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I just got a notice in the mail that both mags have been discontinued. They are offering digital access to you choice of hot rod, motor trend or 4 wheeler. Also 6 months of motor trend streaming.Im a bit disappointed but you could see that coming with the way people are using the internet. I really prefer a magazine and paper catalogs. I guess Im just an old school dinosaur

I think there were about 19 magazines cancelled, Super Chevy is another one.

I was shocked and disappointed when I got the notice. I called them and had them extend my Hot Rod subscription from what was left on my Car Craft. I'm not one to sit in front of the computer to watch TV.

Chuck

I wonder what this means for the future of hot rodding. I think it is bad sign. But I guess I've got to start checking out all the stuff online!

This problem will only get worse. I recently canceled my newspaper because they stopped delivering on Saturday and Sunday. I have worked in the printing industry for the past 28 years and can tell you that printing is a dying industry. The competition from the internet is only part of the problem. At 61, I am the third youngest in our shop, average age being around 55. We work 50 hours + per week because their are very few people with the skill set to do this work and no young folk who are willing to com in , get their hands dirty to learn. This carries over to our cars. The folks that I meet at the local car shows are all our age, and when we are gone Hot roding as we know it will go away. I hope that by the time that that happens I am too old and senile to give a shit. until then i will drive my Monza when it runs and work on it when it dosen't.
Jim H

This means I'm going to have to put a computer in front of the toilet!!

QuarterPounder wrote:This means I'm going to have to put a computer in front of the toilet!!

Good one!

I just looked at the digital issue of hot rod that they gave me for cancelling my magazines. Boy what a unsatisfactory experience. Its not how I look at mags . plus the issue just had nothing of interest to me!!

I was a magazine junkie since I was a teenager, so that's about 45 years worth of magazines. It has actually been quite a few years since the magazines really had much useful info for me but when I could get a real good deal on them I would resubscribe. Usually when they came I would skim through them to see if anything caught my attention, unfortunately it didn't happen too often. With all the high tech stuff, LS engine swaps in everything, 1000 hp engines, well you get the idea. Been a long time since I could get any real info I could use. So, it is what it is. Hot rodding as we know it is changing and I agree the average age is probably 50 and up at most events. Younger kids don't care about the older cars so we'll see what the future holds, in the mean time I will continue to enjoy what I have.

jim327monza wrote:This problem will only get worse. I recently canceled my newspaper because they stopped delivering on Saturday and Sunday. I have worked in the printing industry for the past 28 years and can tell you that printing is a dying industry. The competition from the internet is only part of the problem. At 61, I am the third youngest in our shop, average age being around 55. We work 50 hours + per week because their are very few people with the skill set to do this work and no young folk who are willing to com in , get their hands dirty to learn. This carries over to our cars. The folks that I meet at the local car shows are all our age, and when we are gone Hot roding as we know it will go away. I hope that by the time that that happens I am too old and senile to give a shit. until then i will drive my Monza when it runs and work on it when it dosen't.
Jim H

Very true, Jim. I'm also in printing for over 30 years. I still have a ways to go but with all the shops closing and others being bought out by the big guys, I wonder how long this will last.

At shows, its actually a mixed bag of people of all ages. So there is still hope there

I still having back from the 90s, some mags that used to DIY everything, from Holley tricks, cam swap theory and full of teaching tips. New millennium arrived and with that came a new type of mags content, with more marketing and announcements than the teaching parts.

I guess Im just an old school dinosaur

Don't let being old carry any negative connotation. "Baby Boomers" have nothing to be ashamed of. I LIKE BEING OLD. Look, the Mallineals (Hell I can't even spell it) stand to inherit the largest concentration of wealth the earth has ever seen. Something on the order of a 170 trillion dollars. It's their world now, we just live in it. Get use to it. My point, they get richer we get poorer. They have the influence and the basic power to rule the future.

The printing business going belly up or Hot Rods taking a back seat to self driving AI cars is the least of my problems, I can deal with it. I like old cars, I like antiques. Someone the other day ask me why I like old stuff so much. I said, "It's not a mater of LIKE it's a mater of CHOICE. There's about 10 years of new and about 5,000 years of old". Like I said, "I LIKE OLD STUFF" Plenty of old Hot Rod magazines I haven't read and funny enough Baby Boomers for some odd reason are hoarders, thank God.

Man...you nailed...My Daughter is 21 and she love old cars....sometimes when we go to the shows, she get involved in old car conversations with my Baby Boomers generation....I'm an Army Reserve First Sergeant and at 55, I run and train better than some of my "Nitendo" Soldiers . I mean, its just a perspective thing....My car is not a show quality, as a matter of fact, it has parts from different brands and other car donors...it has rust, some people says that is ugly, some other impressed by the way the big tires and engine looks on it.....at 55, starting a new 10 year + project...nope....invest in new LS technology ....nope.....

When I die....You may think that MY wife or relatives will exactly know the value of a DZ 302 engine or a 454 HP that I will may had laying around (if I will have them)?

Many good hobbyist, good racing mechanics took their secrets with them to their grave..........I a firmer believer that our generation should at least teach and pass our knowledge ........as simple as a piece of paper.....

Great talk guys....

I salute you,
Thank you for you're continuing service to our country, my admiration is great.

The crux of the Printing business as a whole will remain intact, so no worries on my part. I have a rather large library of "print" automotive repair manuals that I purchased for mere pennies on the dollar back in the day at Swap meets. I value them highly because I doubt seriously if they will ever show up in the ethereal Cyber Clowd.

Ya, I owned a 302. An amazing and legendary little motor with the 30/30 Duntov solid lifter cam. It was a cool sounding engine.