Is anyone bored with EVO magazine recently?
Discussion
Pommygranite said:
Mezzanine said:
Is John Barker back as a full time staff member or an occasional contributor?
And did he ever finish that Capri he spent £000's on before it quietly disappeared from Fast Fleet?...
Edited by s m on Tuesday 23 May 07:43
I still buy Octane, Classic Cars and Modern Classics, but agree with much of what has already been said. I like the car choices in MC in particular, but find the writing and "buy now while you still can" summaries a little annoying
Glad I still have these to read (while fielding accusations of Rose-tintedness). Pity I didn't keep more though
Glad to hear of Barker and his Capri
Glad I still have these to read (while fielding accusations of Rose-tintedness). Pity I didn't keep more though
Glad to hear of Barker and his Capri
I've given up with regularly buying car review magazines as they offer the same as I can get online from the likes of PH.
I do like reading magazines though, but I stick to magazines focused more on production quality and unique vehicles like Fuel (http://fueltank.cc/fuel/) rather than those who focus more on a review/comparison format.
I do like reading magazines though, but I stick to magazines focused more on production quality and unique vehicles like Fuel (http://fueltank.cc/fuel/) rather than those who focus more on a review/comparison format.
Leins said:
I still buy Octane, Classic Cars and Modern Classics, but agree with much of what has already been said. I like the car choices in MC in particular, but find the writing and "buy now while you still can" summaries a little annoying
Glad I still have these to read (while fielding accusations of Rose-tintedness). Pity I didn't keep more though
Glad to hear of Barker and his Capri
Good collection Glad I still have these to read (while fielding accusations of Rose-tintedness). Pity I didn't keep more though
Glad to hear of Barker and his Capri
I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who likes to read them again
The Crack Fox said:
The stuff I write for PPC certainly isn't junkyard bodge nonsense.
No insult was intended. I was just saying that this is what if felt like after a few issues in after it was launched, and I lost interest. I'm sure the magazine was just finding its feet at the time. s m said:
Good collection
I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who likes to read them again
I suspect not quite in the league of your collction though!I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who likes to read them again
For some reason I stopped storing mags after 1995, and these (from the 9 years previous) got boxed away for quite some time. They now sit close to the drinks cabinet and a good lamp!
ClockworkCupcake said:
Ah, the magazine back issues reference library. Or, as spouses call it, the clutter / waste of space / fire hazard. 
Yes, herself takes even less interest in them than my cars. Which is just the way I want it!Motor Sport is comfortably the best written magazine and the one which most reflects ,my interests. Octane has its moments wit some excellent articles but it reeks of elitism and Robert Coucher is beyond parody . The bar was set by CAR in its 60s-80s format (dreadful now ) and Supercar Classics which was beautifully designed and had the best writers of all-Roger Bell , Gavin Green , Nigel Roebuck, David E Davis and the two big daddies of them all- Setright and Bulgin.
EVO started well but I found its obsession with track behaviour of everything from Enzos to Yetis tiresome and whilst Barker,Catchpole and Meaden(now in Motor Sport) could write very well some of the others are firmly in Troy Queef territory . And if I never have to read about yet another pumped up , overpowered AMG Mercedes or ridiculous Audi S something it will be too soon ..
EVO started well but I found its obsession with track behaviour of everything from Enzos to Yetis tiresome and whilst Barker,Catchpole and Meaden(now in Motor Sport) could write very well some of the others are firmly in Troy Queef territory . And if I never have to read about yet another pumped up , overpowered AMG Mercedes or ridiculous Audi S something it will be too soon ..
I have been reading car magazines most of my life and have dipped into and out of most titles at some point. I wasn't a huge fan of Bulgin to be honest but rate the likes of Frankel, Sutcliffe and Harris.
Have read EVO since the start and prior to that things like PC and Fast Lane. Have cancelled my EVO subscription as I too was finding little in it to interest me. I have a quick look at the latest issue on the shops and buy if anything catches my eye.
Have read EVO since the start and prior to that things like PC and Fast Lane. Have cancelled my EVO subscription as I too was finding little in it to interest me. I have a quick look at the latest issue on the shops and buy if anything catches my eye.
SidewaysSi said:
...and prior to that things like Fast Lane......
They had some nice quirky stuff in there.It started in the 80s very roughly around the time Hot Car became Performance Car - 2 of my favourite mags
Was sad when it melted into Complete Car
Octane I've never got into ....although I look at it and have bought the odd issue
I think that EVO is finding it's feet again after a period when a lot of people jumped ship in favour of the magnificent Drive Tribe (what a piece of s
t that is) and is now coming back with a better quality of magazine than it has been in many years. And to that I salute the team, because I wasn't sure if they'd come back from that.
My issue, growing slowly, is actually with sister mag Octane. Increasingly it's feeling like a pre-auction promotion for Bonhams etc, with features now largely decreed by what is being sold at upcoming auctions. That gives the mag a rather shallow feel I think. And the comment above about Robert Croucher is spot on - he even had a letter printed in last months EVO lecturing a F40 owner on the proper start up procedure for his car, based on nothing more than a passing comment the owner had made.
