Are car magazines dead?

[lesapandre]

I think it’s Martin Hodder - rather than Noddy's motoring cousin.

These names are etched in my memory.

If you can get hold of some of the 70's - early 80's Throughbred & Classic Cars they are beautifully researched. Jonathan Wood particularly is an outstanding motoring writer in them.

[83C]

Like a few others I still buy Private Eye but Performance Bikes was the last motoring mag I regularly bought, mainly because I like John McAvoy’s writing and the features with Michael Rutter. Bauer killed it (first merging with Practical Sportsbike and then putting PB out of its misery a few months later) as they have done with a number of mags that at one time were incredibly popular (LRO for example).

In the 2000s I bought tons of mags, including PB, LRO, PPC, Top Gear, Max Power, Fast Ford, Classic Ford, Total Vauxhall and more, but the internet and forums have pretty much killed it all off. The boxes and boxes of mags have been whittled down to a few old favourites (maybe a dozen or so) and the rest went down the tip - I dread to think how much money I threw away. The remaining few stay just because they have a favourite article or because of the moment the mag represents, such as the issue of Max Power with the original Fast & The Furious cars in (2001ish) or a couple of LROs with some good byway routes listed. 

I do occasionally think about buying some of the modern ‘boutique’ mags like Sideburn or Classic.Retro.Modern because I do enjoy a properly well-written and quality mag but then I get my automotive fix online and forget about them, which is no reflection on the quality of the mags but it does illustrate why it is such a struggle these days for print media.

[meggersdog]

20 hours ago, delux said:

 

Will the next generation waste time and money keeping old cars going?

 

Just MoT'd a car for an 18 year old. The car was on L plates , young lad came in with his dad. It was a father and son project. The car ,a 1990 Fiat Tipo dgt with the digital dash, had been off the road in a garage for 23 years. Yes it had lots of work done and stands the lad in at 1500 quid so far. The lad thinks it's cool but his dad doesn't. 

[HMC]

My love affair with cars, and car mags are inextricably linked. Before i could buy my own cars, before i could even drive, top gear but especially practical classics was my go to.

Aged 16 reading about Nick Larkin having a “grand day out” where he got a bmc 1100 (called derek) for £600 from a dealer was something I lapped up. No internet. No you tube. Print media was THE thing. The only thing. And i loved it.

Nowadays its not so. I often wonder how teenagers today connect with the love of older cars- if at all? 

EDIT- as per a few others @83C @AnthonyG i have a current print subscription to private eye. I feel it monetises and encourages a healthy scrutiny of our present times and is well worth it for this. I suspect that is one subscription i will never cancel. 

[grogee]

41 minutes ago, HMC said:

My love affair with cars, and car mags are inextricably linked. Before i could buy my own cars, before i could even drive, top gear but especially practical classics was my go to.

Aged 16 reading about Nick Larkin having a “grand day out” where he got a bmc 1100 (called derek) for £600 from a dealer was something I lapped up. No internet. No you tube. Print media was THE thing. The only thing. And i loved it.

Nowadays its not so. I often wonder how teenagers today connect with the love of older cars- if at all? 

Actually that reminds me of buying Mini World. I had my first car, a  1970 Mini 1275 GT.  Used to get excited about a new issue. 

I think, as a teen, I'd read Motor, but couldn't afford it weekly so bought one a month. 

It's a good point, this and glossy brochures definitely fuelled the fire for car obsession. 

[Christine]

My older cousin would give me his Custom Car mags in the seventies.  I loved all the topless chick pictures..and Metalflake paint . 

[captain_70s]

I cancelled my subscription to Practical Classics around 2013. A rising price, growing number of adverts and a growing ability to notice all the errors made me decide it wasn't really worth it. With the rise of internet forums and blogs I could read about a resto in real time with significantly more detail than in a print magazine. It also seemed like some of the staff were there more to get a foot into a journalistic role.

I can happily read an old issue of Motor or Autocar cover to cover though...

Of course the irony is that forums and blogs are more or less dead, so we're left with clickbait style Insta posts and sporadic flurries of FB posting. Although that may just be me being out of touch. Loads of younger folk seems to be getting into old cars.

[Austin-Rover]

The push towards electronic copies really winds me up. They're just not as put-downable and pick up where you left off as a magazine. Gave up on Practical Classics when their renewal offer was pulled before the expiry date and the publishing companies' helpline and online chat went unanswered. There's also no 'package' for just getting the magazine through the post - just options for printed + electronic copy, or printed + some shite videos I'll never watch.
 

I thought PC were starting to do well in writing more about aspiring classics from the 80s, 90s and 00s recently which was encouraging. However, I've not picked a copy up in over a year. 

