Please don't throw your  " new mags " away.  My best friend just died of throat cancer and his car is in the July Issue.  Linwood Ramseys 67 GT500.
My delema is I can't find an issue in any store within 50 miles of me.   His wife was mailed a copy by the editor.,  But I can't seem to find on on the shelf.
I'd really really love to get my hands on one of the July issues just as a Keep sake of my friend.
   So if you have one your gonna throw in the trash please send it to me.
  My email address is :   pmccook1@windstream.net

  I'm in Georgia ,  So if anyone knows what store carrys the new mag, let me know also.
 Thanks
   Phillip  

Mark, I understand that you have to try to live with your new owners but this first issue already has at least 64 pages of ads.  Super Ford did not turn into the useless rag that 5.0 is over night, but the same thing will happen here over time because the bulk of your advertisers build parts for newer cars. Sure we can and do use some of these new parts on older cars (My 64 fairlane sport coupe has rack & pinion front end, 4 wheel disc brakes, stroker 351 and an AOD trans) but look at most of the ads in this issue and you will see they don't even list parts for cars older than the mid 80's. I hope i'm wrong, but I see a magazine headed away from the true Mustang and Ford people whose love of Fords made the aftermarket that makes now the greatest time for us hot rodders.    Jim B from H.B., CA  

ok only cause I am bored and setting at work and felt the exact oppostie way that I was flooded with old car adds I decided to count them, every add in the book, every page.  even if the add was a 5 page spread I counted every page as its own add.  

I split it into 4 catagories.  old, new, rim and tires, and both.  obviously you can put rims and tires on both and there are some things like trans and some adds that had a mix of old a new.  and the results that I got were

old-30
new-29
t/r-10
both-20

seems old won this battle.  

Coming from the other side, I can say I was disgusted at what had become of the magazine I subscribed to, Modified Mustangs. I subscribed to that specific magazine for a reason, I have a late model Mustang, a 2006 GT with a Whipple charged 4.6L. I don't care to see all of the old crap cars that I now find in my magazine. I have owned classic cars since the early 80's(mostly British but some American too), but now have the enthusiasm for modern "muscle" cars such as My 2006 GT and my 2005 Cadillac CTS-V. To me, the magazine has totally gone to hell with the addition of the old stuff. If I wanted to see classics, I would have subscribed differently! As for the models in the mag, I think you are all full of crap! You can't seriously say that you never take a glance at a beautiful woman, be they younger or older. Hypocrites! I agree that you all need to get your balls back!  I have been married for 25 years and have 2 young daughters, and I have also been fortunate enough to have my car photographed with a professional model for Modified Mustangs Mag. My wife and 11 year old daughter thought she was very beautiful and the photos were tasteful. You guys are "p" whipped! And to the one woman who replied here, you obviously have self esteem issues!  Most women without them speak positively about other womens beauty. Never has there ever been any nudity or even near nudity in any issue of that magazine!  
I do agree however, that the mag is not what I subscribed to, and I will not renew when my subscription is up. Time to look for another late model Mustang mag. with fast cars and hot women!! As for Mark's berating here, it's totally uncalled for.  

I posted early on when the magazine changed and was not happy with the change but I thought I'd give it some time. Well, muy subsciption ends with the December issue and I will not be renewing. I got the latest issue in the mail yesterday and not one classic mustang featured which we were assured there would be a mix every month. I subscibed to Mustangs & Fords for many years for the classic mustangs. I like all years but am focused on the classics. I'm not going to waste anymore money on a publication that no longer caters to my interest. Its sad because I have stacks of old issues from every year going back to the first issues. Maybe sometime in the future someone in management will get a clue and realize the interest in the classic mustangs warrants a seperate magazine.

Roger  

Great job on the 50/50 thing. What a waste, Houlahan thanks for being a man of your word. How dare you guys treat your loyal subscribers and clissic mustang advertisers like this.  

The late model guys ARE mad too.  I posted a link to a thread on stangnet discussing the new format, corral.net had one also.  I'll give it until my subscription runs out with an open mind, but as others have said, this is NOT the magazine I subscribed to.   Most of us fox body guys subscribed because there was pretty good coverage for us.  Being that Huw has one, hopefully that won't change.  But I'm really not interested in ads for parts for 60's/70's mustangs nor articles on them.  

Here's a link to another good post regarding your magazine before the format change if you are interested.
http://forums.stangnet.com/731492-i-really-cant-stand-magazines-anymore.html  

MustangMan:
KC66, how can you say the magazine was less than 50% classic? We had THREE classic car features and THREE late-model features. That's 50% in my math-hindered mind is it not?

