duncanmartin
Club Retro Rides Member
Out of retro ownership
Posts: 1,320
Club RR Member Number: 70
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I loved Retro Cars - I think I have every issue until the recent re-invention away from modified cars. I've just subscribed to PPC because though it's a bit thin, I want to read every word of the content. I rarely go into newsagents (or even shops!), so if I don't subscribe to stuff I simply don't read magazines. The other subscription I have is to Rouleur, which is an 8 times a year cycling magazine. It's expensive, and there are often articles that just pass me by, but the quality is exceptional and the photography is amazing. Plus I like their podcast, and I'm always more inclined to subscribe to things where I've enjoyed their free content for a while.
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Practical classics have a way of writing and a great diversity of cars, I couldn’t imagine life without it I don’t like Bauer media’s tactics , lying about free gifts on subscriptions, we fell into that one! I just buy the mag at smiths every month There’s not been one bad editor on that mag since I started buying it back in 85 And the restoration of cars are superbly written and photographed I’ve saved this months copy for Saturday afternoon beer in hand in the garden I was lucky enough to meet Danny Hopkins at Shotley last summer and can confirm that he is as pleasant and enthusiastic about all things Classic/Retro as comes across in his writing. Lovely bloke, so it's no surprise PC is doing well. I never bothered to look at Modern Classics so I can't say I will miss it...
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briang
Part of things
Posts: 80
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Alternative Cars ? That's an old Peter Filby magazine from way back. Certainly was. Took a while to find a copy of one...... Brian.
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,712
Club RR Member Number: 34
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Whilst that may be the case, I would be tempted to argue that the technology and availability of that skillset is a lot cheaper these days. There are hobbyists out there now putting out high-quality photos using cheap tech and software. You didn't have that back then. I would cite that as one of the (many) nails in the coffin of print publications though. Enthusiastic amateurs happy to be paid in kudos and exposure rather than cold hard cash, which greedy publishers lap up putting good, experienced journos and Togs out of a job. Problem is it shows up in the copy. I stopped buying magazines when they started being written by people who I know know less about a subject than I do. You may be able to convince someone else who also knows curse word all about said car that you know more than they do, but when you’re speaking to experienced owners and specialists, trying to write articles from an inexperienced viewpoint is futile and frankly, embarrassing.
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cjj
Part of things
Posts: 275
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Whilst that may be the case, I would be tempted to argue that the technology and availability of that skillset is a lot cheaper these days. There are hobbyists out there now putting out high-quality photos using cheap tech and software. You didn't have that back then. I would cite that as one of the (many) nails in the coffin of print publications though. Enthusiastic amateurs happy to be paid in kudos and exposure rather than cold hard cash, which greedy publishers lap up putting good, experienced journos and Togs out of a job. Problem is it shows up in the copy. I stopped buying magazines when they started being written by people who I know know less about a subject than I do. You may be able to convince someone else who also knows curse word all about said car that you know more than they do, but when you’re speaking to experienced owners and specialists, trying to write articles from an inexperienced viewpoint is futile and frankly, embarrassing. That, to me, is what I felt Modern Classics was. I didn't really get the feeling there was much passion or knowledge involved, and it really grated on me.
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squonk
Part of things
Posts: 858
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Practical classics have a way of writing and a great diversity of cars, I couldn’t imagine life without it I don’t like Bauer media’s tactics , lying about free gifts on subscriptions, we fell into that one! I just buy the mag at smiths every month There’s not been one bad editor on that mag since I started buying it back in 85 And the restoration of cars are superbly written and photographed I’ve saved this months copy for Saturday afternoon beer in hand in the garden I used to think that way about it too but after being a loyal reader for 20+ years a couple of months ago I cancelled my subscription. There were a number of reasons for this: In some ways it has become like Clarkson era top gear, a stale re-hash of many things that they have done before. In particular the once very interesting and and entertaining road trips have become repetitive and predictable. A lot of the feature cars don't interest me with many being a long way from 'practical' with some very big budget costs in their restorations. Some of the feature cars fall into the affordable and practical category but not enough to justify the magazines title. I found a lot of the technical advice poor (in particular the electrical features). Are the questions actually real? In many cases thirty seconds with Google would have produced better answers than the magazine had given. Often the new tools featured seem to be ridiculously expensive for what are basics or tools that fall into the 'use once and put away forever' category. It would be far more 'practical' to show readers how to get around jobs that need special tools. The interesting editorial to advert content ratio had become appalling. It seemed that I was 'buying' a magazine of paying adverts with very little else. The final nail in the coffin was taking on Jimmy De Ville as an occasional contributor. How can any magazine be taken seriously if it associates itself withe the perfectly groomed hipster that was one of the main driving forces in the dreadful Goblin Works Garage? Having been a loyal reader for so long it was a difficult decision but in all honesty at that point I was out!!
