VW Trends

Dave Cormack · Post by **Dave Cormack** » Thu May 03, 2001 7:47 pm

Thanks, folks. We are trying to please all the people, all the time, but unfortunately, that just can't be done. The accolades are welcomed (thank you, Ron, Joe Del, and others), but so is constructive criticism. If there is something you want to see in the Magazine, let Ryan know; he left his e-mail address and phone number for all of you. We will try to make this the best VW magazine you have ever seen; it takes time, and some obstacles are insurmountable, but that won't stop us from trying.
Dave Cormack
\X/ Trends Magazine

Joseph · Post by **Joseph** » Thu May 03, 2001 11:34 pm

All:
What seems to be missing is a response by
Hot VW mag.
Joe

Pete S · Post by **Pete S** » Thu May 03, 2001 11:57 pm

If I could, I would have a subscription to every aircooled VW magazine that exists. The only one that would give me some trouble would be the French one (don't speak French, damn!). You see, I'm addicted to VW stuff; in any shape or form. Been reading them mags since the mid-eighties. I do favor the Euro scene with type4's 'n stuff, but hey, to each their own. Just watched a friends Carlsbad Dragday tape. Some of the runs outright made the hairs on my back stand up. Nice to finally see the SSB "rip the strip".
BTW, Holzapfel the "premier/leading type4 tuner in Europe?"

Pete S (Looking forward to the Super/Euro-look features!!Hi Dave)

Tarnx · Post by **Tarnx** » Fri May 04, 2001 12:01 am

Why not a T4 look. Just because California is the center for most car magazines doesn't mean we don't have our own ideas. There is a very strong racing heritage in the south, north east and west. NASCAR?, INDY?, dirt track? etc. I personnaly like street sleepers. Stock looking so as not to attract the Cops, massive T4 horsepower to beat corvettes into submisssion, with a suspension that sticks to the road like toilet paper sticks to a sweaty butt. We may start our own VW Trend.

VWTrends · Post by **VWTrends** » Fri May 04, 2001 12:08 am

Thank you all for your suggestions; it is fun to see what people like and don?t like about this magazine. I?ll try to address everyone?s comments the best that I can, but if you have a specific question please feel free to email me later and ask ([email protected]). I usually answer all of the mail I get, unless there?s a tech question that requires some research...hence time.

We felt that getting rid of the watercooled cars was the best move we could make, as we were spreading ourselves too thin, trying to appeal to a too wide an audience. We are now doing what we do best: aircooled. Now, that doesn?t mean that we won?t run something in Essentials or Newswire if it applies to a variety of cars; you just won?t see a feature of a waterpumper. Our market was too small. What we do now is a combination of street performance and vintage restoration/rebuilds. We handle the RestoCustom and we are getting into Supers and Type IVs.

Some of you commented that it takes you longer to read HVWs than it does VWT, and I can only disagree with those statements. If you mean it takes longer to thumb through the pages of HVWs than it does VWT, that?s obvious because HVWs is 50 pages more than VWT. But, take a copy of each issue, side by side, and compare them. Last month HVWs boasted over 90 pages of advertising...that leaves 60 pages of editorial. Every month we have 68-72 pages of editorial. So, if value is in editorial, then we have more value, and I don?t understand paying for catalogs the advertisers will send you for free if you ask. The parts don?t change...and neither do the prices. HVWs is stuck at 150 pages (for a wide variety of cost problems), but since we are a bigger company and can spread those costs over 40 different magazines, if we had 90 pages of advertising in VWT, our magazine would be 176 pages long...and that is right on the cusp of going to 192 (magazines jump in increments of 16 pages (not counting the covers).

The reason HVWs is in more places than VWT and is easier to find, is a complicated distribution problem I won?t bore you with. Basically, if stores sell more copies, we get in more stores (it?s a catch-22 if I ever heard of one!) Distributors are a mean lot of people who have no compassion for us VW folks, and they won?t make the magazine available until it is proven that more people will buy it. My argument is, how can more people buy it if they don?t see it in the store?? I don?t get it.

Errors: I hate them more than any of you, because I?m the one responsible for them. But they happen. In the June issue alone, we had 25 (to celebrate our anniversary I guess)... see if you can find them all!!

If you look in any magazine/book/newspaper (especially)/TV shows/commercials you?ll find errors. Did you know in Star Wars, when Luke blows up the Death Star and returns to the base, Princess Leia runs up to him and Mark Hamill yells out "Carrie" (as in Carrie Fisher who played Princess Leia). It?s pretty funny, but Lucas decided to leave it in because he said it was a good scene plus he was over budget and late finishing it. Sorry about the tangent, I just read the story of making of the Star Wars and that stuck in my mind.

