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Well, my new (to me) car got its pound of flesh. Eerily similar to an injury I had to my pinkie about ten years ago when working on my Supra’s driveshaft (you’d think I would have learned), the BMW’s left front wheel hub backing plate made a nice incision in my middle finger while undergoing a damper replacement, requiring five stitches. I was buttoning up a Koni Sport install, tightening the sway bar end link on the strut bracket and…the wrench slipped. As much as I’ll miss the tactile nature of car work with bare hands, I think it’s time to invest in a good pair of work gloves.

So, faithful readers, everything will be just a little slower for a few days while my finger heals, including updates. I’ll do my best to have some original content up in the next few days. In the meantime, check out our archives, featured series or one of the excellent blogs on the sidebar. Cheers!

For the second year running, let’s compile a list of the the seven most enjoyable/significant automotive publications of the past 365 days, the Spannerhead Seven™:

• Autoblog. A mainstay of the online automotive press, this site’s opinions are almost always right on the money, and their motorsport coverage (esp. F1) is top-notch as well.
• Autoextremist. Essays on the automotive industry from a former insider, the language is cutting, the writing razor sharp and the insights spot-on.
• Car and Driver. A pillar of the automotive media world, Car and Driver‘s reporting and features are frequently impudent and always interesting.
• Left Lane News. Often first with breaking developments in the automotive world, Left Lane provides eminent reporting and commentary on political and car industry-wide happenings.
• Motoring Con Brio. Fantastic photography and pitch-perfect taste in cars highlight this beautiful blog. The editor’s Monday “grab bags” are not to be missed.
• Tamerlane’s Thoughts. One of my new favorites, this one has a little of everything, from thoughts on upcoming cars like the new Tesla Model S to ruminations on classics and a host of other topics as well.
• Top Gear. An institution among car buffs, Top Gear is the standard by which all (and I do mean all) automotive shows are judged. Highlights of 2012 for the program include the India Special (technically broadcast on the 28th of December 2011, but we’ll count it for this year) and especially the 50 Years of Bond Cars feature.

Thanks to all of you for reading these past 12 months. See you next year!

Today marks the 1-year anniversary of the first post of this blog! My first entry was a little blurb about the then-new BMW M3 CRT in which I blasted the Bavarian automaker for charging a substantial markup over a standard M3 for what I considered to be nothing more than a mild appearance package and a few other baubles and bolt-ons.

Having had a reasonably consistent succession of “strong opinions” about car-related matters, I thought it would be worthwhile, if not “therapeutic” for me, to develop an outlet of sorts, some place where they could be safely expressed and duly quarantined. Thus was born Spannerhead in late June 2011.

So far, not counting my “Headlights” entries (during the time when that site feature was operational; it may return), I’ve written 279 posts on a wide variety of topics; indeed, a quick glance at the “Categories” pulldown at right indicates I’ve covered a huge swath of automakers and subjects. Some of my most satisfying posts have been parts of various series I’ve started, including:

• My 240Z Restoration Log
• Aesthetics of Racing
• Atomizing Fuel
• Choice Circuits
• Design Highs and Lows
• The Engine Swap Hall of Fame
• FWD Champions
• Mercs I Would Consider
• Movie Stars
• Ones That Got Away
• Sophomore Slumps
• Styling Misfires
• Technical Curiosities
• Thoughts On Z-Cars
• Underrated Lookers
• What Might Have Been
• Which Would You Buy?

All in all, it’s been a great, if occasionally stressful experience. Onward!

The post title even rhymes; how about that. In the interest of disseminating good content, I present my list of the seven most enjoyable/significant automotive publications of the past year, the Spannerhead Seven™:

• Ate Up With Motor. My favorite automotive history site, it functions as a kind of one-man crusade to provide the most well-researched, in-depth treatments of obscure, rare and iconic cars. Usually updated a couple of times a month, and not to be missed. Great job, Aaron!
• Car and Driver. A pillar of the automotive media world, Car and Driver‘s reporting and features are reliably sharp, frequently impudent and always interesting.
• Jalopnik. For the vehicular omnivore, Jalopnik covers a wide swath of subjects, reporting on everything from the latest concepts to rumors to happenings on automotive forums to marginally-relevant editorials. Quirky and fun.
• Autoblog. A mainstay of the online automotive press, this site’s opinions are always right on the money, and their motorsport coverage (esp. F1) is top-notch as well.
• Top Gear. An institution among car buffs, Top Gear is the standard by which all (and I do mean all) automotive shows are judged. They’ve lost their way a bit with the ever more elaborate challenges, taking some of the focus away from the cars in favor of the inter-host chemistry, but it’s still far and away the best car show out there.
• Left Lane News. Frequently first with breaking developments in the automotive world, Left Lane provides eminent reporting and commentary on political and car industry-wide happenings.
• Grassroots Motorsports. One of the few tuner magazines out there to actually “get it,” GRM seems to channel the way true car buffs think, and emphasize the modification paths the more sober-minded among us would embark upon with our cars. Less style, more substance.

If you’re new (or not so new) to Spannerhead, do yourself a favor and check out the “Headlights” section at the top of the main page. I hand-pick the articles to post there (it’s not an automated feed) and update it more frequently than the blog itself. Happy new year, all!

Since most automotive journalists are likely hunkered down in their beds, visions of F10 BMW M5s and 2013 GT500s dancing in their heads, it’s been an exceptionally slow news day. What better time, then, to pen a little self-serving look back at the six months I’ve been blogging?

It’s been an adjustment, to say the least. Depending on a number of factors—how excited I am about a particular subject, how familiar I am with said subject, how much time I spend conjuring a topic, how quickly I’m able to find and format images, etc—writing a post can take anywhere from 30 minutes to a couple of hours, and shoehorning that time into often-hectic family life can be difficult. Fortunately, I’ve been able to generate a steady stream of content beyond the initial pent-up backlog of automotive opinions built up over the years prior to the blog. The various series I’ve started help, as does the odd good news day here and there. It may be 10:30 in the evening, and I may have had no clue what to write about up until then, but somehow, inspiration comes, even if I just phone it in for that day (and you all have been privy to many of those posts).

I’m incredibly grateful for my readership, as limited as it is. I have to admit the bulk of the site’s hits come from search engine results, and so much hit-and-run browsing makes me thankful for the returning visits the site records. Suffice it to say that so far, you’re, um, an exclusive club. I’ve been toying with the idea of starting a forum, but without a compelling “angle” that would differentiate it from the hordes of automotive forums out there, I don’t want to put in the time to set that up, as much traffic as that would have the potential to generate.

Preemptively, and because I would like to focus on automotive topics through the next holiday, I do have a few goals for Spannerhead for the new year:

• Complete my “About” page. The site feels a bit bare without it.
• Finish stocking my merchandise site. Soon you’ll be able to buy a Spannerhead t-shirt (among other things), but I need a few more designs before that goes live.
• Add a “like” or “share” button to each post to enable more specific networking.
• Integrate some kind of navigation into the header to make it easier for people to browse the site by topic. As the number of articles grows, I’d like folks to be able to see, for instance, a whole series at a glance.

That should keep me busy for quite a while. Again, thanks to all my faithful readers, and a very merry Christmas to all. May your daily commutes be safe, your heel-and-toe downshifts seamless, and the bases of each of your trees festooned with wonderful car-related gifts.