Discussion
Used to subscribe to PPC magazine took out my subscription after buying Issue 1 in the airport on way to holiday one year. I stopped subscribing probably about 18-20 months ago - it had kind of lost its way (content slimmed down and dumbed down, project cars never finished, staff cars (aside from a few gems like 240Z) basically old uninteresting heaps) and the tag line 'tuning for grown-ups' seemed a bit ironic considering the poor spelling, grammar and the overuse of the word 'arse'. However, I picked it up on the odd occasion I found it in newsagents close to where I live (it's unavailable in WHSmiths, can't find it in newsagents in Canary Wharf where I used to work).
I idly wondered what happened to the forum (used to be a member, gave that up when they lost the build thread I started documenting the engine swap and drivetrain upgrade on my Dax Rush) and looked for it on www.ppcmag.co.uk. Everything about it seems out of date, and no forum.
Is PPCMag dead?
EggsBenedict said:
Used to subscribe to PPC magazine took out my subscription after buying Issue 1 in the airport on way to holiday one year. I stopped subscribing probably about 18-20 months ago - it had kind of lost its way (content slimmed down and dumbed down, project cars never finished, staff cars (aside from a few gems like 240Z) basically old uninteresting heaps) and the tag line 'tuning for grown-ups' seemed a bit ironic considering the poor spelling, grammar and the overuse of the word 'arse'. However, I picked it up on the odd occasion I found it in newsagents close to where I live (it's unavailable in WHSmiths, can't find it in newsagents in Canary Wharf where I used to work).
I idly wondered what happened to the forum (used to be a member, gave that up when they lost the build thread I started documenting the engine swap and drivetrain upgrade on my Dax Rush) and looked for it on www.ppcmag.co.uk. Everything about it seems out of date, and no forum.
Is PPCMag dead?
This echoes my thoughts exactly. It was my favourite magazine from issue 1 and I even used to subscribe when I was living in Singapore.I idly wondered what happened to the forum (used to be a member, gave that up when they lost the build thread I started documenting the engine swap and drivetrain upgrade on my Dax Rush) and looked for it on www.ppcmag.co.uk. Everything about it seems out of date, and no forum.
Is PPCMag dead?
I can sometimes find it here (USA) in the bigger bookstores but the content seemed to be watered down a lot over the last year or two so I no longer subscribe.
Coming home (London) for a couple of weeks on Friday, so I will seek out the latest copy and maybe some back issues to see what the score is currently!
The Crack Fox said:
I often write for PPC, they are alive and well, they moved from Stamford to Corby a while ago, have recently bought another publication (Retro Ford or something similar) and have been very busy on many fronts. They just don't 'get' the internet and I've never bothered with their forum. PPC can be a bit rough around the edges but for some that's the appeal. Their new place in Corby is real Man-cave, full of cool stuff, I'll try and get a pic when I next visit.
Can you tell them that they have lost their way a little in recent times and need to get back to the original format. It's not the editing that got me more the lack of content/increase in fluff. They're genuine guys though an the mag is still ok, if only for laughing at the 530d that never seems to run properly despite no amount of turbo's and diagnostics thrown at it!
To be fair, some of the editing was almost comically dreadful from day 1 but that was never a huge problem for me, though I never noticed any missing articles etc.
I have never used their forum, as it doesn't seem great, but I do wonder whether improving that might get them a bigger audience (just look at this site) for the magazine, which would improve revenue and, potentially, quality.
I hope they keep going but I hope they get an editor who can spell and knows his cars.
These guys are great garage/ project guys but I am almost surprised by their lack of knowledge re. some models/ cars. I was genuinely shocked that they didn't know what a Darrian/ Davrian was in one issue, a while back. Ok, that's a rare car but has been around for a LONG time, has been raced and rallied very successfully and was available as a kit - I'd have thought the type of people who knew what that car was would be their core market!? It may be nit picking but I like to read magazines because they will teach me something I don't know - in that way, PPC can frustrate!
However, there aren't really other magazines out there that cater to the 'project' crowd that aren't slanted towards the Max Power/ Halfords end of the spectrum or focussed on a specific brand. I see PPC like the Readers Cars section of this site, which is a good thing!
I have never used their forum, as it doesn't seem great, but I do wonder whether improving that might get them a bigger audience (just look at this site) for the magazine, which would improve revenue and, potentially, quality.
I hope they keep going but I hope they get an editor who can spell and knows his cars.
These guys are great garage/ project guys but I am almost surprised by their lack of knowledge re. some models/ cars. I was genuinely shocked that they didn't know what a Darrian/ Davrian was in one issue, a while back. Ok, that's a rare car but has been around for a LONG time, has been raced and rallied very successfully and was available as a kit - I'd have thought the type of people who knew what that car was would be their core market!? It may be nit picking but I like to read magazines because they will teach me something I don't know - in that way, PPC can frustrate!
However, there aren't really other magazines out there that cater to the 'project' crowd that aren't slanted towards the Max Power/ Halfords end of the spectrum or focussed on a specific brand. I see PPC like the Readers Cars section of this site, which is a good thing!
I like PPC and I've bought it since day one, previously having enjoyed CCC.
Will and Kevin et al are a good bunch in my opinion, having met them and shared a beer at Goodwood before. Their spelling has never been great and that is one aspect of the magazine which they really ought to get right.
Will and Kevin et al are a good bunch in my opinion, having met them and shared a beer at Goodwood before. Their spelling has never been great and that is one aspect of the magazine which they really ought to get right.
I used to really like it too. Stopped buying most magazines as I just wasn't reading them but this was probably the last to go. Have picked it up a few times at airports and went with something else.
