I am famous

[dieselnutjob]

or rather my 604 is.

 

This months Practical Classics.

[Lacquer Peel]

Is that the group test? It's a bloody lovely car.

 

Horrible journalism though, why do they always resort to hackneyed stereotypes of the original owners? I'd rather read about what the cars are like to drive.

[richardmorris]

Spoke to a journalist from PC today( didn't get his name though). Seemed genuinely enthusiastic about old cars- and Citroen dyanes in particular.

[danthecapriman]

or rather my 604 is.

 

This months Practical Classics.

I knew I'd seen that car somewhere on here! Couldn't remember who owned it though. Congrats! It's a lovely and rare old thing.

[trigger]

Spoke to a journalist from PC today( didn't get his name though). Seemed genuinely enthusiastic about old cars- and Citroen dyanes in particular.

He didn't have a big beard and look like a hippy?

[Christine]

Me too !  A distant relative  won a race at Goodwood Revival today !  

[D Spares & Tyres]

My old Corrina (bought off sheffieldcortinacentre made the front cover of practical classics.it looked tidy in the pics but was the worst car I ever owned, by a long margin!

[dollywobbler]

He didn't have a big beard and look like a hippy?

No. It'll be James the assistant editor. Owns a CX and his dad has a gorgeous yellow Dyane that he borrows a lot. Lot of love for Frenchies at PC though.

[Tamworthbay]

I think a couple of them use this forum,but don't know what usernames they use.

[stuboy]

im famous too... wanted on crimewatch

[andy18s]

I had my name read out on the local radio station once many moons ago.

Just after I had been knocked off my bike in the middle of Oswestry.The announcer gave my name out,and said that I'd died at the scene........

My mum wasnt too pleased to hear that as you can imagine.......

Well done on the magazine feature,I don't think I've every had a car worthy of such game

[richardmorris]

He didn't have a big beard and look like a hippy?

No not him!

 

Recently drove a dyane to France for the mag.

[michael1703]

Is that the group test? It's a bloody lovely car.

 

Horrible journalism though, why do they always resort to hackneyed stereotypes of the original owners? I'd rather read about what the cars are like to drive.

I struggle to be arsed to fix my cars, I can't imagine the misery of trying to write enthusiastic things about them.

 

The younger journalists haven't had the enthusiasm drained out of them and try harder and their blogs are interesting as they are young and stupid enough to be laying under a car in all weathers.

 

The middle aged journalists haven't the time and are too busy getting their jodpurred wife to a gymkhana and their 2.4 kids to prep school.

 

The older journalists are savvy but their writing has too many anecdotes and start most articles with miners strikes,3 day weeks and bitterness of how much money they lost on black Monday

 

I think these car journalists are out of energy for fixing cars by 30

[dieselnutjob]

My car was by far the worst looking one there, though one of the others I suspect has a fair bit of filler in it which the 604 doesn't.

 

They did appear to use the photos that make the cars look as good as is possible.

 

My car has the front left wing attached to the valance using a piece of biscuit tin self tapped over the gap.  The biscuit tin has almost rusted to the same brown as the rest of the car now.  They didn't show that.  They also didn't mention the point on the photo shoot when I couldn't move the car because it wouldn't idle well enough to get it into gear. 

 

The other owners didn't experience such issues.

[brickwall]

im famous too... wanted on crimewatch

 

 

Was that for driving a modern Vauxhall in daylight hours without a paper bag on your head contrary to the Road Traffic Act (vauxhalls) paragraph ix?

[Christine]

I was on Blue Peter and i kissed Sarah Green , no spit swapping though

[tooSavvy]

I had my name read out on the local radio station once many moons ago.

Just after I had been knocked off my bike in the middle of Oswestry.The announcer gave my name out,and said that I'd died at the scene........

My mum wasn't too pleased to hear that as you can imagine.......

Well done on the magazine feature,I don't think I've every had a car worthy of such game

 

Cos you weren't and, there she was, just off down to cash in the policy....

 

 

TS

[danthecapriman]

My car was by far the worst looking one there, though one of the others I suspect has a fair bit of filler in it which the 604 doesn't.

 

They did appear to use the photos that make the cars look as good as is possible.

 

My car has the front left wing attached to the valance using a piece of biscuit tin self tapped over the gap.  The biscuit tin has almost rusted to the same brown as the rest of the car now.  They didn't show that.  They also didn't mention the point on the photo shoot when I couldn't move the car because it wouldn't idle well enough to get it into gear. 

 

The other owners didn't experience such issues.

I'm fairly sure the Renault 30 featured is the one your on about ref the filler? If it's the one I think it is, it comes from Portsmouth near me and I see it fairly often and his other old Renault (20? I think?) it's still a brilliant car though and the guy seems to love it.

[Bear]

I think these car journalists are out of energy for fixing cars by 30

 

Nah. But you gotta think about how online/video has eroded the hardcore repair articles. People Google for the solutions. Forums are full of people who may not be writers, but they're good mechanics/bodywork/restorer people - you see really inspirational work done.

