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Retro Cars is no more


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3 hours ago, djoptix said:

Just had a look back through your post history and it doesn't seem to be riddled with dreadful typos and poor proofreading so I don't reckon it's you. 

There is no proofreader or sub Editor at PPC. It’s a belt and braces outfit, sadly.

PS - I’m the one with the German nom-de-plume.

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I had no idea there had been a relaunch. Didnt float my boat in its previous guise as for modding and lowering etc and havent seen it recently browsing the newsstands to notice any difference anyway. Sounds like the new version would have been far more up my street.

TBH the only mag I get now is Practical Classics,  because my mrs works for Bauer so gets staff discount sub.

I suspect a lot of the niche stuff they do like Your Horse etc will be quietly closed with things as they are.

 

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1 hour ago, motorpunk said:

There is no proofreader or sub Editor at PPC. It’s a belt and braces outfit, sadly.

PS - I’m the one with the German nom-de-plume.

 

I offered to proofread a while ago. Never got a reply ;)

If you're the person I think you are then I keep meaning to buy your book. Where can I buy it so you actually get the money?

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1 hour ago, djoptix said:

 

 

I offered to proofread a while ago. Never got a reply ;)

If you're the person I think you are then I keep meaning to buy your book. Where can I buy it so you actually get the money?

Well, I am who I think I am. :)

Which book? I’ve done a few. I think you might mean the Quality Control one. That’s riddled with typos and has tall tales from old car factories, right? It’s on Amazon here https://www.amazon.co.uk/Confessions-quality-control-balls-ups-factories/dp/1532719795 I’ll make about a quid if you buy it from there.

Honestly speaking - as a fellow shiter, don’t bother buying it unless you’re minted. I’ll stick you one in the post if you DM me your details. I have a few copies at home. 

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48 minutes ago, lesapandre said:

....if you like a bit of quality control:

 

A grand example of where the Q*C inspector can be undermined by his bolshier colleagues on the production line, especially if they're gasping for (another) strike over pay and conditions....

I'm pretty certain that the balding fella playing the blue-coated inspector at 11:47 in the film also starred in one of the Pink Panther films as Jarvis the butler (who also had a sideline as a drag act), whilst the Returns Manager at 20:52 is none other than Phillip Jackson, who played Chief Inspector Japp in Agatha Christie's Poirot for many years.

God Almighty, I'm sure I've spotted David Suchet in it as well!!

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On 5/3/2020 at 1:51 PM, motorpunk said:

Well, I am who I think I am. :)

Which book? I’ve done a few. I think you might mean the Quality Control one. That’s riddled with typos and has tall tales from old car factories, right? It’s on Amazon here https://www.amazon.co.uk/Confessions-quality-control-balls-ups-factories/dp/1532719795 I’ll make about a quid if you buy it from there.

Honestly speaking - as a fellow shiter, don’t bother buying it unless you’re minted. I’ll stick you one in the post if you DM me your details. I have a few copies at home. 

Now that would make me laugh as i work for a car manufacture..

 

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Some points made about the perceived quality thing (The obsession with dash quality) with new cars- what car? Was mentioned. Interesting to speculate how this might arise; are journalists to some extent told “our readership are very interested in xyz so focus on those aspects please” as a result of some surveys whether done to inform content or to justify decisions already taken. I’m usually quite cynical when it comes to how stats can be deployed.

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On 5/1/2020 at 10:16 AM, eddyramrod said:

 perhaps I'll send an email or two and see what I can find out.

I have now done just that.  It seems they've closed or amalgamated several titles, but not including Classic Car Buyer, so why I can't get hold of it, I don't know.

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On 5/2/2020 at 7:46 PM, Timewaster said:

What Car wasn't bad in the 80s. Budget car comparisons between Skoda Estelle, 2cv, FSO and a Yugo. Reliability surveys, Hans Lehnans grainy spy shots of new models, Latest tape players with auto reverse, mpg tests etc. 

The new car market is very different now. Its dull and so is the magazine. 

 

VAG, for all their faults do know how to make an interior feel a bit special.  That's what the testers go on. 

Even if the rest of the car is crap. 

That road test is featured in the Car annual I bought.

How much do the publishers get paid if you look at their content through Readly?

As much as we'd like to read articles about Talbot Solaras they're something of a niche interest and to make money features on Daytonas and E Types attract the interest of the casual magazine buyer looking for something to read on a mainline train journey.

With regards to advertising, if you had a DB5 to sell then is advertising in the glossies going to attract a buyer better than online media?

 

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Hope the op won’t mind a bit more thread drift- but it’s sort of connected and been touched on.

How does a magazine remain relevant to a readership/ gain new readers? I’m sat eating my lockdown breakfast whilst thumbing PC and it’s just had it’s 40th birthday (bit like me)

I remember not so many years ago You didn’t need to go far to find a letter about what is or isn’t a classic- nothing new there as I think right from the off it was a topic.

