Jalopnik is a Weblog covering cars, car culture, and the automotive industry. Owned and operated by Gawker Media since 2004, Jalopnik emphasizes irreverent humor.

Jalopnik contributors regularly attend media events and press conferences hosted by automotive manufacturers, which prior to the rise of the blogosphere in the 2000s, were limited to traditional media outlets. Jalopnik's site's Editor-in-Chief, Ray Wert, appears regularly on live news programs including CNBC's ''On the Money''.

The word "Jalopnik" is a portmanteau of Jalopy and Beatnik.

On February 2nd, 2011, Jalopnik, underwent a major redesign of their format that faced overwhelming & immediate criticism to which the Editor in Chief responded: "We're not going back to the old design. You'll have to deal with that. "

Staff[link]

The site's editor-in-chief is Ray Wert, and other writers include features editor Matt Hardigree. Mike Spinelli, who founded Jalopnik and served as the site's Senior Editor, contributes regularly with Jalopnik as editor-emeritus. In addition to the full-time editors, and John Krewson contribute to Jalopnik regularly. Most recently, Hungarian writer Peter Orosz has contributed, providing coverage of Formula One and other subjects. Staff Writer Joel Johnson fulfills the tall writer quota. Jason Torchinsky (Staff Writer) brings his own flavor to the stories with sketches and flow charts. Staff Writer Patrick Frawley does much of the leg work for the QOTD, AOTD, COTD and other features. Intern Raphael Orlove serves as hoon source and office punching bag. Former staffers include Ben Wojdyla, Justin Hyde, Sam Smith, and "Murilee Martin" (a ''nom de plume'').

Humor[link]

Jalopnik's news items are often intermingled with humorous stories highlighting car culture, humorous criminal incidents, strange cars offered for sale on eBay or Craigslist, humorous phrasing and sarcasm within the items themselves, callbacks, inside joke and repeating themes.

Memes[link]

The Chevrolet El Camino, and especially conversion of other vehicles to have similar pickup truck bodies

German automotive precision, also known as "Bruce".

Toyota, often with the phrase "super potential" (mimicking the Japanese marketing trait of naming products with incongruous English words like "Warlord Maximum Daisy")

Hoon - an Australian word for driving recklessly, racing, and doing burnouts on public streets, this word is usually used incorrectly, along with made up variants such as "hoonage".

Auto Show live coverage, including the Detroit Auto Show. Dragons - stemming from an earlier post featuring illustrations of Dragons mating with cars. (also known as "Dragoning") "Cotomer Sevis" - Reference to remarks made by a disgruntled "customer" attempting to buy a V8 bike frame from the weblog.

Malaise Era - Reference to the era after the 1973 Oil Crisis, generally agreed to be 1973–1982, when automobiles, especially American ones, experienced a perceived downturn in style, performance, and quality.

The poor reliability of cars made by British Leyland, especially those with parts made by Lucas Industries plc (whose founder, Joseph Lucas, is called the "Prince of Darkness").

SLR Guy, a young lad who crashed a Mercedes McLaren SLR. His likeness originally appeared in a picture where he is giving a smug look despite the fact that he demonstrated poor driving skills in a highly capable, and valuable, vehicle. He is regularly photoshopped into other images where unwarranted driver arrogance is suspected.

Civic Kid, a teenage boy originally found standing in the foreground of a photo depicting a crashed Honda Civic. His involvement in the crash is unclear but his humorous facial expression and hand gesture have earned him much favor among the Jalopnik commentariat. He is regularly photoshopped into other images of vehicle mishaps where driver embarrassment is suspected. (Also: IN THE FACE!)