Fortunately Motorsport is still out there. Still the best magazine overall.
t that is) and is now coming back with a better quality of magazine than it has been in many years. And to that I salute the team, because I wasn't sure if they'd come back from that.My issue, growing slowly, is actually with sister mag Octane. Increasingly it's feeling like a pre-auction promotion for Bonhams etc, with features now largely decreed by what is being sold at upcoming auctions. That gives the mag a rather shallow feel I think. And the comment above about Robert Croucher is spot on - he even had a letter printed in last months EVO lecturing a F40 owner on the proper start up procedure for his car, based on nothing more than a passing comment the owner had made.
Fortunately Motorsport is still out there. Still the best magazine overall.
I still enjoy EVO. Not as much as the earliest issues, but it seems to be getting better lately. Maybe the fresh faces after Trott went to Motorsport and the others left for Drive Tribe. (Is anything happening at DT? I gave up on it ages ago)
I do find the percieved Porsche bias in EVO a bit tiring, and I very much agree with a previous poster about it becomeing too track focused.
Nice picture of Barker's Capri somewhere above - we need to hear more about that.
As also mentioned above Coucher's correct F40 warm up letter was a terrible thing to have written.
I'm amazed that Classic Cars manage to have Quentin Wilson and Gordon Murray on almost the same page as columnists. It is a very dull read nowadays.
The observation about Octane articles being a sales pitch for the auction houses is spot on. Their editor needs to wake up.
A couple of years ago my interests expanded toward vintage cars, I now buy The Automobile. It's a fantastically old-school magazine, well written, dull layout and snap-shot photography. I absolutely love it.
The other magazine that will hopefully become a regular purchase is the splendid new venture 5054.
I do find the percieved Porsche bias in EVO a bit tiring, and I very much agree with a previous poster about it becomeing too track focused.
Nice picture of Barker's Capri somewhere above - we need to hear more about that.
As also mentioned above Coucher's correct F40 warm up letter was a terrible thing to have written.
I'm amazed that Classic Cars manage to have Quentin Wilson and Gordon Murray on almost the same page as columnists. It is a very dull read nowadays.
The observation about Octane articles being a sales pitch for the auction houses is spot on. Their editor needs to wake up.
A couple of years ago my interests expanded toward vintage cars, I now buy The Automobile. It's a fantastically old-school magazine, well written, dull layout and snap-shot photography. I absolutely love it.
The other magazine that will hopefully become a regular purchase is the splendid new venture 5054.
coppice said:
Motor Sport is comfortably the best written magazine and the one which most reflects ,my interests. Octane has its moments wit some excellent articles but it reeks of elitism and Robert Coucher is beyond parody . The bar was set by CAR in its 60s-80s format (dreadful now ) and Supercar Classics which was beautifully designed and had the best writers of all-Roger Bell , Gavin Green , Nigel Roebuck, David E Davis and the two big daddies of them all- Setright and Bulgin.
EVO started well but I found its obsession with track behaviour of everything from Enzos to Yetis tiresome and whilst Barker,Catchpole and Meaden(now in Motor Sport) could write very well some of the others are firmly in Troy Queef territory . And if I never have to read about yet another pumped up , overpowered AMG Mercedes or ridiculous Audi S something it will be too soon ..
You'll be pleased with the new editor of Motorsport then, John. EVO started well but I found its obsession with track behaviour of everything from Enzos to Yetis tiresome and whilst Barker,Catchpole and Meaden(now in Motor Sport) could write very well some of the others are firmly in Troy Queef territory . And if I never have to read about yet another pumped up , overpowered AMG Mercedes or ridiculous Audi S something it will be too soon ..
Barker Catchpole and Meaden are freelance. Ergo you'll see their copy anywhere. Sutcliffe contributed several articles to Evo last month; I wasn't aware he'd gone to the dark side...
Isn't 'overpowered AMG Mercedes' an oxymoron?
Not oxymoronic now that AMG is plastered over the back of any random Mercedes......See also M badges and R and ST lInes
The jury is still out on Nick Trott as editor of Motor Sport , and therefore sole trustee of a national treasure .From his body language on their podcasts I sense he is very much editor/journo first and enthusiast a long way second , unlike.the wonderfully keen and erudite Ed Foster and Simon Arron who are enthusiasts who ended up writing about their passion . Sad that Roebuck has gone - he's wasted in Autosport .
The jury is still out on Nick Trott as editor of Motor Sport , and therefore sole trustee of a national treasure .From his body language on their podcasts I sense he is very much editor/journo first and enthusiast a long way second , unlike.the wonderfully keen and erudite Ed Foster and Simon Arron who are enthusiasts who ended up writing about their passion . Sad that Roebuck has gone - he's wasted in Autosport .
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