I don't really like to promote other car mags here, but for those folks who, like me, thought Motor Trend Classics was a decent mag, it's returned. I just skimmed it today....it's (still?) $15 plus tax, so in Memphis that means $16.50 an issue. Very good pix of cars that are actually more CM than GRM, but decide for yourself.
A decent article comparing the original Mini and Abarth 500 stick in my mind.
I saw it at the newstand and was intrigued. I picked it up thinking I would buy it and then I saw the price. Fifteen bucks for a magazine is just nuts. No thanks.
Holy cow. Even the Brit rags aren't that much after the exchange. Sounds like a good one to add to the stack next time I'm wasting a table at Borders.
Don't want to self promote, but the Motor Trend Import Car of the Year 914 sits outside of my office every day. It was painstakingly restored by our shop.
WilD wrote:I saw it at the newstand and was intrigued. I picked it up thinking I would buy it and then I saw the price. Fifteen bucks for a magazine is just nuts. No thanks.
I pay that for the Rodder's Journal every 3 months. I treat it like a never ending book.
we were fans in its first iteration. We actually had a friendly relationship with a lot of the staff, and had things worked out it probably have been a win-win for both them and Classic. No "official" partnerships, of course. Just two similar businesses on the same side of the proverbial street looking out for each other when then could.
But at $15 Ill need a look at one before I make too much of a judgment. That's a very specific pricepoint, and one that the previous mag could not have played well in. I wish them luc, though. If you're the only guy in a pool, you're the creepy guy with the too-loose trunks. If there's a bunch of folks in there having fun then everyone wants in, the market is legitimized and the companies that do the best job or are the most flexible will "Win."
jg
In reply to JG Pasterjak:
One of the things I like about CM is that there's still a little of that GRM "best bang for the buck" going on over there, even though y'all are discussing cars a little (or a lot) more expensive. IMO, it seems that the folks running publications like Motor Trend and Hemmings are just thinking "..well, the vintage guys still have money, let's see if we can grab a piece of that..", instead of "..how can we get people exited about these cool old cars?.." I'll be jealous of Tim Suddard until my dying day because he actually found, bought, restored, and drove the very GT-6 I drooled over in those old Quaker State & Triumph ads when I was a kid. That kind of thing is what makes CM much better than Hemmings' usual "..here's the guy who was rich enough to buy your childhood dream car when it was new.." kind of thing.
I'll admit that Hemmings is more reasonable about it, since they can publish several niche mags to import/muscle car/tailfin era collectors for $6 a piece, instead of trying to go straight up Pokemon "CATCH EM ALL!!" for $15.
As for me, I'll take CM. Even if Andy did have to get rid of the GTV6. I was looking forward to some articles on that one, since I've got so much work to do..
http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/reader-rides/1566/
Yeah, I thought $15 is/was kind of steep, but the pix "seemed" to make it worthwhile.
I've read A LOT of car mags from the U.S. and the U.K. (I'd even read some from S.A. and/or Australia, if I could find them) but my cutoff point is about $10. I used to BUY the British mag CAR as soon at it hit the stands, WITHOUT even looking inside....now I buy a copy every now and then.
Guys, I still buy EVERY issue of GRM, unless I miss one in my travels across the country, and CM every now and then (sometimes for the tech articles and sometimes for the cars you feature).
BTW, if it wasn't for the PRINT issues of GRM, I'd miss some of the good on-line articles that you "advertise" in the print mag.