Along similar lines, the latest issue of the Caravan Club magazine landed this week - announcing an exciting* development... which turned out to be that most of the articles had been shifted to online. Cheers for that! 
 

[sierraman]

I quite liked mid to late 80’s CAR, loads of really good photography and interesting articles, wasn’t a fan of LJK Setright and the esoteric ramblings he’d produce. 

[reb]

Speaking of magazines, a copy of Viz pops through my door every so often, I presume I'm paying for them... I take them out of the wrapper and add them to the pile I plan to read when I get round to throwing my phone in the sea.

[sierraman]

1 minute ago, captain_70s said:

I cancelled my subscription to Practical Classics around 2013. A rising price, growing number of adverts and a growing ability to notice all the errors made me decide it wasn't really worth it. With the rise of internet forums and blogs I could read about a resto in real time with significantly more detail than in a print magazine. It also seemed like some of the staff were there more to get a foot into a journalistic role.

I can happily read an old issue of Motor or Autocar cover to cover though...

Of course the irony is that forums and blogs are more or less dead, so we're left with clickbait style Insta posts and sporadic flurries of FB posting. Although that may just be me being out of touch. Loads of younger folk seems to be getting into old cars.

Craptical Plastics is a last resort for me, long uneventful plane journeys after I’ve counted the stitching in the back of the Ryanair logo in the seat. It used to be very ‘men in sheds’ restoring a Vauxhall Victor in a council lock up with no power then Peter Simpson showing you how to make an Singer Gazelle bonnet out of a piece of card, some scissors and an old St Michael biscuit tin.
 

Compare that to now and it’s a tale if how Ian, a multimillionaire, has just done a chequebook job at a place to restore a Mk1 Golf, then all the tiresome rubbish about what’s happening in the market. Then you read the Sagas about the staff throwing what appears to be thousands of pounds per month at an indulgence gives you an idea now that classic cars are no longer a working class pursuit. All the yuppies arrived and what they lacked in skills they had a big enough wallet to cover it. Some say that’s not a bad thing in the sense it means cars have got the money they needed spending on them but the whole practical ethos has gone right out the window now I’m afraid. 

[artdjones]

Autocar and Motor from the 70s and 80s were peak motor magazines. Look at @trigger's road tests on Flickr.

[worldofceri]

Print media isn’t dead, it just isn’t mainstream any more.

The great unwashed will get their kicks elsewhere, so there is no money to be made by corporate publishing entities.

But like vinyl records, printed media persists as a product for the enthusiast, and is better for it.

Examples:  
Hayburner (paid for by advertising, but adverts that the readership want and are relevant);    
The Road Rat (reassuringly* expensive, with a coffee-table gloss and proper journalism).

[grogee]

56 minutes ago, sierraman said:

I quite liked mid to late 80’s CAR, loads of really good photography and interesting articles, wasn’t a fan of LJK Setright and the esoteric ramblings he’d produce. 

He was my favourite, but then I like prog rock

[richardmorris]

On 05/08/2024 at 19:00, danthecapriman said:

I’ve actually just cancelled my subscription to Practical Classics.

Ive been getting it for years, but just not been too bothered with it lately. Some of them have come through the letter box and never been read. I just decided in the end to save myself the money. 
I can’t say exactly why I don’t bother with it anymore to be honest, but the interest in it just isn’t there enough for me to read it now. I’d rather watch YouTube stuff or read car related stuff on here or elsewhere on the net.

As far as interest in cars and the future is concerned, there will be people who keep doing this sort of hobby. If it’s going to be as popular as it is now I don’t know though. 
Last summer I had a few kids come knock the door asking about the big car they’d seen under the cover on my driveway! They seemed genuinely interested and nice kids so I took the cover off and let them see it, even let them sit in it. 
Chatting to them they were both car fanatics and had been walking to school and seen my car a few times, then got curious enough to come and ask. 
A few days later they came back again as they wanted to see my Capri in the garage!

That kind of proves to me that the interest is still there for some.

I started subscribing to practical classics when I had a CX and one of the writers bought one for a feature. Then it was never heard from again. I had subscribed to octane from the 1980s and classic cars for a couple of decades but don’t do any now.  I am members of 2cvgb, Citroen car club, and traction owners club, and x1/9 owners - that’s quite enough magazines through the door. Plus NT, woodlands trust, cycling Uk, byline times and the big issue.

[brownnova]

2 hours ago, HMC said:

My love affair with cars, and car mags are inextricably linked. Before i could buy my own cars, before i could even drive, top gear but especially practical classics was my go to.

 

This is me too. My love of older cars came from a bunch of Practical Classic and Car restorer magazines given to me by a friend. They were well thumbed. Along with the daily express “World Car Guides” my grandad bought me every Christmas in the mid 90s-early 00s. (Apparently the only Christmas present he ever bought himself - but I digress) 

On 05/08/2024 at 19:00, danthecapriman said:

I’ve actually just cancelled my subscription to Practical Classics.

