Evo: What Went Wrong?

[Great Pretender]

About nine years ago, after filling my Fiesta up at the local Esso, I strolled into the Kiosk to pay for my fuel and stopped, as I usually did, at the magazine stand to look for the latest Autocar. In its usual place however, with a big photo of the new Ferrari 575 on the front, was Evo magazine. Intrigued, I picked up a copy, scanned through and immediately wondered how on earth I'd missed this publication for the four years or so it had run previously. Since that day, I have bought Evo religiously each month, latterly becoming a subscriber, until August this year, when I decided not to renew my subscription.

I've become increasingly less interested in Evo over the past few months and it's got nothing to do with the Porsche content. I love Porsches; the fact that they tend to win every group test doesn't surprise me. No, the issue is more deep routed. For me, the problem starts with the former Editor, Mr Metcalf. I cannot help but feel that over the years, his increasing wealth has clouded his original vision: to create a car magazine for enthusiasts from the ashes of Performance Car; aimed at people who care about driving. Is that still the same vision? I don't think so. Now I find the content largely contrived and generally half-arsed. ECOTY for example used to be a calendar event for me. I actually made a day available for myself each December so that I could sit down, in peace and quiet and read what was then the epic adventure that testing twenty or so cars should have been. To this day I can still recall the words of Richard Meaden as he chased Roger Green in a Clio V6 along the shores of Loch Lommond to rendezvous with the others somewhere near Fort William. How the team generally loved the then new T350, but ultimately, it was as shoddily executed as every other TVR. That's not the point though; the point is that I felt like I was there, agreeing with them. The trip down to the South of France for the final gathering, where the everyman car met the exotca, would literally have me on the edge of my seat. Clio Trophy vs Supercar? Brilliant article.

Last month's ECOTY by contrast, left me cold. I can't quite put my finger on it, but not only was it shorter, it just seemed rushed; as if the winner had been decided already and the rest of the content was just roughage to fill the pages. It's worse this month. I read the 599 Aparta article in Evo last night. It was frankly, crass. The truth is, I'm getting increasingly bored of blue blood guff which is now commonly de rigueur in my once favourite monthly. It's the gratuitous fawning over the elite; the ridiculous watches; the hommage du Ferrari. Hell, even the staff car park looks like something from a footballer's training session. What happened to the project cars? The hot hatch super tests? The M Power heros? The Porsche RS cars of old even?

For me, the rot set in when one month, after yet another trip to the Pagani factory for the world's most expensive oil change, I became convinced that Harry and Horacio were actually lovers. For christ sake Harry, have some perspective. Anyone remember the article years ago with the two Zondas in the Alps? One Coupe (now Harry's IIRC) and the first Zonda Roadster. Now that was a story and a half. That's the sort of stuff that made Evo great; not a tale of all the Pagani owners in the world gathering en masse for a knees-up that would make Caligula feel embarrassed.

Nick Trott? Talent vacuum. It's no coincidence that since taking the hot seat, I quite honestly cannot recall picking up the magazine and being unable to put it back down. He offers absolutely nothing. An Editor should inspire his readership. I don't even bother to read the Editorial now. There was a time when I would literally slumph into the couch with a mug of tea and some M&S Minibites and not move until I'd read Evo from cover to cover or part of my body had gone numb. Now? I'll pick it up from the coffee table if I happen to need a particularly obstructive dump. If I bother to buy it at all.

It's no wonder Harris left (although I imagine the ££££ golden handshake had something to do with it). Now, if we could tempt Porter away too (the rest I can take or leave), I reckon there's scope once again to land a relevant monthly performance motoring mag into the middle of the market, where in my opinion, there's now a gaping void between the likes of PPC (actually quite enjoyable, but I feel like I need a wash afterwards) and Evo/Octane. Car is getting there (it's entertaining at least and a bit more humble); Top Gear is only read by that 'hilarious' Uncle you hate and erm... well that's about it isn't it?

It was a shame PC died (again). With a little more journalistic sparkle, that could have been OK (if nothing like the original).

Are you listening Mr Haymarket Director?

