New Shite Magazine launched

[mrbenn]

No magazine sightage in Stockport yet. Am I the only one in town who can read?

 

For info, I got mine from Tesco at Handforth Dean. Likely the big Tesco near the M60 would have it if you found yourself out that way.

[dugong]

We have a copy of it at work. BECAUSE COMPETITION.

[Junkman]

For info, I got mine from Tesco at Handforth Dean. Likely the big Tesco near the M60 would have it if you found yourself out that way.

 

I shall enter the sacred halls of consume/obey/conform then.

[Jim Bell]

I've kept an eye out round here but haven't seen a copy anywhere.

[chaseracer]

^ Sir Thomas More bought it.

[Matt Byrne]

Hopefully it's in stock here in Plymouth.

 

I see the cars on the cover are getting a lot of hate, but as someone born mid-80s and reaching critical mass obsession in cars throughout the 90s, these are hero cars to me. The sort I'd read about in Performance Car and then Evo when it first launched. I appreciate seeing an old BL product as much as I do an M BMW with its rightful six, but what do most of those BL cars mean to me? Very little apart from appreciating seeing one.

 

I might like the Focus RS, but I expect the majority if asked would rather the latest 4WD RS that's about to come out, so already the first gen is a niche car in that regard. A lot of people view a car in the same way as they view their phones and chase the latest and greatest, so even now those cars on the cover are very old hat to many people.

[Mr Lobster]

Got it today. Not had a proper read but on brief first inspection it looks ok. It does seem to concentrate on purely performance stuff which is a bit of a shame and as above, the focus on values and investment potential grates a bit but looks ok enough otherwise.

 

Will be interesting to see how it develops.

[fordperv]

Can anyone remember the cover car for the first retro cars mag?

It was back then still out of the normal working mans price bracket and a proper aspirational car, that mag didn't flop.

This new mag will be worth a read in ten to twenty years so we can all complain about we should have bought one when they where cheep.

Iirc it was a yellow mk1 escort and a red dolomite, the title was powered by cosworth. The mag did flop though stopped print and got re introduced in 2008

[fordperv]

Yes it was I've just found a picture of it

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Retro-Cars-Magazine-July-2003/dp/B00IGUOX7M

[trigger]

I think I've got a copy of the first RC magazines somewhere. I bought Practical Performance Car magazine this month as a mates Mk3 Cortina is in it and I took the photos and got a mention in it. It cost me £4.50 and there was nothing of interest in it, I won't be buying that again.

[chaseracer]

PPC has always seemed like a club for self-appointed KOOL KIDZ, which is just about understandable for teenagers though just a shade disturbing in middle-aged men.  At the NEC some years ago i tried to engage the editor in conversation about his V8 Capri, but clearly my face didn't fit.

 

Mag avoided since.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

 

What about spares?

Why do I never read in a classic car magazine, that those replacement parts made in China are just 100% pure unadulterated shit?

Last time I changed the sparkle plugs on the Rover, it turned into a V7. Replaced the culprit plug with an old one, and it ran fine. Replaced it again with a new, new one, and it ran fine.

So one out of eight new plugs is useless.

Condensers. Maybe one out of three actually works properly. How about those carburetter floats, that are guaranteed to sink after being exposed to what they call petrol nowadays for a Month? Gaskets that don't seal, oil seals that don't stuff, thermostats that don't open, points that wear within ten minutes, plug leads that don't conduct electrickery, radiator hoses that can't handle hot water, bulbs that don't emit light, and on, and on, and on.

 

A friend of mine ordered a batch of SBC oil filters, because he only had one AC-Delco left. Despite them being advertised as ACs, he received Frams made in Taiwan.

He weighed them on his postal scale, they are about 60 grams lighter than the genuine article.

 

That Chinese rubbish isn't worth the boxes it's packed into. Someone oughta publish that!

 

 

 

This was (probably still is) the problem with Mini parts. I've not had a Mini for centuries but when you bought one of the main failure prone bits* in a BL box, it would be fine and last as long as the original. Aftermarket stuff was rubbish, utter shite. I wrote an article once about the possibility of BMW taking the BL Mini under their Mobile Tradition umbrella and supplying OE quality parts through the Rover and BMW dealerships. I was then warned not to go to any Mini shows by the then-editor of one of the Mini mags because apparently, the owners of two of the biggest Mini parts suppliers were baying for blood.

Not a month later, I helped a mate do a load of work on a 1984 Mini Mayfair. Engine mounts, an exhaust bracket and some other stuff. New parts all from one of these companies, and all complete shit that got sent back. 

 

Luckily I own cars made by a company that still supplies all the new parts to keep them running, have a mountain of used parts and can get most things from Euro Car Parts in Febi/Ate/Pagid etc boxes so don't have to suffer Chinese shit.

 

The trouble is, advertising is the life blood of car mags. When MINIPARTZ UK / MGPARTZ UK / TRIUMPHPARTZ UK have a triple page advert, you can't have a column saying how rubbish their stuff is even though you know it's shit and you'd be doing the reader a massive favour. A lose-lose situation.

