Goodbye Hot Rod Magazine?

[iamsuperdan]

Can't say that I'm surprised. Magazines in general are just disappearing.

And for Hot Rod, the generations that are into that kind of car are slowly dying off, so circulation numbers are dropping, which has to be the biggest factor in the downfall.

Lower circulation numbers mean fewer eyes on the magazine, which means advertisers will be looking for something else to give them a better bang for their buck.

 

Personally, I only receive two magazines now; Guitar World and Model Cars Magazine. Both seem to be doing just fine.

 

 

[Rob Hall]

I get only two magazines in print--- Model Cars Magazine and Collectible Automobile.  I still read Car and Driver, Road & Track, Motor Trend and Top Gear in digital form through a Kindle Unlimited subscription on the Amazon Kindle App on my iPad or iPhone. 

Edited March 25 by Rob Hall

[1972coronet]

In my experiences , the kids in their 20s and younger are keen on the arcane stuff from Gen-X and earlier. To wit ; there are two brothers around where I live who are both in their twenties, and they positively love old Chryslers and JDM. Between them they own and drive :
- 1969 Dart Sedan 
- 1972 Demon 
- 1972 Swinger 
- 1974 Duster
- 1990 Cressida 
And those are just the cars which they operate on a regular basis. 

The young brother - age 28 - is a photographer as well. Like, ancient-to-him Polaroids and other 35mm cameras and such. 

Both are true hot rodders - none of their cars (excepting the Cressida) are stock. 

I have some faith that the old tactile stuff will find its way back into fairly common use.

[stitchdup]

I dont see it being away for ever. People said vinyl was dead when the cd arrived and while it almost disappeared  it made a resurgance about 20 years ago and its only grown since, to the point new pressing plants are being built. Its the same with model building, there is a growth and people are starting to realise a digital subscription is all well and good but what happens if the magazine folds? they wont keep paying to keep it easily accesible. I had a book reader a few years ago that i'd bought a lot of books on and when it went belly up all my books disappeared, many of the magazines i have are defunct but i can still read them.

[iamsuperdan]

I still prefer print over digital. 100%.

In fact, of the mags I used to subscribe to that went pure digital, I didn't bother renewing any of them.

I'll go without instead of using a screen.

I have enough screen time at work, I don't need it in my personal time.

 

 

[bobthehobbyguy]

8 hours ago, iamsuperdan said:

Lower circulation numbers mean fewer eyes on the magazine, which means advertisers will be looking for something else to give them a better bang for their buck.

 

Bingo . This is why magazines can afford to sell super cheap subscriptions  if they have a big enough circulation they can get big advertisers. 

[espo]

Hemmings Magazines offer several magazines that might be of interest to those of you who enjoy certain automotive subjects. The two I subscribe to are the Muscle Machines and Classic Car. The May '24 issue of Classic Car has an article and pictures of a Model A built in 1947 and raced with a Riley -head model B engine. Not restored, just brought back to life by a younger family member. Both magazines are well written and lots of back stories on the featured cars and even a truck now and then.  

[James2]

WHAT! They stop making Pontiac...

[bobthehobbyguy]

Saw the new HOT Rod quarterly. I was the prostrate version . Mostly old material and some new for something like $15. They're going to have to do better for that price. Sincerely doubt it's going to last very long.

[iBorg]

I'm glad this topic came up. I taught graphic arts and printing management for 34 years. My students were successful in both the newspaper and the magazine industry. Here's a few thoughts.

Magazines typically work on one of three income models, advertising, newsstand sales or subscription. Hot Rod and most of the former Peteresen Publishing magazines worked on the advertising income model with the exception of Hot Rod Deluxe which worked on newsstand sales for most of its run. You can always tell if the magazine is working on advertising if they almost give away subscriptions. For example, I once got three years of Hot Rod for $4.97. That price covered raw materials and postage, nothing else. That type of sale is designed to have a guaranteed readership. I suspect, when TEN folded most of the former Petersen magazines it was to channel the advertisers to the surviving titles. That might have worked but during COVID most newsstand sales were halted for a couple of months. This meant the magazines had to refund some of the advertising revenue due to not having the required readership. As for newsstand sales, the amount of linear space is better used by most stores for higher profit items. For example, how many record albums can fit in the same space? I use this example as one of the only two bookstores in my town has a significant vinyl display. If an album cost $24 and a magazine $10, there's more profit in the album. 

I find this topic of the decline of magazines sad. It is a loss of a culture, a reflection of the graying of the hobby along with the inaccessibility of the hobby. What made the car building hobby successful in the 1950's-1980's was the ease of modification along with the availability of alternative parts. I would be challenged to find more than a handful of junk yards in my state. Beyond that, ever tried to change the type of engine in a FWD? It might be possible but its beyond my skill set. Swapping a RWD to a different engine? Get the motor mounts right and you've got a lot of the project done. I'd love to convert a "classic car" to electric. Unfortunately, the barriers the manufacturers have created with electronics prohibits that for many people. 

I am saddened by the loss of magazines. I'm currently reading magazines from five years ago. Knowing the title no longer exists I see them as a historic artifact of a time that has passed me by. 

