According to the October R&C, it's over. History. Too bad; I had hoped to be a participant this year. Guess I have to depend on the memories of Don, Denise, and the other HAMBers who participated in the past few.
Kevin Lee wrote that the response they were getting appeared to be a very small percentage of their readership, so they decided to use the time and space for other kinds of material.
It must have been a TON of work to do, and those guys already have a pretty busy schedule. I don't blame them.
Dammit! I so wanted to build a car in there! That was a "someday" goal for me. Alot of those cars in there were pretty and SO well constructed! I always loved customs that hauled cookies too!
As one who participated in last years event let me tell you those guys did one heck of a job. When you consider it's only 3 of them doing all the work it was even more fantastic. Glad I made it for the last one. Don't take that thumbs up as anything but praise for the job they did.
There are more experienced participants on the HAMB than there are at R&C! It certainly could be done in guerilla fashion if a bunch of people were up for it.
Very sad to see it gone. IMO the mags as a whole should spend more time and effort on how these cars drive as opposed to what they look like sitting still. I don't care how good a car looks, if it doesn't drive well it won't be any fun.
The HAMB Drags is actually kinda sorta connected to the Ego Rama... I had gone to the Ego Rama, then came back all excited to get back into a drag machine... then I think Roothawg mentioned it... and then Ryan and I brainstormed... WZJUNK suggested MOKAN I think... and the rest is history! (forgive me if I left anything out) Anyway... the Ego Rama was FUN... driving all day, partying all night... gambling, racing, strip clubs, second hand bowl smoke... 130mph blasts in the middle of nowhere... I"m surprized it lasted as long as it did! (I speak for Matt and I) Sam.
You sure that was second hand Sam? ha ha! Seriously though, I always looked forward to reading about the Ego Rama...
We loved doing it more than anything- but numbers don't lie. The severe lack of entrants and heavy dip in the sales of that issue just make all the extra work and expense a very impractical proposition. Sometimes somethings have to go away before they can come back fully appreciated.
Jim, distribution numbers actually went down for that issue? That's surprises me and not because I thought the Egorama was super marketable, but because I didn't think people would dig inside the magazine enough before buying it to actually make that call... In the end, I would imagine that newstand sales is a pretty small percentage of y'alls distribution anyway...
Yes, the dip was SOOOO big it was one of the biggest disappointments I've seen in my time there- and we we so stoked on that issue! We figure 10 years from now they will finally reveal that some major shipment of the magazines were lost and that was the reason the numbers were so bad.
It's actually the thing most magazine's success is based on- newstand numbers make or break a magazine. Numbers were much higher on both sides of that issue and have not dipped since.
People must have thumbed through it and seen the picture of the Hobbit on a bicycle and tossed it back on the stand in horror..... Was March 2005 short sales? 2004? Was there an increase or decrease in people subscribing or renewing that month? Only March 2007 sales will tell if it's just the dud sales month... That issue is on the stands in December isn't it? I won't go near a store/mall in December or January if I don't have too and a lot of other guys won't either I bet, So If I wasn't the loyal subscriber I am I might have missed it too. Usta be subscriptions and renewals was the test of success for mags. Now it's month to month instant sales gratification or the noose/pink slip? HOTROD usta listed curculation numbers in the issues
I would say it was the cover that caused the bad sales... I mean... that's what Joe Blow LOOKS at... and if it is GOOD... they buy. Right? Sam.
Maybe... "BETTER STEERING & CONTROL FOR FULL SIZE CHEVYS" is what showed at the top of the cover. That doesn't scream ROD & Custom to me... If that's all someone saw on the shelf they'd think, Heavy Chevy maybe... (Lets blame it all on the Senior Art Director...)
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