final print issue of Autoweek

Another one bites the dust , and is now in the cloud only :(

Autoweek is going to be on-line only......

RIP bathroom reading......

I read Autoweek from 1986 through the time that they went bi-weekly. It stopped being interesting to me around then. It was no longer as timely, and it wasn't as good as the monthly magazines. I did enjoy it for a long time though.

I read about 100 back issues of AW at the LCU library.  It took me 10 years to get my degree from LCU, BTW.

I wasn't really a huge fan of Leon Mandel's writing, but I think he put together a good magazine. But Satch Carlson, Denise McCluggage, Corey Farley and a few others were just fantastic. Dutch Mandel, not so much.

Woody said:

I read Autoweek from 1986 through the time that they went bi-weekly. It stopped being interesting to me around then. It was no longer as timely, and it wasn't as good as the monthly magazines. I did enjoy it for a long time though.

That's when I stopped, too- when it really transitioned to being more about automotive lifestyle than cars and racing.  

Shortly after, I also dropped C&D and then R&T as they had gotten pretty stale, too.  Even when I knew some of the writers when they were HQ'd not far from me.

For sure, I don't miss it, and losing this print will not be a big deal.

alfadriver said:

Woody said:

I read Autoweek from 1986 through the time that they went bi-weekly. It stopped being interesting to me around then. It was no longer as timely, and it wasn't as good as the monthly magazines. I did enjoy it for a long time though.

That's when I stopped, too- when it really transitioned to being more about automotive lifestyle than cars and racing.  

Shortly after, I also dropped C&D and then R&T as they had gotten pretty stale, too.  Even when I knew some of the writers when they were HQ'd not far from me.

For sure, I don't miss it, and losing this print will not be a big deal.

I subscribed from 1980 until 2010.  The shift to lifestyle and the biweekly frequency made it less relevant to me.  The classifieds were great pre internet.  Can't forget Corvette Vicki's ad.

Yeah, I grew up reading Competition Press and Autoweek, before I was old enough to drive. Sad to see it go.  I agree the shift to "lifestyle" fluff didn't do much for me. It seems all too common for an organization to change their product so much that they lose their loyal supporters, and then blame outside factors for their demise. 

On the other hand, I will just say Grassroots Motorsports has bucked the trend of declining content and dying publications, and continued to produce great magazines. GRM also does an outstanding job of connecting with readers through relevant events and this forum.

Danny Shields said:

Yeah, I grew up reading Competition Press and Autoweek, before I was old enough to drive. Sad to see it go.  I agree the shift to "lifestyle" fluff didn't do much for me. It seems all too common for an organization to change their product so much that they lose their loyal supporters, and then blame outside factors for their demise. 

On the other hand, I will just say Grassroots Motorsports has bucked the trend of declining content and dying publications, and continued to produce great magazines. GRM also does an outstanding job of connecting with readers through relevant events and this forum.

Bolded for truth.  GRM/CM is so appealing that even though we've really have not participated in motorsports for about 7 years, I still VERY much reading it.  Focus on the core and the purpose, and you can keep doing what you are doing.  I'm sure it helps that Motorsports Marketing isn't trying to expand GRM/CM to be like the tech expansion companies- which is a problem in corporate US companies.

I subscribe to Grassroots Motorsports.  I dropped Car & Driver, and Motor Trend years ago.  

I stayed with Autoweek longer but at some point it switched from being a "hunting dog" to a "porch puppy".      

  I do usually enjoy Dan Neil's weekly column in the Wall Street Journal.  His writing on performance vehicles is great.   I think they force him to write about "green" cars cause those columns are not as good, or maybe I just don't care about who can out Prius a Prius at twice the price.    His column on Ducati's caused an argument ending  with my wife telling me that a motorcycle was not an option for in our marriage.

Add me to the list that stopped subscribing when they went bi-weekly. Most of my old copies have gone into the recycling bin, but I kept a few that had some notable covers. The issue right after the 2001 Daytona 500, for example. 

I don't mind digital copies, but I hate when they are just a PDF of the print magazine. If you are ONLY digital, then you should take advantage of the format and have links to more photos (you know they took more than the 2 that appear in the article!) more video content, more graphics and more animations. Some of the bigger mags used to have excellent digital content at first, then they went to PDF copies.

Woody said:

I wasn't really a huge fan of Leon Mandel's writing, but I think he put together a good magazine. But Satch Carlson, Denise McCluggage, Corey Farley and a few others were just fantastic. Dutch Mandel, not so much.

