Who Wants a $10 Subscription?

I'll lay it all on the line here:

1. We'd like to sell you a subscription.
2. We've cut the price in half until Christmas.
3. The deal is good for new subscriptions, gift subscriptions, or renewals.
4. The offer code is "HoHo"
5. Click here to take advantage of it.

Why should you subscribe? Well, besides getting the best classic car magazine in the world delivered to your door, you'll also be supporting this forum. Even if you don't read the magazine, I know you read this forum. Please, please help us keep it alive by subscribing.

WOW ! ! !

Do you folks use PayPal?

A couple unbiased comments:

1. "Best classic car magazine in the world" is a biased and myopic hyperbole. One needs only to visit a venue that still sells magazines (such as B&N) and peruse what's available from the USA and the UK and form an unbiased opinion.

2. "Please subscribe to keep the forum alive." As far as magazines are concerned, it is content, content content that drives sales and subscriptions. And it's hard copy sales and subscriptions that drive the advertising sales. (That might change in the future but it's the reality today.) And it's the advertising sales that funds everything else, like this forum, project cars, the trips to Monterey Week, hosting the tent at the 24 Hours, The Mitty, et al.

No meaningful magazine content = poor sales. A few months ago when the new magazine format was implemented (i.e., the Cliff's Notes version) I ranted on about the larger text and the larger pictures and less meaningful content to the reader. Somebody else said the new format is like a GUI to the web site. That doesn't sell magazines. Anybody can get the web site for free, and there's nowhere near the ad content on the site as in the magazine.

The magazine business is a difficult business. No question. The publisher, editors, and staff here work very hard and do a fantastic job. Problem is, much of that work doesn't get into the magazine, yet it is content, content, content that sells the hard copy.

Compare the magazine as it is today to what it was a decade ago. Big difference. Much less meaningful content now. My humble suggestion as a reader would be to find a way to get more meaningful content into the magazine. If that can be done while still doing all the extracurricular activities, great. If not, then adjust your time, resources and most importantly, priorities, accordingly. Other magazines seem to have the right balance. We all want to be reading CM and/or GRM ten years from now, and participating on this forum.

I can't believe I missed this!

How'd you know I read this forum? Creep.

Sperlo I don't know what the hell you're trying to say, but I think you missed the point entirely. Take 20-30 minutes to read what I wrote. If you have anything constructive to say to the management, let's hear it. We're all ears.

Good points, but I'd like to point out that the new format brought more content, not less. Sorry about that, I guess.

I'd also like to apologize for promoting our products on our website. Sorry, everyone, for posting the occasional subscription offer.

Happy new year!

Joke, Gary. Jeebus. I'm locked in for a few more years after the last few promotions. A prior holiday deal and the Dork stickers (which I would like a crack at again). So, Gary, did you think I was responding to your post or maybe the part where Tom said, "Even if you don't read the magazine, I know you read this forum"?

In reply to Gary:

Seriously who E36 M3 in your froot loops?

In response to Tom: Maybe CM and GRM have more content now but it really doesn't seem like it. Seriously. And I don't know what your criteria for measuring more content is. Both CM and GRM only have brief summaries of what the crew is doing. That's why I refer to them as Cliff's Notes. To understand what I mean when I say "more meaningful content," compare CM and GRM with for example, Hot Rod Magazine (which is considered a "classic car" magazine by many of its readers). HRM is packed with detailed (key word) tech stories and road trip stories each month. They don't have a forum (maybe not a bad thing), but they do have a good web site and excellent online videos that they produce. They seem to have the right balance between behind the scenes activity and what actually makes it into the hard copy. You read a hard copy issue of Hot Rod and you feel like you've gotten your money's worth. Until the business model changes and the website can pay all the bills, you're stuck with publishing magazines. I'm trying to be constructive, otherwise I wouldn't be writing this. I'll continue to beat the drum because I care. Good luck.

To Sperlo: sorry man, I thought you were addressing my post. That's why it didn't make sense to me. My apologies.