Well, maybe not new everything
, but In case you missed it we just updated the blog format to allow for larger photos and easier access to tools like Digg It! and StumbleUpon. This puts more pressure on me, because bigger photos require better photos with fewer flaws -- scary! But hopefully it enhances the reading experience for you. Happy to hear feedback on everything from what you think of the new format to how many flaws you can now spot in my larger photos (but not this one of the Vibe; I pulled this image from the top of the new "Test Drive" page).
Speaking of new, last week we added a new type of road test content called "Edmunds Test Drive" that is exclusive to Edmunds.com. Previously Edmunds and Inside Line shared road tests, meaning we were serving both the consumer/shopper and the enthusiast with one type of road test.
This worked for the most part, but it didn't allow the type of focused road test perspective we prefer for those readers looking to make a near-term purchase (though our Model Reviews provide much of that perspective as well, and those will continue).
Bottom line, we've got an all-new type of road test for car shoppers, plus all our existing vehicle coverage in the form of Model Reviews, Inside Line Road Tests and Future Vehicle pages.
Give 'em a look and let me know what you think.
By cruiserhead1
on July 2, 2008
06:38 AM
cool except there seems to be no links to the other blogs. I enjoyed having the links off the right side to LT test blogs, driving woman, straightline, etc...
i actually don't know how to get there now!
By opfreak
on July 2, 2008
06:39 AM
the links to the other blogs still needs to be fixed. :-p
oh and I miss the feature that showed how many new posts (if any) were made.
By sylvia
on July 2, 2008
06:44 AM
Links to other blogs will get added back. I thought we would get to that last night but ran out of time. We'll try and get that done today.
The new platform doesn't have the # new post tracker for each user. One of the trade-off's. I have it on the list as a future enhancement to try and write a plug-in for but need to address the auto-detection of being signed-in or not so you don't have to click the Sign-in link even if you do have "remember me" checked and are signed-in already from other areas of the site.
By heffling
on July 2, 2008
06:47 AM
I've noticed that the website blogs.edmunds.com now directs you immediately to straightline, rather than giving me the option of browsing the top two topics for each of the categories. Hopefully this is changed, and I liked to be able to preview the blogs for new items instead of having to go straight into one.
By sylvia
on July 2, 2008
06:59 AM
heffling - yes, a blog index page will be put in place later.
By opfreak
on July 2, 2008
07:07 AM
for cruiserhead1 & others.
here are the other blogs.
after
blogs.edmunds.com/
its one of the following
karl/
strategies/
straightline/
roadtests/
women/
greencaradvisor/
By opfreak
on July 2, 2008
07:10 AM
I have a problem though, I cannot post in the stragties blog any more? says I do not have permission?
And I didn't see that the driving women blog got combiened with stragies. I liked the girl pov.
By blackadder5639
on July 2, 2008
07:26 AM
It appears the new format does not allow comments to be edited once posted! I hope that feature is brought back since it allows for correction of typos.
Secondly, the STRATEGIES and DRIVING WOMAN blogs don't post the name of the person writing the blog entry like it used to. It simply says "Posted by July 2, 2008, 6:00 AM -08:00"!
By sylvia
on July 2, 2008
07:48 AM
opfreak - part of the authentication piece with commenting. It isn't always recognizing you are authenticated. Known issue that will be addressed. If you click on the link given it may cycle you through so that you can comment. We're still troubleshooting why it's getting hung up.
Edits on Comments - on the list along with fixing the Preview function for comments.
Posted by: Author first and last name - known issue and on the list to fix.
Merging of Strategies and The Driving Woman - decision made by Editorial so I really cannot address that.
By opfreak
on July 2, 2008
08:12 AM
Since its all negative:
I do think it looks alot cleaner, and more modern.
By dougtheeng
on July 2, 2008
08:34 AM
One comment:
Its not showing me the number of "new" comments in each post?
By sylvia
on July 2, 2008
08:44 AM
dougtheeng - I already addressed that above.
By moparbad
on July 2, 2008
09:11 AM
Sign in is having problems. Have to sign in repeatedly at Straightline, Forums, etc..
By sylvia
on July 2, 2008
09:14 AM
moparbad - the authentication machinery for Forums is sep from blogs so if you are having issues logging in there that's a whole different ball of wax. The authentication in blogs - not automatically recognizing you when you arrive and having to click the sign-in - is a known issue.
By 7driver
on July 2, 2008
12:05 PM
Javascript is required for leaving comments. It should put up a warning/error if Javascript is disabled rather than spit a non-functioning dummy form.
From the looks of things, I don't think you guys did adequate testing before going live.
By steve_
on July 2, 2008
01:14 PM
The new test drives are great to see - taht's the kind of stuff I was devouring the last time I bought a new car back in '99.
I mean, I like reading about millisecond shifting on the dual thingy tranny on the Ralliart, but that's not bang for buck stuff I need when I'm shopping.
By dotsara
on July 2, 2008
01:35 PM
@7driver
We did quite a bit of testing before all of this went live, you might shudder to know just how much. Unfortunately, despite all appearances: we're not perfect and hiccups slip through. (:
You can take Sylvia at her word when she says there's A List of Things to Fix/Update. She's all over it!
By opfreak
on July 2, 2008
01:54 PM
no matter how much testing you do. Once things go live, you dont know what will happen.
By hondacura4
on July 2, 2008
02:26 PM
Id like to have a larger or full screen option when viewing the Inside Line videos as the screen is so small. Thats really the only thing I have a problem with.
By ahightower
on July 2, 2008
06:40 PM
I like the wider screen and larger photos.
On a somewhat related note, it would be great if you could you podcast your videos.
By billt9
on July 2, 2008
09:23 PM
1a. Link Edmunds.com's "Test Drive" to the Inside Line's actual "First Drive"/"Full Test".
Currently, "Test Drive" links to partially functional copies of the Inside Line articles at Edmunds.com.
Why do I want to go to partially functional, inferior copies when there's perfectly good full versions at Inside Line?
1b: Please prefix those links with "Inside Line ", example: "Inside Line Full Test: bla bla bla", instead of just another road test. How am I suppose to know one is "enthusiast" and one is "normal people"?
2. How am I suppose to know one test is "enthusiast" and one test is for "normal people", unless I've stumbled upon this blog entry?
Please add a subheading to the "Test Drive" title that identifies it as the normal person review. (I can't think of anything clever atm.)
3. On the "Test Drive" page, all links (at the left edge of page) are grayed out. So are they unavailable/unclickable?
Oh no sir, they are clickable!
Why are they grayed out? confusion ensues!
Please un-"gray" those links.
4. "Performance" should NOT be "Test Drive's" first subtopic. First subtopic should be "design" or "comfort".
By sylvia
on July 3, 2008
06:11 AM
billt9 - Thank you for your comments even though they aren't about the blogs specifically. I'll pass them along to the Inside Line and Edmunds.com site teams.
By cruiserhead1
on July 5, 2008
03:19 PM
"or cruiserhead1 & others.
here are the other blogs.
after
blogs.edmunds.com/
its one of the following
karl/
strategies/
straightline/
roadtests/
women/
greencaradvisor/"
thanks for the links but Edmunds needs to add these links to all the blogs.
Even from the homepage, there are only links to 4 blogs... it is pretty much impossible to easily access all the blogs.
ALL the blogs should be linked together so we can go from one to the next.