As of early last week, Jeff Ford is no longer with primedia! Not only will the content of the mag. probably change without his input, this puts the future of Pony Trails in question. It's my understanding that they are putting in a sub for the remaining PT's this year. ? about next... If many of you enjoy the PT's, you may want to band together to send the pres. of Primedia your input.
Hmmm, that's no good. I liked Jeff. I sometimes felt that he needed his picture in the editorial stuff about half as much as it was there, but he's a good guy. I hope he finds something where he can continue to have a dream job playing with Mustangs in the future. I also hope that M&F is stable. I consider M&F my favorite magazine because of it's good modified/restomod angle. Mustang Monthly is good too, but I usually find the cars that inspire me in M&F.
that sucks i hope he gets with a company that has a chance at making a mustang mag that is like MF used to be before primedia bought them out. i hate primedia, i wish peterson still owned all the good car mags
View from the inside: During my tenure with Mustang Illustrated, roughly three years, I wrote for three different editors. Now at Hemmings, I have also had three editors as well. The business itself is very volatile, a rarity finding a good editor who stays in one place very long. Yes, I liked Jeff and his direction he took the magazine. Where it goes next depends on who takes the helm.
While I don't know Jeff at all but through the magazine, I felt he was a good enthusiast and probably a pretty good guy. I do wish him the best in his futue endeavors. Now, that said, the content of Mustang and Fords has sucked for too long now. It's not their angle or focus on restomods (that's my taste too), but the actual presentation of material in a sickening marriage to advertisers. I'm so fed up with almost every "tech" article being a thinly disguised framing and featuring of advertisers' products. Advertisers' ads already take up a gross amount of the pages in M&F. The magazine has basically become a monthly catalog. Suffice it to say, my 2 year subscription is up and I won't be renewing. If Jeff Ford's exit is part of a move to revamp the magazine for the better (like Hot Rod did in July), then perhaps they will get another new subscription from me. Until they do, I'll stick to my favorites: Hemmings Mustang (a true enthusiasts' magazine), Mustang Enthusiast, Hot Rod, PHR, GRM, Sport Compact Car. Anyone got other suggestions?
DB~ I agree with your take on M&F, with the too-close relationship of advertisers and articles. while it is good to showcase the latest ideas, parts, and services, a good deal of thier projects seemed to be out of reach of most of us "Average Joe" enthusiast. In that regard, yes, the magazine lost it's focus, and went a bit too far off center. While not plugging the magazine I write for, Our focus at Hemmings has been to try to show, do, and appeal to the regular owner, and present ideas, projects, and cars most can identify with. I bailed on the Petersen Twins (Car Craft and Hot Rod) in the early 90's, as they were essentially the same book with different covers, and had completely changed from thier roots. HOT ROD was a great Drag-Racing oriented book from the early 60's through the Early 80's, then it went adrift, and never found it's home. I loved CAR CRAFT in the 70's, with it's street machine flavor, always finding the weird stuff! The final insult was those two dolts on HOTRODTV. BUT, having said that, the main mission of most magazines is to follow and exploit our hobby, and the big prize is to be able to find the new trend, and be the first to have it on thier pages. And finally, DB, SCC?
I've got a set of Ricer pedals and a Blue annodized exhaust tip I'll gladly donate.... (no, I drew them at a car club christmas party grab bag!)
I agree with buddha, I used to look forward to finding M&F in my mail box, now I couldn't care less. One page car features, outright lies for "product evaluations" recycled tech articles and 70% of the magazine littered with ads is not my idea of a quality publication. Ever watch them do a feature on mounting a 'glass hood? It went something like this," unbolt stock hood, bolt on great fitting 'glass part, adjust latch, scuff and paint". Yeah, right. They should have put that in the April Fools issue. Maybe Jeff Ford couldn't stomach it anymore either and bailed. Personally I feel ripped off to pay for such a rag that's supposed to cater to owners of the greatest car ever built. I'd pay twice the sub price for a less stagnant mag, anyone ever read Rodder's Journal? Top quality at top price, but well worth it.
Nope, I'm not building a ricer or tuner, but if you guys haven't read SCC lately, they've got a Focus SVT project car that they bolted a turbo on. They're trying to get it to outperform a new Cobra Mustang and do it for less coin. So far they've impressed the heck out of me by posting better slalom and braking numbers and are only off the ET by 0.7 seconds. Impressive. I am seriously considering buying a used Focus now that we've got baby 'buddha on the scene. Still, when I think about spending $4k on a used 4 cylinder slowmobile, I think what I could do with $4k on the Mustang. Hmmm... I wonder if SWMBO would accept a roll bar over test crash ratings???
DB: Very cool on the Focus! My Dad special ordered an Escort ZR2 with the Zetec motor, 5-speed, sport suspension, but none of the bright body stuff. It looks so mundane, but quite a little pocket-rocket! All it needs is wheel & tires, and look out! Not bad for a 78 year old Ex-Rabbit GTI owner! As for a family car, I vote for a Ranger pickup with extended cab!
