RE: PistonHeads has arrived on The Intercooler!
Discussion
kmpowell said:
I really, you know, struggle listening, you know, to The Intercooler podcast. Purely because of, you know, this one thing... and that's Andrew Frankel saying "you know" in every response/opinion he makes, you know, not once, you know, but, you know, several times.
I've really tried, but once you've heard it, you can't unhear it. Such a shame, because he is so interesting and full of stories and insight.
For me it’s the constant references to how articles on The Intercooler are “beautifully written”. Hopefully this news means they don’t fix the app bug that lets you read the articles for free I've really tried, but once you've heard it, you can't unhear it. Such a shame, because he is so interesting and full of stories and insight.
Bushi said:
Some big names there that seem to be onboard, but £60 a year to enter and read a website and listen to podcasts....no of course not. There is so much quality content out there already, the numbers up for this must be incredibly small.
£5 a month, you must be some real cheapskate.TX.
Terminator X said:
Bushi said:
Some big names there that seem to be onboard, but £60 a year to enter and read a website and listen to podcasts....no of course not. There is so much quality content out there already, the numbers up for this must be incredibly small.
£5 a month, you must be some real cheapskate.TX.
And then there's the thing that I want to spend less time staring at a screen, not more, and by paying for it I'd feel compelled to get my money's worth out of it, whereas with the abundance of free online content I can dip in and out without feeling short changed. I already spend all day staring at a screen for work, plus this place and YT, and that's already an unhealthy amount of screen time. I'm not paying for more.
Good luck to them all the same.
samoht said:
Another member of the intersection of PH & TI here. I justify the TI sub as it's writing on a par with the best car mags, so for a similar cost as a magazine sub it makes sense.
There are two great things about TI; writing from 'classic' motoring journos of the last few decades, and the pieces from a handful of top engineers. As a random example, it's one thing to read that the Alpine A110 isn't sold in the States due to "crash legislation" - it's quite another to read the Chief Engineer, David Twohig, personally explain what it takes to pass US tests with unbelted occupants, and how that would necessarily compromise that car's size and weight. Dr Uli Eichhorn on why the last Ford Escort was so poor and how the Focus was made so much better; Ian Callum on how Aston nearly went mid-engined in the 90s and the whole Aston/Jag crossover (at one point he was chief designer at both companies simultaneously!). You're getting a much more detailed understanding of the forces that shape the cars we buy, first-hand from the people who were in the room when the decisions were taken. It's the sort of thing I've not found consistently anywhere else.
That all sounds quite good, such that I'm not really sure why anyone producing content of that sort of quality would want to be associated with PH and the rubbish they post. The appeal of PH is the forums, as the editorial content from PH has become worse and worse since Garlick jumped ship and Haymarket moved in. There are two great things about TI; writing from 'classic' motoring journos of the last few decades, and the pieces from a handful of top engineers. As a random example, it's one thing to read that the Alpine A110 isn't sold in the States due to "crash legislation" - it's quite another to read the Chief Engineer, David Twohig, personally explain what it takes to pass US tests with unbelted occupants, and how that would necessarily compromise that car's size and weight. Dr Uli Eichhorn on why the last Ford Escort was so poor and how the Focus was made so much better; Ian Callum on how Aston nearly went mid-engined in the 90s and the whole Aston/Jag crossover (at one point he was chief designer at both companies simultaneously!). You're getting a much more detailed understanding of the forces that shape the cars we buy, first-hand from the people who were in the room when the decisions were taken. It's the sort of thing I've not found consistently anywhere else.
I’m not sure I get it, I listened for the 20 minutes of waffle, saying we’re going to partner etc but I just didn’t get a sense of what you were partnering to do.
You’ve put all your beans in this auction thing, but I think you are too late to the party, as someone else is doing that better, you have already lost your classifieds site 10yrs or so ago, don’t tell me that rubbish you have now is actually used by anyone , it’s so awful. And again a competitor who already beat you once then came in nicked your old classified style site. So are we getting the picture that car sales is not where it is.
The layout of the front page now is horrendous as it’s filled with bloody duff auction adds…… I’m not sure what bringing prosser and his inexperience will do. The Intercooler is fine, it’s really not worth the same money I pay for Evo mag though. It has some ok writers but there are also a lot of fairly average scribes on there who are more insta ham types than car journos.
Whenever I think of pistonheads now, I see the front page as a daily or every other day quick scan, then the forums , readers cars is only section I really enjoy as it’s still on the level it was 10-20yrs ago, but mostly I just think of missed opportunities. A very easily exploitable logo and recognised brand, a great forum and interactive user base, yet you never ever make the most out of it.
So good luck but I don’t think this is the epic colab launch you are building up, it’s more akin to body shop teaming up with Steve’s Cornish pastie shop mate who’s got a great idea.
You’ve put all your beans in this auction thing, but I think you are too late to the party, as someone else is doing that better, you have already lost your classifieds site 10yrs or so ago, don’t tell me that rubbish you have now is actually used by anyone , it’s so awful. And again a competitor who already beat you once then came in nicked your old classified style site. So are we getting the picture that car sales is not where it is.
The layout of the front page now is horrendous as it’s filled with bloody duff auction adds…… I’m not sure what bringing prosser and his inexperience will do. The Intercooler is fine, it’s really not worth the same money I pay for Evo mag though. It has some ok writers but there are also a lot of fairly average scribes on there who are more insta ham types than car journos.