Yep. Like most here, I dropped my sub around the time it went bi-weekly and started having as many articles on watches as cars. Never cared for Dutch, either.

One other thing that happened to me, and I don't know if this was universal, but their subscription department started just hounding me constantly. Phone calls, emails, automatically subbing, etc. It reached the point where it was near harassment. That sealed the deal for me.

I go all the way back to when Denise McCluggage had the paper, back then it was a godsend to the serious race fan, kept it up until Satch left, then returned a few years back when I caught a deal that was too cheap to turn down, and most issues had a story that I could find interesting.  Sad to see that the issue I got yesterday is hte last, but I must say that I won't miss the current version that much.  RIP Competition Press.

californiamilleghia said:

Another one bites the dust , and is now in the cloud only :(

Autoweek is going to be on-line only......

 

RIP bathroom reading......

I take my iPhone into the turlet.  

Was my favorite magazine as an early teen.  I think I stopped my subscription a year or so after it went to every other week.  With instant news that we have now it seems unneccessary, but still sad to see it go.

In the ‘90’s before the internet, this was the best car info I could get my hands on.  My grandparents (rest their souls) thought I was just a genuine caring young man to stop in and see them every week or so.  A big motivator in that was that gramps always had a new issue of AW on the coffee table.  And if I missed a week, there were two.  After they both passed, my other grandmother said “..I don’t know why they started sending me this magazine in the mail..” as she handed me a fresh AW.  I then visited her weekly for the next few years.  I’ve actually felt guilty about that and even more so now putting it to words.

But wait, there’s more....

The last issue had a cover with Jean Behra (his helmet was their symbol) drinking from a bottle of Champagne after a victory. Very poignant.  I'd post a pic but we sold our last copy.

In reply to Jerry From LA :

Here's an image of the cover from their website.

I subscribed 3-4 months ago for $10?  I demand my $6 back.  

Back in 1982 a car guy showed me an issue and I was hooked on the giant sized paper copy.  I loved all the ads in the back too.   

In reply to Datsun310Guy :

They're still doing the mag online.  Here at Autobooks, our dilemma was the lack of distribution to anyone outside of subscribers. There was no wholesale outlet for the last five years-ish.  So Tina (the store owner) took out six subscriptions and attributed a "newsstand price" of $3.99 which she pretty much made up (there's no price on the cover).  Every two weeks, I opened up six manila envelopes, priced them, and stuck 'em on the mag rack.  Every year, Tina would re-up the subscriptions but Autoweek would cancel five of them, thinking there was an error since six subscriptions were all addressed to the same person and place.  That meant a phone call to their offices so we could continue receiving the mag as the only non-subscriber outlet in the USA.  They didn't make it easy though.

So, yes D-Guy, you want your six bucks back.  By the same token we must be out 36 bucks.

jharry3 said:

I subscribe to Grassroots Motorsports.  I dropped Car & Driver, and Motor Trend years ago.  

I subscribe to GRM, mostly to support the forum's existence

I got Autoweek because one of my other magazines went belly up.  It was ok.  Satch is a decent enough writer but not someone I care to associate with, do some googling...

Subscriber since early 70s. Saved a few issues over the years with automotive icons on the cover. Disappointed when it went to biweekly and was having doubts about renewing subscription. Sign of the times with print media.

I liked the newspaper version. When it went glossy color it was still good for quite awhile. I still have the issue with Al Holbert sitting on a 959 with his loafer on the fender. My lord, the letters column the following issue...

Satch Carlson was the main reason I kept getting it, then when he got canned Corey Farley came in. Different, but good. But then--watches. Cigars. Maybe even airplanes. Bi-weekly signalled the end. Autoweek died because of the change in content, not because of the internet.

I get zero car magazines today. A lot of it is because most new cars hold no interest for me but even magazines that cater to older things I like (Mustang Monthly) are so weak on content and thick in ads I just don't get anything from them. The last magazine I got was Vintage Truck (still excellent) but I dropped it because I'm on sort of a truck hiatus.

GRM, CM and Hemmings still do good work. Collectible Automobile is the equal of the British mags.

Auto Week is the reason I love the ASC/McLaren Capri. If I found one for a price I could afford, I'd definitely add it to the collection. There was a time when I would have traded my Fairmont for one, but that time has passed. 

C&D can suck it.