I do hope magazines have a resurgence. With the advent of digital printing, magazines can be printed easier and less expensively. By the way, I'm pretty certain that MCM is printed digitally.

 

 

 

 

[Ace-Garageguy]

25 minutes ago, iBorg said:

...I find this topic of the decline of magazines sad. It is a loss of a culture, a reflection of the graying of the hobby along with the inaccessibility of the hobby. What made the car building hobby successful in the 1950's-1980's was the ease of modification along with the availability of alternative parts...

I am saddened by the loss of magazines. I'm currently reading magazines from five years ago. Knowing the title no longer exists I see them as a historic artifact of a time that has passed me by. 

Pretty much my sentiments exactly.

My temperament and instinctual interests would have been a much better fit with reality had I been a young teen at the end of WWII.

My collection of magazines and books from the post-war era allow me to experience vicariously something of a lifestyle I was too young to participate in at the time, and my modeling interests reflect much of that desire.

I find myself longing for a past I was forever out of step with, that exists now only in "historic artifacts".

 

Edited March 28 by Ace-Garageguy

[Richard Bartrop]

9 hours ago, bobthehobbyguy said:

Saw the new HOT Rod quarterly. I was the prostrate version . Mostly old material and some new for something like $15. They're going to have to do better for that price. Sincerely doubt it's going to last very long.

I totally get the appeal of the printed book.  I collect art books and graphic novels, and my favourite car publication is still my complete set of Automobile Quarterlies.  They're a joy to experience in a way that data on a screen just doesn't do.

However, sometimes it's just the data you want,  and for what most magazine publishers are offering for what they're charging, I don't need the experience of the printed page that badly.

Edited March 29 by Richard Bartrop

[bobthehobbyguy]

I agree.

[charlie8575]

Kind of sad. I learned more about basic physics in Hot Rod and many other car magazines than I did in high school or college physics and industrial arts classes.

Really kind of disappointing to see this. I haven't read Hot Rod in a long time, because I found most of the subject just wasn't in my interest area (antiques and preservation of the same), but it is absolutely a cornerstone of the real car hobby.

Charlie Larkin

[tim boyd]

23 hours ago, bobthehobbyguy said:

Saw the new HOT Rod quarterly. I was the prostrate version . Mostly old material and some new for something like $15. They're going to have to do better for that price. Sincerely doubt it's going to last very long.

I picked up the new "quarterly" issue last week.  Bob's view is pretty much mine.  Lotsa pictures (many historical), and fun to read about the current status of the two famous Pro Streets (T-Bird and Pontiac J-Car), but the previous notice of the change suggested far more print editorial than what I noted for $15.  Give them a few issues to get it sorted, but so far I am not impressed.  Robert Petersen would not be happy about this, at all....TB 

Edited March 29 by tim boyd

[bobthehobbyguy]

2 hours ago, tim boyd said:

Give them a few issues to get it sorted, but so far I am not impressed.  Robert Petersen would not be happy about this, at all....TB 

Thing is they shouldn't need to figure out how to make this work. With all the years of doing the magazines there should have been more effort put into the content for the new format. One only gets one chance at a good first impression.

[Ace-Garageguy]

8 minutes ago, bobthehobbyguy said:

Thing is they shouldn't need to figure out how to make this work. With all the years of doing the magazines there should have been more effort put into the content for the new format. One only gets one chance at a good first impression.

Yeah, I seem to remember the original Hot Rod mag was cooler than sliced bread right out of the gate (pardon the mangled metaphor).

They managed to get it right the first time, with no decades of experience behind them.

[bobthehobbyguy]

I think the big difference from the early days of automotive magazines were done by true enthusiasts and knew what they would want to see. Granted it was a business however today the only goal is to make money by people who consider just a job.

Model cars magazine is a fine example of enthusiasts putting out a magazine with material others want to see and enjoy.

[Tabbysdaddy]

I miss Car Craft, I liked it better. I have this memorabilia, has to be worth two or three grand by now.

[1972coronet]

On 3/28/2024 at 10:33 AM, bobthehobbyguy said:

Saw the new HOT Rod quarterly. It was the prostrate version .

I can't be the only one who misread this as "prostate" initially. 😁

[bobthehobbyguy]

28 minutes ago, 1972coronet said:

I can't be the only one who misread this as "prostate" initially. 😁

Ah it's wonderful when the computer substitutes words for me.

[Tabbysdaddy]

2 hours ago, 1972coronet said:

I can't be the only one who misread this as "prostate" initially. 😁

You're not.

[bobthehobbyguy]

On 3/29/2024 at 9:34 AM, tim boyd said:

I picked up the new "quarterly" issue last week.  Bob's view is pretty much mine.  Lotsa pictures (many historical), and fun to read about the current status of the two famous Pro Streets (T-Bird and Pontiac J-Car), but the previous notice of the change suggested far more print editorial than what I noted for $15.  Give them a few issues to get it sorted, but so far I am not impressed.  Robert Petersen would not be happy about this, at all....TB 

An additional note.

Was going through some magazines and found my copies of SRP(Street Rodder Premium). Was $7.99 in 2013. It also was all new material in a quarterly magazine. That was the perfect template for the revised format of HOT Rod magazine.