Classic Car Weekly

[eddyramrod]

Mind you, I dragged myself out of bed at half nine this morning and have a Proton AND a Bluebird. So maybe things aren't so bad.

I have a Cadillac and a Rover 800, but I'm still subject to a 5am alarm six days a week!  Remind me, what dream?  And I'm freelancing!  But only for CCB.

 

Dicky, I feel your pain over the interview process.  Two daytrips to Peterborough (250 miles each way) running straight after my work shifts, with another workday following immediately.  At the second one I recognised the interviewee who preceded me: it was Jon!

 

Of the two mags, I do prefer CCB for content and style.

[Felly Magic]

Peat Bog Horror, you have my deepest sympathies there Eddy

[captain_70s]

Gave up on the classic press a while back, collected Craptical Plastics for years but they apparently got damp in my parent's loft and got chucked after I moved out. I nearly bought it in the shop just t'other day as it had an issue of CCW bundled in with it (making it almost worth the price) but it had a 2001 BINI on the front cover which irked me so much it put me off. The article is about cars you should buy before they get too pricey, Rover P6 and Scimitar, solid choices, Saab 900 and Fiat Coupe, fair enough. Then a modern Mini that hasn't yet finished depreciating and a £10k Riley RM... Riiiiight. Also the fleet updates started getting a bit "My 2004 Mondeo has a faulty electric window so I took it to the dealer", really stopped holding my interest.

 

I bought CCW for a while as well, mostly to read during lunch break at work. Thing is I realised I was paying money for picture/info I could easily find online for free...

[warren t claim]

 

 

I made a video of me smashing my face into the bonnet repeatedly but I decided against posting it up. 

 

 

I find a W124 bonnet works better for roadside retribution.

[AnthonyG]

Classic & Sportscar rang me up and got me to subscribe again with 3 issues for a £1 or some such, like the Rev I read Buckley and they do cover some interesting cars but the big, big money feel of it does put me off.

 

Their idea of value is seriously skewed (£10k is 'cheap') and it does feel a lot like they are conniving in a racket with the dealers/auction houses to grossly inflate the value of some very ordinary vehicles. It increasingly feels like a magazine for the top 1% of society and there's only so many staff car sagas on MG 1100s and Triumph 2500s that can counteract that.

 

I will cancel the direct debit when I get round to it.

[stripped fred]

I get all the info, variety and exciting content I need on this site. More than enough to entertain me here and more relevant than any mag.

[Shep Shepherd]

I used to really enjoy CCW in the early 1990s when the likes of Brian Crichton and Geoff Brown wrote for said publication. At the time, it complimented Jalopy perfectly ^^

[SiC]

I bought both yesterday and the first time ever. Views below are from this weeks issue that I picked up yesterday. I know a few people (actually seems quite a lot!) on here write for both publications and I know it must be hard to write these things day-in-day-out. Especially hard to write it in a interesting style. 

 

I try hard personally in my threads to try and make them interesting with a chatty/friendly style, but I know most of my threads end up as fairly dull, drab reading. Unfortunately I don't have the gift of the gab on the keyboard like some do here. But then I guess I don't need to earn a living from it and there is still a small handful of people who find my ramblings interesting.

 

So I'll try and keep these thoughts constructive, but obviously will have personal opinions in here.

 

General thoughts:

• Print quality on both are rubbish. Pictures from a 1990's desktop inkjet printer had more clarity. I guess this is due the medium they're printed on (i.e. newspaper) - but given I paid £2.50 for it, I'd expected more.
• Why do they bother with the private car ads still? Surely everyone just buys online. Especially as the pictures are the size of a nail on a thumb and probably sold already. Also reminds me how lucky we are now being able to buy cars with many high resolution images and detailed descriptions. I wonder if this has helped increase the price of cars too, that and easier to price against others in the market - so slowly pushing up prices.
• I guess news items are difficult - especially weekly, given the slow pace of classic car market. I mean its going to be hard to find new stuff happening on cars that ended production 20+ years ago!
• This forum has more detailed and interesting threads on car stories and restoration. Also being far more interactive and reactive, its much more enjoyable. 
• I almost see these papers whos readership is likely to be elderly and not on the internet - which something that is likely to change as "internet-enabled" generations start getting into classic cars (i.e. retiring). I see these papers dying in the next 10 years or so.
• As there are a lot of contributors to these papers on here, I reckon there is a lot of potential content that could be derived from these very forums. I.e. get permission from the thread creators to use their photos and material as a basis of articles. Maybe using the original text as a basis and copywriting/ghostwriting it into a format that can be used for print.
• Even if a beer token money is paid (or even free), would people be up for it? I know my cars don't offer much interest to the average reader but plenty of other peoples chod on here might be.
• Web presence on both are dire! I see this an important thing to both engage and thus retain readership. Maybe the demographic of the reader isn't so interested in this. However in one of my other hobbies, RC model flying, has a significant elderly readship of print publications. The most popular publication in the UK, RCM&E (website: http://www.modelflying.co.uk ), has a very active and excellent online community where its possible for others to interact with both the authors and others on the hobby. 

