The once wildly popular "Wife as Car Model" section on automotive forums is actually still around! Recently, well-known automotive blogger Han Lu revisited Autohome and was deeply moved upon seeing this familiar section, suggesting that the platform should prioritize it again and expand its scale.
Han Lu posted on Weibo stating that he stumbled upon Autohome and was pleasantly surprised to discover that its flagship section from the past, "Wife as Car Model," was still active.For many long-time users of old automotive forums, "Wife as Car Model" is undoubtedly a section filled with nostalgia.
Back then, many car owners would take photoshoots of their cars with their wives and upload the pictures to forums, sharing their beloved vehicles and lifestyles. Compared to standard car reviews, these posts featured not just cars but also people and stories, attracting considerable attention from netizens.
Han Lu recalled that he invested a great deal of time into this column back then, spending countless days and nights just moderating违规posts.
He stated that the concept is excellent, but there is still significant room for improvement in the web design of Autohome's relevant sections. For instance, categories lack sorting functions based on metrics like clicks and comments, making it inconvenient for users to find popular posts.
In Han Lu's view, vertical automotive media is becoming increasingly difficult to operate nowadays, so platforms should instead revitalize this type of content that highlights their unique characteristics.
He suggested that Autohome actively encourage car owners to photograph their wives, inviting more users to participate.
Furthermore, Han Lu proposed expanding the section further by dividing it into two categories: "Beautiful Wives" and "Spiritual Husbands." This would cater to different user interests and encourage more families to participate in creating automotive content.
Of course, Han Lu also emphasized that the platform needs to strengthen backend moderation; images involving excessive suggestive themes or违规exposure should not be publicly displayed.
He even bluntly stated that if he returned to Autohome to oversee operations, he would definitely elevate this section to a top-level category and devote more resources to it.
The reason is simple: this type of content, featuring real car owners and infused with everyday life vibes, is one of the key characteristics distinguishing Autohome from other platforms.
Han Lu's suggestions also brought up memories of how Autohome used to moderate posts back in the day.
Guan Wei, former head of product at Autohome, recalled in the comments that the team specifically developed a set of tools for viewing and deleting images to handle违规content back then.
In those days before AI-assisted moderation, image content basically relied on manual screening.
Guan Wei stated that only images meeting the requirements are publicly displayed, while违规content is hidden and stored.
Later, some features of this moderation tool were even applied to Autohome's product database, helping users browse car images.
Han Lu later added that back then, some car owners would even persuade their wives to attempt risqué poses for photos, resulting in images whose extent was hard to imagine.
Nowadays, automotive content has largely shifted from traditional forums to short videos, live streams, and social media platforms, significantly changing how users access automotive information.
However, Han Lu believes that original content with community characteristics, such as "Wife as Car Model," still holds value and deserves a revival.
For older users who experienced the golden age of automotive forums, this section carries not just car photos, but also memories of browsing forums, reading posts, and sharing experiences about car ownership life.
