Open Road

Dave’s Car and Driver article got me thinking that I don’t really have a car magazine that I look forward to anymore. My car interests are pretty narrow at this point in my life ;)

I used to read Panorama, probably that was the reason I renewed my PCA membership in the beginning of ownership. Either it’s the same five articles every month, or my 928 interests are flowing away slowly from the whole more modern Porsche culture in general.

I did 000 for a year, beautiful layout but cost of admission really didn’t turn me on.

Been a Car & Driver reader for 40 years. Used to read it cover to cover, not so much recently. I remember that 928 article from back in the day, as I was always a 28 fan.

None any more.

I used to follow C&D, and still occasionally buy various ones from the news stand that catch my eye, but none have enough interesting content to justify subscribing in the last 6 or so years.

I do have a couple of woodworking magazine subscriptions, but even those have a fairly poor ratio of ads to content any more.

I got C&D and autoweek non-stop(*) for decades, with a couple of years of VW&Porsche.

The level at which the articles were written, the technical depth, and knowledge of the authors declined steadily to the point where I would yell at the magazines or contemplate letters to the editors that included “childish”, “kindergarten-level”, “moronic”, etc.

Didn’t need that stress.

(*)Except for that one goddamn C&D issue with the 928GT.

I had a digital subscription to Race Car Engineering for a couple years. It was cool, but I never prioritized the time to get the most out of it.

Now, I get Panorama and Christophorus. But, they’re free. Sorta.

   

worf wrote: ↑Wed Dec 02, 2020 8:58 pm I got C&D and autoweek non-stop(*) for decades, with a couple of years of VW&Porsche.

The level at which the articles were written, the technical depth, and knowledge of the authors declined steadily to the point where I would yell at the magazines or contemplate letters to the editors that included “childish”, “kindergarten-level”, “moronic”, etc.

Didn’t need that stress.

(*)Except for that one goddamn C&D issue with the 928GT.

I had a digital subscription to Race Car Engineering for a couple years. It was cool, but I never prioritized the time to get the most out of it.

Now, I get Panorama and Christophorus. But, they’re free. Sorta.

I also was a long time Autoweek and VW & Porsche subscriber - remember when Autoweek was large and on news print?

When I got my 986 in '97, I submitted my review to Autoweek for their "Autofle" write-up on the 986 - my comments were published.

I think I've been published 3 times in C&D "Backfires" over the years, the most recent shown below.

Oh. I forgot. I do get 000 “magazine”

I just do not associate that publication with “car magazines” as it is more of a book series than ‘trade magazine.’

Longer response later.

I get 000 - best Porsche soft cover publication on the planet. Also Pano, but would even spit on Excellence if it were near me. That one is toilet paper. I also get and read cover to cover Sports Car Market. I'm a junkie for resale values on select brands and models, as well some other types of cars I'm interested in.

Shifted wrote: ↑Thu Dec 03, 2020 6:51 am Cost aside, what did you think of 000? Were the articles of interest? Technically accurate? Were the articles of a technical nature or were they focused on aesthetics?

I think pretty highly of 000 magazine. But there is a caveat. I got a subscription in year one starting with issue 001 based upon feedback from folks on the other site. I got 001 and read the many, many page article on the development of the 928. I was so impressed with the depth of that article that I decided to continue my subscription. However, due to lack of time prioritized for reading for fun, I've treated the rest of the issues as a fine wine: they are still in their mailers awaiting the "right time."

Shifted wrote: ↑Thu Dec 03, 2020 6:51 am Unfortunately, I find it to be difficult to read because the wording is too flowery, the grammar and use of vocabulary is often incorrect, and the technical details are wrong so often that it's completely untrustworthy.

There are threads all over the other site about 000 magazine. One of the principles is Pete Stout (also RL member/poster) who was responsible for revamping panorama from the old "paperback size" to the current format. He's posted quite a lot about the concepts behind 000.

I would recommend buying just 001 and seeing if the 928 article meets your standards.

worf wrote: ↑Fri Dec 04, 2020 2:45 am

Shifted wrote: ↑Thu Dec 03, 2020 6:51 am Cost aside, what did you think of 000? Were the articles of interest? Technically accurate? Were the articles of a technical nature or were they focused on aesthetics?

I think pretty highly of 000 magazine. But there is a caveat. I got a subscription in year one starting with issue 001 based upon feedback from folks on the other site. I got 001 and read the many, many page article on the development of the 928. I was so impressed with the depth of that article that I decided to continue my subscription. However, due to lack of time prioritized for reading for fun, I've treated the rest of the issues as a fine wine: they are still in their mailers awaiting the "right time."