Classic Car Weekly

I found very little real actual content. Actually the only thing I read through was about RichardK (of this parish) RX8. However I did wonder why it was in there. Surely Richard, your Twingo would have made much better content? I honestly can't remember anything else that caught my eye. Most of the content I saw was newer stuff - i.e. late 90s/00s. 

 

Classic Car Buyer

It was getting quite late by this point, so I ended up flicking through. Quite a few articles that of interest though that I wanted to reread later on today and go back to it. Also quite enjoyed seeing the car value section, no idea how accurate it is, but I especially liked the idea that I could see what interests me and see if it was in my price range. For example, I did not know it could be possible to get classic Ferraris under 10k... However it only went up to letter G and it continued in the next issue, which I thought was a bit tight.

More actual content about classic cars than CCW.

 

 

I'll give it another go reading them again this evening and update my thoughts. Can't say I'm likely to buy another copy of either just yet.

[Exiled_Tat_Gatherer]

To steal a bit from SiC ..... THIS

 

As there are a lot of contributors to these papers on here, I reckon there is a lot of potential content that could be derived from these very forums. I.e. get permission from the thread creators to use their photos and material as a basis of articles. Maybe using the original text as a basis and copywriting/ghostwriting it into a format that can be used for print.

 

I'd have thought - with the amount of internet online builds and bodge jobs going on - a simple email back n forth would line up a shedload of content that could be either used as 'keeping our eyes on this' type of info/article   or even, when we see some horrendous monstrosity or no-no  - article(s)/section along the lines of 'please don't do it like this' - or similar.

 

Not trying to cause a ruckus - but with the sheer volume of both good and bad write ups you can have access to, couldn't this be a decent method of increasing 'real world' content and in a lot of cases add to the readable content?

 

I'm sure there's probably a plethora of legal/other reasons why not (preparing to be flamed!)

[Lacquer Peel]

It's no Original Tin, but what is?

[stripped fred]

SIC, would just like to say I enjoy your posts a lot. Don't forget we're mostly geeks on AS so photographs of the underside of cars backed up by lengthy explanations are of interest to most on here!

[alcyonecorporation]

It's no Original Tin, but what is?

 

Upvote in progress. 

[alcyonecorporation]

To steal a bit from SiC ..... THIS

 

As there are a lot of contributors to these papers on here, I reckon there is a lot of potential content that could be derived from these very forums. I.e. get permission from the thread creators to use their photos and material as a basis of articles. Maybe using the original text as a basis and copywriting/ghostwriting it into a format that can be used for print.

 

I'd have thought - with the amount of internet online builds and bodge jobs going on - a simple email back n forth would line up a shedload of content that could be either used as 'keeping our eyes on this' type of info/article   or even, when we see some horrendous monstrosity or no-no  - article(s)/section along the lines of 'please don't do it like this' - or similar.

 

Not trying to cause a ruckus - but with the sheer volume of both good and bad write ups you can have access to, couldn't this be a decent method of increasing 'real world' content and in a lot of cases add to the readable content?

 

I'm sure there's probably a plethora of legal/other reasons why not (preparing to be flamed!)

 

Budget, basically. People shouldn't work for free. 

[SiC]

Budget, basically. People shouldn't work for free.

I wasn't suggesting the individuals rewriting the information to not get paid as there still work there to be done. However writing about someones else work, using their text as a base, is surely easier than trying to create content from the contributors own stuff from scratch? Especially as a lot of the time its going to be a case of trying to compact things down to a couple of paragraph and a choice image or two. Those that they are sourcing the information from about may/may not want financial rewards but as they themselves won't be putting in a extra effort, I'd imagine it'd be a lot smaller (if anything).

 

Any monetary award, even if it literally at most just beer money, is effectively free money for the original producer. With the bulk of the cost of the piece being paid to the individual rewriting and producing the piece - which I imagine already happens otherwise there would be no content?

 

Of course it'd annoy people if they got PM'd asking constantly if they are prepared or not to have parts of their threads published. Maybe a pinned thread somewhere where individuals can give permission to be talked to about the possibility of having it in print? There is a certain amount of flattery to be gained from having your "project" worth of being print.

 

Now this is all an outsiders view, as I don't know much about how niche print publications are sourced, produced and funded. My only real knowledge is gained from a RC flying buddy who writes in RC flying magazines...

[alcyonecorporation]

Wouldn't work with deadlines. Management would expect it all for free, and that breeds resentment. 

Beyond what I can authorise anyway. 

[Exiled_Tat_Gatherer]

Gotcha Alcy.... I understand

 

I too meant of course that it takes a knack, some wit, banter and a skillset I don't have to wittle down the essays or render something like watching paint dry interesting. So definitely not to be done for free at all - ever.......

