On Christmas Day 1961, my Dad mailed away (remember doing that?) my first Subscription to Hot Rod Magazine. I maintained that Subscription for 54 years navigating through the trends, fads, and technology until one day, I just couldn't Renew. I don't begrudge the amazing technologies and skill sets required to play with vehicles today. It just doesn't interest me. I get it. I remember my Dad going back and forth as to whether He should replace the Flathead with a Y-Block in his '32 3 Window (He didn't).

So, with a tear in the eye, I didn't renew but.... they came out later with a new quarterly publication called "Hot Rod Deluxe". Simply a terrific Magazine covering Hot Rodding from the '30s to about 1970. I devoured every page. Well.... until yesterday. I received an Email from Ten Publishing (Several Automotive Publications.) that Hot Rod Deluxe was no-more immediately. They want to move me on-line to Motor Trend..... Crapo!

Losing Money? Perhaps, but my sense is they want to ween Readers off of Paper Publishing (Hemmings). I'm gonna miss it.

 

Hey Ernie,
I just had this discussion with my wife. She wants me to use an Ipad to read the (2) papers we take.
It would be so much easier to get it online - I just don't like reading papers electronically. I like
reading a physical newspaper & I swear there are more stories and they are more interesting.
I can take an hour to read a real newspaper - online I just surf through the thing.

I like your rant.

Ben in Austin
1950 F1

 

I agree with both of you, but unfortunately their average age of subscribers is creeping North very quickly and if they don't appeal to a younger audience they will go out of business. Today's youth has no use for a paper magazine, everything is done electronically and no matter how bad we feel about it isn't going to go the other way. I work in the automotive business and although not in the marketing end of it I still speak and meet with several of the magazines wanting my company to advertise. In most cases they don't even pitch print ads anymore, it is all online content. Oddly enough the one magazine mentioned above (Hemmings) is sill very strong in print and they pitch both digital content as well as print ads.

 

I set up the desk top in the bathroom where I read really well.

 

Iam on the younger side,I think..haha(31)..and still get some of those magazines which I kinda liked collecting. I guess not anymore... This was also discussed a week or so ago...


https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-changing.html

 

I bagged my Hot Rod subscription right after the first article on rice burners. Times they are a changing!

Later!
Mr. Ed

 

Print media is dying everywhere, it's hard to find a decent local newspaper anymore. The deal with Hot Rod is a double-whammy, not only is print not popular, it's increasingly rare that people are interested in doing the hobby. Parts are super expensive now, and most folks simply are too busy and don't have the space and time to learn. People look at me like I'm a zoo animal when they see me putting a motor in my truck, they just don't know how to do this stuff anymore. I think I'm the only guy in my group of friends with a decent collection of tools in the garage. My father is an avid model railroader, his layout is literally the entire upstairs of a 40' long garage. It's amazing. Kids find it neat when they look at it, but the average age of a person doing that is probably north of 65.

As people stop doing this as a hobby, it increasingly is only done by professionals for people with a lot of money to spend. Professionals don't want to mess with fixing old stuff, they bolt on new stuff that works, thus the dawn of the new FI systems and electronic ignition on a hot rod. Still looks cool, but works so much better. But there's no fixing any of it, when stuff breaks you throw it out and buy a new one.

It's good and bad I guess. Change is inevitable.

 

I used to go to the magazine rack at the grocery store while my wife did all the shopping. Now I HAVE TO help shop. Don't even get me started on my awesome FILM cameras.

 

I guess I'm the exception. I like my Kindle. Several dozen books I can hold in my hand.

I also use the Kindle app on my phone a lot. When everyone else at the doctor's office - a place I seem to visit more often - is tearing up their social media, I'm reading a book. It's much more relaxing.

I will say that if I like a book I will buy the hardback as well. I like the look of a full bookshelf.

I dropped the magazines a while back. When the advertisement-to-article ratio got out of hand.