Car Magazines
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Discussion

16plates

Original Poster:

1,925 posts

157 months

Monday 27th January 2014
quotequote all
Do you still regularly buy car/motoring/motorsport magazines...?

I used to go through 6 or 7 different magazines a month; Fast Ford, Performance Ford, Practical Performance Car, Practical Classics, Evo, Performance BMW, Redline, Max Power hehe, Fast Car hehe

Nowadays i'll occasionally pick up a copy of Evo if i see it in Tesco and have some change in my pocket.

Internet (for me) has taken over, everything i need and want to know about it easily available on here, makes me wonder how some of the mags survive.

V8forweekends

2,501 posts

154 months

Monday 27th January 2014
quotequote all
Have a gift sub to Car. Buy Classic American occasionally even though I hate their editorial attitude, mainly just for ads.

t'internet can do some stuff, but mags collect stuff together in a unique way and mags like Car still have a unique style.

Hackney

7,434 posts

238 months

Monday 27th January 2014
quotequote all
Circulation for most magazines has fallen over the years, due to online availability of subject matter or just online editions of magazines.

I think there'll be a place for magazines for a while yet though because of - for want of a better expression - "the feel" of physically holding a mag.

Advertisers will support print editions while they still sell, perhaps more than online as more people understand how to block ads. And in many cases the advertising pays for the magazine, not the cover price.

It's amazing how low the ABC figures are for some titles though, Cycling Weekly is 15,000 from memory. Private Eye is 222,000.

I've changed what magazines I buy, going for quality rather than quantity. I buy less mags on impulse than I used to but still subscribe to Evo; Cyclist and Rouleur

Dave Hedgehog

16,337 posts

234 months

Monday 27th January 2014
quotequote all
i still sub to EVO, it has wonderful pictures and their pretty unbiased for jurno's brand wise

car news comes from the web thou

s m

24,475 posts

233 months

Monday 27th January 2014
quotequote all
16plates said:
Do you still regularly buy car/motoring/motorsport magazines...?

I used to go through 6 or 7 different magazines a month; Fast Ford, Performance Ford, Practical Performance Car, Practical Classics, Evo, Performance BMW, Redline, Max Power hehe, Fast Car hehe

Nowadays i'll occasionally pick up a copy of Evo if i see it in Tesco and have some change in my pocket.

Internet (for me) has taken over, everything i need and want to know about it easily available on here, makes me wonder how some of the mags survive.
Yes, I still prefer looking at car mags to the internet stuff ( although it is great for the Drive/Autocar videos )

deltashad

6,731 posts

227 months

Monday 27th January 2014
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Don't buy many now. I was a addicted to PPC magazine for a long time but for some reason haven't read one for months. It doesn't help not being able to spend much time in the UK. Even so. The internet has pretty much everything and Pistonheads GG has more insightful, unbiased, unopinionated advise than anywhere else in the entire world.

jdcampbell

1,614 posts

279 months

Monday 27th January 2014
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I've been a subscriber to Autocar for as long as I can remember.

Ennoch

371 posts

168 months

Monday 27th January 2014
quotequote all
I used to get loads; Autosport, Autocar, Autoexpress, Evo, Japanese Performance, Italia, Evo, PPC...and more. Only Evo still gets bought. I think part of it is that most of them are now £4 plus rather than the £1.50 etc they used to be, and partly because as far as news is concerned the internet has well and truly replaced printed press. Evo is different in that it is very much the photography and good read that I buy it for, although the more it caters to the internet the less interested I become.

PPC is an interesting magazine but with so many epic project threads on each and every car forum there's little real new stuff to be learned, and the internet can be so much more in depth because there isn't a fight for space. I liken it to the Kindle/physical balance I have where most books are downloaded to my Kindle now. However, those I want to keep long term or truly immerse myself in I buy in paper/hardback as the tactility adds something to the mix for me.

thetapeworm

13,828 posts

269 months

Monday 27th January 2014
quotequote all
I subscribe to EVO but generally find I've read the content on their app / website before the print copy drops through the door. I'd happily give up print and just have the app now but that doesn't seem to be a subscription option they offer as far as I can see.

Other news just arrives on various news feeds where I've subscribed to the content that interests me.

epom

14,942 posts

191 months

Monday 27th January 2014
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Always bought EVO, got a subscription for it this year as a pressie smile

chunoo

1,183 posts

265 months

Monday 27th January 2014
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I actually asked for the subscription to EVO as a present myself this year.

