemphasizing responsibility of fact or context check of claims made by guests even though more and more Americans consider podcasts like Rogan’s or unproven social media accounts as credible sources for news just as they did with the Jon Stewart’s Daily Show in the early twenty teens.
Political commentator and author Douglas Murray called out the practice on a recent episode of Rogan’s podcast (HERE, 45:25-47:48).
What’s this Got to Do with the Audi R8 Successor?
Last week at the New York Auto Show, Volkswagen Group of America CEO Kjell Gruner commented on the idea of an internal combustion mid-engine sportscar and he didn’t confirm it, instead suggesting an internal combustion mid-engine car “wasn’t on the roadmap”. Credit goes to Motor1 for breaking the story.
Watching the news ripple around the internet it seemed like most echoed a basic interpretation of the title, which was “New Audi R8 ‘Not on the Road Map,’ says VW CEO’… which reads a lot like the next R8 just got canceled. Enthusiasts online who are hanging on rumors of this car were unsurprisingly frustrated.
Here’s where context is key. An R8 successor remains an unconfirmed rumor, albeit qualified. An executive, even one as senior as Gruner, was unlikely to confirm the car to a group of journalists at an auto show. Finally, Gruner is the CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, not Volkswagen AG… which is a notable distinction.
Context is important. Saying it’s on, or saying it’s canceled both drive clicks. However, confirming a car that is still early enough to be tenuous at a time when tariffs and their negotiations could very well play a part in decision making isn’t a smart move. Confirming a car before end of secrecy, a point at which any actual R8 successor would be, also isn’t going to win you any points. In that context, it’s pretty obvious Gruner was never going to confirm the car.
So, the truth about any R8 successor is that it might happen… and it might not. Those who understand the nuance are probably hoping it happens and are also highly realistic that these things sometimes don’t happen.
At ooooIYKYK, I’ve begun tailoring content around this theme of context and informing the reader versus baiting the click (even though I included Joe Rogan and Spider-Man in crafting my theme and title lol). The practice goes against modern online publishing instinct, but I believe there’s timelessness in seeking reliable accuracy.
In as much, I’m breaking out several series of recurring content. Future Model Intel will catalogue who says what in the rumor mill, and it itemizes what’s known while weighing the validity. I’m also going back and updating these layouts and keeping them current, so bookmarking that page and revisiting will keep you up to date on a future model you may be following. So far, I’ve created one for the rumored TT replacement that may or may not be a TT, the Q9/SQ9 and the C9 RS 6. More will follow on an ongoing basis.
I’ve also begun flushing out the weekly motorsport update to cover more series and embedding race broadcasts where applicable. Audi Sport customer racing may technically be winding down, but if that’s the case then it’s truly remarkable how many of these cars continue to compete and win. Throw in Sauber F1 activity for good measure and it’s a reminder that motorsport is alive and well at Audi even though salacious statements of its demise may be the more common line.
Finally, I’m going out of my way to include links and SIDENOTE context points wherever warranted. I’m doing this so that if you want to dig deeper into what I’m covering, I’m sharing a link to the source, and sometimes explaining why I selected a source such as a respected journalist versus a regurgitating anonymous blog that scored a spot in your RSS feed or an algorithmically aligned influencer who may not know much about cars, but has a following large enough to net an invite to a new product launch. It happens, and you can’t really blame brands for chasing eyeball counts. Only chasing eyeball counts though… that’s a different story.
And then There’s Spider-Man
If you read Spider-Man as a kid, just like I did, you’ll remember the campy saying of his Uncle Ben. “With great power comes great responsibility”. Equate power to size of audience and you’ll find a lot of superheroes in our midst. Not all of them have received the same moral lessons bestowed on Peter Parker. They just kind of do what they want in order to maximize clicks, whereas Spider-Man has less figurative eyeballs because he’s guided by a moral compass rather than achieving undeniable and enriching success.
The thing is, we choose to whom we bestow that power. You can say it’s the algorithm doing it, but that’s a passive position to take. Enthusiast cars may seem trivial in this context, but with anything we should be thoughtful with whom we bestow our attention or perhaps place greater demand upon those we already prefer to follow, setting expectations that they operate at a higher ratio of context and journalistic integrity over virality or algorithmic performance.
