today being Fathers day I took the 2 boys out. While waiting to see a movie we went into Books a Million and I hit the magazine rack.........There was Ameriacan Rodder and street rodder,one a may,the other june.A look inside shower Burger on the editorial page and John Diana as HNIC. with corporate offices in DAYTON,TENN.........was i the only one ignorant of this move? I was among the ones looking for their rag for months;now this.
Yeah it's been a couple years since they moved. Most of the production facilities, art dept. bookkeeping, etc. moved to TN from Oxnard, CA. I was told it was due the state of CA making it too hard to keep the business profitable (regs regarding the business itself, and employee compensation, insurance, etc.). Plus I'm sure they could get 2x the facility for 0.25 the price, not to mention pay employees 1/2 the amount, yet those employees could still make a decent living.
I haven't received the last two Rodders Digest. Last issue published was Feb 'o8. I guess I need to call and find out why. Beginning to tick me off at bit. If they have stopped publishing the mag it would be nice to let the subscribers know.
As I posted elsewhere here, I got the renewal notice for Street Rod Builder. I responded with a letter about the only thing they have current is their billing department. They responded with another renewal notice. I'm way behind on American Rodder and Rodder's Digest, and I won't be renewing SRB.........I don't think they will fulfill that subscription, either. I called them in (probably) December and was matter of factly told they didn't print some issues, but extended subscriptions instead. I'll renew my Alliance membership here instead.
I just news stand American Rodder and Rodders Digest. They seem to come out at alternate times. I quit buying SRB because it was just a glossy set of how to put this or that manufacture's latest trick of the week piece on a car that would cost as much as most folks house. It just doesn't spin my wheels enough to want to pay for it. This from a guy who 5 years ago bought every rod rag on the stand without opening them in the store first, but I have decided to cut way down on the magazines. My will tell you I haven't though lol.
I had subscriptions to several Buckaroo publications a few years ago but I got very disappointed with their customer service too. As others have said already, the magazines didn't arrive sometimes, the articles were less and less usefull and when I called their offices, the folks were nice, but they didn't seem to follow through on their promises. I've cut way back on magazines. I think I get much more value for my HAMB Alliance membership. The information on the HAMB is always good, each day I learn something, whether planned or not. The vendor discounts are good too. Regarding Buckaroo, I was initially very pleased with their magazines - but lots of content quickly became recycled and I found fewer of their features very exciting as time went on. I haven't read their magazines off the newsstand in quite a while either.
I think John Dianna might be finding out it's a tough business when your competing with the internet and especially the Jalopy Journal/HAMB being frequented by more and more people. Why put up with the problems stated here when your hot rod cravings are only a "click" away. Frank
I wish they would bring back the old "AMERICAN RODDER" the one with HOT RODS in it, and not the current street rod billit bling smooth chit. All the buckaroo mags look the same, lots of color pic's, but not the right kind of cars......... they are the ones I walk right past at a car show. Gerry Burger is their only hope .......with RODDER'S DIGEST.
I would almost agree but this month , May American Rodder, there was a spread on my small shop which works on old style hotrods
Absolutely,I agree. I originally found lots to like in SRB, but quickly it became a showcase for professional, over the top, street rod builders and had really nothing to help me learn to build my hot rod in the back yard shop. Plus, I found it to be getting more and more expensive , relative to other magazines with more and more sameness every month. I finally just let my subscription die.
I've had it buckaroo and their excuses. After my "extended" subscription runs out I'm done with them. To blame all their problems on the printer is crap, if I ran my business like that, I'd have been out of business 20 years ago.
I actually like street rod builder...especially when they have the extensive build photos of some high dollar cars. The cars may not always be my style, but it doesn't mean that I can steal good ideas use them on something of mine. Kinda expensive on the news stand though.
I agree with most of these posts, same with me. at first it was really an impressive mag, pix were first rate, and had relevent articles. then it became a kinda catalogue of parts etc. They made a big commotion aout thier new digs in oxnard ca. it seemed they had tons of money and that the mag was doin great. They bought up and resurrected some mags that had gone under, so I thought they must be doin good. but then I noticed that the articles werent so hot and the photos were not as clear etc. Well it seems that all the mags are having problems they are offering subscriptions for far less then they did several years ago,etc. whats going on? it may be the internet that they may have to utilize now , like one who said places like the HAMB etc. hmmm things are a changing.
Somewhere I have a copy of Super Rod with an editorial about how they won't super discount the magazine just to get circulation numbers up. Maybe that wasn't a great idea in the internet age. But thats why sometimes you can buy a three-year to like Rod & Custom for 80% off the cover price and some free crap to boot. They do it to get the circulation up, and you're getting it just about for cost. The higher the circulation is, the more they can get for the ads.
When American Rodder changed it's format and went to the bigger size it pretty much went down the drain. WTF is with the bigger size too? They don't stack well with other mags and always get creased in the mailbox. Who was the scholar that came up with that idea? The original style American Rodder was the best publication in the world until Rodders Journal came out.
i used to subscribe to AR, RD, and SRB with Buckaroo, renewing every year at the nats east, but have been screwed too many times by them SRB hasn't shown up at my place for 2 years, the last RD has last years NSRA nats in it and has been on the news stand for 7-8 months, the only semi reliable one is AR - i've given up on all, didn't renew any this year, guess john dianna didn't need my $100 that bad - no way to run a company!
Print is running scared. Ryan has em on the ropes I too once bought most all the mags on the news stand. I think I have bought one in the last 6 months.
Honestly, I get more, and more fun, out of reading Hot Rod and Car Craft which cost me like $9.00/yr than I did from Buckaroo mags over the last few years. I know that HR and CC are discounting to get their #'s up, but that's not my problem. Car Craft will spice up a junk yard motor to make mega-horsepower,then tell you what parts they use and what they cost. Where's the hot rod mag that comes close to that? Surely, there would be a market. (And don't call me Surely! )
I subscribe to R & C, Car Craft and Hot Rod, together they cost me about 35 a year, and I think I'm paid up for the next three years. Just looked thru the latest SRB and it took me about 5 min to figure out how empty it is. Their whole purpose seems to be fluffing some high end builders or installing some big advertisers parts in a very generic way. Not a very good value in my opinion.
The original style American Rodder was the best publication in the world until Rodders Journal came out.[/quote] I agree with that. When the origional staff was in charge which included Mike Bishop you got REAL content. After I saw the picture of John Dianna riding in the corporate jet with Robert Peterson I figured the traditional side of rodding was history as far as his publications were concerned. Frank
The Jalopy Journal
