Death of the Automotive Forums

sgohsixthree

sgohsixthree

SRM High Lord Dictator & Emperor Supreme
Premium
3,370
United States
CA
smcinnis
Thought this might be worth sharing. An article a buddy of mine wrote for Oppositelock that is a pretty relevant topic here as it pertains the automotive culture. We've all seen the user base ebb and flow with new GT releases, news and whatnot. Social media has probably become very important in driving people to these forums, but does it take away also?

In my experience, a good balance can be made between these two mediums of collaboration.

Give it a gander...

Death of The Forum



edit: Realised I probably should have posted in Cars in General. :embarrassed:
 
I ran my own from late 2006, but I got bored of it about three years ago and haven't logged in since.

The cars discussed were often middle of the road premium diesel saloons or the latest supercar and anything older wasn't particularly cared for.
 
10 years or so (before Facebook really took hold) was prime time for car forums.

Now? Social media has not killed the forum but it certainly hasn't helped.
 
People like mobile access, social networking apps make this easier than forums do, I'm sure that's got quite a bit to do with it.

For me it really depends, Blogs, Commenting, Social Networking or Forums... they each have pro's and con's, some are more suited to somethings than others.
 
MatskiMonk
For me it really depends, Blogs, Commenting, Social Networking or Forums... they each have pro's and con's, some are more suited to somethings than others.
Click to expand...
Same here, and some forums - like GTP - have already grown big enough that they should endure regardless. You could never get the breadth of discussion on a Facebook group, and certainly not as easily accessible and searchable, as you can on a forum like this.

There's definitely an element of what @Cale describes though. Forums don't suit the "popularity contest" nature of social media that seems to persist now. It's easier to post a basic comment or a photo on social media than it is to craft a post worthy of being read on a forum, and it's harder to be narcissistic on a forum too as people will simply ignore you rather than building up your ego with follows and likes.
 
There are a few out there that still have a good following like RX-7 Club and some of the newer Golfs (Mk6/7) but most of the ones that I would frequent have been bought by some company and turned into a marketing tool for miscellaneous crap. B15Sentra.net being a great example. I've found that a lot of these people have moved to places like facebook groups, and finding a good group is hit or miss. (I recently backed out of one for my personal car because they were d:censored:s.
 
I'm into vintage mountain bikes, and can confirm that the same thing has happened with the forums I frequent for that hobby. I don't use facebook or social media, so I'm basically on an island now. The forums are dead and gone, really, and with them went the ability to find solutions and answers on a wide range of subjects. Until a few years ago I could dig through a forum on almost anything I was trying to fix (cars, audio, etc.) and eventually come up with some relevant information....not any more.
 
Part of the issue with forums, is that don't run themselves, they don't administer themselves, and they don't evolve by themselves. Having been the technical side of administering 3 smallish phpBB based forums I know how much time it can take out to do it properly. I also covered all the hosting costs to keep all 3 completely advertising free... once things start to dip into a decline, it gets harder to find the motivation to keep things running, plus over the years, I personally had less time to keep things fresh anyway. The worse it gets, the less people post, the less people post the more pointless it gets, and the worse it gets, it's a viscous circle. This really isn't an issue for general purpose social commenting sites.
 
I still remember when I joined this forum the wrong way. I was under 13 and was supposed to get permission from my parents. But I forged it. :lol:

Anyways, I'm glad I joined this forum back then. It forced me to have meaningful conversations while at the same time practicing at least decent grammar. It's too bad young enthusiasts have shifted their attention fully to SM. I suppose it was bound to happen. I can't imagine this forum shutting down.
 
The good thing about this place is that with GT being so huge, there's plenty of people talking in the general interest sections and it's the only place I come to for Forza these days.
 
I think brand/ model specific forums are going to lose activity, but the general car forums (like this one I suppose) will keep kicking for a while because there is more to discuss here than just cars.

Personally, I was part of NASIOC and IWSTI when I had my Subaru and I am part of (but not active on) Ford Fiesta ST forums today only because it's a place to find and talk about maintenance or mods and so forth. Besides those topics, those types of forums are not very active.
 
