my sub is done, too. no renewal. when "rod & custom" folded peterson pub. gave me a choice: this or "motor trend." "MT" is definitely not MY cup of tea!
For my opinion on the subject, see my Pat Ganahl's R&C column titled "NOT GRAY." It both makes me very sad and really pisses me off. Pat Ganahl
I was 10 when a neighbor gave me ALL the HRMs to date then, 1952. I read them cover to cover, and continued building my 'set' every month from the News stand. My aunt locked onto my interest, and bought me a "lifetime subscription" in 1954. I got HRM monthly 'til my aunt asked if I was still interested. (1976) I told her she could let it go... Like @partsdawg, I can still read the early ones, '50s-'60s.
Man I reached this point way back 20 or more years ago, when they started including Camaros, Firebirds, any and all so called Muscle cars. Streetrodder took its place with me and now I'm strongly quitting that also. In fact Saturday I got their quote, " urgent" renewal required", letter that is laying here on my desk. Just not into'56 Mark II Continentals, or any thing really, post 60. Oh...…….. its still ok in places but they are just getting to expensive. I realize the production costs are up there but most every thing I'm interested in now I can see right here on line. Sad that but...………...
The only reason that I have continued my HRM sub was for the two usual Marlan Davis articles. Now it seems that one of those has been eliminated. When my sub runs out, I'm done. The only thing I dislike more than a Mustang is a Camaro.......
I don't get any car mags anymore. Last one was hot rod deluxe but when it was time to renew for twenty a year- that offer wasn't available anymore. Im cheap! No more rod and custom, rod action, hot rod, hot rod deluxe, street rodder -nothing! With Hamb, who needs them!
I've started with Hot Rod in August 53 and still have them all, and my sub is up as well as my Street Rodder, and I too am sitting on the fence. It seems there is not enough hours in a day for more useless hi teck.
My favorites are the old 50s-70s issues I've found. But I'm still into all the technology so i keep it going. Would "embrace what's good in the future" be wasted on a traditional forum?....probably. I love both. I'll hate this post tomorrow when I'm sober. Sent from my SM-G900V using H.A.M.B. mobile app
Grew up reading Hot Rod so i still have a good feeling toward it but the truth is that mags just don't make sense to me anymore. You have the the content of 1,000,000 issues inside your computer for free. But for some reason i still have boxes of little books.
A recurring comment in this thread speaks to a lack of interest in current HRM but a commitment to pre 1980 issues as well as R&C. This speaks to HAMB readership as traditional, and rooted in 40's, 50s and 60s cars while HRM and other magazines have moved on and cater to later generations and their tastes. While I am interested in anything with wheels and an engine, my preferences are solidly with cars as they were "back when." A car built with traditional styling is in fact timeless and will always have appeal while trends, particularly those that are fabricated, will soon lose their interest and fade, like tweed interiors and splash graphics. On my wall is a framed poster "blown up" from the Terry Cook mocumentary cover of "Sheep Rodder" magazine with the herd of 32 Ford roadsters driving off a cliff. It was a birthday present from my daughter. Brings a smile to my face every time I see it. I got a matching tee shirt from Terry at the Louisville NATS one year when he was showing his Zephyr customs. (I love Zephyrs and Continentals.) As my tag states, there's no arguing taste. The unifying theme among car people is love of the motor car (bike, air plane, etc) and we're all free to do our thing and admire the effort and craftsmanship others have invested in their creations. We HAMBers just do it from a traditional perspective.
Something you have to take into account....the traditional car story in the magazine world has been done literally to death, with no room for revival. They have to move on to what their market is to survive, same thing for the motorcycle world. I can't even begin to identify with the current trends, give me a pan or shovel any day, in the car world, in the day 400 horse was huge power with the required funds to acheive it. Common in pickup trucks now, the world has changed for us old bastards.
I still occasionally read (look) through HRM. In addition to the comments already posted, a few years ago they changed the font size to (I assume) save money by needing fewer pages. For someone with more vision issues than just aging eyes, I have a tough time reading it. It's not "mouse print" but it's tough to read for more than 5 or 10 minutes at a time. - EM
Their marketing plan seems to be to just keep lowering the price with special offers instead of improving the content. “Lose money on every issue but make it up in volume.” Didn’t work for newspapers either.
I haven't bought a car/truck mag since Al Gore invented the internet....................................
I’ve been subscribing since 1975 and have collected just about every issue. I like to keep up in what the current cars are about, but the most recent redo of the magazine has left a lot to be desired. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Hot Rod Magazine is a combination of Road and Track, Motor Trend, Muscle Car Mag., Four Wheeler, Car Craft ETC. I stopped reading when I went to my first NSRA Nat's in the early 1990's and there were more pages of motorcycle articles then Nationals coverage.
I’m not renewing. I’m tired of how to bolt on “bolt-on equipment “. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
My grandmother bought me a subscription for my birthday when I was 12 and kept it up as long as she was alive, I continued the sub for years then was sporadic with subscriptions but bought every issue. Kept all of them and still have what is left of them as I always had the idea I was going to have my own car guy reference library. Most of those got ruined by being stored in a shed that leaked. I learned a lot of what I know from the 60's and 70's articles but now don't have much use for a 100K + twin turbo mega hp engine I have no use for the rat rod crap they push That the fringe element seems to think is the hot lick. The last Street Rodder was a waste of coin for me in that the cover car has more money tied up in the one off "rims" than I will have in a couple of my projects that a 40 buck set of "wheels" and some paint will do fine on. I started with volume 1 # 1 on that rag and still have it in the mess in the shed. Again the articles are aimed towards pushing advertisers products rather than actually teaching guys how to accomplish something.
I don’t even pick it up off the news stand just to check it out, anymore. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Car Craft magazine is in the same shitter as Hot Rod. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
The old watch word was they feature cars that we can all strive to obtain/build....bull hockey! I have serious thoughts of letting my Street Rodder go the way of Hot Rod and Motor Trend.......just don't have anything for the little guy anymore!
I buy the old little mags sometimes when I see some for sale . Fortunately my Dad has all the little mags from back in the fifties and had subs of all the rod and circle track racing mags for decades and still gets a few. It's fun to look at the 50's mags and prices on speed items.