C&D subscription for $5

Wow! Car & Driver just offered me a year's subscription for $5. I know things were tough in the magazine world, but $5?

Even at that price, I'd only do it if Csere & Yates could get that great staff from the 70s-80s back together..Don Sherman, Jean Lindamood, Steve Smith, Pat Bedard...and frequent commentary from LJK Setright and PJ O'Rourke.

Damn, I wish I hadn't let my ex-wife talk me into getting rid of my back issues. C&D was once a great mag. Check your local Goodwill stores, maybe there's a little of my old collection left...

You guys can find that here:

https://subscribe.hearstmags.com/subscribe/crosssite/40718

Note that Road & Track is also there for $5 I used to read C&D before it was C&D. The 60s and 70s were great, but then it started to decline. Now it's suitable for the bottom of the birdcage. But R&T still has some good stuff.

For that price, it seems expensive.

I guess $5 just won't buy what it used to.

$5 for 12 issues of Popular Mechanics? $0.42 per copy.

Not bad for airplane reading material that you ditch into the seat pocket.

It is the endless supply of junk mail that comes with these subscriptions that is the real reward.

My sub expires in July. I will not be renewing, even for $5.

$5? Still not worth it.

C/D and R&T are identical. I had a gift subscription to both and they even had the same cover shot for 3-4 months in a row. I did not renew either at $5...

Car Craft and Hot Rod on the other hand can both be found for $5/year and I will recommend both of those. Doug Glad has really done a good job with C/C and has installed a ton of AMC content (they have a Rambler project car!) and now that Freiburger is back at HR it's really getting good again (a lot of off-the-wall and cool stuff instead of Camaros).

I have been getting C&D, R&T, AutoWeek, and a few others free for years. I don't think I have paid for a magazine subscription since I was 12, and that was for MAD magazine.

That being said, $100 for 10 years of GRM is a bargain: http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/store/subs/

$5 for C+D or R&T isn't an atypical deal. They've always been cheap (especially C+D) and the two magazines are sisters. You have to remember who's selling what to whom in the magazine business: subscribers are sold to advertisers.

Landing those subscribers is the expensive part, thus the cheap incentives. Keeping them (all those "your subscription is expiring!" notices) is expensive as well - thus the GRM solution of 10 years for $100. I like that one, it seems much more honest.

The thing that's really gotten under my skin about C&D, R&T, and AW (I haven't read the drivel from Automobile or Motor Trend in at least 20 years) is that they shifted focus toward the "automotive lifestyle"- which really means that as a reader of average means, that I get to read about exploits of the super rich, and dream about their cars.

OR, read a comparison article where the cars are discussed each for about a paragraph and BMW always wins (even when their car isn't a choice).

AW in particular is really bad. This most recent issue has a Lambo tubo, a Rolls something, an Audi concept, and THEN a little about the Hyundai Tucson and the long term Cube. Post that is a "wish list" for things that that I can't ever afford, someting about a dream owned track, expensive events to go to... and a nice review of Watches (yes, watches) where the min cost is $2800. So they are related to cars, perhaps, but they are for 0.001% of the readers who can blow $20k on a WATCH.

I read other vintage cars magazines that also cover expensive cars- but they try to teach you how important the history of the car is, not make you feel small that you can't own one.

All in all, the 10 year deal on GRM and CM was the best deal I ever got. They still cover my level of interest.

E-

There is a half price bookstore by me that sells all of the previous months magazines for $0.50 each. That is nice because I can browse and pick up the magazines that look interesting.

At one time (the late 80's), Car and Driver was my favorite magazine. It even prompted me to major in journalism for a while in college.

They lost me a few years ago with their new look. I can no longer distinguish between articles and ads. I still usually pick up the Ten Best issue, but I even found that to be unreadable this year.

We've grown apart.

I thought C&D was getting better... there's been increased John Phillips, who makes me snort out loud, and so far I like Eddie Alterman. Really can not stand that old bastard David E. Davies though, pompous, unreadable crap.

While I never really liked David E., I did read his book, Thus Spake David E a few years ago and it was pretty interesting. Pompous, but interesting.

Woody, they recently acknowledged that the redesign was a total failure, and tossed it. The new new look debuted in January's issue I think.

Lesley, I'm with you on Davies. I do not understand the appeal of that guy at all.

The only car magazines I read on a regular basis are GRM and CM (of course) and I have a subscription to EVO. I've found Hennings Sports and Exotic to be a nice complement to CM, as it's a slightly different bias - more survivors and interesting pedestrian cars, but no motorsports or sports-oriented focus like CM. The other American magazines are usually only something I read at the doctor's office.

I read C&D when they had ~interesting~ writers like Steve Smith, Dickie Smothers, Gordon Jennings, Warren Weith, Charles Fox, Jean Shepherd.

The writers above offset the grumpy trio of Brock Yates, David E. Davis and LJK Setright .

Today, the magazine looks like Pablum to me.

These days, I enjoy Grassroots, Classic Motorsports and various Brit car magazines such as Practical Classics, Motor Sport, Octane and Spotlight (a magazine for Austin owners).

The online section of the ~NY Times Collector Cars~ can also be pretty good.

I didn't mind the redesign, but the fonts used were bloody horrible. Really unprofessional looking - the kerning was so bad they ran together. However... I love that they were using more illustration

Thanks for the nice words about us. Or are you just saying those things to make us feel better?

David S. Wallens wrote: Thanks for the nice words about us. Or are you just saying those things to make us feel better?

Nope, not to be nice, it's the truth. I saw the title of this thread and opend it intending to say even at $5 it was overpriced, but I've been beaten to it several times over. I not only have the $100/10year deal myself, but I bought a subscription as an Xmas gift for some one else too. GRM is the only US based magazine I read.

Now, if the GRM staff could produce EVO and Octane for $100/10year I'd be very happy :)

I got my first year for Free, then the two year renewal for $5. I figured I needed something for the bathroom...

I had a lot of faith in C&D. They were the first car mag that introduced me to imports/exotics way back in the early 80's. I liked the lay out, the writer's, the stories and the cars. Still have the mags in rubbermaids out in the garage.Learned a lot about cars, people,locations, lifestyles and personalities from them.

I switched to Automobile when they came out. I always wanted to be an automotive "journalist", and found myself driving by 120 East Liberty when I was in Ann Arbor. Never did go in.

Nowadays, I'm not really into reading about the latest Ferrari/Lamborghini/Tesla/Koeniggsegg etc., as I've gone into more marque specific mags.

David S. Wallens wrote: Thanks for the nice words about us. Or are you just saying those things to make us feel better?

Nope, you guys and the Hemmings triplets are about it.