[Bear]

That's not strictly true. I don't know about other writers, but as I'm pretty much "a product reviewer" in all the titles I write for, I can say that with CCW I've never been coerced or forced to run a news item or review due to advertising constraints. Anything I review, I am honest and fair, without looking for specific reasons to criticise - by which I mean, it's a damn sight easier to write hyperbolic, negative copy than it is to condense an accurate test into a tight space. Look at the readiness with which some outlets panned the MG3 - in some cases, with simply untrue statements - because it's very easy to go "This is all crap" when you think you can get away with it. It feels more interesting and exciting than reporting that yet another new product is astonishingly competent and what a magical age we live in where machines like this work so well and cost so little.

 

If something doesn't work as intended, I'll say so - firms don't get to vet what I write.

 

In the automotive sector I've been fortunate in that the products that come in for review have generally been fit for purpose, and some have been really innovative, clever and good value things. There's one review I can recall needing criticism, a book where the photography was inexplicably poor on one section - for a car that was probably the easiest to arrange to do properly, too.

 

In the camera sector I can think of several products I have criticised, including a complete annihilation of a compact from a major manufacturer that ran in BJP. The company still talks to me and still provides items for review.

[Jim Bell]

The missus bought me a copy from Tescos as a treat. You like old cars- she said sagely.

Correct woman.

Only read the last story inside rear cover thus far. I dig the retro texture of the materials though.

[UltraWomble]

Ordered a copy online as I cant find a copy locally.

Ordered on 28/9 - 9 days later & the Carrier pigeon delivering this still has not appeared, possibly been ambushed and eaten by ferral cats who even now are reading about Sierra XR4i's - so I cant proffer an opinion on whether I like it or not.

[sierraman]

I don't know about calling a car an investment. In comparison to money in the bank, they go wrong occasionally, require taxing, maintenance and fuel.

[Bear]

In fairness, so do banks these days

[Bear]

Cars as an investment can really only be practical either as fortunate finds and rapid flipping, or very long term view when you already have the storage and facilities. In some ways I'd see Autoshite as being at the forefront of the other kind of investment though - money and time invested in keeping cars from vanishing entirely, so that in 50 years there will still be some of the less hallowed models rumbling around and notable for nostalgic reasons.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

I've been keeping my eyes open for this in various supermarkets, just realised I haven't been in a newsagents for ages , and petrol stations- to no avail.

But, this morning a copy arrived in the post , apparently I completed a survey, probably through CAR as I get emails from them. They're going to email me for my opinion in a few days.

Initial thoughts are ;

Why is it printed on such nasty paper ?

Very much sporty* cars only.

The £50k super car article seemed at odds with the rest of the content- it could have been lifted from a recent issue of Evo.

560 SEC/928/635 article needed owners views etc, read like an ad .

Touring car feature a wasted opportunity - needed V6 Mondeo, Laguna,406, T5 etc sub £1k shootout.

Overall, 7 out of 10 ,would buy again,but a bit worried it might run out of potential content quite rapidly. Ie M5 and XJR this month and next.

[Bear]

Interesting, you don't like the paper? Cover, or the rest?

 

Personally I like it - I was surprised, but I like the matte cover and think that the overall weight/size is more appealing for something to actually carry and read, unlike the glossy 300-page doorstops. But then I'm also looking with an eye at the cover price - which again, personally, I think needs to stay at £2.99 rather than that being a launch promo.

So, I guess a question would be - £2.99 and paper/cover/pagination much as it is, or 50% more and glossy/heavier/increased pagination?

[NorfolkNWeigh]

It's probably my age but I love a 300 page glossy doorstop!

The only subscription I have anymore is to C&SC.

I assumed the £2.99 was an introductory price, if it stays this cheap I'll forgive it the lightweight matte paper, but if it ends up as a £4.95 Octane, Car,Evo rival then Id be surprised if I'm not the only one to find it wanting in the perceived quality stakes.

[Jim Bell]

"better than money in the bank" does appear a few times, which is odd.  Hope loads of people dont buy one of these BTMITB cars, then try to sell it in six months and end up with less money than they started with.

.................... irresponsible financial advice received from motoring journalist.  Class action. ALL THE SUES.

 

 

I've read most of it now.  Apart from the very modern specific stuff, which appeals the least (to me).

Some of it seems very broad if I'm honest.  The bit about Gen3 Golf GTis by Ant Antwells discusses marque lineage and his personal history than it does the specific model. 

 

The piece on the Xantia Activa was very good though.  Discussed the actual vehicle in question and was very interesting.  I didnt know these existed until I read the article.

 

I mustard mitt that the magazine in general is nowhere near as bad as I presumed it would be, so I'll probably buy it again.

[Station]

Soon at your favourite corner shop:

 

http://www.greatmagazines.co.uk/partnership/modernclassics?utm_source=ccfssolus&utm_medium=email&utm_content=mixeddata&utm_campaign=Modern_Classics_Bookazine

 

 

 

"We search 'top gear's favourite cars' in google and then we copy and paste editor's choice reviews off Pistonheads".

