Now, this may seem like a pretty impartial statement, but here it goes: Writing for car magazines is kind of a big deal.
Before you roll your eyes, you should probably bear in mind that this completely impartial opinion comes from none other than Jerry Seinfeld. THE Jerry Seinfeld, legendary comedian, star of stage and TV screen, and host of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.
You probably remember Seinfeld, the NBC sitcom that was a show about nothing. It ran from July 5, 1989 to May 14, 1998, and featured the comedian and a cast of companions experiencing the inevitable -- yet unforeseen -- pratfalls that come with being a young professional in New York City. Known for its brash ability to confront taboo subjects head on, episodes like "The Contest" or "The Opposites" ushered in the possibility of characters on sitcoms acting as humans might act in real life. Jerry, Elaine, George, and Kramer all represented and conveyed flawed individuals to whom we could all relate, and yada yada yada.
So what's the deal with car magazines? Are they supposed to be funny? Why is Jerry Seinfeld worried about my car articles?
It turns out that writing educational and entertaining automotive articles was Seinfeld's back-up plan. If the whole comedian/sitcom writer/actor thing didn't work out, his second choice career would have been copywriting for popular car mags, which he revealed during an episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1-Ow34ajhs
Is this some kind of joke? While it's often hard to take a comedian seriously, a peek into Seinfeld's personal office proves he means it. Framed on the wall is an award he received from the one-and-only automotive magazine article he ever attempted writing.
Of course, true fans are already aware of Seinfeld's obsession with the automotive industry. At last count, the comedian's personal collection numbered around 150 vehicles, with a particular lean towards Porsches and VWs. Again, not a joke.
Just think: if things hadn't have worked out on the comedy stage, Jerry Seinfeld could have been writing this very article...
This post was originally published on April 7, 2021.