Do magazines still matter? How do you get your car news and info?

[Brass]

I enjoy flipping through especially when I'm winding down, on the bus, or flying.  I would like one Mopar mag and one general one.  Right now I'm subscribed to "Hemmings Muscle Machines" because its a good mix.  I thought about getting "Mopar Collector Guide" but I already hate seeing these things stack up so fast and I have other things to read.  Then I forget which ones I want to save and which ones should go.  I could recycle them but that seems wasteful for some reason; so I'm currently swimming in them.

[nvrbdn]

what is the best mopar magazine to buy? 

mopar collectors guide is good for advertising, but parts tend to be a bit pricey. they have good car coverage, but mopar action does as well. i like mopar action, but heard they could go under so i settled for mopar muscle. thats my look at the mopar mag's. mabey im misinformed about mopar action but havent shopped for it in some time so i dont know.

[bill440rt]

I subscribe to MCG, Mopar Action, & Mopar Muscle.
I like MCG for the ads/classifieds & latest hobby news, although I could do without the political & celebrity stuff in seemingly every issue.
I like Mopar Action for the tech articles, reference restos, & humor.
Mopar Muscle is hit or miss.
If I need something else specific there's always the internet.

I LIKE to still get magazines. I look forward to every issue. Besides, I need something to read in the bathroom. 

[tan top]

I don't subscribe anymore either.  Love B/E-bodies as much as the next guy but am sick of seeing 100K cars all the time.  I will pick up a mag (usually Muscle Car Review) if there's something interesting in it.  Also need to keep the toilet reading rack stocked...

Seems to me they are really streching to find something new/fresh to write about. I only get one magazine these days( had to cut back) ...after all need something to read in the bathroom?

BINGO!  This is exactly why magazines will exist for sometime to come. You really don't want to mess with a laptop on the toilet, nor can you stick it in your back pocket to take with you to wherever. God forbid in our electronic society that we ever loose power for an extended period of time. People will go friggin nuts.

Funny thing is over the last 50 years, there really aren't any new topics in any of the magazines. Only different ways of approaching the topic and new views of what is cool. I recall a vintage late 50s issue of Hot Rod I used to have where tech articles included things like are 150 mph dragsters too fast for the sport, how to super tune your 283 chevy, porting nail head buicks for power, and of course several obligatory eye candy articles on tricked out cars with wide whites, tuck and roll, and chrome wheels.

still got over 22 years worth  of mopars mags  saved for that reason !!  bathroom reading !!  !!

WELL.......... it will be a while before we see you again!   

       
  thing is i have/had forgotten a lot of stuff that was in the 88 -92ish mags !! so its intresting reading   
i could be sometime   

Well I won't hold my breath..............then again maybe I should if you're sitting on the can 

[HPP]

I've never understood the concept of sitting on the can for 20 minutes with my pants down and a soiled a$$ reading a magazine amid the stench of yeserday's lunch. Why not just wipe your butt and go sit on the couch to read it?

Well, I can't vouch for your toiletry habits, but I enver said anything about extended stays in the stink to simply read a mag. Go, do your business, leave. If you can browse a few ads while doing it, cool.

For mags I get the big 3, Hot Rod, Car Craft, PHR. I like cars in general enough to find all of these interesting. Yeah there is a lot of chevy specific junk in them all, but sometimes you can learn a new trick or two by reading about competitors issues. For Mopar specific mags, I only get Mopar Muscle. I'll occasionally pick up a Mopar Action if they have an article I really like, but over all I don't care for their editorial content, car choices.  I've had all the mopar ones at one time or another and tire of them all occasionalyl as well, but i do tend topick up Mopar Muscle for a couple years every so often.

Remember the way back days when there was High Performance Mopar and Chrysler Power on top of MA and MM and MCG.

[Fred]

Seems to me they are really streching to find something new/fresh to write about. I only get one magazine these days( had to cut back) ...after all need something to read in the bathroom?

BINGO!  This is exactly why magazines will exist for sometime to come. You really don't want to mess with a laptop on the toilet, nor can you stick it in your back pocket to take with you to wherever. God forbid in our electronic society that we ever loose power for an extended period of time. People will go friggin nuts.

I've never understood the concept of sitting on the can for 20 minutes with my pants down and a soiled a$$ reading a magazine amid the stench of yeserday's lunch. Why not just wipe your butt and go sit on the couch to read it?

Boy did you hit the nail on the head!............make the pitstop as short as you can and enjoy the mags in comfort  (and in the breathable air) of your living room instead.

[mysil bergsprekken]

Until recently, I got about 10 magazines mailed to my house every month.

I've decided to let most of them expire.

The ones I will NOT be renewing are:

Hot Rod... LS-WHAT?

Hemmings Muscle Machines... I really don't care about your grandpa's Buick.

Auto Round-Up (a bi-weekly classifieds magazine) I've never bought anything out of it in 20 years.

Rod and custom...Neat old cars...but 90% have a 350 Chevy in them.

