What is happening at EVO magazine?
Discussion
Truckosaurus said:
It must be a terrible time to be a magazine producer, the single issue costs are now pushing them beyond impulse purchases.
Let alone the fact that brand new cars are offering very little of interest - it is no coincidence that recent issues of EVO are featuring more 'modern classics' (articles on old 911s, Mercedes and Mini R53 in the current issue - and an article on an old Indycar you would expect to see in Motorsport or Octane).
Agree and the tide is turning now. I'm not saying EVO are guilty of it, but the rise in EVs don't interest me, so what else do you cover/review in a car magazine now in terms of new cars? Let alone the fact that brand new cars are offering very little of interest - it is no coincidence that recent issues of EVO are featuring more 'modern classics' (articles on old 911s, Mercedes and Mini R53 in the current issue - and an article on an old Indycar you would expect to see in Motorsport or Octane).
It must be quite demoralising if you're a petrolhead car journalist now I would've thought.
Truckosaurus said:
cerb4.5lee said:
....It must be quite demoralising if you're a petrolhead car journalist now I would've thought.
Indeed. Especially if you want to just be a writer not some social media star or Youtuber.With EVO, I think they CAN include EVs but make it interesting. I would like to see something like a Tesla Model 3 Performance tested against some ICE rivals. Old style EVO test on track, to a proper road trip along some decent roads, motorway, Yorkshire Moors type of thing. Doesn't have to be Tesla as other EVs are available, but for me, the Model 3 is the closest equivalent to ICE favourites such as the BMW M3/4 and Audi RS4 etc.
greenarrow said:
With EVO, I think they CAN include EVs but make it interesting. I would like to see something like a Tesla Model 3 Performance tested against some ICE rivals. Old style EVO test on track, to a proper road trip along some decent roads, motorway, Yorkshire Moors type of thing. Doesn't have to be Tesla as other EVs are available, but for me, the Model 3 is the closest equivalent to ICE favourites such as the BMW M3/4 and Audi RS4 etc.
Anyone supporting the EV debacle should have their credentials blocked for at least a year. This site, afterall, is called PISTONHEADS.Floater said:
greenarrow said:
With EVO, I think they CAN include EVs but make it interesting. I would like to see something like a Tesla Model 3 Performance tested against some ICE rivals. Old style EVO test on track, to a proper road trip along some decent roads, motorway, Yorkshire Moors type of thing. Doesn't have to be Tesla as other EVs are available, but for me, the Model 3 is the closest equivalent to ICE favourites such as the BMW M3/4 and Audi RS4 etc.
Anyone supporting the EV debacle should have their credentials blocked for at least a year. This site, afterall, is called PISTONHEADS.greenarrow said:
Yeah, I have seen a real change in Autocar in the last year. Almost every new car tested is an EV, usually some boring Chinese crossover thing or a massive German SUV. I guess they feel they have to go with the flow but by the same token I am still waiting for the road tests of the McLaren 750S, Lotus Emira, Honda Civic Type R etc....
With EVO, I think they CAN include EVs but make it interesting. I would like to see something like a Tesla Model 3 Performance tested against some ICE rivals. Old style EVO test on track, to a proper road trip along some decent roads, motorway, Yorkshire Moors type of thing. Doesn't have to be Tesla as other EVs are available, but for me, the Model 3 is the closest equivalent to ICE favourites such as the BMW M3/4 and Audi RS4 etc.
Great post - I’d like to read the EVO test that you mentionedWith EVO, I think they CAN include EVs but make it interesting. I would like to see something like a Tesla Model 3 Performance tested against some ICE rivals. Old style EVO test on track, to a proper road trip along some decent roads, motorway, Yorkshire Moors type of thing. Doesn't have to be Tesla as other EVs are available, but for me, the Model 3 is the closest equivalent to ICE favourites such as the BMW M3/4 and Audi RS4 etc.
