Peter Egan on Ferrari factory

Great article. Thanks for posting.

 

Great writing, even better story. I can't wait until I get to see it for myself in another two months!!

 

I'm curious, just what do you find so mediocre about that magazine, since I subscribe to it and actualy find it to be a good read.

 

I share your views on the article as well as on the magazine.
I was at the factory just a couple of days after the 60th anniversary celebration (could not make it on time due to other committments).
I attempted to get in but couldn't as my visit was not pre-announced and pre-arranged and the PR director had taken a few days off.
The attendant at the gate was an extra communitario (italian for alien of the European Community) whose Italian was barely understandable.
I walked away with the same feeling as the one described by Peter Egan: it is a different Ferrari today; it is very much a business and business is good !
The surprise was to see the entire area surrounding the Factory has gone through an extreme makeover.
Across the street there is now a glitzy Ferrari Store; the Galleria Ferrari now occupies a new site, with ample parking in front and inside there is a Cafe` manged by Cavallino Restaurant.
I don't remember the hotel being there the first time I went to Maranello, but it could have been just much smaller then and hard to notice, or it could just be my memory failing....
Anyway, I was pleased to see that obviously business is good for Ferrari and the whole town is benefitting from it.

 

I agree with most of the car magazines not being worth subscribing to any more.
I've given up on Road & Track, Car & Driver, Motor Trend, and even Automobile (since DED left).
I'm down to Plane & Pilot and SCM (Sports Car Market) every month now.
IMO, the world needs a new objective, adult-read, enthusiast car magazine.

I have to agree, Peter Egan is the best writer left.

 

I disagree with Egan's assertion that the newer Ferraris are more beautiful than the 80's vintage ones. I forget the exact wording he used. IMO styling is now driven more by aerodynamics than beauty. I know as the cars become faster they need to become larger for added stability, but I think every model since the 360 has lost a bit of the magic of the smaller cars. This sentiment echos a multi-page thread elsewhere here on F-Chat...

My .02..

Greg

 

"Evo" Magazine is great, but we could certainly do with a few more. http://www.evo.co.uk/

Peter Egan is the only reason I subscribe to Road & Track. I'll buy anything he writes. I give the magazine a quick flick through but its bland in the extreme. Its like they are not even trying.

"Car", the UK magazine seems to be improving as of the past 6 months, but its still not a patch on the old days. I'm all for great photography and a slick finish, but quality opinion is the most important thing and lots of it, not giant print and 10 paragraphs.

Octane, Classic & Sportscar and Classic Cars are good for Classics or Vintage for you Americans.

Why do no US enthusiasts start magazines? The UK has a good history of it e.g. Fast Lane, Performance Car, Evo. The US mags seem like the products of large publishing houses who have a product for every niche, for no other reason than to spread the risk.

 

I picked up that issue, and also wondered about that comparison. Egan's column was one of the high points of the issue. (I don't have a subscription anymore, but I sometimes pick up a copy for the "people and places" anecdotes. )

We were having a discussion at work today about the Internet RFCs, and the younger engineers complained how "boring" they were -- because they're just plain text. No fancy fonts. No wonder people don't use Unix. The "man" pages are just plain text.

The "point and grunt" generation just doesn't read anymore.

Be honest: How many of you have read your owner's manual, cover to cover?

How about on your non-Ferrari?

I bought a new computer recently, and looked through the box for the manual. It didn't have one -- just a fold-out "getting started" poster. (It didn't really matter: I wiped Vista off it and installed Linux.)

 

Or maybe some of you people are just extremely hard to satisfy, I actually find their magazine to be quite entertaining, and it certainly is the equal, or better than some of the other car magazines I sometimes read like Car and Driver or Top Gear, I like Road and Track's detailed road test date panel, which lists down every concievable information about a car, and their close association with race drivers like Dan Gurney and Phil Hill.

 

GrassRoots Motorsports http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/ is wonderful! Definitely a magazine written by and for enthusiasts. It's the one US car magazine that I go out of my way to find here in London.

ian

 

I used to enjoy R & T, especially the articles by Peter Egan and Phil Hill, subscribed for many years. But, then they dropped my subscription suddenly about half way through a one year period. I tried to contact them to find out why they dropped me and get the subscription reinstated, but failed. Nobody would answer their phone or return my calls. So, I decided it was not worth the effort. I have not read one for about 7 years and have no plans to do so.

I now enjoy Autoweek and the articles by Keith Martin.

 

Very similar thing happened to me last year - we sent in a renewal (intended for the next year after our subscription ran out) and started getting TWO copies every month. Called their service desk to extend the one subscription, and suddenly started getting NO COPY AT ALL every month.

I finally decided it was not worth fighting over and later realized I do not miss them very much at all. I pulled out an old 1966 copy from the archives the other night, and it is really sad to see the difference between the old days and what they put out today.