Shifted wrote: ↑Thu Dec 03, 2020 6:51 am Unfortunately, I find it to be difficult to read because the wording is too flowery, the grammar and use of vocabulary is often incorrect, and the technical details are wrong so often that it's completely untrustworthy.

There are threads all over the other site about 000 magazine. One of the principles is Pete Stout (also RL member/poster) who was responsible for revamping panorama from the old "paperback size" to the current format. He's posted quite a lot about the concepts behind 000.

I would recommend buying just 001 and seeing if the 928 article meets your standards.

I was very fortunate to get issue 000, which was the first published issue of 000. In year 1, there were actually 5 publications. You cannot get issue 000, as it was a very limited run, and they are not doing reprints.

I got it when I went to the Daytona 24, through the Porsche PCNA package. It was pricey, but first class all the way (not PCA, but PCNA). Full unfettered access to a triple suite fully stocked with food and adult beverages for 2 full days and nights, couches, TV's everywhere, got to meet the Porsche drivers (and got a signed checkered flag, including Patrick Long). The creme de la creme was the goodie bag, and there was a complimentary issue of 000 - the first one, number 000. After reading it, I was hooked.

I don't read it every quarter cover to cover, because it goes very deep in every subject, from the arcane to the fantastic (928 stuff ). But if you are a Porsche nut, then it is one to have.

   

The 928GT article can be found here, along with others:

https://928registry.org/928-resources/p ... 8-articles

My first 928 was a Guards Red/Black 90GT built early in the production year. Based on timing, there are only about 4 cars in that color combo and option package that could’ve been the test car and mine was one of them. I’ve sometimes wondered if it was the one. Last time I pulled a Carfax it was still on the road in the state of Massachusetts.

JMW928 wrote: ↑Fri Dec 04, 2020 8:45 pm Last time I pulled a Carfax it was still on the road in the state of Massachusetts.

I have a Red/Black 90GT in the shop right now that lived most of its life in Massachusetts.

Except that the one here was delivered with Sport Seats, the one in the article has comfort seats.

worf wrote: ↑Fri Dec 04, 2020 10:00 pm Except that the one here was delivered with Sport Seats, the one in the article has comfort seats.

Correct. The test car had pretty basic options for the year - sunroof, rear AC, rear model designation delete, etc., as did mine.

none. I order the ones with 928 content, and when I was traveling for work I would pick them up in the airport to read on flights.

Guess I’m the outlier:

C&D
R&T (although I don’t about all this lifestyle “club” stuff they are doing
Excellence
Panorama
SportsCar (SCCA member pub)

Sort of miss Automobile

And yes, I’m a good 6 months behind on the stack.

Never actually seen 000. Guess I need to check that out.

My last five issues of Pano are still in the wrappers if that tells you anything man.
I like Pete Stout, I had exchanged some emails back in the day, but I kinda liked the smaller Pano size. It made it more unique for me I guess. Certainly 000 is an even bigger size and scope and speaks for itself.

So what is going on with R&T?
I let my subscription go maybe 2017, heard they were going digital last year but recently I heard there is some type of boutique membership (I think Pete did this too with a hardcover option) where you can get print instead?

I used to get Hemmings Sports & Exotic, in fact my 78 Blumaxx is in issue #100 in a 6 page spread. Sadly, they dropped that magazine. It was a good one.

Crumpler wrote: ↑Sat Dec 05, 2020 10:01 am My last five issues of Pano are still in the wrappers if that tells you anything man.

I have like 5 years of pano in the wrappers. No time for magazines, I suppose.

Sorry Dave, not so good at keeping up. R&T went to some premium, thick, 6 issue a year print format. And they have the “club” you can join to supplement.

Not sure the rationale. Maybe that casual newsstand buyers just went all digital and only the cognoscenti would pay for print and are not price sensitive? Cycle World went this way for a bit, before they just packed it in. You’d think R&T would have learned from that. But what the hell do I know, I dig shit out of the ground for a living.

Geza-aka-Zombo wrote: ↑Thu Dec 03, 2020 7:01 am - remember when Autoweek was large and on news print?

Lol. No.

Geza-aka-Zombo wrote: ↑Thu Dec 03, 2020 7:01 am When I got my 986 in '97, I submitted my review to Autoweek for their "Autofle" write-up on the 986 - my comments were published.