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Last Edit: Aug 8, 2020 9:42:46 GMT by squonk
2004 Chevrolet Avalanche Z71 2005 Mercedes CLK320 Cabriolet 1996 Mercedes C180 Elegance Auto Saloon 1996 Rover 620Ti (Dead fuel pump) 1992 Toyota HiLux Surf 1987 Range Rover Vogue (Rusty) 1992 Range Rover Vogue SE (More Rusty) 2006 Chrysler Grand Voyager 2008 Corsa 1.4 Design
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fogey
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,591
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I was once told by someone working on a magazine that the editor of that magazine had been given the job because he 'had previously owned a Morris 1000' and in the eyes of the publishers was therefore 'the ideal candidate' . . . . .
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retrolegends
Club Retro Rides Member
Winging it.....Since 1971.
Posts: 3,714
Club RR Member Number: 94
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I used to subscribe to Octane and found it really interesting even if most, if not all of the stuff featured was totally out of my league. I just found in the end that I wasn’t getting the time to sit down and read it anymore so I now stick to this forum and a few FB groups for my fix, cheaper and less time consuming. In all honesty I can’t see much of a future for anything printed be it mags or newspapers. Shame really but pretty much everything you need to know is already out there on the web I still get the odd phone call or email to resubscribe for ridiculously cheap prices but never bother taking them up.
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1974 Hillman Avenger 1500DL1992 Volvo 240SE1975 Datsun Cherry 100a flying custard1965 Hillman SuperMinx Rock N Roller1974 Austin Allegrat Mk1 1.3SDL1980 Austin Allegro Mk3 1.3L1982 Austin Allegro Mk3 on banded steels2003 Saab 9-3 Convertible 220bhp TurboNutter1966 Morris Minor 1000 (Doris) 2019 Abarth 595C Turismo (not retro but awesome fun) www.facebook.com/DatsunCherry100a
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stealthstylz
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 14,833
Club RR Member Number: 174
Member is Online
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From my perspective the reason I don't buy magazines is because they're a bit pointless. Even if the writing is good they can't deliver enough content in a workable way to match the web in any way. I stopped buying them when they went all arty farty with the photos. Arty farty photos are fantastic on a screen big enough to look at them properly. In a 2x1 magazine photo it's just pointless. However if they don't do the arty farty photos people complain that it looks cheap. They're stuck between a rock and a hard place really. When you're up against YouTube or similar where you can basically get the same "story" and more technical content as a magazine feature, but with videos of it moving, sound and all through a big screen TV, for free I'm surprised people still go to the trouble of making them.
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I used to subscribe to Classic Ford back in it’s hay day of the early-late 00’s. After that prices went up and money being spent on feature cars skyrocketed and I stopped buying. I’ve always purchased Practical Classics every now and then from being an 7/8 year old! I’ve been a subscriber for the past 5-6 years as it’s nice to take a brake from staring at a screen all day long and I do find it a good read.
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Ive probably bought 2 or 3 mags in the last 10 years, and I think they were all Custom car Mag, and only because there was something interesting or unusual on the cover. You could probably spend 1/2 hr digging through this site and find more interesting cars than a years worth of most mags. As stealth said with youtube as well youve got plenty of proper enthusiasts doing exactly what they want, which is more than likely going to be exactly what we want. The net has changed things so much, and developed to a point now where mags simply arnt necessary. Even Argos have stopped making catalogues after almost 50 years.
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I think the magazine business is becoming a bit like the music scene. So at the general consumer end of the market paying customers are staying away in their droves because they can get the same content for free online. But there still seems to be a market for the more high quality collectors item type magazines, just as enthusiasts are still willing to shell out £20 for a vinyl album.
