[featured]Let’s face it, we live in a world filled with media clutter. Thanks to the advent of cable and the internet, combined with more traditional avenues of broadcast and print, there’s something entertaining for just about every interest under the sun. Yet, despite having all of this at our disposal, 200 channels of digital quality audio and video, 5 magazines, 4 websites, 3 radio stations, 2 chatrooms, and one newspaper later, we’re still bored. This same syndrome is evident in the world of automotive enthusiasts, as well. We may be a somewhat small niche of the car buying public, but we have countless media outlets vying for our attention. Road & Track, Car and Driver, Motor Trend. Automotive News, Car, AutoWeek, Automobile, Sport Compact Car, Hot Rod, the list goes on and on when it comes to the printed media. Most of the aforementioned magazines also have internet sites to complement, and some even have television shows on networks like Spike TV and SPEED.[/featured]
Let’s face it, we live in a world filled with media clutter. Thanks to the advent of cable and the internet, combined with more traditional avenues of broadcast and print, there’s something entertaining for just about every interest under the sun. Yet, despite having all of this at our disposal, 200 channels of digital quality audio and video, 5 magazines, 4 websites, 3 radio stations, 2 chatrooms, and one newspaper later, we’re still bored. This same syndrome is evident in the world of automotive enthusiasts, as well. We may be a somewhat small niche of the car buying public, but we have countless media outlets vying for our attention. Road & Track, Car and Driver, Motor Trend. Automotive News, Car, AutoWeek, Automobile, Sport Compact Car, Hot Rod, the list goes on and on when it comes to the printed media. Most of the aforementioned magazines also have internet sites to complement, and some even have television shows on networks like Spike TV and SPEED.
Yet, despite all of the offerings, we “car nuts” cannot get enough. Is it because we have an appetite that cannot be quenched, or is it because there’s always something lacking? Personally, I think it’s probably both. To people like us, cars are life. They aren’t just a mode of transportation to get you from Point A to Point B, they’re about the drive between A and B. What else in society has such an impact on our lives like the automobile? The true car addict recognizes it, and cannot get enough of it. Hence the desire for anything automotive. This is why AutomotiveForums.com has over 100,000 registered members and around 2 million visitors per month.
The overwhelming amount of people on AF also speaks to the desire of car enthusiasts to communicate with others of the same affliction. Not only do we love to drive cars, learn about them, and sometimes work on them-- we love to talk about them. If you’re anything like myself, often times you’re lucky to find a few people in your immediate circle of friends and family to talk about cars. Thanks to the internet and places like AF, we all have access to thousands of like-minded car lovers to further the passion for anything with an engine and wheels. Yet there is a disconnect between the media that delivers content and the forums for discussion of that content. Want to dispute a review by Car and Driver, or an opinion piece in Automobile? Pretty much the only thing you can do is dust off that pen and pad of paper and fire off a letter the old fashioned way. Excuse my yawn, that’s just not my idea of engaging interaction.
What if you could read an article and then immediately click over to a forum directly discussing that very article? If you disagree with what was written, here’s your chance to fire away at the author. Like the topic discussed? Wouldn’t it be even better if you could delve into it further with people who are also as interested in it as you, maybe even the author himself/herself? That’s what the creators of AF had in mind when we came up with the idea for this interactive magazine. As the makers of one of the largest automotive-related forums on the internet, we obviously aren’t exactly satisfied with a passive media with which we cannot take part in. So why not combine the content of the old media with the communication abilities that AF is so famously known for providing?
When it comes to content, it is pretty safe to say that we have no desire to produce the same type of stuff you can find just about anywhere. We have no desire to be politically correct and pander to any automaker. They don’t pay for giant advertising spreads on our site, so we’re not afraid of them. We also have no desire, as an organization, to play favorites with any brand or nation of origin of any cars. Admittedly, some of our writers may have a personal favorite brand or at least one with which they are more familiar, we all do. But we have no desire to exclude any points of view. Personally, I pretty much love all cars foreign or domestic. When it comes to the never-ending battle of Domestic vs. Import, well, I’m sure you’ll learn more of my opinions in future columns. Still, we don’t favor any single brand and will strive to prove that whenever we write.
Have you ever noticed that, when it comes to car magazines, you can either get tuner mags, or review mags, not both. For the most part, you cannot find magazines that mix the new car reviews of a Motor Trend with the in-depth tech articles of a Sport Compact Car. This is another issue that we want to address. It is possible to cover news from the automotive industry, do reviews of the latest cars, and cover the tuner world in-depth. And why not? Just because nobody else has tried, that doesn’t make it impossible.
And this is where you, “the viewer,” come in. Admittedly, the task of creating a reputable and worthy automotive enthusiast site chock-full of content isn’t easy, otherwise everyone and their grandmother would be doing it. We want, no, we need your input. What do you want to see this magazine become? Send your ideas, comments, and suggestions to me via email or discuss them in the forums. Think you’ve got skills as a writer? Let us know! We’re always open to new ideas. As I said earlier, this likely won’t be easy, but the drive should be interesting. To any true auto enthusiast, isn’t the drive what’s most important?
-Mike Cervantes