Classic Car Weekly

[Inspector Morose]

How is it coming along? Please don't sell it before I've had a go, I'm fascinated by them!

 

If an Autoshite magazine happened, I'd be entirely up for writing for it. Hell, if i had the resources... it's not like I've working in publishing since I was a kid.

 

I've BEEN working. Sheush, note to self - Autoshite magazine needs editors.....

 

[dollywobbler]

I'm not sure an Autoshite mag would really work commercially - we're a bunch of skinflints. There's definitely room for a title beneath Modern Classics though, with the focus on the more everyday, and less of the OMG POWAARGH. Doubt it'd work on a major publisher way of thinking, but there is definitely room.

[tooSavvy]

Joypal seemed to tickle the A$ funny bone, especially as it expressed (a given, explicit) an honesty "Lada, cost me £49* - it WILL expire, do not rely on for work!".

 

.... then what any deranged A$ person would do ....

 

Spend money on plugs + wipers

 

*sadly, the Shadow was not a staffer lol

 

 

TS

[carlo]

This is an interesting thread.  I used to collect C & SC every month but gave up a few years ago as the articles were starting to repeat themselves too often (there surely is a limit to how many NSU Ro80 vs Citroen DS articles you can print.)  The magazine also started to resemble a huge collection of glossy adverts backed up by a handful of articles  -  for £5.  And despite them being the main mag you would turn to for the more oddball stuff, I'm still fairly sure they haven't featured a Glas V8, Wartburg Knight or Prince Skyline in forty-five years.

 

But the main reason I've given up on magazines is that I can't stand the dreadful HDR photography, Practical Classics is probably the worst for this.  Some of the photos now look like cartoons.

[dollywobbler]

But the main reason I've given up on magazines is that I can't stand the dreadful HDR photography, Practical Classics is probably the worst for this.  Some of the photos now look like cartoons.

 

Yes, that's something I dislike about a lot of mags. A lot of the performance titles seem to like to make the car look like it's in a cave. Horrible. I've always preferred more natural photography, though perhaps with filters to tone down glare from the glass. That's about as far as I like to go really.

[Justin Case]

They_all_do_that_sir, on 27 Aug 2017 - 12:08 PM, said:

A couple of decent mags I've come across recently (which arent strictly classic related) are BUILT and SIDEBURN, both fairly niche and focused on the growing custom bike scene. But both wonderfully written and beautifully produced - worth the extra couple of quid as they are something nice to have on the table.

I haven't seen Sideburn, but I bought an early copy of Built just to see what it was about and it is everything a magazine should be. It caters more for a lifestyle rather than just a market, and everything, the features on bikes, clothes and cafes and the adverts, brings that lifestyle together and the design is in tune too. It probably helps that it is all concentrated on the East End of London and there is a cluster effect, but magazines like C&SC seem to have lost the plot. Who are they catering for, classic british sports cars mix it with adverts for top-end concours like Salon Prive and Chantilly and features on 90s hot hatches. Too many magazines try and be all things to all people, I think that they will fall by the wayside, while the likes of Modern Classics and Auto Italia which are focussed on a big enough niche market with enough valuable cars should flourish.

[alcyonecorporation]

 

They_all_do_that_sir, on 27 Aug 2017 - 12:08 PM, said:

I haven't seen Sideburn, but I bought an early copy of Built just to see what it was about and it is everything a magazine should be. It caters more for a lifestyle rather than just a market, and everything, the features on bikes, clothes and cafes and the adverts, brings that lifestyle together and the design is in tune too. It probably helps that it is all concentrated on the East End of London and there is a cluster effect, but magazines like C&SC seem to have lost the plot. Who are they catering for, classic british sports cars mix it with adverts for top-end concours like Salon Prive and Chantilly and features on 90s hot hatches. Too many magazines try and be all things to all people, I think that they will fall by the wayside, while the likes of Modern Classics and Auto Italia which are focussed on a big enough niche market with enough valuable cars should flourish.

 

 

So you like niche magazines for following a lifestyle, but other lifestyle magazines which don't match your own are going to fail? 

 

There is the argument for a solid cult following versus a slim mainstream audience. 

[The Moog]

How much would a one off AS mag cost if it was done through crowdfunding?

 

I don't mean people working for nowt.

[Bear]

Mmmm. Interesting thought...

[dollywobbler]

Well, using some rough figures, you're probably talking £7000 to fill the magazine with content if you use pro photography. Then you've got to print and distribute the thing. That's at (a pretty low) industry standard page rate.

[Justin Case]

So you like niche magazines for following a lifestyle, but other lifestyle magazines which don't match your own are going to fail? 