The Carpocalypse - Referencing news events related to the downturn or self-destruction of the auto industry following the 2008 economic crisis. "Megan Fox" references, where applied is usually related to a savvy and suave car/event/person, however, under the philosophy that said actress is unbeatable in terms of flare. Currently, Megan Fox is considered the patron saint of the Jalopnik community. Jalopnik Scotch - Jalopnik community is required to recognize the Jalopnik brand Scotch as the alcoholic beverage of choice. The ongoing theme is that true followers consume Jalopnik Scotch for breakfast. Roy Wert - During one of his appearances on On the Money Ray Wert was mistakenly referred to as Roy by Larry Kudlow. Following this, the Jalopnik community began to assign humorous aliases to their Editor-in-Chief (i.e. Roy Wort). "Why did you turn?", a phrase superimposed over an image of a vehicular mishap. It is sometimes translated into the language of the country that the mishap occurred in. The phrase originates from a video where some young men attempt to push a Honda Civic onto a truck with no success, and one male blames the failure on his girlfriend allegedly turning the vehicle. Nibbles, the fickle hamster who runs the technical side of Jalopnik, whose name is often invoked when there is a technical glitch.

Jalopchat - is where the esteemed commenters of Jalopnik meet in the evenings to share a libation and talk cars and everything else. Occurs at tinychat.com/jalopnik

"Because race car" - a meme where questions about cars are answered with the simple phrase "because race car". Example: "Why does the Ferrari 458 has adaptive aero?" "Because race car." A spin-off of this meme is "Because rice car," used when talking about cars with cheap and elaborate/ exaggerated aerodynamic additions or bodykits.

Features[link]

Jalopnik includes several regular, usually humorous features addressing car culture.

Question Of The Day and Answers Of The Day (abbreviated QOTD and AOTD, respectively) - For the Question Of The Day, editor Patrick Frawley asks a question of the general Jalopnik commentariat, with the question usually at least somewhat loosely related to automotive transportation or uses thereof, and gives and example of what his personal answer would be. In the comments section, the commentariat takes advantage of this opportunity to show off their bountiful automotive knowledge, often coming up with quite interesting and erudite answers. By the next day, Patrick Frawley has chosen his favorite ten responses and organizes them, in gallery format, along with a quick explanation for each as to why the selection makes sense, in the Answer Of The Day article. The commentariat then generally gets quite angry and each insists that Jalopnik are attractive idiots for not choosing their specific suggestions.

Jalopnik Reviews - Reviews, typically by Wes Siler, include three parts: a general description of the car; an evaluation of the car (with ratings in categories such as handling and interior design); followed by reasons why a buyer would or would not buy the car.

Nice Price or Crack Pipe (abbreviated NPOCP) - The readers are asked to approve (Nice Price) or disapprove ("Crack Pipe") of the price of a particular vehicle for sale.

Commenter of the Day (abbreviated COTD) - The Jalopnik commenters (or the "commentariat") are honored with the COTD (Commenter of the Day) award. A short story precedes the COTD in order to explain the nature of the comment. The other commenters are then free to discuss the comment and congratulate the winner; a congratulatory reward usually includes a tasteful depiction of a girl and a car (delivered by $kaycog), fine craft beer suitable for the winning comment by Gamecat235. Notable repeat winners of 'Commenter of the Day' include such resident commenters as Spiegel, pauljones, Ash78, Desu-San-Desu, and Potbelly Joe, among others.

Hoon of the Day (abbreviated HOTD) - Hooning is a term used to refer to one who drives a car or boat in a manner which is anti-social by the standards of contemporary society, that is, fast, noisily and/or dangerously. Every day, the editors choose someone who embodies this rebellious behavior best in a video segment called Hoon Of The Day. They are often commenter nominations, in which case a Hat Tip is posted at the bottom in reference to who suggested it. Multi-hoon submission hat tipper TheKlic has earned titles such as HOTD supertipster, and Two Wheeled Hoonstraordinaire

Church of Hoon - A more recent addition to the Opposite Lock section of the site. Members of the site have begun to form the basis for an in-site religion based on the teachings and prophets of the automotive kingdom. It has been called the best religion.... In the wuuurld.

Previous Features[link]

Official Car Pundit Drinking Game - A drinking game first played during editor Ray Wert's appearances on CNBC's ''On the Money'', and since expanded to when any Jalopnik writer appears on television. Commenters post drink rules corresponding to the automotive issues that are to be discussed.

