Csere out at C&D?

Anyone know the story? Just saw a blurb that he was out in my latest "Roundel"

Looks like it. From Wikipedia:

"On December 16, 2008 — according to the official press release of Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. posted on automotive weblog Jalopnik — Csere has resigned his position as Editor-in-Chief, effective January 1, 2009.[2] No reason was given."

Pretty big change. He was there for nearly 30 years.

They lost Larry Webster recently as well :( I've heard rumor that they're going to move to California to shack up with R&T, so that might explain things somewhat.

Man, I never thought that he would go.Good luck to him.I do have to admit that I held it against him for letting Yates go, but I got over it.

I didn't really care for Webster when I "almost" met him at the C&D 50th Bash in Indy.

They're already shacked up. R&T and C&D come as a 2-for-1 subscription deal and they read nearly identical. They test the same cars every issue and have the same cover story. It's sad really.

P71 wrote: They're already shacked up. R&T and C&D come as a 2-for-1 subscription deal and they read nearly identical. They test the same cars every issue and have the same cover story. It's sad really.

Yeah, both did the "600hp dream car" feature last month.

Seems like one of them is poised to go under.

The magazine industry is an ugly place right now. It's a shame, because car mags are one of the finest simple pleasures in life. They provide a satisfaction that the web can't.

30 years, and I still can't pronounce his name. Chubba chedda? Cs-a-ba Chair-e?

The two magazines are owned by the same company, that's been the case for a while. But by "shack up", I meant "cohabitate".

Of course most of the same cars will get tested every issue. They test new cars.

I've met both Larry and Csaba in person. Webster's a cool guy. For those who don't know, he owns a Miata and does all his own work on it. Yup, in between testing Lamborghinis and Ferraris he changes the clutch on his 1990 Miata at home. Csaba is less approachable - when I pointed out that we could do a whole lot better on his Superfour Challenge course by blowing through one or two strategic cones and taking the time penalty, he didn't see the humor at all.

I never liked his articles. I really never liked the magazine all that much. And its too bad that Autoweek isn't every week any more, there aren't any good new-car magazines for me.

It's more then just testing the same cars, I mean the articles themselves are the same. Same writers, same photos, same everything. The only difference between them is the name on the front and the random editor/etc blurbs in the front. Seriously, pick up the last 2 issues of each side-by-side. It's like looking at a Dodge Neon and a Plymouth Neon, you know they are exactly the same, but the emblem is different.

pinchvalve wrote: Chubba chedda.

I actually remember seeing it when it was Sports Car Illustrated

..although I was really young

Back when they had Gordon Jennings, Warren Weith and Dicky Smothers writing, it was a great magazine. Then it just turned into Pablum.

It has only been suitable for the bottom of bird cages for the last 15+ years, at least in my opinion.

aeronca65t wrote: I actually remember seeing it when it was Sports Car Illustrated ..although I was really young Back when they had Gordon Jennings, Warren Weith and Dicky Smothers writing, it was a great magazine. Then it just turned into Pablum. It has only been suitable for the bottom of bird cages for the last 15+ years, at least in my opinion.

C&D was very much an influence upon me when I was a young enthusiast in the late 1970's-early 1980s. I guess I fell off the bandwagon when David E. Davis left to start Automobile (and took Jean Lindamood with him). About the same time, I became involved in motorsport, and really didn't care about "street cars" anymore. I still think C&D during that time was a great magazine, with Davis, Lindamood, Csere, Yates (of course), Patrick Bedard and IIRC, Don Sherman, Steve Smith, and the occasional contributions from LJK Setright and P.J. O'Rourke.

Oh, well...if they're going to go down, at least it's to R&T instead of to "Motor Trend". After all of the comments "Ed." made about the `poseurs' over there, the irony would just be too much.

The only thing that CD has going for it is John Phillips.

I used to get R&T back in the 80s, then switched to C/D as the sarcasm suited me better than the wine-and-cheese feeling of R&T (though I did miss reading Peter Egan). However, I dumped them all because, to me, most of what I liked was reading road tests that gave me a true impression of what a car was like, both good and bad. While they may still do that on occasion, it seems like you only get thorough road tests of exotic cars and high end production vehicles. The average cars that most of the world drives are simply ignored. I loved reading comparison tests of Plymouth Sapporos and Chevy Citations. All we get now are vague impressions of what something may be like to live with for a weekend. Zero help in choosing a new vehicle.

Auto-every-other-Week is guilty of the same thing, though they do have good and timely new car info and racing reports. I don't think any of the 'new car' magazines currently in print are any good unless you simply enjoy reading about cars you'll never be able to afford.

.

The magazine industry is an ugly place right now. It's a shame, because car mags are one of the finest simple pleasures in life. They provide a satisfaction that the web can't.