Cool!

I recall that I got published once in C&D. It was a two-or-three liner along the lines of "in issue XXX the assertion that <technical item> is <something> it is actually <something else.> And the response was equally terse but acknowledged sin.

Geza-aka-Zombo wrote: ↑Thu Dec 03, 2020 7:01 am

That's what I mean by the decline in technical depth. When was the last time there was an equation in C&D much less one featuring trigonometry!

The MT(?) article on the debut of the 928 written in '77 was so deep you almost had to be an automotive engineer to get everything out if it. Tough to read but because of the depth it's like a fine wine: As you learn more you get more out of it with every read.

Ok, tangent, old motorweek video.
Couldn’t not share.
Lost track of the backhanded compliments, for this golden age Detroit wagon ;)

I only get Panorama and our local PCA newsletter magazine right now. Kinda leaf only through the Pano. Most articles don't interest me. I have a ton of old Panos from the late 70's until the 90's. (The 928 years)

000 magazine for the first year. But, like WORF, the last 3 issues #002,003 & 004 never made it out of the shipping box. Love them, but too expensive to keep going. Luckily, my good friend linderpat (Ed) gave me his extra issue #000 to complete year one. I'll probably sell the whole set when I need money to make bail.

I used to get Hemmings Sport and Exotics for years until they ended a few years ago. That was a sad day. It was a great mag, even though it was really going towards JDM a lot more. I have a valuable signed issue of #100.

Got a free new mag call Linkage - Geared for the Automotive Life, in the mail recently. Very nice magazine that seemed to focus a lot on evaluating recent car auction wins (like BAT or Mecum...etc) Very eclectic on the models featured, which I like. I think it is a quarterly magazine and I'm still debating with myself on a subscription.

I will third what Dave and Ed said about 000 Magazine. Best Porsche publication hands down. I've seen nothing close.

Octane is still one of my favorites. I also really like following Sports Car Market.

Had C&D and R/T subscriptions for years but like others have said, the quality of the writing really went down hill about 5 years ago IMO.

Maybe we need a sub-forum for general car/ Porsche related banter?

There's a good group of guys here in 928-land. There's no other model specific area (that I can tell) with as much participation. I don't own a 928, though I have friends that own, at least, one. And I have had the good fortune of being allowed to drive one. As much as I enjoyed it, it's not really on my list, as a must own. Had I collected 928s rather than 944s, it would certainly be a different story. My other Porsche is a 2001 C4 (996). So you can tell, I like the red-headed step children of the offerings.

Anyway - related to the thread, I've been getting Road & Track for 40+ years, and SportsCar for 35 years. Automobile and AutoWeek (full size newsprint even) were good, in their day. The Hemmings spinoffs were good - what ever the Sports car/ vintage racing magazine was, was good - until it was killed. I always enjoyed Satch Carlson's take on things. His column in AutoWeek was always the first thing I turned to. Same with the last page of the Hemmings thing...

I still get Grassroots Motorsports too. Probably for about 30 years now. It seems I don't take the time to read (any of) them as I used to. It's obvious that print media is falling to electronic and online sources. It's still nice to have the old paper option.

The premium publications, such as 000, are going after those looking for something more than the 'thumb-trough and toss' type of magazine. I bought a year's subscription to 000. Good stuff. Not sure I can justify a sustained subscription. Road & Track had a special premium publication. I got the first issue "Motorsports". Oddly, it looks as though this boutique format is called; R&T. Makes it hard to abbreviate Road & Track from now on.

Good to be here - even if I don't belong...

Scott at Team Harco wrote: ↑Sun Dec 20, 2020 5:11 pm Maybe we need a sub-forum for general car/ Porsche related banter?

There's a good group of guys here in 928-land. There's no other model specific area (that I can tell) with as much participation. I don't own a 928, though I have friends that own, at least, one. ........

Good to be here - even if I don't belong...

Everyone belongs in the 928 forum! You are always welcome in this group. It's just a matter of time before we suck you in however. So be aware

Just signed up for Grassroots Motorsports, it looked to be right up my alley. Thanks for the ideas gentlemen.

   

Anybody check out Linkage yet? Seems like it could be good. Quarterly mag focused on motoring in general.

Crumpler wrote: ↑Wed Dec 23, 2020 10:31 am Just signed up for Grassroots Motorsports, it looked to be right up my alley. Thanks for the ideas gentlemen.

