History Popular Hot Rodding also gone!

That's the kind of thing I'm talking about! Some schools don't even teach cursive writing anymore! A populace that doesn't read is an uneducated populace, simple as that. This really has little to do with "supporting" Ryan or the HAMB. Some CAN'T afford it, it's not up to other members to judge if someone can afford it or not.

 

When people are baffled as to why I love drag racing, I tell them that you either get it, or you don't.
Same for books, you either get it or you don't. Thank God I had parents and teachers that exposed my feeble brain to books, I can't imagine being without them, I would have missed so much.
So, once again, it's not about "car magazines', it's about way more than that!

 

Todays kids don't really care. Conformity has been breed into them and most parents don't even see it. All the mom and pop stores are gone. Their kids either couldn't handle it or sold out for the pay off. The hippies and protesters either died off or switched over to the mainstream. In the end, when stuff like this happens, WE have to take part of the blame. Maybe a few extra ads weren't that bad after all.

 

Automotive Magazines have always been one of my passions. I have a 40 year collection of every publication you can think of and very seldom need to thumb through various years to locate an article. I simply "Google" the fact and presto the article appears. Magazines are yesterday's news and the internet is current with live streams in most cases. The HAMB is so attractive because you can receive a response immediately or a photo of your desired purchase immediately. Adapting to change is required to stay in touch with the hobby we all love and the environment we live in today. Sure I enjoy looking at the nice color photos in Hot Rod and the like without having to connect to the net, but I have adapted and seem to be happy with the content I receive when I simply "ask for it".

Books have not went away, the media by which we gain information has changed and the publishers must adapt to meet the budgets they have to run the business. If TRJ and Ryan need more dollars to make the enterprise exist, I do believe they will have lots of advertisers and viewers who will be more than eager to contribute. We, the folks who are willing to support our passion for the automotive activity with our hard earned dollars, need to realize that business's must be profitable or they will no longer survive. TRJ provides the best color photography and stories of any magazine published but had to add advertisements to cover the overhead.

The HAMB offers basically free information for anyone who wants to access the site. Ryan's survival is through qualified management and selective advertisers who recognize that his viewers spend money on products they produce. Both of the above sources of information are available on the internet for the time being and I hope that continues…but when the call for help comes we need to answer the call promptly or we will lose two great sources of information for our passion.

Keep the "Flame Burning" one day at a time.
Lynn
Pewsplace.com

 

I'll call B.S on that one. I too have a huge pile of old rodding magazines and I will guarantee you that they contain piles of tech and articles that you will not ever find online.
An example is all the old Hot Rod Mechanix and a lot of the good stuff from Rodders Digest just to name a couple.
There is a lot of Hot Rod history and tech in the old magazines that will never find it's way online.

 

Just checked, the website is still working.

 

"very seldom need to thumb through various years to locate an article. I simply "Google" the fact and presto the article appears...."
Nonsense. Complete nonsense.
Then why are people asking for tech on this site?
Obsolete tech and article will never going to be on thecweb. Who is going to write or scan all that stuff? Your claim simply isn't true.

 

I have to disagree about whether or not e-books are books.

My daughter suffered a spinal cord injury in a motor vehicle accident almost four years ago. She is now a quadriplegic. She has some movement, but not enough to care for herself. In other words, she is a total-care quadriplegic. She cannot feed herself, dress herself, bathe herself, take care of her toilet needs, or anything else.

She can also not hold a book or turn pages.

But do you know what she CAN do? With a special brace on her hand and wrist, which has a pocket for an ipad stylus, she can use an iphone, an ipad and read books on her kindle by swiping the stylus across the screen. It's her window to the world. She has always been a voracious reader, loving all kinds of literature. She can do very little that she used to be able to do, but she can still get much enjoyment out of e-books. She reads every night before she falls asleep. Oh yeah, she also buys her ebooks on Amazon.com.

