Total Vauxhall

[v6 steve]

Tazz dont want to be picky but iv built 3 trailers now, not to meation the golf or the rover

[tazz666]

whats a trailer or two between friends

[Mark1]

What I find a bit odd is that the Editor of a mag fills the need to come on here on a Saturday night and defend the mag and what has been chosen to go in it.

[Callyman]

I think the mag should be called Regal Vauxhall.
How many of the featured cars owners have got their own hands dirty?

[dan@totalvauxhall]

What I find a bit odd is that the Editor of a mag fills the need to come on here on a Saturday night and defend the mag and what has been chosen to go in it.

Why is it odd? I'm passionate about my job, and forums are great ways of speaking directly to the readers. If I can prevent people from getting the wrong impression of my magazine then I will.

Generally speaking people are up for a good debate about the mag's content, and it's rare to find a forum as hostile as this one.

Its pretty clear that I was wrong to come on here, so unless there are any questions I can answer I'll leave you alone.

(also for what it's worth plenty of readers get their hands dirty, but if you were to only feature 'home built' cars you'd have insufficient cars to fill the mag, and would get complaints from readers and advertisers alike that we weren't featuring a true representation of what's out there.)

[Mark1]

So what are you looking for in cars that get in the mag? If the "Best Car" at Billing 2011 as voted for by the public at Billing then what chance do the rest of use have?

Your not wrong to have come on, your more than welcome. Most of use are outside of your target market (17-24) sorrry but in part what has been seen in the mag mostly in the last few issues are Corsas or Astras, for me have been and always will be boring.

[dan@totalvauxhall]

When Corsas and Astras make up the lion's share of the numbers of Vauxhalls sold we'd be mad to not feature them - but a quick flick through any issue would reveal that we don't feature 'just' Astras and Corsas. There will probably be an Astea and a Corsa in each issue, but there will also be a Chevette, a Monaro, a Manta, a Zafira etc.

To get a feature car you ideally need to have a range of performance, styling and chassis modifications. Ideally these need to be fresh and contemporary, and not stuff that's been done to death and played out. But there is no 'all defining list' that we look at to decide, we just know when a car is a feature car.

Sometimes a car can 'on paper' have the makings of a feature car, but in the flesh there's something about it that doesn't quite work for us. Which is why we always have to see pics before offering a feature.

We've also got to reflect what's fashionable in the scene, hence the increase in 'clean' Euro style cars, more subtle mods, and a more OEM feel. There has been a move away from the more outlandish mods such as neons, angel eyes, massive installs which is why Steve's car isn't suitable. That's not to say we'd not feature more heavily styled cars, but they would have to be contemporary and 'new'.

Please bear in mind that although I've worked on car mags for over a decade I've only recently taken over TV, so can't really comment on features from previous issues before you start pointing specific examples at me

[Mark1]

We've also got to reflect what's fashionable in the scene, hence the increase in 'clean' Euro style cars, more subtle mods, and a more OEM feel.

As I said we are outside your target Market One Euro car is much the same as the next. I have a 22 year old his comment "some nice cars but getting a bit boring now" when asked about the number of Corsas(he has one) in the mag. I live in a Corsa for most of my working week and have done for the last 9 years(did have a 500 for a couple of them) and they are the most boring and lifless cars going, all the way up to the VXR sorry. Each time you put a Corsa or Astea with a C20LET in it in your mag that is the death of one more Calibra.

[dan@totalvauxhall]

There isn't a Target Market as such. It's just aimed at Vauxhall enthusiasts. The readership survey tells us that there's a surprisingly wide age range of reades and the majority are between 25 and 45!

One make mags tend to have a much more mature readership than the multi-marque titles.

It's also a bit churlish to hold it against us if someone transplants an engine out of a Calibra!

I also used the Euro cars as an example, it's not all we feature! We feature a wide range of other cars. In the latest issue we've got a Thundersaloon Calibra (which is ironic as it's the first one Steve's going to post back to me!), a DTM Astra, and a track Holden VXR amongst others. If you find these kinds of cars boring then maybe you're not actually into Vauxhalls!

[Mark1]

Then why am I mod on this site?

Calibra Interesting
DTM Astra
Holden VXR Ineterasting

[dan@totalvauxhall]

Then why am I mod on this site?

You tell me! If you don't find the type of cars featured in TV interesting, then either you've not read it recently, or you're on the wrong forum!!

With all the publications I've worked on there are stereotypes and stigmas that follow the mags around - The TV stigma is that it 'just features Red Top powered Corsas'. A few years ago it was that we just featured Red Top powered Novas, and I'm sure that in a few years it will be that we just feature VXR powered whatevers... They're the kind of rumours that do the rounds on forums and get re-told over and over, when in reality, the ones spreading the myths have only seen an issue or two, and haven't actually thought out what they're saying.

Grab three random issues and look at the car content, and tell me that they're all boring 'LET powered Corsas and Astras'.

It's also hard to get the balance right as we need to constantly attract new readers, and we can't just stick with the same stuff we were featuring 5 years ago. The scene moves forward, and we have to move forward with it. If there are more people doing up VXRs then we have to feature more VXRs. Sometimes you may lose readers in the pursuit of new ones, but getting the balance right is part of my job!

[Dez]

Just been looking over some previous editions of Total Vauxhall,and i cant see why Steve's car couldnt get a feature with your magazine.its a complete real deal finished article(steve may think diff) I can see TV going the same way as REVS did.



+2 on the disgruntled reader list. Not even gonna waste my time picking up my copy to send back.

[dan@totalvauxhall]

Just been looking over some previous editions of Total Vauxhall,and i cant see why Steve's car couldnt get a feature with your magazine.its a complete real deal finished article(steve may think diff) I can see TV going the same way as REVS did.

+2 on the disgruntled reader list. Not even gonna waste my time picking up my copy to send back.

It couldn't be any further from the 'Revs situation' and it shows that you haven't really looked at the content of either mags if you think that. Revs turned on its head and killed itself. TV is still written by proper die-hard Vauxhall enthusiasts (You will not find two people more dedicated to the Griffin than Dougie and Dave Reid!!!) and the circulation figures demonstrate that we're getting the balance right.

Steve's car has some very 'personal' modifications that were very popular a few years ago, like the M3 Mirrors, angel eyes, wing vents, neon lights and alloys - if it didn't have those, maybe a more contemporary set of wheels, then I'd snap it up, as featurable Calibras don't come along very often. I've no idea why, as they're a stunning looking car straight out of the factory!

By all means stop buying the mag if you're not happy with the content... but tell me you're not a little bit tempted by the promise of a mental Thundersaloon Calibra...

[Dez]

aaah now i get it Steve,You didnt give your car a good enough moniker ie The Drain.Its got to called something catchy like The ThunderSaloon Calibra to get a Feature... I wonder how many Porsche gt's thats beaten?

Why not give him a feature Dan,let the readers decide if it should or shouldnt have been featured.

[dan@totalvauxhall]

aaah now i get it Steve,You didnt give your car a good enough moniker ie The Drain.Its got to called something catchy like The ThunderSaloon Calibra to get a Feature... I wonder how many Porsche gt's thats beaten?

What? It's a Thundersaloon Calibra. From the Thundersaloon race series. It looks like this..