Here we go again...

[Mister 4x4]

OK - so I started a thread last month about the lack of recognition for '71-'73s by Mustang Monthly (All Mustangs, All The Time).

http://www.7173mustangs.com/thread-on-the-fence

I just got the latest issue over the weekend, and the only mention of '71-'73s are in about 20% of the sales ads... and even then the only image at all of anything '71-'73 is one small 1/2-inch by 1/2-inch picture of a Boss 351 logo in a Dallas Mustang ad on page 61 (unless you count the 2 aftermarket restomod upholstery kit images offered by TMI Products).

There are even a few pictures of Mustang IIs... no Clydesdales, though.

For that matter, in the Pony Tails section (Reader Feedback), one reader called him out about the lack of coverage of his favorite model years, citing the irony of the "All Mustangs, All The Time" slogan on the front cover. Which was answered with back-pedaling and empty promises from the editor.

I'm not impressed, and even less enthusiastic about the magazine any more. As well, I'm pretty much flat-out pissed by the lip service given here by Mr. Kinnan... especially after he so much as cried foul about the my "trashing" the MM Rep with facts, even after he basically insulted the '71-'73 model years in an article he wrote about Mustang IIs.

I'm not trying to start up any kind of grass-roots anything by this thread... just venting and following-up on something I believe is yet another example of the hate we endure as '71-'73 enthusiasts.

 

[rocket366]

We should start our own rag!

Don't we have 4,000 members?

 

[EdM]

Really? Who Could GAF what a rag chooses to write?

 

[Kit Sullivan]

I think you are dramatically over-reacting. We may not get the glowing and positive coverage you crave in each issue, but it could hardly be fairly described as "hatred" towards 71-73 Mustangs and thier supporters.

Face it: our generation of the original Mustang was then, and is still now the least popular of them all.

That doesn't mean it is UNpopular...just LESS popular than the others. Who cares what the magazines think about our cars? They are not doing it because they love Mustangs...they do it because its a business, and that's how they make money.

They do it for the love and desire of money ( certainly nothing wrong with that), we do it for the love of the car itself, money be damned!

It just isn't realistic to expect them to care about 71-73s as much as we do.

I have nearly every issue of MM since the stone-age...there have been plenty of 71/73-centric articles and features over the years. They probably just don't have as much acceptable and appropriate 71-73 material to choose from as they do for other model years.

If we really want to make our cars stand up and get respect in the magazine, we should all make a concerted effort to get them the info about our cars. Each of us should write a concise and interesting 200-word story about our cars and our stories with and about the car, and include some good quailty photos.

If it peaks thier interest, they may schedule a shoot.

You never know....

 

[72HCODE]

Actually we have our own magazine already.

It is filled with anything you could want or ask.

Tons and tons of information and photos updated by the minute;

It is our forum and wikis.

I have personally never owned any real car magazines, anytime i had a problem i hit the internet, a piece of information here, a piece from there, gather what i needed from others and researched specific information on tools i would need or literature i needed to download or buy.

if i had a visual need there was youtube, or the many services that existed before youtube.

if i needed a part, ebay, or car forums, make connections and friends.

i rebuilt an entire 72 mustang without ever cracking a cover on any magazines.

I don't fault the magazines they are an outdated media, you can't expect a general ford mustang magazine to cover every single year in every single issue, unless it was a specific 71-73 mustang magazine which would have a very small subscription base and would cost more to print then it would bring in.

Magazines have changed in my hobbies that i used to subscribe to.

They saw the writing on the wall and stopped print magazines to publish online digital with access to every single back issue that was in print.

digital freedom gives an author an unlimited amount of page space to write all the detail you could ever want, errors can be fixed on the fly and new information added at any time; that is basically what our forum is.

Wiki articles i wrote here have gotten me PM feedback from around the world thanking me. I'm just one schmuck in a garage, no expert and no writer, that is the beauty of the internet.

members forget about wikis we have

http://www.7173mustangs.com/forum-7173-wiki-blogs

or blogs, or data information all on the top menu with drop downs.

If you feel you are getting benefit from a magazine support it and subscribe. if you find no benefit to it then cancel no need to attack anybody or rant about it.

I'm sure the magazine tries its best each month to pack what they can in a limited amount of space and a very limited production time.

its impossible to satisfy everyone all the time.

for a calming effect, here is a cat with a mustang.

^- i googled Cat with a mustang. BAM! the internet

 

[jeff8877]

As Kit said it is all about money...

I look at it this way, between 1964-1970 there were 2.6 million Mustangs produced and between 1971-1973 roughly 400 thousand. So we as a group represent roughly 15 percent of the popular crowd. Put another way, the magazine has 85 out of 100 readers that prefer/have an interest in the earlier years so it makes great sense for them to direct their pages towards them.

Couple this with the good chance that more of the 71-73's were crushed or abandoned and the discrepancy becomes even greater.

