What is happening at EVO magazine?

What is happening at EVO magazine?

Author
Discussion

cerb4.5lee

30,687 posts

181 months

Tuesday 16th April
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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?

It must be quite demoralising if you're a petrolhead car journalist now I would've thought.

DMZ

1,399 posts

161 months

Tuesday 16th April
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The last evo was very good with the older cars. From my point of view, all good if they continue like that.

Truckosaurus

11,310 posts

285 months

Tuesday 16th April
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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.

greenarrow

3,600 posts

118 months

Tuesday 16th April
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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.
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.

Floater

76 posts

135 months

Tuesday 16th April
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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

3,600 posts

118 months

Wednesday 17th April
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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.
Don't own an EV and am not supporting the "debacle" as you call it. Just a pragmatist/realist who accepts that magazines which don't at least move with the times will probably not be publishing for too much longer.

s m

23,234 posts

204 months

Wednesday 17th April
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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 mentioned

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

Lefty

16,157 posts

203 months

Wednesday 17th April
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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.

Olivera

7,152 posts

240 months

Wednesday 17th April
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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.

NomduJour

19,126 posts

260 months

Wednesday 17th April
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Said before, but it would make more sense to just merge it into Proctane - there’s already some review overlap.

That way you wouldn’t have to read about how Korean Look-at-me-I’m-an-EV stuff with fake noises and sham gear changes is actually really not all that bad (honestly!).

CABC

5,587 posts

102 months

Wednesday 17th April
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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.

havoc

30,075 posts

236 months

Wednesday 17th April
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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.

Truckosaurus

11,310 posts

285 months

Wednesday 17th April
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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.


itcaptainslow

3,703 posts

137 months

Wednesday 17th April
quotequote all
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.
+2, that would be awesome, although Evo’s prime time would be that era too.

ribiero

548 posts

167 months

Wednesday 17th April
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Floater said:
Anyone supporting the EV debacle should have their credentials blocked for at least a year. This site, afterall, is called PISTONHEADS.
EV's still have pistons's in their brakes wink

Guybrush

4,350 posts

207 months

Wednesday 17th April
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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.

greenarrow

3,600 posts

118 months

Thursday 18th April
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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 biggrin

thegreenhell

15,366 posts

220 months

Thursday 18th April
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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?

malucnojes

50 posts

109 months

Thursday 18th April
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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?
There was an interesting side note regarding this on the last ECOTY, they essentially said they had considered it but logistically it was too much of a faff given the shoot location.

andrewcliffe

967 posts

225 months

Thursday 18th April
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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.