 

I personally think that the lack of online presence needs to be / can be addressed with a perm/freelance position(s) who could actually have certain pre-existing threads from forums globally that could definitely be edited into a usable piece (or more) and the fact that the publications pointed out sources of builds/parts/inspiration/advice from outside their own knowledge base/contacts would actually appeal to a wider audience/ help their existing clients in their ongoing builds/restorations.

 

I'm not one to be seen as a source - as I don't think I'd update regularly or interestingly enough - although I'm sure a 'pool' of willing volunteers would be able to help out anyone in the online editing position.........

 

bah - just blowin in the wind........

[alcyonecorporation]

It's a great way of bridging the gap, admittedly, between online and print but it's hard to monetise. 

Beyond that I can't really go into much more detail; it would require a break down of strategy and this is a public forum. 

I loathe the politics involved. 

[SiC]

Fairy muffs.

 

My comment/suggestion was merely from someone read the paper and looking outside to in.

 

I can't remember which of the two it was, but there was a short article about someones mid 2000s Fiesta ST and I thought it must have been a bit desperate to include content about that considering loads are still about, it really isn't a classic and more EVO/Autocar content than Classic Car *insert extra title here*. Instead of stuff like that to fill column inches, my thought was that there is other sources where more appropriate content could be derived if things are getting short.

[garbaldy]

I have a classic car which is pretty rare but since it's Japanese nobody is interested,

If it's not in a scene it's no good.

[eddyramrod]

I have a classic car which is pretty rare but since it's Japanese nobody except Dollywobbler is interested,

 

EFA

[dollywobbler]

Was going to say! I'm all about the older Japanese stuff that the mainstream media ignores! I included a five page feature on brochures relating to the Nissan Primera in the previous issue FFS...

[Junkman]

I gave up reading classic car mags on a regular basis a long time ago.

Having been a subscriber to Collectible Automobile, a bimonthly publication by the auto editors of the Consumer Guide, from issue #1 for over thirty years,

I just didn't renew my subscription one day because I thought I had read enough about American cars and the history of the American car industry.

Enough, in fact, that I consider myself a capacity in this field.

 

However, to this day, it is the classic car publication I measure others against, but its quality is not matched by any other magazine I know, not by a narrow margin. Okay, I can live with other magazines being unable to mach this standard, their depth of research and their access to sources just can't be matched.

 

So I buy magazines only very sporadically nowadays, and with this I mean 2 to 3 times  a year. Thing is, I wouldn't need to, because exactly the sam

stuff about exactly the same cars is written in each and every one of them. No matter how often you buy a classic car magazine, or whom from, it's a total deja vu.

 

So I buy them now predominantly for the auction results. After all, the money comes from the guys who aren't real car guys.

The money guys buy classics to park their money with interest, not because they love the cars so much.

But their love for money keeps an entire industry humming catering to classic cars and it's the fallout from this we all benefit from.

 

So if I'd decide to do a classic car mag but didn't have the resources Collectible Automobile enjoys, I'd cater to the fat cats exclusively

and read up on the stuff I like exactly here.

[RichardK]

Classic Car Weekly

I found very little real actual content. Actually the only thing I read through was about RichardK (of this parish) RX8. However I did wonder why it was in there. Surely Richard, your Twingo would have made much better content? I honestly can't remember anything else that caught my eye. Most of the content I saw was newer stuff - i.e. late 90s/00s. 

 

 

Guess how many of my cars I submit for inclusion. Guess WHEN they're submitted.

 

I'm somewhat amused that the RX8 appears now - when it was submitted in April with the intention of talking about how cheap they are, potential as a future classic, etc. - and after it not appearing and no feedback, I gave the car away with no further work because running a few helpful articles was about the main reason to stick with it.

 

You'll probably get to read about the Sera two months after the new owner has restored it.

 

Yes, the Twingo has had articles submitted

[sierraman]

I just read back copies of Car Mechanics over and over again. I've said it before but Peter Simpson was a great motoring writer, a proper Bangernomics hero.

[barrett]

So I buy magazines only very sporadically nowadays, and with this I mean 2 to 3 times a year. Thing is, I wouldn't need to, because exactly the sam

stuff about exactly the same cars is written in each and every one of them. No matter how often you buy a classic car magazine, or whom from, it's a total deja vu

 

PM me your address and I will try and convince you otherwise

[chaseracer]

...Peter Simpson was a great motoring writer, a proper Bangernomics hero.

 

He still is... 

[sierraman]

What's he write for now?

[Shep Shepherd]

I just read back copies of Car Mechanics over and over again. I've said it before but Peter Simpson was a great motoring writer, a proper Bangernomics hero.

 

Peter is an old car legend and is a lot of fun to chat with in person. I bought The Volvo off him ^^

[dollywobbler]

What's he write for now?

 

Currently the editor of Classic & Vintage Commercial. Think he still does the odd bit for CCB now and then.

[artdjones]

I just read back copies of Car Mechanics over and over again. I've said it before but Peter Simpson was a great motoring writer, a proper Bangernomics hero.

Both Practical Classics and Car Mechanics went downhill as soon as he left them.

He even writes car ads on eBay well.