There are a number of fashion blogs such as the Sartorialist and Street Peeper that have risen to prominence over the past couple of years. These sites typically feature photos of ordinary people who are doing something special with their personal style. Photos are often submitted by a wide variety of contributors, and the sites are usually localized.
We recently came across a new iteration of this type of site – Manonthemove (MOTM). MOTM has chosen New York City as its backdrop, and rather than feature fashion, it features cars. Unlike typical car spotting, which often takes the form of a cat-and-mouse game between manufacturers and photographers from major automotive publications, MOTM simply captures pics of interesting vehicles in their natural environment. We shot over a couple of questions to Stuart Schwartzapfel, who runs the site with two partners, Ian Velardi and Josh Kaner.
What was your motivation for starting the site?
Everyone knows that NYC is home to a lot of prescious metal – take a sunny Sunday stroll through any neighborhood in Manhattan and you will likely gaze upon an absurd number of unique rides owned and operated by even more unique people. Plain and simple, New Yorkers love cars just like the rest of the world. The cool part is that we live in one of most densely populated areas on the planet so there are head turning cars just waiting to be snapped everywhere you go. Everything from Italian exotics to vintage taxi cabs. We figured that people would want to share these encounters with one another in the form of beautiful, high quality pictures with familiar Manhattan landscapes in the background. We like to think that our “on the go” themed photos come off grittier than stock photography provided by major manufacturers.
What type of person are you looking to attract to your site?
We like to think that our site will appeal to anyone who digs cars, beautiful photos, creative commentary and New York City. The site is too new to accurately segment members into different buckets but we predict that the die hard auto enthusiasts will go elsewhere for their daily automotive web fix. The people who will keep coming back are into cars but don’t need to read about quarter mile times and lateral g-forces to remain entertained. Fans of our site also appreciate the smart and easy-to-digest writing that accompanies photos.
What are your thoughts on NYC car culture?
New Yorkers are a diverse bunch and their taste in cars is no exception. You will see just as many $200,000+ exotics as you will tricked out subcompacts and all the wild stuff in-between. We continue to be amazed by the people who keep and maintain their prescious cars, frequently vintage ones, on the streets on New York City. Can you imagine how difficult that is when you consider things like inclement weather and alternate side parking? Our hats are off to these folks.
What car are you most eager to capture?
We absolutely love cars with character. Cars that have only become more desireable over time. Cars that are familiar faces in the neighborhood.
Thanks Stu!
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