Folks Of Interest Rob gone from Rod & Custom

Even though we complain about the magazines, nowaxn5 hit the nail on the head.
There is nothing better than being featured in a magazine except seeing it on the cover at the news stand!

 

Is Kev George Elliot's son?


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Way to go for Kev Elliot does great articles on R&C ,but don't know about the Jeff Smith deal at Car Craft think that is mistake.Back in the day the Car Craft Street Machine Nats Jeff was the guy.Hate to see him go

 

Mary Anne Evans, "It's never to late to be what you might have been" - That George Eliot?

 

Refering to George Elliot who was editor of PHR for man years. George is the son of Ed Elliot, one of the pioneer ad guys in the speed equipment business.


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I guess I am still a print person at heart. I have never found reading my favorite mag's online to be as satisfying. With subscriptions so cheap, I don't see a reason not to get the six I get - and it is one little bit to help keep the print versions financially viable.

All of the guys who got cut were respected, but it is really hard to wrap my mind around Car Craft without Jeff Smith. I'm about to turn fifty and have been obsessed with cars since, well . . . birth. I can't ever remember a time he wasn't there.

Life in the business world. I can say I have both taken the bullet, and pulled the trigger in corporate downsizing. Most have experienced the former in some form, but few have been on the other side. I can assure those who haven't that both days equally vie for worst day of my career honors.

Thinking through the dollars and cents, I wonder if we might see those same names on articles in the same mag's as freelancers. The 'we can't afford to own you anymore, but we will buy your output" theory. Hmmm.

 

I agree...but 50 ears from now that wont be issue. It's sad...<object width="1" height="1" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="undefined" value="http://lovesmileys.com/f2/3/swatch_white.swf" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="http://lovesmileys.com/f2/3/swatch_white.swf" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed width="1" height="1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://lovesmileys.com/f2/3/swatch_white.swf" undefined="http://lovesmileys.com/f2/3/swatch_white.swf" allowScriptAccess="always" allowscriptaccess="always" /></object

 

Harrison nailed it. Rod and Custom, as it stands now, feels so commercial that it's nauseating. This will be my last renewal unless something changes drastically.

As of late, it seems that you need $$$ in equipment before you attempt anything in the tech articles. I much prefer, as others have stated, to flip through my old hot rod magazines from the 50's - 60's to get actual tech for the garage builder.


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You got that right Rick.

 

It seems like R&C does a "major housecleaning" about every 5 years or so. It wasn't long ago another former HAMBer was shown the door. Sad for these guys though, since they have been with these publications for so long and were dumped like a "newbe writer". Seems thats the way of corporate America now. Many people also CHOOSE to jump jobs every couple years though too. The days of spending your entire career with the same company just don't exist any more.

 

That's pretty much the way I look at it too. For the entertainment the mags provide you can't beat the price, sometimes you even learn something.

 

I can pretty much GUARANTY you this will happen

 

I think it's a shame Rob got let go, he's been doing an excellent job in my opinion. My hope is that his replacement continues on a similar path. My BIGGEST hope is that they keep Aaron Kahan. The layout & design of R&C is beautiful ... without question the best looking magazine out there besides The Journal.

 

I subscribe to Hot Rod, Rod & Custom, Street Rodder & buy Hot Rod Deluxe and Traditional Rod & Kulture off the shelf.
Nothing is like thumbing thru the pages a magazine on the couch, out in the garage or on the throne. The web is cool but I still feel like a kid when my rags arrive in the mail.
Sorry about the guys that were let go. When I ate breathed & lived muscle cars, Jeff Smith was THE guy at CC and Hot Rod. Hope they find something better. I support these mags as they are part of the hot rod scene.

 

I wish we could just bring back Steve Hendrickson and the Rodder's Digest. THAT was a car guy's magazine!

JH[/QUOTE]

I loved the Rodder's Digest and a few others that focussed on actually educating the reader on how to do things. Most of those types of mags disappear first after a year or two. I used to subscribe to a lot but got sick and tired of having the letter carrier treat them like junk mail and delivering them all beat up. Still buy a few out of habit but overall the quality of tech is way lower. Plus I don't want to experience a fully paid subscription vanishing because the mag went bust. I really should just re-read all of the back issues I have kept!

