Hpi Mag

[gtr660hp]

not necessary just the mags faulty- you can only read about so many R33/s13-14-15/Supra etc. Nissan and Toyota never really replaced these cars with an new alternative.- so there is nothing new and exiting to talk about.

I feel the whole import scene has gotten rather boring- but that was always going to happen when Nissan and Toyota went down the granny road with their new line up (V35 etc) and Raws didnt help either. The way ANDRA and other have watered down the SC compact deal is also a major blow

Edited August 22, 2006 by gtr660hp

[Beer Baron]

yes i got a bit tired of HPI when they started flogging the otomotto. everytime they bought a new product it made the 'news' section... nice one.

I have been a massive HPI fan and have been buying since issue 001. had a subscription for probably 4 years of so starting around issue 10. but this last year it just hasn't cut it for me.

i was also quite fond of speed. plenty of things I didn't like about it too, but it was a little different, and had some nice stuff in there.

[phunky_monkey]

yes i got a bit tired of HPI when they started flogging the otomotto. everytime they bought a new product it made the 'news' section... nice one.

I have been a massive HPI fan and have been buying since issue 001. had a subscription for probably 4 years of so starting around issue 10. but this last year it just hasn't cut it for me.

i was also quite fond of speed. plenty of things I didn't like about it too, but it was a little different, and had some nice stuff in there.

pretty much spot on for me too. I own every issue, and one of the first issues with the 3 way GT-R test was what actually got me into the import scene many years ago before I had a licence, but now it is going down hill, and I'm unsure as to whether I'll continue my subscription.

SPEED was good for a light read, and had fantastic images and was really well produced. I didn't buy it for the tech, that's what HPI was for...

Sav: hahahahaha BANG

[2rismo]

I still read HPI although I haven't renewed my subscription as yet. I usually wait for the next dvd to be released but I might just bite the bullet and get a torch or an American Hotrod box set instead.

I buy a stupid amount of car magazines - mostly to get ideas from other motoring publications - to see how they've shot a particular car or how they've approached a certain subject. I read a few non-motoring mags as well.

My staple, monthly diet includes;

HPI

Zoom

Fast Fours

Street Machine

Autosalon

Dragster

ADRM

Drags

...and a couple of mags from the 'states - Fastest Street Car and RPM Magazine.

There are some that I buy only occassionally which include;

Hot 4's

Drift Battle

2DMax

Street Commodores

Street Fords

SM Fords

Some I read inside out the day I buy 'em. Some I just flick and will stop to read something that catches my interest. Mostly, the same trends are popping up in many of the titles listed above. It's just the way of the world.

Regarding the Otomoto ads in HPI, you should remember a couple of things;

Firstly, if you had a product that you sold/imported AND you had access to a national, monthly publication that thousands of people bought, wouldn't YOU give yourself a rap?

Secondly, a page of advertising in your magazine for your own product/service/shop etc is lost income from another advertiser.

Lastly, the new products sections in magazines are almost ALWAYS dominated by advertisers that are in that magazine anyway. You would think that companies would be crying out to have their products in that section of the magazines to get a bit of free advertorial but it's just not the case. We have to struggle to get new stuff sometimes which leads me back to the first point - wouldn't YOU give yourself a rap in this situation?

As has been suggested earlier, email Ben @ Hpi/Zoom/Driftbattle/otomoto/whatever .com.au and let him know what you as a reader actually think. That's what the letters to the editor section is for.

Cheers,

Adrian

[djr81]

Actually the thng I used to like was they actually paid some attention to other than Drags. Now that is the only form of motorsport Zoom or HPI pays any attention to. I guess you don't mind that, Adrian!

[racsov500]

Ive been subscibed since issue 33 and im tracking down all the issues from before. im happy there are heaps more pages now but Im starting to like drift battle more because they do lots of hands on low budget stuff.

I wanna see some older imports too, theres heaps of them out there but I guess GTRs and silvias are more interesting

I really liked the articles on lesser known imports, the options and features on japanese cars are so much more interesting

speed was waaayyy too glossy and digitalised for me

[2rismo]

Actually the thng I used to like was they actually paid some attention to other than Drags. Now that is the only form of motorsport Zoom or HPI pays any attention to. I guess you don't mind that, Adrian!

I am partial to a bit of drag racing, yes

HPI has had the Nismo Speed Festival (is that what it's called?), some JGTC round info and still has some drifting (although obviously this has been scaled back due to drift battle mag). They also had some Time Attack stuff from Japan recently as well.

I like that stuff too!

Adrian

[racsov500]

track coverage is always good, especially circut

[Beer Baron]

do you work for HPI 2rismo? or another mag?

all good points. I never said I would not want to capitalise on the happy situation of being involved in a national car magazine, and being involved in selling car parts, but perhaps it's been a little over done that's all.

[djr81]

I am partial to a bit of drag racing, yes

HPI has had the Nismo Speed Festival (is that what it's called?), some JGTC round info and still has some drifting (although obviously this has been scaled back due to drift battle mag). They also had some Time Attack stuff from Japan recently as well.

I like that stuff too!