Was thinking to myself recently, I just cannot seem to put my finger on why I still enjoy picking up a mag and flicking through that, rather than going on the internet.

I think the content and pictures are usually better and more in depth than most free sites (with the like of EVO anyway) although I must admit that I do buy a lot less than I used to, although this is mainly now down to a lack of time more than anything. I think it just must be a 'feel' thing, as daft as it sounds, although I do still feel they are slightly overpriced these days, would probably buy more if they were slightly cheaper.

JB8

381 posts

175 months

Monday 27th January 2014
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I still subscribe to EVO magazine, it doesn't appeal as much as it used to, but every time I cancel they offer me 5 issues for a quid and a free gift and I end up subscribing again.

I pretty much exclusively read them on the toilet these days, I do look forward to my monthly EVO dump. The paper quality is excellent.


DoctorX

8,239 posts

197 months

Monday 27th January 2014
quotequote all
16plates said:
Do you still regularly buy car/motoring/motorsport magazines...?

I used to go through 6 or 7 different magazines a month; Fast Ford, Performance Ford, Practical Performance Car, Practical Classics, Evo, Performance BMW, Redline, Max Power hehe, Fast Car hehe

Nowadays i'll occasionally pick up a copy of Evo if i see it in Tesco and have some change in my pocket.

Internet (for me) has taken over, everything i need and want to know about it easily available on here, makes me wonder how some of the mags survive.
Exactly the same, used to buy/subscribe to loads but now only get Car Magazine. Ended the Autocar subscription last month after 10+ years as there was literally a few minutes of entertainment to be derived from it.

NotNormal

2,424 posts

244 months

Monday 27th January 2014
quotequote all
Dave Hedgehog said:
i still sub to EVO, it has wonderful pictures and their pretty unbiased for jurno's brand wise

car news comes from the web thou
Same here.

Tried EVO's app thing but just didn't do it for me. Prefer the paper format.

s m

24,475 posts

233 months

Monday 27th January 2014
quotequote all
NotNormal said:
Same here.

Tried EVO's app thing but just didn't do it for me. Prefer the paper format.
Me also

cerb4.5lee

44,721 posts

210 months

Monday 27th January 2014
quotequote all
I subscribe to EVO buy CAR most months buy BMWCAR & pretty much pick up Autocar/Auto Express most weeks but starting to run out of room now though, I tried reading the digital copies on my ipad but it just wasn't the same for me.

decadent

2,567 posts

205 months

Monday 27th January 2014
quotequote all
I subscribe to Car Mechanics and buy the odd mag if I have change in my pocket.

But agree with OP that the internet has taken over. However it's always nice to thumb through a mag when having a No2 imo.


AndyWoodall

2,724 posts

289 months

Monday 27th January 2014
quotequote all
Just EVO for me now.

Stopped buying car in 2006 when it went st, but once the editor was fired I did reasonably regularly (4 or 5 times a year) pick up the odd copy that looked interesting. In the last couple of years though this has dwindled, and I bought maybe 1 in 2013.

Similar story to Autocar, never ever bought it all the time, but I did used to pick something up if there was a specific item of interest...now I don't even do that. Probably haven't paid money for a copy this decade.

And I LOVE car magazines, so god knows what that means to the wider public.

fatboy69

9,424 posts

217 months

Monday 27th January 2014
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I am a sad case - still buy Autosport, Classic & Sportscar, Classic Car, Evo, Octane & Motorsport whilst i subscribe to Car & Top Gear...

I have kept, boxed, every single issue of Classic & Sportscar, Evo, Octane & Top Gear! I dont throw any magazine away. Ever. I buy special issues, oddities, etc & keep them all.

God knows why as i have got literally thousands of the sodding things. Also have all the old issues of Performance Car, Fast Ford & many other long defunct titles.

Probably my most prized collection is a complete set, including all the special issues, of Grand Prix International which was by far & away the best F1 magazine ever printed.

Add to this hundreds of books, race memorabilia (crap/junk as swmbo puts it), a model car collection consisting of in excess of 2000 models, over 100 built & unbuilt plastic model kits, plus dozens of Lego/Lego Technic kits & i guess i can understand why swmbo has had enough.

Rapidly running out of space to maybe the time has come for it all to go...

PaulJ37

121 posts

162 months

Monday 27th January 2014
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I only buy or read Evo, it seems to be the only one that actually gives an impression and review of a car without buying into the usual stereo-types.