End of an era: Bye bye Fast Fours magazine

VWCOOL 23 Windows of Awesome

5,158 posts · joined Jun 2003 · 12 Jun 2007, 9:16 am

#596384

Heard some disasppointing news recently; the new owners of Federal Publishing company have decided to 'kill' Fast Fours magazine.

It's a great shame because FF was selling quite well as far as I know and always ran a few 'old school' modified fours/small cars, not just the late-model, big $ stuff. Possibly the magazine will continue or be ressurected with new owners, but for now it's 'see ya!' :cry

Pay your debts, CxxT

Dasdubber DAS Resto Haus

5,746 posts · joined Aug 2002 · 12 Jun 2007, 9:22 am

#596385

Bugger - glad I finally got my old ragtop in there (courtesy to your journalistic prowess of course Glenn!) before the mag got 'killed'.

I didn't think it would be taken off the shelves so it is a bit of a surprise to me too!
Alan

www.dasrestoparts.com.au

BASHOdi Wolfsburg Wizard

441 posts · joined Nov 2006 · 12 Jun 2007, 9:50 am

#596389

Hardly suprising , if the rumour is right , they'd made a dogs breakfast out of that mag for about the last 18 months to two years (IMO), they're the same genius's that gave away a moded car ( Swift ?) as a competition prize that actualy went worse when they'd finished moding it than before they started . They were also the genius's that kicked out the sexy lady content (or diminished it to such a point of purility as to be stupid) because a minority of very vocal anti naked lady mongrel bycycle seat sniffers harrased them. Freekin weaklings!!
The list of thier editorial stupidity's is beyong believing encompasing stupid and unreadable (literaly) format changes to art direction that was so wrong as to be virtualy criminal and photography that had deteriorated to such a point that my dog could better with a Box Brownie.
The list goes on and on and is huge-- go broke ? Deserved too IMO.

VWCOOL 23 Windows of Awesome

5,158 posts · joined Jun 2003 · 12 Jun 2007, 9:59 am

#596392

Tell us what you really think!

Oh, and check your facts next time, before you shoot a hole in your foot...

The magazine didn't go broke: the new owners (News Limited) didn't see it as 'fitting' with its new corporate culture. It was deemed as 'too niche'. Difficult to understand... but that's the way it is.

Not everyone likes the 'chicks' - I don't, really - but for several years FF has had several pages of pretty girls. If that's what makes you bat, so be it...

Photography... Some of the best shooters in the country work(ed) for FF and are the same blokes doing Wheels, Motor and every other car magazine...

I have been an avid reader since the first issue in '88 and my bro and I had our VWs featured in a VW special issue waaay back in 1991. It led to a career change for me: Since then (16 years ago!) I have been one of the 'geniuses' that has helped put the magazine together.

[ Edited on 12-6-2007 by VWCOOL ]

Pay your debts, CxxT

BASHOdi Wolfsburg Wizard

441 posts · joined Nov 2006 · 12 Jun 2007, 11:13 am

#596402

VWCOOL wrote:Tell us what you really think!

Oh, and check your facts next time, before you shoot a hole in your foot...

The magazine didn't go broke: the new owners (News Limited) didn't see it as 'fitting' with its new corporate culture. It was deemed as 'too niche'. Difficult to understand... but that's the way it is.
Not everyone likes the 'chicks' - I don't, really - but for several years FF has had several pages of pretty girls. If that's what makes you bat, so be it...
Photography... Some of the best shooters in the country work(ed) for FF and are the same blokes doing Wheels, Motor and every other car magazine...
I have been an avid reader since the first issue in '88 and my bro and I had our VWs featured in a VW special issue waaay back in 1991. It led to a career change for me: Since then (16 years ago!) I have been one of the 'geniuses' that has helped put the magazine together.
[ Edited on 12-6-2007 by VWCOOL ]

I worked for News Ltd for some years and one of the jobs I had was special opperations executive.
My briefs were simple at this time --"Fix it or close it" just so you know where I'm coming from.
If News aint opperating it they're selling it.--And I'll give you an educated guess what "To niche" means -- --ciculation and revenue has a falling curve and it's not worth the effort/expense to bump the circulation and pull it back.---
AAH "the babes"--- sex sells---fact--- further its part of the motoring scene particularly the performance scene Indy Babes, Jamboree ladies etc et al sanitise it at your peril, you did----big mistake.
Your attitude of "If thats what makes me bat" (-so stuff you)- was typical of FF's visible attitude to it's readership at the end of the day that did'nt cut it.
Photography--I couldnt care less if Anthony Armstrong Jones was doing the shoots , about 18 months ago+/- a bit it turned to less than indifferent what has happened since then I wouldn't know as I cancelled my subscription but whatever it was it apparently hasn't helped.
I'm glad that you had you car featured , thats great and that you still think the title still has currency and quite honestly I'm completely sure you're right.
The publication has a banner that the right niche publisher with sufficient budget and the right personel could effect a re-launch most successfully.

