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Another One Bites the Dust - by John Dettori
Author: SnakeCharmer (more...)
Mustang Friends, Whether your hot button is a '65 convertible or a
2001 SVT Cobra, we are all enthusiasts to some degree or other, bound
by a common thread: the cars we treasure. Modified or concours
perfect, we love to drive, work-on, restore, modify and talk about
these cars. Part of the social experience from which we derive so
much, is the sharing of information. Many avenues exist: internet
newsgroups,websites, and other virtual communities, our local and
national clubs, and of course the published word. Where would we be
without the Mustang and Ford centric magazines and books that most of
us devour faster than lunch?
Well, we're gonna have to make due with one less, 'cause Mustangs
Illustrated just bit the dust! An email to Jim Campisano (editor of
MI) confirmed the facts: PrimeMedia, the publisher of "Mustang
Illustrated", and "Muscle Mustangs & FastFords", just bought
EMap/Petersen (the old Petersen Publishing Empire: "MotorTrend", "Car
Craft", "Hot Rod", etc.). They decided that they didn't really
need Mustang Illustrated anymore, since it was losing money, and
Petersen's own"Mustang & Fords" had far better circulation in the same
publishing space. If you've been watching closely, the last 23 years
has seen the Mustang Ragworld grow from 1 to 4 to 10, back down to 3.
And those three are owned by the same publisher. That kinda worries
me; there really is room for 4-5 players in this space.
Let's do some Mustang magazine history: 1978 - In sunny Lakeland
Florida, Larry Dobbs starts a Mustang parts business,and to attract
customers, he creates the Mustang Supply Letter. Unexpectedly,his
newsletter does far better than his parts business, as the Mustang
hobby grows. He renames his periodical "Mustang Monthly", becomes the
first true Mustang Magazine. By the early 1980's his magazine is a
mainstay among the restorationset, and carries advertising from local
"backyard" suppliers to the Ford Motor Co. He puts out landmark books,
like "The Mustang Recognition Guide", The Mustang Data Plate Decoder",
and "How To Restore Your Mustang". This will evolve into a publishing
empire, the Dobbs Publishing Group which at it's height will boast
5mags and 20+ books on Mustangs and restoration. A kid leaves the
family business to work at the fledgling company; his name is Donald
Farr. By 1980, Petersen Publishing is taking notice of the small but
successful niche market that Dobbs found. "Hot Rod" publishes "Hot
Rod Magazine: Mustang",mainly a collection of feature cars with some
reprints of HR Mustang articles. It is received surprisingly well. By
1983, it will be published 3 times a year,then 4. In March 1991,
editor Jerry Pitt announces the change of name to "Mustang & Fords"
and explains the now bi-monthly magazine will be expanded to cover
other high performance Fords. They coin the term "resto-mod". By the
mid-90s, they're a monthly mag. Differentiating themselves from MM,
modified cars appear from time to time, as well as later models. Also
in 1980, Argus Publishers Corporation (publishers of Popular Hot
Rodding)tests the market with "Fabulous Mustangs and Exotic Fords".
This unique mag caters to the growing Mustang world, but throws in a
Cobra, GT40, Falcon, and Pantera once in a while. Auto artist Scott
Teeters pens a least one fabcar illustration per issue. Also,
modified cars show up as often as stock ones. Their restoration series
are excellent, and while heavy on ad space, writers like Jim McFarland
and a new kid named Jerry Heasley are featured often. Another new kid
Bob McClurg gets his start.
Late to the party is McMullen Publishing's "Mustang Illustrated",
which is subtitled"And High Performance Ford". 4 Issues a year
suffice at first, then 6 then finallymonthly. They're bold and
challenging, under the stewardship of visionary BobMcClurg who's the
editor by 1984. Great features on the Mustang SVO and later the Cobra
set them apart. A few late model mags sprout in the 1990s: McMullen's
"Muscle Mustang & Fast Fords", and Petersen's "5.0". There are others
I just can't remember now.
By the introduction of the "new" 1994 Mustang, there's 4 mags for the
restoration set, 2 cater-ring exclusively to late models, another 2
focused on high performance modifications(MM&FF and Super Ford), and
couple on Cobras, Cobra replicas, and muscle cars ingeneral (Muscle
Car Review). 10 - 12 stops on the newsstand, just about every month.
With the blossoming of virtual communities on the internet,
information is readily available. Then, all hell broke loose ... The
Nov. 1993 issues of FM&EF becomes it's last as it chronicals the new
3rd gen-eration Mustangs. 5.0 and the Cobra mags fold, leaving only
the big three, SuperFord, Muscle Car Review and MM&FF. I can't find
Super Ford or Muscle Car Reviewon the news stands anymore. Then, in
April 1999, Mustang Monthly announces that the Dobbs Publishing Group
was acquired by Petersen, who becomes EMapPetersen. That means that
Mustang Monthly and Mustang & Fords are publishedby the same company.
Fortunately, they both survive merger mania. Now (Nov.2001), Primedia
(who swallowed Argus and McMullen) buys EMap Petersen, and puts
Mustang Illustrated out of business. There are now only 3 Mustang
magazines: Mustang Monthly - the restoration mag,Mustang & Fords - the
restomod mag with other Fords, and Muscle Mustang &Fast Fords - the
high performance-racing/late model mag.
This can't be good for us. What if PrimeMedia decides it doesn't need
one of the mags? We need choices; buying all products from one vendor
doesn't sound like a choice to me. Jim Smart, Jeff Ford, Bob McClurg,
Jerry Heasly, Tom Corcoran, Donald Farr, JimCampisano, Jeff Tan, Kevin
Boales, Tom Lawson, etc. I hope you're listening: start up another
rag. Mustang nuts like me will subscribe to 5 years at a time. Bring
one back, give us more; we can't get enough of this stuff. Thanks for
listening!
-John Dettori
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