 

Yup. Seemed so appropriate, I couldn't resist.

 

From what I understand,from a good source that R&C mag is a done deal. I know a person that works for Mini Truckin and it is shutting down. several other mags are gone. All belong to Source Interlink Media.

 

In the sixties, R&C was shutdown and then emerged as an insert in HOT ROD. The insert actually had cover art and 12 to 16 pages of content. When Ray Brock and Tex Smith left Petersen to start STREET ROD ACTION, Pete brought R&C back to the news stands. I'm fuzzy on the dates, but I think it was late sixties or early seventies.

 

Good luck Rob! Enjoyed your time at R&C.

 

No surprise if R&C really is calling it quits. Anyone paying attention has seen that coming for the past 18 months.

JH

 

R & C was the first magazine I ever subscribed to. After a few issues, they "merged" with Hot Rod.

From the R&C website

"The Rod & Custom history includes a few stops and starts. In 1971, we published our farewell issue. A year later, Tom Medley, Bud Bryan, and Gray Baskerville revived R&C for two years, before it was absorbed into Hot Rod Magazine (from 1974 to 1981, HR's logo read, "Combined with Rod & Custom "). Rod & Custom came back as a bimonthly magazine at the end of 1988 and went monthly in 1993. We're not planning on closing up shop again."

The whole story, and source of above quote, is here:

http://www.rodandcustommagazine.com/thehistoryof/135_0305_rod_and_custom_first_50_years/

 

As I see it the car related mag's have gone down hill for a while now it seems that the rags have more than half the pages dedicated to adds from vendors than to tech and car photos or some featured car is more of an infomercial than a real story. I think the decline in subscriptions are due to this as well as internet info availability. I canceled my mag subscriptions because of the adds and infomercials.

 

Get ahold of the older issues of any nationally distributed car mag (Hot Rod, R&C, Car Craft).
I'm thinking of stuff that was published in the mid 50s to early 70s.

The writing, especially the tech articles was first rate. The overall level of technical "how to" writing of today is a complete joke compared to what it used to be. That's why I'm letting all my subs, with the possible exception of Hot Rod expire. To my eye HR still has good stuff occasionally, but no where near the consistent quality they used to have.

Is this a result of corporate sell out to the advertisers, or is it simply a reflection of how the world around us is today? Dunno...at my age don't much care, but I'm glad I was around when things were different.

The internet, in many ways, is a lot like the old days of publishing. Although that's changing rapidly. How much longer before the net is totally controlled by the advertisers?

 

X2 Well said SeaDog

 

I'm sad we'll never see the completion of Rob's 34 sedan in R and C now. That car is going to be killer, maybe he'll start a build thread on the HAMB.

 

Unfortunately this happens all the time, and not just in the magazine business!

 

I quit buying mags too. I'll flip through them at the news stand and unless there is a good tech tip that I can learn something from Ill get it.

 

Ditto what seadog and wade57 said. I've seen as many Mustang II front ends and ididit steering columns as I can stand. I let my R&C, HRM and Street Rodder subscriptions lapse and haven't missed 'em one bit. Hot Rod Deluxe is pretty good but even it aint the same w/o Dave Wallace. I only get Rodders Journal and Cruisin News now - fewer magazines= more time in the shop.
I find the real tech nuggets and entertainment in the old magazines I get at the swap meets these days. The writing is better although there were fewer pictures in tech articles. The early to mid 60s Bonneville LSR wars, Indy cars and drag race stuff was incredible and Baskerville, Huntington and their colleagues did a great job.
Hate to see print media fade away though, most of the online crap is no substitute.

 

This is the bottom line right here!!
Sooooooooo many guys have done this for a long time and are making a fair wage but when someone figures out that they can have Joe Smo do it for a 1/3 of the cost Bang your out!! Who cares if the new guy don't know squat. it's all about the bottom line. They are not doing it for free ya know!!!

 

it IS all about the bottom line , the magazine has to make money to exist