Got bored reading about how to replace a clutch (will never do this but understand how it's helpful) or similar articles but I think the biggest one was exactly what you mentioned - project cars never getting finished. Some seemed to run once then never mentioned again but most turned into mini updates that they hadn't progressed.
Got bored reading about how to replace a clutch (will never do this but understand how it's helpful) or similar articles but I think the biggest one was exactly what you mentioned - project cars never getting finished. Some seemed to run once then never mentioned again but most turned into mini updates that they hadn't progressed.
I enjoy it but they need to finish some cars. Charlie's spitfire engined sd1 is insane but the guy is a real Fred Dibnah type who builds what he needs. Cannot find a dyno to develop his marlin, no issue just build one from telemarketer retarders. He is worth the the subscription alone but some of the others are incompetent in how they do things.
i know a few of the guys at PPC a top bunch!
As has been mentioned they have been crazy busy lately sorting out a new office and mag as well as a load of features i know they have coming up!
Oh and the forum was trashed by a bored script kiddy. They aren't looking at bringing it back yet but plans are a foot i think. Like someone already mentioned they dont get the internet. But they will.. eventually!
As has been mentioned they have been crazy busy lately sorting out a new office and mag as well as a load of features i know they have coming up!
Oh and the forum was trashed by a bored script kiddy. They aren't looking at bringing it back yet but plans are a foot i think. Like someone already mentioned they dont get the internet. But they will.. eventually!
I'm sure we all think they're great guys and I swapped some emails with them in the 'early days' of PPC. It's just that PPC is no CCC, sadly.
I still miss that magazine to my very core, after finding it in a petrol station 17 years ago! PPC gets close to filling the void, it just needs more polishing!
Maybe people just aren't building as many 'cool things' these days? Yes, there are plenty to be found on this site but 20 years ago, every man in his shed seemed to be scratch building some sort of monster!
I still miss that magazine to my very core, after finding it in a petrol station 17 years ago! PPC gets close to filling the void, it just needs more polishing!
Maybe people just aren't building as many 'cool things' these days? Yes, there are plenty to be found on this site but 20 years ago, every man in his shed seemed to be scratch building some sort of monster!
I've not seen it for a while. I quite liked that Agony Uncle page at the back, that piece on a prop letting go on a dyno was an eye opener. One of the questions posed by a reader towards the front looked obviously like a plant rather than a real question. That E30 with the M30 and turbo was interesting.
Is the main man Will? The bits about his personal life were interesting, he ran a quattro so full marks from me. That feature where's he in the bath daydreaming about engine swaps featured a suggestion from someone I know.
Stuff like not knowing what a Davrian is is disappointing. One of the reasons I've stopped buying magazines is the inaccuracies some of which could be due to Mac drivers using image libraries, getting stuff like E21s and 2002s mixed up is pretty basic stuff as is spelling Lamborghini and Miura wrong.
Is the main man Will? The bits about his personal life were interesting, he ran a quattro so full marks from me. That feature where's he in the bath daydreaming about engine swaps featured a suggestion from someone I know.
Stuff like not knowing what a Davrian is is disappointing. One of the reasons I've stopped buying magazines is the inaccuracies some of which could be due to Mac drivers using image libraries, getting stuff like E21s and 2002s mixed up is pretty basic stuff as is spelling Lamborghini and Miura wrong.
Edited by carinaman on Thursday 15th August 18:10
As has been said, there is nothing else really on the market that fills the same gap, so you live with its flaws.
It’s a great riposte to yet another Evo edition fawning over some never-in-a-million-years-affordable super car.
The content ebbs and flows and has done for quite a few years. You will get some issues of cracking how-to articles mixed with some great buying guides and then it will slip into a poorly written max-power recreation.
It can also become a bit of a homage to the 70’s occasionally which depending on your generation is a bad/good thing but I guess reflects the age of a lot of the key guys behind it.
It’s a great riposte to yet another Evo edition fawning over some never-in-a-million-years-affordable super car.
The content ebbs and flows and has done for quite a few years. You will get some issues of cracking how-to articles mixed with some great buying guides and then it will slip into a poorly written max-power recreation.
It can also become a bit of a homage to the 70’s occasionally which depending on your generation is a bad/good thing but I guess reflects the age of a lot of the key guys behind it.
My opinions mirror the OP's - had all the issues 'til a year or so ago when I got fed up with it.
The magazine seemed to get thinner and thinner, with more mistakes and sloppy journalism creeping in. Around the time it was obvious their budget had been hit hard by the recession, and the focus seemed to shift from ingenious practical low-cost solutions to outright bodgery. Also some of their pseudo-engineering started to grate - the technical articles used to be good, but started to frequently seem like the cleaners had been asked to write a few hundred words to fill the space.
The magazine seemed to get thinner and thinner, with more mistakes and sloppy journalism creeping in. Around the time it was obvious their budget had been hit hard by the recession, and the focus seemed to shift from ingenious practical low-cost solutions to outright bodgery. Also some of their pseudo-engineering started to grate - the technical articles used to be good, but started to frequently seem like the cleaners had been asked to write a few hundred words to fill the space.
I'm another deserter for the same reasons as mentioned. It used to be brilliant with some fantastic features, I wasn't bothered about editing errors. In fact I used to enjoy spotting them in the early days.
Then it got a bit thin on content, "how to" guides for stuff I didn't care about and I stopped buying it. Much like evo (also cancelled the sub), re-reading the early editions brings me so much joy I wasn't getting in recent ones.
Retro cars is another magazine that started well and fell out of favour.
Then it got a bit thin on content, "how to" guides for stuff I didn't care about and I stopped buying it. Much like evo (also cancelled the sub), re-reading the early editions brings me so much joy I wasn't getting in recent ones.
Retro cars is another magazine that started well and fell out of favour.
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