Open Letter To Amazon Autos' Michael Zak

Here’s an out-of-the-box thought.

Marc Rauch and I co-founded and produced The Auto Channel, first as a syndicated TV show in 1987, then as TheAutoChannel.com, which for six years was the most-viewed interactive automotive website in the world.

Since 1995, our team has:

Built a custom Linux-based publishing platform.

Pioneered automotive streaming video, delivering press conference coverage from major auto shows—Detroit, New York, LA, Geneva, Miami—before manufacturers even had websites.

Streamed firsts: NASCAR driver-to-crew radio (Jeff Gordon, Darrell Waltrip) and the Indy 500 live from the Speedway in 1996.

Created the world’s first 4-car comparison tool (over 150 dimensions, options, and specs at a click), now standard across the industry.

Hosted over one million pages of indexed and parsed automotive content, making us the largest independent auto site.

Pioneered advertising models, including rotating banner pods and securing a six-figure title sponsor (1996–1999).

In short—we were doing what’s now standard in online automotive media years before anyone else.

Here’s the idea: We’d like to offer Amazon the full breadth of our knowledge, experience, and creative vision—32 years of innovations and insights—by serving as your “elder statesman” mentors and consultants. No one else in the world has this depth of history in automotive digital media.

While our reach has diminished due to Google’s algorithm shifts and our focus on ad-supported editorial over classifieds, our expertise remains unmatched. We believe this history, plus our fresh ideas, could help Amazon unlock new opportunities in automotive commerce, media, and technology.

If you’re intrigued—make us an offer.

Bob Gordon – bgordon@theautochannel.com

Marc Rauch – marcrauch@theautochannel.com