S7E37: Automotive Media 2026 — Survival, Influence, and the Fight for Credibility

Welcome to the AI Auto podcast with Javier Moda, your front row seat to where artificial

intelligence meets horsepower.

I'm Aira, kicking off this ride through cutting edge tech reshaping cars.

Can traditional media survive the automotive media wars 2026?

Oh, the drama.

Like asking if Blockbuster could survive Netflix in 2008.

Fourth and final of the series about automotive media in 2026.

Four parts?

Somebody really stretched this one out for those sweet, sweet clicks.

Truly groundbreaking journalism right there.

The grand finale nobody knew they needed or asked for.

Welcome back to the 2026 automotive media ecosystem.

That strange traveling circus with open bars at five star resorts where journalists, influencers,

high level executives, engineers, PR people, drone operators, YouTubers, and at least one guy

wearing Toyota merchandise to a Ferrari event, pretends this is a completely normal in a work

environment.

Yeah, totally normal work environment.

Nothing says professional like getting hammered on someone else's dime while pretending to

do journalism.

At the end of the long days of technical presentations, PowerPoint torture chambers,

test drives, and endless photo shoot sessions in six different formats for platforms nobody

understands.

We share a happy family style dinner and way too many nightcap drinks before getting surprised

when the most enthused, experienced influencer ends up crying at midnight by the valet parking

stand because the airport shuttle is one minute late.

Cry me a river.

The valet made him wait 60 seconds, clearly a human rights violation.

Yes, every year manufacturers spend millions launching vehicles and every year somebody

ruins the vibe by treating the event like a cheap spring break and a combination of Coachella

with an all inclusive cruise for emotionally exhausted, sleep deprived adults with excessive

camera gear.

Peak professionalism right there.

So in the interest of preserving what little sense all this makes in an era of tariffs,

EV wars, AI driven layouts, and social media extravaganza, here's the fourth and final part

of the series with my thoughts on a list of very serious topics.

Very serious topics, extremely serious.

We're all very serious here.

Before that, does anyone have budget to produce a Netflix sitcom miniseries?

This might be quite entertaining.

Honestly, yes, call it the entitled elite and watch it get three seasons.

More work, less income.

Catchy title.

Depressing reality.

By 2026, automotive media discovered something important.

Traditional journalism isn't perfectly pure.

Creators and influencers aren't automatically corrupt.

Breaking news at 11.

Humans are complicated.

Film at 11.

Everybody lives somewhere in the gray area between independence and access.

Trying to make enough money to survive and hoping the Uber rides to and back to the airport is

less than the five cent per click rate.

Some will get paid on the car review they are about to produce.

Five cents a click.

Bro, you're getting paid in exposure and frequent flyer miles.

Both traditional media and new media, influencers, content creators have become the 1% in reverse

thanks to the car manufacturers and their PR and marketing departments.

The 1% in reverse.

Love that.

First class problems, coach bank accounts.

What do I mean?

It's been said that the 1% of the population, rich people,

enjoy at the best restaurants and hotels in the world, drive the newest, finacious cars and

attend exclusive events without worrying about anything because they have already covered all

their basic needs and have an excess of spendable income.

Sounds rough.

Must be exhausting living like that.

Both traditional media and new media do all the above first and then worry about making

enough to cover their basic needs because we don't get paid enough.

Who wins?

Neither of you, apparently.

The OEMs win.

As traditional media outlets keep dying, revenue streams for traditional journalists are too.

This is a serious problem for the industry as a whole.

Traditional media dying?

No way.

Who could have seen this coming?

Jokes aside from the three first articles and some sarcastic comments in this one,

this is very serious.

You say while writing sarcastic commentary about it, bold.

There are very few full-time jobs left in the automotive industry and people who still get

surprised today when their outlets, layoffs, staff due to budget cuts or simply because the

business model does not work anymore are not in touch with reality.

If you're still shocked by layoffs in 2026, I don't know what to tell you.

This is going to continue, probable at a master pace than the past five years.

And eventually, most of us will be free.

I mean, freelancers, looking to get paid somehow for what we do while still enjoying the benefits

of this weird gig, freelance life, all the parties, none of the health insurance.

I am the first to admit that the best job in the world I got by pure accident 25 years

has allowed me, among many other things, to travel the world,

afford the not so tiny house project in Chile,

and save well into seven figures as I plan for an eventual retirement.

Must be nice.

Accidental six-figure lifestyle.

Tragic.

I've done the simple math and after 25 years of this,

an amount of money OEMs have spent on me come up to about $5 million,

something that I could have never afforded on my own without hitting the lotto.