Project Car Hell - In this item two equally time and money consuming restoration projects are picked from the typical second hand websites like craigslist and eBay. Readers are then asked to vote on which car is more "Hellish" to restore; i.e., how bad of a condition it is in when initially acquired, rarity and cost of parts, complexity of mechanicals, and how ultimately desirable the car would be in the chance that it would be completely restored. Although this often involves one car pitted against another, every now and then offers will include three or more cars. Additional humor is derived from the optimistic tone of voice most sellers will use when they try to sell their car(s); "runs reasonably well (no 2nd and 3rd gear)", or "This car is anyones dream project!".

Jalopnik Fantasy Garage - Jalopnik keeps a running list of desirable vehicles (usually historically significant, sometimes just very fast, beautiful, or capable). For a car to get into this list, it has to be proposed by a Jalopnik writer and voted in by readers, usually in a simple Yes/No poll (accompanied by an article introducing the car and explaining its significance) or by having readers choose from a batch of similar cars. If a car in the list is thought to have become unpopular, readers are given a chance to vote it out in a Trimming the Fat feature.

Classic Ad Watch - Murilee Martin covers in this series old television advertisements for cars from around the world, mostly focusing on somewhat off-kilter ads (Japanese ads are most famous for this). Most of the ads feature odd voiceovers, heavy usage of stunt-driving or unintentionally hilarious jingles. Ironically optimistic ads for models or marques which later failed are also popular choices.

Down On The Street (abbreviated DOTS) - Editor Murilee Martin takes photos of an interesting, usually old car in his current hometown, Denver, Colorado, or his former hometown of Alameda, California, and includes a short commentary to go with it. The only specific criteria that a car must meet to qualify for DOTS is that it must be parked on the street (cars parked in garages or driveways do not count as they are on private property), hence the name of the article. More recently this feature has included Bonus Editions which feature reader-submitted photos and commentaries of old cars in their hometowns or abroad.

Jalopnik Gold - A members-only feature unveiled on April 1, 2009 which allowed member to have both preview and edit buttons and other member-exclusive features. This service was discontinued the same evening.

Similar or Competing Sites [link]

Autoblog

Edmunds.com Inside Line

Top Gear

TheCarAddict

PistonHeads

References[link]

External links [link]

Jalopnik website

Category:Gawker Media Category:Automotive websites

name	James Aloysius Farley
order	53rd
title	United States Postmaster General
term start	March 4, 1933
term end	1940
president	Franklin D. Roosevelt
predecessor	Walter F. Brown
successor	Frank C. Walker
office2	Chairman of the Democratic National Committee
term start2	1932
term end2	1940
preceded2	John J. Raskob
succeeded2	Edward J. Flynn
office3	New York State Assemblyman, 96th district
term start3	1922
term end3	1924
office4	Chairman of the New York State Democratic Committee
term start4	1930
term end4	1944
birth date	May 30, 1888
birth place	Stony Point, New York, U.S.
death date	June 09, 1976
death place	New York, U.S.
party	Democrat
profession	Politician, Business Executive, Dignitary
religion	Roman Catholic }}

James Aloysius Farley (May 30, 1888 – June 9, 1976) was one of the first Irish Catholic politicians in American history to achieve success on a national level, serving as Chairman of the New York State Democratic Committee, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee and as Postmaster General simultaneously under the first two administrations of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. A business executive and dignitary, and a Knight of Malta, Farley was commonly referred to as a political kingmaker, and was responsible for Franklin D. Roosevelt's rise to the presidency. Farley was the campaign manager for New York State politician Alfred E. Smith's 1922 gubernatorial campaign and Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1928 and 1930 gubernatorial campaigns, as well as FDR's Presidential campaigns of 1932 and 1936. Farley predicted large landslides in both, and revolutionized the use of polling, and polling data. He was responsible for pulling together the New Deal Coalition of Catholics, labor unions, blacks, and farmers for FDR. Farley, and the administration's patronage machine he presided over, helped to fuel the social and infrastructure programs of the New Deal. Farley opposed Franklin Roosevelt breaking the two term tradition of the Presidency, and broke with Roosevelt on that issue in 1940.

