I have subscribed to this motoring magazine since its inception - which is a publication from the Dennis Publishing stable and of 'Auto Express' fame.
I suspected things were not good some time ago when the price was dropped from £3 plus to £1.50 presumably to increase circulation but the scope of the articles thereafter decreased.
Today I have had a notification to say that the magazine has 'now closed' and that, in future, I would be receiving What Car ? who would honour their subscription commitments. Fair play I say.
There was a motoring pubication thread here a short time ago which remembered passed titles and I remember the demise of 'Buying Cars' - a mag that I enjoyed enormously at the time. I always likened Test Drive to that genre in style if not true spirit.
What Car ? it is then !
Ian
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That explains why I couldn't find it in Smiths on Friday and again today! I thought it was alright for £1.50, even though many of the test cars and long termers were the same as featured in other Dennis publications. What Car is a bit expensive to buy every month, especially given half of it is a not particularly accurate price and spec list.
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It was quite good but it wasn't different enough from What Car, so I can't say I'm surprised. You need to have some form of USP to break into this market. I often wonder how well Auto Express does - it's not the greatest.
I think Haymarket have the market for magazines about 'real cars' pretty well sewn up with What Car and Autocar: they can defend the amount od supercar coverage in Autocar by saying that (a) there are plenty of people who like it and (b) if they don't there's always What Car.
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After a year or more of Car magazine, during which I grew tired of its Gumball mentality, I switched last month to Test Drive magazine. So the only issue I ever bought was the last!
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So the only issue I ever bought was the last!
You could say that SS but then it could be worth something in the years to come. Having said that, I kept all my old 'Buying Cars' and considerably enjoy reading them from time to time even if just for their quaint standards and descriptions when compared with the innovations of the current day
Ian
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There was a motoring pubication
Ooops
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Sad to see it go, but when the cover price fell to £1.50 I did suspect that they were in trouble.
I must confess I didn't especially like it when it first came out, but in recent months I thought it had improved quite a bit, and started buying it regularly. The low cover price was the biggest attraction, but I did find it preferable to What Car in a lot of ways.
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Bought the first issue, thought it was dire.
But not as dire as Autoexpress, which literally appears to be glossy pages of press releases.
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I liked it throughout it's life. From my perspective it seemed to tread the middle ground between TG mag and What Car? I thought it had it's weaknesses, but it was certainly not the worst mag out there - I believe Auto Express takes that gong. I particularly liked the way they would select 8 cars of a type and rank them, with a small explanation of each.
I think the real reason it went under is because no supermarkets seemed to stock it. I never saw it in Tesco or Asda, and they're where I usually get my mags from. This inevitably has a knock-on effect on circulation and without that, there's not much ad revenue to keep everyone in jobs.
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I think Autocar is the best car magazine. I can just about put up with their supercar flights of fancy because they still cover everyday cars that us punters actually buy better than anyone else. And they are enthusiastic.
Car is now very sad compared to its glory days. It seems to be no more than a fashion-junkies style-bible these days. But the biggest gong must surely go to Diesel Car. Seriously, it used to be a good read. But my, how it has lost it's way now!
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The recent revamp of car is very much along the lines of a coffee table mag with loads of fashion items and pictures of the great and good swaning around London. Too liitle concern for teh regular reading who likes to be tittilated by fancy cars, but not every page every month.
They said that the things that had been missed out in the mag due to the revamp were now on their website, but the site is slow and boring.
I also tried Test Drive when it first came out, but couldn't find it after a few months. Pity though.
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Re: Diesel Car; why has it morphed into Max Power?
Why has Car turned into Tatler with petrol?
I blame my age group (mid-30s) who think that buying things is a decent substitute for being interested in things....
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"Why has Car turned into Tatler with petrol?"
I was browsing mags in Smiths at lunchtime and they seem to have dropped the legendary "the Good trhe Bad and the Ugly". That was the best bit!
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Car is now very sad compared to its glory days. It seems to be no more than a fashion-junkies style-bible these days. But the biggest gong must surely go to Diesel Car. Seriously, it used to be a good read. But my, how it has lost it's way now!
No only lost its way but also getting increasingly good at alienating the readership by accusing people who drive petrol cars as being ill informed etc. The quality of the 'tests' has gone down since the John Kerswill days too. I won't be renewing and will stick with What Car?
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So many of these mags. are plain boring eg What Car, Car Buyer, Test thingy and so on.
The ones that aren't boring are childish - what's a chap to do?
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what's a chap to do?
>>
I suppose we could speak to the wife / husband & kids but that assumes they want to speak to you.
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I think the real reason it went under is because no supermarkets seemed to stock it. I never saw it in Tesco or Asda, and they're where I usually get my mags from. This inevitably has a knock-on effect on circulation and without that, there's not much ad revenue to keep everyone in jobs.
Never buy a magazine or newspaper from a superstore.
They only cherry pick, and make it more difficult for real newsagents to carry the less market oriented magazines.
This may or may not be a reason for the demise, but it's got it off my chest !!
No, I'm not a newsagent .
Neiltoo
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>>This may or may not be a reason for the demise, but it's got it off my chest !!>>
I'm with you 100 per cent...:-)
Same applies to Spar shops etc even though there may be a newsagent close by.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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I like autoexpress, it's cheaper and more tho the point than What Car? as it is not filled with adverts and boaring things such as how to finance a car. Mabey it's me but that's what I think, more attention on the cars rather than other sorts of things. It's great for someone buying it to acctually buy a car but not so good to read every month.
My personal favorite magazine at the moment is Practical Performance Car and obviously reading the motoring supplement in the Telegraph.
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For me, Auto Express misses the spot but isn't it weekly Schoolboy which makes it on a par with the 'monthlys' in terms of comparative.cost. ? The only item which took my interest were the tests on motoring related goods with their 'recommended Best Buys'.
From my memory of Auto Weekly, I still remember a B&W photo of the formidable looking Editor in Chief on page 2 glowering down upon the unfortunate and intimidated reader. What were they thinking of ?
Ian
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Gave them all up years ago, when Car was still fairly full of itself but in the grip of unimaginative management... Motor Sport got thinner somehow and lost its real style when William Boddy retired from the editorship... Never got into Autosport although club racers and the like read it... Quite liked CCC, the oily person's car magazine...
Can't say I ever noticed Test Drive Magazine's existence.
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