Sure seems that way. This economy is shaking out a lot of long standing companies.

They are both Doctors Office rags. I spend 30 seconds scanning them once every 2 years when I'm in the doctor's office, and confirm why I don't like them. Then I pick up the 4 month old copy of Newsweek.

Larry Webster went to Popular Mechanics. And, yeah, he's a really cool guy. Only met Csere a couple of times in person, but he's definitely the real deal as well. They'll have a had time replacing him, although there is still lots of talent there (Gilles, Tony Swan, etc.).

Hopefully they survive and flourish. C&D has always been very supportive of our efforts, and I've always been honored that they were fans.

jg

DILYSI Dave wrote: They are both Doctors Office rags. I spend 30 seconds scanning them once every 2 years when I'm in the doctor's office, and confirm why I don't like them. Then I pick up the 4 month old copy of Newsweek.

I always did the same and complained about the crappy 4-12 month old mags in the waiting room. Then I brought in a stack of my old GRMs and left them. When another patient saw me replenishing the rack with a couple of newer GRMs, he thanked me, and the office girl said people were asking if they could take them home. OnTopic: C-D wasn't too bad in the late 70's early 80's. I was glad to see David E move his big pompous ass out of the ed chair. Bedard was O.K. for a while , but how many times can you stand to hear his rants about the NHSTC, or whatever the heck it is? Even after he left, that's all he wrote about. The late Don Sherman and Philips were awesome and P.J.was pretty entertaining. No wonder they are fans of GRM....it's close to what they used to be and realized the present ownership would never let them go "back". Even their "Ten Best" list became nothing more than fodder for advertisers. Too bad, because it was a good magazine at one time.

I Dumped C&D almost 30 years ago because of the sarcasm BS. I subscribed to Automobile for several years due mainly to the excellent quality of the mag and photography. I dumped them because of the punk Kitman and beacth Lindamood-Jennings. I finally dumped R&T a couple of years ago. The subscription was cheap, but Peter Egan was the only good thing in the whole magazine.

Someone said to me that the reason they dont give normal cars they light of day in these mags, is that once you start ripping apart the crap thats been coming out of detroit and complimenting the imports, your domestic ad revnue will go away faster then a ferrari at a starting line. The same response to an american version of Top Gear.

JG Pasterjak wrote: Larry Webster went to Popular Mechanics. And, yeah, he's a really cool guy. Only met Csere a couple of times in person, but he's definitely the real deal as well. They'll have a had time replacing him, although there is still lots of talent there (Gilles, Tony Swan, etc.). Hopefully they survive and flourish. C&D has always been very supportive of our efforts, and I've always been honored that they were fans. jg

Although, most of the writers that did support GRM are now questionable or gone...

I met Larry a few times here in A2, and knew Aaron Robinson pretty well- he lived behind me for a few years. These guys would regularly come to the monthy meet at the local warehouse full of cars. Good guys.

I've also got to know David E a lot better, and have totally changed my opinion of him, in a good way. Great guy, and as much as I don't read on line magazines, I hope his project works. He's got oodles of character.

Only met Csaba a few times, nice guy. One of my friends had him as an employee in the early 80's- he was part of Ford's Advanced Powertrain Engineering while here. Probably the reason why C&D doesn't pull punches with Ford.

But without personality, the magazine really suffers. I don't read new car reviews anymore- they are boring (cars are never fast enough, nor high enough mileage, nor soft enough, nor corner flat enough, etc, etc, etc.).

Anyway, sad, but I don't read much of C&D or R&T anymore.

Eric

I must admit that I don't seek out either R&T or C&D, so I hadn't noticed they were starting to share content. If so, that's a shame. If I get my hands on an R&T, I read Peter Egan (who, in person, is exactly the sort of person you think he is from his writing and an excellent companion for a sunny afternoon of sitting and talking) and PS and then go glassy eyed. C&D doesn't really attract my attention much at all. I haven't read Automobile for a while because DED's writing really gets on my nerves.

I do, however, get GRM and CM and have a subscription to EVO.

I only subscribe to three car magazines - two from some outfit in Florida and one very expensive imported one with large, glossy pictures of old MGs that I read under the covers by flash light late at night.

I haven't read C&D or R&T for years. They just bored me to tears, so I don't have much if any recent recollections of Csere's (or Egans's or Bedard's) work. I remember a couple of Lindamood's columns like the one where she totaled the Escort GT. I tried reading Automobile but David E Davis comes across as one of the most arrogant people ever to pound a typewriter. Maybe he's not really that way, I dunno.

In fact, I didn't subscribe to any car mags for years until a bud dropped a copy of GRM on me.