Well, the economics of publishing necessitate advertising, so I can't
really complain about that. It's what lies between the ads that matters,
and I agree that the content of R&T has become less compelling. Aside
from the always enjoyable Peter Egan, and the occasional Phil Hill Salon,
they seem to devote an inordinate number of pages to German and Japanese
luxury sedans, station wagons and even SUVs. Then, once a year or so they
trot out some super-exotics to thrill the adolescents. I used to enjoy
the detailed F1 reports form the likes of Rob Walker -- now they just
have bare summaries. I admit their lead times make the news value of
their race reporting minimal, but it was the insider perspective that I
appreciated -- I would ignore the race results in the newspapers, and
follow the season at 3 months remove in R&T. After all, F1 on TV is
pretty much a bore. Anyway, as the generation of Hill, Walker, Innes
Ireland, etc, gradually fades away, it doesn't surprise me that the
magazine more and more resembles the culture of the current international
automobile industry -- slick, corporate, and soulless.
mga had this to say:
>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
>
>
--
Max Heim
'66 MGB GHN3L76149
If you're near Mountain View, CA,
it's the red one with the silver bootlid.
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