Grassroots....It's a good mag. I used to have subscriptions to every auto magazine out there, since like Sid, I was on the plane all the time for work. Now I just Google or YouTube stuff I am interested in. I preferred the mags.

GT6ixer wrote: ↑Fri Jan 01, 2021 12:19 am Anybody check out Linkage yet? Seems like it could be good. Quarterly mag focused on motoring in general.

That looks interesting Nate, I will check it out. It looks like it’s in the realm of 000 but not brand specific.

Scott at Team Harco wrote: ↑Sun Dec 20, 2020 5:11 pm Maybe we need a sub-forum for general car/ Porsche related banter?

There's a good group of guys here in 928-land. There's no other model specific area (that I can tell) with as much participation. I don't own a 928, though I have friends that own, at least, one. And I have had the good fortune of being allowed to drive one. As much as I enjoyed it, it's not really on my list, as a must own. Had I collected 928s rather than 944s, it would certainly be a different story. My other Porsche is a 2001 C4 (996). So you can tell, I like the red-headed step children of the offerings.

Anyway - related to the thread, I've been getting Road & Track for 40+ years, and SportsCar for 35 years. Automobile and AutoWeek (full size newsprint even) were good, in their day. The Hemmings spinoffs were good - what ever the Sports car/ vintage racing magazine was, was good - until it was killed. I always enjoyed Satch Carlson's take on things. His column in AutoWeek was always the first thing I turned to. Same with the last page of the Hemmings thing...

I still get Grassroots Motorsports too. Probably for about 30 years now. It seems I don't take the time to read (any of) them as I used to. It's obvious that print media is falling to electronic and online sources. It's still nice to have the old paper option.

The premium publications, such as 000, are going after those looking for something more than the 'thumb-trough and toss' type of magazine. I bought a year's subscription to 000. Good stuff. Not sure I can justify a sustained subscription. Road & Track had a special premium publication. I got the first issue "Motorsports". Oddly, it looks as though this boutique format is called; R&T. Makes it hard to abbreviate Road & Track from now on.

Good to be here - even if I don't belong...

Not sure how I missed this but wanted to get back and comment...

Yes the 928 community is the most active on here - just goes to show how enthusiastic these owners are about their cars!

I also wanted to share that we do have some general car forums on here, they're just not quite as used right now - but feel free to jump in there and start some conversation:

Cars and Driving forum - https://openroad.site/viewforum.php?f=27
General Porsche forum - https://openroad.site/viewforum.php?f=4

Neither of them have anything on the 928 forum though!

Oh and as for what magazines I get. In the old days I used to swear by VW & Porsche magazine which then turned into European Car. Eventually I let it go because it started becoming more fluff.

Now I just have Excellence and Pano plus the NC PCA newsletter. Even with these I sometimes take a while to get around to opening them.

When I used to be into VWs I would also subscribe to VW Trends and Hot VWs.

I think in general technical content is dying. Fewer people are working on cars (as most are now appliances that can only be serviced by technicians) and publishers don't seem to be as willing to create that type of content anymore. You see it on television too with most car shows now focused on manufactured drama or suspense instead of the technical aspects of a build. I guess as society dumbs down the programming has to cater to the lowest common denominator. Oh well, progress right?

fpena944 wrote: ↑Sat Jan 02, 2021 10:21 am I think in general technical content is dying. Fewer people are working on cars (as most are now appliances that can only be serviced by technicians) and publishers don't seem to be as willing to create that type of content anymore. You see it on television too with most car shows now focused on manufactured drama or suspense instead of the technical aspects of a build. I guess as society dumbs down the programming has to cater to the lowest common denominator. Oh well, progress right?

Isn't this the truth? Manufactured drama. There's always that looming 'deadline'.

I can't watch most of that crap. Wheeler Dealers is still good for the technical content provided by Ant. Mike should get 5% of the air time. I miss Edd, he was really good. It helps that they generally pick some interesting vehicles to mess with.

The show from Canada, can't recall the title, is pretty good (shop name is "The Guild"). Not as pretentious as most of the others, but still has a lot of the made-up drama. Most of the projects are cars that are being restored for a client looking to bring back fond memories.

I'm not a huge fan of Chasing Classic Cars, but it doesn't suck as much as many others. There are some great cars that get restored. The best part of the show is/was when Roger gets time in front of the camera.



The auction scene is so far from my world, I simply can't relate.

