Super & Etc:: The Death Of American Car Magazines

Well I decided to add something new in my blog I'd like to call a Super Rant. It's basically spontaneous ideas that come into my head. I figure I might as well write about it. Well here it goes....

I remember in the late 90s early 2000's I was an avid reader of import car magazines. I would be reading turbo, import tuner, sportscompact car, and superstreet. I notice quality began taking a dip in the mid 2000s around 2004.A lot of factors have to be taken into account for this dip. Possible reasons blogging, mass sharing in the internet, high speed cable being easier to attain for the masses, digital photography being easier to access, automotive forums, more user friendly video and photography editing software and the economy. When Prime Media began buying all the Import branches thats when death happened. Magazines began thinning and more women and advertisements where on pages. It didin't help that the economy was doing poorly as well. Many publications began getting axed such as sportscompactcar(An Actual Quality Magazine! and the only one I can think of getting cancelled at the moment). If I wanted to be teased I would be in the early stages of a relationship. I'm a car enthusiast, just because I am one doesn't always translate to one being a meathead. Many of us are articulate just look at all the blogs as an example. I'm also not in high school anymore. I don't really want almost naked women near car photos. It just looks really tacky. I stopped reading car magazines in the states since 2006 when my super street subscription ended. I had to deal with other priorities in life and put my passion on hold until 2009 it reimmerged.

I realized a lot of car magazines here try to persuade 15-25 year olds. Look at every cover from modified magazine to import tuner etc. etc. How they manage to sway people is their winning forumla as I'd like to call it.
The winning forumla for them : Almost naked woman showing her tummy, chest,back or legs somewhere in the cover or she could be the cover, bright colored vechicle putting out X amount of horsepower, GIANT FONT EMPHASIZING WHAT THE CAR IS ABOUT, and a captivating font to get your attention to buy this crappy $6.00 magazine. The worst part is when they interview the model for a magazine and when your a young pubescent boy or loser reading the model interview.(Yes I admit I fell victim as both)
The following is a mock Q & A they always do such as this:

Q: What do you look for in a guy?
Model: He has to smell nice, a good sense of humor, a head on his shoulders
Q:How could a guy approach you?
Model: He should just be confident and not cocky.
Q:What ethnicity are you
Model: Well, to be "technical about it" I am laotian, thai, filipino,chinese,german,peruvian and rat.

The reason for this generic answer is to give the boy hope and keep reading the magazines. That way it can give hope for him in his dreams that the girl he yanks his hank to could one day like him.

Gee this doesn't have all the things I just talked about...



The worst magazine of all. Import Tuner is pretty JDM look the Tokyo skyline at night and flag is in the back!


Yea I'm curious to see the GT-R as the street king or I can see a whole page of the girl in the bikini.


Are you buying import tuners for colored cars or c-cups?


Why is the woman on the top left cover anyway? Does it have to do with coilovers?


The point of all this? With the horrible quality of magazines what's the point of their publications? Magazines are slowly slowly dying but not.I don't think these magazines will ever die because there are still morons picking up and buying these magazines who think this is the hotness. Until people become selfaware that anytime you buy something its not just buying a product but an idealogy. Colorful cars, almost naked women and articles a seven year old can understand is something you want to buy??
Not to knock on anyone but there are nice quality rides that pop up now and then in the magazines after they been all over the internet..... So I do have to give credit to the owner of the car not the magazine. It's just another exposure for him or her..

I see everyone blogging doing a better job and coverage than the content I see in magazines. None of that watered bs and such. Blogging is already a force. Import Tuner I've seen has recently been asking readers to give photos of their projects and such. They even ask for links of ones website and such. Also look at Super Street asking Risky Devil for a feature. So we do have the power people.