Are car magazines dead?

[lesapandre]

The A-Z was subsequently published in book form. Available 2nd hand.

[sierraman]

1 hour ago, Dobloseven said:

Much more fun to wait till they've bought something and then tell them what WILL go wrong with it,and what they should have bought instead!

I just suggest people buy what they like, they all go wrong at some point or other and all cost money in maintenance and repairs. No good suggesting a Toyota whatever if they don’t want a Toyota, like anything you just go into it with your eyes open to what might go wrong and do your best to mitigate it.
 

That said people usually resent every penny they have to spend on a car, you tell them it will need a belt doing at several hundred quid and the mentality is ‘why should I spend £700 straight away on a car I’ve just bought’ then after time it breaks and they have the throw it away and blow another couple of grand on ANOTHER car. People’s bizarre logic when it comes to cars. 

[lesapandre]

12 minutes ago, Spottedlaurel said:

Cartell says BEC555 is/was on a Peugeot 206, but as well as no DVLA record it doesn't come up on the MoT website. Maybe on retention?

The age of what was in the classic magazines back then is interesting, quite bit of it was 10-20 years old.

One regular feature of early C&S that I liked was the A-Z of Cars series, firstly 1945-70 then the '70s. Maybe not completely accurate, but I found it useful.

Hopefully the Jaguar survives on another plate. 

Though when I once looked back it was surprising how many 'classic' cars that were seemingly comfortably tucked up in preservation - are no longer on the DVLA database either as the actual car or a 'cherished' plate - and appear to be no longer with us. 

But you could also say that for the owners too...

tempus fugit

[lesapandre]

6 minutes ago, sierraman said:

I just suggest people buy what they like, they all go wrong at some point or other and all cost money in maintenance and repairs. No good suggesting a Toyota whatever if they don’t want a Toyota, like anything you just go into it with your eyes open to what might go wrong and do your best to mitigate it.
 

That said people usually resent every penny they have to spend on a car, you tell them it will need a belt doing at several hundred quid and the mentality is ‘why should I spend £700 straight away on a car I’ve just bought’ then after time it breaks and they have the throw it away and blow another couple of grand on ANOTHER car. People’s bizarre logic when it comes to cars. 

Whatever you suggest inevitably goes wrong almost immediately...and then the blame game begins...

I've stopped advising or sorting out cars for people.

[sierraman]

8 minutes ago, lesapandre said:

Whatever you suggest inevitably goes wrong almost immediately...and then the blame game begins...

I've stopped advising or sorting out cars for people.

My in laws were making noises the other week about a £4,000 XK8 cabriolet. A car I think most would concede that cannot be run on a shoestring, I suggested it was a terrible idea and left it at that. 

[lesapandre]

A £4000 XK cabriolet will probably need £4000 spending immediately.

[EyesWeldedShut]

6 minutes ago, lesapandre said:

A £4000 XK cabriolet will probably need £4000 spending immediately.

Probably why my wife really, really wants one - fortunately she's also allergic to anything with a higher tax band than her current Bini so I'm able to satisfy one of her needs  

[sutty2006]

Magazines and forums are on the decline and the only culprit is Facebook and google. Everything you need to know is available for free on those two platforms. 
 

im so glad autoshite exists and is still in full swing. 

[mat_the_cat]

On 05/08/2024 at 19:28, lesapandre said:

And  you can sit out here and read it 😀

That is one of the (many) things I like about the French lifestyle.

[sierraman]

41 minutes ago, lesapandre said:

A £4000 XK cabriolet will probably need £4000 spending immediately.

It will almost certainly be complete rubbish. They cannot be run cheaply, the problem is with cars like that they’ve mostly now fell into the hands of people that cannot afford to give them the required level of expense and maintenance, so you are then playing catch up repairing all the bodges and poor maintenance. 

[artdjones]

27 minutes ago, sierraman said:

It will almost certainly be complete rubbish. They cannot be run cheaply, the problem is with cars like that they’ve mostly now fell into the hands of people that cannot afford to give them the required level of expense and maintenance, so you are then playing catch up repairing all the bodges and poor maintenance. 

Basically what's always happened to Jags. I remember a friend buying a non rusty bright red Daimler Sovereign about 10 years old for £360 at auction. Almost immediately the little AED starting carburettor gave up the ghost, which cost £108 for a new one. He sold it straight after fixing it 

[artdjones]

1 hour ago, sierraman said:

I just suggest people buy what they like, they all go wrong at some point or other and all cost money in maintenance and repairs. No good suggesting a Toyota whatever if they don’t want a Toyota, like anything you just go into it with your eyes open to what might go wrong and do your best to mitigate it.
 

That said people usually resent every penny they have to spend on a car, you tell them it will need a belt doing at several hundred quid and the mentality is ‘why should I spend £700 straight away on a car I’ve just bought’ then after time it breaks and they have the throw it away and blow another couple of grand on ANOTHER car. People’s bizarre logic when it comes to cars. 

Telling them to buy a Toyota or Honda gives you a fighting chance of not being cornered the next time they see you. Even if they don't want to buy one.