Unlike my previous time at Fourtitude and VWvortex, or later at Audi Club North America, I’m choosing to be more selective in what I cover. In doing so I’m able to go more in-depth and choose the most important, most informative, most interesting or coolest stories. I’m able to dig, analyze and provide context. I believe that’s this platform’s greatest strength in the larger automotive space, complimenting the established peer outlets such as Audi Club’s blog or fixture automotive sites catering to car enthusiasts in general.
If you want to know the Audi brand at that depth, then do me a favor and subscribe to the ooooIYKYK newsletter. Social media is overrun with an avalanche of content that may or may not be relevant. I’ll cut through that each week by sending you a summary, or of course you can always hit the site directly… but who has time for that?
Here’s the point in the story where I fall on my sword a bit. Don’t beat up these journalistic outlets or even the podcasters and influencers simply because there’s clickbait. I’m also not completely innocent of it. Stories intended to also go viral like my ooooIntel piece on the C9 RS 6 complete with new renderings created exclusively for this site are exactly that (though the purpose is to do this while also informing readers with context). At the end of the day, the trusted information landscape is changing and maintaining media platforms while also maintaining profitability enough to exist is an all-to-common theme. So we shouldn’t just cancel them, but we most definitely should demand more of those with whom we entrust our attention or allow to influence us.
NEXT UP THIS WEEK’S NEWS & FEATURES
DON’T MISS UPCOMING EVENTS
25 – Audi Club Carolinas Coastal Tour 2025 – SC Low Country, Folly Beach, SC – 🇺🇸 – Driving Event
25-27 – MFD Driving Experience with Audi Club Chicagoland, Grattan Raceway, Belding, MI 🇺🇸 – HPDE
25-27 – British GT Championship, Silverstone 500, Silverstone Circuit, UK – GT3
25-27 – DMV Super Touring and GT Cup, Circuit Zolder, Belgium – GT4
25-27 – DTM, Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, Germany – GT3
25-27 – GT America, Circuit of the Americas, USA 🇺🇸 – GT3
26 – Audi Club Eastern Pennsylvania Spring Drive, Bernville, PA 🇺🇸 – Group Drive
26 – Audi Club Indiana Spring Drive, Greenwood, IN 🇺🇸 – Group Drive
26 – Audi Club North Atlantic Owls Head Drive, Hampton, NH 🇺🇸 – Group Drive
26 – Audi Club Northwest Geschwindigkeit, Kent, WA 🇺🇸 – HPDE
26 – Audi Club Potomac Driver’s Clinic, Summit Point Motorsports Park, Summit Point, WV 🇺🇸 – HPDE
26 – Dubs at the Lake, Wisp Resort, McHenry, MD 🇺🇸 – Car Show
26 – TCR Europe, Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, Portugal – TCR
26-27 – International GT Open, Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, Portugal – GT3
28-29 – Audi Club Northeast Watkins Glen, Watkins Glen, NY 🇺🇸 – HPDE
01-04 – quattro de Mayo, Audi Club Georgia, Brasstown Valley Resort, Young Harris, Georgia 🇺🇸 – Club Driving Event
01-31 – Audi S1 Hoonitron & Sport quattro, People’s Champ: The Impact of Ken Block Exhibit, Petersen Automotive Museum, Los Angeles, CA 🇺🇸 – Museum Exhibition
02-04 – Campeonato de España Resistencia, Circuito de Navarra, Navarra, Spain – GT4
02-04 – F1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix, Miami International Autodrome, USA 🇺🇸 – F1
02-04 – GT World Challenge Australia, Sydney Motorsport Park, Australia – GT3
03 – Audi Club Northwest May Driver Skills, Bremerton Motorsports Park, Bremerton, WA 🇺🇸 – HPDE
04 – Audi Club Arizona quattro de Mayo, Phoenix, AZ 🇺🇸 – Club Gathering
04 – Audi Club Golden Gate Central Coast Social, Bassi Ranch, Avila Beach, CA 🇺🇸 – Club Gathering
ALL WEEK – People’s Champ: The Impact of Ken Block at The Petersen Museum, CA – INFO
Know of an Audi-themed event that hasn’t been included? Drop a note in the comments below or via a PM to one of our @ooooIYKYK social channels.
FOUR RINGS PS.
Here’s something extra – a 5120 x 2880 pixel wallpaper of an exclusive ooooIYKYK rendering of what the C9 RS 6 Avant might look like.
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