Hacker News Reader

Comment by s09dfhks | Hacker News Reader

I’m always conflicted when watching automotive reviewers. How do we know they’re not getting kickbacks for positive reviews

View on HN

Not saying it isn’t possible but someone like DeMuro is making so much money just from subscribers that it is likely harder to throw cash at him for a positive review.

It’s the smaller youtubers that are more worrisome since they have less money and influence. So the power dynamics are different.

To maintain this popularity he has to fight with other reviewers for the title of being the first. This means bending backwards for the brands, doing stunts like "reviewing" prototype non mobile prop cars as if they were real https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eiszpuVpy4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2YLEPFa750

The game is you love it or you dont get special access anymore from us.

It’s a great question. FWIW, I specifically posted this review by Doug DeMuro after watching a couple others that were clearly just PR regurgitation. I personally consider him a competent and neutral reviewer after having watched his reviews of other vehicles.

Doug has his personal biases (as does everyone else), but does make an decent effort to be neutral (within his capabilities) while hitting his main points and remaining entertaining.

This [1] is a fairly great conversation with him which covers a lot of topics including the incentives [2] many other YouTubers/Car Journalists have (from getting flown out to launch events and the general pressures to not lose access to press cars by being too negative in a review)

That said, while I trust Doug far more than many reviewers he still has many relationships with car dealerships, often gets access to preproduction cars that he can't drive yet (but almost always does a full review when he can), and does have a car auction business so there's still room for that to have an effect on his judgement even if he's trying otherwise.

[1] https://youtu.be/pFGh-YqHT4Y [2] https://youtu.be/pFGh-YqHT4Y?t=5155

I clicked comments first curious if this would be Doug's video. His reviews and retro reviews are so well constructed and thorough and, as with the cars, his "quirks and features" really shine through.

I just watched the review and he says he has only positives to say about. That makes me already skeptical. A review with only positives? Would he get other cars to review after a negative review?

You don't. That's the trouble with Youtubers, there is only one person that needs to be paid off.

With a larger organization there is at least peer review and multiple people that would have to keep quiet.

Reviews are mostly bad, because a lot of details aren't available.

What about cost of repairing and more.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com