[barefoot]

I've recently been reading some late 60's/early 70's copies of 'practical camping' that I bought from someone on here, and they are absolutely ram packed full of adverts. The first proper article isn't until page 51, and the ads start again at about page 90 something and continue through until the very end at page 120. The magazine that I occasionally edit struggles to attract the 12 or so pages it needs to survive. I think that, contrary to some opinions, it's not the fact that there are too many adverts, that's killing off printed magazines.

[louiepj]

I still read a lot of magazines and have Practical Classics and Car Mechanics on subscription, but having just had a two week holiday which I saved reading the July and August copies for, then did not as I just browsed online and watched youtube vids instead has left me wondering if I should cancel their subscriptions.

[delux]

Problem with youtube is my attention span.

I look up the thing I want to know more about...

...skip thru half the video to the bit I actually want...

...click on something else at the side that looks more interesting...

...before I know it I've spent an hour watching big engines starting/1985 Rallycross British championship/Kei trucks drifting/Beat me 'til I'm blue by the Mohawks...

...anything other than what I was supposed to look up!

Perhaps we could nick our fav features from old magazines and start threads on here?

We already have a cars and girls thread to keep those who liked 'Custom car' cover girls.

Pretty much everyone is already trying to enjoy motoring on a shoe string budget and happy to document it here.

Theres a for sale section too!

Plenty creative types who could handle a 'Motorvation' thread. Loads on here could keep a 'Small talk' feature going.

Only thing missing is loads of insurance ads! Should be enough motivation to donate to the forum, donate or the classic insurance ads will take over, LOL!

[danthecapriman]

8 hours ago, sierraman said:

My in laws were making noises the other week about a £4,000 XK8 cabriolet. A car I think most would concede that cannot be run on a shoestring, I suggested it was a terrible idea and left it at that. 

I used to give advice and then inevitably end up getting suckered into working on cars for people.

It got tedious and bloody annoying in the end so all I do now, for family or anyone else, is tell them it’s their money. Their choice. Do what you want. But I’m telling you right now I AM NOT working on it! Ever!

They all know what I’d recommend they buy and drive but nobody listens and they just do whatever they want anyway so when the inevitable happens they can also go pay for garage repair bills!

[AnthonyG]

13 hours ago, lesapandre said:

The high-end magazines were  just brochures for high-end 'classic' cars for sale - with glossy articles attached intended to stimulate demand in the cars in the ads.

Just really a giant ponzi- scheme designed to lure the punters in and then land a sale of some polished-up nail  - they have been like that for 30 years odd.

The revenues came from all those rich dealers and auction houses - many of which were and are based in West London. In a way they kind of dictated editorial policy - or at least the ad revenue did. A kind of circular supporting infrastructure - between publisher and advertiser.  

And there was never - I mean never, any objective criticism of any type of car or anything else within these mag's - it was all just a daft rosy picture.

Real news was rigoursly excluded. Over the years there were some massive scams and financial crashes among the auction houses and dealerati - but barely a flicker of interest in the glosses - as they did not want to bite the hand that fed them.

The 'market watch' sections are laughable boosting for the sales market.

This is what put me off Classic and Sportscar eventually, a few years ago, long after I gave up the others, but in the end I found the odd interesting piece about an oddball 1940s Austin was just not worth the other five articles about 911s and XKs in each issue.

I stopped even picking up Classic Cars around the time Quentin Wilson started writing for it, so a good 15-20 years ago. It always seemed more generic in coverage and money/values driven than C&SC, even in the 1990s.

Also, any mag that also starts covering watches, particularly the sort that cost more than an original Capri RS3100, will always be a sign of running after advertisers and the high-net-worth market.  If I want to read about watches I’ll buy a watch magazine, assuming such things exist. 

[lesapandre]

Yea they do exist:

'Practical Watches' - you see broken Timex mended in a shed.

'Old Watches' - you see broken Timex mended in a shed by a guy with a beard.

'Popular Watches' - you see cheap watches displayed in tasteful settings.

'Hot  Watches' - the marketplace for stolen watches.

'Classic Watches' - you see expensive watches displayed in tasteful settings.

Classic and Sportswatch - you see very expensive watches you could never possibly afford  displayed in tasteful settings.

Classic Watch Weekly - you see the same watches every week.

[Dobloseven]

11 hours ago, lesapandre said:

Yea they do exist:

'Practical Watches' - you see broken Timex mended in a shed.

'Old Watches' - you see broken Timex mended in a shed by a guy with a beard.

'Popular Watches' - you see cheap watches displayed in tasteful settings.

'Hot  Watches' - the marketplace for stolen watches.

'Classic Watches' - you see expensive watches displayed in tasteful settings.

Classic and Sportswatch - you see very expensive watches you could never possibly afford  displayed in tasteful settings.

Classic Watch Weekly - you see the same watches every week.

I reckon you've got too much time on your hands!

[R Lutz]

On 05/08/2024 at 21:18, artdjones said:

Car Mechanics was good when Peter Simpson edited it. It dropped off later on.

It feel off when it went to Kelsey in late 2020

[warren t claim]

With the circulation figures of car magazines falling off a cliff money to pay for staff writers will be squeezed until the pips squeak. I've no idea what the current pay rate is for a classic car motor noter but I very much doubt that it's high. 

Very few people have the ability to construct a readable article and put it down on paper. Sadly, the money probably doesn't reflect that.