Here's how we can keep the DriveTribe community going strong - join us!

Over 5 years ago myself and the Shifting Lanes team were recruited to stop writing on our website and migrate here to DriveTribe and begin creating content. Back then, we thought it was really interesting to be able to build a community on a new and exciting platform, so we jumped right in. What we found was more than a place to create content. DT was, and is, a community that's warm, inviting, and truly full of enthusiasts that loved to talk about cars and life.

DT was different in a good way. It was never "here's the news" and I believe that's a large reason why it was misunderstood by so many in the automotive world. People asked, "Why are 3 of the biggest automotive names in the world in Clarkson, Hammond, and May, who are known for doing news and reviews, not starting a news website?" Great question, but therein lies the proverbial "rub." The trio has never been about making news and reviews and things that we love to watch. That was just the bonus. They were about bringing people together with this one thing we all love: cars. They were conversation starters and what better way to start the conversation than with a automotive community platform? That's where DT stepped in. It was and will forever be a community where we could read about news and reviews if we so chose, but also where we could learn new things, come together as a community, converse with each other, and just be automotive enthusiasts at our most raw.

The news today hits home for us. The internet is a crazy place with sites coming and going all the time. I had hoped that DT would continue forever, but as we now know that was not meant to be. So with that tragic news, I have a proposition for us all.

Why write for Shifting Lanes? Who in the world are you?

That's a great question. We started as a website back in 2013 where 3 automotive gear heads decided to start a website for shits and giggles. Literally that's it. You can view it here. We then learned about automotive writing and how to navigate the automotive journalism world as a small journal just looking for a place to write about cars. We are literally you, right now. We used our connections to grow Shifting Lanes to a regionally known journal before coming over to DT many years ago. We have since become a moderately successful YouTube channel with nearly 70,000 subscribers and over 400,000 monthly viewers on our videos each month. We have over 550,000 followers on Facebook where we post memes, videos, and engaging things to talk about as a car community. There we get over 10 million in reach and 2 million in engagement monthly. We want to continue to grow that with a community that's strong, close knit, and one who we know personally as for the last 2 years, I've been the content editor for DT USA. I'm with you, I'm one of you, and I want you to feel like this isn't just a shot in the dark.

That's where you come in. We'd love to have as many of you creators that we possibly can write for us. We haven't used our website in a long time, due to creating and curating content here on DT and focusing on YouTube, so please excuse the state of it currently. We are already looking for a more community friendly template and re-doing our operating brand guidelines so when DT shuts down, we are ready to hit the ground running.

Personally, I want you to come to SL and continue writing. I want you to feel the same sense of community there as you did here. I want you to feel empowered to write what you want to about cars because you're passionate about it. Full stop. That's what made DT great. The sheer number of voices, opinions, and subject matter. I also want you to feel like it's a place where you can continue to become an auto journalist if that's what you so choose. DT has been a great place for many to start their writing careers. I'd love to continue that legacy.

Sure SL is structured to be more like a traditional journal, but I believe we can take the best bits of that along with the best bits of DT and make it a place where we create, converse, and do what we've always wanted to do: be car enthusiasts.

What's next?

Bear with us as we revamp the site. In the mean time, gather your old DT articles as instructed by the DT staff by clicking here for instructions.

If you're interested to keep writing or creating, please send me a personal message on either Facebook, Instagram, or email (gregson.mathe@gmail.com) and I will be in touch with next steps.

DT put faith in myself and the Shifting Lanes crew 5 years ago. It evolved into a place for incredible young talent to blossom and for a wonderful community to be built. Please let us do the same for you and for those that want to read your work. Let's do this!