Jason Torchinsky

Jason Torchinsky is an American author, comedian, graphic designer, art director and automotive journalist, widely known as co-founder and Chief Creative Officer at The Autopian, an automotive enthusiast website, and as a former Senior Editor at Jalopnik, where over a ten-year period, he authored more than 6,000 articles and helped "define the site's tone and reputation."

An acute observer of the automotive industry, Torchinsky is widely known for highlighting often obscure but important automotive histories, from Volkswagen's initial 1977 forays into development of a Hybrid electric vehicle to his unsettling discovery that Daimler-Benz's claim to the first production automobile were aided and cemented by Adolf Hitler's Third Reich — in an attempt to erase the work of Jewish automotive engineer Marcus Siegfried, of Vienna.

He brings an outsider's skepticism to subjects including the politically forced dearth of electric vehicles available in the United States; the auto industry's dangerous over-reliance on screens rather than buttons and physical controls; and the industry's abandonment of bumpers that provide actual protection. Torchinsky has noted automotive journalism's penchant for writing extremely negative reviews, i.e., excoriating a very inexpensive car for having discernible cost-saving measures.

Torchisnky has lead classes for Minneapolis' Walker Art Center highlighting key aspects of automotive engineering, physics and mechanics — exclusively for children.

Background

Torchinsky grew up in Greensboro, North Carolina, the son of Ashkenazi Jews, Sylvia and William Torchinsky (1931-2005), the latter an ex-marine and Judo instructor who worked with Ciba-Geigy, the Swiss chemical company.

He has an older sister, Amy, and as a teenager, he worked at a local computer store, the Byte Shop. He would later write the hilarious if painful story of bailing out his parents on murder charges, in 1987, at age 16. His parents were subsequently cleared of all charges.

He later graduated from the University of North Carolina (UNC) in the 1990s with a degree in art history. His personal cars have included a Reliant Scimitar, Nissan Pao, Volkswagen Beetle, Yugo, — and at the time the least expensive car importable to the United States, a $900 Changli. Torchinsky conducted in depth analysis of the Changli with noted automotive engineering subject matter expert, Sandy Munro.

As former long-time resident of Los Angeles, CA, Torchinsky lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Career

Torchinsky has appeared on and served as a producer for Jay Leno's Garage. He regularly appears in online video content and makes numerous television appearances. Torchisky hosted his own internet show, Jason Drives under the auspices of Jalopnik. He has written for Boing Boing, Muck Rack, and Mother Jones.

As a stand-up comedian, Torchinsky worked with several high school friends in a comedy collective, the Van Gogh-Goghs, and he opened for George Carlin in 1983 at UNC. He has been a sketch comedy writer and a contributing author at The Onion. He is an artist with installations globally and has authored the books Robot, Take the Wheel: The Road to Autonomous Cars and the Lost Art of Driving, and coauthor of Ad Nauseam: A Survivor's Guide to American Consumer Culture.