Social media has created an extremely narcissistic way of communicating with the rest of the world. It’s a one way street where people throw all this content out there and no one really interacts with one another. It's about getting the views and likes and not contributing anything back.

Forums are dying off because the written word on the internet is also dying. Facebook said its future might be video only because it's users don't want to write anything anymore. Twitter is also in decline whereas Snapchat and Instagram are booming, it says it all.

Eventually the internet will literally be 'look and my pics and videos'.... nothing else.
 
@Robin.

Yes you raise a good point yet you also describe to me a several thousand year old prophecy.
See how accurately this fits people in the world today including what you see on social media.

2 Timothy 3:2
"People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,"
 
Mr Latte
@Robin.

Yes you raise a good point yet you also describe to me a several thousand year old prophecy.
See how accurately this fits people in the world today including what you see on social media.

2 Timothy 3:2
"People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,"
Click to expand...

Yeah but in the good old days there wasn't a global platform to hear about it! :lol:
 
I'm a member of a few Make/model specific forums and the decline across the board is obvious. One in particular recently had a rather large exodus because many believed that a moderator (who also owns a parts business) was acting in a conflict of interest by closing a group buy.

The complete and utter 🤬 storm that followed was great popcorn material for a while, but after weeks of beating the dead horse it was just plain sad. What was a great, friendly and cheery forum with a massive knowledge base and large, helpful membership is now pretty much a ghost town. While the same group does host a Facebook page (which sees far more traffic) the discussion is nowhere near the same level of intelligence or creativity. It's just a weekly cycle of...

New owner: .... Is broken
Old member: That issues been covered a hundred times, learn to search. Here's a link to a ten year old forum thread whose pictures were hosted by a now defunct website and are no longer visible.
New owner: .... Oh thanks

Or...

New owner: Hey guys, I have this great idea of...
Old member: Why would you even think that's a good idea? You're ruining the car by doing that! Blah, blah, blah, blah, this is what's wrong with people today... Blah, blah, blah, blah, I miss the '90s.

It really is quite depressing. Thankfully I found this place while searching for GT4 cheat codes over ten years ago and finally signed up prior to the release of GT5. Never have I seen a freindlier, more interesting or diverse group of car owners. The conversation stays interesting because people bring so many different viewpoints together and nearly never resort to forcing their opinions on people. Reading the members ride section as a kid was a great way to learn respect for other people and their cars and I wish a few more of the 'Like' obsessed people of my generation had a similar open upbringing.
I'm So sick of seeing this conversation...

Proud owner: Hey here's my car that I've put my heart, soul and wallet into for the last X years
Brat1: that's 🤬
Brat2: Why didn't you do a .... Instead?
Brat3: .... Would've been faster, better looking and cheaper.
Brat4: Hahahaha check this out @brat5
Brat5: oh my god that's ugly lol thx 4 the tag.

Thank goodness for GTPlanet. :gtpflag:
 
Ive done forums for a living since 2004 now running the biggest GTR forum in the world and I do see where social media cutting in on things a little. there are a lot of people in more localized facebook groups and use it for classifieds ect. But what I think a forum like the one I founded and run has is the content and news that makes it still a go to place. For example almost every aspect of inside info about the new 2017 GTR came from our site be it renders and exclusive info. Also there is more deep technical info in forums so in that aspect I think a forum can still be a leader but I have noticed over the last couple years members using facebook ect maybe not instead of us but at least overlapping. I think social media as the advantage of being more accessible and possibly more relevant on a local level like having dedicated chapter or group near you then a more broad worldwide forum.
 
Last edited:
Robin.
Social media has created an extremely narcissistic way of communicating with the rest of the world. It’s a one way street where people throw all this content out there and no one really interacts with one another. It's about getting the views and likes and not contributing anything back.

Forums are dying off because the written word on the internet is also dying. Facebook said its future might be video only because it's users don't want to write anything anymore. Twitter is also in decline whereas Snapchat and Instagram are booming, it says it all.

Eventually the world will literally be 'look and my pics and videos'.... nothing else.
Click to expand...

