The popular Honda and Acura news site and forum is no longer online, the owner stating the site is no longer profitable.
The Temple of VTEC (VTEC.net), a popular Honda and Acura news site and forum is no longer online after over 27 years, the owner saying the site is no longer profitable as sponsorship dollars have not kept up with operating costs.
Fans and forum members of VTEC.net first noticed the site was down earlier in July when they tried navigating to the site only to find it not loading.
According to the site’s domain history, The Temple of VTEC, registered as VTEC.net, was created in 1996.
Here’s what the site looked like a year later in 1997.
Jeff Palmer, aka JeffX on the site, is listed as the site’s owner among a handful of other contributors.
Created around the debut of Acura’s Integra Type R, among other Golden Era Hondas and Acuras of the late ’90s, the Temple of VTEC established itself as one of the first enthusiast sites catering to Honda & Acura products.
Cementing itself as a source for the latest news and rumors, Honda recognized the site as an important conduit between Honda of North America Media relations and enthusiasts.
As such, JeffX gained a foothold as a trusted Honda/Acura journalist of sorts, gaining insider access to new vehicle launches as well as providing valuable insight into Honda/Acura rumors and future products.
These insights were then shared on VTEC.net allowing other users to engage and discuss.
The Temple of VTEC’s look changed throughout the years but has largely stayed the same since at least the mid-2000s.
Regardless, VTEC.net continued to be one of the best sources for the latest Honda and Acura news and rumors.
When users of the site first noticed it was no longer accessible earlier in July, Acurazine members created a thread asking “What happened to Temple of VTEC (vtec.net?)”
Acurazine user AlexSoriano1 was able to contact Palmer via e-mail, relaying this response to group members on why the site was down.
“I’m not sure,” Palmer replied
“Ad dollars shrank to the point that it was no longer covering the hosting costs. I have been covering the costs out of pocket off and on since COVID-19 hit. Prior to that, I had already put $20k into it in 2019 or 2019 alone.
“Maybe if I can find a sponsor that will cover the hosting costs we can fire it back up.’
As someone who runs an automotive news site, I can confirm what Palmer states.
In my experience, ad spending for the automotive space, and ad dollars in general, hit a peak in 2022 as people, car enthusiasts included, spent a lot more time in front of a computer which translated to more online shopping.
But, as the lingering effects of inflation eroded how much disposable income car shoppers and enthusiasts spend, so have marketing budgets, and hence, ad dollars.
VTEC.net is not entirely dead.
If Palmer can work out a deal with a potential sponsor with enough of a budget to at least cover hosting costs, the Temple of VTEC might return.
At the very least, according to the site’s Whois data, Palmer has renewed the site’s domain until August 2025, so, as far as the domain goes, VTEC.net is not entirely gone.
Although not currently updated, TOV’s social media are also still up.
As so-called OG car forums have been shutting down, one by one, spurred on by the popularity of social media groups (Facebook groups, Instagram, etc.) keeping these forums alive is arguably more important than ever.
These sites are a repository of knowledge and information worth keeping.
Hopefully, Palmer can find a sponsor or figure out a way to bring site operating costs down that match up with ad dollars brought in.
Jeff Palmer killed Vtec.net because he was an a-hole climate change denier. Not loss, no foul.