Playboy...Pamela Anderson, again?  Really?  That's just NASTY!

EasyRiders... Born to be mild.

hehe, that is a nice summary of what the magazines contains. I hear you on all of it

[1970Moparmann]

Seems to me they are really streching to find something new/fresh to write about. I only get one magazine these days( had to cut back) ...after all need something to read in the bathroom?

BINGO!  This is exactly why magazines will exist for sometime to come. You really don't want to mess with a laptop on the toilet, nor can you stick it in your back pocket to take with you to wherever. God forbid in our electronic society that we ever loose power for an extended period of time. People will go friggin nuts.

I've never understood the concept of sitting on the can for 20 minutes with my pants down and a soiled a$$ reading a magazine amid the stench of yeserday's lunch. Why not just wipe your butt and go sit on the couch to read it?

Boy did you hit the nail on the head!............make the pitstop as short as you can and enjoy the mags in comfort  (and in the breathable air) of your living room instead.

Do you have any kids?  There's always a reason to escape....

[greenpigs]

Hot Roid - better than it was a few years ago.
Chevy Craft - pure crap & not getting renewed. It feels like a coupon book, hardly anything in it & I predict it will fold within 2 years

I used to get Mopar Action religiously, but cut back as they just don't have enough to get my money.

More articles on everyday cars you see at the local cruise in, not mega buck restorations EVERY issue. Those are helpful at times but more meat & potato rides is what I like.

[Mike DC]

 
I like Hot Rod these days because they cover offbeat car ideas that don't fit into an existing genre. 

"Popular Hot Rodding" has some good tech.  But their feature cars haven't creatively changed in 15 years.

[rt green]

i was reading a mopar mag i got back in '89. the tech articles were better. they had an article on how to get a 904 trans to live at the strip. you just don't see that kind of helpful stuff these days without 3/4 of what your working on ending up being aftermarket. this article said what years of a certain part to look for and such.
it was basically walking you through how to build a bullet proof trans out of junkyard and one or two aftermarket parts[ with part numbers to order] and most importantly why they were doing it that way.
i found it again- it was high perf mopar  jan '89.  you just don't see 'how to' articles like that anymore. times are tough. money is tight. you want us to buy your mag? make it worth it. 

[HPP]

ii found it again- it was high perf mopar  jan '89. 

I used to get them and yes, they had great tech. I suppose that was the problem with them that as the market turned to trailer queens and over restored cars through the 90s, their subscription numbers dropped and they couldn't make the mag anymore.

[Kern Dog]

I like the magazines that I still get. At one time, I was getting Hot Rod, Car Craft, Hemmings muscle machines, Mopar Collectors guide, Mopar Muscle and my all time favorite, Mopar Action. I let all run out except the last 2. Nothing replaces the smile when I open the mailbox to find the magazine in there.

[greenpigs]

I got my last issue of Car Craft yesterday....another LS swap, who would have guessed?

It did have a Duster with a supercharged /6 so they are not as bad as I implied, but still to little to late.

If I ever do subscribe again it will be the on line version. It may sound gay but I like trees!

[HPP]

Thats's interesting My latest issue of Car Craft has a fox bodied turbo Ford and a 5.7 Hemi swap in to a Duster. I didn't see any LS swaps, but I did see the supercharged /6.

Really though, do you expect the proliferation of LS articles to be any less than they the build a 500 horse small block chevy articles of the past? They (chevys) still consititute 50% of the hot rodding world, like it or not.

[RallyeMike]

Hot Roid - better than it was a few years ago.

Ya. I subscribed starting at 15 for 20 years, and quit when the "fastest street car" stuff went apeshit. Got really tired of that. Then when Gray Baskerville passed away, I had to drop it      I just started it back up about two years ago ($12 for three years!) and it's much improved. We'll see what happens when the $12 is up. I don't save any - they all get passed along for others to read.

Other than that, the only mag worth subscribing to for me is Mopar Action. I have every mag in binders and on the bookshelf from 1992. Good resource material, and I only have to read 6 per year instead of monthly.

Non-mopar, I also pick up Car Kulture Deluxe and Old Skool Rodz off the stand every once in awhile to check to the hot rods and tattooed chicks. Instead of the pot, I read them sitting in my 60 Plymouth or 61 Chrysler. Muscle cars are cool, but I'm also a chop top - primer - flames - straight axle - magnesium - roots blower - fins, kind of guy.

[greenpigs]

Thats's interesting My latest issue of Car Craft has a fox bodied turbo Ford and a 5.7 Hemi swap in to a Duster. I didn't see any LS swaps, but I did see the supercharged /6.

Really though, do you expect the proliferation of LS articles to be any less than they the build a 500 horse small block chevy articles of the past? They (chevys) still consititute 50% of the hot rodding world, like it or not.

It was in one of the tech columns I think, showed a El camino. Not an actual swap but they mentioned it either way.

I am tired of the new tech, which is the way it is as time moves on. What most of us have are ancient technology but that is what I like.