 

[Mac]

I think you are dramatically over-reacting. We may not get the glowing and positive coverage you crave in each issue, but it could hardly be fairly described as "hatred" towards 71-73 Mustangs and thier supporters.

Face it: our generation of the original Mustang was then, and is still now the least popular of them all.

That doesn't mean it is UNpopular...just LESS popular than the others. Who cares what the magazines think about our cars? They are not doing it because they love Mustangs...they do it because its a business, and that's how they make money.

They do it for the love and desire of money ( certainly nothing wrong with that), we do it for the love of the car itself, money be damned!

It just isn't realistic to expect them to care about 71-73s as much as we do.

I have nearly every issue of MM since the stone-age...there have been plenty of 71/73-centric articles and features over the years. They probably just don't have as much acceptable and appropriate 71-73 material to choose from as they do for other model years.

If we really want to make our cars stand up and get respect in the magazine, we should all make a concerted effort to get them the info about our cars. Each of us should write a concise and interesting 200-word story about our cars and our stories with and about the car, and include some good quailty photos.

If it peaks thier interest, they may schedule a shoot.

You never know....

Very well spoken kit. I too am an old dinosaur in this hobby as well. Even though I had a '66 K-code as a teenager, when I returned from serving Uncle Sam I bought my '71 Mach as a demo for $2995. So I chose the "big" Mustang over the "small" even then.

What you are saying is true, you can not change anyone's mind by threats (in this case magazines), instead you peak their interest with pictures, stories, questions, etc. In time they might see it as a potential market. My car has been featured in Mustang Monthly twice, the first time I had sent pictures and a write up, the second time I was approached by them at the MCA 45th anniversary celebration. Both times both myself and my car was shown respect and genuine interest.

As this web site continues to grow and evolve it will get noticed. Keep the faith!!

Mac

 

[1-Mach-1]

Actually we have our own magazine already.

It is filled with anything you could want or ask.

Tons and tons of information and photos updated by the minute;

It is our forum and wikis.

Absolutely!

I've cut way back on buying magazines, at a certain point you start to run out of room to keep them all.

 

[will e]

Magazines used to be a mainstay in my life. I had subscriptions to the popular mustang mags. I would clip tech articles.

After a while I had the all the tech articles I needed and then the internet came along...

 

[Mike429cj]

I also believe Kit is exactly right! I have never really heard it put like that but it makes perfect sense. Now as far as our cars popularity with the general public. If you are having the same experience at shows and the gas pump as I am you are finding that people DO like our cars and have plenty of nice things to say about them.

Perhaps we are lucky to have a Mustang that is rare and not seen a lot anymore considering the numbers Kit mentioned. We probably should let the hate for the other Mustang crowd go and just enjoy the treasures we have. I am all for promoting our cars by proactively approaching the traditional Mustang magazines with pictures and stories about our cars. We do have great cars and really cool stories about why we have these cars.

Thank you Kit for letting us see this from another angle. If you don't agree that $money$ is not part of the equation I guess you can keep hating the haters! Kit's take on this really makes sense to me.

 

[GoneN6T]

Here is my outlook. I would prefer our cars ARE NOT heavily featured in any cookie cutter magazine. That is part of the beauty of owning a 7173 Mustang. I am perfectly happy our cars were considered the black sheep of the family. I can watch a 65, 66, etc mustang go by, people could care less, I roll by people are staring, giving thumbs up, some people freaking out. We are the kid in the family photo, sporting a Mohawk and a nose ring.

 

[Mister 4x4]

Why do I GAF what they write or feature? Because I subscribed to "All Mustangs All The Time," and the new editor made it a point to visit this site and promised representation... and so far, we have none. They have my money... I expect 'something' in return. So far, I'm disappointed with the new changes - simple as that. As a '71 owner, I'm just tired of the lack of representation from an entity that claims to have all the bases covered.

I believe in accountability and getting something for my money. If I wanted a magazine about cool cars expecting to never see a '71-'73 Mustang, I would've subscribed to Car Craft or Hot Rod. I subscribed to MM because I enjoy reading an actual magazine rather than surfing the 'net all the time. As an IT Security specialist/manager, I have to deal with technology every day, and I grow tired of having to use it ALL THE TIME.

"All Mustangs All The Time" - there's not a lot of gray area there. I don't read the magazine because I need information about my '71... I come here. I just prefer it to the electronic version (their website kind of sucks and is hard to navigate when looking for something in particular, to be honest).

And I'm not over-reacting... just b!tching. There's a difference.

Here is my outlook. I would prefer our cars ARE NOT heavily featured in any cookie cutter magazine. That is part of the beauty of owning a 7173 Mustang. I am perfectly happy our cars were considered the black sheep of the family. I can watch a 65, 66, etc mustang go by, people could care less, I roll by people are staring, giving thumbs up, some people freaking out. We are the kid in the family photo, sporting a Mohawk and a nose ring.