And for tech articles we had the same, two classic and two late-model, again 50%

Adding up the pages we had 27 pages of classic content and 26 pages of late-model content (this is not including departments, After Hours, and In The Spotlight pages).

Even something like Readers' Roundup was split classic and late-model owner photos...

Yes, late-model content has been added via the merger, but I don't see how people are saying the classic stuff is "gone"...

Mark

Mark,

It is not "gone" from my viewpoint; it is carefully hidden in a mountain of ads.

The September issue was 140 pages long.

The first real content was a piece called "Can't we all get along" (I neglected the couple of fluff paragraphs on the boss engine) and it appeared on PAGE 22.

Yeah, there was a table of contents in there and the necessary crap saying who writes what but most of these first 22 dead trees was garbage to pay the bills.

It was 30 pages before something real about an actual car.

Page 38 started the first actual "tech" article. It ran until page 54!

One would thing "there must be tons of content in Mark's engine building article".

ONE WOULD BE WRONG! While I have nothing bad to say about your writing and it is likely well written and researched.  The problem is that stuffed in between every other page of the article is more gosh darn ads. It absolutely wrecked the flow and frustrated the heck out of me.

After your article was the "new" King Cobra story followed by the "Fluff" crap that some find offensive.

At this point we are over half way through the 140 pages and not much to show for it.

Installment 19 of the factory five Cobra was next and then......for all those "classic" fans.....on Page 88 the is a feature 1964 Ford Galaxie....with more ads stuffed into the mix to break up the flow.

Are we seeing a pattern here?

On page 96 came a generic article on putting in a modern style parking brake in your car. Maybe you could call this a tech article for classics because it was installed in a 1966 Mustang. It could apply to a Toyota as well so I would not classify it that way.

A Roush truck article came next with the usual ads prying the content apart.

Then came more ads and some racing and show stuff to bring us to page 108.

Then....OMG...'65-'66 Hood Hinges....How to put new after market nitrogen strut hood hinges on your classic for $625 in polished stainless.....and no in-fixed ads. But wait, it was only a few paragraphs and two pages that was more or less and ad in itself.

The ~15 pages were Q&A, little one page sound bytes and more ads

Maybe this is a "one off" issue like this but there was nothing to sink my teeth into even though I have classic, late model and a pickup.

The September issue was not the issue you want to use as ammunition to make your point with KC66.

I'm not trying to attack you but just point out why the magazine "appears" to be such a departure from what some of us have been reading and enjoying for many, many years.  

I'm a long term subscriber to the mag (and for some reason can't find why I was not registered on the forum) and have over 10 years worth of the old mag in binders.

I was prepared to give the new format a go. It is not what I subscribed for and it is no longer an enjoyable read (unless you like reading the ads). Yes I am a classic Ford fan and I enjoy my restomod projects and that is what the old format addressed

There are plenty of magazines out there addressing the newer stuff but now there is one less that focuses on classics - note that I said focuses rather than buries them in the middle of stuff that is irrelevant

I am really disappointed with the new direction and won't be renewing my subscription. For the first time in nearly 15 years I have thrown it in the trash  

I have almost every issue of mustang & fords since its beginning as a quarterly issue by hot rod mag in 1983. Through a bi monthly issue, then it was finally available through subscription, then a monthly issue.
My 69 fastback and I went through a lot of changes through the years, some good, some bad, and now I have almost 2 years more of a mag that is not up to my needs. Without warning, without asking, or offering a refund, I feel like this publisher has dinged my door then rubbed against my car as they squeezed past after they parked too close. Its a sad day. There will never be another mag that could replace it.                  REST IN PEACE M&F MAG.THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES.........
                                     MIKE  

Morning everyone. Let me comment on a couple of these statements...

RogerC62: We stated there would be a mix of classic and late-model every month, and there is. Did we say there would be a classic MUSTANG every month? Even though it was a Galaxie it is still a MIX of classic and late-model. Our October issue at the printer now does not have a late-model Mustang in it either, but it has a late-model Ford (Thunderbird Turbo Coupe).

EricinNM: Yes we said we were working on a 50/50 mix in our edit package. July was 50/50, August was more classic, and September was more late-model. Due to page count fluctuations, and some stories being larger than planned (like the GT500KR ride and drive) other stories get removed from the mix. In the case of September it was a nice '67 fastback. Guess where that fastback is now? On the cover of the October issue you'll see in about four weeks. While we strive for 50/50 it will not happen 100% of the time.