[ThomDean]

Evo has changed in the few years I've been subscribing, but I don't think the rot is terminal. I agree that the content seems to have changed and I too miss the more accessible end of the spectrum. However, I also want to hear about the latest exotica and I think Evo still delivers on that front. I'd agree that the cult of personality has taken over a bit. I've also noticed that there are a lot more mundane, middle of the range cars padding out the reviews.

How about they bring back project Veyrog, expand the buyers guide section a bit more, and make it more accessible to the common petrolhead? I'm probably never going to buy a new supercar () but I might stretch my way into some second hand metal of note!

[GALLARDOGUY]

I'm with you on certain points. Its not what it was. I can't remember the last time I read a whole issue, cover to cover.

[ThomDean]

Can we assume that most of the Evo staff will read this?

[Mastodon2]

The point where I realised it was a rag that completely detached from the "thrill of driving" and had become a lifestyle mag for "the thrill of money" was Nick Trott's Aston. He got to spec it out and was supposed to drive it for a few months to report back on the Aston ownership experience. Except, I remember reading about it two or 3 times, where he sounded thoroughly disinterested in it, and then never heard from it again. I can't even recall the article for the summary and send off, if they even did one.

Now you can hypothesise all you want, but running a Clio V6 as a weekend toy (another one that seemed to drop off the radar) Nick is not on Aston money. I can understand not wanting to get too attached to a car that is not yours and never will be, but if his job is to write to convey the thrill of driving, he managed to do pretty much the exact opposite.

When you can't even be bothered to forge enthusiasm for getting to spec up and own an Aston for 6 months or whatever, you know the people in the normal world have no chance!

[poing]

Stopped my subscription to them about a year ago now for many of the reasons posted there. I just lost interest in it and I think this line from you "What happened to the project cars? The hot hatch super tests? The M Power heros? The Porsche RS cars of old even? " summed up why I lost interest.

Added to the writers you like I also have a soft spot for Barker, he's done some of my all time favourite articles but mainly in the early days of Evo.

I remember when I couldn't wait to read the next instalment of their various challenges of the £1000 cars and was amazed by the random choices they came up with. Even then going on to keep the MX5 as a long term car which helped continue the enjoyment.

I guess they have gone done a certain route and some of us have jumped ship. Perhaps more new people have been buying it and ultimately sales figures are the most important thing. Although if they are down then there is clearly a problem they need to address.

[StuB]

A balanced and reasoned point and after reading, one I can identify with. I recall actually taking the Mrs on our Anniversary up to Inverness via her folks in Glasgow, just so we could do the Fort William to Mallaig road (and it IS every bit as good as I thought it could be).

I also remember being Mesmerised by the two Zonda's and the photography in that valley still sits clear in my mind.

You're right, something's changed, but like the whole world around us, EVERYTHING changes and we often fail to spot it until that defining moment, where the benchmark (COTY) helps us benchmark our feelings and take stock.

Nick Trott should be worried I feel. I agree he adds little tangible to the mag. Shame Harris has left too, the article on taking the 7.2 GT3 RS to Delecour in the mountains was another goodie for me.

Still, things move on. EVO remains head & shoulders above the other for me, for the time being. Loved the article Dickie Meadon did on VMax (and loved the pax ride I had in the M600 and loved the fact I showed him the arse of my Pork off the line anyway).

Hope things pick up and I too hope they read your post. Well said chap

[m444ttb]

I still enjoy it. I don't buy it every month but it is the only car mag I buy as a rule. That said I can absolutely see where everyone is coming from. I'm just not sure if it really bothers me that much. Perhaps I'd rather day dream about that lottery win than a hot hatch I may be able to afford when it's 5 years old.

[j123]

At the beginning I used to have talks with John and Richard all the time about the formation of evo and the whats and hows-indeed there were so many, of each interesting article. There was no secret here, they both were committed and 100% all in to writing and describing the best cars on the best roads in as many details as possible- as much of the experience as they could. Its literately what drove the magazine to its circulation highs. They literally blew away the competition with this style of the most detailed tests of cars and drivers extant.

