What is happening at EVO magazine?

[Clockwork Cupcake]

corozin said:

I've kinda stopped buy EVO as I've gotton older. Octane is a much better magazine, albeit the features unashamed free advertising for upcoming Bonhams, Mecum and Goodings auctions...

I bought a copy of Octane a few years ago, and it was just so up its own arse that it put me right off and I didn't buy another. Perhaps I should give it another go.

[havoc]

Clockwork Cupcake said:

corozin said:

I've kinda stopped buy EVO as I've gotton older. Octane is a much better magazine, albeit the features unashamed free advertising for upcoming Bonhams, Mecum and Goodings auctions...

I bought a copy of Octane a few years ago, and it was just so up its own arse that it put me right off and I didn't buy another. Perhaps I should give it another go.

No, don't - it still is. Great subject matter, very variable writing. And then there's Coucher...

[cerb4.5lee]

Clockwork Cupcake said:

corozin said:

I've kinda stopped buy EVO as I've gotton older. Octane is a much better magazine, albeit the features unashamed free advertising for upcoming Bonhams, Mecum and Goodings auctions...

I bought a copy of Octane a few years ago, and it was just so up its own arse that it put me right off and I didn't buy another. Perhaps I should give it another go.

Everytime I've flicked through Octane there hasn't been anything in it of any interest for me, I've always wondered who buys it and I'm surprised it's still going in fairness, I'm only 44 so I presume it's the old boys/girls that keep it going.

[Johnny5hoods]

I like the list of one liner summaries of performance cars, old and new, in the back. Other than that, the cars they mainly review are irrelevant to most of us.

My favourite car mag, sadly long out of print, was Jalopy and Slow Car. The UK's only genuinely funny car mag. Really miss it. Rang up the editor to find out why it had disappeared, and he sent me, free of charge, various back issues I didn't have which would have been impossible to obtain otherwise. Great mag, great people.

[John D.]

Cancelled my long standing EVO sub a while back. It just seems to lose its spark. Perhaps I grew up a bit (I don't think so!). Shame as I used to love it.

I'm still subscribed to Motorsport magazine where Nick Trott has now turned up and is 'improving'. I've noticed more watches......

[s m]

cerb4.5lee said:

Clockwork Cupcake said:

corozin said:

I've kinda stopped buy EVO as I've gotton older. Octane is a much better magazine, albeit the features unashamed free advertising for upcoming Bonhams, Mecum and Goodings auctions...

I bought a copy of Octane a few years ago, and it was just so up its own arse that it put me right off and I didn't buy another. Perhaps I should give it another go.

Everytime I've flicked through Octane there hasn't been anything in it of any interest for me, I've always wondered who buys it and I'm surprised it's still going in fairness, I'm only 44 so I presume it's the old boys/girls that keep it going.

I'm generally the same re Octane - about every 6 months they do an article I'm interested in - most of the other stuff is either too old or Goodwood for me.

I did get this month's Octane as they had the editor of Performance Car, J. Crosse, ( the original one from the eighties to the late nineties ) buying his long term test Sierra from the mag back in 87

[John D.]

Most of Octane isn't my cup of tea either. Too much auction stuff and other bks with the odd good article.

[Carnage]

John D. said:

Cancelled my long standing EVO sub a while back. It just seems to lose its spark. Perhaps I grew up a bit (I don't think so!). Shame as I used to love it.

I'm still subscribed to Motorsport magazine where Nick Trott has now turned up and is 'improving'. I've noticed more watches......

I cancelled my Motorsport subscription this month. The writing quality has plummeted and Trott... his love that dare not speak its name for Richard Meaden and his shameless plugs to get some free club racing irritated me to much to read.

Shame, after 11 years, but there you go.

[Scottie - NW]

Is there any magazine about that is like EVO used to be before Harry left?

That was ideal for me.

[s m]

corozin said:

I was in WH Smiths today and both EVO and Octane were there on the shelves, format apparently unchanged. So is it just the loyal subscribers who are being fed the 'lo-cost' version then?

Are you sure it was the latest EVO you were looking at? Often the non-subs version won't hit the shelves till a Wednesday

[John D.]

Carnage said:

I cancelled my Motorsport subscription this month. The writing quality has plummeted and Trott... his love that dare not speak its name for Richard Meaden and his shameless plugs to get some free club racing irritated me to much to read.

Shame, after 11 years, but there you go.

I've just renewed as it happens. I kept EVO going for at least a year too long too!

[Carnage]

John D. said:

I've just renewed as it happens. I kept EVO going for at least a year too long too!

[DanielSan]

iSore said:

DanielSan said:

I keep morning to create the Evo drinking game, where the use of the word alacrity means you have to down your drink each time it’s in an article

What about 'Focussed' or is that another title?

I’ve seen that in Evo, I’ll add it to the list.

[DanielSan]

Attempted to read the new issue and got as far as the old vs new 911 GT3 test, just can’t be bothered to read another copy and paste review on a GT3. Long term cars are all either dull or wayyyy out of my price range so that’s out, that was always a good bit to read. Most interesting car is Anthony Ingram’s 106 Rallye!

[havoc]

911 - halfway through that article and already bored of the "aren't GT3's great despite their bloody great flaws" perspective...which is a shame, as I usually like Barker's writing. As for no-one beating the GT3 at it's own game, what about the NA2* NSX-R winning eCOTY and the small matter of the Challenge Stradale being utterly bloody awesome.


* The NA1 NSX-R did the whole lightweight track car thing before the GT3 was launched...and before that we'd already had the 964 RS, the 348 Competizione, etc. etc... You start wondering whether evo want to re-do the calendar like the Christians did 2000 years ago, and have it re-starting from when the bloody thing was launched...

[iSore]

s m said:

I'm generally the same re Octane - about every 6 months they do an article I'm interested in - most of the other stuff is either too old or Goodwood for me.

Or Goodwood has got too Octane?

The classic car scene is bordering on the obscene these days. As a teenager I used to read Classic Cars around 1979-82 ish (Tony Dron, Lionel Burrell etc) when old cars were seen a bit weird. You bought a clean MOT'd Mark II Jaguar for 800 quid because you wanted one and not because 'it'll be worth a fortune one day' etc etc etc. Values are now out of control as every man and his dog are renting an old unit, whitewashing the walls and asking frankly ridiculous money for some old stbox that wasn't desirable when new. 'This lovely 1992 Ford Sierra 1.8LX has covered just 12'000 miles from new' I'm not fking surprised!

As for Evo, for me they've never managed to put the reader in the driving seat the way CAR used to.

[Levin]

iSore said:

'This lovely 1992 Ford Sierra 1.8LX has covered just 12'000 miles from new'

Tell me more

[Sylvaforever]

Do you think that the magazine is only following (enforced) social engineering or change?

After all, for the minority of drivers, driving has gone from being a skill or pleasure to a chore that a moments inattention (or enthusiasm) can have far reaching consequences (see the Porsche overtaking thread)...

[will_]

I certainly feel it's getting thinner (in terms of content and the number of pages).

I still quite like Proctane.

[s m]

Levin said:

iSore said:

'This lovely 1992 Ford Sierra 1.8LX has covered just 12'000 miles from new'

Tell me more

Have a look in Octane this month Levin.

Ex Performance Car editor buys his Sierra long-term test car 30 years on