needed to write a letter to C/D

[regfootball]

So I just got my December 2008 issue and like two-thirds of it is all about 'fuel economy this' and 'mpg that'. Seriously, please. Gas is 2.09 at the local station, do you really think I care to read about miles per gallon THIS MONTH? You criticize the automakers for not being able to make the market shift when fuel efficient cars became in demand but now that gas is cheap and people just don't want to hear about it this month, your issue is practically all about fuel economy and nothing else. Seems like in this case you missed where the market was going to be THIS MONTH. I guess we should be reading doom and gloom articles about the car magazine industry going bankrupt because they couldn't adjust fast enough. Especially the domestic magazines.

Edited October 31, 2008 by regfootball

[pow]

So I just got my December 2008 issue and like two-thirds of it is all about 'fuel economy this' and 'mpg that'. Seriously, please. Gas is 2.09 at the local station, do you really think I care to read about miles per gallon THIS MONTH? You criticize the automakers for not being able to make the market shift when fuel efficient cars became in demand but now that gas is cheap and people just don't want to hear about it this month, your issue is practically all about fuel economy and nothing else. Seems like in this case you missed where the market was going to be THIS MONTH. I guess we should be reading doom and gloom articles about the car magazine industry going bankrupt because they couldn't adjust fast enough. Especially the domestic magazines.

+1

Domestic magazines suck... unreliable, poor fit and finish, dated design, etc.

[mustang84]

Not to mention that every time my Motor Trend arrives it looks like its been sitting in someone's bathroom for a couple weeks.

[regfootball]

imported magazines are so much better, even if they print them here or not.

[Chris_Doane]

It's because most things in mags are done months in advance.

[regfootball]

It's because most things in mags are done months in advance.

excuses. the automakers do their product planning years in advance, so they shouldn't get raked over the coals if the market shifts fast. why wasn't car and driver developing multiple stories simultaneously, and then waiting till the last possible moment to pick which ones were appropriate for this month?

Funny when the shoe is on the other foot.

Early this decade the press was clamoring for automakers to diversify their product lines and proliferate into every niche possible and have every brand represented in every segment.

Then, the press was all about performance and rear wheel drive at any cost.

Now, when the gas prices force a quick tectonic shift in the market unforeseen by anyone, they rape the domestic manufacturers for not being able to adapt quick enough.

The press is a bunch of hypocrites and they just rewrite what is spoon fed to them anyways. No original thinking, no fresh views. Just regurgitate press releases and all of that.

Road and Track is probably the only publication that stays 'even' over the course of time. Most of the internet web sites are fairly useless, and at best are amateurish.

I for one am totally appalled that they could not see this shift to 2 dollar gas coming. They should have been ready in print TODAY with articles on all sorts of performance cars and SUV's. Not a bunch of crap on how to improve your mpg 10 percent. No one cares about that this month.

Maybe the 'journalists' need to reduce their production time and their lead time down to a couple weeks, huh? No excuses, as they say. Move faster than the market.

Newspapers print new stuff every day.

Edited October 31, 2008 by regfootball

[Chris_Doane]

No, not excuses. Just how glossy magazine publishing works.

[Satty]

Wasn't gas still over $3.50 nationally six weeks ago? It takes time to get the cars, test the cars, write the articles and print the magazines. Could they go from doing stuff 6 months out to doing it a month before it hits the news stands? Probably, but the logistics would be an absolute bitch and the reviews would suffer because they wouldn't be able to do nearly as much driving before the article had to be sent off to the printer.

[Camino LS6]

The lead time is why they are doomed.

[regfootball]

No, not excuses. Just how glossy magazine publishing works.

double standards and excuses. forgot to add that.

[The O.C.]

imported magazines are so much better, even if they print them here or not.

Agreed......

I think AutoWeek SUCKS.....(even though I still subscribe to it.)

They could learn a TON of lessons from Autocar (U.K.)......to me, Autocar is THE BEST weekly auto rag on the market.......

[Chevy Nick]

I don't think some people understand the sarcasm in this thread.

[regfootball]

NO!?!?!?!

[Satty]

I just saw the December C&D and there were 3 Corvettes and a Veyron on the cover. I dont think they're pandering too much to the mpg crowd.

[regfootball]

too much of the mag harped on fuel economy. gas is 2 bucks. nobody cares.

the press ragged and ragged about the auto industry not being up to the minute on the fad of the day, i think its entirely appropriate to suggest the magazines aren't quite with it up to the moment either. if they knew what they were doing and weren't incompetent, they would have known this month that gas prices wouldn't be an issue right now. their articles should not focus on something that's not an issue right now.

Edited November 1, 2008 by regfootball

[Satty]

Anyone who understands supply and demand could have told you that the price was going to drop. I'll be interested in seeing the October and November sales numbers. People have gotten used to driving less and driving more efficiently, we'll see if that keep up. I assume it wont, since Americans are pretty stupid.

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

imported magazines are so much better, even if they print them here or not.

But if they print them here, they're domestic magazines, right?

Well, at least until quality is factored in... Then those 'domestic' imports are about as foreign as they can get.

Edited November 3, 2008 by FUTURE_OF_GM

[Enzora]

I assume it wont, since Americans are pretty stupid.

Anyone who would buy a gas guzzler because gas prices have dropped for one month deserves what they get when prices rise again.

Edited November 2, 2008 by Enzora

[Oracle of Delphi]

Dear Chris Doane,

It has come to my attention ..., what not that C D? Ohhhh, never mind!

[regfootball]

hard to get excited about a prius when gas is only 2 bucks.

[Enzora]

Gas could be $10/gallon, and it would be hard to get excited about a Prius.

[regfootball]

that's because the prius is a one trick pony. there is not really any other feature set about it that makes it compelling besides its gas mileage. I would have hated to put myself in a box paying 10 grand more for it over a cobalt XFE or focus since now with 2 dollar gas you really won't save much.

excepting fuel economy, the prius fails on just about every other automotive attribute in virtually every justification comparison you can make.