Ive been getting it for years, but just not been too bothered with it lately. Some of them have come through the letter box and never been read. I just decided in the end to save myself the money. 
I can’t say exactly why I don’t bother with it anymore to be honest, but the interest in it just isn’t there enough for me to read it now. I’d rather watch YouTube stuff or read car related stuff on here or elsewhere on the net.

 

I recently did the reverse. I subscribed for years, and then cancelled about 8 years ago only buying the odd copy and moving more onto forums and YouTube (ironically the same time I bought more old cars). But about a year ago I re-subscribed and really enjoy the chance to switch off and read for a bit. It gets me away from the phone and tbh I have almost completely stopped watching any YouTube as I’d rather read a magazine about a car than watch a video most of the time. I do agree PC has moved more towards a cars as a middle class hobby than as many practical tips, despite the attempted bangernomics sections. But I still enjoy many of the articles and it’s a great route to switching off.

I had a brief chat with Danny Hopkins at Rustival, and he said that despite many print media magazines struggling and indeed dying, PC is bucking the trend. So they must be doing something right… 

2CVGB news and Saab Driver also get read here. If magazines weren’t so expensive/I had more time I’d probably like Retro. Classic. Modern. But I’ve never bought a copy… I also enjoy a read of magazines of the past. I picked a few ‘Car’ magazines from the mid 90s up at Shitefest. 

[brownnova]

https://www.bauermedia.co.uk/news/bauer-media-uks-audited-circulation-figures-2023/
 

An interesting article with the numbers for Bauer Media. 

[delux]

Was thinking more about it today.

Assuming all my old favs were still in print, they would all be £6 and probably all full of insurance adverts, millionaires and bodyshops building and restoring rare works of art or some halfwit telling me to disconnect the battery and put the car on axlestands before fitting a plastic bonnetguard!

When people restored something with no tools/fancy garage/money it was inspiring! If some dude went rallying on his dole money budget, I wanted to go rallying! I remember seeing some guy in Streetmachine once who had made custom wheeltrims for his Mini out of steel bowls from Habitat or somewhere! Mind blown!

I dont care that Dave, who has a better garage than the one I work in bought a car I wanted and spunked away thousands more than I have to make it better and faster than anything I own! Fuck him!

Maybe I just wish I still had disposable income to buy these mags? Maybe I yearn for a head full of project cars rather than the head full of welding burn memories and '30 years as a mechanic' bitterness and contempt!

In the past, people would ask me what car to buy. My answer would be a stream of cars that were cool or fast. Nowadays I can dismiss just about every car as shite! I find myself using phrases like...

'Nah, head gaskets go in them...'

'...yeah, they are great until the rear bushes go then it will eat tyres...'

'...hmm, turbos in them are soft as shite...'

Just cant handle being an old git now, lol!

[warren t claim]

1 hour ago, brownnova said:

https://www.bauermedia.co.uk/news/bauer-media-uks-audited-circulation-figures-2023/
 

An interesting article with the numbers for Bauer Media. 

I'd be interested in how much of their revenue comes from advertising and online readership.

[brownnova]

I think “Car” magazine especially relies on online readership as it pops up in my news feeds from time to time, but I can’t access it as I don’t do news plus or whatever bollocks the news subscription is. 

[warren t claim]

2 minutes ago, brownnova said:

I think “Car” magazine especially relies on online readership as it pops up in my news feeds from time to time, but I can’t access it as I don’t do news plus or whatever bollocks the news subscription is. 

I've got no idea what Classic Car and Classic And Sportscar are like now, but the last time I flicked through a copy it seemed to be about 65% adverts for high end cars. Surely those in the market for a Daytona will be using the internet, not a magazine to find a car for sale?

I fear that classic car mags have gone down the same plughole as printed pornography.

 

[sierraman]

8 hours ago, warren t claim said:

I've got no idea what Classic Car and Classic And Sportscar are like now, but the last time I flicked through a copy it seemed to be about 65% adverts for high end cars. Surely those in the market for a Daytona will be using the internet, not a magazine to find a car for sale?

I fear that classic car mags have gone down the same plughole as printed pornography.

 

People in the market for a Daytona are very likely multi millionaires and have someone else with a blank cheque looking for the right one. It’s very unlikely they’re browsing through a magazine and spot one as you say. 

[sierraman]

9 hours ago, delux said:

Was thinking more about it today.

Assuming all my old favs were still in print, they would all be £6 and probably all full of insurance adverts, millionaires and bodyshops building and restoring rare works of art or some halfwit telling me to disconnect the battery and put the car on axlestands before fitting a plastic bonnetguard!

