some of the auto related magazines have gotten like ...playboy. one article and photo shoot..and the rest advertisement.. and that was another Magazine i cancelled after joining the HAMB...theres enough of the right porn on here i mean..look at this!...friken ..Shwingggg!
I agree with you to an extent. unfortunately what happens on forums like this is one guys makes a comment that is based on opinion not fact and 47 other Band Wagoners join in with more uneducated opinions. There have been many products and companies bashed on here (and plenty of other sites) by people with no real world experience and nothing but conjecture. What happens is a guy gets a product and mis-installs it or mis-uses it and then it is a "POS" in his mind and he tells the world. Now a whole bunch of keyboard soldiers join in and a bad rap happens with no facts whatsoever to back it up. Take the Speedway 97 as an example, and I'm not defending the carb by any means. There were pages upon pages of smack talk without a single guy who had actually run a carb! Then there were "Independent tests" that listed more opinions and more smack talk. Still no one who had actually driven a car with one. Finally a guy says he tried one and it seemed to work fine, but that was lost in all the rhetoric. My point is a bunch of "enthusiasts" can be just as bad as a magazine article that gets swayed by the almighty ad dollar. There are good threads and there are good magazine tech articles, unfortunately they all must be taken with a grain of salt.
With each day that goes by, I'm more grateful that I'm a freelancer (which is NOT an easy way to go!). Bottom line: I had to hear about this on the HAMB! Bottomer line: I didn't get any bonus money... Bottomest line: I believe the economy crashing will ultimately be great for our country in general - that includes hot rodding and magazines - I'm already seeing it. We needed the reality slap. Scotty PS: Of course, I'm typing this from my dumpster.....
You are right. Fortunately it sounds like both you and I are smart enough to distinguish between fact and opinion and when both might actually be appropriate at the same time. I can usually tell within a short amount of time when a post is just full of a bunch of blow hards who have nothing better to do than act like morons. These I tend to dismiss. So you're right, those instances do occur but they're usually easy to spot. Scott
Yeah, but if a person's been on the HAMB for awhile, and reads and comprehends, it's pretty clear who knows their shit, actually builds and drives cars, and who just talk smack. If there is a company out in hot rod land that produces an inferior product or has poor customer service you will hear about it on the HAMB first. A mag can't/doesn't print info like that. If 20 "knowledgable" people on the HAMB tell me a product is crap and one tells me it's good, guess what, odds are one person got lucky.
I don't care who edits HRM, I'll never buy another copy. They should have changed the name to "Hot Chevy Rod" a long time ago.Yeah, I know their tired, old argument about applying the Chevy stuff to any make, but how many '66 Chevelles, '69 Camaros, and but ugly Novas can they feature before they even bore themselves?
It's not perfect... but there has been some great stuff lately. An interview with Shiley Muldowney, driving ugly mustangs through India, Multi-purpose David F. truck, etc... I like HRM. I think what makes David F. so good is that he LOVES cars. Or at least he does a great job communicating that he does. He's the only guy I read that can make a late camaro seem cool as shit. Getting down to brass tax... Business doesn't work without happy customers. And maybe, just maybe all of this will help the big publisher understand that their customers are not advertisers. Their customers are readers. Sorry for getting so passionate about all of this folks. This is the one topic that does it to me...
Sorry for getting so passionate about all of this folks. This is the one topic that does it to me... Ryans Quote I can totally relate to this..just on a different issue
Reading comprehension... Then there are people who will bash anybody's opinion or research unless it's exactly what they want to hear... Speedy Bill called, he want's you by the curb by 8pm or he's taking someone else to the motel...
I am not in print or any other type of media. I am "the real enemy" because I am "BIG OIL". But, I do have an opinion. Asked yourself why you love the HAMB so much? How about no print adds, no pop ups, no bull shit, just guys and gals reading about what they love. If you need something, look at the avatars or go to the page where stuff is sold or services offered. This HAMB deal is so refreshing. God speed Ryan and the HAMB.
Wow, I just learned a lot. I love car mags, and I don't see the HAMB as a car mag replacement, they are two completely different things to me.
<HR style="COLOR: #e5e5e5; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #e5e5e5" SIZE=1><!-- / icon and title --><!-- message --> Quote: <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=6 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=alt2 style="BORDER-RIGHT: 1px inset; BORDER-TOP: 1px inset; BORDER-LEFT: 1px inset; BORDER-BOTTOM: 1px inset">Originally Posted by Kilroy Speedy Bill called, he want's you by the curb by 8pm or he's taking someone else to the motel... </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> Shit...I can't stop laughing. classic..aint it?.....
I like Rod & Custom and I am willing to pay more to keep it in print. You are 100% right about Happy Customers as well. But truth be told the community of Happy Customers isn't able to communicate outside their local friends with out places like the HAMB or other forums like Stovebolt.com, Inliners.com to make viral marketing spread the good news.