And then the lethargy, energy and desire began waning and I protested so loudly that both guys set about to hate me- both in personal talks and publicly, for insulting their intelligence and dedication. (Sorry to have offended but I still believe it) Ever more the Lord took over more and more of the direction of their baby, and hired more and more lessor scribes with less ability to so sensitively describe the driving (certainly Harris is not usually up for this) characteristics- all the details that made the car and driver and road work or not and WHY. To the point ever more and more where we are today with a bunch of general bullet points (from a cast of so many disparate free-lancers)of usually what amounts to one mans drive in comparison to not much- importantly with no running dialogue continued through months and YEARS OF ISSUES, on the narrative of the car and its continued place and relevance in the story of past and future generations of similar greats.

I also am left with the thought that in becoming such a passive editorial team that have not been forceful enough in there drive to goad car makers to do better (especially with regard to things like car size and electric steering) and have ceded that ground to the idea of if you what an evo car you'd better buy something old. Which really is half hearted. Journalism is about making the industry better, and the industry is really in a nose-dive. Its a new time.

Edited by j123 on Friday 23 December 19:29

[Stu R]

Great post GP, not a lot to disagree with from where I'm sitting.

I think a significant part of the problem is the lack of great alternatives from other publishers to keep them on their toes.

[anonymous-user]

In 1998 I worked on the Isle of Wight and had to commute from the mainland. At Ryde bus station early one morning I saw the first edition of Evo, something about an Impreza IIRC? It was brilliant and my wife bought me a subscription that year as a Christmas present.

Lately however, I do tend to agree it's more "Classic and Sports Car" than the "Practical Classics". I earn a half-decent income but I cannot hope to afford most of the cars they talk about. Paganis and a Countachs are lovely but I have no idea what they are talking about so why do I care?

They need to get back to their roots and start featuring cars we have a hope of owning.

Edited by anonymous-user on Friday 23 December 19:31

[HAB]

It's just a car comic.

Have a chug instead.

[anonymous-user]

Isn't Evo just the motoring equivalent of Hello! magazine these days? More escapeism than anything relevant to the average person?

I would imagine that apart from the powerfully built company directors the average reader is the sort of person on a normal salary who would love to own a Ferrari/Lsmbo/Porsche etc. but this is the closest they are going to get to it?

[Ved]

I cancelled my sub a few months back thinking I'd try their iPad edition (bad user experience) but I'm in agreement about the changes. For me it's very much like why I started liking rallying and the old touring cars; I could identify with them and go and buy them. While it's nice to read about 911's and Harry's every growing garage (nice bloke btw), the lack of cars I can actually see myself owning (sub 35k base maybe) are pretty much gone. I don't rate much of the writing now and it certainly isn't as enjoyable to read as it was a few years ago either.

The long termers were some of the best bits but now it's barely a footnote at the back of the mag.

Not really my thing any more, but then again I don't plan on buying a £2,500 watch every month or a £500 leather bag...

[Dave Hedgehog]

the problem with evo (and all auto reporters) is they are on the most highly skilled professional drivers who only rate cars that are great for POWWWAAAHHHHHHH sliding around a track, the exact characteristics you do not want in a road car

cars with practicality or flatter the amateur driver (ie safer) normally get slated

there entertaining car pron, and evo has superb photography but it has zero relevance to real world car use imo

and i hate to say this but even Chris Harris's opinion on cars is irrelevant to me, in fact if he dislikes a car its normally a sign for me to go try it

Edited by Dave Hedgehog on Friday 23 December 19:43

[AndyBrew]

I'm losing my interest in the magazine also, still subscribing but more due to the fact I keep forgetting to cancel it!

It's lost its mojo

[duggan]

The last time I looked at every page, moon-eyed reading/looking at every great picture was nearly two years ago:



Ok - easy material, but surely it can't be that hard to replicate the love of cars every month (both new and old)?

[Zwolf]

Amen brother Asbo.