 

I had two moments of "fame" with my cars. One, during the fuel issues in 2000, where I was filmed filling up my Volvo 480 and appeared on Border telly news, and then around the same time, but with floods, they'd filmed as I was driving the Jeep through a flood in the village I lived in. Mostly notable because there's a distinct "bounce" as I drive over the submerged kerb and flowerbed...

[dollywobbler]

I struggle to be arsed to fix my cars, I can't imagine the misery of trying to write enthusiastic things about them.

 

The younger journalists haven't had the enthusiasm drained out of them and try harder and their blogs are interesting as they are young and stupid enough to be laying under a car in all weathers.

 

The middle aged journalists haven't the time and are too busy getting their jodpurred wife to a gymkhana and their 2.4 kids to prep school.

 

The older journalists are savvy but their writing has too many anecdotes and start most articles with miners strikes,3 day weeks and bitterness of how much money they lost on black Monday

 

I think these car journalists are out of energy for fixing cars by 30

 

This is genuinely hilarious. Like motoring journalism pays enough for gymkhanas and prep schools! When I was a staffer, the biggest problem was not having the time. During the week, you're putting a magazine together. At weekends, you're often at shows or events collating content for the magazine you're now working on for the next five days. I struggled to find time, and we don't have the utter time thief that some call children. I will also say that people who can DO the technical AND write about it are very thin on the ground. Which is silly when you consider what stars we have on this (and other) fora. (I don't count myself as one of those by the way. I am to spanners what a monkey is to a submarine).

[Jim Bell]

This thread is crying out for pics of the car!

[michael1703]

This is genuinely hilarious. Like motoring journalism pays enough for gymkhanas and prep schools

I'm recounting on 25 odd years worth of PC etc, I haven't bought a car mag in ages

 

Uni students from monied families, journalism paid naff all but great aunt Bertha croaked it and gave some money from the sale of the country manor

[richardmorris]

I'm recounting on 25 odd years worth of PC etc, I haven't bought a car mag in ages

Uni students from monied families, journalism paid naff all but great aunt Bertha croaked it and gave some money from the sale of the country manor

Sounds more like classic cars etc than practical classics. I recently stopped subscribing to PC and classic cars as I didn't have time to read them. PC was focussing far too much ( in my opinion ) on British cars, not French Italian or German which I am interested in. Classic cars was zooming off into Ferrari, and Maserati every month. I'd subscribed to classic cars for 25 years but weren't interesting me any more.

[dugong]

Sounds more like classic cars etc than practical classics. I recently stopped subscribing to PC and classic cars as I didn't have time to read them. PC was focussing far too much ( in my opinion ) on British cars, not French Italian or German which I am interested in. Classic cars was zooming off into Ferrari, and Maserati every month. I'd subscribed to classic cars for 25 years but weren't interesting me any more.

Titles have taken flak off their readers for trying to move away from British chod, even though most of the staff cringe when yet another MGB feature looms.

The conspiracy theorists will rejoice on this one - classic car magazines are indeed funded by advertising revenue and that in turn determines some (but definitely not all) of the editorial content. The regulars like what they know and know what they like and kick off vehemently if editorial try and tackle other makes, models, and eras other than saloon cars from the 'Fifties and 'Sixties. The biggest insult of them all seems to be J*panese cars; I mean, they all arrived last week, didn't they, Mr Said?

 

All we need now is for some Internet 'tell it like it is' type to claim it's all a Wikipedia cut and paste exercise and I can strike my bingo card through. Chop, chop, iconoclasts.

[dugong]

Can I also put another missive to bed while we're here?

 

This one about every motoring journalist being independently wealthy and \ or 'coming from money': If keyboards could spit, there would be gob all over the screen. I know of no classic motoring types in the industry who are as 'disgustingly wadded' as these people seem to make out. The ones with a bit of cash appear to write as a sideline or for their own amusement. Those in it full time are more or less brassic, I assure you.

[michael1703]

Rimmer brothers and moss Europe are all lizards

[michael1703]

I'm talking about editors of car mags about 25 years ago, there may be contributors and people that write blogs on here but I'm not referring to them and I haven't heard of them or read anything by them either

 

Calm down dear, it's just the Internet

[dugong]

I'm talking about editors of car mags about 25 years ago, there may be contributors and people that write blogs on here but I'm not referring to them and I haven't heard of them or read anything by them either

 

Calm down dear, it's just the Internet

I know, the Internet is guff.

[Jim Bell]

I would'nt be a Journalist for all the tea in China. Horrible life. Up early every morning, riding around all day, shoveling shit and brushing the horse till after the sun goes down.

 

Oh no hang on, that's Jockeys.

[richardmorris]

My main reason for cancelling was a lack of time to read. Secondary was the model matter, although I suppose if there were more cars I could aspire to own then I'd have kept on subscribing. PC though did seem to be recycling the same mgb, herald, marina, gt6, feature every few years. Moving with the times, the equivalent of the practical classics of twenty /thirty years ago when the mag started are now the late 80s and 90s cars that many of us on this forum drive- Japanese and German models etc, but these aren't represented.

 

I think that last straw was another MGB article like you've said.