Status of America's Classic Car Magazines?

Even without the ads the video articles are time sinks, takes 30 minutes to convey the same info I could get in 5 minutes of reading. But then someone would have to sit down and type an article.

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If the internet is the problem for classic car magazine problems , I have to wonder why the two most popular UK classic car magazines seem to be still going strong? Both still in print 12+ issues per year? Are you saying its just a magic trick & those UK print publications will both fail pretty soon too?

Why do you think they are going strong?

Hagerty UK has a take on the state of car mags. Sounds pretty similar to the US landscape.

TLDR, at least not the whole article . Are you able to summarize why Hagerty UK believes the two popular UK classic car magazines have outlasted the similar topic print - magazines here in the USA? I’m guessing part of the reason is that UK car owners are more interested in older cars than USA car owners.

Hagerty Driver’s Club magazine is “going strong”, I receive 6 issues each year, however I pay them $300/year. All depends on the money.

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The question imo is why, among these three popular classic car magazines, only the UK versions continue in print?

Hot Rod (USA)
Practical Classics (UK)
Classics Monthly (UK)

hmmmm … wondering, have any of the posters here seen all three of these magazines? Hot Rod is easy to find anywhere in the USA. I’m able to buy the two UK magazines at a local news-stand here, but they may not be widely available elsewhere in the USA.

They still exist because they are actually being purchased is the simple answer.

There a number of other car mags that are sinking fast which you’d know if you read the article.

Ironic, isn’t it? You didn’t read the long article about print magazines fading away… I think you answered your own question.

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The question remains, why are the two magazines still being purchased monthly, and the other one not? It’s possible folks purchasing the magazines aren’t even the most important part of the equation , b/c subscriptions are just part of their income. Advertising, paid agreements to show articles using certain vendors products, etc, those may be the more important revenue source for magazines.

But since we have no inside scoop on all that, all we have are the magazines to compare to each other. Is there something in the magazine content that explains it all?

One speculation is that kids aren’t interested in older cars as much as they used to. But the check-out stand at my local grocery store sells some sort of toy car that seems to be very popular among the kids I see. Most of these toy cars appeared to be cars from the 60’s.

Hint hint: Again: culture.

Social media and mobile-based existence have stormed the world, but to no extent as deeply as in the U.S.

This country was no chapter of Mensa to begin with, but it got even worse with the spread of social internet platforms over the last 15 years.

And look at the types of magazines typically placed right next to the checkout counters in drugstores and supermarkets: People, Us, the Enquirer, etc? Really cerebral stuff, if ya akse me! lol

You’re not going to find things like Popular Mechanics, Astronomy Magazine, or the big three automotive pubs(Motor Trend, Car & Driver, Road & Track) within thirty feet of the cash registers!

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Maybe it’s the adults, how many automotive magazines do you subscribe to? With low subscription numbers, there is low advertising revenue.

Practical Classics cost $121/year, that covers the additional expense of the printed issue, how much are you willing to pay for Hot Rod magazine?

That’s just one more of the advantages of using the self checkouts, as there are no displays of magazines, candy, and junk food at these electronic gizmos. I can’t really blame retailers for trying to make more a bit money by selling junky stuff to the bored people who are waiting on the long lines at the conventional checkouts.

And, if someone using the conventional checkouts decides to pay with a check, or if someone decides to spend an interminable amount of time digging for that last penny in order to pay with “exact change”, then the line becomes very long.

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Because two are of higher quality that the 3rd. The consumer makes a choice where their money goes.

Can’t generate advertising revenue with low subscription rates. That is the entire point of advertising. Eyes on the ads.

I used self checkout a few times in my whole life.

Nowadays I always support human cashiers. Another reason why I shouldn’t be here.

I also support the people who work at supermarkets, and if the supermarket corporations paid a high-enough wage, then sufficient numbers of cashiers would be employed, and the lines wouldn’t be so ridiculously-long at the conventional checkouts.

Re: Questionable popular magazine content

For some reason i have to see a young lady wearing a jockstrap at nearly every magazine stand for the past month .

A note to the folks at Rolling Stone magazine: I’ve been reading & enjoying your magazine for many years, and am aware you try to gear the content to an innovative avant-guarde audience; but I’m thinking maybe you’ve gone a little too far with that over-the-top jock-strap cover-photo.

What do others here think?

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Car related how???

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Maybe the jock strap is for her trailer hitch testicles.

Goin’ down hill fast…:flushed:

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There is no way you can talk about this without it turning very political… :no_entry_sign:
And that is not why we are here…

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I wouldn’t say the two UK pubs are any higher quality than the USA pub. I’m presuming by “quality” you mean the overall look and feel, the paper, photo-and text-quality. But the actual content , the subject matter, between the UK pubs and the USA pub definitely differ. For example the UK pubs aren’t nearly as much about turning a classic car into a hot rod. They don’t focus their articles so much on ways to make the cars go faster. The UK pubs are more about how the owner can keep a classic car on the road, more or less as it came from the factory, but looking good; and especially what’s needed maintenance & repair-wise, simple to understand theories of operation etc, needed to keep an older car a reliable & safe ride.

I refuse to use self checkouts. If I have to the cashiers job I should get a discount. That’s not happening.

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