Is there no individual personal opinion in motoring journalism?

 

And can you just not put a Clio in there just to be a little but ironic and leftfield, for fuck's sake!? A Corrado??? 

[Bear]

Of course there's personal opinion - but really, think about it - how many times can I say the same things about, say, the W168 A-class before not only are people tired of reading about it, but I'm tired of saying it? Same goes for SLK, E-class, etc. - I'm passionate about those cars whether or not other people like them, but for the demands of a magazine and readers it can't be "SLK-monthly".

 

The popular cars are popular for a reason; but the Corrado I find interesting because outside of the VW Scene, it is a very forgotten car - Sciroccos were more of an iconic beast to the extent that VW resurrected the name, but the Corrado - it's a very narrow band of people who remember them. You know how most 30-40 somethings have a brainmelt when they see pictures of those pretty Mazda Luce coupés from the 1960s and early '70s, because we remember Japanese cars as dull, psuedo-American models until we get to hardcore car nerd status? 20-30 somethings are going to be like that for the Corrado. Likewise, 50-something car-aware people remember the Japanese coupés, but don't mark them with any significance because they also failed to get any sort of iconic status, unlike the 240Z or Toyota GT.

 

VW really suffered with the Mk 3 Passat and Golf. It was like they chose to alienate their existing customers and produce some pretty dull cars in the process, eclipsed by their predecessors. Meanwhile other marques got their act together nicely for that era - Rover's R8, Citroën's ZX and Xantia, Peugeot's 306 and 405, and BMW's E36 Compact all brought a bit of spark or quality to ranges which previously lacked such touches. Even Volvo got it - the 850 really was a great car at launch.

 

So there is individual opinion, but what also exists is consensus. You ask a bunch of car enthusiasts "Name a great lightweight hot hatch from 1998" and chances are, a few might say something like Integra or Fiat Punto Sporting 1.2, but most will opt for Peugeot 306 GTi6 or Rallye. "Oh look. A 306 in the hot hatches. Does it mention lift-off oversteer somewhere?" - but it's still true, it was one of the absolute greats, and affordable to many.

[forddeliveryboy]

Mostly though, I'm happy with dipping into back issues of CAR from the 1980s

 

 

 

What motivates people to pay to read what they already know?

 

I'd love if a magazine made a special effort - even if just a few pages an issue - to tell us something not readily available.

 

 

I do what Skizzer does. It used to stretch my brain as a teenager which was a draw, now it's the sheer quality of writing, volume of knowledge and lack of in-yer-face aggression which appeals. I also get given Motorsport, good for train journeys. It's probably the best motoring journalism available on a shelf.

 

If you supply the public with what they think they want, the results may be good for a while but chances are there'll be little loyalty. Plenty of what's written on this forum is way better quality and more informative than most motoring rags - how can they survive? Gawd only knows why the better Autoshite collection threads aren't reprinted in a rag, it's what I'd be looking to do as an editor.

[scruff]

That's not strictly true. I don't know about other writers....

 

Must depend on the companies in question, on both sides. If I had told the truth about the main advertiser/sponsor/cash cow of either of the two mags I staffed on, I would have been hugely rebuked - I saw it happen. Sucks, but there you go

 

Another massive fan of CAR from the '80s. The writing, the look, the era. I also very much enjoy 'The Automobile' as pre-war stuff increasingly floats my boat and it is a well-written and nicely produced magazine. 

[sierraman]

I'd still sooner read it than some bullshit like 'Nuts'

[forddeliveryboy]

Perhaps the problem lies with so many modern cars being like white goods? They're also optimised designs, drawn and assembled by computers/robots so there's less scope for user improvement. However, Autospeed shows that with someone with real knowledge, a lively mind and an ability to translate it into real world practicalities can make for really good reading, even if you don't go out and modify your car.

 

Writing about a product which had begun to stop evolving by the 80s isn't easy, but perhaps this fact alone opens up a whole area for scribes to pontificate on? For all the crassness of BBC's TG, the presenters often oozed passion and enthusiasm, which seems to be lacking in most modern motoring magazines, perhaps it's uncool?

 

Some of my favourite reading back in around 1990 was when all the CAR staffers drove a number of cars back-to-back, each giving their opinion. A bit pointless perhaps but to someone who'd yet to drive most of these cars, really interesting reading. But there were some truly huge characters then, whose words leapt off the page and made these machines come alive.

 

[Bear]

Must depend on the companies in question, on both sides. If I had told the truth about the main advertiser/sponsor/cash cow of either of the two mags I staffed on, I would have been hugely rebuked - I saw it happen. Sucks, but there you go

 

Company-wise, the only one I've seen throw toys out of the pram is Vauxhall. Say a Vauxhall is bad, chances are you won't be invited to drive a new one again for a while.

 

Of course, that has the upside that you don't have to drive a new Vauxhall. I'm amazed all journalists have yet to twig and are still earnestly trying out the latest Adam or Mokka and through gritted teeth, saying "It's dynamically accomplished" or somesuch.

[tooSavvy]

I just love A$ !!

 

... there, said it

 

 

TS