Adrian

Yeah, but I would just like some technical content to go along with the pretty pictures. The Nismo festival stuff was great, but I know what most of the cars look like from the outside - it is the oily bits underneath that are more interesting.

[2rismo]

I work for another magazine. I guess I can see both sides of the equation.

djr81, I like the oily bits too. I'm a big tech article fan. Even had a go at writing a couple myself.

Adrian

[djr81]

Just out of interest do many of the mags take unsolicited tech articles?

[2rismo]

Can't speak for the rest of them but I'd imagine not. We're always on the lookout for good content that our readers might be interested in though.

I know within Express Publications, Martin Donnon does an aweful lot of tech writing. John Varetimidis seems to be popping up a lot as a consulting engineer answering readers problems in a few mags and publications like Street Machine have their own tech writers.

Adrian

[Beer Baron]

Can't speak for the rest of them but I'd imagine not. We're always on the lookout for good content that our readers might be interested in though.

c'mon, let me in on the secret! who is "we"?

[sh@un]

The magazine he takes pictures for.

[Jimbo2000]

HPI got lame when it started focusing too heavily on drift

i like drift dont get me wrong... but i feel they were trying too hard to look "cool and hip" for all the newbie pooftas who just heard about drift and wanted somewhere to look at it.

havnt read it for about a year now

[2rismo]

I can't take photos to save my life - I'm learning though

I work for Extreme Magazine. This topic is about HPI, though.

[TurboX]

We wil just have to check all our back issues and see which mag features the Red Rocket the most

Damn, you have to be quick in here!

[Sydneykid]

Regarding the Otomoto ads in HPI, you should remember a couple of things;

Firstly, if you had a product that you sold/imported AND you had access to a national, monthly publication that thousands of people bought, wouldn't YOU give yourself a rap?

Secondly, a page of advertising in your magazine for your own product/service/shop etc is lost income from another advertiser.

Lastly, the new products sections in magazines are almost ALWAYS dominated by advertisers that are in that magazine anyway. You would think that companies would be crying out to have their products in that section of the magazines to get a bit of free advertorial but it's just not the case. We have to struggle to get new stuff sometimes which leads me back to the first point - wouldn't YOU give yourself a rap in this situation?

As has been suggested earlier, email Ben @ Hpi/Zoom/Driftbattle/otomoto/whatever .com.au and let him know what you as a reader actually think. That's what the letters to the editor section is for.

Cheers,

Adrian

Hi Adrian, I agree 99% with what you said, except;

1. My ethics would stop me publishing a magazine and owning an import business selling parts that are obviously aimed at the same audience as the publications. Maybe that’s just me, but I don’t see how I can be impartial when I have my own interests to protect.

An example, Ben stuck a KKR turbo on the RB24 and the results (based on my opinion and experience) were disappointing to say the least. But there was zero critique, if it had been another turbo (not one of theirs) would it have copped a bagging? I would like to think so.

2. Product guides are great, except they have deteriorated into a list of products/suppliers with ZERO technical input. My daughter, who knows almost zero about cars, could prepare a better product guide for potential buyers. It’s the editor’s job to get content, if he/she can’t get it, then they aren’t trying hard enough.

3. The letters to the editor are for guys asking advice on their cars, not for feedback on the magazine itself. Hence why Martin mostly writes the responses. I can’t say as I have ever seen a critical (of the magazine) letter ever printed.

Don’t get me wrong, I know how hard it is working against printers deadlines. I used to write 4 or 5 magazine articles a year and I remember the editor was always on my back to finish them in time for review and sending to the printer.

cheers

[2rismo]

Thanks mate Just a quick point or two:

1. My ethics would stop me publishing a magazine and owning an import business selling parts that are obviously aimed at the same audience as the publications. Maybe that’s just me, but I don’t see how I can be impartial when I have my own interests to protect.

I think it's just you Although someone with the same ethical convictions as you could be a great operator by ensuring that only truly great products were sold and promoted, your own included.

2. Product guides are great, except they have deteriorated into a list of products/suppliers with ZERO technical input. My daughter, who knows almost zero about cars, could prepare a better product guide for potential buyers. It’s the editor’s job to get content, if he/she can’t get it, then they aren’t trying hard enough.

All product guides are going to be part advertorial, part editorial and part pure ad content. It's just the nature of the beast. I like it when there's some solid, factual information or even an entertaining story at the beginning of the guides so everyone gets some value out of it - even those readers with no interest in the advertorial or ad components get some benefit that way.

3. The letters to the editor are for guys asking advice on their cars, not for feedback on the magazine itself. Hence why Martin mostly writes the responses. I can’t say as I have ever seen a critical (of the magazine) letter ever printed.

Is that because of structure or because they're the only letters they get? HPI prints letters that say how good they are - I bet if they got one or two raising problems with the mag they'd print them too. It's good to get more than just positive feedback.

Don’t get me wrong, I know how hard it is working against printers deadlines. I used to write 4 or 5 magazine articles a year and I remember the editor was always on my back to finish them in time for review and sending to the printer.

AHHHHH!!! Tell me about it!!!!

Adrian