Car Magazines: Who Still Reads Them?

My wife got me a subscription to Forza for Christmas.

 

My subscription list duplicates yours exactly- and like you, mine tend to accumulate in large piles until I find time to wade through them.

 

I used to love Octane, but now I mostly read online or listen to podcasts.

 

I am retired so have time to read - Prancing Horse, Forza, Motorsport magazine and a few more. I have always enjoyed a good read supported by excellent photography, whether it's magazines or books, but I have more time for it now.

I read plenty of stuff online, but I don't get the same satisfaction. In this fast-paced world people don't seem to have the patience or attention span to read magazine articles or a book. Gotta get on to the next FB or Instagram reel. JMHO.

 

I had every C & D from 1987 through maybe 2018 ? I moved and threw them all away - just seemed like a lot of work to move them.

Now it’s FChat only.

MDS

 

Years ago I got rid of probably hundreds of pounds of car magazines that I had been collecting for decades. Nowadays I pretty much stick to Prancing Horse. I flip through them then they go in a cabinet for posterity.

btw, I kept missing you in Wisconsin this year, multiple times we passed you arriving as you were leaving in your 355.

 

I wrote for one and that pretty much cured me. I have soured to the entire industry in much the same way working in a sausage plant could cure you of eating it.
I have an all new appreciation for the reasons behind lack of quality content or for that matter having a jaundiced eye for articles written by who I consider otherwise good and knowledgeable individuals.

You can just safely assume if a manufacturer supply's cars or pays for advertising or is in any way connected to the publication owners or editorial staff it is working as an advertising arm of that manufacturer with all that that implies. .

 

I read a bunch digitally thru the Libby app + the local library. Yeah, I'm retired. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Absolutely

i love magazines

i tried subs on apps and embrace the technology

much to my irritation once boarding the plane i couldnt read any of my subs without internet connection lol
That was the end of that

 

Forza was my last subscription. Didn't renew a couple years ago. Don't really miss it or think about it.

I do have a basement full of old Car and Driver (1986-2005) Dupont Registry (1989 -2004) Ferrari Market Letter (1988-2014) Cavallino (1986-1995) and Forza #1 through #179

It's kind of fun to look back at the old issues, market & price guides.

 

When I was a kid I would devour car mags. I never missed Mail for McCahill in Mechanix Illustrated (unless you're a baby boomer you have no idea who I am talking about ).

Now as I'm much older, I flip through them and rarely read the articles unless something is of real interst.

 

When I was at the auto shop the other day, I flipped through a few of the magazines that they had in the waiting room, car and driver blah blah blah. I used to read them all diligently 30 or 40 years ago, but now I can't connect with anything that's on the pages, other than some of the editorial content., At most I read 5% of the content. Most of it was crap.
Alden

 

I’ve been reading car magazines since I was a kid. Loved C&D back in the day with Brock Yates, David E. Davis, John Philips etc. Enjoyed Road and Track for awhile particularity side glances by Peter Egan and new cars were a lot more interesting to me anyways back then. I have occasionally picked up one of the big three car mags in recent times but they are not for me. I enjoyed Hemmings Sports and Exotic car but that got cancelled unfortunately. Currently I enjoy Hagerty’s Drivers club and I pick up an issue of Hemmings Motor News occasionally and I also get Hot Rod and Hemmings Muscle car.

 

Haven't bought a current one probably in this century. I mean, my car was featured in a magazine but other than the 2-3 free copies they gave me I never bought one.

I did buy some 90s back issues that corresponded with the introduction of my car a decade ago.

 

I refuse to read a "publication" online.

Hand held mag and books only. I even still read a physical paper at lunch on Fridays.

I love car magazines and the ones with articles I enjoy are kept on a shelf just as I have been doing since summer 1981

 

I stopped buying them about 5 or 6 years ago.

They were just sooo repetitive. Always the same writing about whatever new car was out. And the photography is not better or any more exclusive than what i find online on Insta through the dozens of pro and amateur photographers i follow.
I used to love buying magazines. Couldnt wait for the days of the months id stop by a WH Smith and spend $80-$100 on EVO, CAR, Top Gear, Classic Car etc.. I miss it but everytime i force myself into a Barnes and Noble to find a few mags to pick, i rarely find something worthwhile.

Forza is just so meh. So sterile and formatted. And the photos are usually not better than what i can do.

 

YouTube ruined me for reading written reviews.....if a picture is worth a thousand words, a good video review is worth a million words.

 

Subscribe to EVO uk, have done since it started.