DETROIT — Peter DeLorenzo sits behind a desk in his Birmingham, Mich., home office with two laptops flipped open and the Speed Channel playing on a flat-panel TV in the background.

The day before, DeLorenzo, publisher of the Web site www.autoextremist.com, used his Internet column to skewer auto magazines for being "clipped, cropped, chopped and neutered" by their owners so they don't offend the auto companies they cover.

As with most of his columns, DeLorenzo received more than 100 e-mails in response to the article. Almost all agreed with his stance. The feedback, he says, is proof that his no-holds-barred site is gaining traction.

"I'm part of the discourse now," said DeLorenzo, a 54-year-old former advertising executive with slicked-back hair and angular glasses. "I'm not just on the fringe commentating about the auto industry."

As Detroit's automakers struggle to keep market share and make money, a new breed of watchdogs is emerging, thanks to the Internet. They post regular columns on Web sites and send out e-mail newsletters providing blunt, and often colorful, analysis of the auto industry.

They blast corporate strategy, single out top-level executives for failed projects and provide their own thoughts on what the automakers should do to turn things around. Several of the sites have developed a loyal following with thousands of regular visitors.

Whether the companies like them are not, the Internet sites are increasingly pushing information to the public, said David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich. They quickly circulate news and ideas about the auto companies.

"There are no secrets," Cole said. "You can't hide anything."

The downside is that many of these sites don't have stringent rules for what they publish, Cole said. They don't always check stories before they run with them.

"You could argue that this is a terrible thing but facts are facts," Cole said. "You might not like something but that doesn't mean it's going to go away."

The sites already have caught the attention of the major automakers. General Motors Corp. monitors the Internet daily to see how its brands and the company are covered, said Michael Wiley, GM's director of new media.

The Internet has become a powerful force, Wiley said. An independent Web site, www.solsticeforum.com, attracted enough attention last year that GM invited its members to Detroit for a special preview of the new Pontiac convertible.

If people at GM see an error on a Web site, they'll contact the site's publisher or post the company's response on the site itself, Wiley said. Many of the sites allow for feedback from readers below stories or commentary.

GM also is increasingly including writers for Internet sites in its media events, he said.

"Quite frankly, I think they're both good and bad," Wiley said. "Some of them are excellent reads. Some of them provide value to consumers. And I think there are some that are just plain mean-spirited."

Several of the most popular alternative Internet sites on the auto industry have been started by people who left the traditional system, whether it be media groups or the companies themselves.

DeLorenzo started www.autoextremist.com in 1999 after more than 20 years in automotive advertising and marketing. He grew up in metro Detroit, the son of a GM public relations executive.

The site, which he says gets about 45,000 unique visitors a month, is free but helps him land consulting jobs in the auto industry. DeLorenzo declined to give the names of his clients but said it hasn't created a conflict of interest.

He said he started the site because no one was being openly critical about the auto companies. Industry insiders and executives would talk about problems in private but the real story wasn't being told to the public, he said.

Since starting the site, the mainstream media have become more critical, DeLorenzo said. He claims top-level auto executives and journalists are among his readers. "I've influenced the coverage of this business," he said. "It's gotten tougher."

Robert Farago, publisher of www.thetruthaboutcars.com, said he also started his site because he was upset with the mainstream press.

Farago, who works out of Providence, R.I., is a freelance journalist who admits he's been fired from two ad agencies and one TV station. A newspaper also quit carrying his auto reviews last year after he compared the front end of a Subaru B9 Tribeca to a part of the human anatomy. "Basically, I'm unemployable," Farago said.

But Farago, 46, has found an audience on the Internet. He says he has almost 7,000 subscribers to his free e-mail newsletter. His site's vehicle reviews often rank in the top 20 on a Google search for the model.

TheTruthAboutCars also has a popular series called "General Motors Death Watch" that provides commentary about GM's money-losing slide.

His site can be honest about the companies and their products because it doesn't solicit advertising from the auto companies, Farago said.

His only allegiance is to the reader, he said.

Farago makes money through freelance writing but plans to start taking advertising, as long as it's not linked to the major automakers, for his Web site. "I still hold that there is room in the world for crusaders," Farago said. "The Web is showing us that there is."

Jim Dollinger, a 47-year-old GM car salesman from Flint, Mich., started his site, www.generalwatch.com, as part of a personal mission to help turn the company around.

Known as the Buickman, Dollinger said he initially approached GM executives directly through letters and phone calls with his Return to Greatness plan.

"They weren't listening," Dollinger said. "It was like they had their own agenda."

So in 2004, Dollinger took his plan to the Web and started providing regular commentary on major news. He says his e-mail distribution list has grown to almost 1,000. For some reason, e-mail addresses ending in "gm.com" get bounced back, he said.

Dollinger's site includes a look at GM "past, present and future," including famous quotes about the automaker. He also provides regular editorials on how to turn the company around.

In a February column, Dollinger writes that GM's problems can "squarely be blamed on a lack of leadership at the top." Many of his columns call on GM Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner to resign, a request he's made in person at a GM shareholder meeting.

"The Internet is a wonderful thing," Dollinger said. "I could never be anywhere near as effective in such a short period of time if it wasn't for electronic communication."

Despite their harsh criticism, several of the sites actually say they're trying to help the major automakers.

Bad news might drive traffic to his site, but DeLorenzo said he runs www.autoextremist.com because he wants the U.S. automakers to rebound. They need outsiders to give them a fresh perspective, he said.

"I've been critical because I want them to do better," DeLorenzo said. "They have to do better."