What else is out there, that might warrant my attention?

fpena944 wrote: ↑Sat Jan 02, 2021 10:21 am

I think in general technical content is dying. Fewer people are working on cars (as most are now appliances that can only be serviced by technicians) and publishers don't seem to be as willing to create that type of content anymore. You see it on television too with most car shows now focused on manufactured drama or suspense instead of the technical aspects of a build. I guess as society dumbs down the programming has to cater to the lowest common denominator. Oh well, progress right?

^
This.

And since I’m the thread OP I can take it on another tangent right? ;)
The quote reminds me of the group Devo.
I’m mad that I missed this as a teen, but the group members were convinced that mankind was getting progressively stupider, in a theoretical concept of DEVOlution.
Which I can now agree with wholeheartedly, as a 50 year old man who has to talk to the general public every day.

fpena944 wrote: ↑Sat Jan 02, 2021 10:21 am I think in general technical content is dying. Fewer people are working on cars (as most are now appliances that can only be serviced by technicians) and publishers don't seem to be as willing to create that type of content anymore. You see it on television too with most car shows now focused on manufactured drama or suspense instead of the technical aspects of a build. I guess as society dumbs down the programming has to cater to the lowest common denominator. Oh well, progress right?

Big disagree.

It's just moved online. I can pull up all sorts of technical content revolving around cars and machines on YouTube. With 10s of thousands to 100s of thousands of views. More content than any one man could ever consume. You're just looking in the wrong places.

Legacy media is what is dying.

Fox_ wrote: ↑Sat Jan 02, 2021 10:26 pm

fpena944 wrote: ↑Sat Jan 02, 2021 10:21 am I think in general technical content is dying. Fewer people are working on cars (as most are now appliances that can only be serviced by technicians) and publishers don't seem to be as willing to create that type of content anymore. You see it on television too with most car shows now focused on manufactured drama or suspense instead of the technical aspects of a build. I guess as society dumbs down the programming has to cater to the lowest common denominator. Oh well, progress right?

Big disagree.

It's just moved online. I can pull up all sorts of technical content revolving around cars and machines on YouTube. With 10s of thousands to 100s of thousands of views. More content than any one man could ever consume. You're just looking in the wrong places.

Legacy media is what is dying.

You're right! I can learn anything via YouTube so that is a correct statement. But traditional media is now for mindless consumption.

fpena944 wrote: ↑Sat Jan 02, 2021 10:31 pm You're right! I can learn anything via YouTube so that is a correct statement. But traditional media is now for mindless consumption.

It's a feedback cycle. The less 'mindful' traditional forms become the more folks get fed up with them and go elsewhere. Then revenue drops and drives cuts in quality (from writing, to schedule etc.) The cuts in quality drive more folks away.

I used to love getting Autoweek. Then it went to Auto-every-two-weeks and by the time I got it I'd already found everything in it (that was interesting) from other sources. After about a year of not reading and just flipping through thinking "old, old, old, saw that, who cares..." I canceled.

GT6ixer wrote: ↑Fri Jan 01, 2021 12:19 am Anybody check out Linkage yet? Seems like it could be good. Quarterly mag focused on motoring in general.

Thanks for posting this Nate, and it harkens me to wear gloves now when I read my 000

GT6ixer wrote: ↑Fri Jan 01, 2021 12:19 am Anybody check out Linkage yet? Seems like it could be good. Quarterly mag focused on motoring in general.

Crumpler wrote: ↑Sat Jan 02, 2021 8:25 am That looks interesting Nate, I will check it out. It looks like it’s in the realm of 000 but not brand specific.

linderpat wrote: ↑Sun Jan 03, 2021 6:25 pm Thanks for posting this Nate, and it harkens me to wear gloves now when I read my 000

Glad to see people reading my posts.

how much is it per year Rick?

linderpat wrote: ↑Mon Jan 04, 2021 2:08 pm how much is it per year Rick?

Looks like $59 per year.

https://linkagemag.com/

Another 000 subscriber here since issue "000", somehow I always justify it as Pete really blows the technical information and stories out of the water. Some of the issues I have found are read cover to cover and blow off whatever else I have going on that day. Other times I browse them and then file away for later reading on a quiet Sunday morning over coffee.

   

I've been subscribing to Grassroots Motorsports for about 15 years, and I am three years into my second "10 year subscription for $99" now. Best print media deal I have ever found and content that is always interesting, at least to me. There is plenty of Porsche related content on a regular basis, but also a ton of good technical and other brand content as well.