This is easily the best outlook regarding the inequity I've ever seen. Eventually, I hope to find a way to adopt this mindset. Right now, I just feel like we're being blown off... and I especially hate it when someone does it right to my face, as it were.

 

[Don65Stang]

Actually we have our own magazine already.

It is filled with anything you could want or ask.

Tons and tons of information and photos updated by the minute;

It is our forum and wikis.

I quit that mag a long time ago and haven't missed it since.

 

[mrmach1]

I prefer this forum to any magazine out there. I subscribed to Mustang Monthly for many years but after last year I stopped it I don't miss it at all this site is much more informative and right on target for my interest.

 

[GoneN6T]

On a side note: In this months ( April 2015 ) Hemmings MUSCLE MACHINES, there is a really nice story on a unrestored 1971 MACH1.

Muscle Machines is the only magazine I subscribe to.

 

[midlife]

Do you guys know that the magazine editorial process stops about 6 weeks before distribution so it can be published/printed? Since the editor responded just a couple of weeks ago, I would not expect any substantial change in the magazine for another month or two.

 

[Jim and Jutta]

Actually we have our own magazine already.

It is filled with anything you could want or ask.

Tons and tons of information and photos updated by the minute;...

Agree, much better than a magazine

 

[Mister 4x4]

Do you guys know that the magazine editorial process stops about 6 weeks before distribution so it can be published/printed? Since the editor responded just a couple of weeks ago, I would not expect any substantial change in the magazine for another month or two.

Totally understand. His introduction and initial announcement of major changes coming was January's issue... which means he had already begun making changes in as far back as before Thanksgiving in November. Last month's issue would've been compiled beginning as far back as Christmas.

Which means... this current issue was already in production before he addressed the site last month - where he vehemently claimed that All Mustangs would be represented.

What this says to me: he so far has 2 issues under his belt with zero '71-'73 recognition and had no intention of any kind of representation at all (proof is in the pages). Fine - it is what it is... even I don't expect any kind of miraculous change of heart once the layout's been approved. But if the next issue comes out and there's more of the same, then it means [what I suspect] that there is no intention to represent '71-'73s or to make any changes of the current practice of only recognizing '70 and older models.

Like I said earlier, he's already deflecting incoming fire from other enthusiasts about some other unpopular changes, so it sounds to me like there are a lot of unhappy subscribers as I'm sure he wouldn't just take one letter on the topic and print it (there had to be more... enough to warrant a published response).

One or two letters from readers here and there are not really a basis to make changes. But taking the time to come here largest collection of '71-'73 owners in the world, and promise better coverage in the future so seems like it's going to be a pretty damn empty promise to me.

I'm also just making observations and conversation here, folks. I'm not planning a road trip to California to shoot up the office or anything. I do, however, find it comical that some folks who are absolute sticklers for the very smallest of details regarding our cars are telling me I'm overreacting about getting dissed by one of the public's perceived authorities on all things Mustang. That's irony all by itself. rofl

 

[GoneN6T]

Do you guys know that the magazine editorial process stops about 6 weeks before distribution so it can be published/printed? Since the editor responded just a couple of weeks ago, I would not expect any substantial change in the magazine for another month or two.

Totally understand. His introduction and initial announcement of major changes coming was January's issue... which means he had already begun making changes in as far back as before Thanksgiving in November. Last month's issue would've been compiled beginning as far back as Christmas.

Which means... this current issue was already in production before he addressed the site last month - where he vehemently claimed that All Mustangs would be represented.

What this says to me: he so far has 2 issues under his belt with zero '71-'73 recognition and had no intention of any kind of representation at all (proof is in the pages). Fine - it is what it is... even I don't expect any kind of miraculous change of heart once the layout's been approved. But if the next issue comes out and there's more of the same, then it means [what I suspect] that there is no intention to represent '71-'73s or to make any changes of the current practice of only recognizing '70 and older models.

Like I said earlier, he's already deflecting incoming fire from other enthusiasts about some other unpopular changes, so it sounds to me like there are a lot of unhappy subscribers as I'm sure he wouldn't just take one letter on the topic and print it (there had to be more... enough to warrant a published response).

One or two letters from readers here and there are not really a basis to make changes. But taking the time to come here largest collection of '71-'73 owners in the world, and promise better coverage in the future so seems like it's going to be a pretty damn empty promise to me.

I'm also just making observations and conversation here, folks. I'm not planning a road trip to California to shoot up the office or anything. I do, however, find it comical that some folks who are absolute sticklers for the very smallest of details regarding our cars are telling me I'm overreacting about getting dissed by one of the public's perceived authorities on all things Mustang. That's irony all by itself. rofl

Sounds to me like you have great "Passion" for our cars, so I say good for you !