Oh and for the record--I never had to close a publication.

crewcabconnection Being Sid James

1,922 posts · joined Apr 2003 · 12 Jun 2007, 6:07 pm

#596473

more sexy lady posts in here might up the counter (wink)

Loves a lolcat

Dasdubber DAS Resto Haus

5,746 posts · joined Aug 2002 · 12 Jun 2007, 7:03 pm

#596484

crewcabconnection wrote:more sexy lady posts in here might up the counter (wink)

This sordid little number should get the number of subscriptions to this thread up!
Enjoy Deano - this one is for you 😉

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www.dasrestoparts.com.au

amazeer Bishop of Volkswagenism

3,029 posts · joined Nov 2005 · 12 Jun 2007, 8:14 pm

#596504

I wrote to them asking if they could help me out finding either a copy of the issue my kombi was in or even tell me what issue it was in. Didnt get a reply.

crewcabconnection Being Sid James

1,922 posts · joined Apr 2003 · 12 Jun 2007, 8:35 pm

#596507

not sure it would now be high priority ... they are probably all on Seek looking for work

Loves a lolcat

1500S Custom Title Time!

1,418 posts · joined Mar 2005 · 12 Jun 2007, 8:45 pm

#596511

>This sordid little number should get the number of subscriptions to this thread up!
Enjoy Deano - this one is for you<

They could have got her to stand nearer to the middle of the door so we could see what type of mirror was on the Bug!😵‍💫

DH!!

reub VWRX is gone...

2,054 posts · joined Sep 2002 · 12 Jun 2007, 10:46 pm

#596559

Bugger hey.....ah well....street machine story then? 😁

Reub

Opaque Seriously Crusin Dubber

194 posts · joined Feb 2007 · 13 Jun 2007, 9:35 am

#596595

yeh, FF really had a broad range of cars that i enjoyed, not just the flashy 350Z with the neons like some of the others (Autosalon, anyone?), but the magazine as a whole was really quite a jumble.
My favourite part of the mag would still have to be the "letters to the editor" pages, where people who were do to enter the darwin awards asked where they could buy a GTR for 5 grand or what under-car neons would be best for my prelude.

regardless, RIP Fast Fours

1954 Beetle
1967 Type 3 Fastback
1968 Type 3 Fastback
1970 Porsche 911T

pete wood 23 Windows of Awesome

6,828 posts · joined Jan 2004 · 13 Jun 2007, 10:11 am

#596602

Up and until about 5 years back, FF&R was a mag I bought religiously.

A couple of things discouraged me and I stopped. Julian Edgar's articles were killer when he stopped contributing, the standard of tech stuff went down IMHO. Then came the girls a couple of years later and with them came gutter comments. I didn't see why that was needed when the p0rn section of the local newsagents was already doing all that and so was the internet. A lot of my mates also stopped buying it for that reason. Also, by that time the mag was more committed to rice than race it seemed. It also seemed like it was dominated by the rotors/import scene. I struggled to find anything that didn't have a 13bt/sr20/rb26-30 motor in it. And even when they had dubs, they were not that well written up. The photography on the other hand has mostly been quite good.

Sorry Glenn, I'm actually disappointed the mag has been axed. It was a great mag. Maybe it's time for a bit of a clean out and a rethink. I'm sure someone will start something like it, from the grass roots like FF&Rs once was.

After FF&R went off, I started buying zoom instead. Curiously, Zoom seems to have gone down a similar road car wise. It's now dominated by the same rotor/import cars FF&R had albeit without the girls. Zoom started adding girls and their readers complained and the magazine listened to them. Still I miss the variety Zoom used to have.

Oh well, RACE magazine is quite good, and Ultra VW is usually on the money.

"stoopid is stronger than axles"
http://drivingnotpolishing.blogspot.com.au/

reub VWRX is gone...

2,054 posts · joined Sep 2002 · 7 Jul 2007, 10:08 am

#600716

FAST FOURS LIVES :thumb

I was chatting with the production manager of Hot 4's and he's said they bought the magazine to keep it going. Great news hey:thumb

The question was put to me about the feature to be run on VWRX and whether I'd mind it being in Fast Fours instead of Hot 4's. Shame it can't be in both...😂

Reub

BASHOdi Wolfsburg Wizard

441 posts · joined Nov 2006 · 7 Jul 2007, 11:15 am

#600722

reub-revhead wrote:FAST FOURS LIVES :thumb

I was chatting with the production manager of Hot 4's and he's said they bought the magazine to keep it going. Great news hey:thumb

The question was put to me about the feature to be run on VWRX and whether I'd mind it being in Fast Fours instead of Hot 4's. Shame it can't be in both...😂

Oh great , they're the genius's that featured a Subi Forester on a front cover which had a front mount ic ---------and a top mount--with a primer readership demographic that might be as high as 13 and editorial comictent according-- and a new editor every 34 seconds, I'm a farkin gog with excitement awaiting the first re-release issue---
Good news about the VWRX though congrats at least thats one positive step to feature it in both from different standpoints--build/technical in one , driver/body in the other would be two positive steps.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHH who am I kidin🤪

VWCOOL 23 Windows of Awesome

5,158 posts · joined Jun 2003 · 7 Jul 2007, 12:26 pm

#600729

yes, Bash, you're dead-set correct about editorship etc etc at Express...

Very sorry state of affairs

[ Edited on 7-7-2007 by VWCOOL ]

Pay your debts, CxxT