David B:The issue I was discussing with that poster was the July issue, not the September issue. Real content? So you don't count my column on page 12 as content?
As for ad placement and number of ads, as a magazine grows and obtains more ads they have to go somewhere. Every advertiser wants to be in the front of the book, right hand facing page (it's where your eyes naturally fall when you turn the page). We struggle to place the ads where everyone (edit, production, readers, and advertisers) will be happy. Without ads we do not have a magazine. We're not consumer reports. If you look at most any succesful print title on the shelf there are many ads banked up front and in the back, with ads placed in the middle around the edit. It's a double edged sword that is a big magazine.

Daleydriver: If you've read earlier posts in this long, drawn out thread, you'll know I was not at liberty to discuss the merger in print and that if you want a refund or to transfer your sub to another Source Interlink title you simply have to call the subscription help number in the front of the book.

Thanks...
Mark  

MustangMan:
Morning everyone. Let me comment on a couple of these statements...

RogerC62: We stated there would be a mix of classic and late-model every month, and there is. Did we say there would be a classic MUSTANG every month? Even though it was a Galaxie it is still a MIX of classic and late-model. Our October issue at the printer now does not have a late-model Mustang in it either, but it has a late-model Ford (Thunderbird Turbo Coupe).

EricinNM: Yes we said we were working on a 50/50 mix in our edit package. July was 50/50, August was more classic, and September was more late-model. Due to page count fluctuations, and some stories being larger than planned (like the GT500KR ride and drive) other stories get removed from the mix. In the case of September it was a nice '67 fastback. Guess where that fastback is now? On the cover of the October issue you'll see in about four weeks. While we strive for 50/50 it will not happen 100% of the time.

David B:The issue I was discussing with that poster was the July issue, not the September issue. Real content? So you don't count my column on page 12 as content?
As for ad placement and number of ads, as a magazine grows and obtains more ads they have to go somewhere. Every advertiser wants to be in the front of the book, right hand facing page (it's where your eyes naturally fall when you turn the page). We struggle to place the ads where everyone (edit, production, readers, and advertisers) will be happy. Without ads we do not have a magazine. We're not consumer reports. If you look at most any succesful print title on the shelf there are many ads banked up front and in the back, with ads placed in the middle around the edit. It's a double edged sword that is a big magazine.

Daleydriver: If you've read earlier posts in this long, drawn out thread, you'll know I was not at liberty to discuss the merger in print and that if you want a refund or to transfer your sub to another Source Interlink title you simply have to call the subscription help number in the front of the book.

Thanks...
Mark

You sure didn't say there would be some months where there wouldn't be a classic mustang. You've danced around it all including all classic fords as points of interest for those interested in classic mustangs. Tech articles don't count. I like old Torinos, I had a lot of good times in my friends 71 Torino GT in high school and likewise with the 72 Gran Torino Sport I used to own (and still want another one) You seem to be missing the point, I subscribed for the classic mustang content (featured cars and tech). No classic mustangs featured, then no point in getting the magazine from my POV.  

There's no dancing here, I'm simply stating what the situation is/was. The publication of ANY magazine is not etched in stone. Articles drop out and get added right up until the point it goes to the printer. Ever see a cover blurb about a story and then not find it inside the magazine? That's a story that got pulled and someone forgot to update the cover file. It happens. Just like some months you have enough to pay all your bills and some months you don't, life is all about fluctuation and changes. Trust me, it would be a heck of a lot easier if my managing editor and publisher told me "You've got 80 pages of edit to fill" for every issue from now until the cows come home.

But it doesn't happen like that. We have what is referred to as "ad close" when the last of the paid ads are admitted and totalled and then, and only then, does my managing editor tell me how many pages I have to work with (it varies with each issue). Then you know what? Some ad salesperson decides to accept a late/last minute ad, and we have to adjust some more.

Yes, there was no classic Mustang in that issue, but that's not the norm. As I've said in the magazine, Torino guys want Torinos every month, Cougar guys want Cougars every month. We can't make everyone happy as there's simply not enough pages. If there's no classic Mustang for one issue out of 12 and your POV is that there's no point in getting the magazine, then that's for you to act upon.

And why does a tech article not "count"? What's up with that? If it's classic Mustang/Ford related is it NOT classic content? Just because it's not a shiny red/blue/silver car to look at it "doesn't count"?

Mark  

Subscription terminated - with much sadness

As I work in the services industry I know first hand the results of not listening to your customers

I expect that Source Interlink will find that out within the next 12 months

Mark - I hope you have updated your CV