 

I bought my first issue of PHR in August 1974, I was 14 years old. I was returning home from Vancouver Island where I had been introduced to the street scene through my cousins (4 boys) `67 Beaumont, 327 4 spd., `68 Dart, 340 4 spd.,`69 Dart Swinger, 340 4 spd., `70 Dart Swinger, 340 4 spd. I poured over that magazine for hours and hours on the trip home and must have read it a hundred times or more after that. I really identified with its story lines and photography and it became my favorite magazine throughout the 70s and 80s. Somewhere about the time that the content turned to G-machines and newer vehicles my interest dwindled, but I will forever remember PHR as the magazine that solidified my interest in modified and custom cars.

 

I also have a collection of over 45 years of every magazines I could find, they are stored everywhere in plastic sleeves. O, and they are available for $1.00 each in lots of 20. plus shipping and handling. RING MY CHIME.. I am ready to liquidate.

p.s. All the little ones are gone, from 1949 on up. 'cept for a few.

 

I'm a subscriber....or was.

Its been years since it had real tech instead of just installing some companies "kit"

Remember project laguna, that was such a hodge podge of aftermarket crap, none of it made sense. Just keep bolting parts on to fill pages content. I actually like lagunas, they have good lines for a 70's ride and I've seen some done well.

 

This is the part about getting older that I hate the most.
So many of the things we grew up with are fading into the past with each passing day.

I see it with my business that has guy's get older and pass away so do the many memories from the good old day's.
I know that change is inevitable but that does not mean I have to like it!!!!
Jimbo

 

Isn't that that the exact reason magazines are dying?

The problem is that it's too expensive to print stuff on dead trees and haul 'em around the world. To feed the exact same information through wires around the world is, in comparison, virtually free.

I bet they had the same discussion when stone tablets died out.

 

Not that I care, But THE RODDERS JOURNAL is printed in Hong Kong, smell it when you first break it open.

Along these same subject: My daughter, for Christmas bought me TEX SMITH's book.
I WOULD HAVE NEVER BOUGHT IT, although I think I read everything he ever wrote about cars, and hunger for more.
When he had his last magazine venture, he burned a lot of us with subscription issues,
I was one of them and I was pissed, I had JUST RENEWED. Being young and dumb, and full of cum, I drove to Idaho to get my pound of flesh.

Long story short he took me aside and won me over with his likable personality, I realized the guy had more going on than just magazine problems. He filled me up with those thick technical books that didn't sell well. Explained to me a lot about the magazine business.
I ended up feeling sorry for him. shook his hand, wished him well and left, shortly after that his wife died.
Well, I would not have bought his book, (still a little pissed ) got it for Christmas and I am enjoining the heck out of it, and ANYBODY into cars will enjoy reading and looking at the pictures, he takes you along on his ride thru life, Great Book, In my opinion !!!

Tex, I now forgive you again, thanks for the memories. Obviously a great HOT ROD HERO,
worthy of the title..

Wish Lois "McGoo" would write a book with pictures from her perspective.

 

...sad news indeed,...I'm still hopin...

 

Actually, TRJ is printed in Hong Kong. Not that I care.

 

Hong Kong - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong
Wikipedia
Hong Kong (香港; "Fragrant Harbour"), officially Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, is an autonomous territory on the southern coast of China at the Pearl River Estuary and the South China Sea.

What ever !! I will not be going there..

 

I agree with most of what you are saying, there has been a profound shift in the last 20 years in terms of mainstream media becoming nothing more than a mouthpiece for the message the current oligarchy wants us to see, and restricting everything that contradicts that message, and theres no doubt that the demise of functional literacy is key to accomplishing that. But "we" are at fault for that, we as a society no longer want to be bothered to think or question, we WANT our beliefs fed to us. We WANT comfort, distraction and fairy tales. Democracy carries a responsibility with it that most of us have chosen to abandon over the last 30 years, and now we are reaping the whirlwind. As Harlan Ellison said "You are NOT entitled to your opinion, you are entitled to your INFORMED opinion."
At the same time, so-called "institutions of higher learning" have abandoned their responsibilities and become little more than white collar vocational schools. But at this moment, I see hope for grassroots change and a monumental shift in our society, time will tell. "May you live in interesting times"...