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skinnylew
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 5,546
Club RR Member Number: 11
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Having read the responses here i was pondering to myself why i still read magazines and buy a newspaper every day. I think for me its nice to not be staring at a screen or putting in the work to find click, scroll, be distracted by adverts etc A magazine or newspaper i can put down and pick up at will, is just more relaxing to read and more enjoyable, especially in a comfy chair in the garden with a beer in hand
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Having read the responses here i was pondering to myself why i still read magazines and buy a newspaper every day. I think for me its nice to not be staring at a screen or putting in the work to find click, scroll, be distracted by adverts etc A magazine or newspaper i can put down and pick up at will, is just more relaxing to read and more enjoyable, especially in a comfy chair in the garden with a beer in hand Printed catalogues and parts lists are far quicker to use than ones om a screen, especially if you're not sure what you are looking for. I rarely buy magazines now for a number of important reasons: the splitting of general magazines into increasingly specialist ones - I'm never going to buy a VW mag, but do like to see occasional articles; modern tech has made it easier to publish material, but it still needs to be well written, photographed and arranged on quality paper; I've been reading car mags for 40 years, so new and interesting content is pretty rare. Octane is one of the few that's interesting enough for me to consider because it consistently manages most of these things
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tdk
Part of things
Posts: 958
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Conversely, I am thoroughly enjoying buying old 60s-80s mags off eBay. Foreign car stuff is particularly interesting, even if I can't always read it well enough to understand everything. Got some Russian 70s mags coming soon, the photography is beautifully shabby.
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Got some Russian 70s mags coming soon, the photography is beautifully shabby. Stick to posts about car magazines please! The main reason I like magazines is that you can completely switch off. I move my phone to another room and just sit and read without distractions. If I try to read on line magazines I just end up getting distracted by links or other sites etc. I can read a magazine word for word without skimming but find myself skimming whole paragraphs if reading articles on line. That might just be my lack of attention keeping skills though!
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Challenging,historically I used to be a huge advocate for printed media. The long since demised CCC and Rallysport were regular reads, Custom Car and Street Machine likewise and it covered a nice array of vehicles/articles over those four publications. More recently Land Rover Owner was a more regular read
I gradually drifted away, even prior to the explosion on the web, as I felt the content failed to appeal, or the adverts became an excessive influence on the articles.
It is sad, particularly as HW outlined on line archives are lost through expired domains & hosting packages, but that is progress and not essentially positive.
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2014 - Audi A6 Avant 3.0Tdi Quattro 1958 - Chevrolet Apache Panel Truck 1959 - Plymouth Custom Suburban 1952 - Chevrolet 2dr Hardtop 1985 - Ford Econoline E350 Quadravan 2009 - Ovlov V70 2.5T 1970 - Cortina Mk2 Estate 2007 - Fiat Ducato LWB 120Multijet 2014 - Honda Civic 2.2 CTDi ES
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Having read the responses here i was pondering to myself why i still read magazines and buy a newspaper every day. I think for me its nice to not be staring at a screen or putting in the work to find click, scroll, be distracted by adverts etc A magazine or newspaper i can put down and pick up at will, is just more relaxing to read and more enjoyable, especially in a comfy chair in the garden with a beer in hand Exactly this. I've been buying magazines every month for years, I enjoy the process. Waiting for the latest mag to drop through the letterbox or appear on the shelves, the anticipation of cracking it open. Feels much more personal and enjoyable. Fair enough, sometimes there is a little disappointment in the content, but it doesn't detract from the anticipation of next month! I buy probably 5 mags a month, and have 2 subscriptions. Sad to say though that a couple have gone by the wayside recently, amalgamated into other titles. Classic Truck, you'll be missed!
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1982 Granada 2.8 Ghia X - SOLD ☹️ 1976 Mini Clubman Estate - Getting there slowly.
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I used to subscribe to Octane and found it really interesting even if most, if not all of the stuff featured was totally out of my league. I used to get this, on the cheap short subscription offers. I also found that I'd get it, have a quick scan through, put it on one side but never come back to it. Even at a pound an issue, it's a bit of a waste. I also went off it a bit when it became a matt finish as the photography is one of its best features and it lacked a little after that. I also can't bring myself to get rid of them, so I have to consider space. Have we also noted that Classic Motor Monthly has gone? I must admit I only pick it up at autojumbles but I've found some useful suppliers in there that I hadn't seen elsewhere. And the carrier bags were handy. www.classicmotor.co.uk/welcome-classic-motor-monthly
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