$5 million in free trips and cars.

Yeah, that's rough.

Thoughts and prayers.

An event, though, our jobs and mission might not be on the top 10 list of priorities to

save humanity.

Car companies still need to keep selling cars and customers need to get some objective eye

information.

Someone has to do it, right?

Objective information brought to you by the same people flying first class on the manufacturer's

dime.

I've always thought that OEMs should hire journalists to create their own content.

And I know old school journalists would never think that would be acceptable.

But guess what?

We do not do traditional journalism anyway.

Just admit you're all on the payroll and move on.

Nobody does doing automotive media does.

If we are 100% honest, we need to accept the reality that we cannot do our jobs without

the help of the OEMs.

Translation.

We're all compromised.

Let's stop pretending.

So why not just make the whole system as transparent as possible?

Transparency in this economy?

For example, who creates the best content for Red Bull?

Red Bull, right?

Fair point.

Let's say that I get hired by Nissan to writer about the Centra.

Would I be able to weigh that it has a 600 HP V8 diesel engine?

Probably not.

I would only report the facts in my opinion.

You'd probably still call it a Centra though, right?

A fact is information minus emotions.

An opinion is information plus experience.

Opinion without information is ignorance.

And opinions which ignore the facts is just stupidity.

Deep.

Someone write that on a motivational poster.

Traditional journalists accuse creators of becoming walking advertisements

because some get paid by the OEMs to cover their events.

Pot, meat, kettle.

Creators accuse journalists of being outdated gatekeepers,

falsely claiming to adhere to the traditional ethical journalism standards.

Both sides throwing stones from glass houses.

Then everybody boards the same manufacturer paid flight,

stay at the same hotel, and have a peaceful family style dinner.

Yes, all paid by the OEMs.

And then they all pretend their rivals.

Adorable.

Because beneath all the tribal warfare lies the one topic guaranteed

to make everyone suddenly stare at the floor.

Integrity.

The real final boss of automotive media.

Not horsepower.

Not EVs.

Not subscriptions.

Who paid for the flight?

Who paid for dinner?

Who paid for the fourth old fashioned at the hotel bar?

And how many layers of accounting are required

before everyone feels morally comfortable?

Four old fashions in and suddenly everyone's a philosopher.

Goodbye to old journalism and welcome to automotive media in 2026.

Welcome to the circus.

Population.

Everyone.

One.

Let's go and cover a new car launch.

Sounds like an adventure.

If your idea of adventure is free champagne and pretending to work.

Most traditional automotive media still like to believe

that they are 100% independent while holding a glass of champagne

on a first class seat while flying to Ibiza for the next Cabriolet test drive.

Seating next to their current significant other disguised as a videographer

or just as a companion in plain sight.

Nothing says independent journalism like your plus one flying business class

on the manufacturer's tab.

Creators just enjoy the trip.

No questions asked.

No actual destruction occurred.

Creators living their best life.

Zero guilt.

Maximum vibes.

Members from both sides seem more worried about the next event

they didn't get invited to than to cover the one they are at.

FOMO anyone?

FOMO is the real driver here.

The cars are just background noise.

Depth versus engagement.

Ah yes.

The eternal battle.

Substance versus clout.

Traditional reviews analyze steering precision,

damping behavior, break feel and chassis composure,

real journalism or at least that's what they tell themselves.

Creators analyze row.

This thing slaps and somehow they get more views.

Shocking.

One side writes long paragraphs because they remember the time

when they were paid one dollar a word.

Those were the days when words actually paid rent.

The other discovers launch control and temporarily leaves earth.

Zero to sixty in three seconds and so does their personality.

Both call it journalism even if most traditional media members

are converted car enthusiasts with no journalism background at all

and influencers have just heard the term.

Everyone's faking it just in different fonts.

Three, the great integrity conversation nobody wants to have.

Finally, the part everyone skips at the dinner table.

At some point every journalist and creator eventually encounters the same questions.

Has anything below changed your integrity as a journalist or content creator?

Spoiler.

They all say no then stare at their shoes.

Ever accepted airfare, hotels, meals, drinks, race tickets, museum access,

VIP experiences, gifts, access regular humans never get?

That's not a list.

That's their entire LinkedIn experience section.

The answer usually begins while technically and that's when the mental gymnastics begin

and suddenly everyone becomes an expert in ethics terminology,

PhDs and rationalization, all of them.

Four, press fleet usage, the secret extended test program,

otherwise known as my personal errand vehicle.

OEM, here's the car for a three day review.