Whenever I think of pistonheads now, I see the front page as a daily or every other day quick scan, then the forums , readers cars is only section I really enjoy as it’s still on the level it was 10-20yrs ago, but mostly I just think of missed opportunities. A very easily exploitable logo and recognised brand, a great forum and interactive user base, yet you never ever make the most out of it.
So good luck but I don’t think this is the epic colab launch you are building up, it’s more akin to body shop teaming up with Steve’s Cornish pastie shop mate who’s got a great idea.
Edited by Antj on Thursday 15th February 09:48
Don Roque said:
That all sounds quite good, such that I'm not really sure why anyone producing content of that sort of quality would want to be associated with PH and the rubbish they post. The appeal of PH is the forums, as the editorial content from PH has become worse and worse since Garlick jumped ship and Haymarket moved in.
Haymarket sold PH to CarGurus five years ago 
thegreenhell said:
It's not necessarily a case of being a cheapskate. I'm one of those dinosaurs who still buys car magazines from a newsagent, and must spend considerably more than that on them every month, but I would baulk at paying for an online subscription. It's the same reason I won't subscribe the The Times or Telegraph online, but don't mid buying a paper copy if I'm out and about. If I'm paying money for something I want to feel like I've got something for it, whereas online is entirely ephemeral.
And then there's the thing that I want to spend less time staring at a screen, not more, and by paying for it I'd feel compelled to get my money's worth out of it, whereas with the abundance of free online content I can dip in and out without feeling short changed. I already spend all day staring at a screen for work, plus this place and YT, and that's already an unhealthy amount of screen time. I'm not paying for more.
Good luck to them all the same.
I'm with you on this one. I don't subscribe to any content online, if I'm going to spend money then it's on something tangible that when I've finished with I can give to someone else to enjoy. And then there's the thing that I want to spend less time staring at a screen, not more, and by paying for it I'd feel compelled to get my money's worth out of it, whereas with the abundance of free online content I can dip in and out without feeling short changed. I already spend all day staring at a screen for work, plus this place and YT, and that's already an unhealthy amount of screen time. I'm not paying for more.
Good luck to them all the same.
For me, I prefer to read hardcopy/print material to get away from more screen time. There's far too much content online for free anyway, I don't need to pay for it.
When I'm in the UK I have no objection in spending 30 quid on magazines to take back home with me...
Just give me a magazine, coffee and 30 minutes to indulge in my motoring pleasure.
Don Roque said:
That all sounds quite good, such that I'm not really sure why anyone producing content of that sort of quality would want to be associated with PH and the rubbish they post. The appeal of PH is the forums, as the editorial content from PH has become worse and worse since Garlick jumped ship and Haymarket moved in.
Reads associated article aboveI don’t understand what you mean at all…
thegreenhell said:
Jon_S_Rally said:
Haymarket sold PH to CarGurus five years ago
Thanks for the reminder. I was trying to remember the name of the site owners the other day and couldn't find it. It was bugging me that I knew it was something like Carwow or Carhuna, but not them.
I like Intercooler - it's a bit mad uncle and his slightly bewildered nephew, but it covers some good ground and some increasingly decent guests.
I have a game I play where I get a point every time Andrew says "Gah" and Dan references his Alpine (I do the same with Manish and his 456/Bernie/ Senna).
They just crack on with the car stuff, with no reference to minor British public schools, which is nice.
As for PH - the classifieds missed a trick. What they should gave done is split Classic and Modern. Their nearest classic competitor is Car and Classic and it s a case of 1998 called and wants it's website back for C&C.
The C&C site is woefully clunky, slow and obsolete whereas the PH site, with a few gremlins sorted, is a decent, bright platform, which half decent functionality and search and cars generally profile well on it.
Market penetration aside, I would rather pay to list on PH than for free on C&C.
Mezzanine said:
thegreenhell said:
Jon_S_Rally said:
Haymarket sold PH to CarGurus five years ago
Thanks for the reminder. I was trying to remember the name of the site owners the other day and couldn't find it. It was bugging me that I knew it was something like Carwow or Carhuna, but not them.thegreenhell said:
Mezzanine said:
thegreenhell said:
Jon_S_Rally said:
Haymarket sold PH to CarGurus five years ago
Thanks for the reminder. I was trying to remember the name of the site owners the other day and couldn't find it. It was bugging me that I knew it was something like Carwow or Carhuna, but not them.Jon_S_Rally said:
Haymarket sold PH to CarGurus five years ago
Thanks for the reminder! I was trying to remember what the shakeup was that sent the mediocre PH 'content' off a cliff. It was the move to CarGurus! No more Brave Pill etc, never getting drives in press cars any more so resorting to regurgitated advertorials, every article just a desperate attempt to drive clicks to the crappy classifieds. It's a bit of a shambolic state for the brand but nothing more than the plunderers wanted.
Don Roque said:
Jon_S_Rally said:
Haymarket sold PH to CarGurus five years ago
Thanks for the reminder! I was trying to remember what the shakeup was that sent the mediocre PH 'content' off a cliff. It was the move to CarGurus! No more Brave Pill etc, never getting drives in press cars any more so resorting to regurgitated advertorials, every article just a desperate attempt to drive clicks to the crappy classifieds. It's a bit of a shambolic state for the brand but nothing more than the plunderers wanted.
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