José Rodríguez Jr
Staff Writer
HIGHLIGHTS
– José is from the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, which is full of single-cab pickups driven by people who inherited a love of trucks from their families. José’s own love of trucks is more nostalgic than practical, and he’s been in a love-hate relationship with his daily driver BMW E36 for over a decade.
– José is a native Spanish speaker who loves to argue with Siri and other digital assistants who claim to be bilingual. His preliminary testing shows that they are woefully bad at code-switching.
– José’s byline has appeared on Jalopnik, Road & Track, and now The Drive. His areas of expertise include pickups and the off-roading segment, as well as auto manufacturing in Mexico and other overseas markets.
EXPERIENCE
José was formerly a staff writer at Jalopnik. He’s also worked as a translator to bring American scholars the works of Mexican philosophers who have been largely overlooked by academia until the last decade or so. This work is partially featured in textbooks published by Oxford University Press.
EDUCATION
José studied philosophy at the University of Texas—Pan American, pairing the study of Gaston Bachelard and Gloria Anzaldúa with a steady diet of Mark Twain and Ernest Hemingway for a bachelor’s degree with a double major in philosophy and English. He returned to the renamed University of Texas Rio Grande Valley for an MFA in creative writing, producing a bilingual master’s thesis inspired by Tomás Rivera. ¡Órale!
NOTABLE WORK
Get latest from José Rodríguez Jr
Toyota Aristo Is a Reminder That Car Audio May Be Better Now, But it’s Less Fun
By José Rodríguez Jr / Published May 8, 2024
That Slammed and Modded Ford Maverick With the Tribal Tats Is Up for Sale
By José Rodríguez Jr / Published May 8, 2024
Rare Pikachu VW Beetle Is the Ultimate Catch for a Pokemon-Loving Gearhead
By José Rodríguez Jr / Published May 8, 2024
Towing a Mobile Home Without Registration or Insurance Is Illegal, Apparently
By José Rodríguez Jr / Published May 6, 2024
Polestar 2 Lease Deal Plummets to $299 a Month and Hey, That’s Not Bad
By José Rodríguez Jr / Published May 3, 2024
Subaru Is Finally Making a Manual WRX Wagon… for Mexico
By José Rodríguez Jr / Published May 3, 2024
Texas Car Dealer Mogul Sure Likes Setting Things on Fire: Police
By José Rodríguez Jr / Published May 2, 2024
Hey GM: If You Want to Beat Apple, Give People the Buttons CarPlay Can’t
By José Rodríguez Jr / Published May 2, 2024
A Performance EV Lurks Under the Shell of This EV-Swapped Toyota Tacoma
By José Rodríguez Jr / Published May 1, 2024
Every New Car in America Will Have Automatic Emergency Braking by 2029
By José Rodríguez Jr / Published Apr 30, 2024
The Street Fighter II Movie Is Why I Love Cars and Driving Stick
By José Rodríguez Jr / Published Apr 30, 2024
The Jeep Recon Might Not Be Electric-Only After All
By José Rodríguez Jr / Published Apr 29, 2024