As of 1942, Farley was considered the supreme Democratic Party Boss of New York. In 1947, President Harry S. Truman appointed Farley to serve a senior post as a commissioner on the Hoover Commission, also known as the Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government. Farley's work on the Hoover Commission would lead to the development and ratification of the 22nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, establishing the modern executive term-limit laws. This was viewed by many, including Farley, as vindication for his public opposition to FDR's third term.

Remembered as one of the greatest business minds and salesmen of the 20th century, Farley guided and remained at the helm of Coca-Cola International for over 30 years and was responsible for the company's global expansion as a quasi-government agency in World War II. This was used as a boost to the morale and energy levels of the fighting boys. Shipped with food and ammo as a “war priority item,” the deal spread Coke's market worldwide at government expense. Also at U.S. expense after the war, fifty-nine new Coke plants were installed to help rebuild Europe.

The Landmark James Farley Post Office in New York City is designated in his honor and as a monument to his career in public service.

Early career [link]

Farley was born in Grassy Point, New York, one of five sons whose grandparents were Irish Catholic immigrants. His father was involved in the brick-making industry, first as a laborer and later as a part owner of three small schooners engaged in the brick-carrying trade.

Farley always had his heart set on a political career. In 1911, he officially began his service as a politician when he was elected town clerk of Grassy Point. Farley was elected Chairman of the Rockland County Democratic Party in 1918, and used this position to curry favor with Tammany Hall Boss Charles F. Murphy by convincing him that Al Smith would be the best choice for Governor. Farley backed this up when he secured the upstate vote for Alderman Alfred E. Smith, north of the Bronx line when he ran for Governor the same year. The Democrats could not win north of the Bronx line before Farley organized the Upstate New York Democratic organization. By cultivating the neglected Upstate Democrats, Farley became a force in New York State politics. After helping Alfred E. Smith become Governor of New York State, Farley was awarded the post of Port Warden of New York City and would be the last Democrat to hold this post which was taken over by the Port Authority of New York. Farley ran and won the New York State Assembly seat in Stony Point NY (96th District, a seat he held for one term 1923–1924) in a solid Republican stronghold, a seat he would lose for voting "wet." Farley was appointed to the New York State Athletic Commission at the suggestion of James J. Walker in 1923 and Farley served as a delegate at the 1924 Democratic National Convention, where he befriended a young Franklin D. Roosevelt who would give his famous "Happy Warrior" speech regarding the then-Governor Al Smith.

Farley would get his first taste of national and global attention for his role in fighting for equal rights for African-Americans as Chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission. In 1926, Farley threatened to resign his post as Athletic Commissioner if the boxing champion Jack Dempsey did not fight the mandatory challenger, African-American fighter Harry Wills who went by the name "the Black Panther". Farley banned Dempsey from fighting Gene Tunney and publicly threatened to revoke Tex Rickard's Madison Square Garden license if he ignored the ruling of the commission. This public stand for Negro rights would prove to be a valuable asset to the Democratic Party for generations, and would sow the seeds of the Negro block of the New Deal. Wills was perhaps the most well known victim of the "color line" drawn by white heavyweight champions after the title reign of Jack Johnson. Wills fought for over twenty years (1911–1932), was ranked as the number one challenger for the throne, but was never given the opportunity to fight for the title. In 2003, he was named to the Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time.

During this period of time Farley was also busy merging five small building supply companies to form General Builders Corporation, which would become the city's largest building supply company. Farley's firm was awarded Federal contracts under the Republican Hoover Administration to supply building materials to construct buildings now considered landmarks, such as the Annex of the James A. Farley Post Office Building in New York City. General Builders supplied materials for the construction of the Empire State Building as well. Farley was an appointed official and resigned his post from General Builders when he joined FDR's cabinet.

After some convincing from Farley and long time FDR confidant Louis Howe, Roosevelt asked Farley to run his 1928 campaign for the New York governorship. Farley orchestrated FDR's narrow victory in the 1928 gubernatorial election, Farley was named secretary of the New York State Democratic Committee and orchestrated FDR's reelection in 1930. Farley was named Chairman of the New York State Democratic Committee, a post he would hold until his resignation in 1944. Farley helped bring to Roosevelt's camp the powerful newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst and helped Roosevelt win the 1932 Presidential nomination and election. This was due to the Farley's ability to gather the Catholics, Unions, and big city machines (while maintaining the Solid South) into the New Deal Coalition. Farley would repeat this process with dramatic fashion in 1936 when he correctly predicted the states Roosevelt would carry, and the only two states he would lose, so goes the adage "As Maine goes, so goes Vermont". This prediction secured Farley's reputation in American history as a political prophet.