 

We do live in interesting times George.
I will agree with you on the demise of functional literacy.
If you want to see functional illiteracy all you have to do is read some of the posts right here on the HAMB.
And the worst part of it all is the uncaring indignation that is expressed when you point it out.
They call you all sorts of things like "Nazi" or other things that are in that vein suggesting that you should be intelligent enough to figure out what the writer was trying to say.
Never mind that they or the writer should have been intelligent enough to use proper words or spelling in the first place.
Functional illiteracy at it's finest

 

Yep! The public at large nowadays does not give a shit if it does not happen in their back yards. Out of town?--Not my problem. Out of state?--Too far away. Other side of the world?--They look and talk funny.This country has some of the nicest and most well meaning people on the planet but in general they are way too insular and that is what has led to the place being in the mess that it is now.
Edit after seeing Blue One's post: There is no literacy in this country any more. I cringe at the grammar (or lack thereof) on the HAMB and don't get me started on places like Craigslist. Even my daily newspaper (the Indianapolis Star) is rife with grammatical and spelling errors. If they can't get it right what hope do we have with the "great unwashed".
Here is the history of the last comment for those who do not understand:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview/id/29346.html

Roo

 

I always cancelled subscriptions to various car magazines after a year or so as they just seem to "spool" You can only tell the same story so many times...and many times the same ol' model of car.. I got a crap load of '30s' to 60s' Popular Mechanics dropped off here 20 years ago. I just started leafing through them recently to entertain me this winter.

 

I started to notice that about ten years ago too. The first time I saw rudimentary grammar errors in a newspaper, it just blew my mind, now its so commonplace, I don't even raise an eyebrow. When even the journalists cant communicate fluently, we really have lost the rabbit. I grew up in an era when the fifth estate was seen as an honourable profession, I find the current media whorehouse to be absolutely deplorable.

"Absolute truth is a very rare and dangerous commodity in the context of professional journalism." Hunter S. Thompson

 

Fourth Estate. The Fourth Estate is news media, commonly print journalism.

The Fifth Estate is what we have here, blogs and social media.

 

Thanks for the entertainment boy's......... I always thought PHR sucked. Flame away!

 

Was always heavily Chevy biased , so I couldn't give a flying **** that it folded.

 

Bummer....all my favorite magazines are folding fast it seems!....I never minded paying for a magazine subscription and looked forward to it,... I am not at all interested in 'digital' formats at all....sign of the times I suppose, but sure miss the 'simple' times of 'owning' my own magazine, and not an image I had to pay for to keep the same thing I already had-----that's my moment of ranting----Ray

 

Those that blame the "suits" for the demise of car magazines know little or nothing about the publishing business. You have to sell x number of magazines every month to pay the bills. At a certain point, if you're not selling x, you close up shop. There are more and more "niche" magazines like SSOS and FAST that survive because of reader loyalty and meaningful content. Pop Hot Rod was always a second tier book started by a couple of guys that use to work at Petersen. If you look at a lot of general circulation books like TrailerLife, Sunset and even Popular Science, editorial content often times mirrors the advertising. Again, no ads, no magazine. My wife does get a cooking magazine with zero ads that runs about $30 for six issues.

 

Robert Petersen had a pretty long run at the empire he created, but it started from pretty humble beginnings and it didn't happen overnight.
Here is a link to an interesting 2000 L.A. Times article about John Dianna's soon to be short lived stab at being one of the "suits" in the publishing world.
I think in Johns' case; his empire crumbled under the weight of his own magazine pretty early due to wanting to publish a "coffee table" quality magazine.
Yep it was a bit too glitzy for a rag aimed at the dirty fingernail crowd, and unlike Bob Petersen, Dianna failed to understand his true audience, a deadly mistake in the publishing industry.
http://articles.latimes.com/2000/may/16/local/me-30616

 

I love the printed word.. Cant wait till the paper comes each morning at 6AM. My local paper has lost about half it's readership in the last 5 years. I'm sure that soon it will be digital only.
I'm grateful that I grew up when I did. What an amazing time it was!
I'm sure we wont regret some of these monumental changes till down the road a ways.