My recent issue has none of that. All older cars are seen to fit under the umbrella and in a very clever move to keep expanding interest and relevance they include the newest content under a “bangernomics” banner just before the staff car bit. Mr Daimler conquest century is not offended and other enthusiasts have a look in too. 
 

When the Editor writes he nearly bought a Chrysler 180 on the same page as a marketplace feature on Vw camper vans that shows the breadth of interest they cover. OK they may not get the green light to have that 180 on the cover instead of an MGB but it’s there inside when you look.
 

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On 5/7/2020 at 10:10 AM, HMC said:

Hope the op won’t mind a bit more thread drift- but it’s sort of connected and been touched on.

How does a magazine remain relevant to a readership/ gain new readers? I’m sat eating my lockdown breakfast whilst thumbing PC and it’s just had it’s 40th birthday (bit like me)

I remember not so many years ago You didn’t need to go far to find a letter about what is or isn’t a classic- nothing new there as I think right from the off it was a topic.

My recent issue has none of that. All older cars are seen to fit under the umbrella and in a very clever move to keep expanding interest and relevance they include the newest content under a “bangernomics” banner just before the staff car bit. Mr Daimler conquest century is not offended and other enthusiasts have a look in too. 
 

When the Editor writes he nearly bought a Chrysler 180 on the same page as a marketplace feature on Vw camper vans that shows the breadth of interest they cover. OK they may not get the green light to have that 180 on the cover instead of an MGB but it’s there inside when you look.
 

Simple really, you keep an eye on which issues sell, and which cars featured prominently. Sadly, a red MGB generally means a boost in sales, so you have to cover the common classics like those, Morris Minors etc. But, what PC has always done well is ensure there's space for the more oddball stuff owned by the likes of Sam Glover and Ed Hughes as well. They have a lot of pages to play with, so they can satisfy the majority, while also including stuff for the odd car pervs. You'll always be under pressure to do features on the ad-happy stuff (mix MX-5, Mini and classic Fords into that mix) which is why I'm now enjoying the freedom of ploughing my own furrow. It is very hard to write something fresh about the MGB.

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On 5/7/2020 at 10:18 AM, barefoot said:

I don't know, because  the publisher I work for won't tell me, but they were very excited to add VW Camper & commercial to the platform, so it must be worth their while.

I’ve been using readly for over a year now  and felt a bit guilty for doing so, you’ve eased that guilt a bit.

As a bonus it means I read magazines I wouldn’t buy in a million years and read articles by nice writers about cooking in campers!
Presumably it’s not the fee Readly pay , rather the fact you can tell prospective advertisers you’re on there. One day I might bump my head and decide that spending tens of thousands putting cupboards in an old van is a great idea, obviously I’ll look at whatever mags I can access there, because I don’t go to newsagents anymore.

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I guess it'll be a just few articles in Classic Car Mart. It's probably so they can move the subscriber based to CCM, rather than cancel and have to give refunds. If you already have hooked someone into a subscription, people tend to be lazy and not cancel. So they can boost CCM reader figures with no real additional costs. 

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I can remember a few car mags doing this. Classic and Sportscar took over Old Motor when it first started out. The latter disappeared from the mast-head after a bit. I now realise why...to honour the subscription commitments etc.

Bit like BMC slapping the Riley badge on the 1100 to hoover up all the old Riley enthusiasts before they died out. Though I expect the Retro Cars crowd are a bit fresher.

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Old Motor became Classic and Sportscar. Haymarket bought Old Motor and rebranded it after a year or so, presumably to discourage all the grumpy old lorry enthusiasts from the Prince Marshall days. The 'incorporating Old Motor' bit was, I guess, to provide some continuity when the title changed. Old Motor was definitely the best old car magazine out there, and C&SC did a great job of carrying on with its good work until at least the '90s. Shame its so dull now.

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Yes I was a fan of T&CC. They did some great journalism in the early days. Particularly Jonathan Wood. Some of it was a matter of record - I remember interviews with Gerald Palmer (Jowett Javelin etc) and Stanley Edge who worked with Herbert Austin on the Austin 7. Old issues are a great read.

They did cover a nice range of cars - Rover P4 and other 50's stuff along with the exotics.

I used to get it every month 1977-94

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I loved Popular Classics.

It had the stalwarts of Martin Hodder,Mark Dixon and of course Nick Larkin,it was such a pleasant,excellently written publication that championed average,everyday car of the 50's,60's and 70's.

Where as Practical Classics was an in your face Oil leaks and Angle Grinder Mag which was ok but when they merged together they just didn't knit and Popular Cassics gentle nature was lost forever.

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