 

There is the argument for a solid cult following versus a slim mainstream audience. 

No, just an observation, I haven't got a dog in this fight as I've never owned a bike that actually works, and my one leather jacket wouldn't even get me past the door in a trendy Hoxton cafe   The secret is knowing who your customers are and providing a magazine that caters for what they want. It might be a lifestyle, I imagine this is the case with the VW scene as well, or more likely merely an interest in the subject or even just curiosity

[alcyonecorporation]

No, just an observation, I haven't got a dog in this fight as I've never owned a bike that actually works, and my one leather jacket wouldn't even get me past the door in a trendy Hoxton cafe   The secret is knowing who your customers are and providing a magazine that caters for what they want. It might be a lifestyle, I imagine this is the case with the VW scene as well, or more likely merely an interest in the subject or even just curiosity

 

So a solid, finely tuned (albeit slim) cult following instead of a small, casual, mainstream audience?  

[chaseracer]

So a solid, finely tuned (albeit slim) cult following instead of a small, casual, mainstream audience?

 

We are none of these things.

 

[anonymous user]

We are none of these things.

 

I'm definitely not slim, but quite close to being a cult

[alcyonecorporation]

I'm definitely not slim, but quite close to being a cult

 

My farts are basically war crimes. 

[alcyonecorporation]

I'm sorry, but an Autoshite magazine is a terrible idea. 

3/4 of you are berating print and saying it's a dead format so you want to "stick it to the man" by starting a magazine? Eh? 

[Bear]

A periodical is a bad idea.

 

However, a Tao of Autoshite, a Zen and the art of Shite Maintenance... something that encapsulates everything autoshite, as a one off bookazine or hardback (no advertising, one editor, collated material...)

[scruff]

You'll all fall out. I wanted to be in. Where's Pogweasel. That Corsa isn't Autoshite. Too many XUDs. Not enough black A35s. Etc etc

 

Keep AS as it is and give the world something to be proud of with a BEST OF JALOPY in glorious hardback with shiny pages to really show off the fuzzy pictures. I'm sure someone with the right know-how would be able to get permissions sorted and you'd sell at least five or so on here.

[alcyonecorporation]

Like I said, a stupid idea. 

[Bear]

Hmmm. I am not sure that it is a stupid idea.

 

I am not sure it is an EASY idea. Or that really the Autoshite name is apt.

But the concept has legs. It just needs the right approach.

[The Moog]

Like I said, a stupid idea.

Was just a question as to the amount it would cost. I didn't envisage a full print run or anything.

[alcyonecorporation]

I'll leave youse all to work that out. Best of luck. 

[dollywobbler]

Can I just point out that Original Tin (best name ever!) didn't cause falling out, or other issues. We all seemed to survive that. Like Brown Mag (was it Brown mag?), I guess the problem is that the first issue is quite easy. It's following it up, and repeating that huge amount of work, while not making any money, that's the difficult bit. I certainly wouldn't like Autoshite magazine, because THIS place is Autoshite. However, there's no reason why the overall vibe of the place wouldn't work on a larger scale - perhaps with slightly less extreme views on some points. There is plenty of interest in 205s that aren't GTis, Sierras that aren't Cosworths and BMWs that don't have enough cylinders. 

[chaseracer]

It's being so cheerful wot keeps Jon going... 

[strangeangel]

Like I said, a stupid idea. 

 

Indeed... what would be the point? Money? Status? Fat chance of either in the current climate. The love of writing about shite machinery? Well, yes, but why go down the financial destitution route? We're (mostly) enthusiastic amateurs, largely earning a crust in other fields, and the chance of making any cash out of this is roughly the square root of sod all - so why not just blog the stuff?

 

If it pans out like this, and a shite motorcycle correspondent is required, give me a shout. No payment needed.

[alcyonecorporation]

I'm not saying I won't help, but I might not. 

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

I'm not sure an Autoshite mag would really work commercially - we're a bunch of skinflints.

 

"Hello, Corporation PLC? I'm calling from Autoshite Magazine to convince you to buy a full page ad in our next magazine. The demographic?  Well, our readers are actively hostile to big money items like new cars and car finance, generally only buy used car parts from eBay Kyrgyzstan, one reader said he'd never buy a magazine with a watch advert, a bunch of others agreed with him, 

 

...

 

Hello, Corporation PLC? I think we got cut off there. As I was saying..."

[loserone]

Halfords, AutoAid and DMB would do well to advertise there though!

[oldcars]

Halfords, AutoAid and DMB would do well to advertise there though!

Radweld, k seal and isopon free when you subscribe to a 2 year deal 

[sierraman]

Or a free body filler applicator.