[LHD]

Great Pretender said:

About nine years ago, after filling my Fiesta up at the local Esso, I strolled into the Kiosk to pay for my fuel and stopped, as I usually did, at the magazine stand to look for the latest Autocar. In its usual place however, with a big photo of the new Ferrari 575 on the front, was Evo magazine. Intrigued, I picked up a copy, scanned through and immediately wondered how on earth I'd missed this publication for the four years or so it had run previously. Since that day, I have bought Evo religiously each month, latterly becoming a subscriber, until August this year, when I decided not to renew my subscription.

I've become increasingly less interested in Evo over the past few months and it's got nothing to do with the Porsche content. I love Porsches; the fact that they tend to win every group test doesn't surprise me. No, the issue is more deep routed. For me, the problem starts with the former Editor, Mr Metcalf. I cannot help but feel that over the years, his increasing wealth has clouded his original vision: to create a car magazine for enthusiasts from the ashes of Performance Car; aimed at people who care about driving. Is that still the same vision? I don't think so. Now I find the content largely contrived and generally half-arsed. ECOTY for example used to be a calendar event for me. I actually made a day available for myself each December so that I could sit down, in peace and quiet and read what was then the epic adventure that testing twenty or so cars should have been. To this day I can still recall the words of Richard Meaden as he chased Roger Green in a Clio V6 along the shores of Loch Lommond to rendezvous with the others somewhere near Fort William. How the team generally loved the then new T350, but ultimately, it was as shoddily executed as every other TVR. That's not the point though; the point is that I felt like I was there, agreeing with them. The trip down to the South of France for the final gathering, where the everyman car met the exotca, would literally have me on the edge of my seat. Clio Trophy vs Supercar? Brilliant article.

Last month's ECOTY by contrast, left me cold. I can't quite put my finger on it, but not only was it shorter, it just seemed rushed; as if the winner had been decided already and the rest of the content was just roughage to fill the pages. It's worse this month. I read the 599 Aparta article in Evo last night. It was frankly, crass. The truth is, I'm getting increasingly bored of blue blood guff which is now commonly de rigueur in my once favourite monthly. It's the gratuitous fawning over the elite; the ridiculous watches; the hommage du Ferrari. Hell, even the staff car park looks like something from a footballer's training session. What happened to the project cars? The hot hatch super tests? The M Power heros? The Porsche RS cars of old even?

For me, the rot set in when one month, after yet another trip to the Pagani factory for the world's most expensive oil change, I became convinced that Harry and Horacio were actually lovers. For christ sake Harry, have some perspective. Anyone remember the article years ago with the two Zondas in the Alps? One Coupe (now Harry's IIRC) and the first Zonda Roadster. Now that was a story and a half. That's the sort of stuff that made Evo great; not a tale of all the Pagani owners in the world gathering en masse for a knees-up that would make Caligula feel embarrassed.

Nick Trott? Talent vacuum. It's no coincidence that since taking the hot seat, I quite honestly cannot recall picking up the magazine and being unable to put it back down. He offers absolutely nothing. An Editor should inspire his readership. I don't even bother to read the Editorial now. There was a time when I would literally slumph into the couch with a mug of tea and some M&S Minibites and not move until I'd read Evo from cover to cover or part of my body had gone numb. Now? I'll pick it up from the coffee table if I happen to need a particularly obstructive dump. If I bother to buy it at all.

It's no wonder Harris left (although I imagine the ££££ golden handshake had something to do with it). Now, if we could tempt Porter away too (the rest I can take or leave), I reckon there's scope once again to land a relevant monthly performance motoring mag into the middle of the market, where in my opinion, there's now a gaping void between the likes of PPC (actually quite enjoyable, but I feel like I need a wash afterwards) and Evo/Octane. Car is getting there (it's entertaining at least and a bit more humble); Top Gear is only read by that 'hilarious' Uncle you hate and erm... well that's about it isn't it?

It was a shame PC died (again). With a little more journalistic sparkle, that could have been OK (if nothing like the original).

Are you listening Mr Haymarket Director?

Well said.

Reading the new M5 group test this month made me nearly fall asleep.

[Zwolf]

LHD said:

Reading the new M5 group test this month made me nearly fall asleep.

Ditto and I fookin' LOVE M5s. The equivalent article in BMW Car however was rather enjoyable - as it should be though for a single marque publication I guess.