Maybe one of the Electric BMW 3-series like an i4 M50 with petrol M3 and RS4 and Alfa Quattroformaggio or something on a road trip in Wales/Scotland etc
big horsepower, oversized and overweight cars started the decline before EVs.
there was at least a little bit of latent petrolhead in many people decades ago, but now for the majority cars are just status/utility with infotainment features to compare. To put it another way, in WH Smiths, car mags are now moving to lower shelf rather than prime line of sight mid shelf. Along with model railways.
there was at least a little bit of latent petrolhead in many people decades ago, but now for the majority cars are just status/utility with infotainment features to compare. To put it another way, in WH Smiths, car mags are now moving to lower shelf rather than prime line of sight mid shelf. Along with model railways.
Hopefully there should be some EVs in the near future that actually have some 'thrill of driving' potential (not just fast in a straight line) - eg. the Renault 5 and its Alpine sibling.
(I watched on Youtube yesterday a review of some Hyundai EV hot hatch with fake engine noises and semi-pretend gears - seems like a gimmick that you get bored of quickly even if it is amusing at first.)
There's been thin gruel in the ICE marketplace for many years - even in their Fast Fleet they have to have an ancient Fiat 500 as one of only two hot hatches (the Yaris GT is proper evo material though) along with both a Leon and Octavia which are basically the same car.
(I watched on Youtube yesterday a review of some Hyundai EV hot hatch with fake engine noises and semi-pretend gears - seems like a gimmick that you get bored of quickly even if it is amusing at first.)
There's been thin gruel in the ICE marketplace for many years - even in their Fast Fleet they have to have an ancient Fiat 500 as one of only two hot hatches (the Yaris GT is proper evo material though) along with both a Leon and Octavia which are basically the same car.
Olivera said:
Lefty said:
You could almost see evo morphing into a better quality Modern Classics.
Octane for cars from the 80’s to the 10’s
That works for me.
+1. I'd be happy if they entirely killed off any EV content.Octane for cars from the 80’s to the 10’s
That works for me.
Any media which deals with new cars, will have to deal mainly with EVs and hybrids, where much of the coverage will be details on the lane assist, charging speed and so on, all mind numbingly boring. How to deal with characterless cars where there is little difference between a £70k Kia (!!) and an equally overpriced Audi etc.
havoc said:
I rather hope they don't...not unless they get rid of Coucher. That man's ego is so large he must struggle to get through doors.
Is he still going? He was editor of Classic Cars way back in the late 90s when I was a subscriber for a while!I think all the ideas above have merit, but tempered with commercial realism that the number of petrolheads who will buy an ICE only car magazine focussing on a particular era is quite small in the grand scheme of things. Hence why Modern Classics died. Just not enough people who will put their hand in their pocket and support it. I don't really know why something like a Tesla model 3 or BMW i50 can't have its place in the mag alongside, as SM suggested your Alfa Quadfogoglios and Audi RS4s.
Anyway, have been flicking through this month's issue and its not bad really. The Alfa Guilia remains a stunning piece of kit and I actually enjoyed the icon piece on the original BMW R50 Mini Cooper. Not a car that gets much coverage these days but a very sweet real world hero car that isn't a DC2 Integra or a Subaru Impreza Turbo
greenarrow said:
I don't really know why something like a Tesla model 3 or BMW i50 can't have its place in the mag alongside, as SM suggested your Alfa Quadfogoglios and Audi RS4s.
There's no reason at all as long as it provides 'The Thrill of Driving'. Can EVs do that yet in the EVO sense? I'll start to take more notice of them when an EV is capable of winning ECOTY. How many EVs have been included in ECOTY so far?thegreenhell said:
greenarrow said:
I don't really know why something like a Tesla model 3 or BMW i50 can't have its place in the mag alongside, as SM suggested your Alfa Quadfogoglios and Audi RS4s.
There's no reason at all as long as it provides 'The Thrill of Driving'. Can EVs do that yet in the EVO sense? I'll start to take more notice of them when an EV is capable of winning ECOTY. How many EVs have been included in ECOTY so far?greenarrow said:
Hence why Modern Classics died. Just not enough people who will put their hand in their pocket and support it.
I liked the concept of Modern Classics, I just didn't like the execution. The journalism was sub-par and the matey banter style of writing really annoyed. I bought a few copies where there was an car featured I was particularly interested in, other than that it was a flick through at the supermarket.If someone came along and did it in a more grown up way, then I would probably be a regular buyer or subscriber.
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