And I am going to just say it - I always liked Peter Egan up until the 53 Caddy, but I think he needs a sabbatical. You can only write so many columns about your cruddy old Formula Junior race car, your rusty old Jaguar, etc. etc. before you get burned out. He may very well be the last light burning in the ghost town of R & T, but he is fading fast IMHO.

These things come and go according to their times. I have on my desk here two very important magazines - September 1965 Sports Car Graphic, and the original first issue of Byte Magazine - September 1975. It is amazing to remember the height of each of their powers in their day, and how they have both now fallen and become forgotten. If I recall correctly, both got sold to a large marketing organization, became overridden with ads and sellouts, and inevitably withered and died.

Maybe we have come to the point where printed monthly media cannot carry it's own water, and people are just going to go to the networld instead - exactly like we are doing here.

 

I'm actually happy to read these comments about R&T....I thought it was just me losing interest, but I realize that the magazine's content has indeed leveled off. Same with AUTOMOBILE. I could never get into Motor Trend or Car and Driver - I'll pick one up on occassion in a doctor's office, but they just aren't much fun, and the bias towards domestic cars is puzzling.

Peter Egan is by far the best enthusiast journalist out there - he's the reason I still subscribe to CYCLE WORLD.

Sports Car Market is a great read, as is Hemmings Sports and Classics. I'm also continually impressed by Roundel, the subscription-only publication of the BMW Club. I started reading it before I owned a BMW, and the subscription paid for itself when I got a $500 rebate on the car for being a BMW CCA member. I just got a new publication through a trial subscription (just write "cancel" if not satisfied...). It's called AUTO AFFICIANADO. From appearances, it looks like a super-slick CIGAR AFFICIANADO/ROBB REPORT type of "I've got more $$$ than you" publishing, but I hope I'm wrong. I'm bringing it on an upcoming flight to give it a full, fair report.

 

I've had a subscription to R&T for a few years now and whenever this subscription runs out I'm not renewing it. I've been spoiled by EVO magazine and Octane. But anyways that was one of the best articles I've seen in R&T in a long time. Peter Egan definitely is the best writer there.

 

I love Peter Egan's articles - he is one of the very few writers where I will read his article even if it is about a subject I might not really care for.

This one about the Ferrari factory was particularly sweet. Excellent - really hit home with me.

 

He's not so much fading as failing, I think from Hep C..........I do enjoy his musings though as I don't have many car guys around to hang out with.

Just Greg328.....LOL!

 

While not really an old timer, I have been reading R&T since the wonderful days of Henry N. Manney and will agree that much like the Ferrari factory in his article, R&T is becoming about business. I especially like Mr Egan as he is probably one of the last writers with that old feel with which I connect.
I also am finding the new Hemmings Sports and Classics very enjoyable from my owner/enthusiast/mechanic-wannabe point of view.
Bravo, Mr. Egan.
yr fthfl svt,
rt

 

Hi, Is Hemmings Classic Cars an advertising listings magazine or a proper magazine. I'm always looking for something new to read and we don't get it over here.

I haven't tired of reading anything Peter Egan has to say yet. I think its R&T thats dying. I would like to see peter Egan writing in a magazine thats at the top of its form like "Evo".

Peter Egan has Hep C? I hope he gets better. As well as a great writer, I feel like he's a friendly cool uncle, feel like I know him even though I have only read his articles and books.

Hows about a list of the car magazines that are actually worth reading?

 

Hemmings is mostly ads, but it has just enough interesting little one or two page articles at the front to keep your interest for a night or two. They had (among others), articles on a Lockheed Constellation mounted atop a NJ diner, antique Cub Cadet tractors, an Edsel Convertible, a 57 Ford Ranchero (supercharged!), the Sunbeam Alpine sports car, a beautiful wood speedboat, and other things in the one I got last night. Also they always have one or two auction reports with interesting comments on cars sold.

They seem to me to be mostly a special interest and collector car forum, and mostly American iron. But, they do have a pretty big section on Rolls, Bentley, Aston Martin, Ferrari, and a little on even Maserati and Lambo. I like this mag (got my ZR1 here, and this is where I found the first Testarossa - the one that got away).

It does seem to be getting a little thinner these days as the internet may be eroding the paper ad market.

James

PS, same company puts out a couple of other "real" magazines on sports & vintage cars which are pretty good.

 

Hemmings motor News is primarily classifieds with a few article up front.
They more recently also publish Hemmings Classic Car, Hemmings Sports and Exotic, and Hemmings Muscle Machines, which are actual glossy magazines consisting of mainly editorial content.

 

Oh, and to stay on topic, I really enjoyed Peter Egan's column on Ferrariville. I have always liked his writing style, he's very easy to relate to and usually quite funny as well as informative.