New Deal years 1933–40 [link]

In accordance with political tradition, FDR appointed Farley Postmaster General, a post traditionally given to the campaign manager or an influential supporter, and also took the unusual step of naming Farley Chairman of the Democratic National Committee in addition to the cabinet post in 1933. Farley was constantly harassed by FDR's opposition for refusing to resign one of these posts. Farley worked hard to keep the Post Office going through the Depression and, through his expert stewardship, the once unprofitable Post Office Department finally began turning a profit. Farley was instrumental in revolutionizing Transcontinental airmail service, and reorganized the Post Office's Airmail carriers. Farley worked in concert with the Pan American World Airways' (Pan Am) president Juan Trippe to see that the mail was delivered safely and cost effectively. This was after a brief period of the Army carrying the mail, with servicemen killed flying in bad weather. Farley oversaw and was responsible for the flight of the first China Clipper. Farley is remembered among stamp collectors for two things. One is a series of souvenir sheets that were issued at commemorative events and which bore his name as the authorizer. The other are twenty stamps known as "Farley's Follies." These were reprints, mostly imperforated, of stamps of the period, that were given to President Roosevelt and Interior Secretary Harold Ickes, both collectors, as well to special friends of the Administration. (Farley himself did not collect stamps.) When ordinary stamp collectors learned of this, they complained, and in 1935 many more stamps were reprinted for them, and it was established that new stamps had to be made immediately available to the general public. Today the souvenir sheets and single cutout reprints are not scarce. The original sheets were autographed to distinguish them from the reprints, and fifteen of them were displayed in an exhibit at the Smithsonian's National Postal Museum in June 2009.

Farley controlled Federal patronage in the new administration and was very influential within Roosevelt's Brain Trust and the Democratic party throughout the United States. Farley used his control of the patronage to see that Roosevelt's first 100 days of New Deal legislation was passed. Farley masterfully used the patronage machine to line up support for the New Deal's liberal programs. He helped to bring about the end to Prohibition and the defeat of the Ludlow Amendment, a 1939 attempt by isolationists to limit the foreign affairs powers of the president by requiring a referendum for a declaration of war without an attack. By swaying the votes of the Irish Catholic legislators in the Congress, Farley was able to bring about a defeat to the Amendment, which if passed, would have prevented the President from sending military aid to Great Britain. Many Irish legislators refused to lend aid to the British because of the potato famine and would have rather seen the British Empire destroyed by the Nazis. Farley's family had immigrated a generation before the famine, and did not hold this same resentment toward the British people.

Farley's close relationship with FDR deteriorated as 1940 drew closer. Farley began seeking support for a Presidential bid of his own after FDR refused to publicly seek a third term, only indicating that he could not decline the nomination if his supporters drafted him at the 1940 Convention. As Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, this left Farley without a legitimate candidate. Roosevelt would publicly support Cordell Hull after privately telling Farley and others they could seek the nomination.

Farley also opposed the "packing" of the Supreme Court, but in all other instances, he was continuously loyal and supportive of FDR's policies. Farley was asked by FDR to seek the Governorship of New York multiple times during his tenure in the Administration but refused on every occasion.

In 1940, Farley resigned as Postmaster General and Party Chairman after placing second in delegates at the 1940 Democratic National Convention in Chicago where Roosevelt was "drafted" for a third term. Farley was the third Irish-American Roman Catholic to be nominated for the Presidency and was the first Irish-American Roman Catholic to achieve national success when FDR appointed Farley to his Cabinet as Postmaster General and Chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

Eleanor Roosevelt flew to the convention to try to repair the damage in the Roosevelt-Farley relationship, and although Farley remained close to ER and Jimmy Roosevelt, he felt betrayed by FDR and refused to join FDR's 1940 campaign team.