Fixed. :indiff:
 
I can see where this is coming from. I don't go on Club4AG that often anymore, but that's ONLY because there's an AE86 facebook group specific for dudes in my area. It's much easier to talk comfortably and buy parts from dudes we know and trust from going to multiple meets with. It's such a smaller friend circle, and since most of them are around me I'd be the jerk of the century if I couldn't be bothered to go meet these people lol.

Granted, it's not really true. Forums like Club4AG and Spyderchat are still bustling, and they probably never won't. It's an archive for the newbies, and since even guys who sell their cars remain regulars every now and then they can still answer questions for said newbies. I still go on Club4AG every now and then whenever I have the questions like the 4-AC engine's ridiculous carb settings, or if I just wanna complain about how often an AE86 breaks down lol.
 
Naturally, car-based online forums is about software, people, and their interest(s). Take the interest away, and the people go with it. People rarely keep their cars and other things forever, and if an owner changes makes/brands, then there's usually decreasing reasons to stay. People also grow up, change interests, or move onto other ideals.

Car culture is also constantly changing, morphing. Car magazines are also a less persuasive medium. Outside the sphere of direct automotive interests, people see cars with a more jaundiced and skeptical eye than before.

On the other hand, there's been some car forums I've visited that ranged from elitist jerks, pointless complainers, more that were just confusing and vague to deal with, and others that were actually very helpful and friendly. A total crapshoot...the problem is that there really isn't enough room for vitality in a narrow field of interest, and lots of websites die off.

MCNAGTROC
I think social media as the advantage of being more accessible and possibly more relevant on a local level like having dedicated chapter or group near you then a more broad worldwide forum.
Click to expand...

It's become very easy to blame social media for the decay in everything, but I also agree it can complement the forum.

Its chief advantages are that it can bond locals with the same interests together, and the format has sharing power.

The drawback is that there's essentially no moderation, and some groups invoke good discussion, others do not. The search feature is horrible - you get everything or nothing - nearly everything in social media is meant to be taken in with 48 hours, or it effectively disappears for good.
 
Last edited:
There's plenty of reasons, some stated before such as social media, old and new member interactions etc. However, I'd like to point out that cars aren't as big with younger people. This isn't the 80's, 90's or early 2000's.

While cars are being bought within rising numbers, those that buy them see them as appliances instead of a way to express tastes. No one creates forums for customising their toaster (as far as I know).

Make cars interesting to kids, teens and young adults in the long term, instead of as a passing attraction, something unobtainable or expensive toaster, then we might see automotive forums rise a bit more.

At least that's how I see it.
 
Last Daimyo
There's plenty of reasons, some stated before such as social media, old and new member interactions etc. However, I'd like to point out that cars aren't as big with younger people. This isn't the 80's, 90's or early 2000's.

While cars are being bought within rising numbers, those that buy them see them as appliances instead of a way to express tastes. No one creates forums for customising their toaster (as far as I know).

Make cars interesting to kids, teens and young adults in the long term, instead of as a passing attraction, something unobtainable or expensive toaster, then we might see automotive forums rise a bit more.

At least that's how I see it.
Click to expand...

It's a general trend in all interests and it's because kids just don't tinker as much as they used to. It's to do with a variety of factors like less free time, unfixable / unmoddable consumer products, tougher laws, worse education, disposable culture and sometimes just plain laziness.

Anything that takes effort has declined and the knock on effect is that it's discussed less. Modern cars are getting harder and harder to work on and this has put people off making cars look even more like appliances to them.

It's all about taking selfies now, nice and easy with instant gratification!
 
I'd disagree entirely that cars aren't as big a deal with younger people as they were, and massive groups of young enthusiasts such as Car Throttle are evidence of that.

It is now harder for young people to get into cars in a more traditional sense though, due largely I expect to political and economic factors - it's harder and more expensive to get a license, and it's harder and more expensive to buy, maintain and run a car.

A modern car being more difficult to work on has zero effect on someone who can't afford a modern car in the first place.

Are there groups of young people uninterested in cars in the first place? Of course. But there always have been. The only major difference is that as well as owning cars becoming more difficult, it's also arguably never been easier not to own a car, certainly in places with good public transport options, and as populations shift away from rural areas and into city living.
 

Latest Posts

Back