Three days of pure journalistic integrity, I'm sure.

Official purpose, evaluate the vehicle and report on it.

Sure, Jan, unofficial possibilities, moving apartments, airport runs,

road trips, my cousin's wedding, or even my own, furniture pickups, accidental vacations,

nothing says professional testing like using a press car for your honeymoon.

Because apparently a proper journalistic evaluation now requires testing cargo capacity

during my best friend's bachelor weekend.

Pure science, Nobel prize worthy.

OEM, when can you share the test drive review?

As soon as I finish moving my couch, bro.

Five, airline miles, the most harmless

augment aception until you actually think about it.

OEM pays for press trip flights, journalist accumulates airline miles.

Free miles, don't mind if I do.

Question, did those miles later become a personal vacation?

Suddenly everyone gets amnesia.

Honestly, I never even thought about it.

Amazing, convenient how that works.

Six, objectivity and the invisible muddy maze.

The real maze isn't in the car, it's in the accounting.

Traditional media proudly says, editorial and advertising are completely separate.

They say this with a straight face, impressive.

Creators say, sponsored by today's partner, at least they're honest about selling out.

Then everyone asks, do your outlet accept advertising money from OEMs?

Does your paycheck come from the same outlet financial department?

Follow the money.

It always leads back to the same place.

So how many layers of separation are needed before the money trail disappears?

35 a corporate org chart and offshore accounting diagram with arrows?

At some point it's just creative writing.

At what point does everyone agree?

Yep, totally independent now.

Never.

But they'll keep pretending.

Seven, could you actually do this without OEM support?

The scary question nobody wants answered.

An uncomfortable thought experiment.

No press fleets, no launch events, no flights, no hotel suites, no catered dinners,

no race hospitality, no embargo access, no factory tours, basically no free stuff.

Terrifying.

Suddenly every creator becomes, today we're reviewing my uncle's seven-year-old crossover.

Content apocalypse indeed.

Subscribe for more mid-size SUV reviews.

Eight, the Hotel Bar Ethics Championship, where integrity goes to die, one cocktail at a time.

Some outlets proudly say they pay their own airfare and hotels.

Victory.

Objectivity preserved.

Round of applause for basic human decency.

Until 8.30 p.m. at the Hotel Bar during manufacturer-sponsored drinks.

And just like that, the victory lap ends when appetizers are served at the manufacturer-sponsored

dinner while discussing tomorrow's manufacturer-sponsored drive route.

But hey, at least they paid for the room.

Some time, not at the full rate, but the one OEMs negotiated with the hotel for the event.

Integrity level, apparently still under debate.

Technically correct, the best kind of correct.

Nine, ward season, the annual ethical gymnastics event.

Olympic-level mental backflips incoming.

Members of award organizations eventually face another awkward question.

If you belong to organizations like North American Car,

Trek and Utility Vehicle of the Year, World Car Awards, prestigious names, questionable process.

Do all those trips, dinners, access opportunities and relationships influence voting?

Of course not, says everyone with a straight face.

Then everyone becomes extremely uncomfortable for reasons nobody can explain.

That silence could cut glass.

We don't accept money from one OEM, we accept money from all of them.

Okay, that's totally fine.

How progressive.

Ten, the side hustle transparency Olympics, where nobody wins a medal.

Can a journalist or creator work for an OEM and remain objective?

Actually, probably.

Shocking take.

But then comes the magical solution nobody likes because it removes all ambiguity.

Disclose it.

Transparency, in this industry, groundbreaking.

Worked with an OEM, say so.

Consulting relationship, say so.

Produced content, say so.

Then recuse yourself where necessary.

Simple, right?

So why does everyone hate it?

Transparency turns out to be incredibly simple,

which is probably why people spend so much energy avoiding it.

Exactly.

Can't have simple solutions to complicated feelings.

Because once the flights, dinners, hotel bars, VIP access, test fleets, race tickets,

and perks enter the equation, suddenly the debate becomes less,

who has integrity, and more, how many free appetizers before objectivity expires.

Free mozzarella sticks.

The true test of journalistic ethics.

Somehow, after all the arguments, all the tribalism, and all the ethics panels,

everyone still ends up at the same Crest Launch,

wearing the same badge, eating the same dinner, insisting they're completely unaffected.

And that's the most honest part of the whole article.

That's it for today's AI Auto Podcast with Javier Moda.

Hope you enjoyed the ride as much as we did.

Tune in next time for more on how AI is steering the wheel of tomorrow's autos.

Drive safe, stay curious, and catch you later.

Red Bull

Nissan

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