Photo for Victory & Reseda
The Victory & Reseda that you know and love is about to change.
You may have noticed something about the URL. It has gone away. The site has reverted back to the original randystern.net web address as part of a refocusing of V&R's efforts as a source for automotive content.
Attempts to elevate V&R from just being a blog to something akin to the rest of the small digital web outlets covering the automotive industry and lifestyle were successful. However, name recognition and other intangibles thwarted its course towards a higher level of success and relevance.
Also, I have found some new traction with some outlets of late that help in building my portfolio. Why This Ride? is one of them. The Orange County-based website has some great energy and format that entails a more focused approach to its reviews. Meeting with MaryAnne Pongco Wendt, James Hamel and Joel Arellano certainly signals a team in the making. Our styles definitely mesh well and refuse to be homogeneous – unlike other outlets.
My work has also been seen in various other places of late, as well. This is all part of an expansion of a byline footprint to put me in front of many eyes, as possible. Thus to capture a greater audience than what V&R and my previous work has been exposed to.
The thing is that I recognize with the various outlets I write for, I am truly a freelancer. There is some freedom in mobility amongst these outlets – each one serving a purpose from providing a local footprint to garnering a large audience for car shopping research and information. These recent developments gave me some thought as to what to do with this site and how to continue giving V&R a voice in the carmmunity.
For one, I love telling stories. V&R has given me the license to do so. It will continue to do so today and in the future. This is why I am shifting the focus to telling stories from the carmmunity around me. I also want to return to the experience of driving – whether it is a significant vehicle I am reviewing for my other outlets or a vehicle I reviewed once before that a story has been crafted around it. I will continue telling the history of the automobile, through V&R's Historiography series. Even through automotive history, I always some story to tell.
Plus, V&R will be the home of other personal stories. They can be related to the automobile, but not necessarily. They could be connected to the automobile in the vein of music, sports, life, community, family, friends and other topics that are suitable for telling.
With that said, there will be subject matter that will not be told on this site. Do not expect anything from me regarding politics, religious ideology, social commentary and other kindling towards creating acrimony.
For many, V&R has always been seen as a blog. I begged to differ, but reality has made its case. Therefore, it will return to being a blog. You might see some previously written pieces return to this site from an archive, but expect all new material that explores the automobile, its history, the road and everything else connected to it.
Lastly, let me thank you all for a great several years. You have been amazing in your support – readers, fans, fellow colleagues, OEM contacts and other interested parties. I hope you stay with me on this part of the journey.
As the lyrics from that Sam Smith track goes…"So let me restart!"