The man reason you don?t see a bunch of mistakes in Car&Driver or Road&Track is because they are multi-million dollar magazines and have staffs of hundreds specifically hired to line edit endless lines of . They can afford it because they have a circulation in the hundreds of thousands. In the last issue of Maxim, they had a small typo (interchanging an o when it should have been an a). Their circulation is 2.48 million, 16.5 times larger than HVWs and VWT put together. They have a staff of 20 people in the editorial department alone. Yet they made a mistake. On the other hand, my magazine is over half the size of Maxim, and I have a full-time staff of two...Dave Cormack and myself. My other staff members work on other magazines and can?t give me 100 percent of their time. My managing editor is away on maternity leave, so, besides my art director, I?m the last line of defense for mistakes! Sucks to be me sometimes!! Really, you have to understand that we?re not perfect people. See mistakes in the light that a human being (notoriously known for their imperfections) is behind that mistake...and he?s pretty sensitive sometimes!! Our mistakes can be funny...for example, in the July issue we made a typo, and instead of "until" we had "untit" which led to a lot of crude remarks here in the office as to its meaning.

So, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah...I think I may have rambled on a bit much. I?ve got this really cool German Look article to edit... so I?ve got to get back to work. For those of you who read all of this, there?ll be a test later!!

Thanks, and keep reading.

Ryan Price, editor
VW Trends
(714) 939-2605
[email protected]

Dave Cormack · Post by **Dave Cormack** » Fri May 04, 2001 12:38 am

Hey, Boss, good to see you here. I am glad you made it through the marathon session of 48 consectutive dyno pulls last night. My fingers still hurt, does that mean I can take the day off? :=)

Ron · Post by **Ron** » Fri May 04, 2001 7:44 am

Tarnx,
Toilet paper on a sweaty butt......I must say it's rather descriptive. Anyway, I have coined the t-4 into a type 1 as NOS. No, not nitrous, not new old stock but New Old School. New, reliable power in an old school of look. Works for me. Good thread you guys and gals(which we need more of).

MIke G. · Post by **MIke G.** » Sun May 06, 2001 1:28 am

I disagree w/post that claims nothing new in the air cooled industry besides FI. Look at VWT or HVW from 5 years ago, than look at a current copy, the styles have changed a lot, a lot more top quality, no expense spared VWs on the scene. I love Cal Look cars but agree a variety is needed-German Look, Cal Look, etc. W/ all the Beetles in Mexico, Brazil, etc., how about some coverage of their scenes? We nevewr see that. Glad to see the huge improvements in VWT, good articles and features, as well as columns. All you need now are the Import Tuner girls! Glad to see elimination of water cooled garbage-they are not really VWs. Super VW is great too, Volksworld is pretty good, do not like Total VW much. Hot Vws is OK, but they need some revamping.updating, etc. Kimball needs to NOT feature matchbox New Beetles, we don't really need to see how to remove a VW engine repeatedly, and the look of the mag has not changed in eons. And where are they to respond here as Mr. Price and Mr. Cormack? HVWs, Listen to your readers! Start by leaving the H20 crap to European Car.

Ark. Jim · Post by **Ark. Jim** » Sun May 06, 2001 7:04 am

I think it's great that, as the readers, we can talk directly to the folks writing the magazines we look forward to each month. The fact that Ryan, Dave and Kathy would make themselves open to comments and suggestions or complaints says an awlful lot about these people and their committment to making VW Trends the best VW enthusiast's magazine available. Until these forums came along, all one could do was write a letter to the mag. and hope someone read it. And forget a response. I applaud their efforts and look forward to each issue. I just can't put each one down until I'm through, then it's a long wait until the next one arrives,bummed. Later, Jim.

H2OSB · Post by **H2OSB** » Sun May 06, 2001 11:01 pm

Not like anything else needs to be added here, but I'd just like to say that Trends has made some leaps and bounds improvements in the past year or two.

AND, it is absolutely AWESOME to have three of the "big wigs" listening and contributing on this forum!

johnL (aka H2OSB)

Dave Cormack · Post by **Dave Cormack** » Mon May 07, 2001 3:33 pm

BIG WIG ??? Nah, I'm just a financially challenged \X/ head like most of the rest of you. Ryan, Kathy, and I will do our best to bring you what you want in a VW magazine. We may not always have as great a presence on this forum as we do on this particular thread, but rest assured, we are lurking, and keeping our eyes (and ears)peeled. And, by the way, it was great meeting you, Brian, at the DKPIII Hit and Run Rally Saturday. Sorry we didn't get the chance to sit and blab more. You guys are gonna LOVE the dual spark plug/crank-fire ignition Type 4 Jake Raby cooked up, that is in the July issue.....

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon May 07, 2001 7:47 pm

Me a "Big Wig"!?
Whoa!!!!!!! I just handle the southeast scene and leave the rest to Ryan and Dave.
I was quite amazed at the Circle Yer Wagens show in TN this weekend at the response I got from Lots of folks about VWT! Looks like VWT is heading in the right direction.
What amazed me was the number of people wanting me to look at the car to be in the Magazine! I didn't think they knew me, but I guess they do!
I will always try my best to bring VWT the best in the southeast!Thanks to everyone for all your comments!

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Kathy Jacobs
SEVWC / VW Trends