Post-politics life and legacy [link]

In 1938, Farley wrote his autobiography, ''Behind the Ballots''. After leaving the administration in 1940, Farley was named Chairman of the Board of the Coca-Cola Export Corporation, a vehicle created exclusively for his talents. Farley would hold this post until his retirement in 1973. Farley would defeat a Roosevelt bid to secure the NYS nominee for Governor in 1942. Farley would once again become an important national political force when his old friend, Harry Truman became President with the death of FDR.

Farley would remain a prominent national figure and confidant to Popes, dignitaries, and sitting Presidents until his death in 1976. Remembered as one of America's greatest campaign managers, politicians, business minds, and political bosses. Farley remained active in state and national politics until his death at age 88 on June 9, 1976, in New York City. Prior to his death, Farley had been the last surviving member of FDR's Cabinet. James Farley is interred at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne, New York.

It was Farley who, after Roosevelt's overwhelming victory over Republican Alf Landon in 1936, quipped, "As Maine goes, so goes Vermont." Farley, the former chairman of Coca-Cola export, was the only man to serve as National Party Chairman, New York State Party Chairman, and Postmaster General simultaneously. Farley's respect crossed party lines. Towards the end of his career, Farley the elder statesman pushed for campaign finance reform, and less influence of interest groups and corporations in party business and political activity.

In 2007 James A. Farley was named by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York as one of its "Bicentennial People/Innovator" in commemoration of the Archdiocese's 200 year anniversary.

"The James A. Farley Award" is the Boxing Writers Associations highest honor, awarded to those who exhibit honesty and integrity in the Sport of Boxing

Farley's Box, The name given to a group of front row seats along Yankee Stadium's first base line was frequented by Farley and many famous VIP's and guests. In later years, Farley would donate those tickets to Boys Clubs in New York City and the surrounding boroughs.

James A. Farley was also the first guest on NBC's ''Meet the Press'', the longest running show in television history.

Farley is also known for his eponymous device, the Farley File.

In 1962, Mr. Farley received The Hundred Year Association of New York's Gold Medal Award "in recognition of outstanding contributions to the City of New York."

Farley's Law- Voters will decide the Presidential candidate they are most likely to vote for by mid October

As explained in the book, How to Win Friends and Influence People, Jim Farley was known for his ability to remember names and details of almost every person he met.

Namesake [link]

James Farley Post Office, NYC Landmark, National Register of Historic Places

James A. Farley middle school, Stony Point, New York

James A. Farley memorial bridge, Stony Point, New York

References[link]

Farley, James A. ''Jim Farley's Story: The Roosevelt Years'' (1948)

Farley, James A. ''Behind the Ballots: The Personal History of a Politician'' (1938)

Spencer, Thomas T. "'Old' Democrats and New Deal Politics: Claude G. Bowers, James A. Farley, and the Changing Democratic Party, 1933–1940" ''Indiana Magazine of History'' 1996 92(1): 26–45. ISSN 0019-6673

Scroop, Daniel "Mr. Democrat: Jim Farley, The New Deal, and The Making of Modern American Politics."

External links [link]

USPS James A. Farley Bio.

An Interview with Farley (1959) on Folkways Records

James Farley biography at the National Park Service website

Burial record for James A. Farley at Findagrave.com

Bill designating Landmark General Post Office the "James A. Farley Building"

{{U.S. Cabinet Official box | before= Walter F. Brown | after= Frank C. Walker | years= 1933–1940 | president= Franklin D. Roosevelt | office= United States Postmaster General}} Category:1888 births Category:1976 deaths Category:American Roman Catholics Category:American autobiographers Category:American campaign managers Category:American people of Irish descent Category:Burials at Gate of Heaven Cemetery Category:Democratic National Committee chairs Category:People from Rockland County, New York Category:Members of the New York State Assembly Category:United States Postmasters General Category:United States presidential candidates, 1940 Category:United States presidential candidates, 1944 Category:United States vice-presidential candidates, 1940 Category:Writers from New York City

de:James Farley fr:James Aloysius Farley ru:Фарли, Джеймс Алоизиус fi:James Farley