The web is cool, I got into it early, I found the Jalopy Journal way back when it had the round home page. And I've spent way to much time online in the last year or so. But from my old fart point of view it will never replace a great magazine… and souldn't try. At one point I was grooming myself to get into the "Zine Biz" myself but life sent me in another direction. I pretty much agree with everything Ryan has said so far except the $20.00 cover price. I mean I think I understand were he's coming from… But from my personal experience as the cover price has gone from $3.00 to $5.00 to $6.00 my earning power has been going the other direction. I used to by 6 or 8 mags a month to poor over. Hell I have a friendship that's based on our love of Zine's. But now I'm down to 1 Zine a month. Hell I'd love to have every Rodder's Journal ever published (as well as about 6 other rod zine's) but I can't afford it every month (and it's totally worth the cover price). Hell my room is a damb lybrary I have so many zine's… I guess my point is $20.00 cover price, less adds, awsome no sell-out content! I'm all for it! But you're only gonna sell to Bill Gates, unless your readers all have decent paying jobs too! The web is a double edged sward. You get all this cool stuff pumped into house for free… But how dose one make a living from everyone getting it for free… unless your selling the stuff folk's use to access it! It will be interesting too see what shakes out. I hope you're right Ryan about better Mag's.
Who says you can't take the HAMB to the jon? Ask my wife, I've done this a time or two... I thought that's why they made laptops! As for Print media... The Rodder's Journal is all you need.... the GG Gazette is nice too.... and .... an ALLIANCE MEMBERSHIP!
Wow! Preachy and passionate stuff. I agree with some and disagree with some. Some is just goofy. Think about this... Where will professional level content come from without professionals shooting events? Yes, a good photographer will hit events here and there, but who will pay them to cover most events if they are unemployed or plying their trade outside the car arena? Everyone wants free content, but content ultimately costs money to produce and distribute. Yes, there is plenty of awesome content here on the HAMB, but what percentage of it is professional grade? I contribute a lot of photos here and enjoy doing so, but that would disappear if I wasn't being paid to travel to these events. I'd still post my personal travel, as I do now, but I couldn't afford to hit 20 events. You'd get local guys covering local events - at what quality? Personally I want to see well shot photos, not snapshots, and seeing them in print is more attractive to me than on a computer screen. You may even see a decrease in events because of lack of coverage. Good coverage often translates to participants and spectators when the event comes back around. The web simply has too many options. Information has more perceived value when it comes from a trusted source. The HAMB is trusted, but the tens of thousands of other car related sites may not be. I agree with the comment that was posted about who cares if your car is featured online. I think you get what you pay for most of the time and free doesn't necessarily mean it's true or good. As for ads and their ROI, I get comments all the time from advertisers that they get more response from the Gazette than their other avenues. So whether they are quantifying that with concrete numbers or not, they are basing it on something. They feel good about what they spend and what they get for it. To me that means that you definitely have to provide a good product which in turn becomes a good avenue for advertising. I love print. I too have every HRM from '48-'71 and pretty much every car related magazine, book and annual printed during that same time because the content speaks to me, but there are plenty of people who could care less about old content and only want the latest and "greatest". Obviously there is no right, wrong or definitive answer to this whole conversation. Just my two cents in the pile of change. Change...get it? Double entendre. Nevermind.
Yes, to an extent but I think that more than the 'no advertising' is that the people who do advertise here have had their products vetted by the people. Maybe I'm naive in my belief that there is integrity in what ads are accepted and how they are displayed. If I came to Ryan and told him I had an automatic ass wiper and that it would revolutionize the world and I'd pay him $1million dollars to advertise on the HAMB, I'd get the boot. It's about integrity. BTW, I don't think you're the enemy as 'BIG OIL'. To get this discussion back on track, HOW do the magazines need to change in order to be successful? I'm sure that the person that comes up with a good answer to this question will be rewarded handsomely if they have the ability to implement it.
I like HRM and I get Street Rodder-but usually for the ads. I used to get SR Builder, but it got way to slick-it was all pro shops and advertiser installs. I index my mags and you wouldn't be at all surprised at how many articles in the hot rod mags start off "How to Install a Fatman's IFS in a ___" or something very similar. But I'll always want print-can't cuddle up with a nice drink and a laptop late at night.
How long ago he picked up an issue, isn't the point... The real question is why he put down the last one... HRM has sucked for years... I don't look at it each month hoping it will change... I've moved on. As I have from most printed mags... I'm kinda pissed about it actually... I feel let down. If there was a print mag that came out every month with good content, it might actually replace the HAMB for me... There's just something tactile about being alone with your own thoughts and a good magazine... The JJ/HAMB is like the schizophrenic version of that... Lots of voices... But an amazing ammount of content.
I have to agree. I like having a catalog of advertisers around. Plus, I am absolutely in love with their content over the past year. Just a great mix of everything.
Couldnt agree more.... I would be willing to pay more for a magazine with great content and no advertising content. Problem is if such a product exsists advertisers are willing to pay more for space and that is very hard for the publishers to resist. Gary
That magazine never made any sense to me, they want more than almost any other magazine cost wise yet they are more packed full of ads than any other magazine. I haven't bought one in years for that reason among others. I can picture quite a few magazines failing here soon just because I already never see them on the shelves anymore.
Are you guys saying HRM sucks because of the lack of traditional content or do the writing and photos actually suck? HRM has always been about the "now" of the modified car scene. I think they do a fine job of that. It's not of interest to me personally, but they seem to do what they set out to do. I'm not their customer, but that doesn't mean that they suck.
Damn straight I was proud when Morty ran a blurb about the maiden voyage on my Touring on the Hop Up site! That was as good as a R&C feature in my book!
The content is everything... When I think of Hot Rod Magazine, I think of hi-boys and such... Not necessarily purely traditional hot rods (but that would be nice) but true hot rods none the less... I could even handle a tastefully done muscle car or two... But HRM isn't about that anymore, and it's current content is like a constant reminder of what I'm missing...
The Jalopy Journal
