"sm70- why not Duesenberg?" (sm70-whynotduesenberg)
07/03/2014 at 17:43 • Filed to: None
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"sm70- why not Duesenberg?" (sm70-whynotduesenberg)
07/03/2014 at 17:43 • Filed to: None | 3
| 9 |
I've been getting Car & Driver for the last five years, at least. I always find the humor witty, the pictures pretty, and the tests and reviews to be informative and interesting. I wish I had more time to read every column and piece more in-depth, because the ones I do read are excellent.
Then, maybe a year and a half ago, I added Road & Track to my subscriptions. Once again, a very well-done magazine. But since I have been getting both, usually on the same day, I have noticed something:
They often mirror each other almost exactly.
Take the most recent issue, August 2014. The writing above the headline on Car & Driver reads, "The Speed Issue", because this issue covers almost exclusively sports cars and super cars. The writing above the headline on Road & Track reads "The Supercar Issue" for the same reason.
Within the Car & Driver issue, we find major articles on the McLaren P1, the Ferrari theFerrari, the Lamborghini Huracán, the Porsche 918 and the BMW M4 vs. the Porsche 911. We also find a lengthy interview with James Glickenhaus regarding his car collection and his plans for a new company.
With the Road & Track issue, we find major articles on the McLaren P1, the Ferrari theFerrari, the Lamborghini Huracán, the Porsche 918 and the BMW M4 vs. nothing. We also find a lengthy interview with James Glickenhaus regarding his car collection and his plans for a new company.
Don't get me wrong, there's plenty to differentiate them. But I was still wondering, is there any connection between these two? Or would this be like me noticing that CNN and NBC both appear to be covering very similar stories? I realize it's probably just be the fact that both exist within the same new car market, so both test the hottest new cars as soon as they come out, and then run comparison test with them, and often cover the same major car-culture events, but I just wanted to know if anyone else noticed some of the similarities are eerie.
T5Killer
> sm70- why not Duesenberg?
07/03/2014 at 17:47 |
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Both owned by the Hearst Corporation, They probably share offices and some staff. I bet They also share press cars/scheduling on hard to get cars and have to share driving time.
TheD0k_2many toys 2little time
> sm70- why not Duesenberg?
07/03/2014 at 17:47 |
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Yes they are both owned by parent company Hearst Communications Inc.
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sm70- why not Duesenberg?
> T5Killer
07/03/2014 at 17:48 |
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YAY! I'm not crazy! Or at least, that doesn't prove I'm crazy!
Cebu
> sm70- why not Duesenberg?
07/03/2014 at 17:49 |
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R+T's a good magazine, ain't it?
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sm70- why not Duesenberg?
> Cebu
07/03/2014 at 17:51 |
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It's very good. Like I said, I don't always read the entire magazine from cover to cover, but I make a point of reading at least a few articles from both. I was just sitting down to do that when I noticed the above, then remembered that I always notice that, so I sat down and typed this instead.
NotUnlessRoundIsFunny
> sm70- why not Duesenberg?
07/03/2014 at 17:52 |
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In part it could be because of the way public relations works with the press. They let the journos they like test the product, with a media embargo until date x. It takes a while for the mags to go to press and then get mailed, so this all happens at least weeks before you actually get the magazine. So for cars like the P1, LaFerrari, and 918, the press probably got access to them at the same time and have similar lead times after the embargo has lifted.
Plus they're both owned and published by Hearst Communications, so there's that. :-)
-Someone who's been a member of and worked with the press.
Stapleface-Now Hyphenated!
> sm70- why not Duesenberg?
07/03/2014 at 18:01 |
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Yup, both owned by the same company. It's been this way for YEARS. I have been reading C/D and R&T since the 80's. For what it's worth, I prefer C/D because they do less motorsports coverage, and I just can't stand motorsports.
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sm70- why not Duesenberg?
> Stapleface-Now Hyphenated!
07/03/2014 at 18:06 |
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Same. R&T is still well done, but I don't care about most kinds of racing and would rather see those 20-30 pages at the end dedicated to more road cars, like in Car and Driver.
Mosqvich
> sm70- why not Duesenberg?
07/04/2014 at 09:29 |
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Even though they are owned by the same company, it seems like all the major magazines do the same thing each month. I imagine they are responding to the major auto manufacture's willingness to make certain cars available, etc... I thought they'd all be the same for July, but there are some differences. At least we don't get "How to satisfy your guy" headlines every month found in "fashion and lifestyle" magazines.
These are the July issues:
