Event Coverage RIP: Rod & Custom Magazine

Hah! Jeem is ALWAYS right (on).

 

It saddens me to see the demise (AGAIN) of Rod & Custom. The magazine was running on life support for the past 18 months. You could see the magazine getting thinner and thinner each month.
I feel badly for all their hired talent now put out on the street.
I hope they get grabbed up quickly by another publisher and get back to entertaining us with their wit, wisdom, helpful articles, and showcased cars and products.
Not fun being ousted from a job you pour your heart and soul into, for no fault of your own.
Is it corporate greed? Sick bottom line? The internet killing print media?
Tough times ahead I'm afraid.

 

I'm gonna miss the 6 page articles on how to install Dynamat. LOL

 

Guess I can ignore the renewal reminder I just got!

 

Sorry to see it go. Back in March I renewed not only my subscription, but three additional ones (one for my grand son and two friends of mine). Now I'll have to get a subscription of Street Rodder for my grandson now that the seed has been planted.

 

Denise - Those 6000 affected are from Source Interlink losing the Time Inc. distribution, as a result they will cease distribution services. I think this was the catalyst for all the changes.
Article Here

 

So it's down to "insiders" and kinder people lamenting the loss of a grand publication that damn near invented the rodding world we all love, and the rest just bitching about (maybe) losing $20? Get grip people. Aren't there enough unemployed people in this country?

For those that don't know, there has NEVER been a time when the people who actually produced Rod & Custom didn't care about or have passion for what they were doing. You have no idea what it takes to meet a deadline for as many as 100 pages of interesting editorial content every month, month in and month out. I've been in the performance publishing business for 35 years and the front line people today are as dedicated as they ever were. Do you know that most of the editors live in one of the most expensive cities in America? And most earn just enough to rent a small apartment or house, much less build and drive the kind of cars they feature every month? And do you understand that for the past twenty years the corporate owners have milked and starved just about every perk and support staff out of the company? No one on the editorial side is in it for the money.

On the marketing side, really the same is true, but like most everything life - the money harvesters, get a bigger cut. I don't believe that it should be that way, but that's capitalism in practice. However, the real money falls far up the ladder and that is where it become just numbers, not passion for the hobby (or sport if you choose). Consolidation can create efficiencies in companies. But when you kill the actual product to funnel money to the top, eventually you kill the whole F'ing deal.

I also want to remind you whiners and "free stuff" takers that there is no free lunch. Every time you take something for "free" or try to buy something cheaper (remember the guy that wanted to know where Pete&Jakes gets their shocks, so he could go around their "high prices"?) you are killing the America we all now miss. The fact is most of you so called hot rodders owe a lot to the "industry" that still employes thousands of Americans, and yes, has to advertise the availability of their amazing products in print magazines. When you sell your hot rod for scrap to buy a shit can Kia or buy that cheap tool at Walmart, remember to point the finger in the mirror.
Whew, that felt good.

 

I think a lot of us saw this coming.

Stopping at the liquor store every few days around the time R & C was due to hit the news stands was something I did every month on my way home from school in the 50's. The 25 cents I spent on it came from my allowance. My garage now holds those well worn and often read issues that I will someday pass on to my son.

IMHO, when the issues started coming 3 months before the issue date (August issue was in my mail box in May), it's a sure sign they needed the money from the many ads they published to pay their bills.

I too was getting renewal notices and they would say something like "Prices are going UP! Beat the price increase and renew now!" That was in April and the price for 36 issues was "just" $49.97. In May the notice I got said I could renew for 2 years for just $39.97. The postcard in the magazine that month said I could subscribe for two years for $18.97* (*Plus $3 annual postage & handling) which still would have been $24.97, or $15.00 less than the "Loyal Reader" price I was offered.

My subscription was a gift from my daughter and I had pretty much decided I wasn't going to renew. I felt the R was too big and the C was too small.

 

Major bummer all around. So many people loosing there jobs as well as many of us loosing a relaxing even of reading about the hobby we love so much. I really enjoyed the new little mags they were awesome. While I do love the internet and the availability of so much fresh content, there is just something about holding a mag in your hands...

 

I just lost about 4 years of subscription money and will miss the mag. I knew that as soon as Street Rodder and R&C were coming out of the same house it wasn't going to be a good thing.
Did I ever tell you "I hate mergers"? and "Merger is just another name for down sizing"

 

grabbed this off of facebook

 

Sad. That mag was a part of my world since I could read. We could sneak the early small ones into study hall, etc..

 

You're right. There are a lot of neat independent mags out there. i wish HOP UP would come back

 

The parent company is so bad I let my subs for their other rags expire INTENTIONALLY. RnC was the only pub worth reading. I'll hafta look and see how many issues they owe me. I sure as hell don't want street rodder instead That mag Sucks big time.

 

Dang. I have subscribed to that mag for a long time. And, like a bunch of others just renewed a couple of months ago.

 

WOW that sucks big time,I thought they had some great issues lately

 

After decades of buying many thousands of magazines and having to store them and move them, I decided enough is enough. Sold almost all of them. I'm done buying mags...period...even TRJ (my favorite). I made the mistake earlier of saying I can get everything car related I wanted from the internet for free, and you guys reminded me that nothing is free...but this 27" screen and tower take up a lot less space then all those boxes of paper.

Am I sad to see the printed media I've grown up with disappear? Of course. Am I sorry to hear of all the jobs lost? Yes. And as much as I hate change...I'm very thankful for this place....it is the future.

Sorry if I stepped on any toes.

