Practical Classics.. when was it best?

[CortinaDave]

As requested on another thread... a poll as to what era we , as shiters thought was the best for PC. Holman gets my vote.

[dollywobbler]

I really should have chosen Peter Simpson, as he is a darned good friend, but I didn't actually read it when he was in charge, so that's unfair.So, Holman gets my vote - though I still really enjoyed it when he'd left and Simon Goldsworthy was running it from the deputy's chair. Good times.

[wuvvum]

I bought an E23 735i off Simon Goldsworthy once.

[eggy]

I have to go for Holman, i find his attitude and style brilliant

[Mr Lobster]

Holman for me too. Always liked PC when he was in charge. His influence went right through the magazine and it was really good reading back then.Alas no more.

[r.welfare]

Holman. Best blend of features, writers (Leaper, Goldsworthy, Hopkins), cars and irreverence.Peter Simpson's comments on his "about me" eBay page (where he says he edited it "back when it was a proper magazine") made me ROFL!

[seth]

I've voted Holman too but I do think its current state is a close second. Always easier to say something was "better in the old days" too. Anyone going to be prepared to make it known they are putting a vote in for the Moore years

[warren t claim]

It's not looking good for Mat Wright!I loved the Holman years but I'd bet money on him being a bit of an egotistical twat in real life!

[trigger]

I voted for Matt I enjoy reading it at the moment, But to be fair i always have, I just don't remember any of the other editors apart from Peter Simpson, Bit bad really as i have nearly every issue boxed in my workshop which i got of freecycle, I never even looked at most of them.

[saabhappy]

Peter Simpson gets my vote because he just lives and breathes the kind of cars I like as well as being a top bloke and an ace mechanic. I nearly voted for John Pearson, because the magazine was readable and fun but not an ego-fest as it is today. I'm bound to be in a minority (again!) but I hated the Holman years because I thought he was editing the wrong magazine - I bet he had a V8 cistern on his bog as all he seemed interested in was sticking big engines in cars not designed to take them. At least he finished his projects IIRC, unlike Matt Jones who wrecks a car then passes it on for somebody else to finish or scrap, and I don't think Matt Wright is a car nut who happens to be a journo, just a journo who's landed a job on a car mag.

[Espacetic]

I loved the Holman years but I'd bet money on him being a bit of an egotistical twat in real life!

Correct.I voted for Peter Simpson and the times it was written by real enthusiasts, featured real cars and was aimed at real people.After many, many years of addiction, I stopped buying it when Holman took over. I should really thank the twat for saving me money

[warren t claim]

I loved the Holman years but I'd bet money on him being a bit of an egotistical twat in real life!

Correct.I voted for Peter Simpson and the times it was written by real enthusiasts, featured real cars and was aimed at real people.After many, many years of addiction, I stopped buying it when Holman took over. I should really thank the twat for saving me money

Go on, do tell!

[Mr H Sceptre]

I've voted for Matt. Not coz I know the bloke, but it just seems a bit less MGBaphile these days, and, due to my complete lack of mechanical/technical skills, nut & bolt restoration articles dont float my boat. At least they try to nod in the direction of the more 'mundane' classics these days.

[Espacetic]

Nooooo!!!!!! All I'll say is he's not the nicest person I've ever met, but probably the most ignorant.

[warren t claim]

Nooooo!!!!!! All I'll say is he's not the nicest person I've ever met, but probably the most ignorant.

OK, feel free to PM me! Kevin Leaper seems an alright kind of person though.

[Espacetic]

I've voted for Matt. Not coz I know the bloke, but it just seems a bit less MGBaphile these days, and, due to my complete lack of mechanical/technical skills, nut & bolt restoration articles dont float my boat. At least they try to nod in the direction of the more 'mundane' classics these days.

See, I always thought they missed out with the nut and bolt articles by not going into enough depth to help the less mechanically minded. Other thing that peeved me is how they just opened a cheque book on their own project cars. Where's the fun in that? the pride looking at whats been achieved?

[Heep]

I voted Holman, but I really wanted to vote Goldsworthy!I can't say anything about Holman's predecessors, as I've never read an issue from before his time. I first got into the magazine (and therefore got into cheap classics...) in 2000 when I was 16. I'm not sure I enjoyed Holman himself that much, but I've never liked the magazine as much as I did during his reign and the subsequent pass to Goldsworthy. Top, top staff at that time and a great mix of cars.The big Aug '02 side-by-side comparo of cheap luxury saloons with Simca Vedette, Tatra T613, Audi V8, Granada, etc., is still my favorite article of all time.

[scruff]

I've voted for Matt. Not coz I know the bloke, but it just seems a bit less MGBaphile these days, and, due to my complete lack of mechanical/technical skills, nut & bolt restoration articles dont float my boat. At least they try to nod in the direction of the more 'mundane' classics these days.

See, I always thought they missed out with the nut and bolt articles by not going into enough depth to help the less mechanically minded.

You can't please everyone...

[Lankytim]

Peter Simpson for me everytime, PC was great under his editorship and Car Mechanics is always a superb read. I have a special room in my loft that nobody is allowed to go into, I call it my "Peter room". The walls, floor and ceiling are completely plastered with grainy black and white pictures of Peter Simpson I have taken while hiding behind bushes/in skips in his local area over the past few years. I cant believe Will Holman got so many votes, I thought PC went downhill rapidly under his control. I really got fed up seeing his face on every page, hearing what he had ran into/crashed this month and reading about how great he thought he was. I stopped buying PC for a while and have only fairly recently started to buy it again.Maybe im being a bit harsh on Will, but I really dont think PC was the right magazine for him. Apologies to all the Holman fans!