When people restored something with no tools/fancy garage/money it was inspiring! If some dude went rallying on his dole money budget, I wanted to go rallying! I remember seeing some guy in Streetmachine once who had made custom wheeltrims for his Mini out of steel bowls from Habitat or somewhere! Mind blown!

I dont care that Dave, who has a better garage than the one I work in bought a car I wanted and spunked away thousands more than I have to make it better and faster than anything I own! Fuck him!

Maybe I just wish I still had disposable income to buy these mags? Maybe I yearn for a head full of project cars rather than the head full of welding burn memories and '30 years as a mechanic' bitterness and contempt!

In the past, people would ask me what car to buy. My answer would be a stream of cars that were cool or fast. Nowadays I can dismiss just about every car as shite! I find myself using phrases like...

'Nah, head gaskets go in them...'

'...yeah, they are great until the rear bushes go then it will eat tyres...'

'...hmm, turbos in them are soft as shite...'

Just cant handle being an old git now, lol!

Sometimes the worst people to ask what car to buy are mechanics, all they see day in day out are broken cars. 

[lesapandre]

1 hour ago, sierraman said:

People in the market for a Daytona are very likely multi millionaires and have someone else with a blank cheque looking for the right one. It’s very unlikely they’re browsing through a magazine and spot one as you say. 

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.

I've not looked at this smug nonsense for years. 

[artdjones]

8 minutes ago, sierraman said:

Sometimes the worst people to ask what car to buy are mechanics, all they see day in day out are broken cars. 

I just steer people towards Hondas, Toyotas and post 2008 Renaults. Absolutely no Vag or BMW.

[Dobloseven]

Makes me smile in the hands on classic car mags,where the writers will repeatedly tell us how their 2CVs,Minors,Rovers etc.etc.are far superior to modern needlessly bloated school run SUVs.And then,turning the page, "Porsche Cayenne Buyers Guide.We show you how to buy the best while they're still cheap"!

[Spottedlaurel]

14 hours ago, HMC said:

My love affair with cars, and car mags are inextricably linked. Before i could buy my own cars, before i could even drive.............

Ditto. For me Classic & Sportscar and the sadly short-lived but excellent Auto Performance (from Link House, so a sister title to Custom Car and CCC).

 

I was 12 in 1982, and with both of them I just happened to get the first issue and liked what I read (avidly, from cover to cover - I could pick them up now* and they'd still be familiar).

*Still could, as I have them along with thousands of others in the garage.

As I started doing a paper round and then working part time at Tesco I also got Street Machine, Car and Custom Car, and moved onto CCC after the demise of Auto Performance. When I started work I had them all reserved for me at Martin's. Jalopy, Popular Classics, Car & Driver and others came later, but now I don't buy anything and rarely even take a look on the shelf. Only physical title I buy with any regularity is an annual issue of Youngtimers when we're in France.

For some reason I never bothered with the weeklies, although I have vast quanities of them now plus a complete collection of What Car? from 1973 launch issue to the end of 1999.

[Dobloseven]

12 minutes ago, artdjones said:

I just steer people towards Hondas, Toyotas and post 2008 Renaults. Absolutely no Vag or BMW.

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!

[lesapandre]

27 minutes ago, Spottedlaurel said:

Ditto. For me Classic & Sportscar and the sadly short-lived but excellent Auto Performance (from Link House, so a sister title to Custom Car and CCC).

 

I was 12 in 1982, and with both of them I just happened to get the first issue and liked what I read (avidly, from cover to cover - I could pick them up now* and they'd still be familiar).

*Still could, as I have them along with thousands of others in the garage.

As I started doing a paper round and then working part time at Tesco I also got Street Machine, Car and Custom Car, and moved onto CCC after the demise of Auto Performance. When I started work I had them all reserved for me at Martin's. Jalopy, Popular Classics, Car & Driver and others came later, but now I don't buy anything and rarely even take a look on the shelf. Only physical title I buy with any regularity is an annual issue of Youngtimers when we're in France.

For some reason I never bothered with the weeklies, although I have vast quanities of them now plus a complete collection of What Car? from 1973 launch issue to the end of 1999.

The Jaguar Mk7 in the picture would have been 32 years old - we are now 42 years on from that magazine....

The Jaguar is 74...*

tempus fugit

* BEC555 does not seem to be on the DVLA database. More happily the Armstrong is on SORN.

[Spottedlaurel]

41 minutes ago, lesapandre said:

The Jaguar Mk7 in the picture would have been 32 years old - we are now 42 years on from that magazine....

The Jaguar is 74...*

tempus fugit

* BEC555 does not seem to be on the DVLA database. More happily the Armstrong is on SORN.

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.