YES! Obliglatory first post and Cars and Cantina is BACK!

[TheDutchTexan]

Since this is my first post I have to continue the obligatory sharing of the YouTube car content I have been annoying you with it since I joined OPPO and made my first post back in august 6th 2013. That was back when I started carvlogging. Trip down memory lane. All those carvlog videos are private now. In 2014 I kinda moved on to car shows and later car reviews so the car vlogs just did not fit the bill anymore. Still a small YouTuber and will probably stay that way till I quit doing it. It's fun to be part of the community though, and that is the main thing that keeps me going. Currently at 9557 subscribers and I have around 40-50K views a month (goes beyond that, dips below that too, you know, youtube things).

Last video I did was on one of my favorite car shows. It was cancelled due to COVID, but recently had it's first show since I believe March 2020. It was great to be back out there and see cars I missed for a while. Funny thing was that there were a slew of hyper cars there. Didn't even see them because of the crowd around them. I only knew when they made their exit and I filmed them leaving the show (Pagani Huayra, McLaren Senna, LaFerrari and a Chiron Sport). It is rare I film them static and even if I wanted to get some static footage people are all around them. Can't get a clear shot without shadows and I can't stand shadows dancing on the bodywork of a car. That's why I always end up with more obscure stuff.

My favorite car of show was the Diablo SV though. Can't go wrong with a 90's supercar. I still own a Burago model of a purple diablo. That traveled from a tax free store between the borders of Austria and Slovenia all the way back home to the Netherlands and then in a shoebox to where I am typing this now in Texas. It's probably nearly 25 years old now. Crazy stuff. I finally ended up displaying it again when I redid my YouTube / Mancave and put it next to models of the DeLorean and Delorean time machine.

Man, this is turning into a post full of random. And I don't even know if any of the links will work until I hit publish. We'll find out! Wonder if I can edit if it does pull everything up or does something weird. EDIT: IT WORKS! Anyway, I am happy OPPO will live on. Thanks everyone behind the scenes of this awesome endeavor!

[NomDePlume]

@TheDutchTexan Welcome, that turned out to be an excellent first post.

Started the video and thought 26:00 was going to be a big ask to sneak in during the middle of the day. Suddenly there was a lot of very interesting metal going past. Going to have actually sit down and watch through it later.

[davesaddiction]

Glad you made it!

[TheDutchTexan]

@nomdeplume I should have been more detailed in hindsight. There is a legend in the video description that gets people to various categories of cars so they aren't left skimming the entire video to get away from the vlog sections which I admit are not everyone's tea. The analytics always show that people LOVE the exotic section. Thank you for the OPPOprops, expect more crappy video sharing in the future. (I only produce 0-4 videos a month, so I won't be spamming the crap out of my content anytime soon).

[TheDutchTexan]

@davesaddiction yup. Already forgot about oldOPPO. NEWoppo is the place to be! Away from the clutches of big corp!

[NomDePlume]

@thedutchtexan I don't think the idea to focus on exotics would've ever occurred to me. The personal touches and people make almost all of these vehicles unique.

[TheDutchTexan]

@nomdeplume I get people upset when I do an entire show without shooting supercars and hypercars. I always tell them why.

1. Already shot them in a past video
2. I prefer older stuff
3. I prefer stuff I could actually have a snowballs chance in hell to drive in my lifetime. There is no way someone with a supercar is ever going to come up to me and say "Hey, do you want to review my Lambo?" Most expensive cars I have driven were a R35 and a 911 Carerra S. Both of which got destroyed in a straight line by subsequent cars I have driven. I'd argue the 1000whp ZL1 I reviewed would give them both a run for their money in the twisties as well.

Not to say I don't do videos like that at times. Mostly when attendance is down and I can shoot them free and clear.

[NomDePlume]

There is some piss taking here. More often doing awesome things with mundane vehicles is appreciated as being indicative of reserved tastes.

Youtube 'reaction artists' are the new professional daytime talk show audience member. Patreon and never replying to comments on YT has done wonders for some people.

[TheDutchTexan]

@nomdeplume I try to reply to everyone. Sometimes I miss comments, or comments don't warrant a reply (and those usually warrant a removal and a ghosting, I am no stranger to critique, but if you are in it to get a reaction out of me or attack me personally you're off my channel). I can see not being able to reply to comments anymore when you grow big. But at least make an effort. It indeed seems like big youtubers just post and go on about their day. I think engagement of your audience is important, and I will continue to do it no matter if I am at 9557 subscribers now or 100000 (one can dream) later.

Not going to beat around the bush, I would love my channel to grow larger and support a project car build. That is my ultimate goal. Something old and American. 70, 71 or 72 Monte Carlo is the dream for me currently. Preference for the 70 & 71. I am not at that level currently and I am not selling my soul to get there. If it happens it's because the car community found me organically. Not because I click-bait every video and fake my enthusiasm.

[CarsOfFortLangley]

yay!

[NomDePlume]

@thedutchtexan I'm sure your followers appreciate that you don't let a few people ruin enjoyable back and forth. My only point was if that starts dictating content it can be healthy to step back and make sure your own voice is still behind what you produce. Patreon was a good fit for some because it reestablished that crowd of good people.

[TheDutchTexan]

@carsoffortlangley yaaaaas!

[TheDutchTexan]

@nomdeplume I take my steps back, more than I would like to admit. Sometimes I don't upload for 4+ weeks. It's because I wasn't in the right mind-space to edit most of the time. I used to keep going but now I am of the opinion that if I am not feeling like it I am not doing anything. This thing isn't paying the bills, so I shouldn't treat it as such. I also got a very small gaming channel. Didn't upload there for over a year and recently did some gaming videos. Why? To keep things fresh and fun. I stand behind everything I produce. If I don't want to film it I won't.

[Chariotoflove]

Good to see you over here!

[RallyDarkstrike]

@TheDutchTexan Great first post, and welcome! I think I might have that same Bburago Diablo model somewhere!

[TheDutchTexan]

@chariotoflove as it is to see you my fellow OPPOnaut!

[TheDutchTexan]

@rallydarkstrike I appreciate it! I think it was a pretty popular model. I remember walking back and fourth and finally deciding to buy it. Now it is one of my favorite memories.