* Happy Birthday PH *
Discussion
25 years ago today I was at work killing time in that daft period between Christmas and New Year. I’d recently - like everyone else - started to experiment with personal web pages and my ’S Files’ chronicling the TVR S had given me a taste for what might be.
So on 28th December 1998, I bought the domain ‘petrolheads.co.uk’ with the intention of creating an online car magazine. Back then, there were no regular news sources for motoring enthusiasts other than the weekly and monthly mags. The idea of delivering something of interest every day to sate the appetite for anything petrol related excited me.
Petrolheads.co.uk was born. Actually finding the news was a different matter. Press offices were still working on paper and most of the news I found was gleaned from email discussion groups or newspapers.
Contrary to what you might read elsewhere, there was no forum or plan for community. I stumbled into that later.
From those simple beginnings, I ended up on quite the journey. Petrolheads became PistonHeads in August 99 and around the same time I jacked in the day job and had a punt at being self employed.
The zeitgeist was great - the enthusiasm and help I received from all quarters still warms my heart now. Most people got it - they could see where this was going and I must once again thank you all for those thousands of small contributions that got the boat sailing faster and faster. Once the interactive nature of PH was unlocked, it really did become something unique thanks to the community that filled up the pages each day with humour, knowledge, peril and purpose.
There were those that didn’t get it of course. Manufacturers sneered at PH, press offices wouldn’t talk to us and most memorably I was refused press access to GFOS because ‘website’, even in 2005. At the time PH was already bigger than all the UK mags put together but I had to buy a public ticket like everyone else. It tickled me to see PH was a headline sponsor some years later.
The delicate balance with TVR kept me on my toes for years too. Even as I negotiated the sale to Haymarket - literally sitting in the car park outside - I had the bigwigs in Blackpool ringing me up threatening to sue my arse for derogatory comments on the forums. I even had to go up there and joust with them across the board room table to placate them. Speed Six anyone....?
To this day I still get tickled by the many references to PistonHeads on YouTube and almost weekly in one podcast or another. All too often it’s with a bit of a sneer, but the frequency with which it is mentioned in passing is testament to how core it remains. Everyone claims not to be on here any more, yet somehow they are really.
So many friendships, relationships, marriages, divorces (sorry) and adventures can be attributed to the community on here. Little did I realise back in 98 what exactly was going to come of my simple publication.
On that note, I must credit the other custodians of PH. I could be sitting here shedding a tear at my original concept having been botched or not even existing any more. Thank you to those that have preserved and enhanced it since 2007.
Remember, the old days on PH were always the best... since about Jan 1st 1999 people have been saying it’s not what it used to be. That’s a constant.
Thanks to all who still visit here and keep it (mostly) civil. At its best, PH remains a uniquely humorous and insightful place. I hope it’s still here in another 25 years.
I’m not done yet either. I’m still playing with cars and tech at every opportunity. I hope I can continue to contribute to the UK car community. 2024 will be another new chapter for me and I'm excited to have something in the works that I hope will interest all here.
Happy birthday PH and happy new year to all PHers past and present.
So on 28th December 1998, I bought the domain ‘petrolheads.co.uk’ with the intention of creating an online car magazine. Back then, there were no regular news sources for motoring enthusiasts other than the weekly and monthly mags. The idea of delivering something of interest every day to sate the appetite for anything petrol related excited me.
Petrolheads.co.uk was born. Actually finding the news was a different matter. Press offices were still working on paper and most of the news I found was gleaned from email discussion groups or newspapers.
Contrary to what you might read elsewhere, there was no forum or plan for community. I stumbled into that later.
From those simple beginnings, I ended up on quite the journey. Petrolheads became PistonHeads in August 99 and around the same time I jacked in the day job and had a punt at being self employed.
The zeitgeist was great - the enthusiasm and help I received from all quarters still warms my heart now. Most people got it - they could see where this was going and I must once again thank you all for those thousands of small contributions that got the boat sailing faster and faster. Once the interactive nature of PH was unlocked, it really did become something unique thanks to the community that filled up the pages each day with humour, knowledge, peril and purpose.
There were those that didn’t get it of course. Manufacturers sneered at PH, press offices wouldn’t talk to us and most memorably I was refused press access to GFOS because ‘website’, even in 2005. At the time PH was already bigger than all the UK mags put together but I had to buy a public ticket like everyone else. It tickled me to see PH was a headline sponsor some years later.
The delicate balance with TVR kept me on my toes for years too. Even as I negotiated the sale to Haymarket - literally sitting in the car park outside - I had the bigwigs in Blackpool ringing me up threatening to sue my arse for derogatory comments on the forums. I even had to go up there and joust with them across the board room table to placate them. Speed Six anyone....?
To this day I still get tickled by the many references to PistonHeads on YouTube and almost weekly in one podcast or another. All too often it’s with a bit of a sneer, but the frequency with which it is mentioned in passing is testament to how core it remains. Everyone claims not to be on here any more, yet somehow they are really.
So many friendships, relationships, marriages, divorces (sorry) and adventures can be attributed to the community on here. Little did I realise back in 98 what exactly was going to come of my simple publication.
On that note, I must credit the other custodians of PH. I could be sitting here shedding a tear at my original concept having been botched or not even existing any more. Thank you to those that have preserved and enhanced it since 2007.
Remember, the old days on PH were always the best... since about Jan 1st 1999 people have been saying it’s not what it used to be. That’s a constant.
Thanks to all who still visit here and keep it (mostly) civil. At its best, PH remains a uniquely humorous and insightful place. I hope it’s still here in another 25 years.
I’m not done yet either. I’m still playing with cars and tech at every opportunity. I hope I can continue to contribute to the UK car community. 2024 will be another new chapter for me and I'm excited to have something in the works that I hope will interest all here.
Happy birthday PH and happy new year to all PHers past and present.
Petrol Ted said:
To this day I still get tickled by the many references to PistonHeads on YouTube and almost weekly in one podcast or another. All too often it’s with a bit of a sneer, but the frequency with which it is mentioned in passing is testament to how core it remains. Everyone claims not to be on here any more, yet somehow they are really.
Too true! Happy birthday PH. 
PetrolTed said:
..and it's about time there was a 'like' button on here.
Probably doable with a tiny bit of jQuery magic and a bit of custom PHP to record the likes - not too much work for a competent dev :-)Edited by alexmonkey on Thursday 28th December 15:24
Edited by alexmonkey on Thursday 28th December 15:40
I never fully understood the origins of PH.
My TVR ownership predates PH by about 8 years. I was on my second TVR when I chanced upon the site, which seemed to have people who knew a heck of a lot more than I did about them.
I suppose after 25 years, and the demise of the marque, it’s no surprise the TVR section is now one of the sleepier backwaters of PH and where I spend little time.
Yet such is the strength in depth of PH, that the site still has parts I haven’t explored after all these years.
A bit of exploration can be very interesting if one is ever at a loose end.
And if I ever need advice on almost anything under the sun, PH is one of the places I’ll come to and likely find an expert.
My TVR ownership predates PH by about 8 years. I was on my second TVR when I chanced upon the site, which seemed to have people who knew a heck of a lot more than I did about them.
I suppose after 25 years, and the demise of the marque, it’s no surprise the TVR section is now one of the sleepier backwaters of PH and where I spend little time.
Yet such is the strength in depth of PH, that the site still has parts I haven’t explored after all these years.
A bit of exploration can be very interesting if one is ever at a loose end.
And if I ever need advice on almost anything under the sun, PH is one of the places I’ll come to and likely find an expert.
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