Kudos! I notice no replies since your "put up or shut up" type remark lol. I don't spend a lot of time posting here, but I do notice a lot of negativity until it comes time to post pics of what you own or have built.
LOL! How does owning or building a car make one more qualified to comment on what they would like to see in a magazine? Last time I checked TRJ was a product being sold to a consumer for money and IMO anyone who has purchased a copy has the right to state what they do and don't like about that product regardless of what is in their garage. I think TRJ is the best car mag on the planet but it doesn't mean there are things I wouldn't like to see changed. I personally think they do an OK job at covering Customs which are my preference and would (as I know others would as well) like to see that change to doing a great job like they do with the history and hotrod aspects of the magazine. One can like something and still want to see it improve. Finally unless TRJ is losing money every month we do pay the bills by buying the mag and supporting their advertisers.
Utter nonsense. I know I don't have the experience, talent or time to build one like them (Ha! see my avatar!) but still, I know what I like, and I admire good craftsmanship when I see it. So I think I (and many others) are qualified to give their opinions on which nice builds inspire them.
Well said and all true. Without the newsstand buyer and subscribers TRJ would not of lasted the 15 years it has been published. The Mag is always improving and one of the reason is reader feedback. The Editor (Steve) will always feature what he sees fit. Personally I'd like to see more historic Hot Rod and Custom features but as it is I am happy to continue to purchase TRJ with what they feature each issue.
I gotta say. It ain't about the car. It ain't about the story. I gotta believe. It's about who's who and the money. Period.
With ANY hot rod publication... there is always going to be things you like about it, and things you don't. Just pass over the boring "Blah-blah grew up in Blah, Blah and couldn't afford to build a Blah back when President Blah was in office. But now after raising a family and becoming the CEO of Blah Corporation he enlisted Blah Blah to build the iconic hot rod you see on these pages. Blah built the car as if the axiom existed that it would be possible for the car you see on these pages to be owned by a foreman working for Boeing in 1951 and had networked through an imaginary set of aligning planets that allowed this one person to actually know that many world craftsmen in 1951 that had access to the required skills and machinery to pull off such a build. After winning a bunch of shows with it, Blah plans on driving it." stories and there is some REALLY good stuff in TRJ. It's kinda like having to walk an entire swap meet to find that one part you've been looking for... it's worth it when you look back at the experience. Sam
In the end, TRJ is owned by ONE GUY who ultimately decides what gets into HIS magazine. As readers, we are all lucky to have Pat G. Greg Sharp, and Spence Murray there writing about the customs. I would bet those guys have a lot of influence on getting them in there, as TO ME, Steve seems to be a pretty hard core rodder, and not really into customs. It sounds like the same arguement that comes up in Rod & Custom....Why aren't there more customs featured? Because the rod to custom ratio on the street isn't 50/50, so why should the magazines???
I don't believe that I have ever seen any evidence of that... Seems allot of the cars in TRJ are home built efforts, Just very nice home built efforts.
My Deuce roadster was on the "B" cover and featured in TRJ #10 . "I am not a bucks up guy". My car was painted in my garage by me, chassis and related hardware done by me. I have to build my own engines to keep cost down. I do farm out interior and transmission work. I was really honored and happy to have been featured. My point being, this mag covers a wide spectrum of the car world. No magazine will ever make everybody happy, but I think TRJ does a damn good job. I am not a big customs guy. If an issue has a lot of customs, I go with it because the next issue will probably lean in another direction. I think the TRJ staff does a great job and once again, I was thrilled to be part of their magazine. Chris Staneck.
You can always tell when an issue of TRJ has just hit the stands or about to. The HAMB gets treated with a rerun of the same old + - posts and in the end we get whatever Steve Coonan decides what we should see/read. Hope he never decides to step down because if he does the quality of the magazine will go down when he shuts the door behind him. It's amazing that the magazine still exists when there are so many around that could do a much better job. Frank
Having been through a photo shoot at Rodders Journal I can attest to the painstaking effort put into that magazine. They still shoot film and run down to the photo lab after every angle setup. Drove me crazy but the results speak for themselves. There is an old saying, "the dogs bark in the night, but the wagons roll on"
Fab 32, how about a rundown on what you would publish in a magazine. I'm sure you could promote a successful magazine that would please all. Please tell as we all value your opinion. I'm sure Steve Coonan could use your advice.
Yeah. I probably shouldn't have said that. I recently had this experience and its all a little too fresh. I'm shutting my mouth.
Classy reply. Classier yet, and after being criticized. No class at all. You don't have to like the car, and it may not fit YOUR ideology, but a HAMB member built this car in his garage and had a few well-known individuals PRAISE his work. No need to berate his creation. If you think it'd be better on a Kaiser chassis build one yourself in a one car garage in three years and let us pick it apart.
If I could send a message to TRJ and they would have to follow it... it would be: DON'T CHANGE A DAMNED THING! I have no idea what goes into doing a feature, but I know they do it VERY well consistantly. I have quite a few issues and I think the coverage overall is way above the bar. I learn something every issue. No matter what they do, there's always going to be someone or a group who feels they didn't do something to please just them. Well, get over it. I like the surprise I get when I open it up. The surprise comes from not knowing what they are covering. I think they do a great job at covering all aspects of the hobby. If they did an all customs issue, the beef would be that they missed one. Shit, I like T buckets, but I wouldn't want to see an all T issue. TRJ doesn't look to be going out of print anytime soon, so the best is likely yet to come. Give 'em time.
That would be an interesting article . you could enhance that feature with one on Roy Fjastad , who, under the banner of Speed Products Engineering built several of the chassis that Hanna did the bodies on . Roy was also the first to build an aftermarket '32 frame , he started the Deuce Factory , and has been a stalwart and record holder at bonneville for many years. There's lots of history in him . I will say that I have always enjoyed TRJ , some issues more than others .
The Journal typically features about four cars an issue. That comes out to only 16 cars a year. That's it. Sixteen. Think about that. They get enough unsolicited material every month to last them for the next twenty years.... Consider the mix of stuff that they do. Our hobby covers a crap load of genres... Coonan has a formula that he follows for his magazine, and he tends to follow it pretty closely for the most part. Attempting to feature cars that haven't been in other magazines is one thing they do well. When you consider the amount of ink that Doane Spencer's, the Gypsy Rose, and several other cars mentioned in this thread have had, what information can they add that hasn't already graced the pages of another magazine? Some issues will always be better than others. You can't please everyone all the time.
Thank you very much...I appreciate all the kudos... From this: To this in 'only' 5 short years...!!! R-
The Jalopy Journal
