Stuart,
You've hit the proverbial nail on the head. To your quote "you don't bite
the hand that feeds you," I can add, "we get what we pay for." Glossy
magazines do not come cheap, so subscriptions to R&T and, practically all
publications, have to be subsidized by somebody and those "somebodies" are
the advertisers. Consumer Reports does what it is supposed to, but car
aficionados don't always like its conclusions because we place value on some
intangibles that are not readily quantified and that differ amongst drivers.
For example, I really like the Ferrari-like grille on the current Chrysler
Concorde. However, it probably does nothing to enhance the durability of
the car, nor does it increase the width of the seats or improve the fuel
consumption. I do check the reliability reported by Consumer Reports when
shopping for used cars or when buying such "boring" items as lawnmowers.
Chuck
-----Original Message-----
From: Stuart J. Ross [mailto:stuross@nac.net]
Sent: Monday September 18, 2000 7:11 AM
To: Vandergraaf, Chuck; morgans@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: RIP R&T (or what happened to Road&Track?)
What do you expect? You don't bite the hand that feeds you. Ever notice that
when an expensive car, say a Porsche, is introduced, a mag like R&T or Car &
Driver does a "road test" on the car, but there may be 7 pages of slick
advertising related to that same car in the issue? How can they possibly pan
a car when the company is supporting the advertising budget with mega-bucks?
It is the "little guy" (like Morgan) that offer these publications the
chance to write negative comments. Then they can say, WE find faults in
cars." and seem like they are telling the readers the truth, when in fact,
they are the pawns of the money giants. I am not a big fan of Consumer
Reports because they hate any car that has style and performance. They would
love to see all of us drive old Nash Ramblers, I think, but they can at
least tell us the real story on defects and flaws. I read a very interesting
article by Gloria Steinam called "Sex,Lies and Advertising" that discussed
her similar problems when she ran MS magazine in regards to the relationship
of ad space for cosmetics etc and the content of articles in the same issue.
There was too much "hanky-panky" between the advertisers, their money, and
their influence on the editorial content of the magazine. Same is true (more
so probably) in the car-mag area.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Vandergraaf, Chuck" <vandergraaft@aecl.ca>
To: <morgans@autox.team.net>; "'mga'" <mga@napanet.net>
Sent: Sunday, September 17, 2000 10:06 PM
Subject: RE: RIP R&T (or what happened to Road&Track?)
> Don,
>
> Funny you should mention this. Just yesterday, I was "sort of" cleaning
up
> my "den," (a.k.a. my room in the basement) and came across a pile of R&Ts
of
> the early 1990 ... and a copy of the December 1958 issue featuring the
Alfa
> Romeo BAT-9. When I compared that issue with the 1990 vintage, I
remembered
> why I stopped subscribing to R&T about five years ago. When the spirit
> moves me, I wander over to the local public library and leaf through the
> latest issue. I wonder why I'm keeping the 1990 vintage copies.
>
> Between subscriptions, I would buy an R&T issue that had an article about
> Morgans, but I haven't done that for a while either, lately.
>
> In addition to the negative things you mention, R&T won't say anything
> negative about the cars they feature, until the next model comes out.
Only
> then will they point out the shortcomings of the model it replaced. Mind
> you, I probably can't afford 95+% of the cars they do test, so some of the
> criticism is academic.
>
> Chuck Vandergraaf
> Pinawa, MB
> '52 +4
>
> I'm with you as far as old growth forests, cars with personality, good
music
> and family-owned businesses go but I'll be honest enough to admit to
> shopping at Home Depot and enjoying the security of modern cars.
> > ----------
> > From: mga[SMTP:mga@napanet.net]
> > Reply To: mga
> > Sent: Sunday September 17, 2000 10:58 AM
> > To: morgans@autox.team.net
> > Subject: RIP R&T (or what happened to Road&Track?)
> >
> > Fellow MG enthusiasts,
> >
> > I've subscribed to R&T since the '60's, and have a collection that goes
> > back
> > to the late '40's. The devolution of this magazine is very sad. At
first
> > it was just an amateur enthusiast newsletter; then it grew into a
> > wonderful,
> > informative and creative magazine. Now, it is basically a sales
catalogue
> > for new cars with a few boring articles inserted between the ads. When
it
> > arrives in the mail now, I find that I can read what I want in it in
about
> > 5
> > minutes. If I take a few old issues from my collection to read again, I
> > could spend hours with them!
> >
> > I know it was bought and sold several times. Did it get burdened with a
> > debt service that requires that the thing be full of ads? Is there a
> > conspiracy to destroy everything that I like or love (family-owned
> > businesses, old-growth forests, cars with personality, politicians with
a
> > heart, beautiful music, etc.)? Or am I just getting old?
> >
> > Anyone have any comments on this?
> >
> > Don Scott
> >
>
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