What is happening at EVO magazine?

[trickywoo]

coppice said:

there's some cracking stuff , and Leno , Dron and Simister especially are always a treat to read.

I used to get the independent free and therefore tried to read Simister. Note tried. Absolutely dire. I assumed he has seen sense and given up trying to be a motoring journalist. I was going to try octane but won’t bother now I know he writes in it.

[Sa Calobra]

Reminds me... Lenos garage is back soon on tv

[edo]

This months evo has 50 pages of advertising out of 162 (not including the paid for product reviews and sponsorship all over the place from warranty-wise).

Over a 3rd. I wont be renewing.

[rgw2012]

edo said:

This months evo has 50 pages of advertising out of 162 (not including the paid for product reviews and sponsorship all over the place from warranty-wise).

Over a 3rd. I wont be renewing.

Me neither - there are some nice pictures now and again but that's it for me; the journalistic quality has steadily declined and regular contributors seemed to be leaving in droves, the amount of advertising has gone through the roof and the physical quality has also deteriorated in my view. Smells of a sinking ship to me.

[edo]

I tweeted. no responses. feel free to re-tweet if you're a tweeter!

https://twitter.com/edwowen/status/937006569962770...

[Nigel_O]

I bought a copy of Evo yesterday on impulse - just fancied something other than my Top Gear subscription

It was only when I got it home that Wifey pointed out the issue date...... February 2018 !!

Surely monthly magazines shouldn't be allowed to release THAT early?

I guess they're short of money and want the extra revenue from issuing more, erm, issues

[waynecyclist]

The December issue of Classic and Sportscar is 266 pages and over 140 pages are full page adverts.

Been a subscriber for years and never really noticed that many adverts before.

Maybe they are struggling as well.

[Sa Calobra]

Motorsport mag is another one that tipped into being very successful at selling ad space. Someone needs to reign in the sales team/relook and focus on what the mag is for. ..It'll end up killing mags, I know the mag owners know more ads = money money and customers are mugs who'll keep buying but when they become tired and stop buying, advertisers then leave.

I used to buy FHM etc religiously, flicking through 8-10 pages I'd ads before the index page insulted me too much.

[Monkeylegend]

If only there was an adblocker for car magazines.

[Clockwork Cupcake]

Having said that, I bought an issue of Marie Claire recently. The first page that wasn't adverts was page 37, and that was just the table of contents. The first actual article was on page 70.

So EVO have a long way to go to catch up with that. But I totally agree that it feels like it is heading there.

[PorkInsider]

coppice said:

camshafted said:

Paul Walker's death was the biggest story in the world for a week or so.

I imagine it could have been too late to amend the article in time for publication.

Not on the planet I live - I first heard of him after he died , when I realised he was in the films that twelve year olds of all ages watch . I am now reminded of his premature demise by those tragic little quotes some folk stick on the side of their cars.

Yep. I only found out who he was because I saw on the news that an actor had died in a crash and then saw something on PH about it.

Could have been an actor from Star Wars, or something, for all I knew.

I genuinely didn’t realise those films he was in were watched by adults. I thought it was a children’s thing.

[MR2 Steve]

Evo not available with Tesco clubcard vouchers anymore. Not sure it’s good enough anymore to pay for a subscription. Will pick and choose issues now the subscription has run out.

[havoc]

Muzzer79 said:

It is a bit difficult for EVO. They have to rate cars honestly and they can’t help it if Porsches are so good.

But are they really, or is it a case of "Emperor's new clothes"?

I'm not saying they're bad cars, but the 911, right through to the 997*, was always a car that made YOU drive it the way it wanted to be driven, rather than being flexible to the driver's style.

If you like driving in such a way (or indeed are able to, to the required level), then I'm sure they are very good. If not, then historically they've been a liability smothered by increasingly capable electronics.

...and clearly there's a large contingent in evo who DO like to drive that way...and possibly the journalistic team at evo self-selected, as anyone who gainsaid Porsche would find themselves in a minority...



* Not sure about the 991.

[Clockwork Cupcake]

My biggest problem with EVO, notwithstanding all the things already said, is their almost fetishistic obsession with getting the back end out. You get the impression that any car that can't oversteer on the merest whiff of throttle on a bend or roundabout is somehow a *bad* car in their eyes.
There are very, very few reviews in EVO that don't make some reference to it. Which, of course, is where SniffPetrol's whole "Dab of Oppo" came from.

That couldn't be any further from my requirements for a road car, where such behaviour would see your collar being felt if plod witnessed it or it was captured on someone's dash cam.

[slk 32]

coppice said:

The frustration with Octane is that if one scythes through The World of Robert Coucher, the man who seems to be morphing into the devil spawn of Alan Partridge and Hugh Hefner, there's some cracking stuff , and Leno , Dron and Simister especially are always a treat to read.

I just have to close my eyes and turn the pages quickly when dear Robert is droning on about his never- never land of fine wines ,Jaguar motor cars, cigar humidors and Hooray Henries .

If Coucher gets any further up his own arse he'll disappear.

This months article column is all about some exclusive lunch club. I used to think his articles were a bit tongue in cheek but it's clear to me now he lacks the self awareness for that

[havoc]

Doesn't he have some ownership interest in the mag...gotta be some reason they haven't kicked him out yet...

[iSore]

I knew Robert (he was nicknamed 'Bob Crouch' by some) 20 odd years ago and I found him okay if a bit 'Strawberries and Champagne' - but bland he certainly wasn't. He had a 101 or 750 Giulietta that he drove pretty hard almost everywhere. I guess he must have changed a bit since then but compared to some of the awful back stabbing reptiles that inhabited a certain major publishing house at the time he was a pleasant enough guy, as was Mick Walsh.

[edo]

Good reply from Stuart Gallagher (editor) to an email and a tweet, which he didn't have to do, but fundamentally nothing is likely to change sadly.

[slk 32]

edo said:

Good reply from Stuart Gallagher (editor) to an email and a tweet, which he didn't have to do, but fundamentally nothing is likely to change sadly.

I understand the need for ads but the awful quality paper feels like a real own goal. What is the point in taking decent pics if you print it on toilet paper?

I notice the Octane price has gone up ten per cent (and they are using crap paper too!)

[Sa Calobra]

Clockwork Cupcake said:

My biggest problem with EVO, notwithstanding all the things already said, is their almost fetishistic obsession with getting the back end out. You get the impression that any car that can't oversteer on the merest whiff of throttle on a bend or roundabout is somehow a *bad* car in their eyes.
There are very, very few reviews in EVO that don't make some reference to it. Which, of course, is where SniffPetrol's whole "Dab of Oppo" came from.

That couldn't be any further from my requirements for a road car, where such behaviour would see your collar being felt if plod witnessed it or it was captured on someone's dash cam.

Or like the tit I observed this weekend ended up pointing in the wrong direction on a suburban road.