Source Interlink bought a virtual monopoly on automotive titles. The "business model" they continue to follow, worked well in the 80's, not quite as well in the 90's. Having to file for Chapter 11 protection in 2009 should have told them they were headed in the wrong direction. The world has changed, the market has changed. So, do they change with the times ? Or business as usual ?
Yeah I get that. As for changing with the times that's pretty much what they like to do and or follow a trend. Been doing that since the begining. That's what they're built to do. Follow and report on the industry as a whole. My thing in they still lack decent content on features. Very few photos that actually show what they are talking about. Most of the time the writing is decent just the visual stuff is lacking. I actually enjoy most mags in and around ninety percent of the time. But there seems to be more months that are full of really boring stuff that has little to do with me and the rest. I do like seeing the high end builds but I also like seeing some of the more (real budget) low end stuff too. I think Hot Rod has finally started to come back to the gray area they belong in. I'm just worried that it will get nixed in a short fall. I can't say I see it going away but I do feel it will tone down some, mostly because things have toned down in general. Thanks again.
The magazines started out documenting what was already happening, and spreading this information. Eventually, they started influencing popular taste and trends. Then they became puppets, pushing products for advertisers.
I subscribe to magazines more for the tech side of it. Besides 5000 ways to build a small block, there have been a few magazines outlining chopping a top, or maybe a Mustang 2 ifs swap or whatever. But since I've been lurking around here, and seeing the progress reports posted by some of the builders, this place blows the mags away. It's one thing to see a nice car at a show, and another to see how the builder went about building it as you do here. This is a "two thumbs up" to all who have shown their how-to builds here! I may be old, but I'm still learning.
I think that before you consider writing anything in the way of an article, you should take some spelling or grammar lessons. Or at least learn to use the computer program or function that does it for you. If you sent me anything written like the above post, I would quickly hit delete or possibly say thanks but no thanks.
i just love literay experts, especially from a forign country where the primary language is not american english or even THE KINGS ENGLISH from mother england. that is like me telling a doctor how to practice medicine and i am a welder by trade.
He is location is listed as Alberta, which is a province in Canada. The capital of Alberta is Calgary, which is only 432 miles from your location in Spokane Washington. Canada has two official languages, English and French. The vast majority of Canadians speak English only. Actually, aside from the spelling of a few words, Canadian English has more in common with American English, than the King's or Queen's English.
Not sure if your brave or stupid....surley you've heard the jingle and are aware they brag about " special sauce" ? No way I'm sending any food back no matter whats wrong with it, if it's bad I just don't go back. I get a bunch of different mags...helps keep me regular ... they all cater to different groups within the car hobby ( yeah theres more to the car hobby than trad rods ) and I like to stay in touch with all the different trends. Hot Rod it seems tries to stay on top of all trends rather than doing just one thing well. But I think it does a good job covering the "general" hobby, and setting new trends ( Power Tour, Drag Week etc ) and inovating new technology like you tube and other social networking. As for the Ads, I've been reading mags for 45 years and theres been Ads in them for as long as I can remember. Ads are what keep the mags affordable, think about any mags you see that don't have them and what they cost, like Rodders Journal for instance, very little Ads but the cost is much higher than Hot Rod. And it's not because of the quality ( which it goes without saying is excellent ) it's because they don't have advertisers or articles pushing advertisers products to help pay the bills. While I like RJ, I don't know if I could afford to buy too many mags if they were all like that. And of course that would leave me constipated...and thats not good for anybody.
The average age of their readers continues to climb- yet they insist in printing over photos and using reverse type- very hard to read when you are over 40. Just one more example of the magazines being out of touch.
I'd like to see more how to do it articles, and not how to turn my LS1 into an LS13 for $59.95. I can't remember the last time I saw an article on suspension theory or how to do simple upholstering stitches or a good article on how to establish the width of axle and wheel spacing on a closed fendered car or truck. Maybe a discussion on the significance of the number of cc's of volume in a head. I'm a self taught hot rodder. The last thing I needed this month in Hot Rod was a comparison of Daisy Duke to Frog. Let's leave that sort of thing in Pre Pubescent Male Quarterly.
Iron Horse is very bad for that. Real small fonts, poor color choices (brown letters on black) etc. Difficult to read, some of the ads are impossible.
Wanna make magazines better? DROP THE ADVERTISERS WHO DON'T HAVE THE READER'S BEST INTEREST AT HEART! Case in point, look at the Jalopy Journal. See any advertisers or vendors for Viagra, Chinese junk, etc.... No, of course not. Each one is screened and approved by Ryan. (I suppose) I'd spend a little more for a mag without the Hoffmann Group ads and the teddy bear ads in the back. Makes more room for car folk's ads, I get no mags now, do my reading on the internets here.
As for the ads I just wish that there was a limit to them. I realize they help put food on the table for the magazine market guys. If you remember David of Hot Rod left to focus on a internet deal. It tanked. Then came back because in many ways he's the old hand of Hot Rod. He's the guy whole helped put the magazine back together. Then you get to Car Craft which to me was sort of the "poor guys hot rod." Now it's almost crap. Street Rodder lost me a long time ago. I used to love it but as much as I liked it Idisliked it. Custom Rodder I enjoyed but it got killed. I could go on. My thing is I want to see the mags respond to us in a way that helps the industry. I admit with the economy it's hard for a mag to steer different. Yeah I didn't care for the whole Duke boys versus Bandit thing either. Found it boring. Waste of space. Could of gave us some more dare to be different stuff really. Oh well. Thanks again.
I like Ol Skool Rodz and Car Culture Deluxe. They always have a bunch of tech articles, and their advertisers (apart from the clothing ads) seem pretty well geared towards cars.
Other than the HAMB, (which gives more 'Tech for the buck' than any magazine ever could) I spend more time trolling through my collection of 40's, 50's, and 60's car mags when I'm looking for traditional tech articles, features, etc.
they have to try and be "all things to all people". i still buy them. i'm not taking my computer in the bathroom.
The Jalopy Journal