[whitevanman]

Holman for me as well....though I think he is better at PPC than at PC.....I find both the classic mags going back to the Sherpa coupe/Triumph etc too much these days....also they need to have a real world resto article not sponsored adverts for some body shops skills at a slightly reduced rate..I know Iain has commented on this before, but my take is...the money spent on these restos could instead be used to employ someone to actually do thge work in the workshop, not a skilled professional but someone in the home mechanic level, as they learn more so would the readers...

[seth]

Holman for me as well....though I think he is better at PPC than at PC.....

Yeah, I agree with that but then PPC is his (and Leaper's) baby I think.

I find both the classic mags going back to the Sherpa coupe/Triumph etc too much these days....also they need to have a real world resto article not sponsored adverts for some body shops skills at a slightly reduced rate..I know Iain has commented on this before, but my take is...the money spent on these restos could instead be used to employ someone to actually do thge work in the workshop, not a skilled professional but someone in the home mechanic level, as they learn more so would the readers...

They are always having the "too many MGBS/Triumphs" accusation hurled at them and it just isn't the case. I imagine the buyers guide this month is the first time they've actually had an article on a B for a very long time. PC also do have a garage monkey in the shape of John Simpson.

[whitevanman]

I know Seth, but John is a skilled mechanic, thats why I was thinking along the slightly less skilled lines....so readers can learn along with them....How many readers will learn much from a half page catch up on the Firenza down at the pro shop??as for the MG/Triumph bit I know they haven't featured those particular cars, but as I said BOTH classic mags are heading back in that direction, I should have added.... or vehicle of similiar ilk...appologies for my lack of clarity....

[nigel bickle]

Holman.Finger onthe pulse & slightly rebellious.An ideal Autoshite contender.

[dollywobbler]

To be honest, I can see where people are coming from when they say Holman wasn't ideally suited to the title. He was perhaps a touch too rebelious but then that also made the title very interesting to read as it gave it an edge.

[Lankytim]

But did Holman steer PC away from its core readership? I.E oldish fellas with Morris Minors and Hillman Minxes. I think he did.

[AnthonyG]

To be honest, I can see where people are coming from when they say Holman wasn't ideally suited to the title. He was perhaps a touch too rebelious but then that also made the title very interesting to read as it gave it an edge.

Sometimes he come across as someone who really didn't really know that much about cars at all. His frequent staff car sagas where he crashed/wrote off stuff were bloody annoying as well, you got the feeling he didn't know how to drive!Its strange that his current back page in PPC with its moans about the Govt, Health & Safety etc, make him sound like a petrolhead version of Littlejohn.The supporting cast of his PC era was good though, Kevin Leaper, Danny Glover et al. The Martyn Moore era was abysmal, he really destroyed the mag, all this '10 cars to buy for the summer for £5k' crap started with him, badly researched by interns on the internet and often with photo library pics. I think Matt Wright has done well to rescue it from those doldrums, particularly as Emap were in all sorts of trouble at the time.

[meggersdog]

If you take Martyn Moore out of the equation then it's a tough call.Each made the magazine interesting to read in their own way.I used to buy popular classics which got swallowed up into PC under John Pearson's stewardship.It retained Nick Larkin's quirky "Larking about" which I enjoyed.Then under Peter I enjoyed his technical articles.Will Holman moved away from tradition with different engine swaps,the V8 Capri and K-sealies Moggy Minor spring to mind,again fun to read and interesting.Now Matt Wright makes for interesting reading with the roadtrips overseas.I voted Peter Simpson because if you want to repair your own car there was always a "how to" guide for most things and as mentioned before Peter is very knowledgeable.

[saabhappy]

If you take Martyn Moore out of the equation then it's a tough call.Each made the magazine interesting to read in their own way.I used to buy popular classics which got swallowed up into PC under John Pearson's stewardship.It retained Nick Larkin's quirky "Larking about" which I enjoyed.Then under Peter I enjoyed his technical articles.Will Holman moved away from tradition with different engine swaps,the V8 Capri and K-sealies Moggy Minor spring to mind,again fun to read and interesting.Now Matt Wright makes for interesting reading with the roadtrips overseas.I voted Peter Simpson because if you want to repair your own car there was always a "how to" guide for most things and as mentioned before Peter is very knowledgeable.

I came to Practical from Popular Classics, so the Will Holman era was a culture shock and I found his writing style a bit "shock-jock" and childish TBH. I'm sure it's a generational thing, though. I just wish they'd do the cars themselves like they used to - I've just read where Matt Jones's Humber ended up, which wasn't exactly a surprise.

[r.welfare]

Danny Glover et al.

 

"4 days till the MOT..."

 

The Martyn Moore era was abysmal, he really destroyed the mag, all this '10 cars to buy for the summer for £5k' crap started with him, badly researched by interns on the internet and often with photo library pics.

Martyn Moore now edits Fleet News, a fitting penance some might say.

[CortinaDave]

Hmm not many fans of the Moore era on here by the looks of things. There was a similar thread on the PC forum a while back and he came on to explain the demise of the Holman era and say why he did what he did.

 

 

http://www.practicalclassics.co.uk/foru ... e5d97842ef

 

Fair play to the bloke, Looks like he oversaw a difficult period. But I still think the mag was crap while he was editor, possibly not entirely his fault however! Interesting that this thread has over 400 hits now but only 30 odd votes... we have a heck of a lot of lurkers on AS