 

started with 1st issues in high school. have every issue ever published! they have come and gone before!! bummer!!! we are being outdated as we speak!! i'm watching my friends age and go away, goodbuy old friend. see ya!!! tinguy

 

sad to hear, TRJ is the only mag I get now... bummer ... maybe someone will buy it... and restart it.

 

When I was working full time I had about 13-15 maybe more car magazines. Rod & Custom was my favorite next to all the Mopar magazines and Muscle Car Review. A lot of the magazines came and went and then came back. I know they offered me other magazines when one left so I'm sure this will be the case for those who renewed their subscriptions.

I'm an author and I priced my first book at a very low cost to stay competitive in the print market. It is sad to say but eBook sales far far out way print sales.

I hate eBooks. I have a Kindle and I have read three maybe four books (All free books). I see eBooks as a waste of money it is something that if your device goes dead from either the batter or a bad device you have no copy at hand until it is either charged up or replaced with a new device. Print is there in your hand and always will be around.

I think online format and eBook format is the wave of the future but not what I want for the future. We also have a generation of "kid" and "adults" who do not read. It is shocking that when I talk to people who say they have not read a book, magazine or even a short story since high school but ask them about Facebook or what celeb is doing what, they know right away because it is on the internet right away. Sad man, just really sad.

I hope this magazine comes back.

 

I'm with you on that front. There's something about kicking back and thumbing through the latest issue of your favorite magazine. Or going to the pile of old issues to reference something. While you can acess anything you want on the internet, it's just not the same.

 

It's awright Larry. Lets remember one thing, even as damn straight awesome the internet and the HAMB are-
Magazines are" traditional". I'd wager to say that car magazines are a huge % of what helped build the popularity of the early Hot Rod, Custom and racing scene. The early mags such as Hot Rod showed the world what was coming out of a few Socal shops and tracks. Soon other regional rags popped up. A guy who started out reading mags casually could be "pushed" into going to a car show or race. Soon he was an addict looking forward to the next tech article or show/race feature. Times are changing but Car magazines are a huge part of our heritage.

 

I've subscribed for a long time, and my subscription is paid up a couple of years ahead, but
I have to say, the magazine has been getting thinner and thinner for quite awhile, and oftentimes, when I get a new issue, it's about an 8 minute read and I'm done.

 

What's been bugging me about the what the mag companies have/had been doing are more than one.
Go to the store and see a mag with a plastic bag with an inserted calender you don't receive as a paying subscriber.
Being a paid subscriber and get led to needing to go online to see more than what you have been paying for.
Yes, the world is changing. In my work, our livelihood doesn't count on paper, log, truck repair business as much as it did twenty years ago. Plastic logs don't get hauled out of the same woods trees are grown in. Change.
We haven't seen the real first step of change yet. Hang onto your shorts, haven't you noticed what the car parts counter guys can't do any more? What paper rag of cars do they get, or are they there to get a paycheck with no interest of vehicles? Distract them with camo beer titties and cell phone accessories?

 

I just re-upped for 3 years !! bummed too !

 

Damn shame.

 

Yup

 

I think that the suits handled the situation with their typical lack of compassion, class & dignity...

Some people only learned that they were laid off/fired thru a call from a friend or email about the HAMB or Jalopnik postings.

Sounds like something from a crappy TV sitcom.



Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

Many reasons for R&C's exit, starting with the rise of the internet. But thanks to all of you who are part of the HAMB, we are back to the roots of hotrodding, sharing what we are building and also how to do it. That used to be a fundamental part of a car magazine's content. For some, it still is, but a lot of it is no longer "do it yourself," rather plug and play. That really isn't where most HAMBers are at, and boy, am I grateful to you all.

 

That may be true, but I doubt it. People in an industry know when the shits getting ready to hit the fan. That's just the way it is. Be it the scuttle butt or something said over a power lunch or maybe a secretary over heard something, word travels fast in a company.

It's funny. People love technology, but when she shows her teeth, everyone's surprised and pissed off. As was previously stated, there are untold amounts of threads and posts, where people were talking shit about the magazines. Now they start to die off and everyone wants to pull out a tissue and dry the crocodile tears. Personally, that's a load of hypocritical bullshit. Here's your fix:



I have NEVER, EVER seen a car magazine that didn't have something useful in it or something that would help a friend looking for a solution to a problem. Yea, Hot Rod started to show more muscle cars, well guess what, more people can afford a Mustang or Camaro versus $15,000 for a rusted '32 shell. Magazines are in the business to educate, inform, entertain AND make money. The latter is most important because it pays the bills for the other 3.

These magazines have made a subscription issue cost PENNIES on the dollar. Yet folks couldn't scrape up some change for a freaking magazine? I paid $12 for 2 YEARS of Hot Rod. A regular subscription to R&C is $23. That's$2 an issue. I've got a subscription to 4 of the popular, car related magazines. Cash for all those subscriptions (a couple were 2 years for the price of one)? Less than $40.Check your seats, it's probably there. Grab a tissue. If it took you only a few minutes to read a magazine, call Guinness Book, you're the worlds fastest speed reader. What you were doing was LOOKING at the pretty pictures. That's NOT READING. In order to get the information, you have to read it. Your car may not be a Camaro, but an article on setting up camber and caster for one would apply to that '53 Shoebox you can't figure out. Grab another tissue.

There are threads on the HAMB asking for info and I've seen the solution in a $1.25 magazine. So, it's sad that R&C is gone, but guess what? WE killed it. NOT the bean counters, who are....... wait for it, trying to make a living. Just like WE are.

So, you're sad that R&C is gone? What the hell did you do to support it, when it was alive?